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Sequel: Rising Shadows ›
Blurred Horizons
Chapter Five
Ben was buried shoulder deep in wiring when he heard a short bellow of pain. He jumped, banging his head and getting tangled in the wires.
"Bloody hell!" Ben grumbled. He was attempting to pull his arm free when Doc came thundering down the stairs.
"Ben, there's an incident-"
"Yes, yes I am aware. Give me a moment, please. I'm a bit tied up."
Doc looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but was enough of a gentleman to refrain from doing so. Ben finally managed to untangle his arm and followed Doc up to the deck. A couple of the younger crew members had gotten into a scuffle, it seemed. One was rolling about on the deck groaning while a few of the men held the second boy back. Ivan was standing between the two, and gave Ben a sheepish look as he approached.
"I punched him," he said, gesturing to the moaning pirate. "I know it's not your preferred method of breaking up brawls but they was about to kill each other."
"No it's quite all right, Ivan, thank you." Ben did a double take as Ivan turned away. There was another fresh gash across his cheek and some bruising along his arms that Ben hadn't noticed before. Ben instructed Doc to patch up the two fighters and then had the one who started it locked in the brig for the night and the other was assigned to help Cook in the galley. No one seemed sure which was the worse punishment.
Ben glanced again at the wound on Ivan's face; a wound that should not exist; and he thought of Scarlett's strange behavior as of late, and he felt the knot of worry that had begun to form in his gut grow larger. Something was wrong. He was terrified that the mysterious appearance of wounds on his immortal crew's bodies and Scarlett's apparent distress were connected. And if they were, then that could very well mean that soon Scarlett would end up like Donovan.
The thought wasn't one Ben cared to entertain. It made him feel like someone had punched a hole through his chest and was squeezing his heart into dust. He felt at once hopelessly puzzled and quite useless. They were not feelings that he experienced often, and he didn't care for them one bit. He returned to the captain's cabin, where he found Scarlett napping. Even in sleep she looked troubled, tossing and turning fitfully. While it was almost always difficult to rouse her in the morning, she rarely slept in the middle of the day. Ben sat at the desk, watching her with concern.
Everything had been perfect not too long ago. Just a mere month before they had been happily exploring the Caribbean and enjoying each other's company. Now suddenly the world seemed to be steadily unraveling around them. Ben had the distinct impression that Scarlett was keeping something from him and while he was never one to push her into anything, he desperately wanted to help her.
Since he didn't feel waking her up and pestering her for answers seemed like a wise course of action, he busied himself rooting around the entire ship for anything that needed fixing or cleaning. He needed to do something productive and take his mind off of his increasing anxiety.
Scarlett awoke early in the evening, finding Ben sitting at her desk wearing a ridiculous looking pair of magnifying goggles so that he could piece back together a clock that had been frozen at 10:32 for almost as long as she could remember. Ben startled when he heard her call his name softly and spun around in the chair.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked, her face taking up his entire line of sight because he's forgotten to take the goggles off. Scarlett's lips puckered in amusement.
"You look ludicrous in those things, Benjamin. You look like a very handsome fish."
Ben supposed her condition had improved, at least for the moment. He smirked and went to perch beside her on the bed. He cocked his head and she tried to hide a giggle.
"A handsome fish, you say?" Ben leaned forward and made a fish face at her, trying to kiss her.
"Ben stop it," she laughed, trying to scoot away. "I can't take you seriously in those damn goggles."
He was glad to hear her laughing again and he pinned her against the pillows and started planting fish faced kisses all over her face while she squirmed and tried to scold him through her giggles. Finally Ben relented and took the goggles off, smiling as he pulled her against him. She rested her head on his shoulder and they just sat like that for a while until she fell asleep again. As night fell in earnest, Ben felt that something was off. He glanced around the cabin and realized that it was dimmer than usual. With the presence of the amulet in its glass case, the room was filled with a soft light even at night.
He sat up a little straighter and looked toward the case. Yes, the glow was decidedly less bright than it used to be. He didn't know what that meant, but it couldn't be anything good. His arm tightened around Scarlett, and he rested his head against hers, catching a whiff of the Parisian perfume she liked to wear. He didn't know just then what else to do, and so he just held Scarlett close and didn't once let go of her all night. He intended never to let her go.
