Chapter 2- Steak Knife's Weakness
(This story may contain material that is disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.)
"This…blasted…tar!" With every pause Steak Knife hacked at the tar blocking up the smoke stack. It was doing, dare I say it, a crud of good. The tar was so hard that not even he could remove it. When he ordered Skipper to do this, he actually expected it to be full of access build-up, not solid tar. He was so mad that he was taking it all out on the tar. The whole insides were caked with it and his ship wouldn't go fast at all, only as fast as a little fishing boat, not a war ship.
Steak Knife struck the pick-ax at the tar so hard that it broke free and fell to the bottom. A second afterward a wave of black smoke shot out from the top and blew all over him, turning him blacker. He growled with rage and kept working.
Skipper's plan didn't work out that well. He left the Red October and then realized that he shouldn't have underestimated Steak Knife. They were in the middle of nowhere so he had to turn back before drowning. He got back and tried to get working before Steak Knife got back and he pulled it off. So much for escaping. Now the two of them were picking tar out of the smoke stack. He wasn't sure how tar got in there. Then again, nothing would surprise him. This ship was a rust bucket. It was so old that every scrap on it was rusted and old. It was a war ship probably from centuries ago. He got plenty of time to explore the ship and it was so old fashioned. Steak Knife didn't own anything that presented the now. There were a lot of better ships out there and he wondered why Steak Knife still had this old scrap heap. Certainly this tar was its killing bite. Since he was on the bottom and Steak Knife was on the top, a safe distance away, he decided to ask.
"Hey!" he called. "We have been at this for hours! Why don't you just get a better ship?"
"NEVER!" Steak Knife growled. "Getting rid of the Red October would be like throwing away family!"
Skipper was trying to learn as much as he could about this strange villain and maybe talking about this ship could get Steak Knife to open up more on his personal and sensitive side.
"But it's just a ship!" he continued. "Why does it matter?"
"This ship has been in my family tree for five generations. This ship was considered old when it bombed the German ships in World War I. I will never abandon it."
This was interesting. Steak Knife was so hateful, yet he did like something: a ship. Apparently he was so attached to this ship probably because he had no one else to care about. What a terrible existence.
"So why is there tar in your ship?" Skipper asked curiously.
"Don't ask," Steak Knife growled and stuck down the ax again. Some tar fell down and Skipper quickly cleared it away. So that was something. He had to learn more though.
"Skipper, turn the ship around."
Skipper wasn't sure if he heard that right. Steak Knife wanted him to steer a ship? That couldn't possibly be right.
"But that's the way we came!" he protested. "And I don't know how!"
"Just pull down the levers to stop the propellers and then turn the wheel."
Skipper went to the controls without question. He was so tired of this and wanted to go home already. It had been one night and almost one day on this ship. Where on earth was Kowalski? Was Kowalski out looking for him? Skipper had full faith that he was. That was why he pretended to pick at the tar even though he wasn't really helping. This dilemma caused their traveling to slow down dramatically so even s small fishing boat like the Time Bandit could catch it. A fishing boat couldn't catch a war ship without lots of help. This was making things even better. For some unknown reason, they were going back the way they came, to the direction of Atlantis even though they were hours away from there. He didn't question it and turned the ship back south.
Steak Knife could sense Skipper's surprise when he ordered the command to turn the ship around. He clearly didn't understand why he was going back to Atlantis. He was smart not to question it though. Steak Knife really wished he would of saw this tar sooner before it dried. Almost the whole way back he picked it out until he got about half of it and the ship shot out more smoke with approval. At least his precious ship was okay. He couldn't believe that Skipper suggested throwing away the Red October like it was nothing at all. That was pure treason. Now he just stood on top of the smoke stack and stared at the water as the ship brushed it aside, making waves. He could sense Atlantis getting nearer and they were getting there. He had unfinished business to do there and took until late that day for him to realize it. It was getting dark and he hadn't slept decently in days or ate a single bite all day. He felt as strong as ever though because he had a mission to do that mattered more than anything to him and it had to be done.
The Red October drifted into shallower waters until the bottom scraped the ground, making the ship stop dramatically. Skipper quickly grabbed on to the mast as he was almost thrown forward. The ship stopped dramatically until it stopped about a quarter mile from the shore. Skipper's muscles tensed and he felt sick. This was the moment he had waited two whole hours for. They were back at Atlantis. Clevelantis was so close that he could feel the familiar winds of home just coming to lead him there. They were so close and now he had an option to run for it. He had to bolt as soon as he could and say good-bye to Steak Knife and the rust bucket Red October. He ran to the deck and was about to jump off when Steak Knife quickly grabbed him.
