Over the next few months, Silver worked Jim and me to the bone. On a few occasions, we'd have to scrape urchins off the hull of the ship, nearly falling off a couple times each. I would often catch Jim daydreaming while we did some of the more mind-numbing tasks and I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. I figured it was probably about his own father. The reason we went solar surfing so much back home was so the adrenaline rush would force back memories of his dad.
Silver once tried to teach us how to make a good, sturdy knot. That resulted in Jim and me leaving before he finished the demonstration, already knowing that skill. We escaped and wandered aimlessly about the ship.
"What's on your mind," I asked Jim.
"The usual," he answered with a shrug.
I nodded, knowing better than to pry. If he wanted to tell me about it, I knew he would.
Many times, Jim and I would find ourselves scrubbing the deck on hands and knees. Those were more times when I'd find him staring at nothing while we worked. With everything we did, it didn't take long for Jim to stop wearing his jacket. In fact, I would only wear mind when we weren't doing anything. A couple nights, I would walk outside to find Jim on the end of the bowsprit. He was staring out at the endless sea of stars, too engrossed in his own thoughts to notice me. I sighed softly and leaned on the edge of the ship, just watching him. It was one of the few times I'd been able to see him calm in a long time. There were also many days when we'd work long nights, scrubbing dishes. We fell asleep with dishes in our hands, more often than not.
Then there was that time, three months after we started our journey, on my sixteenth birthday, that Silver took us in one of the small boats. When he told us to hop on, Jim and I grinned wildly. We jumped into the boat and Silver started to explain how it worked. Jim beat him to it and we flew forward.
"Whoa," Silver yelled.
"Whoo," I crowed as Jim piloted the boat.
He flew us right into a comet, the blue aura surrounding us completely. I leaned back, my back pressing against Jim's chest, and looked around us. The light show was beautiful. Jim pulled so many tight spins and twists that I felt like I was on a solar surfer again. We flew out of the comet, dust still covering us. I took the reigns from Jim and, without any hesitation at all, performed a few tricks of my own before continuing our flight back to the ship. Once back, we worked on pulling the boat into place on the ship.
"Oh, Jimbo. If I could maneuver a skiff like that when I was your age, they'd be bowing in the streets when I walked by today," Silver said, plopping down into the boat. "And Anya, I never seen someone take over like you did, without missin' a beat."
"I don't know," I said.
"They weren't exactly singing our praises when we left home," Jim answered and took a seat.
I sat beside him and leaned back on the side of the boat.
"But we're gonna change all that," I added.
"Are you now? How so," Silver asked
"Uh… we got some plans," Jim answered, "Gonna make people see us a little different."
"Sometimes… plans go astray."
"Not this time."
Silver pulled his mechanical leg up and tried tighten a bold on it. Seeing his struggle, Morph turned into a wrench.
"Oh, thank you, Morphy," Silver said and quickly fixed the problem.
Jim and I both sat up and watched him.
"So, uh, how'd that happen anyway," Jim asked.
"You give up a few things, chasing a dream."
"Was it worth it," I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Silver smiled before moving to sit between Jim and me, draping his arms over our shoulders. It made me feel comfortable, like I was with my father again.
"I'm hoping it is, Anya. I most surely am," he answered, putting his hat on his head.
The three of us leaned our heads back to rest. In the next second, something hit the ship and I got a feeling of whiplash. We ran on deck to check it out.
"What the devil," Silver asked once we were upstairs.
"Evasive action, Mr. Turnbuckle," the captain yelled as she ran up to her command station.
"All hands, fasten your lifelines," Mr. Arrow called.
Everyone tied on their lifelines, making sure they were tight. Bits of rock started tearing through the sails and the captain ordered for them to be secured. Jim and Silver went onto the bowsprit while I climbed aloft to help pull down one of the lower sails. Form up there, I could see Jim and Silver struggling. Another wave hit the ship and Silver nearly fell off. Thankfully, Jim pulled him up in time.
"Girl, go down. We've got it here," one of the crew members ordered.
I nodded and made my way back on-deck. I then saw a huge meteor coming towards the ship, directly at Jim and Silver.
"No," I screamed.
Then, the meteor started pulling away. I looked over at where it was headed and could see a black hole forming.
"My God," I whispered.
Jim and Silver made it back onto the ship just a minute before a wave hit it, knocking the three of us over. I scrambled up and hugged Jim.
"It's a black hole," I yelled over all the noise. Jim's eyes widened in fear.
"All sails secured, Captain," Mr. Arrow yelled.
"Good man! Now, release them immediately," Captain Amelia answered.
Mr. Arrow repeated the order and started on his way up.
"I'll get the flying jib," I said and began running towards the bowsprit.
Silver started across the ship and Jim was about to go aloft when the captain called for him.
"Mr. Hawkins, make sure all lifelines are secured, good and tight," she ordered.
"Lifelines secured, Captain," Jim called out not even a minute later.
I was just about to climb onto the bowsprit when another wave hit the ship. I flew backwards and hit my head on the stairs leading to the galley, knocking me unconscious.
