The Pendant

Jade propped herself against a crate as she settled in for the day. Her eyes followed James who walked around the small room. His fingers tugged at the hem of his shirt. He kept clearing his throat and sweat covered his face. Jade stood up and made her way to the deck. She grabbed a large bucket, went back down the ladder to the room she and James were sharing, and passed him the bucket.

He looked at her with confusion. Then without warning he felt the bile rise in his throat. He leaned forward and emptied the contents of his stomach. He kneeled down on the floor, his hands gripping the edge of the bucket. Jade wrinkled her nose as the acrid smell reached her.

“It takes a while to get your sea legs. You should be fine in a few days. Here rinse your mouth and then drink.” She tossed him a bottle of water which he gladly accepted.

His lips had lost their color and his hair was wet with sweat. He used the bottle of water Jade gave him to spit out the remaining vomit from his mouth. He glanced up at her and gave a weak smile. He took several deep breaths before he heaved again. His body retched as what little left in his stomach was emptied into the bucket.

“If I were you I would head up to the top deck. Being able to look at the horizon of the sea will help reduce your sickness. Here,” she reached into her coat pocket and tossed him a small bottle, “motion sickness pills. Take two they’re small.”

James chuckled and downed two of the pills and pocketing the bottle. “Watch out I’m heading up.”

“The sun isn’t up just yet.”

“How do you know?”

“I have to know or else I would die.”

“I guess that makes sense. I’ll ask you more when I don’t feel like I am going to vomit up my insides and turn inside out.”

“You have a good time with that. Make sure you look at the horizon or you will still barf.” She smirked as he rushed up the ladder to the upper deck.

Jade reclined against one of the soft bundles of cargo that was tied to the floor. It was not an ideal sleeping arrangement but it would do for a few days until they reached the shore. With James gone she allowed sleep to take over.

She felt his presents before she heard him. James had been spending most of his days up on the upper deck helping the crew and his nights in the cargo hold while Jade was helping with the more strenuous activities of nights on a cargo ship. The only time in the last few days that she had seen him was at their shift switch. She heard him stop right in front of her and waited for him to say something.

“Can I help you?”

“Uh sorry it’s just the captain says there is a storm coming and he is going to need all hands on deck.” She opened her eyes in time to watch him rub the back of his neck and look down at his feet.

“Ok.”

“Ok good I’ll let him know that once the clouds roll over you will be up.” He laughed nervously trying to avoid her eyes.

“What’s got your knickers in a twist?”

“Nothing.”

“James.”

“Look it’s just that I didn’t realize that you didn’t breath.”

“Yeah that comes with the whole being dead thing.”

“This was the first I saw you sleep.”

“And I look dead.” She finished for him.

“Yeah.”

“That would be because I am dead. Vampire, remember? I am the Undead living an Un-life with what I can only assume is my soul and a demon that continually fight the battle of good and evil inside my head. Sorry if that freaks you out.”

James looked at her for the first time since he had come down the ladder. His piercing blue eyes locked with her green ones and he sighed. “No I’m sorry it just takes some getting used to. I wasn’t freaked by the demon and I don’t know why I was freaked by the whole not breathing thing. I think that I just see you as another person and not a vampire, but you know a girl, a really kick ass girl but a girl none the less.”

“Thanks. I think. Come and get me when the sky gets dark.” Jade leaned back against the cargo she had claimed as her bed area and closed her eyes. She sighed and opened them again when James did not move. “It’s dark enough now isn’t it?”

“Yeah. The sky is black actually.” He gave her a weak smile and started up the ladder without looking back, knowing she would follow him.

When Jade stepped foot on the deck she was amazed at the unified progress of the sailors on board, pulling ropes attached to various riggings set around the ship, orders being barked and followed, and crates being tied down to the deck. As Jade looked around the ship the wind started to pick up and her hair danced behind her. The waves kissed the side of the boat with a violent passion, licking the sides of the boat causing the gentle rock of the ship to increase. The air around the ship seemed heavy with water that had yet to fall. The sky was full of dark black clouds and thunder cracked in the distance.

