Beware the Kraken, part one
By Eolake Stobblehouse

Our crew and I landed on an uncharted South Sea island on August fourth. We were happy to see land, for our food reserves were slender, not at least the fruit and vegetables, and our health was not the best. Also, the ship had shown problems lately.

We made camp quickly, and the First Mate came to me. "Captain," he said, "we may have to stay here for a week for general repairs and restocking."

"You imbecile!" I yelled at him. "We have to be home by Christmas, or our whole profit goes, and the Queens reward goes to somebody else."

"But Cap'n, the crew..." continued the First Mate, but shut up when I hit him hard over the mouth. He is rather a slight man compared to me, so he knows who is captain.

A surprise turned up when one of the younger crew members appeared with a dark young woman in tow. "She followed me home," he joked. "Can I keep her, Captain?"

After hitting him for joking in front of his captain, I looked at the young woman. She was very easy on the eyes, that had to be admitted. She was slender and brown, with big eyes, smiling lips, pointy breasts, and curvy hips. Her long, brown legs ended in small feet that seemed to always balance perfectly on the warm sand. The only thing she wore were decorative bracelets and some pearls around her neck.

The unusual sight had drawn a lot of the men, so I had to act decisively. I told them that of course they could have nothing to do with the natives, and that I would keep this one around for now, for study and interrogation, for their safety.

There was some grumbling, and I noticed that more men than usual found work to do in the immediate vicinity. Ordinarily the respect that I inspire would keep them away, but this girl had an effect upon them.

Of course she could not speak real language, so what I did when the first hut had been erected was to retire to it with her and a prime selection of the fruit the men had gathered. After eating, I approached her physically. It was very enjoyable, she was a warm and passionate creature.

After, she and I took a bath in the brook, and I felt so good that I did not even take any note of the fact that the men were looking at her and me with decidedly mixed emotions.

When the sun set, the girl got nervous somehow, and started clucking her godless tongue, and dragged me back into the hut. I did not resist.

We made love all evening, and feeling drained, I fell into a deep sleep.

I had dreams of the sea. I was deep under it, and fishes were taking care of my life and making it pleasant. But the fearful Kraken was outside, always a threat. I knew that persons of authority was a particular tidbit for the vile creature, and I was always on guard. The Kraken had long teeth and would take weeks to kill its victims, the better to savor the fear it generated.

When we woke, it was late morning, but strangely I did not feel very rested. My body was unhappy and sore, and I was not in a good mood. I took it out on the men, and even the closeness of the girl, always around, did nothing much to improve matters. Worse, the ship was in poorer condition even than expected.

... to be continued