Sorry it took so long for me to post! Super big thanks to Melolabel who had to edit this twice thanks to a lame computer. And thanks to S who got me excited about the story again!
BPOV
The ship was rolling and I was doing all I could to keep Angela unharmed. We had both been flung onto the bed just after hearing the terrifying blasts from the other ship. I tried to pour all of my concentration into Angela, if I let my mind wander to what was happening above I might loose all sense of composure and focus I was barely grasping.
MPOV
The rain was coming down now hard and sideways, what a fickle mistress the sea is. In a moment we went from mostly calm waters to a roiling ocean. We were surrounded, by mountains and valleys of water; and another ship firing on us relentlessly. The result was that almost every part of our offensive strategy was gone. The firebombs were useless along with the boiling oil. No one but the true sailors could keep their footing on the ship so most had run below decks to take cover and pray for a quick end. I saw one man running wildly along the deck in a panic. I shimmied down the mast with my forearm firmly wrapped around the rope. When my feet hit the deck my shirt was badly torn and my arm was raw and bleeding from the rope burn. I ran over to the man and grabbed him. It was one of the passengers, Taylor I think he was called. "Collect yourself man, you must be clear of mind to defend the people on this ship, heavens man there are women and children aboard."
"Heaven won't help us now; we are all going to die, WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE". He was so wet that I couldn't maintain a good grip on his arms. He scrambled around and ran for the side of the ship; before I could reach him he hurled himself overboard. I leaned over the side holding the edge of the rail firmly with my good arm and watched helplessly as he flailed into the rain and storm, he was gone. There was nothing I could do for him. I had to concentrate on what I could do, the people I could still help.
I looked over at the Pirates and a deep shiver shook through my whole body. There was one man and the woman still standing in the same place. As though there was no storm, no concern in the world. I was positive I could see a smirk on her face and he looked…hungry. A moment later I heard three cracks from the cannons blast through our ship again. I had to run down below and see what the damage was, I was beginning to see that there was nothing we could do to stop the coming evil. I had to get to Bella, I had to be with her through this, I felt a deep and heavy pain run through me when I though of how she might meet her end. She deserved a beautiful life, full of happiness, babies, sunrises, and sunsets. I didn't want to imagine the horror that lay at the end of this conflict. How could I help her avoid that nightmare? Would I be able to end it for her painlessly if I had too? I leaned over and retched at the thought.
A sharp pain seared through the back of my head. I feel to my knees and caught myself on the floor twisting my wrist and scraping my hand. Barely able to clear the stars from my eyes I twisted to see old Billy.
"You old fool what are you doing?" I bellowed with the little breath I had left in my lungs.
"I had to stop you from going down to that room. This is no time for you to be down there. Did you know I've been sailing with your father since he brought your mother back from America?" Was this man a lunatic? This was no time to reminisce.
"I have to find Bella, I have to protect her."
"Don't you worry about that right now. Cullen is already heading down there. I've stuck around your sorry sac of a father for so long because I knew you would need me when this moment arrived, and I knew it would sooner or later. This might not be the best time, but it just might be the only way to save her."
I was beyond distraction at this point. I felt like the air was heavy and there was a red haze in front of my eyes. I was so hot I felt like I was about to explode. My breathing was so heavy I felt like I was sucking in all of the air on the ship.
"Quick boy, get into this room." Billy shoved me into one of the small side quarters; no one was in there. There were just two small hammocks and someone's belongings in a trunk. I could feel my muscles stretching and contracting. I couldn't get control and I was quickly spinning into a dark oblivion.
"You are about to change. Your mother's people were great protectors of humanity. They became werewolves, you are about to become one too. I can see we don't have much time, and you won't understand this, but you are about to become a wolf. Look at your arm." I looked down and the arm I had burned on the rope earlier was already healed and covered in hair. This was not possible, this doesn't happen. I'm not even a man? I'm a monster. I felt a deep explosion coming from my toes to the surface. I was shaking all over and I felt like my bones were crunching into powder.
"You are going to have strength, speed, and the ability to heal faster than you can imagine. You will not be invincible but you will be worth more than a hundred men against that ship. If you are changing that means only one thing. Captain James isn't looking for slaves; he's looking for meals. He is a vampire, and so are the other two."
