Captain Rex Decides

This story didn’t come from a prompt. I’ve just kept meaning to tell it since The Jurassic Roger set sail. 🙂

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The Jurassic Roger tilted in the chaotic rolls of the stormy sea, its deck awash in waters deep green – almost black. Captain Rex stood a lonely vigil as he tried to keep his livelihood, freedom, and home on due course through the treacherous waves.

His foam ship, which floated easily in calm waters but turned about horribly in conditions such as these, was bound for a watery grave if he couldn’t keep the wheel. His tiny glass arms worried at the elbows from the effort. It was a rough day at sea for a wandering dinosaur from a miniature glass menagerie.

Captain Rex had left his fellow castmates, the Hippo, the Sabretooth Tiger, and the Dragon, at the first opportunity. Not due to any animosity – he had gotten along with them fine, particularly Hippo – but because he had heard the call of the horizon; the promise of adventure Over There. He was meant for more than standing on a mantel.

And while his was a lonely life of late, if concern of sinking to the bottom of the ocean – no one to mourn him – was on his mind, it didn’t show on his face. His sheer force of will kept The Jurassic Roger on task.

The sky was a swirling mass of angry storm cloud, with lightning etching across its face like war paint and thunder barking the rantings of an old, mad king. Still The Jurassic Roger kept upright.

For six whole hours that little vessel survived Poseidon’s wrath. Just when Captain Rex thought he couldn’t hold on any longer, the sea calmed. The clouds lightened, dissipating completely before a pleasant, noonday sun.

Releasing the wheel, Captain Rex sat down on the deck, letting the fresh feel of a post-storm breeze wash over him. Another risky undertaking handled, he wondered at his luck; and how long that luck might hold, out here in the world on his own. Surely there were others of his kind, like-minded in spirit and sense of adventure. The Jurassic Roger had plenty of room for a suitably-sized crew. Then he remembered hearing stories of a wonderful toy store in a little shop set up somewhere in the Hawaiian Islands. Liking this new idea very much, Captain Rex changed his course with a smile on his face.

A brisk wind, seemingly in agreement with this plan, filled The Jurassic Roger’s sails.