Port William
The Robinson family made their way down off of the ship and on to the docks. Sarah, upon setting foot onto solid land again after her time on the ship, stumbled, unused to the lack of movement.
Jake grabbed her before she fell, then set her lightly on her feet, smiling and looking around with shining eyes.
"Thanks," Sarah said gratefully. "So this is Port William?" she said, looking around her.
They had arrived as dusk was setting in, and she took in the dreary buildings, the bustling crowd oblivious to the late hour. The air smelt foul, a mixture of fish, rotten fruit and decay, which the brisk sea breeze failed to get rid of. She wasn't very impressed.
Jake however merely laughed at her disgust, drawing incredulous looks from his brothers, and looking around him wide eyed.
"It's just like I remember," he said to himself, as they walked as a group along the water's edge. "Look! Even the shopkeepers are the same…this is so strange."
Montrose made his way to the head of the group, accompanied by a few of his men.
"Alright, as it is so late, we are going to stay in a safe house belonging to the British Navy for tonight. I will need to alert my superiors of the situation with Pickles, and then I can take you all to my house further inland for the next few days.
"We'll go to the nearest official Navy post and get some carriages to take us to our destination. Follow me."
He set off, followed by Lara, David, Ernst and Fritz. Emily and Sarah walked next to each other, marvelling at their surroundings, with Jake not far behind, completely unaware of the other two men behind him.
As the group was passing through a busy marketplace, the two men suddenly cut in front of Jacob, blocking his way as the others carried on, oblivious. Jacob looked confused as he registered the Navy uniforms, then realization dawned as the men turned to face him.
"Not again," he sighed to himself as Jenkins and Mason slowly walked towards him.
"Yes, again. And this time you're not getting away," Mason sneered. Now a crowd had blocked Jacob's view from his family, and Jenkins suddenly appeared behind him, pinning his arms and giving a vehement twist as payback.
However Jacob's attention was distracted from this as Mason slammed a fist into his stomach, making him double over with the sharp pain from his protesting rib.
Jenkins released his arms, jeering as Jake fell to his knees, clutching his side.
"See ya!" he quipped, heading quickly off after the rest of the group.
As Jake slowly began to get to his feet, he heard a cry and looked up as Sarah and Emily ran over to him, and pulled him to his feet.
"Jake! What happened? We saw you on the floor, are you ok?" Sarah asked, as Emily looked around her, preoccupied.
"Yeah, I just got knocked over. I'll be fine."
As Sarah began to fuss over her brother, ignoring his attempts to swat her hands away, Emily interrupted them.
"Where are the others?"
"What?" Sarah said, ceasing her attack on her brother and looking around worriedly.
"I can't see them!" Emily cried.
"Oh no…this isn't good. Mother and Father aren't going to let me out of the house now!" Sarah looked about her in horror at the thought. "We have to find them!"
"No! We should stay here, Father will come looking for me, I know it!" Emily said, shivering in the cold night air.
"Do you know where we are?" Jake retorted. "We're right on the edge of the Slums! We do not want to hang around here!"
"He's right," Sarah cut in, as Emily was about to protest. "I don't think that the others will notice that we've gone for a while. They won't know where we are."
"Father must notice! Or Fritz!" Emily was getting more and more distraught at the prospect of being abandoned, again, in an alien place. "What about the men behind us? They must have noticed!" She said triumphantly.
"I doubt that very much Emily," Jake said, to a quizzical stare from his sister.
The trio stood at a loss, being buffeted by the many passers by. However, the number of people in the square was gradually decreasing as the sky darkened, and Jacob was getting seriously worried. He knew what kind of people lived in this area, and what they did to strangers who strayed into their territory after nightfall.
"Look, we need to decide what to do. We can't stay here; it's not safe for two young ladies."
Emily turned to him, panic-stricken. "Do you have anything with you? A knife, or, or a weapon or anything?"
"We came on a Navy ship. I'm an ex-pirate. I don't think that would have gone down too well!" Jacob took a deep breath, trying to decide on the best plan of action. "Sarah, give me your knife."
Emily, bewildered, looked at Sarah. "You have a knife?"
"No! I don't."
Jacob looked at her, not believing her for a second. "Sarah, I saw you pack it. Hand it over."
"Fine," she said, reluctantly handing a sheathed blade over. Jacob tucked it into his belt, pulling his shirt down to hide it.
"Now, as to money, I do in fact have some somewhere. Give me a second," he said, checking his pockets.
"Wait…"
"What is it?" Sarah questioned, not liking the sound of her brother's comment.
"It's gone." Jacob looked around as Emily started to cry. He checked again, and then slowly drew out a length of cord.
"What is that? Eugh!" Sarah cried out, disgusted at the sight of the crude necklace, a tooth dangling by a chord.
"Rat!" Jake said, almost too softly for Sarah to hear. "He's gotten good! I didn't even notice."
With this rather ambiguous comment, he began scrutinizing the square, his face lighting up in recognition.
Sarah tried to follow his gaze towards a dark alleyway, but saw nothing.
"What are you talking about?" she said wearily.
"Come on, I've got an idea."
He grabbed Emily's arm, pulling her and Sarah along with him as he headed towards the alley entrance.
The three stood shivering a little way into the alley. A match flared in front of them, illuminating a grubby face, lounging against a wall.
"Ratero! Been stealing smokes again?" Jake said with a smile, as the scrawny figure lit a cigarette.
"Jakey, haven't seen you in a while." The figure replied, in a rather high, unremarkable voice, breaking his mysterious façade.
"You were always one for a dramatic entrance, Rat. Been in anyone's pockets recently?" Jake asked innocently, handing over the tooth-necklace.
Rat smirked, replying in the same nonchalant tone, faking offence. "What do you take me for? Come on, the other's will kill me if I don't bring you back for a visit."