My mind was being pushed so far past the edge of reason I felt like I had nothing to grasp onto. These monsters were not real, just stories, but I couldn't grasp enough control to say so. I suddenly realized I was lying on the floor writhing. My shirt was so tight around my neck, and then I felt the fabric tear all the way down. A loud growl burst from my throat and I curled into a tight ball. I felt like I had to hold my whole body together or it would burst at the joints.
"Just remember that you are still you and once you change you will have control over going back and forth. Remember that you are not an animal. You are a warrior. So was your mother." He turned to the door and opened it. "Remember who you are the son of Hurit, warrior princess." I thought I heard the door shut but I wasn't sure what was real anymore. The red haze in front of my eyes had turned into a dark red obscurity. I suddenly felt a spasm wrack my whole body; I stretched out my arms and legs to their full length. My back arched and I let a long howl escape from deep inside my lungs. I felt a crack of lightening shoot through me and suddenly I was keenly aware of every sound and smell around me. I could hear the panicked screams of every passenger and sailor on board, it was deafening. I was standing but I didn't feel the same. I looked down at my legs and I saw paws. I turned over my shoulder and saw the body of a large dark wolf. The hammocks were ripped from the wall and the trunk was smashed open. The room was covered in claw marks. I lifted my hand and pulled it across the wall. It was surreal to see that I was controlling the front leg of this wolf and that I was the one who had clawed through the wood like water. I was a monster, straight from hell. Billy said that I had control, but control of what? I had exploded into a monster of the darkest nightmares and gypsey legends. I collapsed; I could hear the shouts and smell the fear coming from all over the ship. What could I do? I needed to get to Bella, but not like this. I concentrated on what Billy had said. I tried to think of myself as a man, a human man. I felt myself shifting from the inside out. And then I was lying there on the floor, naked, shivering, but burning up from the heat in the room. I looked around and found one pair of pants that had not been destroyed. After pulling them on I burst through the door and began to run towards Bella.
EPOV
As soon as I saw that the crew and passengers couldn't maintain any organization or offense I knew that our outcome was bleak. I had to get down to Bella. As the storm rolled in the cannon cracks were ringing out and I was running. I jumped down from the deck to the next level and landed just as the boat shifted from a wave. My knee twisted under me. I heard a pop and I felt my knee give out. A sick lump formed in the pit of my stomach and I fought the immediate urge my body had to pass out. I pulled myself up on the ladder trying to gain some purchase under my feet as the rain poured in. Stumbling along the hallway I kept moving towards Bella, I had to reach her. The ship was wracked by another volley of cannon fire and I was thrown against the wall. Pulling myself along the floor I finally reached her door. I knock on it loud and hard. I expected to hear her say something or scream, but there was absolute silence. I pulled myself up along the wall and pulled on the lever to open the door. As it swung forward I saw Bella jump from behind with a knife and lung towards me. Luckily I was leaning so far over on the jam I just spun to the right and she barely missed me, the tip of the knife caught my shirt.
"Bella, Bella, it's me, it's Edward." I reached out and grabbed her wrist. She looked up at me in a scared daze and then as her mind slowly let go I looked into her eyes and saw her recognize me. She looked at the knife, dropped it, and crumbled into my chest.
"Oh Edward, Edward, Edward." She said my name over and over and sobbed into my chest. If only I could gather her up in my arms and fly away from all of this evil.
"I'm here now, don't worry, we'll do the best we can. The pirates are definitely going to board this ship, they will take what they want, and then this ship is going to the bottom of the ocean, I am sure. And I don't want you trapped down here."
"I can't go." Bella looked up into my eyes with a conviction that caught me off guard. Her eyes were red and watery and strong. "I won't leave Angela." I looked over and Angela was lying in a heap on the floor crunched up against the wall holding her stomach. She looked green and miserable.
"Where is Ben?" was all Angela could manage to whisper.
"I haven't seen him, but everyone is scattered across the ship." That was the best assurance I had to offer right now though it wasn't much.
Bella and I pulled Angela up to her feet and with her arms draped over us we struggled towards the bow of the ship. The wind and waves were letting up now but the rain was still coming down steadily. My plan right now was just to get above deck and hopefully make it to a small skiff, toss it over and go over after it with Bella.
