I looked at the man in front of me with confusion. Who was Jacob and why was he mistaking me for him?
The man let go of the rudder and looked back at me with tears in his eyes. "How much are you gonna keep pretending, boy?" the captain asked me.
Did he find out I was lying? Was my cover blown out?
"You know, it hurts me that you're pretending not to remember anything," he continued. I let out a sigh, relieved that I could still get some answers out of him.
I scratched the back of my neck and tried to act as nice as possible. I apologized for the inconvenience I was giving him, telling him that since it happened so long ago, it was hard for me to remember.
He frowned at my words and returned to the rudder, looking to the front as he steadied the boat. "Don't sweat it, boy" he told me while taking out a cigar out of his pocket and lighting it up.
The captain brought the tobacco to his lips, inhaling deeply and then letting out a big cloud of smoke. The ashes fell into his clothes, but he didn't seem to care too much about it.
He inhaled more tobacco again, and this time I got beside him and asked him if he would be kind enough to share. The man gave me a weird stare when I asked my question, but after a few seconds, he passed me the cigar. "It's a bit strong," he said while putting it in my fingers.
I laughed internally, knowing that this wouldn't be a problem for me. I took a big hit out of it, letting the smoke flow through my lungs and then exhaled all the smoke while laughing. I coughed a bit, talking to the man afterwards. "Damn, you were right, this is one of the good ones…" I told him while giving the cigar back to him.
The man took it back and tried to take a hit, but right when the cigar got close to his lips, he rubbed it against the rudder, putting it out. He then turned his head to face me and said "Hmm, you seem experienced, how much time have you been doing this?" he asked me.
"Quite some time," I answered. "Since I was 15" I then added.
He raised his left eyebrow, looking at me with suspicion and changing his tone. "And how old are you right now, exactly?" he asked while getting closer and closer.
I had to think my answer quickly. How old could that guy Jacob be? I put my brain to work, trying to remember any relevant data that the captain could've let out earlier. But it was useless, he didn't say anything that could help me figure out the age of Jacob.
Out of desperation, and seeing that the man's suspicions were growing bigger with each passing second, I said the first number that crossed my mind. "18!" I yelled, hoping that he would buy it.
He sighed relieved, turning around and lighting the cigar again. "Hmm, how strange… I visited you when you were 16 and you hated smoking." he said as he rapidly turned his upper body back, throwing lit up cigar to my face.
My hands tried to cover myself, but the cigar got through, leaving a burn mark on my neck.
"Tell me, boy… What did I tell you when I saw you two years ago?" the captain asked me while putting 3 of his fingers up. "Was it A) 'good job, boy'? Was it B) 'I've missed you, little one'? Or was it C) 'You've grown up so much, Jacob'?" he added.
I got back up quickly and crossed my fingers on my back, hoping that I would get the correct answer. "It was the C, I almost forgot about it," I responded with a smirk, trying to convince myself that I was choosing the right answer.
The captain frowned, stepping on my foot while saying "The answer is D). I haven't seen Jacob since he gave me this brooch". He stomped my foot with his other foot and then added "Next time, try not to lie to me, boy".
The man leaned down, stretching his arm. I covered myself, getting ready to get hit by him, but after sensing that nothing happened after a few seconds, I moved my arms away from my face, looking at the old man offering his hand to help me get up.
I gave him my hand, doubtful of what he might do. At the feel of my hand in his, he pulled me up effortlessly and once I was back on my feet, he started to clean off the dust from my clothes.
"Okay boy, it's obvious that you're not Jacob, so I suggest you tell me who you are…" he said while taking off the last pieces of dust out of my hoodie. My eyes moved in his direction, defying his gaze with mine. "What if I don't do it?" I asked, hoping to not have to share my personal information with this stranger.
The captain laughed at my words, moving his head towards his left pocket. "If I press this button, Parker will throw you overboard. And before you ask, yes, Parker is the big man who told you to come here." he said. Then, he added, "Also, since you didn't pay me to get on board, I'll take your story as payment."
My head moved to the side, looking at the pile of weapons where Axie, Dom and the chains were. If I was thrown to the water without them, I would be left completely defenseless and without the only leads I had to the location of my father.
"Fine, fine. I'll tell you" I told him as I put my arms up in surrender. "Splendid" the man said while changing his frown to a happy face.
I took a deep breath and supported myself against a wall. "Can I ask you something before starting?" I said. I waited for the man's response, and after he nodded, I talked again. "Why are you allowing people to get on your boat almost free? And why did you let me on board if I didn't pay anything?"
The man smiled and sighed, moving his head from one side to another. "First question it's none of your business, boy… maybe if you didn't lie to me from the beginning I would've told you. As for the second question, it's pretty easy: You may have some nice muscles, but it doesn't seem like you know how to use them effectively with your weapons," he answered. "Also, you have very nice looks. Thanks to you on board we managed to get more ladies on the ship" the captain added after coughing and laughing.
I laughed internally at his comment, making sure that he didn't see that I liked what he said.
"Okay boy, you can start whenever you want," the man told me as he went back to the rudder. "I'm sure you'll be finished once we reach our destination."
My head lowered itself, looking at the floor inside of that smoke-filled booth before talking. "Well, my name is Glasgow and I'm 20 years old. I got here because I overheard some people talking about an altruist captain who took people in his boat, and I wanted to get on board to check it out."
The man smiled at the start of my story, telling me to keep going as he looked through the glass of his booth. "You want more?" I asked in a tired tone. The man let go of the rudder for a second and looked me deeply into the eyes, saying that if I didn't continue the story, he would be the one to throw me overboard.
"Fine… My name is Glasgow and I'm out here looking for my dad," I said annoyed. "Now that's more like it!" the captain said excitedly. "Now keep going!"
"When my dad left, the only 2 things he left behind (besides his family of course) were those axes" I resumed my story while pointing at Axie and Dom. "Before dying, my mom told me to look in her shop, saying that I would find something that would help me defend myself. She also claimed that they would help me find my dad, so that's why they're so important to me…"
The captain moved his head back and pointed at the chains with one hand. "And what about those chains?" he asked. I looked at them and let out a soft and relaxed "I stole them from an old man who mistook me with his ex."
The man in front of me suddenly turned around after listening to me, bearing an unexplainable surprise in his eyes. "Wow, young man, you sure have an interesting story to tell, don't you?" he said while raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind telling me all about you from the beginning, right?"
"Heh… I'd be honored to" I responded with a condescending tone before starting my whole story. My whole story since The Fall occurred...