Chapter 7 - The Storm

May woke to the sound of thunder.

Her eyes opened as soon as the sound met her ears. She bolted upwards and nearly fell from her small bed.

It took her a few moments to remember where exactly she was. Memories from the night before were coming back slowly. She looked around the room cautiously, Jimmy was no where to be found. He must have left soon after she had fallen asleep.

May flushed slightly, embarrassed by her behavior from the night before. She instantly regretted telling him anything, what if he thought differently of her? She usually had her emotions under control; she hadn't intended for anyone to know about her family.

May got up slowly, attempting not to fall over, since the boat was now rocking back and forth much quicker than usual, due to the storm that had now engulfed the boat. She didn't even want to know what it looked like outside. It was already freezing in her room, just the thought of getting soaked in ice cold water sent shivers down her spine.

She dressed quickly in a pair of old black pants and two thick shirts, finishing finally with her grey jacket. She definitely didn't look like a city girl now, she thought to herself; as she looked back at her reflection in the small rusted mirror hanging from the wall.

The rain pounded down on the small window of her room, although she could see absolutely nothing, the darkness too strong for her to look past.

She lit a small lamp and exited the room quickly, desiring to be in the company of others. The darkness made her feel alone.

She walked slowly down the hallway, it was completely empty. Usually there was a person or two wandering through them. Where was everyone?

May heard a sudden smash of glass coming from ahead of her. Not soon after the noise she heard a cry of pain. She walked forward hastily, thinking the worst. She followed the noise and found that it was coming from inside the galley, she twisted the knob impatiently and threw open the door.

The look of terror on May's face completely diminished when she witnessed the scene in front of her.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" She sputtered at the man crouched down on the floor.

The man, whom she instantly recognized as a man everyone called Smith, was holding two broken bottles in his hand, "The rum! The precious rum! I told them morons to tie it down!"

May took a deep breath and relaxed against the doorframe, which turned out to be a bad idea, the sudden rocking of the ship almost swept her off her feet.

"You've got at least twenty more crates of the stuff down below!" She said, exasperated.

"Was the bes' batch, we only drank it on special occasions!" He complained, grasping the now soggy wooden floors.

She rolled her eyes and held her jacket closer to her, "Where did everyone go?"

But Smith was no longer listening to her, he continued to curse to himself and pick up the broken pieces of glass in some sort of attempt to put them back together.

"Crew 'tis battling the storm, the rest are hiding like children in their rooms." A voice behind her inquired.

May turned to find Lumpy in his usual spot over a bubbling pot of his favorite goo, adding mysterious looking ingredients to the concoction.

"Is it bad?" She asked curiously, wondering silently if Jimmy was also up there with the rest of the crew.

"Nothing they ain't seen before, they'll want a nice warm meal when they're finished though, do you mind love?" He gave her one of his signature smirks, and pointed roughly to the pot in front of him.

"Not at all," She couldn't help but smile back, even though on the inside she was worried sick. But as long as she didn't go outside and face the storm she would be alright, for now at least. The thought of Jimmy was still buzzing around in her mind.

May took all the bowls carefully out of the sink in the small and untidy kitchen, making sure they did not fall due to the sudden lurching movements of the steamer.

"How long have they been at it?" She asked quietly, looking for conversation.

"A good three or four hours," He explained, cracking some walnuts with the blunt edge of a knife, "Tha's when it started getting bad, the wors' let up by now though."

May nodded silently, trying to focus of how exactly she could make the porridge in front of her anymore edible.

There was a long silence between the pair, the sound of rain and the cracking of walnuts replacing their voices.

"Lumpy?" May asked finally, her voice timid at first, "Can I ask you a question?"

He looked over at her with his good eye, as if trying to read in her face what exactly her motives were, "Go ahead, mon cherie."

"What do you know about Jimmy?" May blushed at the bluntness of the question, "His past, is what I'm meaning to ask. I mean he's so young, I don't understand why he isn't with his parents, or going to school or something." She rambled on.

He said nothing at first; as May looked up to see his response. He stroked his chin thoughtfully with one hand and sprinkled walnuts into his porridge with the other.

"Mr. Hayes found the boy about four or five years ago. Was hidin' in one of the cages down below, he was hurt bad, and more wild than any of the animals we've kept down there. But the lad has never said a word on it, and nor does he ever intend to." Lumpy said slowly, as if he was finding it very hard to remember.