I heard what I thought was a howl. I knew there were no animals on the ship and I quickly assumed it must have been the storm outside. When we came above the deck I immediately knew we would never make it out of this. I could feel the tension and panic in the air.
Everyone was lined up on one side of the ship and Captain James and the woman were standing in front of them as casual as if it had been a spring day. James was holding Captain Newton by the neck, a foot off of the deck.
BPOV
I couldn't fathom what everyone was doing out there lined up in the storm with the Pirate ship right next to us. I could see a few ropes tying the two ships together and when I saw that Captain Newton's feet flailing in the air, I knew something was much more wrong than I had guessed. Reflexively I scanned the group for Mike and did not see him there.
"Edward, what is going on?" I whispered into his ear. He gently set Angela down and held a finger to his lips indicating he wanted me to be quiet. It seemed the pirates hadn't noticed us yet.
Edward pointed towards a large stack of crates on the deck that would shield Angela and me from view. I shuffled as carefully as possible helping Angela drag herself behind the large wooden boxes. Edward was circling around behind the pirates. He was almost behind them when the woman's head snapped around, she looked directly at Edward and I saw her lips moving, saying something to the man. He dropped the Captain, who landed in a lifeless heap on the deck. Everyone was too scared to move to help him. James turned in a crouched position and was about to leap towards Edward. I screamed. I couldn't help it. I would not stand by and watch Edward be attacked. His head snapped around towards me. What happened next was so fast I couldn't comprehend what was going on. That crazy old crewman swung his cane out and cracked it on the woman's head. The cane snapped in half, she barely flinched. She reached her hand around and grabbed the half of the cane that was still in the crewman's hand and wrenched it free, she had it lifted over her head and as she was about to bring it down on the man, a huge creature leaped from behind the mast and let out a loud growl. The woman and man both immediately turned their attention to the creature, which landed in front of them. Suddenly the three were all crouched, staring at each other, and snarling. The pirates seemed shocked to see this creature, but not as much as everyone else. The storm blackened sky was so dark I could barely make it out but it looked like a humongous wolf.
James shouted out and leapt towards the creature. The fighting was so violent and fast I couldn't stand to look at it. I turned my attention to Angela and I could see she was in very bad shape; she was pale and cold and didn't seem to be looking at anything. I settled her on a coil of rope and crawled over to where Edward was.
At that moment there was nothing stronger in the world than my desire to be with him. I had no choice but to go to him, to be by his side. I felt every stitch in my soul reach towards him. As I got to where he was I saw what he was looking at. I saw why all of the passengers were standing so motionless and frightened. All of their feet were shackled together in a long chain and at the end was an anchor, teetering on the edge of the ship. How had an anchor gotten there? If it went over, everyone was going over with it. Then I saw all of their horrified faces, staring at Captain Newton. His body was lying on the ground with a large portion missing from his neck. There was blood all over. It looked like a bear had torn into him.
I found my father at the end of the chain and knew that he was whispering quick and desperate prayers. Perhaps the wolf was sent from heaven. I looked back towards the violent fight and saw that the wolf was somewhat wounded but still holding off both of the pirates. How were they able to fight against such a large beast? The third pirate jumped from their ship to ours, as easily as though he were leaping over a puddle after a spring rain. He landed lightly on his feet and pulled out the gangplank across both ships. I was struck dumb by what I was witnessing. Apparently so was everyone else. The third pirate was dark skinned and he moved with a grace and speed that was beyond any mans ability.
He picked up the anchor as though it were a small basket of flowers and addressed the group. "Please carefully follow me across the plank to the other ship and no one else will be harmed." He was so smooth and congenial in what he was saying. It sounded like he was inviting them to an afternoon in the garden.
"It would be better that we all go down into the depths of the sea than follow a creature from Hell." I heard my father call out. The man looked at him almost amused.
"And that may very well be the case, but surely you won't all go, and since I can drag this chain over, it would be most uncomfortable for most of you. Please avoid injury and follow along to the other ship." He calmly walked over to the plank and they all followed him. Even my father.
