Page 33 of Loved to Death

Thomas nodded. They’d talked about the plan more than once, so he knew what was expected of him. He wasn’t looking forward to a battle if soldiers attacked, but thoughts of satisfying his growing hunger made it easier.

The crew milled around nervously waiting for the next three hours for the tide to turn. At half past midnight, a light appeared in the cove. Moments later, the light went out and came back on several times in a row.

“That’s the signal,” Captain Martinez called out, and the crew jumped into action with the first mate at the wheel.

When they got a bit closer, Captain Martinez walked back over to Thomas and put an arm around his shoulders to speak quietly in his ear. “Can you see or hear anything over there on the land?”

Thomas could smell the blood pumping in the captain’s neck and immediately ducked out from under his arm to put distance between them.

The captain frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Thomas turned his head toward the sea to take a deep breath. “Sorry, Captain. I’m hungry. It’s been a week since I’ve had human blood. Please don’t get so close.”

Some of the nearby crew members froze for a moment glancing warily at Thomas.

“Sorry, lad. I’ll keep my distance.” The captain moved to the railing and pointed toward the land. “Now tell me what you see.”

He looked out at the light that was still turning on and off, and focused. “It’s too far away for me to see much. I can see a figure holding something to block and unblock the light, but I can’t tell if it’s a man or woman from this distance. The figure is standing in front of some rocky cliffs, but I can’t tell if they’re standing on land, a small pier, or a small boat.”

“That’s more than I can see,” the captain answered. “Keep watching and tell me if you see anything suspicious.”

Several minutes later, when they were closer, the captain came and asked for an update.

“There are six men standing on a small dock with several rowboats around it, and a few feet away on a large outcrop of rocks, there’s a lone man standing with a lamp, blocking the light repeatedly with his jacket.”

“What are the men wearing?” Captain Martinez asked.

“Wearing?” Thomas shrugged. “Pants and jackets.”

The captain grunted in irritation. “Do they look like soldiers with matching uniforms?”

“Oh.” Thomas shook his head. “Certainly not.”

“Excellent.”

Once the ship was close enough for the people on land to see it approaching, the man with the lamp stopped signaling and went to join the others on a rickety temporary dock.

Captain Martinez put a hand on Thomas’ shoulder. “You go to the end of the dock and guard the entry point with Mr. Wagner and Robert while we unload onto the rowboats.”

Thomas turned his head away from the warm hand on his shoulder. “If we’re able to unload without being discovered, I’ll still need to eat today or tomorrow. It’s not safe for me to be aboard in close quarters with the men once I’m this hungry.”

The captain squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll make certain you’re fed before the night is up.”

When they made it to the dimly lit dock, Thomas wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. The men on the dock were speaking to the captain in Spanish, while Mr. Johansen called out quiet orders to the men to start lifting the crates from the hold.

Soon the gangplank was lowered to the dock, and Thomas followed the watch leader and Robert off the ship. To his surprise, Robert started speaking Spanish to one of the men on the dock. The young bearded man nodded and answered, and then pointed toward the end of the dock and started moving that direction.

“He’s taking us to their lookout,” Robert informed the watch leader.

An older man was standing at the end of the dock where a steep narrow trail zigzagged to the top of the cliff. Robert and the young bearded man had a short conversation with the lookout before the younger bearded man went back to the ship. Robert and the other old man chatted while Mr. Wagner put a hand on Thomas’ shoulder and pointed to the trail. “Even though the military base is a mile away, they still patrol the entire point throughout the night. You go keep watch at the top of the cliff by that boulder. If you see anyone coming, you run back here and tell me before you do anything else.”

“Yes, sir.”

An hour later, all but three of the crates had been unloaded and secured into rowboats when Thomas noticed two men in uniform half a mile away coming toward the cliff. He rushed down the trail to Mr. Wagner and whispered, “Two men in uniform are coming.”

“Can you take them both by yourself without alerting anyone to our presence?” the watch leader asked.

“Yes, sir, I believe I can.”

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