"Bloody hell!" Ben grumbled. He was attempting to pull his arm free when Doc came thundering down the stairs.
"Ben, there's an incident-"
"Yes, yes I am aware. Give me a moment, please. I'm a bit tied up."
Doc looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but was enough of a gentleman to refrain from doing so. Ben finally managed to untangle his arm and followed Doc up to the deck. A couple of the younger crew members had gotten into a scuffle, it seemed. One was rolling about on the deck groaning while a few of the men held the second boy back. Ivan was standing between the two, and gave Ben a sheepish look as he approached.
"I punched him," he said, gesturing to the moaning pirate. "I know it's not your preferred method of breaking up brawls but they was about to kill each other."
"No it's quite all right, Ivan, thank you." Ben did a double take as Ivan turned away. There was another fresh gash across his cheek and some bruising along his arms that Ben hadn't noticed before. Ben instructed Doc to patch up the two fighters and then had the one who started it locked in the brig for the night and the other was assigned to help Cook in the galley. No one seemed sure which was the worse punishment.
Ben glanced again at the wound on Ivan's face; a wound that should not exist; and he thought of Scarlett's strange behavior as of late, and he felt the knot of worry that had begun to form in his gut grow larger. Something was wrong. He was terrified that the mysterious appearance of wounds on his immortal crew's bodies and Scarlett's apparent distress were connected. And if they were, then that could very well mean that soon Scarlett would end up like Donovan.
The thought wasn't one Ben cared to entertain. It made him feel like someone had punched a hole through his chest and was squeezing his heart into dust. He felt at once hopelessly puzzled and quite useless. They were not feelings that he experienced often, and he didn't care for them one bit. He returned to the captain's cabin, where he found Scarlett napping. Even in sleep she looked troubled, tossing and turning fitfully. While it was almost always difficult to rouse her in the morning, she rarely slept in the middle of the day. Ben sat at the desk, watching her with concern.
Everything had been perfect not too long ago. Just a mere month before they had been happily exploring the Caribbean and enjoying each other's company. Now suddenly the world seemed to be steadily unraveling around them. Ben had the distinct impression that Scarlett was keeping something from him and while he was never one to push her into anything, he desperately wanted to help her.
Since he didn't feel waking her up and pestering her for answers seemed like a wise course of action, he busied himself rooting around the entire ship for anything that needed fixing or cleaning. He needed to do something productive and take his mind off of his increasing anxiety.
Scarlett awoke early in the evening, finding Ben sitting at her desk wearing a ridiculous looking pair of magnifying goggles so that he could piece back together a clock that had been frozen at 10:32 for almost as long as she could remember. Ben startled when he heard her call his name softly and spun around in the chair.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked, her face taking up his entire line of sight because he's forgotten to take the goggles off. Scarlett's lips puckered in amusement.
"You look ludicrous in those things, Benjamin. You look like a very handsome fish."
Ben supposed her condition had improved, at least for the moment. He smirked and went to perch beside her on the bed. He cocked his head and she tried to hide a giggle.
"A handsome fish, you say?" Ben leaned forward and made a fish face at her, trying to kiss her.
"Ben stop it," she laughed, trying to scoot away. "I can't take you seriously in those damn goggles."
He was glad to hear her laughing again and he pinned her against the pillows and started planting fish faced kisses all over her face while she squirmed and tried to scold him through her giggles. Finally Ben relented and took the goggles off, smiling as he pulled her against him. She rested her head on his shoulder and they just sat like that for a while until she fell asleep again. As night fell in earnest, Ben felt that something was off. He glanced around the cabin and realized that it was dimmer than usual. With the presence of the amulet in its glass case, the room was filled with a soft light even at night.
He sat up a little straighter and looked toward the case. Yes, the glow was decidedly less bright than it used to be. He didn't know what that meant, but it couldn't be anything good. His arm tightened around Scarlett, and he rested his head against hers, catching a whiff of the Parisian perfume she liked to wear. He didn't know just then what else to do, and so he just held Scarlett close and didn't once let go of her all night. He intended never to let her go.