Into the Void

By C.S. Michaels

Jake Bryant’s thirst for adventure led him to Alaska where he takes a job as a fisherman on a crab boat. He knew it would be hard work, but it’s what he needs to get his life back on track and make good money so he can live the carefree life he had enjoyed in the past. Unfortunately for Jake, the hard work is the least of his worries as he and the other crew members of the crab boat battle more than the elements. They soon find themselves in the middle of illegal activities in international waters and begin the fight for their lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.S. Michaels
• Release date: Nov 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310461507

Book preview

Chapter 1

Jake Bryant lay in bed as he was gently rocked side to side, up and down as the crab boat rolled with the waves. His six foot one frame took up the entire length of the bed as his feet hung over the edge. The bed was slightly smaller than a twin bed. His one hundred and ninety-five pounds fit in the bed snuggly, not leaving much room for him to move around.

He was lying there enjoying the downtime, knowing that it was going to change quickly. It seemed like he had just fallen asleep when in fact it had probably been a few hours, not long enough for his aching body to recover, although he was finally starting to feel warm after spending so much time on the cold deck.

He and several others had spent thirty-six straight hours working hard, putting their bodies through hell. But that was what he wanted, so he had nobody to blame but himself. He knew life on a crab boat in the Bering Sea was going to be tough and dangerous work and it certainly was that.

Jake swung his feet off the top bunk and jumped down to the floor, almost landing on Tim Donaldson as he was getting out of bed at the same time. After apologizing, Jake started rummaging around the messy room looking for his clothes. He hadn’t taken much off before he went to bed because he was so tired, so he just needed his boots, a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt.

He found his blue long-sleeve shirt, put it on then grabbed the black sweatshirt that zipped in the front. After getting his sweatshirt on, he bent down to get his boots. Sitting on the edge of Tim’s bed, Jake slipped on his rain boots. He found his Chicago Bears hat, put it on and then pulled the hood of the sweatshirt over the hat.

After getting his boots on, Tim stood up and looked at Jake. Are you ready for another long grind? Tim asked.

You bet, Jake said confidently, although he would have preferred to have another three hours of sleep.

At only twenty-one, Tim was the youngest of the crew and two years younger than Jake, but he had already worked on the boat for five years. Tim dropped out of high school after discovering crab fishing was his calling. He got a job on the Fiery Maiden and had been working on the boat since leaving school.

His hair was so blond it was almost white, his eyes were blue and he had a fair skin complexion that would burn in less than five minutes in the sun if they were somewhere tropical. Even though he went without shaving, like they all did, the hair on his face was thin and blond so it was hard to notice that he even had a beard. He was missing part of his right pinky from an accident while out crab fishing three years ago.

Well, we better see what Crazy Calvin has in store for us, Tim said.

Jake had heard the Captain referred to as Crazy Calvin, but he hadn’t been comfortable enough asking why that was his nickname. Now that he was getting to know Tim he decided to ask the question. Why is he called Crazy Calvin? Jake asked.

Oh, you’ll see. He’ll pull some shit on this trip that will be crazy as hell. He always does.

Jake shrugged and followed Tim down the hallway and past the galley. They turned right and came to an area that had all of their rain gear hanging from pegs. They started putting their gear on when Danny Sheridan and Bruce Hollister came strolling into the area.

Bruce was in his forties with a receding hairline and a weathered face. Although he was in his forties, more than two decades of hard work had taken its toll on him and he looked like he was at least fifteen years older than that. He’d been doing this work for well over twenty years with the last ten years working on Crazy Calvin’s boat. He already had a cigarette in his mouth which reminded Jake that he hadn’t seen Bruce without a cigarette very often. Between the back breaking work and smoking like a chimney, Jake didn’t think Bruce had more than fifteen years left in him.

Danny on the other hand was in great shape, looking at least ten years younger than his actual age of thirty. He was an inch shorter than Jake, but carried forty pounds more on his frame. He was muscular with a barrel chest and thick forearms, each covered with multiple tattoos. His thick neck went into broad shoulders that tapered down to his waist.

Jake hated Danny because Danny was a royal asshole. He was quick to get into Jake’s face and criticize everything he did even though Danny wasn’t the deck boss. He’d been working on this boat for eight years and reminded Jake every chance he got.