"Going somewhere, yes?" he said nicely. "I can see you want to get on land, but I think we will have to put that off a while, yes? I have something to do here and I don't think you should come with me."
Skipper just silently nodded and stood still as a statue.
"You certainly wouldn't leave my ship when I'm gone, would you?" he asked coolly. "Would you try to leave me here?"
"I…yes," Skipper whimpered.
"I like honesty. It says a lot about someone. I am being honest too when I say you are not leaving this ship when I'm gone."
Skipper stared into Steak Knife's green eyes and the inside freedom fire to escape was gone. He no longer wanted to leave the ship and escape for some reason. All he wanted to do was do whatever made Steak Knife happy. He tried to resist, but it was an unstoppable force.
"Stay here until I return," he instructed. "You will not be triggered with thoughts of escape. Instead, you will only think about how much of a favor you are doing me by not coming along. You are a brave little soldier, but you don't want to come with me. You want to stay on my ship." Skipper was still transfixed and didn't even blink. "I know you wouldn't lie to me so I will ask you again. Will you leave my ship when I'm gone?"
Skipper tried to think about it. His heart rate quickened when he thought of pleasing Steak Knife. He tried to think of Kowalski out there looking for him, but for some reason he just didn't care. Every thought he thought about background knowledge was so fuzzy he couldn't even consider it. The only way out of this fuzzy vision was to stop staring at the ground and seek the answers in Steak Knife's eyes and that was exactly what he did.
"I'll stay," he promised.
Without even thinking, he saluted Steak Knife and walked right inside the ship like a windup toy. Steak Knife smiled slyly to himself and then disappeared down the ladder. Skipper didn't even notice that one old sword from the collection was missing.
Back in the ship, Skipper didn't know what to do. He lied down in bed for half an hour before he got stir crazy and had to move around. He realized that he never explored the ship before and certainly Steak Knife wouldn't mind if her took a look around. He went out into the hallway and just stared at the things on the wall. There were the heads of animals he had never seen before all nicely spaced out. He wondered exactly why Steak Knife killed them all and just moved on. He never explored the inside of the ship before. He had only been in the hallway and the bedroom. He turned right instead of left and headed to a door. He went inside and saw a very strange room that just made him stare. It was worse than everything on the ship put together. There were taxidermy animals everywhere, two giant dog-like things guarding the entrance. They looked so real that he reached out and touched one of their stone cold heads. Underneath their fur was just a bunch of hard stuff. All those dead animals just stared at him like he was trespassing into a terrible place. It was terrible.
What really caught his interest was the wooden animals in the back that Steak Knife was still in progress with. There were wood chips all over the floor so he checked it out. It was a wooden carving of an animal. It looked like a Pole Cat so far even though it was roughly done. He could just make out its figure in the splintery wood. There was a collection of knives lined up by it that all had wood chips on it. Steak Knife carved this? It was just so nice. He stared at its head and saw a blue background that wasn't part of it. He looked up and saw the most beautiful bird be had ever seen on the wall. He slowly walked away from the wooden Pole Cat and stared at the bird. It was in mid-flight and had striking dark blue feathers. Its wings were so huge that it could carry the bird gracefully off the ground without a problem. It had tail feathers that were longer than itself and were a variety of colors: Green, purple, violet, green, oranges, yellows, and pinks. He touched it and they were so soft. He petted the bird and kept feeling its soft feathers under his wings. He sensed a strong feeling of betrayal and now he wondered exactly what he was doing here. Steak Knife unfairly killed this beautiful animal just to hang it on the wall. Now it was all coming back. Skipper stayed here only because Steak Knife wanted him too. This time when he thought of Kowalski and the others and this terrible place he wanted to leave. He felt like slapping himself for being so stupid. Here was his golden opportunity to escape and he wasted it. It took a good look at this rainbow bird to realize that he was in danger and had to leave. He had to go now.
Then a shadow appeared over the bird be was looking at and his spine chilled. Steak Knife had returned. He was frozen in place. He didn't want to show Steak Knife that he was suddenly afraid. He could also sense a cold feeling in the air.
The feeling of death.
Ever so slowly, Skipper slowly turned around and saw Steak Knife had returned and all of his white feathers were slicked down with red. His eyes trailed down to what he brought home and saw the bloody limp body of a golden spotted Pole Cat.
Steak Knife usually loved to see fear more than anything, but when Skipper gasped and threw his back to the wall, blue eyes glared with fear, he walked right on past dragging his prize. The Pole Cat put up a big fight, but this was nothing compared to other animals that he took on. He was so tired that he felt like collapsing and he limped slightly from where the Pole Cat scratched him. That was nothing though. Just three more memories to add to his collection of permanent memories. He put down the Pole Cat and spread out its body flat on the floor. Its eyes were glazed with fury and its fangs were bared. Its body was just beginning to turn cold. Now the Pole Cat got what it deserved for tarring his ship.
