Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2012 12:50:45 +0530
From: Samantha Samarasinghe <ss.surene@gmail.com>
Subject: Serenity of the Sea Chapter 4

For the people who have ACCIDENTLY come across this chapter and are too
young to read it or are in the country whose law makes it illegal to read
it. Stop It And Move Elsewhere.. but I cant stop you so if you do read
it... I hope you enjoy it.

.....if you have any feedbacks...that does not contain anything negative
(yes, I've changed it.) (Keep thinking about the number of letters James
Cameron must have received when Avatar was released....).... Let me
know... I'll try to answer all your emails within a day (if I do get more
than one email *I GOT MORE THAN ONE EMAIL HORRAY!!!!*)

Email -      ss.surene@gmail.com

Proverb - He who teaches art should also teach how to wash brushes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Where I left you off........)

The door creaked open. The light fell gracefully on Chris' strained
features. A hand reached in and grabbed his ankle and pulled him out the
door. More light fell upon Chris' half naked body but he didn't even open
an eye. His arms moved back behind and over his head and finally his hand
was the last to leave the blackness behind.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4 - Slave of the Sea

Chris' head was spinning. He thought the stars in front of him were real
for they burned into his mind like mini fireballs. He opened his eyes but
the brightness surrounding him made him close them again. He tried once
more finally getting used to the light but it took a while to focus
them. He was looking directly into a light.

I'm still alive, he thought. Chris brought his arms up to his face. All he
saw was the usual traces of dirt but not a trace of blood. Looking around,
he found himself on the floor. He proceeded to pull himself upwards and
found that his neck was stiff and so were parts of his back. He must have
been sleeping. Chris shook the stars out of his head and started to look
around but his eyes fell directly on to a pair of hideous feet in
sandals. Following the legs upwards, he saw that they belonged to a pirate
in a worse state of dress than the one who first held the gun up to him and
he was reeking of a variety of smells that he didn't want to even start
guessing what they were. The pirate roughly pulled him to his feet and
pushed him towards a corner in what looked like another cabin. There was a
bucket of water and a hole next to it. A hole which had just as bad a smell
coming from it as was coming from the man behind him. The pirate turned
around and left the cabin leaving Chris alone in the room. He looked in the
bucket and, surprisingly, it was clean. Salt water?, thought Chris. He
splashed his face with the water. There was no stinging in his eyes. It
seemed it was fresh water. Thirsty as he was, he didn't want to risk it. He
continued to wash his face and felt refreshed. He looked down and saw that
he had the now dirty water dripping down his chest. Chris removed his
trousers and kept them to the side and started splashing more water over
himself. His body was sending him signals of joy that at the moment
balanced out the pain in his head. He used half the water to scrub every
part and crevice of his body. Chris moved to the hole and pointed his tool
at it again and let the stream flow. The last time I emptied my bladder,
thought Chris, there was nothing wrong with the world. He used the last of
the water to wash himself again. Chris couldn't find a cloth anywhere and
had no choice but to air dry. He went over to where his trousers were and
put them on. He didn't want that brute barging in on him in this state. The
trousers got wet and clung to his skin but at least he felt covered up.

How right he was, for at that very moment of securely tying the knots, the
door opened again and the pirate, with the help of his gun, pointed at
Chris and then out the door. Chris dropped his head and shoulders and went
through the door.

Chris was being pushed along and at times nearly tripped over. The pirate
led him to the galley and into the back to a mountain of potatoes. They
were muddy and each the size of a fist. A small knife was tossed towards
Chris and landed right next to his foot. He knew what he had to do. Then a
voice inside his head started saying that if he were brought down here to
peel potatoes then surely there is a possibility that the others must be
alive somewhere! A look of pure happiness spread over Chris' face that he
had something to hold on to but he did not know for sure that they were
indeed alive.

"It's something and at the moment, that's good enough', said Chris to
himself as he picked the first potato. He looked around. There were many
other men in here and most in tattered clothes and all were cooking and
scrubbing the floor. Not one of them were his friends. He looked down at
the potato and then at the knife. He couldn't find the back of the knife
from the blade. Both were the same. So instead of peeling the potatoes, he
started scraping the skin off. This went on for many hours and after much
sweating and aching joints, Chris looked back up to the mountain of
potatoes but they didn't seem to have changed a bit.

Chris was still worried about his friends but there was still nothing he
could do. All day the cooks came, took a bucket load of peeled potatoes and
left. Though some were staring at him in a strange way. Chris did not like
the look in their eyes. Almost lustful. But they kept their distance and
their hands only had contact with the buckets of potatoes.

The sounds of the waves seemed to grow louder and the ship was rocking more
than normal threatening to cause an avalanche of potatoes to fall on him.
The blisters on his hands were very painful now and the swaying motion made
it difficult for him to stay on the stool he was sitting on. Chris did not
have any window to look out of but he was sure that the sea was indeed
getting rough. A cook came and pulled him to his feet and led him to a
corner where a plate of rice and boiled potatoes were waiting for him.
Chris hadn't realized how hungry he was and and licked the plate clean. He
remembered that this was his second meal in two days. He wasn't sure how
the others were faring but he was hoping they were at least getting fed
like he was.