So far Jake had been able to keep his cool around Danny, but he knew that wasn’t going to continue. Sooner or later they were going to come to blows. Jake was going to try not to let that happen, but if it did, Jake would be more than happy to fight him.

We have a lot of work to do greenhorn, Danny said, already starting to give Jake shit. We don’t have time to wait on you.

Jake was getting tired of being referred to as greenhorn, but he understood that was what all new people on the boat were called so he just dealt with it. It didn’t bother him when the others referred to him as greenhorn, but it rubbed him the wrong way when Danny did it, probably because he couldn’t stand Danny.

You don’t say? Jake said sarcastically. I thought the Captain called us out of bed so we could all admire the sunrise.

Shut your mouth, horn, Danny snapped, pissed that Jake would dare say something back to him. Danny was used to greenhorns keeping their mouths shut and putting up with his crap. Jake wasn’t an ordinary greenhorn and Danny was going to realize that fact soon enough.

As Jake turned his back to head out the door, Danny gave him a little shove. Spinning around to face Danny, Jake then took a step toward him so they were face to face. I don’t need your shit, Jake snarled.

Jake was primed and ready to hit Danny if he gave him a reason. His adrenaline was pumping and he had had all he could take from the asshole standing in front of him. Staring at Jake and clenching his fists, Danny was equally ready for a fight as the two of them stared at each other.

Right then the door from the deck opened up and Lou Ryder, the deck boss, stepped in. Everything about Lou was average. He was average height, average weight, and average looking with black hair and brown eyes. Lou had been on the boat the longest of all the crew, going on fifteen years now. He was in his mid-forties and had only worked on the Maiden, joining the crew when he was twenty. Spending the last five years as the deck boss, it was up to him to make sure things ran well and there weren’t any issues.

He saw Jake starting to make a move for Danny and immediately sensed there was going to be a fight. Knock it off you two, Lou yelled at Jake and Danny.

Lou turned to Jake and said, You’re new here Jake, so I’ll tell you the rules. We tolerate no fighting on this ship. If you get caught fighting, the Captain will throw you off the boat. Is that clear?

Crystal, Jake answered while still keeping his eyes locked on Danny’s eyes.

Danny had a smirk on his face so Jake stepped even closer to him, standing close enough to smell his breath. I’m only going to tell you this one time, Jake said as he stared into Danny’s eyes. Leave me the hell alone.

Jake’s build was always referred to as wiry. He had brown hair, usually parted on the side and emerald green eyes. Those eyes could give off a menacingly icy stare when he was mad. He used it to his advantage when he wanted to intimidate someone and now was one of those times. He just stared at Danny until Lou broke it up.

Or what? Danny asked.

Trust me asshole, you won’t like the consequences.

That’s enough, Lou said. Everyone get out on deck.

This isn’t over, Jake said to Danny. Everyone that was standing there knew it wasn’t going to be over until one of them was lying on their back with the other one standing over the top of him.

Chapter 2

Jake finished putting his rain gear on and went through the door, into the icy air. Even though they had been out fishing in this weather for a week, Jake still wasn’t used to the cold weather. He just hoped that eventually his body would adapt to it, but he wasn’t sure that was going to happen. In the meantime, he just made sure he put on several layers of clothes to stay as warm as possible.

After spending the first day getting to their fishing grounds, they had spent all their time setting and retrieving crab pots in what seemed like an endless cycle. Since this was Opilio season, they wanted to see at least three hundred crabs in each pot. Unfortunately, the first several strings only produced about fifty per pot so they headed to new grounds which they were now fishing.

Hopefully, they would have better luck at the new fishing grounds. The less crab they had in their pots meant they had to set more pots to meet their quota. More pots meant more work which meant they had to stay out on the ocean even longer. Everyone kept telling Jake that Crazy Calvin was the best crab captain on the ocean, but Jake had yet to see it.

Walking outside Jake could tell the temperature had dropped since they had gone to bed. It was probably in the high thirties and it was overcast so there was a chance they could get some rain or snow today. Jake hoped the precipitation would hold off because it was tough enough to work on deck without rain and snow, let alone with it. But Jake knew it wouldn’t matter what the weather conditions were, they would continue working.

