Wizard twitched her port anchor, finding only a dull ache. How about a shift to her right, take some of her weight off the dock... Ooh okay, that hurt! She winced. Looking back, it was a bad idea. Not just a bad idea, a stupid one. A reckless one. An idea so bad that just calling that wouldn't do it justice. This was the sort of thing that sane boats would never do!
The massive rogue wave had to be at least 50 foot high. Wizard, born to hide in the swell, had very little freeboard and often cut through the waves instead of riding over them. The wave reared up, its presence heard literally by a low growl that was growing louder the closer it got. Wizard came down off another swell and stared up at the massive wall of green water that was cresting at the top. Oh this was gonna suck...
She shivered as she felt once again the pain of the impact. The wave broke over her bow as she pierced through its center. She popped up on the other side, shedding water like a beagle, with a bruised her port anchor, three shattered teeth, a broken cheekbone and a concussion caused by a potentially fractured skull. The last one she didn't share with anybody. She'd taken worse hits in 'Nam and even nastier ones fighting Japan and the commies. She could live with a little Bering Sea bashing. Sighing, she shifted her weight more against the dock. She'd arrived back in Dutch an hour before so her boys could see to their own injuries. She doubted any of them knew she was even injured herself. And that was fine by her. They had enough problems of their own without fussing over an old ship. Wizard closed her eyes, her bow resting against the pillow post designed for its stated purpose. Despite knowing the dangers of concussions, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep if only to give herself a reprieve from her injuries.
"Ancients, no..." Cornelia's anguished whisper is what brought Wizard around. She didn't move from her position, she just groaned her head hurting too much to even open her eyes to the light she knew instinctively was out there. "Wizard?" Wizard felt Cornelia press up against her, the blue ship providing soft licks to her flanks. The gentle, affectionate touch drew out a purr from the old ship. "Talk to me." Cornelia begged. Wizard groaned again. She didn't want to talk. She wanted to sleep! Her head was hurting the more she came around. She grimaced as it throbbed. "Cornelia," She began. She sensed the blue ship relax. "Thank the Ancients." She breathed. "I was on my way out but when I saw you here, I thought... You were so still, Wizard. I thought you were dead!" "My head." Wizard groaned. "It's killing me..." She finished, a whimper escaping her tight control. She winced again. Cornelia's tongue started up again, this time across her badly beaten bow. Beneath her Wizard groaned again, she was groaning with every breath it seemed like. Cornelia's concern grew to fear as she began to taste blood on her tongue. She continued her licking, finding the source to be from her starboard eye. The rather impressive knot on her head hid the culprit. "Wizard, Wizard hey!" She shouted as the older ship began to drift off again. "Stay awake for me okay? I need you with me. Are you with me?" "Y-yeah..." Wizard shivered. "You've got a compound fracture in your skull." Cornelia said. "This calls for more professional hands than me." Still keeping one eye on Wizard, Cornelia put the other eye and her ears to the radio. "Coast Guard Cutter Sherman, Coast Guard Cutter Sherman this is the fishing vessel Cornelia Marie, do you copy over?" Cornelia was tense for the few seconds of silence and just as she was about to repeat her call, Sherman responded. "Cornelia Marie this is Sherman, go ahead." Cornelia took a deep breath, trying to control her fearful shakes. "Sherman, I am calling on behalf of F/V Wizard who has a compound fracture in the port side of her skull. She sustained the injury 20 hours earlier from a rogue wave." "What is your position?" Sherman's tone was all business but Cornelia could still hear the concern in her voice. This was not an injury to laugh about. "I'm in the lee side of Dutch Harbor." Cornelia replied. "Copy, I'm 20 miles out from your position. Is Wizard conscious?" Until she arrived there was not much Sherman could do so the next best thing was to have Cornelia start the work. "Wizard, you still with me?" Wizard was so silent that Cornelia thought her friend had gone back to sleep before she gave a small bob of her head. "Yes." She answered Sherman. "Okay. I need you to prop her head up. Keep her awake and talking but try to minimize the things that cause her pain. I want to keep her stress levels low." Cornelia followed the cutter's advice, doing anything and everything she could to keep Wizard talking even if it earned her a few choice words. Wizard opened her eyes in the meantime and at Cornelia's insistence they stayed open. She worried for how glassy they looked, just staring around listlessly. Wizard got frustrated at her lack of focus. Her vision was blurred and all she could see of Cornelia was a bright blue blob that was joined by a white one as Sherman arrived.
