CHAPTER 27 - SAILORS DON'T CRY
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The water was calm, shiny as the clearest and brightest of skies; today was a paradisiacal day, and for some reason, the winds were blowing gently, but life went on, and the ships sailed without stopping. On an outer pirate ship, belonging to a close friend of Algalunga, a dilemma arose. A band of pirates stood before their captain, arguing, with a tied man, Monomia tied up.
«“You are amateurs! Are you making the prisoners do your work?”» the captain scolded his crew for their lazy and questionable behavior.
«“What kind of pirates are you?! And without even warning me! If I give you a punishment, you follow it, not make others do it.”» With his strong arm, he grabbed one of the sailors on board, responsible for the offense against the captain, and, taking him by the neck, pronounced his final words, not directed at him, but as if they were for all the members of the crew, and as if that poor fellow taken by the neck was just a demonstration that none of them were playing at that moment.
The fearsome captain turned toward the poor pirate. «“And if I catch you avoiding your work again, I’ll make you take a dive in the sea, but not before I drill your tail, legs, and arms, so you can wave goodbye to the sea hunters, understood?”»
«“Y-yes Captain Polyvòro!”» the scared pirate stammered. «“Good. Now take him to a cell.”»
«“Sir, we don’t have any empty cells left, we don’t know where to put the boy…”»
The captain turned, squinting, but he was no longer angry; he pondered what to do with such dead weight.
Despite scolding his inferiors for doing it, he also wanted to take advantage of him, like the other prisoners; after all, he was determined to follow Algalunga’s plan not only because they were close friends but also for the inherent and clear benefits he could gain from making such a move.
The captain turned one last time to his pirates and inferiors, giving final orders.
«“Inferiors that you are! I couldn’t care less that there’s no empty cell; trash like a slave can be piled up! Throw him in the first cell you see.”» And so the pirates did, taking Monomia, who had stopped resisting, finding it useless, into the ship's lower decks, where the aforementioned cages were to be placed for him to remain.
Upon reaching the first cage, they opened it, and with a violent throw, they tossed Monomia inside, who gave up trying to escape or even making a simple, miserable curse at his captors, merely observing them as they left.
The air began to grow heavier in that gloomy cell. It seemed to press relentlessly on his chest, and the feelings of oppression intensified, making his head spin in an unsettling way. A faint and persistent smell of copper permeated the atmosphere, but he couldn’t identify it precisely.
It was a smell he knew well, the distinctive odor of a prison, but at that moment he sensed it in an extraordinarily acute form. The walls, a cold and desolate gray, emitted a vague call to that scent. The floor, worn by the steps of those who had shared the same fate, and the peeling ceiling contributed to creating an environment that seemed to have decayed over time.
Perhaps it was the dim and gloomy light that permeated the cell, or the faded color of the walls, but something in that place evoked in him the image of the inside of an animal stomach or even of a corpse left in a dumpster for a week.
In an attempt to preserve his sanity, he tried with all his might to push away those distressing thoughts, to concentrate on anything that would distance him from the oppressive reality of his imprisonment. And to think that his companions had endured all this for more than a year; his stomach churned at the slightest thought. However, the cell, despite Monomia's impressions, was not particularly frightening—a small triangular room, with a single window in the center and a cage that kept him from exiting.
Monomia quickly walked toward the bars of the cell, observing his surroundings, without even focusing on the cell. Suddenly, a familiar voice struck his ears, and Monomia turned quickly, nothing but astonishment on his face.
Monomia turned in surprise, unable to believe his eyes; immediately, his mind raced to name him, but before he could do anything, the man in question began to speak. «“Monomia… What are you doing here? Did you get captured?”»
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«“K-kain?!”» Monomia said, filled with astonishment and a slight tremor he had never shown before.
…
«“I understand…”» said Kain, clenching his left fist.
«“That damned Algalunga! I won’t sleep soundly until I see him burning!”»
«“Yeah…”» Monomia could do nothing but nod, looking at the floor with a sulky expression, his throat tight, as if he had a knot holding it firm.
«“So…”» Monomia suddenly turned back to Kain. «“Where are the others?”»
