A/N: This fic has been long over due. And it's about time, I started again. Thank you for the years of love, and the years of visiting Ghost Ship Online. I don't own anyone in this fic except for my character, Desarae. Enjoy.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Flash

"I'm a salvager, just like you."

Flash

"They don't heed my warning…"

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Wide eyed and fearful the ebony haired teenager stood on the wooden dock, petrified of the situation. Her ankles felt week and her heart beat ever faster. Desarae Epps was eighteen and alone in the world…

Now. It was her turn to fight.

Curls of a dark brown had fallen around those slender shoulders, Maureen smiled a wicked grin as she had trailed behind Jack Ferriman up onto the plank. Two men dressed in shipmate suits carried a large and antique crate of gold in front of them, followed by another two men. All together a total of two crates had made it into the Chessa Fae. People watched in pure terror as the teenager couldn't stop screaming.

And worse.

There was nothing she could do.

"Mom…" bottom lip trembling as if her whole world had fallen apart. And indeed it did.

"It's over…" Andrew had rushed to her side, his sandy brown hair falling in his eyes but he didn't care.

"No… it's just begun." Des responded as his hand had touched her shoulder.

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"Get up, Dizzy." a whisp of a voice had emitted from her throat in a reply to the screeching alarm clock.

"I'm up!" the seventeen year old Desarae flounced her hair a moment, honeyed blonde tendrils cut short that just made a type of layered bob around her face.

"You're up?" Maureen could hardly believe her ears as the woman threw the covers off of her lithe figure and began up onto her feet, shutting off the digital alarm clock.

"Yeah." the younger girl began. Setting herself down onto her bed, covered in blue sheets. Diz's favorite color was always blue, like the ocean but her mother never wanted to talk about it.

"Amazing." Epps replied as she adjusted the covers on her own bed, not really one to want to come home from work and fix them.

Though, she was a tomboy, it didn't mean her apartment couldn't be spotless.

"Breakfast?" dark-hazel green eyes found their way to the hall, as the woman pulled open the door and started out towards the kitchen.

"Nah. Tryin' to cut back." the blonde grinned widely now already out of her own room. The bed was of course a pig sty as was the rest of the small room. Painted walls of a dark purple, she was just going through the punk stage.

"Diz…" a hand went to her forehead as if a headache had now been forming into a large migraine.

"What?" blue eyes met with those dark orbs, as Dizzy rolled her own eyes and grabbed onto a Slim fast box next to the counter.

Quirking a brunette eyebrow, her mother immediately started over to her daughter and gripped onto the box.

"Where the hell did you get those?" Epps exclaimed.

"From a friend… I'm putting on weight… "Diz whined.

"Desarae. You're 120 pounds, if that's putting on weight then Jesus, why is Anna Nicole Smith considered pretty?"

Diz chuckled whole heartedly, snatching the box.

"You wouldn't understand." she puffed out her chest, in an attempt to rebel against her mother as would any normal teenager.

"I would too." Epps frowned, as she raised both eyebrows now. The headache definitely was getting worse.

"Forget it. I have to go to school, I'll be home later. Bye." and rebel she did, as the teen snatched up the LL Bean backpack perfectly positioned onto her shoulders and with a slam of the door she was out.

"Jesus…" an annoyed mutter as then came a hefty sigh.

Hazel oculars found their way around the walls of the house. Then the clock had fallen into view. 6:30. Fuck. She was late.

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"Morning, Maureen." the woman smiled brightly, she had a stout figured and too dyed blonde hair. It looked like she couldn't stay away from the peroxide.

"Epps." the tomboy nodded, placing a hand to her heart as if to give the woman a rub off of her sarcasm.

"Pardon?" the woman replied.

"My name, is Epps." she groaned softly.

"Of course, of course. I'll see you at break, Maureen."

Something inside of her felt like it was snapping. Everyone seemed to want to annoy the hell out of her today, including her boss.

"First day on the job?" a man asked.

Startled a moment in her thoughts, Epps whirled around to face him.

"Hey…you're the chick who got shipwrecked…right? I saw it on the news…" a smirk.

About to say something perhaps she'd regret, Epps turned her back on the man and began to settle into daily life. This was how it would be. She had to accept it, or decline it. And declining lead straight to the loony bin.

"Hey." he tapped her on the shoulder and just like that, the woman had gotten into his face.

"You want to bug me about something you saw on the news? Obviously, I don't want to talk about it…so if you could with all do respect. Fuck off." Epps hissed.

"Oh…hey , hey." he sighed, offering her his hand.

"I'm sorry, … you know, first day on the job, I give everyone a hard time. I'm Andy, Andy Maloney." a sigh, and a sheepish shrug of his shoulders.

Frowning once, Epps shook his hand a tight grip was given back to his slender palm as she dropped her hand to her side.

"Epps."

