CHAPTER 7

The boat rocked to and fro, riding on rough Pacific seas. It was going to be a long journey back to America, but to at least two creatures on the boat, it didn't matter. Deep within the dark recesses of the cargo hold, two steel cages sat side by side, each containing a young tiger cub, one male, one female. They were laying on mats of straw and grass, staring off into the darkness, not knowing what was happening. The last things they remembered were being caught in the net, seeing some strange creatures approach, and then slipping into a state of unconsciousness. When they awoke, they were separated, each in their own cage, unable to get out no matter how much they tore their claws at the steel bars.

Up on deck, a ruffled seaman stood looking out over the stormy seas, carefully keeping an eye out for the swells. He had a battered cap on, the kind most sea captains wore, and his grey bread was unkempt and stained with the browns and yellows and greys of previous meals and old age. Beside him stood a younger man, bundled beneath a thick heavy coat to keep out the cold winds and pounding rain. He had a slight smirk on his face but kept his hands clutched tightly to the railing in front of him, struggling to keep his balance and his sea legs as the boat lurched over the waves.

"Arr, seas be rough this time o' year!" The old sea captain said to no one in particular. The man beside him nodded, wondering why in his right mind did he agree to get on the boat with the cargo instead of taking a plane ahead and meeting them at the dock.

He turned and glanced at the captain, "As long as my cargo survives, that's all I care about."

The captain looked slightly miffed, as if the man was insulting his seaworthiness. "Aye, we'll get t' port fine, don' ye worry none lad. Ol' Miss Fortune hadn't seen a storm she couldna handle!" He replied, lovingly patting the railing. "Why don' ye git yerself below decks where a landlubber can get dry?"

The man turned and looked back out at the ocean, the whitecaps of the wind-pressed waves slamming into the bow as the ship bobbed and ebbed, the rain looking like it was falling sideways instead of down like normal. He sighed, and agreed to the idea. "I suppose I could go check my cargo. I think it's about feeding time."

"Aye, spose it's feedin' time for the kits ye got." The captain turned forward and went back to his duties of making sure the ship wasn't sailing into danger. The man turned and went down the metal walkway, opening the heavy metal door that led inside.

Down below, two men assigned to keep an eye on the cargo were having fun. They sat on worn deck chairs, looking gruff and not very pleased with their job. To amuse themselves, they had taken to throwing bits of debris and rocks at the two tiger cubs, trapped in the cages. At first, the tigers didn't understand what was happening, and thought it might be food so they tried to eat the bits of rubber and metal pelting their hides. When they realized it wasn't edible, they circled around inside the cages, trying to avoid being hit. The two men had a lot of fun with this, and every time one of the tigers would rear back and growl at them, they had a big laugh. "Hey you got him good! See if you can hit his head again! Haha!!" They would guffaw.

"WHAT are you two numbskulls doing?!" A loud voice suddenly said from the darkness behind them. The two men paled, grabbing their rifles and popping up quick out of their chairs. "N-n-n-nothing boss!! We're just guarding the tigers, like you said!!"

The owner of the voice moved forward out of the darkness. The light from an overhead lamp revealed his face in the darkness. "Then why, pray tell, were you throwing rocks at my prize catch?" He moved forward, grabbing one of the men by his collar, squeezing tight and yanking him close, to within an inch of his own face. "Do you realize that we are in the middle of the ocean, and if you were to say, accidentally, fall overboard, no one out here would know?" The guard blanched, his lips trembling. "S-s-s-sorry boss!! We, we, we were just h-h-having f-f-fun..."

"Mmm. Fun." The man released his grip on the guard, who scooted backwards to stand next to his associate. "Do you think swimming with the sharks in the middle of an ocean storm would be fun, wouldn't you?" He joked, smiling at the reactions of the guards. "I didn't think so. Leave the tigers alone from now on. Understand?" The two guards nodded quickly.

Walking past them to the cages, he looked in to make sure the animals were unharmed. One roared as loud as it could at his approach. The man kicked the cage, "Down!" The tiger scooted as far back as it could. "You'll be in your new homes soon enough. Don't worry." He turned and walked back towards the door that he came through, looking at the guards as he passed. "Feed them." he said. "It will not do to have two starved tigers up for auction when we reach port."

"Yes sir!" The two men said in unison, and turned to the meat locker to carry out their task.