The Misfit Crew

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. I suppose that’s true, to an extent. Those left on Earth can’t hear what happens to those floating around in space. So, if, for example, one ship decides to attack another unsuspecting ship, no one would hear the screams besides the ones involved.

I hear every single scream from the moment they board our ship. Everyone else is asleep when they attack. The crew members that tried to defend us are the first to die, then the passengers that were only meant as a cover for the cargo the crew was trying to smuggle onto Mars. I didn’t even know what the cargo was, I didn’t care. I just needed a place to hide.

As a passenger, it’s my first time on a space ship. I was wandering around, looking out windows and trying to figure out what each piece of equipment did. I was too curious for my own good, I found the cargo that was hidden in a small compartment tucked away under the stairs in the cargo bay. That’s where I hid as the pirates slaughtered everyone else.

It didn’t take them long to find me. Once everyone is dead, the search for the cargo is on, and if they find the cargo, they find me. I hide in the back of the compartment, waiting for them to give up the search but they never do.

Every clang and clack of weapons against the siding looking for the compartment causes me to jump. The louder the sounds become, the less I can keep the sobs of fear coursing through me at bay. So, when there is a loud tap tap on the door to the hidden compartment, I let out a scream that could have woken the dead.

“Hey, I think we missed someone,” one of the pirates chuckles, his baritone voice echoing inside the compartment.

“We’ll get her, don’t worry,” another man, voice a bit higher, reassures his friend.

“Yes, Cap’n,” the first man responds.

I slide my feet against the floor trying to push myself back further into the compartment, but my back already rests firmly against the wall. The door is pulled open and light splashes inside, temporarily blinding me. One by one boxes are pulled out. Tears stream down my face knowing it’s only a matter of time.

The first to speak is the one that gets to me first. As soon as most of the cargo has been removed, he abandons it to grab at my feet. He gets a solid hold and pulls, sliding me a good foot toward him. I kick at him and land a blow to his face. The man lets me go and backs out of the compartment groaning.

“She’s got some fight in her Cap,” he laughs, rubbing at his nose where blood is slowly streaming out his nostrils.

“Come on out,” the captain orders me. “We ain’t gonna hurt you.”

“But Cap she done broke my nose,” the lacky responds, hand out showing the red liquid trickling from his nose.

“You probably deserved it for scaring her, Harris,” the captain quips. He takes a step forward and his boots come into view, blocking a little of the light as he addresses me. “Come on now. You have my word as a captain that no harm will come to you.”

“Only if the ugly one named Harris backs away from the compartment,” I yell. “Then I’ll come out.”

“You heard her, Harris.”

“Cap she called me ugly!” the one named Harris says.

“Well, she ain’t wrong,” the captain chortles. “Go on, get so we can get her out of there and get the rest of the cargo.”

Harris slams his fist on the top of the entrance and growls, causing me to jump. I breath a sigh of relief when he I see his boots walk from right to left in front of the compartment and farther away from me.

With no good choices before me, I take his word for it. I slide along the floor until I’m a foot outside of the opening. I look up and there’s a handsome man, mid-forties staring down at me.

“She ain’t more than sixteen Cap’n,” a girl back by the dock says.

“No, she ain’t,” he replies, rubbing his shaved chin.

“We can’t just leave her here,” the girl begs. “She didn’t know what these people had done. That they stole from us first.”

“You’re right, Marie,” the captain sighs, turning to me again. “You’ll be part of my crew now. Don’t worry, we take care of our own.”