She said nothing at first; she was still in shock at what he had told her. May had just assumed perhaps he had run away from home, or simply his parents had passed and he came onto the venture for work. But his story seemed so much more tragic, she was ashamed of herself for never before thinking perhaps there was someone else who had it worse off. Who knew what kind of place Jimmy had come from?

The crack of a shell broke her thought. Startled, May looked up from the bowls to Lumpy. He now held a very clever grin on his face.

"What?" She asked, confused by his sudden change in character.

Lumpy chuckled merrily, "Do not worry love your secret is safe with me."

May opened her mouth to question him once more, but what interrupted when he shoved a tray of porridge in her hands. "Bring these up to the captain, he and Mr. Hayes are sure to be hungry." He placed another tray over the bowls, she assumed so that the porridge would not be spoiled by the heavy rains.

May opened her mouth in protest; going outside during a storm did not seem like the cleverest idea.

"You will be fine love; a little rain never hurt anyone. There's a fire going in the captain's room if you want to warm up, just try to stay out of everyone's way." He shooed her off softly with his hand and went back to his porridge.

She opened her mouth once more but quickly closed it, deciding she'd rather not argue. She trusted Lumpy, even though his reasoning wasn't very strong.

May made her way outside, pausing just before the door leading outside. She had trouble enough keeping balance with the tray in her hands, she was sure she would simply drop it as soon as she got out into the rain.

I can do this. She repeated to herself, taking a deep breath and opening the door.

As soon as the door opened a crack, an icy cold gust of wind shot into the hallway, sending May into a fit of shivers. She was already regretting this.

The rain was still pounding hard, and, since it was most likely still early in the morning, it was fairly dark. She rushed out onto the deck, trying to remember exactly which way the captain's navigation room was.

Men were hollering to each other over the heavy sounds of rain and the every so often rumble of thunder. May swerved past the men rushing back and forth.

She was already soaked to the bone, damn Lumpy and his nonsense. Was it really that important for the Captain to eat? Okay stupid question. But was it really necessary for her to deliver it to him herself?

A sudden pickup of wind sent May falling back. For a moment she thought that the porridge was a forever lost, but suddenly she felt a strong hand on her back, saving her from her fall and leading her towards a small set of stairs.

"Climb these!" The familiar voice made her mind numb for a second, but soon after she followed the orders and climbed the stairs, all with the porridge still safely secure in her arms.

And Jimmy said I was nothing but a city girl. She thought triumphantly to herself.

Once she reached the top she hurried quickly over to the door to the navigation room, not even bothering to knock first.

May sighed happily to find that it indeed was very warm in the room, although the fact that she was soaking wet wasn't exactly helping her stay warm.

"Ms Beaulieu?" A deep voice inquired.

May looked up from her soaking wet hair to reveal Mr. Hayes, with the captain close by his side. He looked slightly worried by her appearance, while the captain on the other hand looked slightly amused.

"He..hello," She stuttered as her body attempted to keep warm, "Lum…Lumpy told me to br…br…bring up the porridge."

"We can see that," Englehorn chuckled, motioning towards the fire, "I'm afraid I have nothing very comfortable for you to sit on, but the fire should warm you up in no time."

She nodded stiffly and set down the porridge on the table in the large room. Walking over to the fire, she noticed how interesting the room was; this had to be the only area of the ship she hadn't seen yet. There were maps and compasses lined up across the tables beside the controlling wheel.

Englehorn and Mr. Hayes were talking in low whispers, too quickly for her to understand. They seemed to be arguing quietly about something.

May leaned against the wall and slid slowly to the ground with her legs crossing in the process. The fire was definitely warm, but her soaked clothing certainly weren't helping her body absorb any of the heat.

"…nothing out there!" May heard Mr. Hayes say quietly in frustration.

"Then we have nothing to lose." Englehorn responded, much louder this time.

Mr. Hayes looked at a loss for words, at what his captain was saying, but nonetheless he nodded, "Very well then." And with that he grabbed his porridge and made his way into the next room.

May tried not to look like she was eavesdropping on their conversation, but she was trying desperately to discover what exactly they were talking about. Did this have anything to do with the so called 'Skull Island'?

She trailed the goose bumps forming on her arm, lost completely in thought.

"Something is bothering you." It was a statement, not a question.

