I was 97 percent sure that I'd just died of electrocution, but I couldn't tell if I'd gone to heaven or hell. On one hand, I'd just been struck by lightning, and my hair felt pretty staticky—a clear sign of hell. On the other hand, I was surrounded by…well, let's just say really hot pirates.
It was strange—I don't think any of them noticed the strange girl who had just arrived lightning-style. But I sure noticed them. There were about ten of these grizzly, built, screaming, teenage pirates. None of them could've been much older than I was, and I had just turned seventeen the week before. Actually, the pirates all looked so young that I thought I had entered the flying-pirate-ship version of Lord of the Flies.
But what were the pirates doing? The ship was bustling with action as they rushed about with metal rods as they fished for…what? Birds? Flying tuna? I longed for someone to stop moving long enough to explain what was going on, or at least to notice that I had poofed into existence. But between the flashes and cracks of the storm, the sudden swerves of the ship, and the crazed screams of the pirates I was practically invisible.
I guess my brain was still kind of fizzing at that point, because I hadn't noticed that one of these guys had started talking to me.
"Yer standin' in my spot, lassie, better move out o' the way!"
Oh crap, I just remembered that I'd only spoken to a hot guy, um, twice in my whole life.
"Er um yeah, sorry."
I backed up into a large mast and got my first good look at the ship. It was like I'd just stepped into one of those old paintings of the pirate ship at sea. There were the creaking wooden planks, the ragged sail, and even the billowing pirate flag. The violent clouds of the thunderstorm could easily have passed for a choppy ocean. Well, if not for the plane I saw passing in the distance.
Yes, I was definitely dead. Might as well go with the flow at this point, though.
I noticed an extremely young-looking pirate, maybe about twelve years old, standing near the entrance to the captain's quarters. Though his ear was pierced and he had a mean scar along his chin, the kid was not the least bit intimidating. I could approach him.
"Hey," was my groundbreaking introduction.
The mini-pirate, who had been focused on the conquests of his older counterparts, suddenly looked up. His eyes were dark, very dark, and his face surprisingly aged for a kid so young.
"Hey," he said after a moment's hesitation. "Yer crazy to be boardin' the ship right now, durin' a storm n'all."
"I, um, didn't really mean to," I called over the storm. I guess people show up on flying pirate ships all the time. "I got struck by lightning. I think."
His eyes lit up with understanding. "Aye, lightning travel. A dangerous way ter get around. Yer lucky you made it up here alive, ya know. Not everyone survives it."
So I was alive, after all. Good to know.
"What are they doing?" I finally asked about the pirates buzzing about with the metal rods.
"This is a ship o' lightning catchers. Find't, catch't, sell't is what we do. Tis a right noble business, aye."
Now I understood. The pirates holding the metal rods were catching lightning and sending it into the glass jars that littered the ship's deck. It sounded a bit risky to me, but then again I was on board a flying ship.
There was a sudden cry from the pirates as a great bolt of lightning struck one of the rods.
"Hold 'er steady!"
"Easy now! Easy now!"
I heard a clink as the lid of one of the glass jars was slapped on and the lightning trapped inside. The buzzing container lit the ship with its bright glow. Suddenly the sky grew clear and starry as the storm passed northward.
"A mighty catch!" cried one of the pirates.
"A MIGHTY CATCH!" cried all of the pirates.
"Where be our captain, to show him the treasure."
The teenage pirates searched the ship, but they couldn't find their captain. They found me instead.
"Who is she, and how did she come to board our ship?" was the general outcry.
The pirates crowded around me, and I felt like a trapped rabbit. I never thought I would wish to be struck by lightning, but right then I wished that a bolt would transport me back home. Where was a pair of ruby slippers when I needed one?
"I know who she is," spoke up one of the pirates suddenly.
He was a dark, tall boy, with a tan face and black eyes. The rowdy pirates were silent when he spoke. Their respectful gestures told me that he was the leader.
"She is our new captain."
Uh oh.