Jake was mainly responsible for getting the bait ready and then tying it inside the pot, which was really a cage about six feet long, four feet wide and two feet tall. Once the bait was in the pot, the pot would be dumped overboard by a launcher, which was what the pot was lying on. After the pot was dropped into the water, a crewman would throw the buoys into the water after the pot.

There were two buoys, a leading buoy and a trailing buoy that were connected by rope to the pot. The pot would sink to the bottom and the buoys would float on top of the water indicating where the pot was located. Once all the pots were set and they were ready for pick up, the boat would drive by the buoys and someone would throw the hook, snagging the rope between the two buoys. They would then put the rope in the block and reel the pot up.

Once the pot was secured on the boat, lying on the launcher, it would be tipped up and shaken so all the crab would fall into a bin. At that time all the crew on deck, including Jake, would sort the crab, making sure they were a minimum width, they were male and they were clean. The crab couldn’t be covered in anything that took away from the cleanliness of the crab because people didn’t want to pay for crab legs that were covered with barnacles, although they were still safe to eat.

One thing Jake had learned was that the rest of the crew was extremely efficient at the work involved. Jake wanted to make sure he didn’t hold everyone up, so he worked hard to keep up. It wasn’t difficult to get the hang of the routine as it was fairly simple, albeit backbreaking work. But Jake didn’t mind the hard labor and was actually enjoying the work and being out on the ocean.

His biggest concern when he first stepped onto the boat was whether or not he would get seasick. To his relief, he never threw up. He never even felt queasy. Feeling at home on the water, he enjoyed the rocking of the boat and the smell of salt in the air.

He was also enjoying working with the other men. He liked the banter that went back and forth on the deck as the men tried to kill time giving each other all kinds of crap. They all seemed like nice enough guys, except for Danny, and Jake could tell they had worked and known each other for several years. They didn’t quite treat him as an equal yet, but Jake knew they would soon enough.

As Jake pulled on his gloves, the Captain’s voice came over the speaker, Okay boys. Let’s start setting some pots.

You heard the man, Lou said. Let’s go.

As they all started taking their places, Lou came over to where Jake was standing. You can start throwing the buoys in the water today, Lou said. You need to learn that as well.

Sounds good, Jake said, happy they were letting him do that.

So far, they just had him getting the bait ready, which was fine but it stunk. It consisted of frozen fish that he had to chop up. Jake would have thought it wouldn’t smell since it was frozen but there was still a stench attached to it. But it wasn’t a horrible smell and Jake was able to put the smell out of his mind so he could concentrate on chopping the fish.

Although he was fine with continuing to get bait ready if that’s what was needed, Jake was ready to do something else. He just wanted them to keep giving him a chance to do more so he didn’t have to just do the bait for the next month or so. Always a quick learner, Jake knew he would catch on quickly with whatever responsibility they gave him. Plus, he thought to himself, how tough could it be to throw buoys in the water.

Jake started going through the process of chopping the bait. He got a huge block of frozen fish out of the cooler, went to the grinder and started grinding it. He had to push down on the frozen block to force it to chop the large mass into very small pieces. Once it was chopped, he scooped it up with a plastic container that had a handle and was open on one end with a lid. Grabbing three large cod, he went to the pot that was lying on the launcher, climbed inside so he could tie the jug and cod in place and then scrambled back out.

Bruce and Tim were on each end of the pot so as soon as Jake was clear of the pot they shut the doors and tied it shut. Danny pressed a button which raised the launcher that held the pot and dumped it into the water while Tim threw the lead buoy in the water and Jake grabbed the trailing buoy and threw it in the water just like he had watched the others.

All of sudden Danny came running over to Jake yelling and screaming at him. You lifted your foot, dumbass!

What the hell are you talking about? Jake asked, not knowing what Danny was referring to.

Lou came over to Jake and Danny. Take it easy Danny, Lou said. Nobody ever told him.

Then to Jake, Lou said, You lifted your foot when you threw the buoy into the water. You can’t do that because the rope is lying on the ground. If the rope gets under your foot and around your ankle when the pot starts sinking, it will drag you overboard and down to the bottom of the ocean. Those pots weigh eight hundred pounds and will drag you down very quickly.

Sorry about that. I didn’t know.

Don’t worry about it. It’s just extremely dangerous to lift your foot. You always want to shuffle your feet so they don’t come off the deck.

