Sons of the Tide (mlm)

Chapter 4: Drowning

Caleb

Caleb was shoved onto the enemy ship, nearly tripping over the chains on his ankles as he did so. The captain, whose name he didn't know, held onto the chains on his wrists as they walked toward the mast. He needed to get out of there before they got him onto another desert island with no water.

His best and only chance of being free was the Tide, and it was turning away already. Joseph wasn't wasting any time getting the hell away from Hawke's ship, and Caleb couldn't blame him.

As his chains were wrapped around the bottom of the mast, the captain looked at him with some sort of sick amusement. "Don't even think about tryin' to escape. The Tide's Voyage won't be there to fish ya out of the water."

God, the bastard was going to sink the Tide once she turned away. He needed to get out of there. He could not let that ship sink.

"Why do you even want me?"

"Cap'n Hawke is offering a reward to any of his ships that capture you." The captain smiled, his teeth a sick yellow. "We found you first, we're gettin' that reward."

"He's not a man of his word." Caleb was stalling, but it was all he could think to do while he tried to make up a plan of escape. "He'll kill you all before he has to give you anything."

The captain chuckled, tilting his head to the side. "Forgive me for not takin' a varmint like you at 'is word."

When the captain turned his back, Caleb slammed his knee into the pirate securing him to the mast with rope. The man coughed and fell, having just been hit in a very sensitive area. The captain shouted and his men pooled onto the deck, already swiping swords.

Caleb ducked his head as one of the pirates swung a sword towards him, tugging on the ropes holding his wrists above his head as he did so. Unintentionally, the pirate's blade sliced through the ropes and they fell to the ground as they unraveled around the mast.

Immediately, the chains slipped out from around the mast and he was able to move, albeit limited. He used the longest chain as a weapon, whacking anyone who came too close as hard as he could as if it was a whip.

He managed to smack the captain on the back of the head, effectively sending him to the deck in a loud thud. It would've been satisfying if the rest of the crew weren't closing in on him. God, he hated pirates. They stunk and their voices annoyed him to no end. He was partly happy he was able to beat a few of them up for his troubles.

He used the chains connecting his wrists to catch one of the pirates by his neck and force him against his chest as a human shield. "You shoot me, he goes with me."

The captain finally rose from the ground, a bloody gash now open on the back of his head. He raised his gun, looking very pissed off. "Bon voyage."

He pulled the trigger, shooting his man directly in the chest. Thankfully, the bullet stayed in the pirate and didn't go all the way through to Caleb. He swore and dropped the man, then ran across the deck, avoiding shots from multiple guns.

Finally, he grew tired of outrunning bullets and glanced into the ocean. "Fuck it."

He gathered his chains in one hand and leapt from the ship. He straightened his legs and tucked his arms, then gasped at the last second to hold air in his lungs.

When his body hit the frigid water, it was like shocks attacking his nerves with no mercy. He kept the loose chains in one hand so they wouldn't catch on anything and tried to swim with the other. But with his wrists and ankles chained, he couldn't get himself to the surface.