Chapter 18

The ship’s horn sound early and angry when they dock at the next stop. Luke and Candace both jump up startled by it.

“Ugh, that thing is annoying,” she barks.

“We must be at the next island,” he offers. She checks the window to confirm. “Time to head out?” he suggests.

“Yes!”

They dressed quickly and head out. The first place they go is to see the captain.

“Great,” Luke groans. “There’s Randy...”

“Shit...” Candace sighs. “Do you think he saw us?”

“What do you think? My concern is where his buddies are.”

They try to cut a path to their destination that would take them past Randy, but the guy seems to know what that destination is and works to cut them off. “Going somewhere?” he asks. He has the same stupid smirk on his face from last night, along with a nice bruise on his cheek.

“As a matter of fact, asshole, we are,” Luke snaps.

“Asshole, huh?” he fires back. “You’re the human asshole that thinks he can steal my wife. Last night you got lucky. Today though...”

Before he even finishes the sentence, Randy is swinging. Luke is ahead of him though, dodging it easily. It barely misses Candace. Luke moves her gently to the side and lands a straight shot right into Randy’s nose. The cartilage crumbles under the blow. He stumbles back and falls onto the deck. The boy’s instincts lead him forward and after him. Randy kicks up and hard from the ground, catching Luke’s side, right in the ribs. The boy isn’t prepared for it and the pain is instant as he steps back. It gives his opponent enough time to roll to his feet and stand. Luke was hoping he would give up and retreat, but Randy sees the pain in the boy’s eyes.

The deck is now in an uproar as people flee the area. They scream and shout and holler as chairs, food, drink, tables, and anything else that is in the way tumbles and falls.

Randy swings again and just misses the boy as Luke ducks down. The punch is overcommitted and leaves him wide open. Luke pushes the pain away and goes in. He grabs Randy’s neck with both hands and jumps, landing a knee hard into his forehead. Randy’s knees buckle and his eyes rolls as they look at the boy with wonderment and confusion. Luke follows him to the ground and drops an elbow into his opponent’s face. He is about to drop another blow down, but finds himself flying backward.

Benny and Andy have arrived late to the party. Luke crash-lands into a towel cart before hitting the deck with a thud. His ribs hurt before, but now it is far worse. He has taken the cart out with a direct hit on his side. He rolls up in pain, yet he knows the two will be coming after him. He starts to stand.

“Get up!” Candace cries.

Luke finds his feet and watches one of them approaching him. Benny is huge. Luke is bent over, but standing. Benny swings high. Luke steps into the punch and throws one of his own, landing it right into his gut. The loud sucking sound of air leaving fills the void. Still inside for another close range blow, the boy delivers and elbow and Benny’s knees buckle. He takes a few steps back and prepares for Andy’s arrival.

Finally, the ship’s staff pours out onto the deck and starts to handle the situation. Andy tries to advance, but is held off by security. Luke drops to his knees and rests, trying to catch his breath. It takes a few minutes before all the details are sorted out. Witnesses all point to Randy and his buddies. Luke is escorted out and back to their room with Candace following quickly behind.

“Fuck, I didn’t expect you to be able to hold them off,” she says feeling elated. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“My dad taught me martial arts, remember?”

“And I’m glad he did,” she says.

Luke’s ribs are not feeling good at all. “Besides, Randy and his buddies can’t fight worth a shit. They rely on their looks to intimidate others.”

“Yeah, they intimidated me for a long time,” she sighs.

Before Luke can delve into that there comes a knock at the door. Candace is quick to get up and answer it, happy to have a reason not to go into any more about her past and that trio. The ship’s doctor comes in, insisting that he take a look at Luke.