The Captain Ch. 03
This is it, the final chapter. I apologize for taking so long to write it. For those of you who haven’t read the previous installments, it will help, but it isn’t necessary in order to understand this one. I hope you’ve enjoyed the story. Please feel free to comment and to vote.
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The searing pain in his hip drew him out of blessed unconsciousness and into brutal reality as the pliers dug into his flesh. Commander Thomas Williams, formerly of his Britannic Majesty’s ship Perilous, opened his eyes and groaned hoarsely. The man wielding the pliers, small and sweating, glared fiercely at him and gave a mighty tug. Something gave. Tom screamed and fell back onto the cot beneath him, stars dancing before his eyes.
A rag soaked in alcohol was thrust at his wound, its burn merely one more shade of pain on the canvas that was his body. After a few excruciating moments of rubbing and scraping, the rag was removed, and for a moment Tom almost felt pleasure at the lack of pain. He looked down and saw the small man threading a needle, then glanced at his hip. The left side just below the point of the bone was a mass of torn flesh, and a deeper ache told him that the bone was broken. His surgeon said something in French to him. Tom shook his head wearily.
The little man sighed in exasperation, then spoke. “Zees hurt.” He picked up a thick leather strap lying on the table next to the pallet. He thrust it between Tom’s teeth. “Bite.” Tom bit. The thick curved needle pierced his flesh, and he mercifully fell back into unconsciousness.
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