Is This The End, My Ship Wrecked Friends?

The Beer and Flies vessel was out firing the Skull and Bones Boys, laying down covering fire for the rescue crew on board the enemy ship. 

‘Come on, this way,’ said Jay, ‘and take that with you!’ pointing to the box of ammunition we were sheltering behind.

Scott and I picked up the box of ammunition, keeping our heads down as we followed Jay who was spraying bullets across the deck of the ship.  We ran up the steps into the ship’s bridge, Jay leading the way firing continuously. 

By the time Scott and I got into the bridge sweating from the weight of the ammo box, there were two dead bodies, one hunched over the controls, one on the floor; neither of which was Jay.

 

***

 

Back on board the Beer and Flies, Ziv was watching the radar carefully, ‘Captain, they’re making a run for it,’ he said. 

‘What do you mean?  Where to?’ asked the Captain. 

‘They lowered a speed boat down the other side of their hull, they’re just pulling away now,’ replied Ziv.  

‘Right, get on the telecoms, radio Jay, tell his team to save Nicole and sink their vessel at any cost, then meet us back at the bar.’ said the Captain.

‘Aye Aye, Sir!’ said Ziv. 

 

***

 

The radio crackled, Jay answered. 

‘Yep, no problems,’ said Jay, ‘see you back at the bar… and oh yea, Captain, I nearly forgot, happy hunting!’

‘What’s going on?’ I asked, trying not to freak out. 

The Skull and Bones Boys have made a run for it,’ replied Jay, looking out the bridge window, ‘you see there!’ he laughed, pointing out the window, looks like we got their ship to ourselves.’

 

And there, out the window, you could see the Skull and Bones Boys fleeing in a speedboat, ‘but wait,’ I said, ‘isn’t that our lifeboat tied up behind their speed boat?’

‘No time to worry about that!’ said Scott, ‘you, Rik, come with me, we’re going to rescue the damsel in distress.’

‘What about Jay?’ I asked.

‘Oh, I’ve got a little job to do,’ said Jay, grinning from ear to ear…

 

***

 

‘Ready on that gun, Brandon?’ the Captain said through the intercom. 

‘Just tell me when!’ said Brandon, the ship’s gunner, perched up behind the 50 calibre machine gun in his armoured Crow’s Nest.

 

The Beer and Flies vessel’s engines roared, waves rising around the ship.  The speedboat could just be seen up ahead, ‘Don’t take your eyes off them, Ziv.’

Mad Myx walked into the bridge, ‘You reckon we can catch them, Captain?’

‘It depends,’ said the Captain, ‘if they head out to sea they don’t stand a chance, but…’

‘But what?’ said Ziv, looking up from the radar.

‘But…’ said Mad Myx calmly, ‘if they turn into the shore, towards the rocky coast to the North, they might… well, you know.’

‘Might what?’ said Ziv. 

‘They might get away,’ said the Captain flatly.

‘Even if they do,’ said Mad Myx, ‘it shouldn’t be too hard to find them, and without their ship, they don’t pose an immediate threat.’

‘Well, let’s hope they head out to sea then!’ said Ziv. 

 

***

 

Following Scott across the deck of the Skull and Bones Boys ship, slipping on the blood that pooled on the floor, we raced down into the hull of the ship.  

‘Wait, slowly now, careful, it could be a trap,’ said Scott, pointing a Desert Eagle handgun cautiously through the doorway. 

‘Okay, it’s safe, just stay behind me though,’ continued Scott, walking slowly down the corridor.

‘Absolutely, no worries,’ I said. 

‘In here, I hear something,’ said Scott, pointing towards a bulkhead door.

Scott opened the door, and we peered around the corner, ‘There!’ he said, ‘Hey Nicole, we’re here, we’re here to save you!’

 

We walked into the room and there, tied to a chair with tape around her mouth was a woman, wriggling in the chair, trying to speak through the tape.

‘Well, she’s cute,’ said Scott.

‘But that ain’t Nicole,’ I replied.

‘Oh well, we’re here to save a damsel, and she looks like a damsel to me…’ said Scott.

