The man swayed, gripping the edge of the console for balance. Up close, Elias could see his face; sunken cheeks, eyes bloodshot, stubble grown wild. “I… I didn’t think anyone would come,” he rasped. “My name’s Callen… I wasn’t supposed to be here. I stowed away. I woke up one day to the ship being abandoned and left to drift.”
Lightning lit the room again, and Elias’s gaze flicked to the man’s arm. It was wrapped in a dirty bandage, stained dark. Elias’s mind raced. A whole crew, gone without a trace? Why would sailors desert a vessel this size? Pirates? Smugglers?