I understand.

It will be certain death unless you can cut the rope and you won’t have much time to do that. Speaking of which, do you have the knife that we gave you?

It’s in my room.

Go get it. You need to keep that strapped to your side at all times. Just in case something like that happens, you will need to stay calm and cut the rope quickly.

Okay, Jake said as he ran through the door, down the hallway and to his room.

He looked around the room, trying to find the knife. He knew he had taken it off before he went to sleep, but he couldn’t remember where he put it. Looking on his bed, he finally found it under the covers. It was a six-inch long knife with a two and a half inch handle. It was in a leather sheath that Jake could attach to his belt which he did now.

In the event of an emergency, it could be pulled out of the sheath quickly. That’s assuming the person wasn’t panicking which someone could easily do if a pot was dragging them down to their watery death.

Jake ran back outside just in time to hear Danny say, Where is that greenhorn?

He’s probably going back to bed because the work is too tough for him, Bruce said as they all started laughing.

I’m right here, Jake said as he went back to the bait station.

It’s about time, Danny replied, always having to get the last word.

I was gone for less than five minutes, Jake said, determined not to let Danny get the last word.

Whatever. Just get to work horn.

Up yours, asshole.

Danny started walking towards Jake, not about to let some new crew member talk to him like that. Lou was standing fifteen feet away and came jogging over to them, making sure he was in between both of them so there wouldn’t be any trouble.

We have a lot of work to do you two, Lou told them both. Just do what you’re supposed to do.

Staring at one another, Jake and Danny stood there for a couple of seconds then both of them turned away so they could go back to doing their jobs. Jake would just bide his time and when the time was right he was going to tear into Danny and let him have it. Jake generally tried to avoid fighting, but in this case he was willing to make an exception.

They continued setting pots for the next fourteen hours with Jake working the bait and occasionally throwing a buoy overboard. He focused on dragging his feet as he threw the buoy, making sure he was using the correct technique. He had no intention of letting the rope snake around his ankle.

As he worked, Jake could tell Danny was watching him closely just waiting for Jake to make a mistake so he could jump all over him. Bound and determined not to give the asshole the chance, Jake tried to focus on the job at hand, making sure to do everything the way he had been instructed.

After they set all the pots, the Captain turned the boat around so they could start pulling up the pots that had been set first. As they approached the first set of buoys, the Captain came on the speaker, The first pot is coming up. Get ready boys.

Everyone was excited with anticipation, hoping this string would be the mother lode. There was some hooting and hollering and even some dancing as they all hoped and prayed that this would produce the crabs they were looking for. Bruce took his spot with the hook, ready to throw it. As they approached the first set of buoys, he threw the hook so it landed between the two buoys perfectly.

He started reeling it in so it caught the rope between the buoys then continued pulling until he was able to bring the rope up to him. Then he fed the rope through the block which was a machine that would reel the rope in and coil it nicely in a barrel. Everyone watched as it started reeling the rope in which brought the pot up.

Excitement turned to disappointment as the crew saw the few crabs that were in the pot. There were some groans and cursing as they knew what the empty pot meant. Once the pot was up next to the rail, it was positioned onto the launcher. There were dog ears on each side of the rack that latched onto the pot so when it was lifted to almost a ninety degree angle, it wouldn’t fall off the launcher. They untied the door, lifted the pot up and the door swung open, allowing any crab in the pot to fall into the bin. Then the operator pushed another button so the launcher started shaking the crab out of the pot and into the sorting table.

The rest of the crew started sorting the crab, making sure they were keeping all the legal and clean ones. The crab needed to be a certain width across so they all used wooden measuring sticks. They could get fined if they kept any crab that was undersized so they had to be one hundred percent certain the crab were legal.

Once they were done sorting them, they would dump them into the holding tanks below the deck and Lou would then signal to the Captain how many crab were in that pot. He used one hand to signal the number. For example, if the number was three hundred seventy-four, he would hold three fingers up to indicate three hundred. Then he would hold two fingers sideways which meant add five to the two to give seven. Finally he held four fingers up to show four. The Captain would then repeat the number over the intercom just to make sure the number was correct.

