Kateri's Pirate Story: Chap 15

Here's another chapter. This chapter just goes to prove Jamison is not entirely mean! ;) Tell me what you think!


Chapter 15: Only Worse

Skinner was more then just tired, he was sick. He didn't get up the next morning, and the crew confirmed he really truly had come down with something.

This put Jamison and Captain Frite in fearful moods. If one person got sick, they all would, it was unavoidable.

"Lets hope for the best!" cried Cardshark cheerfully, as he got to work that morning "It could just be a small cold."

"Or," cut in the grouchy David Rock "Or, it could be the mumps, or small-pox, or the flu, or measles, or..."

"We get the point, Dave." said Johnny tiredly.

"Or!" cried David "He could be faking it all! To avoid all the work and sleep all day long! That's it! I bet he's tricking us all!"

"Nope. He's not." said Cardshark "He was burning with fever. You can't fake a fever."

"Well!" interrupted Arnold Beer "Just be glad its not scurvy!"

"Alright, that is true." agreed Cardshark "Lets all be thankful right here and now that its not scurvy."

The next morning, Sarah felt sick, and she wasn't the only one. Cardshark and Daniel Plank were down too. Sarah still did her chores, fearful for asking for a day off, but she did them slowly, and it took a lot out of her. But the next day, Sarah didn't even get up.

Her whole body ached all over, the pain was unbearable. The fever felt hot one minute and cold the next. And then, there was the horrible cough, causing her to shake all over. Sarah felt she could not move an inch, it hurt just to raise her head. She was trapped in dizziness and pain.

Johnny, who was really a rather kind lad, saw to it that she had something to eat and drink, but it wasn't long before he too fell with it. Sarah did not move from her hammock in the hold. She stayed there for hours on end, there was no difference from day or night. She hadn't the slightest idea who, if anybody, was left healthy aboard the ship. There was no footsteps and no voices.

One day, Sarah thought it might be the fourth day of her falling ill, she felt she would die of thirst. But she could not move, it hurt too much. But she was so thirsty... Gritting her teeth and holding back tears, she slipped onto the floor, and coughing, she pulled herself up.

She could not stand, she would have to crawl, this was going to be hard to do. Sarah glanced up at the wooden steps, they looked like a mountain, she would have to clime them. Nearly in tears, and wanting to stop, she reached for the first step. The fever was burning, eating away at her little strength, she couldn't pull herself up those dreadful steps, no matter how hard she tried.

Sarah fell at the foot of the steps, too tired to even cry. "I might die down here." she thought to herself. That was a scary thought. She knew many people died from illness at sea, what were the odds of her surviving this?

Then, there was the sound of footsteps. Two people. Sarah raised her head. "Oh please, please, let them come down here and find me! Surely they aren't so cruel to not give me a glass of water.... Please. Please let it be Johnny or Skinner, anybody..."

The hold door swung open. It was not Johnny or Skinner, but Jamison Dread and David Rock, two of the three meanest sailors aboard.

"What in...?" began Jamison "She's down here? Not with the other sick? What the...? Who knows how long she's been down here!" He reached for a lantern, and ran down the steps. Sarah fought not to black out. "She's still alive, but heck knows if she'll make it. Dehydration."

Jamison picked her up in his arms. "There's no more room with the other sick." said David.

Jamison paused. "Then she can have my cabin, I'll sleep on the deck."

David Rock took the lantern and they raced up the stairs.

The ship was deathly quite. The crew lay around in various places, all sick and burning with fever. It seemed Jamison and David were the only ones still well.

Somewhere along the way to Jamison's cabin, Sarah blacked out.