Red

First, I straighten my fireman’s helmet. In the dock lies the Danish coaster, she’s taken a serious beating. A tanker got frisky with her stern near Texel. One crew member lost his life while sleeping in his bunk. The battered captain paces the deck in full regalia, firmly arm-in-arm with his bandaged wife. I avert my eyes discreetly.

‘Hey, firewatch!’ calls the welder from below deck. ‘Stand here with that extinguisher. And no peeking, student boy, unless you want another dose of arc eye.’

The twisted steel looks cold and unforgiving. Before putting on his welding mask, the welder kicks something soft. He points with his boot and grins viciously. From the tangle, a bloodied mattress sticks out.