Author's Note:
November is a time of remembrance, so this week's drabble concerns a young officer's return home after his service in Afghanistan.
October 30, 1880
HMMS Orontes
The October gale must have held a personal grudge against the Orontes.
One man clung to the rail praying his insides would remain inside. Hard-won days of recuperation were undone with each pitch and roll.
The crewman had never seen a worse case of mal-de-mer. These situations were usually amusing, but this time the sufferer was a cripple from the war.
'Sorry, Sir, we're moving everybody below to ride out the storm.'
'No safe harbours then?'
'None 'til Portsmouth. With these winds, we're better off at sea.'
Too weak for his crutches, the young officer had to be carried inside.
Author's Note:
The prompt was to pick a season and write about a storm in that season. This drabble was originally written before Hurricane Sandy.
