The Safety of the Wheelhouse

“Mr. Cameron, warm up the guns if ye please.” The guant man dropped through the hole in the floor with a smile. Munro turned back to [main character], “Lassie, you go up with me. Best to keep as much metal between ye and their bullets as we can.”

[main character] tilted her head back and scanned the ceiling. Finding no hole above nor any ladder or stairs she turned over her hands and spread them wide to encompass the whole of the room in her question.

“Outside. Follow me,” Munro said. She grabbed up the coffee thermos and slung a black canvas duffle over her shoulder then stopped. “Actually, ye need to go first. Out this door and back to the left and around. Ye’ll see the ladder up.”

[main character] jetted through the door with her left hand grabbing the edge to help swing her momentum the right direction. Around the corner again she saw the ladder and dashed over the deck. The gaps in the railing disappeared with her focus on the ladder. Her hands hit the rungs welded to the bulkhead with a clong. They stung as she climbed, but she moved like a ratchet trying to reach the safety of the wheelhouse.

Her eyes drew even with the bottom edge of the door seal. The rungs had run out before she made it to the top. Shots popped below her. She shifted her weight to free her right hand and pushed on the door. It didn’t open. Another rat-a-tat rang below her. She tried to use the rim to as another rung but couldn’t get her grip.

Looking below her she didn’t see Munro on the ladder or on the deck. Where had she gone?

[main character] took another step up the rungs till she stood up on her left hand over balanced hoping to get a better angle on the door but expecting to fall back down. Reaching above her with her right she grabbed onto the [wheel-like door opening handle thing]. It turned; the door swung in.

It seemed best to stay low so she stayed on the floor pushed into a corner and under something. She’d left the door swung open so Captain Munro could get in but she hadn’t appeared as quickly as [maing character] expected. Munro’s face crested the rim with a smile. She shook her head with a snort. “Ye’re fast. Sorry to scare ye. We needed to be quick but not crazy quick. Take this.”

I’m forcing some of this. Need to relax.

425 words on day 555