James grabbed Jade by the arm and gestured towards the captain. Jade gave a nod of acknowledgement, heading towards the captain’s perch at the helm. The wind started to pick up and James staggered a little on the way up the stairs. Jade reached out and steadied him before he toppled over the railing back down to the deck.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“I need you two up here now!” The captain screamed above the rising winds. His eyes darted around the deck to survey the progress of the sailors. His muscles strained under his skin as he steered the boat to maintain its course.

Jade entered the helm first, James right behind her as the sky opened up and the rain came down in heavy sheets. James struggled to close the door to the helm against the now ragging wind.

“James, Jade I need you to help securing the rest of the cargo. James if it gets to be too much for either of you make sure to get to safety. I have never lost a man and I don’t intend to start today. The radar is showing that this storm is going to last awhile. The men down there will tell you want needs done. We can’t lose any of this cargo.” Jade shrugged out of her duster and hung it up on one of the hooks in the helm. She pulled the door open waiting for James.

They made their way the main deck. Jade grabbed up her long hair and tied it in a knot at the base of her neck. She rushed over to a group of men who were struggling with a large crate, the ropes that had secured it to the ship had snapped. The crate was sliding around on the deck with every push of the waves. Jade braced herself and waited for the crate to slide her way.

The crate sat still for a moment. A rugged looking sailor climbed the broken rope that still hung off the side of the crate. Jade growled in agitation at the man as she rushed towards the crate. She needed to hold the cargo still for the man. She managed to get to the large box before the next wave hit the side of the boat. The crate only shifted a little against Jade as she pressed it to the side of the boat. Her feet slid against the wet wood and metal of the deck.

Over the wind Jade heard a muffled cry. She shifted her eyes to the sound and watched as the man that had been on the top of the large wooden box feel helplessly into the raging waters below. She watched as James ran from his crate several feet away. He was heading to the side of the boat where the man had gone off.

Jade let go of the crate, heading to cut James off before he could jump into the waters. His blue eyes were large with panic. She could hear the sound of his elevated heart rate and taste the fear that was coming off of him in waves. He had just reached the side of the boat when Jade grabbed his arm.

“He went over. I’m going in after him.”

“No you are not! You have to breath I don’t it makes more sense for me to go. Be ready with a ladder or something to get us out.” Jade all but screamed to him over the sound of the water and the wind.

Jade leaned over the deck and surveyed the dark waters below. The white foam of the waves licked at her as she searched. In the distance she saw a flash of color before it was sucked back under the angry sea. She climbed on the railing and jumped in one fluid motion.

As she entered the water she heard the siren of the ship go off. The crew all but abandoned their cargo and rushed to the side of the ship where just seconds before she had jumped. She pushed all the air from her lungs, letting herself sink just enough to be out of the main line of the waves. She opened her eyes under the water, the salt stinging her sensitive eyes.

She pushed forward. Forcing herself to listen to changes in the water, trying to hear anything that would signify a human body. She swam with the current towards the last place she had seen the man. As she neared that spot in the water she heard it, a faint thumping. It was too slow for a fish and to quite for larger sea life. It had to be him. It had to be his heart.

She changed directions. She swam strait down towards the sound. A few feet down she could see the thick strong hands of the sailor. He was struggling to break free of the current and make his way back to the surface. Jade allowed her demon to come forward, accepting the changes that took place when permitting her other half to take control.

Jade reached for him. Her finger tips brushed off of his in a desperate act to grab hold. She kicked harder with her legs to reach the man. Finally, she grabbed hold of his wrist. The man opened his eyes for the first time since she had found him; shock and fear twisted his features. He tried to pull away from him but she held strong.