It was especially important to get an accurate number of the crab per pot because the Captain would write that down, keeping track of the number of crabs per pot in a log. This allowed him to estimate how many pounds of crab they had on the boat which would help him determine when they needed to go back to the harbor to offload the crab.

Unfortunately, they weren’t lucky enough to have three hundred seventy-four crabs in this pot. They had much less than that. After the first pot had been sorted, Lou held up one finger sideways then three fingers up which meant that they only had sixty-three crabs in that pot.

Sixty-three crab, the Captain repeated. Shit. Let’s start stacking the pots.

This sucks, Danny said. We’re going to be fishing forever if this is all the crab we can find.

Don’t worry Danny, Bruce replied. The Captain will find the crab. He always does.

Well, I hope to hell he does. Otherwise, we’re going to be out here a long time.

Shut up, Lou said. We have a job to do. Let the Captain do his job and you just focus on your job.

Danny snapped his heels together and gave a mock salute to Lou. He really was an asshole, Jake thought. He didn’t know how the others had put up with him for so many years. The only answer Jake could come up with was that he must be a hard worker.

Lou went to the boom which was used to haul pots around the deck. Bruce hooked the pot onto the boom then Lou maneuvered it towards the wheelhouse, setting it on its side in front of the wheelhouse. They proceeded to haul up the rest of the pots on that string which was about fifty pots, as well as the other strings they had set, stacking the pots as they unloaded them. None of the pots had more than a hundred crabs and some of them had as few as ten.

It was demanding work that yielded very little crab. Fifteen hours later they finally had the last of the pots stacked on the deck, finishing another long grind. That was life on a crab boat, Jake had come to realize, one long grind after another.

Everyone can go get something to eat while I figure out our next move, the Captain said over the intercom.

Chapter 3

Jake and the rest of the crew walked off the deck, after making sure everything was put away and secure. They took off their gear and trudged down the hallway and into the galley, tired and hungry, ready to get some food in their stomachs and then go to their rooms for some much needed rest.

Hey greenhorn, it’s time you make us something to eat, Danny said as Jake started walking down the hallway.

Turning around, Jake stared at Danny for a second, contemplating what he was going to do. Had they been anywhere besides a crab boat, Jake would have charged him and beat the crap out of him. However, he was trying to remain calm, but Danny was making it awfully difficult for him. He settled himself down so he could speak to Danny in as calm a voice as possible.

I’m not your cook, Jake responded. Make your own damn meal.

You need to understand something horn. You’re the lowest of the low on this boat. If any of us tell you to do something then you have to do it, unless you don’t want a share of the money.

The main reason Jake came to Alaska was for the money. He had seen on those shows on TV that some of these guys made between thirty and sixty thousand dollars during a season. That was big time money, especially for someone like Jake. He had never had more than three or four thousand dollars to his name, so the thought of making that kind of cash excited him. Since Jake lived very simply, that money would last him years.

Jake knew the crew would vote at the end of the season how much of a share Jake would get. He didn’t want to give them any reason not to pay him which was the reason for him trying to show restraint. Jake relented and decided he would make them breakfast.

Fine, I’ll make you guys breakfast, Jake replied.

That’s more like it, Danny said with a grin on his face, knowing he had just won the battle.

Had Danny not made the last remark, Jake would have gone to the galley to start breakfast. Now he wasn’t going to because he didn’t want Danny to think he got the best of him. You’re going to have to ask me nicely, Jake said.

Danny’s face went from cocky to mad in a heartbeat. Screw you.

Then I guess everyone is on their own for breakfast today.

The rest of the crew stood motionless, looking at Danny and Jake, wondering who was going to give in first or who was going to throw the first punch. It was clear that both of them were trying to assert their dominance so they wanted to see who would emerge the winner. They knew Danny was tough, thanks to witnessing many fights, but the new guy seemed to be tough as well.

Sensing Jake wasn’t about to back down, Lou decided to intervene because he was hungry and he really didn’t want to make his own breakfast. He was getting tired of all the bickering that was going back and forth between the two of them. It seemed never ending.

Jake, Danny is right. You’re the new guy and this is part of your responsibility. Will you please make us some breakfast?

Knowing that he just won the first battle, Jake didn’t want to push it. What would you guys like to eat? Jake asked.

I’ll take bacon and eggs, Danny said.

"Jake, you can just