The Forgotten Map by Cameron Stelzer

Tragic Circumstance
    There was an exchange of glances as the news sunk in. Whisker hadn’t shot the pie but he still felt responsible. It was his design and he should have insisted that Fred confirm the mysterious object before they fired.
    The Captain stared accusingly at Whisker. Ruby stared at Horace. Horace stared at the ground.
    â€˜Tell me who shot the pie,’ the Captain demanded.
    Horace raised his hook without speaking.
    â€˜And why would you do a thing like that?’ the Captain asked between clenched teeth.
    â€˜Because Pete challenged me to,’ Horace mumbled.
    â€˜He challenged you to?’ the Captain repeated. ‘Is this true, Pete?’
    â€˜I-I honestly thought the boat was a rock,’ Pete blabbered. ‘And besides, I never thought Horace would actually hit it.’
    â€˜THAT DOESN’T MATTER!’ the Captain roared. ‘Pick up a telescope next time. Why doesn’t anyone check before they fire anymore? First I get blasted off the ship by a trigger-happy recruit and the next minute the rest of you are taking pot shots at small boats.’ He looked at each crew member in disgust, even Ruby.
    â€˜You’re responsible for the deck,’ he said to her crossly. ‘Make sure this never happens again.’
    â€˜Yoo-hoo. Excuse me for interrupting,’ the grey mouse whistled. ‘But what’s going to happen to us?’ The children were bailing once more, but fighting a losing battle.
    â€˜We’ll give you some wood to patch up your boat, and you can go on your way,’ the Captain mumbled with a dismissive wave of his paw.
    â€˜But …’ pleaded the grey mouse, ‘How can we fix this? I’m just a teacher and these two orphans are my students. We’re not carpenters.’
    â€˜No more tricks,’ the Captain snorted, ‘Save your stories for the fish!’ He turned his back and strode towards the helm.
    Whisker could see the desperate look on the children’s faces and knew he couldn’t just stand there while their boat sank.
    â€˜You can’t do this,’ he yelled.
    The Captain froze.
    â€˜What did you say?’ he said in a low growl.
    â€˜I said you can’t let them drown,’ Whisker replied. ‘They haven’t done anything wrong. We destroyed their boat. So it’s our responsibility to help them.’
    The Captain slowly turned. ‘The last time I looked, Whisker, I was the Captain and you were the apprentice. I make the orders and you follow them. Is that clear?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜What do you mean, ‘No ’ ?’
    â€˜No, Captain,’ Whisker said feebly. ‘I’m not going to follow your order. It’s wrong and you know it.’
    â€˜HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME, YOU DISOBEDIENT BRAT!’
    The rest of the crew looked away as the Captain exploded like one of Horace’s cannons.
    â€˜IF I HADN’T MADE A PROMISE TO YOUR DEARLY DEPARTED FAMILY, YOU WOULD BE JOINING THE MICE ON THAT SINKING BOAT!’
    Whisker felt a volcano of anger erupting in his body. At the mention of his family, the Captain had crossed a line. But Whisker wasn’t the Captain and he knew that fighting anger with anger would get him nowhere. He took a deep breath, calmed his writhing tail, and did the only thing he believed would work. He lied.
    â€˜Captain,’ he said in a trembling voice, ‘according to the Pie Rat code it is your duty to call a vote.’
    â€˜What?’ the Captain snapped. ‘During an attack the Captain has absolute authority. That means you follow my orders.’
    â€˜That may be so,’ Whisker said firmly, ‘but the attack is over. In your own words we are now dealing with … victims of tragic circumstance. ’
    Whisker gave Pete a pleading look. He was certain Pete knew he was making it up, but this was his only hope.
    Pete said nothing for a moment and then slowly nodded. ‘Call a vote,