Don't get me wrong, there are loads of times where I do feel like a sinking ship, where everything is not where it's supposed to be and falling apart.
But faith and hope pull me back up and keep me afloat, reminding me to "STAY FOCUSED" and think positively (all the while being logical and realistic about where I'm at).
All right, want to read scene from my Remmington Pirates book series that actually involves a sinking ship?
I was hoping you would, I mean you're still reading so...
So the situation is, Jane Remmington has recently been rescued by her brother, Lieutenant Lowell Remmington and is now sailing on the merchant ship, part of her brother's Royal Navy crew is escorting, when the villainous Scottish pirates of Captuan Skullblade come for the stolen hostage - Jane. And anti-hero, Tom is part of that Scottish crew...
THE SCENE:
Clenching a dagger in her hand, Jane is hiding behind some storage on the main deck, spying on the Scottish crew's attempt to round up the merchant crew and the Royal Navy sailors. One of Skullblade's men slit the merchant captain's daughter's throat.
“NOOO!” wailed the merchant captain scrambling toward his
limp daughter lying on the deck. The clanging and banging of weapons erupted
all around with the thunder booming in the sky, as the pirates attacked the
sailors mercilessly and the sailors attempted to fight back.
Breathing hard, Jane’s mouth opened wide in shock at what
had just happened to the girl. Lightning lit up the angry sky with a mean
slice. Out of nowhere, a young man, no more than, twenty crouched in front of
Jane with a proud smile.
Jane’s heart jumped, as she herself leaped back in
fright.
“Ir ye, Jane?” he smirked, as thunder loudly clapped
overhead.
“What?!” Jane stared with wide-eyed fear.
He reached for her. She panicked and stabbed him in the
stomach. Immediately pulling the dagger away, she gasped in horror. The young man’s
boyish face etched in pain as his hands went to the hole in his stomach,
catching blood on his hands, as he fell to his knees.
“Wh-wh-what have I done?” She mumbled. Tears ran down her
cheeks. “This can’t be happening... I’m not a killer!” She felt horrible. What
had she done? She’d never killed anyone before. “I’m sorry!” tried Jane, whilst
the young man looked one last time at her before falling on his front side with
the rock of the ship.
An older pirate came around the corner witnessing the boy
fall over and Jane’s horrified expression. A murderous look crossed the older
pirate’s face.
Jane stumbled back, but she caught herself before falling
over. She’d only meant to make her enemies weak and unable to defend
themselves, so she could have the advantage of getting away. She started hyperventilating
and mumbling to herself. “I just want to go home. I just want to be safe at
home....”
“YOU!” an angry gruff voice shouted with obvious hate
dripping from the word. Three pirates looked at him then at Jane and the young
pirate with shock.
Jane then looked over just in time to see the older man
rush at her with a deadly look.
Before she could block him off, he grabbed her neck with
his left hand, shoving her against the side of a building. “You killed mah
brother!” He cursed at her and she tried kicking him, struggling to breath
between his tight hold around her neck. He then lifted and squeezed so tightly,
the air was instantly and more painfully cut off from her lungs. She felt her
tippy toes barely touch the ground. So instantly she dropped her dagger and
clawed at the slug clamped around her throat, but it was like trying to pry a
part jail bars.
He pulled out his pistol and pointed it at her head. Jane
thought for sure she was going to die. God! Was the only thing she could
think, as she felt herself taken over with fright and her vision start to cloud
with blackness.
“You killed mah brother! So I’ll guess I’ll be seein’ ye
in Davy Jones’ locker, wench!” The man had a grimaced look set on his face. His
eyes glared at her, filled with anger and bitterness.
Bigger black spots started appearing in Jane’s vision.
Tom narrowed his eyes at one of his father’s men, trying
to keep his balance on the swaying ship, while gripping a young woman’s neck.
Jane struggled to maintain consciousness, as they felt a
light shower of cool rain hit their clothes.
Tom’s jaw tightened with protectiveness when suddenly a
wave tossed the ship toward its side, sending everyone sliding across the deck.
Air and life seemed to rush back into Jane. She had come
so close to being totally gone, as she thudded roughly across the deck. She
dragged at gulps of air, as she attempted to focus and grab a hold of something
to keep from going overboard.
“Get her!” Tom yelled at a couple of pirates from across
the deck that were nearest Jane. “But ye dinnae dare harm her!”
