S. Welles - To Ocean's End

We spent a few days in Port Chesapeake getting a new Harpy, which we christened with a shot of liquor, dubbed it the “Harpy II”, and ruined a few buoys for kicks. The thing fired great. Maybe I’d get a whale flounder with the Harpy II someday. Wasn’t gonna hold my breath, though. Chances were, if I ever saw one again, Jessie’d be there to beg me not to shoot it.

We arrived in San Juan another week later and actually made money. Sauna talked about our speed bump in Newport without telling the whole truth, and our business associate admired our kindness and bravery. I gave Sauna a bonus for that, and he got us another shipment to Revivre, which I’d been hoping for. My heart was set on having one of Milud’s burgers to celebrate my pure human status.

Life settled back to normal on the Pertinacious as we crossed the Atlantic. We had a minor run-in with young and stupid black market mercenaries right out of San Juan. Scully sank their ship with one beautiful shot with the Harpy II. We yawned while their taunts turned to pleas. Since land was still in sight, I decided to let the mercs swim to safety and we began our charter to Revivre in earnest. The rest of the two-week trip saw no worse than stretches of rough seas.

My crew trained and whatnot during the day, Jacobi started being kind to Jessie, and sea life still flocked to her if she spent time on deck. I tried calling water to me only once. Nothing happened. It was only a minor disappointment. Magical powers were neat and all, but overrated when they came at the expense of one’s humanity. I’d worked so long to be pure human again. I wasn’t about to ruin the enjoyment of finally obtaining that.

We threw the lines in Revivre one hot afternoon, got all our business done, then dispersed all over the city. Sam, Cancer, and O’Toole stayed back while the rest of us got in a couple days of rest and relaxation. I headed straight for Milud’s burger joint, had my pick of seats available, and chose my favorite spot on the end. Milud was pleasantly surprised to see me again so soon, compared to my annual visits. He noticed my grey hairs coming in, but was more interested in my scars.

“How the heck did you get all those?”

“Long story.” I took a sip from my tall, frosty mug of beer.

“Well start talking. Your dinner is gonna be a few minutes.”

“We ran into trouble again.” Like he’d believe the truth. I had no intention of sounding like some lunatic who liked to make up fantastical stories. Wasn’t gonna lie either.

“You didn’t happen to be in Newport, Rhode Island when it got attacked, did you? A few of those look like bite marks.” He pointed at my jawline.

I sat up straighter. “You heard about that?”

“It made world news. Everyone has. Monsters razed the town and a tsunami wiped it away, and two great mythical beasts battled on the horizon.” He set a few newspaper clippings in front of me on the counter. All of them were pictures of the devastation left in the wake of everything that happened. My ship was in a couple of the shots. Oh, boy.

“That was not a fun day.”

“But you survived to tell the tale. I’ll hold your burger until you start talking if I have to,” he said with a smile.

“Fine.” I recanted the day in maybe a minute, leaving out everything curse-related. Milud was fascinated by it all, but looked like he didn’t know what to believe by the end of my telling. That was fine with me. He soon set my meal on the counter so it looked like my burger was smiling back at me.

“Now let’s see if you can make it through this meal without interruptions.” He put his fists on his hips.

I inhaled the lovely bouquet of scents. “Despite the Newport stuff, I believe my luck has changed. I think I finally will.” I picked up the carefully-assembled meal of juicy goodness and admired the layers of meat, cheese, vegetables, and condiments looking so fresh and tasty. “But if I get interrupted, I just might cry.”

“I’ll find you some tissues if it happens.”

I took my first bite and savored every last morsel going down. If my luck proved to have changed for real, I might start having Mido make me cheeseburgers for dinner every night, until I got sick of them—if such a thing was possible. I opened my mouth for the next bite of heaven…

“Why if it isn’t Captain Dyne Lavere,” a sensual female voice said.

… and stopped with my mouth still open. A woman with lovely red curls appeared beside me, her breasts ready to fall out of her dress. “Delilah!”

“Hello, Captain.”

“Have the day off?” As far as interruptions went, this wasn’t bad so far. I took another bite while keeping my gaze on Delilah.

“Not a chance, which is why I came looking for you. That handsome bronze man in your crew showed up, which meant you had to be nearby. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again. The bronze one is great with us, but not as great as you.”

“Need me to teach him a few things?”

She stepped inside my personal space, her mesmerizing breasts, brushing against my shoulder. “I have something better in mind.” She ran a hand through my hair, then stood behind me and took the burger from my grip. She pushed her breasts agains the back of my head, which she tilted back, then brought the burger to my mouth and let me take a bite. Somehow the best meal on earth suddenly tasted even better.

“Milud…”

He held out a to-go bag with my steak fries already in it. He gave me a friendly wink. “Bring the mug back when you’re done. I trust you.”

I stuck my burger on top of the fries, then carried my beer and meal in one hand, and escorted Delilah to our favorite hotel with my free arm. Burger, beer, and boobs. Great combination. Best interruption of my life.

One the morning of the second and final day of my vacation with Delilah, we lay together in bed, just enjoying each other’s warmth and company. Being with her had distracted my thinking mode, but this morning I was deep in thought.

“What’s on your mind, Captain?”

“Lots of things,” I said offhandedly. I couldn’t go into detail with her. The truth behind my longevity and everything that went with it would hopefully die with me and my current crew.

“Like…?”

“Any new rumors about me and this curse thing?”

“Actually there is.” She started stroking my bare chest. “Now we both know you were in Newport, Rhode Island that day. Some say you were the one who called forth the sea monsters and the tidal wave. Others say you transformed into a mythical monster and dueled another, then you spirited some locals to your ship so there’d be survivors to tell the tale.” She paused in her stroking and looked me in the eyes. “I’ve seen the pictures and I see your scars. This is a very strange tale.”

“It was a very strange and rough day.”

“What? Not gonna tell me what really happened?”

“I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you the truth.”

“Well what is the truth?” She settled her head back on my shoulder and resumed stroking my chest, tracing one of my many scars now and then.

“Besides what you can see in those pictures and glean from all my lovely scars, the truth is I can’t turn into some giant monster and summon tidal waves, but I think you already knew that. We’ve covered what my curse really is.” Her gentle, skilled hands were turning me back on.

“Yes we have.” She reached under the sheets and I went hard. She began stroking me anew, then paused. “What’s wrong? You still look so serious.”

I took her in my arms and rolled on top of her, but didn’t enter her. Instead I cradled her in my arms and ran my fingers through her amazing hair. “Do you ever fall in love with any of your clients?”