After five minutes waiting in anticipation with their swords ready, Zack and Maya finally got to see who the two figures were. As they realized who they were, they smiled and had put away their swords. They came face to face with Cody and Bailey.
Cody and Bailey smiled at Zack and Maya when they saw them. The two couples approached each other. Cody and Bailey had let go of each other to greet Zack and Maya. The girls hugged each other while the boys gave one another half hugs and patted each others' shoulders. All of them were relieved that the others were ok. Once the greetings were over, there were some things to discuss as a group. Zack lead the group into a conversation about what they found, if they found anything at all.
"Did anyone find the safest path back to the ship", Zack questioned.
"No. Unfortunately all we could do was fight for our lives with pirates", Cody said as he motioned between himself and Bailey.
Zack noticed a cut through his brother's sleeve on his right shoulder when Cody was motioning to himself and Bailey.
"Dude! What happened to your arm", Zack blurted as he pointed to Cody's shoulder. Maya looked at where Zack was pointing and noticed Cody's injury as well. Cody gave a confused look at first but then he looked at his cut and then he had an understanding look on his face. He looked back at Zack.
"I got slashed across my shoulder while trying to protect Bailey when I told her to escape", Cody casually responded.
"It's true", Bailey chirped in.
"So you became a big hero and grew bolder and brave, bro", Zack asked.
"Pretty much. I have found out that I can be strong; it's just that I need an alternative motive to get my adrenalin pumping. The best motivation I have is to protect and help the ones I love and care about, which can be fueled with rage or anger. Such as thinking of you when you got me in trouble when we were younger or thinking and worrying that something really bad could happen to Bailey", Cody calmly and ardently stated.
"Wouldn't you get mad if an enemy threatened to take Maya away from you or said that he would do something really bad to her", Cody asked.
"Of course I would get mad", Zack responded.
"Then, you know what my motive is to get so strong and brave", Cody said as he quickly looked at Bailey and smiled at her before returning his attention back to Zack.
"Wow, little bro, I'm impressed. But let's not get off track. We need to think of a plan", Zack said.
"I agree. We need a plan but what can we do", Maya said.
"Well, we are dressed up as pirates, why don't we just go with our original plan but this time we find where the pirates hide out", Bailey suggested.
"What if all the others pirates are already on the look-out for us. Wouldn't they know who we are", Maya asks with concern tangled in her words.
"There is a low probability that all of them would know because there were only four pirates after us and I'm sure we all found a way to get rid of all four of them", Cody repented.
"Yes. I'm sure there that those four pirates were the only ones knew about us. We still have the element of surprise", Bailey added.
"Cody, what would you suggest we do", Zack asks while holding up his hands in a confused manner.
"Well, I suggest that we-", Cody cut himself off because he saw some pirates in the distance.
"We what-", Maya asked.
"Shush", Cody says as he points to the pirates. Maya stops speaking and looks in the direction where Cody was pointing. Bailey and Zack do the same thing as Maya.
"Pirates", Zack silently screams.
"What do we do", Bailey asks Cody as she turns her attention to him.
"I guess we just stand here. Hopefully they won't notice us", Cody replies back to Bailey.
Everyone waits silently. In the great hush of the quiet scene, they blend in. Pirates slink by them. The gritty fiends have a conversation.
"Y'arg, matey! When do we embark back to the hideout. I need to know how much we have so ye can drain the sea monster", exclaimed a chunky pirate.
It'll take as long as when we sing sea shanties on thee ol' Black Tide. Besides you ought of have just went to perform yer necessaries before we captured those villagers", replied the slim yet short pirate.
"Yer! Well we gots 600 seconds. Plenty time to drain thee sea monster. Then we go to Sea Hawk Cove on the East side of the island", said the first pirate.
"Right, well, let's get a move on", said the second pirate. The two pirates left. When the teens that the pirates were sure that pirates were out of earshot, they conversed among themselves.
"Wow, what luck. Now we know where the hideout is", Zack said.
"Since we know the location, we can infiltrate the pirates' hideout and then just take a straight dash to the boat and ask for assistance to give a surprise attack", Cody said.
"Ok then we should go to the boat right now. Let's not worry if pirates see us. No more time to waste", Zack said.
"What if we can't convince crew members to help us", Maya pondered.
"Well, we'll just have to take the risk of rejection from receiving help from", Zack said.
"What do we do if they deny helping us", Maya asks again.
"Then we just have to take care of the pirates ourselves", Zack says as he shrugs his shoulders.
"Ok it's settled, let's leave now", Cody says.
The four teens head off to the boat. As they leave, the sun is in a position in the sky that shows the shadows of objects are pointing in the direction of northeast. The time is three in the afternoon.