 

Quickly Scott untied her, ‘Get that tape off her mouth!’ he said. 

I gingerly pulled it off, as the poor woman grimaced. 

‘Who are you,’ said Scott, once the tape was off.

‘I’m Jennifer, from the hotel, I do some waitering, and sometimes work behind the bar!’ she said.

‘Oh, yea, I didn’t recognise you!’ said Scott. 

‘Are you guys from that band?’ asked Jennifer, standing up, stretching her arms.

‘No time to explain I’m afraid,’ said Scott, ‘we really need to get off this ship!’

 

***  

 

Running up the stairs back to the deck, Scott, Jennifer and I arrived just in time to see Jay jumping down from the bridge, ‘Time to go!’ he said, before leaping over the side of the Skull and Bones Boys ship into the sea.  

‘I think he’s serious,’ said Scott, winking at Jennifer and I who were looking incredulously at each other.  

‘Come on, really,’ said Scott, taking our arms and dragging us towards the side of the ship, ‘Over we go!’ he said, pushing us overboard.

As I landed in the water I looked up to see Scott leaping in behind us.  

‘Quickly, now, come on, swim!’ said Jay, ‘that ship’s going to Davy Jones’ locker!’

 

We all paddled frantically away from the ship, Jennifer and I realising there was no time for any more questions.  

 

We had gotten about a 100 metres from the ship, and our best doggy paddle was slowing down; we were already exhausted.  Jay turned around, ‘Right about now!’ he said, laughing, treading water, ‘Watch!’

 

As we turned, the gigantic explosion rippled across the water, hitting us like a sonic boom, and then the whole Skull and Bones Boys ship went up in a huge ball of fire, making a perfect mushroom shaped plume of smoke above it that stretched up hundreds of feet into the air.

 

‘Holy Moly!’ said Scott, ‘how much ammunition did they have?’

‘Not just ammunition guys, that box was full of explosives, high grade military ones too!’ replied Jay, chuckling to himself.

‘The coast guard will see that from miles away!’ I said. 

‘That’s why we better get swimming,’ said Jay, ‘come on!’

‘You know there’s Great White Sharks in these waters!’ said Jennifer, ‘so you shouldn’t paddle too hard or it’ll attract them.’

‘Okay, guys,’ said Jay, looking around the waters, ‘let’s float to shore then.’

The shore was at least 10 miles away, we could hardly see it in fact…

 

***

 

Floating gradually along on our backs we let the tide drift us towards the shore, making no progress at all, but trying not to attract the Great White sharks that were somewhere in the depths beneath.  The sun was hot, and we were beginning to get burnt.

 

‘This isn’t looking good is it?’ I asked cautiously. 

‘Buck up, old boy,’ said Scott, ‘it could be worse,’ he said. 

‘How?’ said Jennifer indignantly. 

‘Well, we could’ve been on that ship for a start,’ said Scott. 

‘Have a little faith, guys,’ said Jay, diplomatically.

‘Uh, guys, I think that’s a shark fin over there!’ said Jennifer. 

‘Are you sure?’ said Jay.

‘Yea, one hundred percent,’ said Jennifer, ‘the red flags were on the beach this morning, which means that the sharks are in the bay…’

‘Ok…’ said Scott, ‘any suggestions guys?’

***  

 

Then, just when it really did seem hopeless, we heard the light humming of an engine, slowly getting louder.  Turning towards land and the Gold Coast, off our backs, feet flapping in the water beneath, we saw what looked like a Jetski coming towards us from the shore.

  

‘That better not be the Skull and Bones Boys,’ said Jay, ‘otherwise this could get pretty tricky, you know, having blown up their ship and all!’

‘I don’t think it’s them,’ said Scott, laughing, as the Jet ski came into view. 

 

There was Nicole, at the controls of the Jet ski, her summer dress flapping in the wind, and behind her, attached to the back of the Jet ski was a huge, inflatable banana boat.  

‘Hey guys, you need a lift?’ asked Nicole as she turned off the engine and drifted up towards us in the choppy ocean.

***