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Chapter 11~ This One was Fearless
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Chaos was already ensuing. Guns fired in single, long-apart shots. There was no in-extravagant way to put it. It was a massacre. A slaughter. And neither Constantine nor I had the heart to watch. When the door to Kidd’s private quarters shut, I slipped past nearby crewmen and pulled Constantine out with me. We hid behind a corner only occupied by barrels and crates.
“What the hell was that?” I tried keeping myself from yelling.
She smirked.
“I just saved your ass, Hemingway. You should be thanking me.” Thanking her?!
“Alright. Obviously, you don’t understand what just occurred. You lied to the only person keepin’ us alive. And once he finds out you lied, I don’t know what I’m goin’ to do, Constantine. I can’t protect you if he has a blood vendetta by real cause.”
She stopped me with her hand gripping my shoulder. “What else could I have done, Edmund? Let us die? You cannot tell me that you had some sort of secret plan that would have saved us all, can you?”
“Well…”
“No, you cannot. I know it might seem scary lying to pirates, Edmund. But, believe me, you start to become acquainted with it.”
I took her hands in mine and said, “This is a temporary solution, love. Do you even know what we’re goin’ to do once we reach Madagascar and your dead father isn’t there?”
She shrugged and smiled to herself.
“We can run away. Steal money from Kidd’s cabin and make for somewhere safe, like you said before. That’s what you want, right, to get away from here?”
“‘Course, I just…”
“Then, what?”
“I’m just tired of runnin’.”
She sighed and brushed her thumbs over my cheekbones. I looked into those eyes and knew exactly what she’d say.
“I’m tired, too. Ever since I found you again, all I desired was to go back to our normal lives—before you left. I was given a new beginning and I decided to spend it completely with you. But now we’re just running and hiding and being afraid. I don’t know when it’ll end.”
She was right. About all of it. There were so many frayed ends that I couldn’t fix. How could I fix it all?
We were quiet, listening to the gunfire and reaping of souls just behind us. And a thought came to my mind. For two people who had evaded death so often, we’d seen quite a lot of it. It was hell. There was no denying it.
But, I had to trust her. I caused this disaster, but I couldn’t clean it up alone.
I sighed and felt the cuff of her sleeves between my fingers. “What’s the plan, love?”
A little smile crept up on her face. Her hair tossed itself in the wind and blocked out the sun. A little halo of golden glow seemed to surround her face. It felt so warm there.
“I think it’s time we took the advice of the little fellow.”
“Reyes?”
“Yes, Reyes. You hardly speak to him anymore. He’s smart and knows more about the ship than the both of us combined. Besides, he might want to be included in the escape.”
I fell quiet. Her smile dropped.
“Tell me you didn’t expect to leave him behind, did you? Edmund…”
“He’s a boy, Constantine!”
“Exactly, he’s a child! He will die under Kidd’s reign. There’s no debating it—he’s coming with us. And he could be of more use to us than you might expect. You must give him a chance. From what he tells me, he’s the reason you’re not still locked down in that cargo hold.”
I rolled my eyes but nodded, “Alright. But, I’m not goin’ out of my way to save him. You and I are escapin’ this way. After that, Reyes can find somewhere else to wander.”
I peeked out towards the blood-splattered deck behind us. Among a handful of standing prisoners was Reyes, knee deep in corpses. For a moment, I could’ve sworn he caught my eyes. He wasn’t trembling or gaging on the smell of gun smoke as most would. He was as rigid as a tree, planted firm in the death before him. He stared down his captors with venom and fury in his veins. This was one was different. This one was fearless as hell.
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We had to wait weeks for everything to settle down. There was too much pent-up adrenaline and anger to plan an escape. Kidd had his men working harder than ever to get to Madagascar. Once he started putting the prisoners to work, the progress became very apparent. I even overheard him mention that we might see land in as early as two weeks! Gradually, all these plans we’d made and talked so much about no longer seemed as distant into the future. They were real life. And we’d be living through it all.
I tried hard to find a way to talk to Reyes without seeming suspicious. At first, these new “crewmen” weren’t welcomed in the least but barely tolerated. They still slept in the storage space below but now they could accommodate themselves with hammocks and chests supplied by Kidd himself. They worked well with Kidd’s crew, surprisingly enough. And after a few days, the deadly tension was no more. But even though all was mostly well, I was isolated. Not loyal enough to be with Kidd’s crew. Not rebel enough to be with the Quedagh Merchant’s. My only connection was Constantine. And lately, things hadn’t looked good for her. She was sick, on and off. But, when it came, it’d hit her like a boulder to the chest. She vomited and sometimes couldn’t get out of bed. Those days she’d grow deathly pale and wouldn’t eat or drink. I tried desperately to aid her in whatever way possible, but I’d never seen anything like it before. I was scared out of my mind. Nevertheless, I took her advice to continue our work—most of the time without her.
I closed the door behind me. Kidd was leaving for bed, quite satisfied with the progress we were making. The dawn had drifted in and the crew was leaving for their beds and supper. I made my way down the long wooden stairs to meet the group below. Constantine had been ill all day and had asked to be left alone to bear through it. I looked around to find Reyes. I’d been running the conversation through my mind all day. I was sure he hated me and I needed a way to fight through his fury once we met. Besides, he had good reason; I left his fight for freedom to “join” the enemy. He didn’t talk to me and hardly ever looked my way. I might as well have not been there at all. But, now, it seemed Reyes was the one missing. I turned around to head to the rear of Kidd’s ship. There he was, gazing out at the deep blue waves rippling away from us.
