I climbed onto the deck and crawled across the boards. Men danced around me in mortal combat. One of the men grabbed the back of my shirt, but his opponent lunged at him. He was forced to release me, and I scurried faster, moving between legs and bodies.
I came within a few feet of the edge when my hand slipped, and the deck turned into a slide. The iguana and I screamed in unison as we slipped toward the edge. I managed to grab one of the railings and stopped our descent, but most of my upper half dangled over the edge. Waves crashed against the bulwark many feet below us. I shrieked and backed up onto the deck.
“You fool!” the iguana screamed at me.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and dropped my eyes to his scaly face. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to slip.”
He swatted my arm. “I’m calling you a fool for stopping!”
I blinked at him. “Come again?”
The iguana stabbed a scaly, clawed finger at the white waves. “That! Jump in there!”
My jaw hit the deck. “WHAT?!”
Something wrapped around my ankle and yanked me back a half a foot. I twisted around and saw that one of the men had grabbed my leg. He grinned at me with teeth that resembled year-old candy corn. “Where do ya think yer going?”
The iguana wriggled out of my arms and scurried down my back to his hand. The creature sank his teeth into the man’s flesh, forcing him to release me. He fell back and shook his hand, but the iguana held tight until he opened his jaws. The man flung him at me, where he landed on my back.
The iguana rapped my head with both hands. “What are you waiting for?! Jump!”
The bleeding man growled and lunged at me. I scrambled across the short distance to the edge and tumbled over. The fall was long enough for me to regret my decision, and the end even more so. I crashed into the water and sank beneath the surface, but my natural buoyancy forced me back into the sweet air. The waves of the boat shoved me away, and I flailed my arms and kicked my legs.
The iguana floated past me, using his tail as a rudder. “What are you doing?”
I stretched my neck to keep the waves above my head, but they splashed over me. I sputtered out what felt like a few gallons of water. “I can’t swim!”
The iguana’s eyes widened. “Oh dear. Wait a minute!” He darted through the water like a snake and soon vanished into the high waves.
“Wait!” I shouted as I tried to follow him.
Another wave crashed over me, sending me tumbling beneath the surface. I couldn’t tell up from down, but that didn’t matter because I couldn’t go anywhere. My untrained limbs merely flailed about searching for something solid to grab. My lungs screamed for air, and my vision began to blur. I found myself sinking deeper into the black abyss and the cold fate that awaited me.
I was on the verge of death when I felt something wrap around my midsection. The gentle grip propelled me upward, and I broke through the surface. My lungs filled with air, and I expelled the water in some terrible choking and heaving efforts.
Whatever held me flew through the water, and I soon saw why. It was because it was water. My dripping jaw dropped open as I beheld the transparent coil of water that held me in its wet grasp. My savior propelled us through itself, and around the far side of the ship I had just escaped.
My breath left me as another ship was revealed to me. The new ship was smaller, but had more sails. Bridges made of water joined the two vessels, and a steady stream of men retreated across them onto the new ship. The water that surrounded me rose in a column and deposited me onto the deck.
I landed on all fours, still sputtering and as soaked as a human could possibly be. A soft patter of feet made me look up, and I watched the iguana scurry through the feet of the sailors and over to me.
“How was that?” he boasted as he reached me with a big grin on his wide lips. “You can thank me-”
I had just enough energy to lift one arm and drop my hand on his head, slamming him into the deck. “Next time, tell me you’re going to get help!”
The iguana wriggled out from underneath my fury and glared at me. “That is not-”
He was interrupted by the shout of one clear, melodious voice. “Hoist the sales, my lads! We have our prize!”
My eyebrows crashed down, and I whipped my head around to the talker. The iguana, however, blocked my view, and he stabbed a finger at a door beneath the wheel deck. “Into the cabin, human! You’ll only get in the way!” I tried to look around him, but the lizard leaned to one side. “Go on! Get in there-”
“Lightning strikes! Everyone down!”
A crackling noise made me look in that direction, and my mouth dropped open. My former vessel floated twenty yards away, and the bulkhead had a long row of hatches, all of which were now open. In place of cannons, there was a long coil of metal that wound its way to a square box. One of the men beat the box, and it lit up bright yellow. The charge sounds came from the box as each machine was activated. The air all around me also became charged, and the hairs on my arms stood on end.
Hundreds of bolts shot out, raced up the coils, and came out the end as a single beam. It slammed into the side of the ship and broke the walls, sending splinters flying everywhere.
I ducked down and clapped my hands over my head. The wood rained down on me, covering me in a thin layer of dust and wood.