The cutter immediately saw the danger in the situation and took charge. "Okay Wizard, I'm just gonna roll you a little bit here." She gently nosed the big ship over on her side. "Cornelia, hold her head steady." She ordered as Wizard started shaking. "Wizard, Wizard hey look at me! Eyes on me!" Cornelia cried as her friend's eyes started rolling around her head, but she somehow managed to start focusing on the blue boat. "Keep them on me, Wizard! Listen to my voice, focus on that. There you go." Wizard coughed, shuddering in Cornelia's grip. "M-my head." She moaned. "I-I can't..." "Wizard you're gonna be okay. You're gonna- Sherman, she's fading. Whatever you're going to do, you need to do it quick." Cornelia growled, fear driving her anger. "I'm working on it!" Sherman hissed back as she got her tools out. Fixing restraints to Wizard's hull, she began cutting away into her bow to get at the injury and drain it. Wizard, Sherman had to give her credit, she hardly made a sound other than a few whimpers. She grimaced a few times and once or twice there was a groan but Sherman got the feeling they were made more to reassure the cutter that her patient was still alive than out of any kind of admission of pain. Sherman got at the fracture. "Oh, this is a nasty one." She said. "Cornelia, keep her pinned. This isn't going to pretty." Cornelia nodded, putting her weight against Wizard's shoulders. Sherman counted silently in her head from 5, steadying herself, and plunged her knife in. Wizard, jolted beneath them as though she'd been given an electric shock. If Cornelia wasn't holding her down, her bow would've surged up. As it was, her jaws parted in a silent scream. True to her stoic nature, she didn't make a sound. And that was perhaps the scariest part of all. Sherman was covered in blood as she drained the bleed from putting pressure on Wizard's brain. Finishing she welded Wizard's hull shut as best she could, wrapping it in a layer of gauze just to be safe. There was nothing she could do about the skull itself. Wizard's frame would have to heal on its own. Only now did Wizard show her pain. "Sherman!" She gasped. "Restraints off!" "You can't move about Wizard." Sherman chided her. "Restraints. Off!" The big vessel begged. "Please..." She was shaking and Cornelia noticed her color change. "Sherman, give me a bucket." She asked. The cutter grabbed one and held it out in front of Wizard. "Hold her head and help her aim." She ordered. Cornelia nodded and gently lifted Wizard's head. Wizard moaned and with the aim only a warship could possess, sent a stream of green vomit straight into Sherman's bucket with not a drop getting on the cutter or in the sea. "Right down the middle. I couldn't have done it better myself." She complimented. Wizard's response was another stream of vomit followed by a very loud wet sounding belch. She coughed a couple of times to clear her airways of bile, spitting a few more drops out. Her eyelids flickered. "I'm sorry." She rasped. Cornelia cradled her. "Shh, just rest Wizard. Bed rest is what you need now." She said. "Can't. Gotta, get back out there." Wizard tried to right herself but Sherman's restraints held. "You're confined to your berth, 210." She ordered. Wizard winced at that, accepting the cutter's authority. She suddenly felt grateful. Cornelia and Sherman had saved her life. She'd made a stupid decision followed by another stupid decision. One thing led to another and if it hadn't been for her friends... If Cornelia noticed Wizard lean more into her she didn't say anything. Wizard coughed again, fighting sleep long enough to express her gratefulness. "Thank you..." Cornelia held her closer in reply and Wizard went to sleep with a smile on her face.
A week later she was back out on the grounds. Her head was still bandaged and she was ordered to work only in light seas which is why she hung to the south rather than risk the more hazardous grounds up north. The reports told her that there were good numbers closer to the ice but she was doing okay down here. She wouldn't deny she was a little spooked now. That rogue wave had given her a wake up call and she was wary of any large swell that came her way. All she could do was fall back on her training, the same training that had saved her stern in the war, and use it to control and temper her fear. She winced as her head started hurting. Sherman's instructions had been specific. If she had any pains at all, she would need to shut down and rest. A part of her wanted to just ignore that. Keith didn't know how close she came to dying and she had no intentions on telling him. But the Bering Sea had given her a clear message on what happens when you're being stupid. She wouldn't be that stupid a second time. "Keith?" She began. "Yes, Wizard." "We need to stop." She said. "Is something wrong?" He asked, confused. "Yes, it's my head." Then she, reluctantly, told him about her own injuries. "Wizard, you should've said something!" He scolded. She sighed. "I know." "What if something happen while I was gone? What if you had died?! If Cornelia hadn't come by when she did..." He couldn't even finish the sentence. "I know that Keith. But think we can argue later? My head is starting to bother me and I'd rather not ignore it again." She said. "Understood." He got on the loudhailer announcing the shutdown of fishing for the night. Wizard made her way around a nearby island, hiding in its lee. The calm seas helped and allowed her to rest on her side. Just as her eyes closed she caught sight of a blue blur amidst the ocean and she smiled. Cornelia snuggled up to the bigger black crabber, purring softly. Wizard joined her purrs, feeling more relaxed than she had in ages. She had no problems dropping off to sleep and when she woke the next morning, unsure if Cornelia was actually there or was just a hallucination she did find two things. One, she had no pain. And two, there was a note attached to a buoy that was labeled with the letters "CM". And all she could do was smile.