"Sorry." Andy began. He had the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Almost like the ocean, or that necklace in that movie Desarae had brought over to her friends house to watch, Titanic.

"Yeah.. It's all right. I get that a lot." she replied, not once hesitating.

"Bar's opening' up soon. I'll see you around?" he smiled a sincere smile, almost apologetic.

"Yeah." Epps nodded, dark curls bouncing slightly when she turned to look at the counter. Filthy. Completely, and utterly filthy.

"By the way, 'Epps'." Mrs. Frederick began, a twitch to her lips slowly sliding into a smile.

"The counter needs cleaning."

"I can see that. Epps replied, trying to be polite as she could.

"Fredericks doesn't scrub itself you know!" a hefty pat on the back, as the round woman began on her way into the back storage, to probably bitch someone else out or so Epps had thought.

Gripping onto a sponge, the brunette began to squeeze out the water, turning on the faucet and let it run a few minutes till it grew cold.

"Miss?" it was a male voice, probably her first customer.

"What can I get you?" it was almost a drawl.

"Tequila, dry." he smiled. Almost elegantly. Never once looking up at the cheerful voice, she let her hand stray from the sponge a moment, but as she began to turn, a hand had gripped onto hers and not let go.

"Bud-" the last few letters of the word were mouthed as Epps nearly stared in full shock, eyes widening.

"Hello, Maureen." sandy brown hair which stayed back perfectly, deep ocean blue eyes and a navy blue wind breaker over a light green button down shirt.

"Jesus…" she yanked her hand back suddenly, as if to scratch the back of his in the process.

"Not happy to see me?" a devilishly smirk, hypnotic glance looking around the place. Filthy, disgusting humans.

She didn't answer.

"Come on… " Jack Ferriman smirked slightly, his own childish demeanor showing through as you could see the pearly whites in his grin.

"Get out." Epps replied softly, though she grit her teeth.

"Call the cops on me?" Jack chided her in a mocking tone. And worse. She knew the truth, knew that he could never be killed and no matter how hard she tried, it never would succeed.

"Maureen?" the small woman rounded the corner slightly.

"Are we flirting on the job?" she laughed lightly, placing a few strands of short blonde hair behind a pale ear.

"Get to work." a squeak of that cheerful voice as she waved, wiggling her fingers to Jack who in return smiled. But the minute the woman began to waddle away it turned into a cringe. But a smug one.

"So this is where you are now. Working as a bartender… in this shit hole." slowly his form inched closer to the counter as he leaned in, his lips just barely brushing her ear.

"You've come so far." tone like acid, perhaps a sting of ice.

A shiver ran down her spine, as Epps jerked herself back slightly.

"How about that tequila?" a bright smile.

The first thing on Maureen Epps' mind was if her child was safe. Perhaps if she didn't mention it to Jack he wouldn't know. But what if he had been watching her? Every move she made… every possible word into the telephone.

"How's mommy been?" another mocking tone, as the slender man took a seat on a bar stool, tapping his own nimble fingers on the counter top.

Epps' hazel eyes widened.

"You thought I didn't know?" he smiled with a coy grin.

"Oh Maureen." rolling his eyes, that smile turned into a sneer.

"I know everything you do. I watch every move you make. You can't escape me. Got that?" it was breath taking. And a scary reality she knew she'd have to face.

"Leave us alone, Ferriman…" her own tone of voice like a block of bricks that had just been tumbled down on him.

"I don't want the little street urchin." Jack drawled and rolled his eyes.

This made her mad.

"Get the fuck out. Now." Epps replied harshly.

A few older men were playing cards nearby, as one looked up sheepishly, another with broad shoulders had stared up to the two by the counter.

"I reckon that guy is giving her trouble…" the other muttered, tipping his cigarette in the ash tray.

"She just said Ferriman…" one of the men laughed lightly, having heard the story. No one would let her live it down.

"All right, buddy. Get out of here." it was Andy.

Epps froze in her place, digging her nails into the hard wooden texture of the counter top.

"He was just leaving." she replied harshly. But that glare of Jack's had just cut into her own mind frame, giving her something to really worry about. When Andy had stared to Jack, the only thing Epps could see was the fire flashing in the Ferryman's eyes.

A slight smile, the man began to back up slightly, finally turning around and began out of the door, but the funny thing was…no one really saw him leave down the sidewalk...he just disappeared. But to the normal eye, no one would figure that out.

"Epps… listen, I was teasing you earlier. That guy was a jerk, but we don't want to cause suspicion around here, you said so yourself you've heard it before…" he tried to come up with a weak smile, running a tanned slender hand through his sandy brown hair.

Epps still stood there, in shock, finally coming out of it.

"I need to go." her voice in a wisp.

"You just got here… "Andy raised an eyebrow.

"It's my kid."

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Chapter two due tomorrow.