Chapter 4

The Ship Affair

"Johnny! Get up! There is something wrong with the engine!" April came barging into the room, hair a mess and completely out of breath. The pirate moaned and turned over in his bed gesturing groggily for the girl to leave. She huffed and tore the covers off him.

"C'mon!" she urged, not caring he was only dressed in smilely face boxers. "It's already three in the afternoon! What are you still doing asleep anyway?!"

"I'm coming...I'm coming.." Johnny moaned rolling over onto the floor.

"Well, hurry," April hastened then slamming the door before rushing back to the engine room.

"Why can't problems wait till after I'm awake.." he complained while clumsily putting on his pants. Scoffing at his leather jacket he decided to bless the ship with his shirtless self. As he opened the door a burst of light blinded him and had to quickly grab his sunglasses.

"Damn you burning ball of fire in the sky.." he cursed to no one in particular. Sighing, he took a detour from the engine room to the deck of the ship. Where, oblivious to Johnny, May was, toting a large crate.

"Why do I have to drag this thing around to the deck?" she whined letting the crate halt where it was. Out of breathe and flushed, May rested on the railing of the ship. She took a deep breathe and gazed at the forestall surrounding they had flown into. Birds of all colors dotted the trees setting the scene beautifully. Casually turning to view the whole forest she noticed Johnny on the opposite side of the deck. He still had not noticed her as he too gazed at the environment.

"Johnny....How come he didn't even notice me?! He could have helped with the giant crate! Geez!" she huffed arrogantly. "I'll make sure he never ignores a girl again.." focused on her goal she made her way towards the unsuspecting pirate. When suddenly, a prick on her neck stopped her.

"What was..," she turned to see a man wielding a small pink bow in one hand and an umbrella in the other. Covered in various colored feathers as if to blend in with the bird species of the area he looked surprisingly like...

"Faust?" she questioned as the figure floated away.

"Not Faust! Mary Popiiiiiiinss," his voice trailed off into wind as he quickly flew off into the distance.

"What the hell was that?" Johnny appeared unexpectedly behind the bewildered May.

"Oh! Um...uh..I don't know," she blurted out abruptly. Johnny raised in eyebrow questionably, causing her to blush furiously and look down at her feet.

Why am I blushing...Didn't I want to tell him something? She looked back up at him and fought to keep her red face down. It didn't work..

"What's wrong? You have a fever?" he placed his hand on her forehead. Her eyes widened and her breathe quickened. She pushed his hand away and turned around.

"No..no..I'm fine, I'm just..um..the crate! Yeah, the crate! I had to drag that thing across the ship so I'm a little worn out," she forced a small laugh.

"You sure? Your acting kinda..weird," Johnny protested putting a hand on her shoulder. She tensed up.

"W-What's wrong with being a little worn out?! I'm fine!" in her rush to get away from Johnny she forgot how close she was to the edge of the ship. In a matter of seconds she was clinging to the rail with one hand, dangling from the ship.

"Help!" she screamed while trying vainly to grab the edge of the ship with her other hand.

"May! Hang on!" Johnny called after her reaching for her other hand.

"Easy for you to say!" she yelled back.

"Johnny! Johnny! The engine is going to explode! ..May!" April came running toward them, covered in oil from head to foot. Right as April got within a foot of the two the ship started to shake and rumble and was followed by an eruption from the engine room. The ship was thrown off balance, knocking everything and everyone down. The violence of the explosion was too much for May and she lost her grip on the rail.

"May!" Johnny called after her, try vainly to regain balance on the rocky ship. "We have to land and find her!" he directed at April.

"No need, we're going to crash!"

The ship groaned as it turned sharply into the canopy of the forest below. Trunks snapped like twigs under the hug vessel, birds fled frantically into the sky trying to make way for the monster that was destroying their homes.

"Don't let the ship turn over!" Johnny had finally blundered into the control room, taking over steering the ship as it plummeted rapidly to the earth. The ship collided with trees and other vegetation and had to intention of stopping. However, before the ship could journey any further it came to an abrupt halt. A tsunami seemed to erupt all around the bewildered pirates as they fought to regain balance which proved impossible.

After about a minute, the longest minute anyone on the ship has ever experienced, everything was silent. No birds, no water, no earsplitting sound of trees cracking, just silence. The ship was drenched, along with the crew. Fish lay scattered on deck, gasping for breath. The first person to stir was Johnny, standing up with the aid of an upturned table. Blood flowed down his face from a gash above his left eyebrow, a result of being thrust headfirst into an upturned table.

"Everyone ok?" he called, looking around the ship for haggard crew mates.

"I hurt in places I didn't know existed..." April whined, coming out of under a chair, "How did we stop?"

They both limped out onto the deck to assess the situation. It was quiet obvious what had happened when they went outside. The ship was lodged in a large river, that must have been deep to trap a huge vessel like the 'May Ship'.

"I have to go find May.." Johnny said, ignoring the dilemma completely. April looked apprehensive for a moment, but then smiled understandingly at him.

"Fine, we'll try and patch things up here," she assured, kicking a brightly colored bream back into its aquatic habitation.