She looked up to find light blue eyes looking directly into hers.

"I'm just confused is all," She stated simply, before continuing on courageously, feeling the captains curious gaze on her, "I feel as if I'm being kept in the dark."

Englehorn did not give her a warm laugh, like he usually did. Instead he had a worried look on his face, she tried very hard to decipher what exactly he was thinking.

"You should not worry about such things," He said a little too harshly, leaving May a little taken back.

The captain turned and looked towards the open sea, the rain was starting to calm.

May sat motionless, surprised by Englehorn's words.

"I am sorry; it has been a long night." May watched as he put a hand to his face.

"I understand of course, you must be very tired." May said calmly, although she felt very much embarrassed, she had not meant to upset him.

A silence filled the room; Englehorn had busied himself with a map that was set out in front of him.

"The rain has stopped, you may return to the galley if you wish. You should get some food to warm you up." Englehorn said casually.

May stood up quickly, a little too quickly, sending her blood rushing to her feet. She staggered for a moment, before resting her hand against the wall to balance herself.

She moved towards the door, resting her hand on the knob. She turned back quickly, "Good night captain." She turned the handle and opened the door.

"May," He responded suddenly, she was surprised, although slightly honored that he had used her first name, she turned to face him, with a questioning look.

"N'inquietes pas les jeune un," Englehorn gave her a reassuring smile, "And that is good morning to you." He stated, looking towards the horizon, which was surely enough, starting to brighten.

May grinned in return, and made her way outside.

Everyone was still sleeping by the time May had gotten back to the galley. Even Lumpy was no where in sight, but the pot of porridge was still warm and had a generous amount left in it. She scooped some into a bowl and sat in one of the empty chairs, eating slowly, to make sure she wouldn't choke on any shells Lumpy accidentally forgot to remove.

The storm was over.

Suddenly the door barged open, and a dark figure walked inside, closely the door quickly behind him, so that the cold air of the hallway would not make its way inside the warmer room.

"Jimmy!" She couldn't contain her amusement in seeing her good friend again.

He, very much like her, was soaking wet. He looked more comfortable with it than she had been though, most likely because he had experienced weather like this many times before; and probably even worse.

Jimmy turned to face her. After hearing her call his name, a huge grin spread across his face, adding some warmth to his body. May returned the gesture, forgetting that she was freezing, she stood up and ran over, hugging him tightly, before realizing that he was about ten times colder than she was.

"Yikes! Jimmy you're freezing!" She backed a step away, bringing her arms up to her chest.

Jimmy chuckled, scratching the back of his head innocently. "What can I say, it is December."

She laughed warmly, pushing his arm playfully, "I was worried about you," Her smile lessened, becoming more serious.

But at this his smile only grew bigger, "And why exactly is that?"

May opened her mouth to say something, but stopped suddenly, looking to the ground. "It was stupid of me," She chuckled, "I guess I just worry too much." She told him slowly, looking down at her fidgeting hands.

But he didn't look convinced. Then he did something she did not expect.

Jimmy softly put his hands over hers.

"You do worry too much," He began slowly, looking down at her. Suddenly the space between them was not as far, "Your hands are cold."

May looked up at him through her eyelashes, relaxing her hands slightly. He intertwined his fingers with hers.

"You make me happy," May blurted out thoughtlessly, she reddened as she realized what just came out of her mouth. Jimmy looked down at her, his eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Wha…what I mean to say, is that I like being around you," She started, cursing her nervousness silently, "You make me forget, forget everything terrible that's happened in my life, you help me remember that it doesn't have to end at that. I'm…I'm happy that I found my way on this ship. Regardless of where it started or where it's going, I'm happy that I met you."

Jimmy said nothing, she was going to scare him away, she was sure of it. She didn't want to loose him.

But his hands were still caressing hers.

"I'm sorry," She began suddenly, "I know you probably don't feel the same…"

May was interrupted by a pair of lips softly brushing hers. Never had she experienced the happiness that she was at this very moment. She kissed him back softly, her hands freeing from his and making their way to his neck. His arms wrapped around her middle, bringing her closer to him. She played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

May never wanted to let go, but she needed to take a breath. She released her mouth from his.

They both stared at each other in silence, their deep breathing filling in the lack of speech.

Jimmy rested his forehead against hers, never breaking eye contact. He swept a strand of hair away from her cheek.

No words were needed. She understood.