Chapter Eight
Ty woke again, feeling more like himself than he had in days. The fever was almost gone. He still shivered a bit, but at least in wasn't incapacitating. He sat up on the bed and looked around. The room was about the same size as the rooms they had in the Trade Station. His injured arm was resting in a sling. It felt much better.
Slowly he got to his feet. He was still a little unsteady on his feet, but he was determined to make it. He took a few steps forward. The carpet tickled his bare feet. Where was he again? Let's see, what did he remember from yesterday? He was sick. His shoulder was infected. He remembered that much.
He took a few steps down the hall. It was quiet out. He didn't hear anyone up. A few steps more and he was in the living room with a large window that opened up to the ocean. He used the wall to support himself and pressed his palm on the window and looked out into the ocean. He has missed this sight. All he got to stare at was a table or a wall. Neither was interesting.
"You're up."
He turned around and saw a woman looking at him. Did he know her?
"Who-"
"I'm Lottie," she said and sat down on one of the couches. "I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't remember me. You were far gone when they brought you here."
"You did this?" He pointed to the sling.
She nodded. "Couldn't exactly let you go without taking a look at that shoulder of yours. Shade's Gang doesn't have many medical skills except stitching up their own wounds from time to time."
Ty sat down on the other end of the couch. "How do you know them?"
"The Seablite Gang?" He nodded. "I run a small fishing company around the area here. I employ anybody who's useful to me. If you're not cut out for the job, you won't make it out here. Shade came looking for a job a few years back as did a few others in his Gang. I employed them. They weren't the people they are today when I first met them. They were boys. Scared, little boys who didn't know what to do Topside or how to make it subsea. They were stuck between two worlds, one they didn't want to live in and the other they didn't know how to live in. Follow me, kid?" Ty nodded and she continued the story.
"They had the spirit to live subsea they just didn't know how. The other employees taught them some stuff. Most of it was bad news since that's why they are what they are today. After a while, I saw how bitter they all were. They were all hurting and just wanted to make the pain go away. I showed them the Specter and told them my idea. They could do whatever they wanted with her as long as they did a few jobs for me."
"You turned them into outlaws?" he said. "Do you even know what they do?"
"Yes." She didn't sound surprised. "I've got no love for the 'wealth. They stabbed me in the back once and I'm just trying to get even."
"That's called revenge," he pointed out.
Lottie shook her head. "It's called justice, kid. I just do it to make things right for the people down here. We've worked too hard for it and they barely give us anything in return for all of our hard work. The Seablite Gang just wants to get even after years of hurt. Can you deny them the justice that they deserve?"
Ty looked down at the carpet. He couldn't say anything about it. A few days ago he learned about what happened to them, how they were experimented on and tortured so a doctor could learn about Dark Gifts. Wasn't that wrongful of him to experiment on boys? But wasn't it also wrongful for them to steal from hard working people? Nothing made sense anymore.
"Don't know what to say now do you?" she asked and smirked. "Here's my advice, kid, don't judge a book by its cover. You may be surprised about what you find out on the inside."
Ty nodded slightly. He understood what she meant. There was more than meets the eye when it comes to the Seablite Gang. He coughed and covered it up with his hand. Lottie looked concerned. She leaned over and placed her hand on his forehead.
"You're still running a bit of a fever," she said. "You best get back to bed and get some rest." He nodded and pounded his chest to clear out some of the congestion. He stood up slowly and walked back to the room where he crawled back under the blankets and fell asleep.
The next day was the day he left. He was up and walking long before the Seablite Gang arrived. Lottie said they had some "business" to attend to. Ty knew what kind of business she was talking about.
His appetite returned and she had good food in the house. He ate whatever was set down in front of him. And she wasn't that bad of cook either. She checked his shoulder one last time.
"Just keep the sling on for a few days yet and it should be fine within a week," she explained and tied the ends of the bandage together.
"Thanks," he said and pulled on his shirt.
"If you're worried about them," she said softly, "they'll let you go. They won't harm you."
"How do you know?"
She leaned against the island in the kitchen. "Most of them are harmless. The only one you have to watch out for is Pretty. But if you keep your distance, you'll be fine." Ty nodded and ate the last bits of the food sitting before him.
The Seablite Gang returned sometime in the afternoon. Ty waited by the moon pool as the Specter rose. The hatch near the dorsal fin opened up. Shade jumped out and onto the outer rim of the Moon pool. Dressed in a shark skin vest and dark pants, the outlaw pulled out a small wad of cash and handed it to Lottie.
"For your troubles," he said. "And for helping the kid out."
"No problem," she said. "Good to see you again."
Shade dipped his head as if to say 'you too'. He gripped Ty's arm and led him back onto the Specter and back into a living nightmare.
Ty stood in the rec room and stared at the white rope that was still tied to the pipe with that complicated and unsolvable knot. The other end of the rope seemed to taunt him. He stared at it and it stared at him. He looked down at his wrist and knew that in any moment there would be a coil of white around it.
Shade turned him to face him. "I won't tie you up as long as you do what you're told," he said in a warning tone. "You're still a hostage on this sub. If you do anything that harms any of the crew or puts the whole sub in danger, you'll wish you've never been born. Understand?" Ty nodded mutely. "You'll be sleeping on one of the padded benches here. And I won't have you sitting around all day. You'll be expected to earn your keep here."
"What do you expect me to do?" he asked.
Shade shrugged. "I don't know. Something as long as it's useful and benefits us all. Understand, Guppy?" He nodded again. Shade, who seemed satisfied, left the rec room.
Ty sat down on a padded bench. It was wide enough to sleep on so he wouldn't have to worry about rolling off in the middle of the night. He slid back into the corner and pulled his knees up to his chest. At least he was in a better situation than he was in a few days ago. He wasn't tied up anymore and his shoulder no longer ached. Maybe the outlaws weren't as mean as they seemed.
The first task he was given was to wash dishes in the galley. That's right. He was reduced to a dish boy. He removed his sling and set it down on the narrow counter space. The outlaws dropped off their dishes and retired to the rec room for some fun and games. He did what he was supposed to and washed the dishes, stacking them away in the cupboards. When he was done, he put his sling back on and took a seat in the rec room.
The outlaws' ideas of fun was throwing knives at the dart board, practicing knife fights, cleaning and repairing weapons, and using the punching bag. Hatchet was going at it on the punching bag. The man was strong. Muscles bulging, teeth barring with every punch, Ty couldn't help but think of himself being that punching bag. Bruises forming, bones cracking. He shuddered and shoved that thought away. Trilo and Kale were repairing harpoon guns on the table. Eel and Pretty were having a knife fight, both experts in avoiding each other's slashes.
Okay. So maybe this wasn't what Ty had in mind for an after dinner activity, but they enjoyed themselves. As long as they left him alone, he was fine.
Shade stopped by and gave them the plan for tomorrow. A government supply ship was nearby and they would hit it sometime tomorrow. The Gang cheered and whooped as they prepared for tomorrow. Shade tossed Ty a blanket and walked off.
As he settled down for the night, Ty felt a sense of belonging here. They didn't glare at him anymore; give him threatening glances from afar. They had a grudging respect for him, all because he was their dish boy. For the first time in a long time, he didn't miss home.