“That the new one?”

A young boy with a mop of fiery hair pulled back into a ponytail looked up curiously from his hand of cards when they entered the room. Cove realised now why the captain had called it the ‘Salt Room’, the place obviously double as storage for great hessian sacks of salt along with four strung up hammocks.

“Yeah,” Drift nodded, pushing Cove forwards roughly so he stumbled again. Cove glared daggers at him as Drift began to point to the other assembled shipmates, “This here is Robbo, then there’s Hanzo and you’ve already met Fletch.”

“You!” Cove exclaimed as he recognised the boy with neon green hair as the one who had drugged him.

“Me,” Fletch gave an insane looking grin before slamming a pair of cards down on the wooden crate the other boys were seated around.

“You cheated again,” the dark haired youth, Hanzo stated drily.

“You up in the nest tonight?” Drift asked as Hanzo walked over to grab a thick fleece and an oiled raincoat.

“No,” Hanzo shook his head impassively. “It’s gonna be too rough, I’m just doing the night check.”

“Why is he rooming with us?” Robbo frowned, pointing at Cove.

“Captain’s orders,” Drift shrugged, “said I’m to look after him.”

“Do you want to be dealt in?” Fletch asked Drift, nodding to the pack of cards.

“Nah,” Drift shook his head and arched his neck back, cracking his shoulder blades. “We should sleep, we’ve all got early shift.”

“Spoilsport,” Fletch huffed, getting up to put the cards away and crawling into his hammock.

“Where’s he sleeping?” Robbo asked, nodding his head towards Cove. “We’ve only got four hammocks.”

“Fuck,” Drift swore. “He’ll have to share.”

“Absolutely not!” Cove exclaimed, taking a step backwards and finding himself against the wood panelling of the wall. There was no way in hell he was getting into a hammock with one of these kidnapping, loutish oafs. “I’ll sleep on the floor,” Cove added firmly.

“Does he realise –“ Fletch began when Drift held up a hand to stop him.

“It’s his choice,” Drift shrugged. Cove didn’t like the way the other boys winked in understanding and stifled their laughter.

Fifteen minutes and seven new bruises later, Cove discovered why sailors do not sleep on the floor of ships. He heaved himself up, holding his arms out like a tightrope walker to gain his balance. Cove looked between the four figures in the hammocks, each one’s sleeping face illuminated by the eerie moonlight streaming in through a porthole. A moment later the light was gone again, presumably more storm clouds had enveloped the celestial body in their nocturnal shadows.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Cove huffed, moving as quietly as possible towards the door to check if it was locked. He grinned to himself in triumph as he found it wasn’t. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew they were still mid flight but he was going to get off this damn junk one way or another. Maybe he would be able to hop to another vessel from the deck?

Cove gripped the thick ropes strung along the walls of the ship’s corridors in order to keep himself upright as he made his way through the labyrinth, finally coming across a spiral staircase with great sloshes of rainwater tipping down it. Cove emerged up onto the main deck before letting out a shout of shock. A swooping, great wooden oak spar mast nearly took his head off as Cove leapt to flatten himself against the boards and avoid it.

The rain was pelting down like the heavens were spewing up gravel and the lightening forked ferociously across the sky.

“Shit!” Cove cried out as the ship lurched and he, along with several unsecured barrels, slid across the ice rink of a deck and smashed into the starboard side. Cove hauled himself up with some nearby rigging and clenched white-knuckled onto the edges of the ship.

He almost whimpered as the ship tipped backwards to let him see how far up they were. Miles and miles below he could just make out the twinkling lights of passing towns. There were no other vessels in sight, only a bleak skyscape lit up by vivid flashes of static. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind grabbed hold of the ship and spun it further across the clouds.

“No-“ Cove shouted in horror as he was thrown backwards, tumbling straight over the ship’s edge and into the blackness of night.

Strong, hot hands grasped around Cove’s elbows, jerking him back at the last moment. Cove looked up to meet the widened green eyes of Drift. His blue hair was lit up by the light of the storm and his mouth was set in a grim line of endurance as he heaved the other boy back onto the deck.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Drift screamed over the raging winds. “Are you trying to die?”

Drift yanked Cove with him as they slid and slipped across the treacherous floor.

“Look out!” Cove exclaimed as an empty wooden barrel hurtled towards them. Drift looked up with a panicked expression before shoving Cove out of its path and taking the brunt himself.

“Drift!” Cove yelped as the other boy was slammed against the mast with a heavy grunt of pain. “Move, you idiot,” Drift snarled, clambering his way back towards Cove, blood streaming from a wound at his side and saturating his shirt.

“I can’t see where to go!” Cove admitted, his chest was heaving in terror as a huge pitched fork of lighting pierced the deck only a few feet away from them leaving a steaming, sizzling blackened stain. Cove yelped as Drift pulled him hard against his body and steered the two of them across the moaning, straining wooden boards to a heavy trapdoor.

“In!” Drift ordered as he lifted the door up, his other hand grasping at his injury. Finally the two of them made it to the safety of the decks below, the heavy thud of the door above them shutting out most of the noise and rain.

“What were you thinking?!” Drift’s face was blotchy and explosive with anger as Cove cowered back against the wall. He flinched violently as Drift jerked forwards, Cove braced himself for the punch that was inevitably coming. Instead, he found himself being held roughly by the chin as Drift brought their faces close together.

“Never,” Drift punctuated his words like bullets, “Never, go topside during a night storm.”

Cove swallowed thickly and opened his mouth to reply when Drift let out a groan of pain and collapsed heavily against his shoulder.