«“The others?”» Kain asked, almost confused, as if he didn’t remember who else he was talking about; then, as if it came naturally, he realized what Monomia was referring to, and an abrupt sense of realization hit him, thinking about his companion's question.
«“I don’t know where the others are.”»
«“What... What do you mean… You don’t know?”» Monomia’s voice trembled slightly as he asked the question. He had been away for a while, indeed, not just a little, but a very long time, and he had hoped that when he reunited with the crew members, even if he hoped there were more than one, he would have all the answers he needed, or at least every member of the crew with him.
The brusque and sudden answer surprised him. He had expected to receive a complete and satisfying response, but it seemed there was still much to discover, so Monomia began to ask more questions.
Immediately afterward, Kain decided to put an end to any doubts Monomia might have. He began to speak rapidly, as if he had accumulated all this information while waiting for his return. He fervently recounted everything that had happened during the time Monomia had been absent.
«“When you left, Algalunga took us on his ship, and from that moment on, he made us work like mules the entire time we waited.”» He started with a bitter tone, but that wasn’t all; he had to continue, as Monomia thought, and so he did, and Kain continued to describe what had happened.
«“But at some point, he realized that together we were a danger, and despite us working decently, he understood the risk it posed. Moreover, we began to annoy him with our constant presence and all our annoying arguments, so he made a decision: he would scatter the three of us to other friendly ships, and he would keep the hardest worker, or at least, if not the hardest, the least quarrelsome.”» Monomia listened, and noticing the pause, he asked one last question.
«“So… What happened to the others? Where did they go?”»
«“Monomia, I told you I don’t know anything. I was the first to leave; after annoying Algalunga once again, he negotiated with a friend of his, the captain of this crew, to bring me here to work, and I’ve been here until now.”»
«“So now you don’t know where they are or how they’re doing?”»
«“Essentially, I’m as lost as you are about everyone else, but at least there is a silver lining.”» Kain turned to Monomia, placing his hand on his head and smiling at him. «“I found you, so I know how one of us is.”»
Monomia, with the speed and aggression of a warrior, removed Kain’s hand from his head and, with teary eyes, turned to the other side, crossing his arms. Kain, initially confused, after a few seconds began to question him again. «“Monomia… what’s wrong?”»
«“How can you joke right now? How can you smile now? We’re here on an enemy ship, and I’ve barely reached one crew member, and we’re both in a cage. How can you be happy? Aren’t you worried about your companions?”»
«“Of course I am, Monomia, but I can’t expect to find them immediately.”»
«“It’s not about finding them immediately!”» Monomia exclaimed, turning around in tears, and after a while, he pointed a finger at him. «“I was the one who was supposed to find you! Carpos gave me that task, he entrusted me with that, and I got captured, so I won’t save anyone, and the freedom that Carpos guaranteed me I simply ignored. I’m a disgrace as a sailor!”»
The air was growing cold, increasingly heavy, and the wind began to make itself felt. The atmosphere was slowly transforming under the influence of the impending climate change. The air, already cool, was gradually losing its warmth, enveloping everything around it in a chilling embrace. The sky, once clear and blue, was slowly darkening, with gray, menacing clouds filling the horizon.
«“Not only… Not only have I failed to keep the promise I made to save you. But the new friends I made… They were also captured by Algalunga. And all because…”» At that point, Monomia put his hands over his face. «“Because I failed to protect them from the pirates. It’s all my fault!”»
Kain didn’t utter a single word, remaining silent, allowing Monomia to say everything he could. After Monomia had shed enough tears, he sat on the floor, silent, but suddenly, Kain’s shadow, which had remained still, approached him, covering his body.
He grabbed him by the front of his uniform, lifting him menacingly and looking directly into his tear-filled eyes, his face suddenly turned stone-cold. «“Wipe your tears Monomia, sailors don’t cry, they fight. And get up, I can’t stand people who give up. It’s never the end of the journey.”»
«“What are you talking about..?”» Monomia said, not moving a muscle and without a whimper. As instructed, he wiped his tears and looked at him. Kain, annoyed by his further questions, shouted at him.
«“Don’t tell me that after all of this you are willing to give up. Now that I’ve found you, we are going to escape together and find the others, it means we’re getting out of here now, you idiot! We’re escaping! Clear?! So get up and stop crying!”»