They made it to the loading dock without any sightings of Scroop and thankfully B.E.N hadn't managed to set off any alarms. AnaMaria followed Jim back towards the end of the docks and watched as he dug around a pile of ropes until he pulled from them a small golden ball.
To many, the golden orb wouldn't be much to look at – its paint was dull and there were odd designs on the surface – but to any pirate who knew the stories of Flint and his treasure the orb meant countless riches.
"And to think, all this fuss over something so ugly," AnaMaria chuckled.
Suddenly the harsh clangs of what could only be an alarm began to sound, causing AnaMaria's blood to run cold. She shared a look of panic with Jim and Morph before they took off for the deck.
"This wouldn't have happened if you would have just trusted me!" AnaMaria yelled over the alarm. The two teens slid around a corner and towards the steps leading up to the deck, freedom in sight.
"That stupid robot is gonna get us all –," He stopped short of the steps, causing AnaMaria who was a few paces behind him to slam into his back. She opened her mouth to complain when she caught a glimpse of what cause the boy's abrupt stop. Standing at the top of the stairs, glaring down at the two teens and Morph was none other than Scroop. "—killed."
"Hello," the spider growled, snapping open his pinchers.
Spinning on her heels, AnaMaria grabbed Jim's wrist and yanked him back down the corridor, knocking down barrels to oppose as obstacles for the spider. She could feel him breathing down their necks as their two legs were no match for the speed of his six. She could practically feel his pinchers grabbing hold of the back of her neck and squeezing the life from her body…but then the pressure was gone and as much as she wanted to look back to see what had caused the end of his pursuit she knew that doing such would only further endanger her and Jim.
There was no place to hide where the spider couldn't find them and sooner rather than later they would reach the end of the road and then what would happen? AnaMaria tried not to think about it as she prepared herself to turn into the loading dock but her thoughts immediately flew into panic mode when she felt her body being jerked backwards.
Her first response was to struggle fiercely against the force pressing her back into the wall but when she found herself looking into the terrified eyes of Jim she quickly calmed down. He motioned for her to stay still as he produced a gun from the waistband of his pants. Holding it close to his body he waited until he thought the opportune moment and jumped in front of a rather surprised Scroop, the gun pointed at the spider's heart.
AnaMaria saw his eyes widen as he realized that he had been gotten the best of but then the corridor was bathed in darkness.
"Jim!" The cry was from her lips before she could stop herself. In the next instant however, the room was cloaked in a red light providing a big source of relief for the teens but no Scroop.
The cabin boy searched wildly for the missing spider, spinning every which way only to find himself and AnaMaria alone in the corridor.
Panic was hammering in the girl's chest as she too searched for the spider that had been standing before them moments ago. It was only when she felt the slight presence of another on top of her did she know she was in trouble. She opened her mouth to shout a warning to Jim but was quickly silenced by a claw the jaw.
The force of the blow knocked her from her feet and out into the open corridor before a surprised Jim. The boy rushed to help her to her feet but stopped short at her insistent refusals. An all too familiar squeal from Morph alerted him to the danger behind him.
Apparently, the pink blob had managed to surprise the spider temporarily but before Jim could take advantage of it he found himself on his back with the gun sliding from his grasp. He reached out to retrieve the weapon but the spider was on him in the next second.
Reacting without thinking, AnaMaria launched herself at the spider towering over Jim and knocked him backwards. She moved into a position where the spider could do little damage to her and began a wild struggle with him. The loss of gravity was the only thing that tore the two apart.
Seeing her chance, AnaMaria landed a solid check on the spider's abdomen and sent him crashing through the latticed section of the deck. The pull of space quickly saw to it that Jim and AnaMaria soon followed him.
The two teens scrambled wildly in the air, attempting to grab at something that would anchor them to the ship but they were too far away to grab on to anything. AnaMaria had just narrowly avoided the snapping claw of Scroop's when an object that could be their saving grace grabbed her attention.
"Jim, the flag!" she shouted.
The boy looked up just in time to grab a hold of the flag and hold on tight. He made a quick grab for AnaMaria as she floated past and managed to pull her to his side tightly. However, Scroop wasn't going to let them off that easily.
The spider was scaling the mast with relative ease and would be upon them any second to send them hurtling into space when he stopped short at the crow's nest. A sudden idea came to mind in his twisted head and the simple familiarity of the situation brought a sinister smile to his lips, a smile he was only too happy to share with the teens.
Moving to where they could both clearly see him, the spider dramatically snapped open one of his claws and began to cut slowly into the rope holding the flag to the mast. He wanted to draw the pleasure out for as long as possible, he wanted to embed the fear the two teen's eyes held forever into his memory.
"Do say hello to Mr. Arrow for me," he cackled. The rope was hanging on by mere strands now, his victory was almost complete.
"Jim, do you trust me?" AnaMaria asked quickly. The boy spared the girl a quick, confused glance.
"What?" Now wasn't the time to be asking about trust, of all things.
"Do you trust me?" she asked again. The flag was flapping dangerously in the wind now, the rope slowly unraveling to its breaking point. It was too late to know the answer, now was the time to act.
AnaMaria lunged forward, propelling not only her body but Jim's as well towards the mast. The two teens clumsily wrapped themselves around the mast and stared wide-eyed at the glaring Scroop.
"On my count," AnaMaria whispered, loosening her hold on the mast. "One…."
Scroop poised himself to jump.
"Two…"
He was going to take them both out with one attack and finally be rid of them! He pushed himself forward to finish the job.
"Tell him yourself!" Jim roared. He snatched the surprised AnaMaria's hand in his and jumped up, digging his feet into the back of Scroop as jumped past and into the flag. The two had just enough time to grab onto the mast again and watch as a startled Scroop faded into the distant outer space.
