Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 150

Captain of My Own Ship
Korean International School, Mannion, Catorina - 13
My dad is respected by everyone he knows and is feared by those who have heard stories about him. He is
the captain of this ship and works for the emperor. Being his son, I am entitled to be the next captain and
therefore am well known by the people on this vessel.
I grew up watching my dad lead his crew through the dangerous parts of the sea. I watched him battle
armies of unknown countries on behalf of the emperor. I always felt safe on the ship since I knew my dad
could not be defeated, until recently.
We were sent to collect silk from another part of China when a wave bigger than I ever saw crashed down
on us. When everyone came to, no one was hurt and the ship was in good condition but we seemed to be
lost. “Captain, captain, we seem to have lost our map as well as our way,” said one of the crew members.
“Do we not have any way to tell where we are?” Father asked.
“No, it is still light so we cannot use the stars. There is no land in sight so we cannot ask for directions.
What should we do?”
“Keep sailing on and we should find either a ship or land. Until then, keep calm and stay put”
“Yes, Captain,” replied the crew and they continued on with their business.
I stared in awe as my father directed his crew members. We were lost in the middle of the sea and he
seemed to know exactly what to do. “Li, stop standing around and get to work,” he said with a smile on his
face.
We may be pirates, but we weren't always mean and angry. If it was necessary then my dad would fire at
attacking ships but we were usually peaceful pirates. Being peaceful pirates, we did not expect to be greeted
in a violent manner when we reached this remote stretch of land. Sadly, this was exactly how we were
greeted.
“They must've spotted us from quite far away” a person in the crowd that had gathered up front stated.
Father agreed and went on to tell everyone to get ready for a violent meeting.
When we were about 500 metres away from the land, they started to fire. They used cannons and catapults
with flaming projectiles. They missed but we feared they missed on purpose. We kept coming closer and
realised that an army of just over a hundred had gathered on the beach. Had they expected us? We were so
distracted by the men on the beach that we didn't notice the two ships approaching us from both sides.
When we finally noticed, it was too late. The ships attached themselves to us and jumped onto our ship. I
ran for cover as my dad and his crew grabbed their weapons. I knew better than to stay above so I ran down
and hid in my dad’s office.
I heard shouting and guns firing but I was not scared at all. This has happened many times before but not
with two ships and an army 100 men strong. Even with the given circumstances, I felt safe. That is until I
heard footsteps. Two men, definitely not from my dad’s crew, had entered the captain’s office. I watched
them raid the room before leaving and telling their men that the room was cleared.
As soon they left, I saw that everyone was gone. I was only fourteen but knew that I had to go after them. I
did the only logical thing and jumped off the boat and swam ashore.
The army was easy to spot. I followed them to their base and saw them tie up my dad’s crew. Most of the
members were unconscious, some were just waking up. Two men guarded my dad and his crew. On me, I
had a hammer and a loaded gun so I figured it should be easy to save the crew.