The last chapter was super short so I decided to post the next chapter with it. Thanks again for the reviews!!
"Here it comes!" shouted Edgar from the rail, "First pot of the season coming up!"
The crew waited in anticipation while the first pot cleared the rail. A collective moan sounded from the deckhands as the pot hit the launcher. It was completely blank.
Norman and Nick exchanged disappointed glances as they pulled out the old bait and tossed it over the side.
An empty first pot could not be a good sign for the season. It was just plain old bad luck.
Sig cursed in the wheelhouse. He had been so sure that this spot would produce large numbers.
"Its okay guys," said Jake, in an attempt to lighten the quickly darkening mood, "We got twenty more pots out there. This is just one of them. Maybe the next string will be better."
Matt sneered and shot Jake a look of anger and jealousy. The kid had proved himself time and time again to the crew and Matt was beginning to feel a little threatened. The two also had differing personalities, making it even easier to get into fights with one another.
Jake glared back angrily at Matt. The man frustrated the young deckhand quite often. It was like the harder he tried to prove himself to them, Matt only got angrier and angrier.
As they moved through the string, moral began to plummet. Every single pot was blank.
After the string had been pulled, Sig got on the loud hailer.
"Well we're obviously moving to another location," he said with a sigh, "Hopefully it will produce slightly better numbers."
A chorus of snickers came from the irritable deckhands. Matt and Nick shook their heads and shared a frustrated glance.
"Edgar and Norman, could you guys come up here for a moment, please?"
Edgar and Norman exchanged confused glances. Jack shot Edgar a curious look, but Edgar only shrugged his shoulders. The rest of the crew began to feel uneasy as the two brothers left the deck and headed up to the wheelhouse.
"That can't be good," muttered Matt, "He only calls his brothers up there to talk business. Which usually means bad news for the rest of us."
Jack and Jake exchanged worried looks.
"Well there's no use getting ourselves all worked up," said Nick, sensibly, "Let's get the next bait setup ready and we'll just wait and see what happens."
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Meanwhile, up in the wheelhouse…
Sig sighed as his brothers came into the room. Norman took the seat across from Sig and Edgar sat up on the large dashboard.
"What's up?" he asked as Sig turned to face them.
Sig ran a hand through his hair and sighed again.
"Well, you guys know how many deckhands it takes to keep this boat running. We only need four."
Edgar looked up sharply, alarm flashing in his eyes.
"I said yes to a fifth man because you guys needed the help," continued Sig, "Then we got a sixth deckhand. That helped you guys out a lot, I know. But, the thing is, I'm considering downsizing back to our five man crew. It would mean everyone else gets bigger pay cuts and there'd be more room on the boat. The only thing is, I don't know who to cut yet. I thought I'd see what you two think."
Edgar was gaping in shock. Norman's eyes were wide with surprise as he glanced between his two brothers.
"I, um, I don't know, Sig," muttered Norman, "The crew's pretty close now. Is this really such a good idea?"
"I've thought about that too," agreed Sig, "But right now I have to think about what is best for the boat financial and safety wise. It'd be better to have a five man crew."
Edgar shook his head in disbelief.
"Well I don't like it."
Sig rolled his eyes at his younger brother.
"Neither do I, Edgar but this is what I've decided to do. Now, I want to k now who you two think is expendable."
Edgar gaped again in disbelief. How could his brother expect him to even make such a decision like that?
"I'm going to have to plead the fifth on that one, Sig," said Norman, "I don't want to make that decision."
"Neither do I," said Edgar with a defiant, angry glare.
Sig took a deep breath and nodded. He leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. The seas were building and the weather was promising to be rough that day.
"Fine," he said finally, "I can understand that I guess. We'll let the season play out then and I'll make my decision after it's over."
Edgar slapped the dashboard angrily and turned sharply to walk out of the wheelhouse. Norman followed close behind him, giving his older brother a sad look of disappointment before disappearing down the stairs.
Sig watched them leave with a contemplative look on his face. For a second he regretted the decision, but he had to do what was best for the boat, no matter how hard that decision may be.
Someone would have to go.
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