"I wont be too long hopefully," he winked, then began to ascend down the stranded vessel.

***

"...Ouch," May moaned as she slowly regained consciousness. "Wha...what happened to me?" she asked no one. Or at least, no one human. A large vividly colored parrot cocked its head at the strange creature in her nest. At the site of the bird, May moaned even louder. She looked down at the forest floor far below.

"This is just perfect.." she complained, pulling a stubborn twig from her hair. "Mr..or Mrs. Birdie, can you help me get down?" she pleaded to the bird vainly. In response the bird puffed its feathers and squawked angrily. May covered her ears to drown out the racket as best as she could.

"Shut up!" She screamed impatiently, trying to shoo the bird away. As if the smite her, the parrot squawked even louder and then initiated an attack upon the bewildered girl. Pecking and scratching at her bare skin. In her violent attempt to shoo the bird and protect her already aching body the branch she had occupied suddenly cracked. Both the parrot and May fell silent, not wanting to upset the branch any further.

"I have to get down..." she whispered, as if speaking any louder would cause the branch to snap. When, as a matter of fact, it doesn't take much to break an already cracked branch. For when May gently grabbed for another branch the one she was on finally gave way. Her and the nest plummeted toward the ground as it seemed to rise up to meet them. They both landed with a crash, upsetting the leaves and twigs that had accumulated on the ground. After all fell silent, the parrot flew nonchalantly down from it's perch to investigate the wreckage, landing in the grounded nest. Cocking it's head innocently at May as she lay against the tree, eyes closed. Seeing nothing better to do the bird squawked to get May's attention and looked almost disappointed to see her respond with a moan.

"Damn....bird...," she managed.

***
"May! Maaaay!" his voice trailed endlessly through the forest and to his disappointment claiming no response.

"Maaaaaaa-OUCH!" he shrieked, tripping over a vine that was determined to make his quest harder. He wished now that he had not left his jacket lying in his room as he winced from new cuts that seem to appear by themselves, dotting his body.

"After all this... she better still be alive," he said to himself, although the thought of finding May dead was unbearable and quickly tried to change the subject in his head.

She'll be fine...she's strong. Takes more then that to kill my lil May.

Taking more precaution where he stepped now, he proceeded in the direction he hoped was the right one.

***
"You think someone is looking for me?" May asked the parrot, but it just squawked sadly at it's fallen nest. She sighed, narrowing her eyes through the trees around her in hopes to see someone emerge and bring her home. Her ankle now broken, it was hard for her to move. And even if she did attempt to find the ship (which she knew had to have crashed somewhere) she wouldn't have the slightest idea where to look.

It's hopeless... she sighed again.

The parrot looked up at her, then back at it's nest flapping it's wings lightly.

"Look I'm sorry about your stupid nest," she snapped. "You have no idea what I'm going through you stupid bird!"

The parrot squawked back and took flight, leaving her alone. She threw a stick vainly after it in desperation.

"Fine! Leave me!" she called after it, hiding the feeling from herself that she really wanted for it to come back.

***
Forcing his way through ever increasing thick foliage, Johnny had no intention of giving in to the relentless forest. His mind was focused on his objective and few plants weren't going to stand in his way.

But.., he told himself, This is like finding a needle in a haystack.

The blood red sunset warned the world of the sun's soon departure as Johnny searched desperately for May. The breaking twigs and leaves under his foot were the only sounds that eerily echoed through the forest, the birds and animals seeming to only want to emerge in the covering of darkness that would soon overtake the land.

Damn... I have to find her fast.

As if the answer his silent call, a loud squawk broke the silence of the mysteriously calm evening. Johnny instinctively looked up into the sky, the sound was somewhat calming compared to the latter. A coloful parrot circled above him calling for some unknown reason.

Stupid bird...

As if frustrated by its unanswered call, the bird dived suddenly toward Johnny. Caught completely off guard by the dive-bombing parrot, he tripped over his own feet and ate a couple of leaves in the process. Cursing at himself and at the bird he found his footing and erected himself. The bird sat innocently on a branch that happened to be eye level with Johnny. Johnny glared back, attempting to intimidate it.

"Damn bird!" the bird squawked flapping it's wings. Johnny blinked confusedly.

"Y-you can talk?" he asked it. No you idiot... Birds can't talk on their own, they mimic people.

"Damn bird! Damn bird!" it chanted, flapping it's wings even more.

"Yes! Your are a damn bird, now shu-" Johnny stopped. ...Could it have mimiced it from... May? He pondered the question to himself. It's worth a try.

"Go... to... May," he told to bird, realizing how stupid he must look.

"Damn bird!" it squawked in response.

"No! May, go to May! Girl, brown hair," it was at this time he questioned his sanity as the bird cocked it's head at him.

"Damn bird!" he yelled at it.

"Damn bird! Damn bird!" the parrot squawked and just as suddenly as it appeared took flight, chanting it's song to the rest of the world. Without thinking or caring Johnny followed it from below, hopping "Damn bird" was code for May.

"Maaay!" he called as he followed the bird obediently.