Chapter 38 Captain In Command
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Captain In Command
Davin
The injured lay scattered across the deck, some sitting against the rails, others laid out on makeshift cots with little space left to walk between. The healers ran to and fro, using what supplies they could gather, as they were not equipped to handle so many passengers at one time.
Davin took in the devastation around him, his mind having trouble accepting what had unfolded that day.
Thank Maura, the attack had happened in daylight.
He couldn’t imagine searching for survivors in the black of night.
How does something like this happen? Cirein-cròin didn’t exist; they weren’t real.
They were simply beasts from the tales parents told their children to keep them out of the water.
But clearly, they were real and he had injured or possibly even killed one.
His own injuries pulsed with pain, as if to remind him of that reality.
Scrubbing a hand down his face, he set off in search of Captain McConnell.
Davin found him a short time later, talking with a few of his men, barking orders out in his gruff fatherly way.
He cared for his crew and his passengers.
His rough exterior hid his big heart. Today’s events were evident in the lines of his face and in the set of his shoulders.
Watching the men depart, Davin made his way over to the Captain, staring out over the water, looking back towards the wreckage of the M.M.S. Iris.
“What a fuckin’ mess.” McConnell sighed, leaning heavily on the railing.
Davin grunted in response, letting the silence stretch between them. Several minutes ticked by before he finally spoke.
“Did you know those things existed?”
McConnell’s gaze met his. “I didn’t. In all me years on these waters, I’ve never seen nothin’ like that thing.”
“Do you think it will return?”
“I hope not, son. We’ve no chance of out runnin’ it.
We’re too heavy now with all the additional patients.
‘Sides, we’ve no weapons left on board.” Running his hand down his beard, he straightened.
“I’ve got patrols lined up fer the remainder of our journey.
If there’s a sightin’, we’ll do whatever needs to be done to stop it again. ”
“Put me on the roster for the watches. I’ll do what I can to help.”
McConnell chuckled, shaking his head. “Still the overachiever, huh? You’ve done enough Monroe. What ye need to do is get some rest. Tend to yer own injuries and to yer girl. She’s a spunky one, she is. Ye’ve definitely found yer match.”
“It’s not what you think. She’s not exactly “my girl”. Just a new friend is all.”
McConnell’s kind smile lit his face, the look revealing just how much of that he believed. “You deserve to be happy, lad.” Clapping Davin on the back, he turned, calling back over his shoulder.
“Get some sleep, son. I’ll send fer ya if I need yer assistance.” With that, he left Davin alone with his thoughts.
Heading back the way he had come, Davin scanned each of the cots, searching for the now familiar mop of brown hair.
After several minutes of searching, he found the small boy, curled up in a healer’s lap, tears streaking down his little face.
Davin strode over, pausing just next to his cot.
Fresh bandages wrapped his arm, a sling supporting it against his small chest. The boy looked up at Davin with watery blue eyes.
“What’s wrong, little buddy?” he asked, squatting down to be eye level with him. Sniffling, the little boy whimpered, burying his face in the healer’s chest yet again.
“Physically, he is ok. His arm is broken, and he has a few bruises, but he will recover. However, we have been unable to locate his father.” The healer kept her voice soothing, running her hand up and down the little one’s back.
“Do you know your father’s name?” Davin asked the child, glancing out across the sea of injured passengers. The little boy wiped his nose across the healer’s shirt, nodding his head.
“It’s…It’s…D..Dav..David.” His voice broke as he stuttered out his father’s name.
“Ok, little buddy. Let me go and see if I can find your Pa. I will be back shortly.”
The boy sniffled again, but hope filled his eyes as he looked up at Davin. Reaching down, Davin tousled his hair. “Be good for Miss..?” He lifted his eyes to the healer, the question hanging in the air between them.
“Oh, Miss Hannah. It’s Hannah.” She stammered, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
“Be good for Miss Hannah.” Davin smiled before addressing the healer once again. “I’ll be back in a few. Thank you for looking out for him.”
“Of course. It’s no problem at all.” She shrugged, shifting the little boy's weight on her lap.
Davin spent the next hour searching every cot that contained a man matching the description of the one he had seen on the deck of the M.M.S.