“Reyes,” I began, half surprised.
He said nothing but crossed his arms and eyed me down. “Where is she?” he demanded.
“Constantine is restin’. She has…a headache. She said not to worry about her.”
He called me out immediately. “You lie, white boy.”
I felt the instinct to get defensive. But, I’d get nowhere going this way.
“She’s sick. She’s been sick all day. But, she’ll get better. In the meantime, we need to talk.”
But, Reyes began walking away.
I pulled him back forcefully.
“Look, I understand that you hate my guts and you probably think I’m sort of traitor or whatever the hell you want to call it. But, I’m not workin’ for Kidd. I’m pullin’ information from him about my sister and bloody figurin’ out how we’re goin' to get off of this hellhole.”
He stopped and raised an eyebrow. “We?”
I sighed and let my head fall into my palm. “Constantine has planted a lie in Kidd’s head that could either save us or kill us. Assumin’ the former, she wants you to escape with us to South Africa.”
His eyes lit up and he dropped his mouth in sheer excitement, a small squeal escaping.
I hushed him back down.
“Only if you make yourself useful. That means no more clingin' to Constantine like some lost dog. The more she grows fond of your false helplessness, the bigger responsibility you are to me. Is that clear?”
“That is not true,” he shot back. “Constantine is my friend. She’s only one who speak to me. You are not only one who is miserable.”
I looked in his eyes and, in an instant, felt so foolish. Of course Constantine has had this effect on him. She’s simply wonderful. I shook my head and knelt down to him.
“I’m sorry I abandoned you, Reyes. I promised you we’d get out together and that’s what we’ll do. You’re so strong sometimes I forgot you’re still just a lad.”
Then, I saw him do something so unexpected that I swear a shiver went down my spine. He grinned and all the youth I’d overlooked before flooded back in.
“Bring me to her,” he said.
“Reyes, I don’t think you should—”
“I did not ask. I want to see her. Please.”
I stood back up and watched the last few crewmen retreat underneath the deck before we followed the trail.
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Constantine stayed tucked away in a back corner of the storage space. It gave her just enough privacy to sleep without feeling stared at. Of course, Reyes’s bunk was right beside hers. And he slept with one eye open at all times. He and I both knew how filthy and self-serving sailors were—even the moral ones. The crew were filling in the spaces and digging out any extra food stored away in secret places. But, Reyes and I headed back to her corner. It seemed nothing had changed with her condition. When she saw us approach, she sat up and drew the thin blanket closer to her neck. She was paler than usual. Dark rings hung under her eyes from obvious restlessness. She slid a bucket behind her trunk and looked down.
“Love,” I moved to her and tried to touch her face but she pulled away.
“Don’t, Edmund. I can’t risk you falling ill either.”
My heart sank.
Reyes stepped closer and Constantine shot a look at me. She whispered to me, “I said not to—”
“Constantine?” His movements were uncertain, slow. Any bit of joy or excitement from before had melted away.
Constantine looked down at him and tried smiling like everything was just normal. “Hey, lad, I’m just not feeling well right now. But, I’ll be better soon—I promise.”
He glared at me suddenly. “You are doctor, si? What is wrong with her?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered, keeping my eyes low. “I haven’t seen this before. I might be some type of disease or reaction.”
“You should know!” he cried, “She looks dead! She looks like…” His voice suddenly died, and a blank stare crossed his eyes as if someone had suddenly sucked all the thoughts away.
“What?” I pressed, “What is it?”
Reyes looked back at Constantine who watched him in sheer desperation just like me. Reyes smiled a bit and turned to me.
“You’re right. I should not be in worry. We should focus on the plan. I have ideas but you must help.” Reyes took a seat near Constantine’s bed and began listing ideas on his fingers like a babe counting reciting the alphabet. Constantine and I looked at each other for a moment. I couldn’t understand it. What suddenly changed in Reyes?
“We could try to slip away from Kidd’s crew one night once we land,” he suggested.
“Won’t work. Kidd usually has eyes on me at every moment. And once we get there, he’ll have a death grip on Constantine until he gets his prize.”
Constantine looked at me with a sudden glaze over her eyes. Then, she leaned over her bed, pulled out her bucket, and vomited. I rushed over to her and comforted her trembling back. After coughing the last bits up, she sat back up and let her hair fall and cover her face. We were all quiet, watching her.
But, then she said in a soft, weak voice, “Maybe there’s another way. When I spent all that time tracking down my father, I learned a lot about his crew in particular. They never once had huge disputes like other crews. And I knew this only could’ve been because of my father’s wealth and skill. They got paid. They were happy.”
“How does that help us?” Reyes replied.
Constantine glared, a bit of flame in her belly battling the sickness.
“Have you two ever even considered the possibility that our escape plan has already been laid out for us? I haven’t been here as long as you two have, but I know what a happy crew looks like. And this…”, she gestured to the men around us, “This is nothing but a disaster waiting to begin.”
“She’s right.” My eyes suddenly opened just a bit wider. I couldn’t believe I’d been so blind! “This small bit of the crew hates Kidd, if not fearin' him. When Kidd found out the Quedagh Merchant was English owned, he tried to sell it off. But, his crew refused. They said he hadn’t captured a ship in a very long time.”
“He’s ruined!” Reyes squealed.
“Metaphorically speakin’, but yes.”
“But…what does that mean for us?” he asked.
Constantine and I shared a knowing look. She smiled teasingly.
“It means we don’t have to do all the fighting, Reyes.” She pointed out to the crew leaving for food and rum, and she smirked. “They will.”
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