I realized that the fight was still going and was moving closer to where Angela was hiding. I tapped Edward on the shoulder and pointed towards her. He began to make his way back over there as best as he could, half dragging one leg, trying to stay low and unnoticed. I slowly followed behind him, cursing my skirts and petty coats heavy with rain along the way. Suddenly, just steps away from Angela there was a loud howl and the wolf was thrown in the air. He hit the mast and I could hear the crack of bones breaking.
The storm had almost completely stopped. Just a light rain now, the third pirate jumped over to the pair from seemingly nowhere. They scowled at the wolf and then I saw James slowly turn his head towards us. His eyes were crazy, I could see now that they were dark red and a sick feeling wrapped itself around my heart. All three pirates slowly made their way over to where we were, they were moving in a way that can only be described as inhuman. The woman turned toward where Angela was hiding and put her nose up in the air inhaling deeply. A wicked grin spread across her pale features. "Grab the one with child Victoria." Captain James directed the woman. "Laurent, grab the man." I could see that James's eyes had settled on me. Faster than a blink Laurent had Edward in a death grip, I could see that he held him so tight the wind was pushed out of him. Victoria had Angela half slung over one arm.
"Take them back to our ship and prepare to sink this one."
"NO" I felt the word scratch and break it's way out of my throat. "Why are you doing this?"
James looked at me with a glint of evil amusement. "Victoria, isn't it strange when your food talks back?" She threw her head back and cackled wildly. I felt like I was about to pass out. James was just inches from me when the beast sailed through the air and bit his arm. James growled so loud I felt it rumble under my feet.
Victoria howled and grabbed me by the arm. She twisted and wrenched it so hard tears immediately sprang to my eyes. She seemed to enjoy that. She was dragging us towards the gangplank Laurent had set up for everyone else. As we were dragged across I could see Angela try to force herself over the edge but Victoria held her tight. "Really, that would be such a waste; I have bigger plans for you." Once we were over, she kicked the plank and I scrambled after it. She wrenched my arm around again and I cried out in pain. I could see Laurent writhing in pain on the deck and Edward running over to the side of the ship closest to me. He reached out towards me and screamed, "Bella!" James was fighting the beast. The wolf was wounded again, I could hear it in his voice, and James flung him aside with a frightening amount of strength. James went over to check on Laurent and see how injured he was. Standing up and looking disgusted he stepped over Laurent and was heading in the direction of Edward. The wolf seemed to be shaking with violent convulsions. I looked for Edward and when I looked back I could see Mike Newton crumpled on the deck where the beast had been, naked and shaking with pain.
My heart caught in my throat. I was so confused by what I was seeing. I was not confused about Michael. He was hurt and I loved him. I screamed and pressed myself to the rail of the larger pirate ship. Victoria reached out and slapped me. She was so smooth, no hesitation. The slap stung like a million knives and sent me spinning. I landed on my hands and knees, through my tears I could see Mike struggling towards Edward. He would reach him before James. Edward turned towards Mike, and he shook his head as though he were agreeing. James leapt on Edward and hit him so hard I was worried Edward was dead; my ability to handle this was crumpling. I could see that everyone else had detached from reality. There was nothing but blank stares, even from my father. Jessica Stanley was rocking in a ball muttering something under her breath over and over. Suddenly James landed on the ship and dropped Edward to the deck like a sac of potatoes.
I looked back to the ship and saw Laurent dragging himself towards Mike. Mike pulled himself up and began to shake. I heard a gurgle come from Edward and turned to him, I was close enough to reach out and touch him. He leaned into my hand and that was all I could do. I saw the beast again, or Michael, whatever it was, try to drag himself over to the side of the ship, he ran as best as he could and tried to leap over to us. Just as his paws left the deck Laurent reached up and grabbed one paw. The wolf beast looked shocked and scared and fell to the ocean below. Just then the deck of the ship burst into flames and I heard an awful screeching sound rip from the pirate Laurent. It was an awful keening sound and it shattered the last of my resolve to remain conscious. My mind was overwhelmed. There was a black edge on the corner of my mind that seemed so calm and comforting. I let myself release and I easily slipped over that edge into oblivion.
How is that for a little action? Did I catch you off guard? Let me know what you think :) and if you like my story tell your friends and check out the stories I work on with Melolabel, she's on my favorite authors list. Many thanks - SweetThunder