Iris with the little boy just hours earlier.
There was no sign of him. No healer that Davin stopped to ask had seen him either.
He was afraid that the boy’s father had been one of the lost. He still needed to check the infirmary below deck.
If he had been severely injured in the attack, they would have moved him to a more sterile location.
He also wanted to check in on Alex. He couldn’t trust that she was actually where he’d left her.
Knowing her, she was probably trying to help the healers with the other patients in the infirmary.
Davin swore she did it just to get a rise out of him; to prove to him that she could and would do whatever she wanted.
He descended the last set of stairs into the infirmary.
He was so lost in thought that he almost slammed into Janice, the healer with the salt and pepper hair who had initially treated Alex.
“Excuse me. I am incredibly sorry.” She said as she hurriedly sidestepped him.
Davin could see her exhaustion. She hadn’t stopped since he had come aboard and he highly doubted that she would with the amount of injured now needing care.
“No problem, ma’am. I actually needed to speak with you, if you have a minute.”
She looked up, finally realizing who she had bumped into. “Oh, Captain Monroe. How are you?” She asked as she scanned his body for injuries, making a tsking noise at what she saw. “You need to let me tend your wounds.”
Sighing, he dipped his head, indicating that she should lead. She led him to a space a little way down the hall, lined with curtained off beds. Healers darted from cot to cot, tending to the wounded. Moans and crying peppered the air.
“I don’t have a bed for you, but I can clean you up here if you would like, or we can use your wife’s room, if you would like more privacy?”
“I need to check in on Alex anyway, so we can just do it there.” He scanned the area, trying to see into each bed. “But I do have a favor to ask. Have you happened upon a gentleman, around my age, dark brown hair? Goes by the name David.”
Janice tilted her head, considering what he had asked before gesturing to a curtained off cot across the room.
“I do believe that we have a man by that name down here. He had a decent sized gash in his leg and had taken on quite a bit of water. He seems ok for now, but hasn’t regained consciousness yet. Why do you ask?”
Relief flooded Davin. He only hoped that it was the man he was searching for. “He has a son, up on the main deck. May I see if it is the same gentleman?”
Uncertainty marred Janice’s face before she straightened her shoulders. “I will speak with the healer in charge of his care to attempt to verify if he is the same man you are seeking. I will just be a moment.”
Davin watched as she walked away, disappearing behind the curtain.
Leaning his back against the wall, he waited.
His body felt heavy, his various injuries throbbing and weariness clouded his mind.
The weight of everything he had done, had seen, curdled in his stomach. So many had lost their lives today.
Alex could have been one of them. If she had only listened, then she wouldn’t be laid up in that bed down the hall.
If she had allowed him to make that supply run, she never would’ve been attacked to start with.
If she had followed orders and stayed in bed during the beast attack, he wouldn’t have had to carry her, half-naked and bleeding, back to her cabin, to be re-bandaged for a third time in just as many days.
The thought of all those men on board seeing her naked ass on display while she pulled citizen after citizen up that ladder… a growl emanated from his chest.
“I do hope that growl wasn’t intended for me, Captain,” Janice said, looking up at him.
Shaking his head, Davin couldn’t help but smile. “No ma’am. I was just lost in thought, is all.”
“Well, then, I will be happy to ease some of your stress. That is the man you were searching for. Once he wakes, we will send a healer to bring his son to him since he cannot be moved.”
Davin’s smile widened, some of the weight lifting off his shoulders. “Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you. The boy should be with a healer named Hannah up on the main deck.”
“Give me just a moment and then I will see to your injuries.” She turned and walked away without waiting for his response. Still smiling, he headed down the short hall, stopping just outside of Alex’s cabin. Lifting his hand, he rapped on the door.
“Come in.” Alex’s muffled voice came from inside.
Thank Fari. She had actually listened this time.
He didn’t have the energy to chase her down tonight.
He pushed the door open to find Alex sitting up in bed, a book in her hand.
He assumed that she must have stashed it in her pack that the nurses had brought in earlier.
Unfamiliar with the title, it looked to be well worn and loved, as if a thousand hands had thumbed through its pages.
“Let me guess. One thousand ways to kill a man.” He said, drawing closer.