Chapter 6. Trigger warning, graphic description of Gore and self-harm. This chapters pretty long too.
jim put his arms down to lift himself off the ground.
"ah" he hissed. He winched as he got uo and left quickly to the barracks room. He saw there were crew mates in there and left to go to the kitchen. He found a smaller room when they kept storage, pots, pans and knives. Carefully he took of his jacket and saw his blood soaked sleeve. He pulled it down to see his arm covered in blood. Scroop had reopened his cuts and squeezed tons of blood out from them. Jim cursed under his breath, and wonder what was he going to do next.
With sliver and scroop
"mr.scroop, ive seen your attitude for this entire trip and dont think im oblivious to your treatment toward mr.hawkins. You are on thin ice, sir. Now let me be clear. One more slip up from you and youll spend the rest of the vovyage paying for your insubordination." Amlia said sternly. "Do not test me. You are dismissed." Scroop made his exit as she turned to sliver.
"my humblest apologies capn' i just don-"
"save it mr. Sliver, i am not interested in what you have to say. You know what you did was wrong, whilest I understand the reasoning behind your actions, it still doesn't excuse your action. I will not condone any violence on my ship." She ended. Her stern voice changed into a soft kinder tone. "Oh, and do check on mr.hawkins for me, i noticed some blood on mr.scroops hands. I understand jim is a strong young man, but he is not invincible."
"of course capn'" sliver added humbly with a little respectful bow.
"dismissed." Amlia said uninterested.
"yelln a atme like ima som child." Sliver muttered under his breathe whilst heading down to jims bunk. "jimbo?" Sliver called out. "Jimbo!" Sliver called louder. "Maybe the lads clean'in the crows nest, unless he messin around with morph" sliver conveyed with himself as he made his way to the crows nest. "JIMBOOOO!" Sliver yelled above to the crows nest. He waited a second before deciding jim wasnt up there. "Were the devil is this-...*gasp* scroop"
sliver made his way to the kitchen, while walking there sliver asked himself "would scroop really go after jim right after the conversation with the captain? No...would he?" Sliver was looking for something to kill scroop with. "God better help him if i found out he did som to the lad." Sliver opened the storage were they kept the pots, pans and knives. Sliver froze. "Jimbo?" Sliver said confused. "What are ye doin' hidin' in here?"
jim quickly tried to hide his arm. The whole time in the storage space he was trying to stop the bleeding but adding pressure but it only made it wrose and getting blood everywhere.
"s-s-sliver! H-hey. What-whatcha doin, um, down here" jim said trying to pass off what he was doing. He treid to look unsuspicious but his stuttering and moving his arm behind his back gave him away.
"why, i was looking for you. Ye alright lad?" Sliver responded suspiciously.
"me? Oh, yeah im fiinnee. Better start getting dinner ready, right?" With that jim tried to make a move and leave slyly. But sliver grabbed his arm just before he could get out of reach.
"jimbo, whats goin' up with yo-" sliver felt something warm and wet under his paw.
Jim felt his face getting red and his stomach drop. sliver looked down at the horror sight that was jim arm. Sliver stood holding jims wrist and lifted up his blood soaked sleeve silently. Jim stood ashamed, letting it happen. Sliver visibly tensed. Six long deep vertical lines from jims wrist to his elbow, all still bleeding while being covered in old blood. The red irrigated angry lines proving they're fresh.
"where did you..when did..how..?" Slivers lost for words barely above a whisper.
"how?" He asked sternly. Jim stood silent, staring at the floor.
"how!?" Sliver repeated himself this time more sure.
"jim, how?" Sliver said trying to meet the boy's gaze.
"fine. You wont talk to me, youll talk to the captn'l sliver said still holding jims arm dragging him towards the exit of the kitchen. Jim pulled his arm as hard as he could out of sliver grasp but it was no use. The boy stood stuggling like a fox caught in a trap.
"jimbo, how?" Sliver stop walking and turned, now facing jim, inches away from his face.
"AGGH OK!" Jim yelled out, the pressure getting to him.
"okay.." jim repeated barely above a whisper. Jim sat down at one of the seats near them in the coner of the kitchen.
"how, jimbo?" Sliver said once again in a calmer tone
"knife.." jim said not looking sliver in the eye. He couldn't. He was full of shame.
"why, lad?" Sliver practically begged.
"because im a failure sliver. Don't you get it?" Jim was close to tears, yet his voice still strong and full of angry. "I screwed upok? All i do is mess up. Thats all i know how to do. I put everyone around me in stress and chaos and i dont know how to get back up. Do i even try?? I mean look at me. Im a fatherless, troubled teen whos mom wants to give up her rights to him, no future but jail, who never had a chance! No one ever taught me anything and no one ever will because im nothing but a lost cause. Jim was in tears now. "I deserve it. I deserve to hurt for all the people ive caused problems for. I deserve to die.."
jim looked away, anywhere but slivers eyes. He couldnt. Jim looked to the wall next to him and felt slivers warm fat indulge him. Sliver hugging him tightly.
"lad...dont ever say those things about yourself. Ever. Again. Jim you are one of the most geniusly bright kids ive ever met. You have skill like no other. Its not your sins that ye was dealt a bad hand in life. Jim, your something special. You keep messing up because your scared to try and be somethin' different. You got the makings of greatness in you, but you gotta take the helm and chart your own course! Stick to it, no matter the squalls! And when the time comes, you'll get the chance to really test the cut of your sails and show what you're made of! And... well, I hope I'm there, catching some of the light coming off you that day. your father may have left you, but i wont ever. Youll get through this. Ill be be with you. Every single step of the way. You dont have to suffer alone anymore jim. Im here. Im here for you. All your troubles, all your truths, all your good and bad-im here." Sliver wliped a tear from jims face.
"Frist things frist tho. I want that knife. Any time you feel like ya a danger. You come to me. I dont care if its day, night, anytime, ok."
jim sniffed, "ok"
jim finally wasn't alone anymore. But still deep inside he truly felt like sliver was going to leave him too, and he needed to be prepared for when that would happen.
Scroop wasn't about to let anything slide. Sliver had gone soft. Scroop called up every crew member and turned them against sliver. They were to act without sliver and betray him when the time was right. "Sliver is no pirate, hes just a hound adopting runts of litters" one crew called out "yeah" another responded. It was offical. Scroop was the new leader, and he wouldn't be a disappointment.