Jane scrambled away toward the stairs leading below deck.
The
two pirates and Tom chased after her.
Men were laying about either dead or
injured crying out in pain, as others fought viciously to take down their next
nemesis. Many left blood randomly on places, but the rain came faster washing
it away.
“Where’s Jane?” shouted Lowell. The wind and rain began
to pick up more.
Below
deck, deep in a back room, Jane ran down the hall, seeing a dead sailor with a
pistol laying near its head, she grabbed the weapon bumping into the wall.
“Find
her and lock her up!” Tom bellowed.
She
ran into a door, fumbled to open it then finally practically fell inside with
the swaying of the ship. She closed the door behind her then sat against the
wall by the door with her knees to her chest, shaking with fear as she aimed
the pistol toward the walkway. She could hear them downstairs.
“Find
her!” Tom demanded.
“Aye,”
said another.
“Find
her and lock her up!” said Tom.
Jane
rolled when the ship tilted sideways; at the same time the burning floor above
crashed through spreading the fire. Flaming boards fell surrounding Jane, one
landed on her shoulder. She screamed in pain rapidly pushing it off. She
groaned looking at her bright red hot shoulder. She cried, but then bit her lip
trying to concentrate.
“Got
to get out of here,” said she pushing herself up, trying to ignore the pain
searing through her shoulder. Tears leaked from her eyes trailing down her
smudged, dirty face. She stumbled to the door, trying to push it open, but
something was jamming it.
“AGH!”
She screamed in frustration. “Somebody! Help me! Please!” She cried.
“Stand
back!” a man yelled. “Far back as you can, now!”
Gasping,
Jane jumped, making her shoulder sear with intense pain, which made her flinch.
She stumbled backwards a few feet from the door, stopped by the fiery and messy
wood piles.
The
head of an ax sliced through the wooden door, cracking loudly. Jane screamed
and flinched again, raising her forearms up attempting to shield herself from
more harm. Her shoulder and arm screamed with pain, causing her to lower her
one arm again.
A
soldier kicked the door open suddenly. “Come on!” He held out his hand. She
looked at him. The ship rocked. She fell into his arms and he landed against
the hallway walls.
Jane
felt his supporting arms suddenly go limp, causing her to slide down his torso
a little. She grabbed his belt for support instead. She looked up and saw a
sharp, pointed, broken piece of wood pierced through his neck. She got up,
backed away screaming and ran down the hall highly conscious of the warm pain
throbbing in her shoulder. “I’ve got to find Lowell,” she mumbled to herself,
then shouted, “Lowell!” She cried, as she ran out to the front of the ship and
grabbed hold of the biggest section of railing left on the ship, her hair
blowing everywhere.
Sims
drove his blade through Lowell’s stomach.
“Nooooo!”
she screamed running tearfully to her brother.
Tom’s
eyes lit up, as he came around the corner of the broken up hallway and saw
Jane. He rushed to her.
“Jane,
come on, ye must get tae the cockboat. The ship is sinkin’,” said Tom trying to
pull her away toward the cockboat some of his men saved for them.
“Lowell!”
Jane cried. Right then a wave tilted the ship sharply on its side and knocked
them from their feet. She screamed, as they saw what was left of the crew that slid
across the damaged deck. They scrambled to grab onto anything before they fell
through the big hole in the main deck to the decks below. Tom also tried grab
Jane but kept missing her.
Jane
felt scrapes and bruises from loose articles of cargo flash pains across her
body, but she had no time to think of them. The ship abruptly split in a
crooked half and Jane suddenly dropped off the deck into the flooded decks
below.
She
felt rushing cold water envelope her. It swallowed her and sucked her under and
away from the ship. She was twisted in circles, then propelled up to the
surface. She gasped a large breath of air and was under again. Her own body was
turning and twisting, arms and feet working frantically against the pressures
of the malevolent waves. Jerking and kicking furiously, she attempted to swim
upwards and claw at the heavy walls of water above. Her dress twisted around
legs, making it harder. Her chest was bursting.
Must
get to the air! Air! I need air!
Suddenly
when she thought it would never happen, she broke the surface. She thrashed to
stay on top of the black swells. Her mind raced with trying to find a cockboat.
She didn’t know which direction it was anymore between monstrous rolling waves
and a dark horizon.