She shifted her body and swam upwards towards the surface dragging the terrified sailor with her. She felt him give in and start to swim with her. After what seemed like hours they broke the surface only to be swallowed by an oncoming wave. Jade used all of her strength to life the man above the water again and start to swim to the waiting boat.

His heart beat was weakening and she could no longer hear his breathing. She swam as fast as she could, battling the waves and the current. His body was cold in her arms. She knew that if she could not get him to the boat soon he would die, if not from suffocation then from hypothermia.

When Jade finally reached the boat a rope ladder was dropped down. She grabbed a rung with her left hand and hoisted the man over her right shoulder. She climbed the ladder at an inhuman speed it was at this point she allowed for her lungs to fill with just enough air to scream to the men on board.

“He’s not breathing.” Her words were almost lost to the over powering sound of the wind.

As she neared the top of the ladder several of the men reached for him and pulled him onto the deck. She could hear them counting out chest compressions and breaths. She knew that once someone got to this point there was only a twenty-five percent chance of survival. She said nothing to the men and just watched as they tried to resuscitate the man. She could hear his ribs crack with every new compression.

Jade glanced over at James only to find him looking back at her. He ran his fingers over his forehead then gestured to her. Instinctively her hand traced her forehead and she rolled her eyes. She took several deep breaths and tried to calm herself. The demon slowly subsided allowing her human features to come forward. Luckily the men had been busy with the sailor to notice the change in her.

One of the younger looking sailors walked over to her with a stack of blankets. “Take these before you freeze to death. That water has to be freezing.”

“I’m fine.” Jade gave a weak smile to the sailor before turning her attention back to the man lying on the deck.

“Miss I really think you should come with me if you won’t take the blankets. We need to get you into dry cloths and start to warm your body up before you go into hypothermia.”

Jade growled deep in her chest before turning towards the young man, her eyes flashed red. She could feel her demon surfacing, it did not like to be questioned but there was no way that this young naïve little boy could know that. He took a few steps back and looked at her in shock.

“Sorry. I just don’t want you to get sick or die or anything.” The young man started to back away when Jade heard the heavy foot falls of James coming up behind her. The boy looked notably calmer as he neared.

“Jade there you are!” He took a blanket from the young man and smiled. He wrapped it around Jade’s shoulders before he continued, “Looks like Ken is going to be ok. They got him breathing again. You should have seen the water come out of him. Hey thanks Greg for keeping her company.”

James put his arm around her shoulders leading her away from the young man. He rubbed his hand along her arm as if to warm her. He leaned in and whispered, “Jade I need you to relax a bit, the guys don’t know what you are and you are starting to change.”

She nodded her head, closed her eyes and took several deep unneeded breaths. She could feel the demon start to go back to its hiding place deep within her body. She felt James tighten his grip around her in what felt like a small hug. She knew that she had succeeded in making her demon submit.

The storm continued to rage on tossing the boat from side to side. Now that the panic was over it was back to work for most of the crew, Ken warming in the quarters below. Jade tossed her blanket and went back to work; James remained very close to her. He would cast a glance in her direction as she tied down the crates. The rain and the wind did not allow for her to dry off and he could only imagine what she was feeling like. Being that wet in that much leather could not be comfortable. She out hauled, out lifted, out tied, and all around out worked the experienced members of the crew. Her abilities seemed to cause questions on her origin but the men seemed content to let her do most of the work.

When the crates had been locked down to the deck Jade ascended the stairs to the helm. She pushed open the door and grabbed her duster without saying a word to the captain. She was about to walk out but stopped and grabbed James’s coat before leaving the helm. She went right for the cargo hold below deck without stopping to say anything to anyone.

She pulled off her wet cloths and laid them flat to dry. She hoped that they would not shrink too much from the amount of water that they had collected. She wrapped herself in her duster, for the first time that she could recall she buttoned it up. It had been a long day and she was pushing two days without sleep. She yawned at the thought before she resumed her place on the ground. Sleep would be very good.