Go Down with the Captain

He had warned the captain about the storm.

Red streaks of clouds tore across the morning sky like an open sword wound. It was just as they had been the night Arthur joined the Red Butcher's crew a little over a year ago, although he felt and looked like a decade had passed. He had been plucky and clean shaven then, now he had the makings of a scraggly beard and innumerable callouses. His eyes, once bright reflections of the cerulean sky, were now grey and sunken. And yet he had never felt more free in his life.

However, this morning that feeling of freedom was replaced by a feeling of dread. It sunk into the pit of his stomach like an anchor into sea muck. He had hoped that the captain would take his concern to heart as quartermaster, but the bounty was too good to pass up. Five thousand guineas for a kraken beak. It was enough for the entire crew to be set for life. Arthur was the only dissenting vote.

So, when half of a lifeboat washed ashore and it's shivering inhabitant had barely been able to utter those two terrible syllables before succumbing, there was no other course of action.

With the last barrel loaded as securely as it could be on a constantly rocking vessel, Arthur finally let his shoulders relax, but the physical relief did not ease his nerves. Nor did he find himself able to relax when he came above deck. Not until he saw the captain, at least.

To most, he was the Red Butcher. A merciless tyrant who didn't waste time with interrogations and simply took what he wanted. The "Red" moniker was primarily attributed to his blood lust rather than his thick auburn hair and beard, but those attributes merely adding to its sticking power. To Arthur, however, he was Nathaniel Walker, the orphan boy who beat the odds and now made even the king quiver in his boots. Only Arthur knew the tenderness those hands were capable of. The rings on the captain's fingers glimmered and Arthur had to push down the temptation to remove them with his teeth. That would be saved for their private quarters, to celebrate a job well done. For once, Arthur hoped his needling doubts would be proven wrong.

Unfortunately, he was very, very right.

Before they had even left the harbor, the new powder monkey was leaning over the side of the ship and letting loose the pittance that had broken his fast. Arthur would later find out his name was Samuel. When he gave Nathaniel a look, the captain merely shrugged and muttered, "We need his hands to fit into the small places."

It was another grueling two hours before movement was seen on the starboard bow. By then, thick grey clouds had swallowed up every inch of the sky.

"Over there!" somebody shouted again. This time Arthur heard them in his left ear. By the time he had turned around to see, whatever it was had disappeared beneath the waves again. Nathaniel started to turn the wheel.

Something rammed into the port side hull. Arthur and Nathaniel kept their footing, but other members of the crew were not so lucky. Francis, the cook, struggled to his feet sputtering a series of curses, his whole face red save for the black pencil moustache above his lips. Arthur instinctively grabbed onto Nathaniel's arm while the captain clung to the wheel, but he didn't immediately let go once he caught his balance. He let his touch linger until Nathaniel moved to pull his spyglass from his waistcoat.

"There!" he said, pointing to his left. Arthur shielded his eyes and squinted, but the only movement he could see was the chopping of the waves and churning of the clouds.

Suddenly, something sprang from the ocean with a massive spray. As the water settled, Arthur was able to make out the shape of a colossal tentacle. Strings of mucus fell down from the suction cups at the tip and fell onto the deck in massive globs.

"All hands!" Nathaniel screamed over the booms as a second tentacle rose from the water and flopped onto the deck. Each arm was as tall as the mast and the droplets pouring down from each one gave the appearance that the storm had already started. The ship started to tip toward the port side.

"Ready the harpoons!"

Water sloshed upon the deck, flowed over the top of the crewman's boots, and gurgled out through the scuppers. The mucus congealed and floated above the sea water, creating a slick layer of slime across the wooden boards. The harpoons had been fitted in place of the carronades and required just as many men to operate. Each respective crew slipped and scrabbled to their stations. Arthur saw two men stabbing their swords into the thick trunk of the second arm. Blue blood spurted from the puncture wounds, but the creature showed no signs of pain. He could only gape as he watched it sweep them overboard.

"Aim!"

The first tentacle wrapped around the mast and two more thudded upon the deck. The ship started to tip dangerously as the beast began to pull itself onboard. Nathaniel held the wheel again, and as Arthur tumbled down he gripped onto the captain's leg. A couple of the harpoon crews lost men as they slid down into the churning water below. A bolt of lightning arced across the sky, casting a silhouette Arthur could have sworn he'd seen in a painting near the back of a tavern.

"Fire!"

Nathaniel's voice grounded him. He heard the thwick and thud of each harpoon bolt as they sunk into spongy flesh. The tentacle wrapped around the mast seized in pain and the pole snapped in a shower of splinters. The ship started to right itself as the tentacles suddenly withdrew. The crew scrambled to get back upright, but the ship stopped while it was still halfway at an angle. When Arthur looked up at the captain, he was smiling.

"We've got her."

As the captain reached down and pulled Arthur to his feet, Arthur realized what he meant. The ship was tilted because the harpoons had struck true, and now the kraken was unable to get away.

But that also meant they couldn't get away from the kraken.

As if reading his thoughts, two tentacles shot out from the sea. They wrapped around either end of the ship, one around the mermaid figurehead at the front, and one right behind the two of them on the quarterdeck. Two more arms appeared and wrapped themselves around the center. The beast pulled again, and the ship cracked in two.

"Fire everything!" Nathaniel yelled. The men who could still stand upon the rapidly sinking deck reached for pistols if they had them, but the little lead balls inside bounced off of the kraken's thick hide as if they were pebbles. Except one, which struck true right as the kraken's massive yellow eye appeared above the surface. Arthur supposed the pupil alone was as big as his head. Or it had been until it ruptured, aqueous fluid spurting upon the already slick deck.

"Arthur!"

Arthur turned, and saw his captain with a tentacle wrapped around his waist.

"No!" he screamed. He ran, but the moment his foot made contact with the deck he slipped. The wheel was just in front of him. He stretched out with his arm as far as he could until he felt his fingers wrap around the smooth wood. He pulled himself up, muscles screaming, and reached out for Nathaniel with his other arm. Nathaniel's fingers grazed his, slick with water and squid slime. Arthur threw his body while still keeping hold of the wheel with one arm, and reached again. "Don't let go!" he cried, as if his strength were any match. Then, Nathaniel leaned in and kissed him.

When Arthur opened his eyes, the captain was gone.