The plate suddenly moved an inch to the right before shooting back an inch
to the left. Chris heard sounds around the kitchen now. Things were rolling
off the table and falling to the floor. Just then he started hearing the
sound of rain hitting the other side of the wall he was near. It started as
a gentle tapping of rain and then the sound increased ten-fold. Chris was
sure of it. There was a storm outside. The boat was rocking from side to
side quite heavily now. Potatoes, turnips and onions were rolling all over
the place and the cooks were running around trying to pick them up. Some
were shouting at Chris and he understood he was to do the same. He got up
and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the sudden growling of
thunder and it was loud. He grabbed an empty bucket and began putting
anything he could get his hands on into it. Another crash of thunder. The
door opened and a pirate yelled orders to the cooks and they all went out
the door leaving Chris alone. He knew that his chance had come. He
cautiously up to the door and looked out. There was no one in sight. Chris
made his way out. Chris took two steps forward and then stopped. He quickly
turned around and went back to the galley remembering something. It took
him a while but he finally found what he was looking for. The knife. It
wasn't the sharpest thing in the world but it may be useful.

Chris went out the door again and then into the corridor. The ship was now
being rocked from left to right quite violently. The corridor was empty and
he hoped it would stay this way. Simon has to be somewhere around here, he
thought. Chris started opening every door he came to very carefully and
peered in hoping to find his brother. At last he came to the very last door
before the staircase that led up to the deck. He opened it a crack and
looked in. Chris saw his brother! But he was naked, bound and gagged lying
on the floor. He ran over to him and helped him up by the shoulders. There
was fear in his eyes but, thankfully, not a bruise on his body. He removed
the gag from Simon's mouth.

"Chris! Chris! Thank God!!! You're here!" shouted Simon before Chris put
his hand over the younger boy's mouth.

"Shhh! Don't shout. They might hear you. Don't worry now, I'm here now"
whispered Chris while looking back at the door hoping no one had heard his
brother. The door stayed close. The howling wind outside must have drowned
out the shouting. They were safe. At least for the moment.

"What happened to you?" asked Chris while looking around to find some
clothes for his brother but there was nothing around.

"After they pulled me out," began Simon in a hushed voice obeying Chris,
"they threw me into a room that had a bucket and a hole. They stripped me
of my clothes and then dumped the cold water over me. It was freezing!
After that they forced me over the hole but I was thankful for that because
I had to go. After I was done they pulled me off it and threw me over their
shoulder and brought me here and tied me up. I have no idea how long they
kept me in here."

"They didn't touch you, right? You don't seem to have any scratches" asked
Chris.

"NO! They didn't! They just kept me here. But I was freezing. I didn't even
have a chance to dry myself. I'll be thankful if I didn't catch a death of
cold." replied Simon.

Chris didn't know what to do. All he had on was a trouser and was thinking
whether to give that to cover up his brother. But then again, it would be
too loose on him. Then an idea struck him. It just might work, he thought.
He removed his trousers and laid it flat on the floor. Simon was thinking
why his brother was getting naked in front of him but then soon understood.
Chris took the knife and cut off the legs of the trouser just above the
knee and then splitting them open he tied a couple of knots here and there
and made a makeshift loin cloth out of it. He held it out to Simon and told
him to put it on. Simon clambered into them and Chris adjusted it so that
it stayed well in place. Just then, they heard the door rattle. Chris
quickly pulled Simon with him towards the door and if it opened they would
be able to hide behind it. Chris and Simon were sweating now in fear. The
door rattle a bit more and then it opened up hiding them behind it. Chris
put a hand over his brother's mouth and pulled him into his body. Simon was
scared but something was tickling the middle of his back and he started
squirming around. It was Chris' pubes. Chris, on the other hand, was
getting mixed feelings as well. He was scared but Simon's movements were
giving him some good feelings down there but it was soon over as the door
closed again. Chris gently pushed Simon away from him and put on his
trousers, which were now shorts. He picked up the knife and realized that
who ever opened the door didn't see it and he left out a huge sigh. They
waited for a few more minutes hoping that the coast will be clear before
opening the door and turning towards the stairs.

All of a sudden the ship tilted upwards and hurled Chris and Simon
backwards on to their buttocks sliding a few meters away from where they
were. Then the ship tilted forwards and they slid towards the stairs. The
ship kept violently tilting and the boys were sliding back and forth for a
while. They couldn't get to their feet for every time they tried, they fell
back down. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the ship leveled itself
and they quickly got to their feet and headed up the stairs and Chris
placed his hand on the handle to open the door. The moment Chris turned the
handle, the ship rocked itself again but the door swung open throwing both
boys back again but this time a gush of water came flowing through and
started filling up the corridor, swirling the boys who just acted quick
enough to take in a deep breath of air before they submerged.

To be Continued.