Steak Knife seemed very distracted with the Pole Cat so Skipper thought now would be best to run away as fast as he could. Maybe he could get away. This was just too horrible. He could have been half way to Clevelantis by now, but now it wasn't olive green eyes that kept him in place. It was the furious amber eyes of the Pole Cat. Something seemed familiar about that cat though even though he never met it. He took a step closer and then stopped. Steak Knife was…talking to it? He strained to listen and then heard that he was definitely talking to the cat while stroking its head. He couldn't hear any exact words though. He felt more secure to see how distracted and troubled Steak Knife was so he dropped down beside the Pole Cat and touched its soft fur.
"You're in my room, yes?" Steak Knife asked dully without looking up. "I know why too. You are looking at my things and wondering why I have all these things."
"…It was such a beautiful creature," Skipper said and stroked the golden cat. "What I don't understand is why. We came all the way back here just so you can kill this cat. Do you know it?"
"Of course I do. This was the Pole Cat that put tar all over my ship," he answered more aggressively. "And now I got my revenge…"
They said nothing for a while. Skipper tensed up, ready to run to the door if he was forced out. Steak Knife pulled the Pole Cat on to the table that the wooden Pole Cat was on. Now he understood what it was for. It was the taxidermy body of the Pole Cat that he was making. It must of taken days to do this and Steak Knife must of planned to get revenge on that particular Pole Cat for a long time. Steak Knife picked up a smaller knife and started to carve around the wooden head to make the ears more detailed.
"Why is this ship covered in so many…items?" Skipper wondered and came a little closer. "I mean, you have pelts and other things from animals all over."
"I need them. Everyone has a hobby that passes the time…Keeps them entertained, yes? And yours is crowding my work space."
"This isn't a hobby. It's like an obsession. I mean, I used to collect snowflakes. Every time I found a cool one I would take it home, but they weren't my life. I mean, don't you think it is a little strange to come all this way just for a Pole Cat. I don't mean this in any offense, but why do you need them?"
"I will not let anyone get away offending me," he replied fiercely and almost snipped the ear off. He realized how worked up he was getting over one conversation. It was very unlike him so he calmed down again with breathing exercises. "Every possession I have from my animals is a memory so I can always remember what they did to insult or assault me. Memories are about the only thing I can rely on these days."
"I see," Skipper said. "Well, I think I am starting to understand you more. I think you love your ship so much because it is the only thing to feel close to. You don't have any friends or anyone that didn't want to attack you."
Steak Knife was trembling so much that he had to stop carving before he messed up everything. Skipper was absolutely right. As much has he wanted to deny it, that was why he never got a new ship and he kept the pelts, blood, fangs, or claws of every animals that ever did anything bad to him. It was almost too much to control and knowing these words came from Skipper made him want to do something terrible. He found comfort by imagining himself attacking Skipper. The thought seemed to be the only way out of this and he clutched the knife he was holding tightly. He had to stop himself before he actually did it though. He quickly put down the knife and backed away from the table. He went as far away from Skipper as possible and put the table between them.
"What's wrong?" Skipper asked fearfully.
"It's just what you said right then," he answered honestly. "And you're right. You are the only living thing that has actually saw things from my point of view instead of seeing me by what I do."
Skipper was starting to feel hopeful and that maybe he would get out of this alive. This was a huge breakthrough for Steak Knife to tell him this. Maybe he wouldn't end up dying after all. Anyway, he never did anything to make Steak Knife vengeful.
"I never did anything, so why are you keeping me here?" he wondered.
"Because you are part of TJ's military," Steak Knife pointed out. "I can't have you going anywhere for special reasons. Believe me, I don't want to do anything to you, but TJ owes me something. I need you for that. I am taking you to the Andes mountains."
"W-why? What am I getting you?"
"Military plans," he answered darkly. "So I can get through with my plan without any problems, yes? If I don't get them, then we will have to do things the hard way. I made something for you."
Skipper watched curiously as Steak Knife rummaged among the piles of junk. He picked up a green spiky pine tree something and held it up. Skipper jumped back and stared at it with horror. What he was holding was far worse than the dead Pole Cat laying limply on the table. It was a wreath with a giant red bow tied neatly at the top. Red bow-tied wreaths were given to soldiers when they died.
Steak Knife was going to kill him when they reached their destination. What if Steak Knife didn't get the military plans? He would be just another pelt on the ship.