Chapter Twenty-Five:
Rescue

The group converged on the island, heading in the direction Archer had seen Hawk and Spider emerge from. Treading silently lest they be heard and discovered, they eventually came across a small village, barely the size of the Parramatta's quarterdeck. Jack made the men split up, search the village for any sign of their men, but after an hour of searching Jack realised there was nothing here, but especially not their crewmates. The village was abandoned, deserted clearly a long time ago as many of the homes were falling into disrepair. As he returned to the others, young Frosty spoke up.

"I think this is Djianna sir, a famous old village. They say it's haunted, rumours of voices heard in the night, people going missing." He cast his eyes about the deserted little village as if any second now something large would jump out and drag him away. "They say bad luck befalls any who attempt to change or use this sacred ground."

Jack just snorted. "You're a typical sailor Frosty, far too superstitious for your own good."

"But, what if he isn't?" Paulie spoke up, holding aloft something small and silver. It was a small badge, a tiny little magpie. Jack recognised it straightaway, as did Paulie. "Sir, it's Dishpig's lucky Maggies badge." Dishpig was a fanatical Collingwood supporter, he wore the little silver magpie badge everywhere. "Dishpig's been through here, which means the others probably have too."

Jack glanced at Frosty. "Maybe you're right, maybe this place will spell bad luck, but it's not going to be ours." They trudged on in the direction of the silver magpie, headed due west.

Not longer after, about 500 metres from the village, they came across a field of shipping crates. They were the large metal ones used by ships and trains to carry food across long distances, and they'd been left in a makeshift shipping yard in the middle of nowhere. Had Jack not been so convinced they'd come across something of great importance, he would've been a little weirded out by it. They were a good two hours walk from the ocean. Who the hell would leave shipping crates this far inland? Unless, of course, they were being used for something. He rounded up the others and spoke in a hushed voice. "Okay, it'll be dawn soon and we need the cover of darkness for this one, so we'll need to split up and move quick. There's a good twenty or so shipping containers here, so we'll need to be certain before we bust any open otherwise we could alert them. The last thing we need is for someone to get shot. So, teams of two and tap the radio three times if you find any clues. Got it?" They parted, Jack taking young Bort with him. Passing four or five crates lying open, they eventually came across something bizarre. Within the centre of the crate collection sat three crates pushed and joined together, like adjoining rooms. One external door was cut into the side of one, but other than that there seemed to be no way in. Jack knew, from first sight, that this was their target. He tapped the radio then motioned for Bort to go get the others. Within minutes they all stood before the door, guns held high waiting for any signs of life. Then they got it. Someone coughed inside.

Jack and the others charged in.

***

"There is always more we can do." Spider said eventually, catching her eye. She shuffled in the darkness, clearly not happy to talk anymore or deal with anything right now, so Spider spoke instead. "I'm sorry I left."

"I don't care. It's not really the issue right now is it?"

Spider walked towards her. "I know, but what better time to address it eh? You still hate me, I know that."

"I don't hate you." Bomber muttered, but it was half-hearted.

"Yes you do. You're a horrible liar. But, really, we should talk about the whole business with the Hammersley. I put it behind me by constantly moving, constantly changing and forgetting."

"That why I wasn't included in any of this? Because I was a reminder?"

"No, you weren't a part of it because I was a wimp. I am a wimp. I struggled so hard on the Hammersley to become someone I wasn't, to become Buffer, but I wasn't him. I could never be him. He was strong, smart and cool. I was goofy, stupid and constantly tripping over my own feet." He gave a cold laugh at his own expense. "But you know what? You always made me feel like it was okay. Like I could make stupid decisions with the knowledge that you would walk right up to me, smack me in the head and tell me how to get out of it without too much flack."

"Even though you never listened when I did that, case in point the flag incident."

"That stupid flag set my promotions back a long way." He sighed.

"Promotions aren't everything. For a long time I stayed at base, avoiding promotions and ships because I was so scared that the minute I got back on a ship it would sink again. The Parramatta was the first ship since the Hammersley." Bomber said, standing up. She kicked something, the soft thud echoing around the room. "I was so scared something bad would happen I almost left the Navy altogether. Cos, you know, that's just what I do. Burn down a camp kitchen – run away to the Navy. Sink a Navy ship – run away to… well, I didn't know what I was going to run away to."

"The circus?" Spider put in with a smile.

Bomber punched him and he frowned, not even noticing she'd come right up next to him. "And join you again? Eh? Bearded Lady." He rubbed the spot she'd hit, having forgotten how hard she punched. "I was lucky to have my friend Josh there, he kinda put me back on the straight line and now look, I'm stuck in a crate in the Solomons and my only company is y…" She was broken off mid-sentence by a yell outside and then the sound of something large being knocked over. Gunfire echoed and Bomber grabbed Spider's hand, but nothing came for them and she looked up at him. "What the hell is happening out there?"

Spider shrugged. "I don't know but it doesn't sound good." The next second footsteps echoed in the hall outside their container and three hard knocks, like someone hitting something on the metal door, were heard. Then, slamming into the wall behind it, it burst open.

***

Three swift kicks from Paulie left the door swinging open, banging into the wall behind it with a loud clang. Metal on metal reverberated through the room as the others charged into the dark room, holding weapons aloft just in case. Jack motioned to Paulie who still stood with him at the doorway.

"Light." The young sailor held up a high-powered torch. As Paulie flicked the switch light fell over the only figure left in the room. All eyes fell on the man, bound by ropes and watching them with a smile. Jack opened his mouth to speak but the bound man got in first.

"Parramatta right?" His American voice washing over them. "You're too late, they're all gone."

A/N: I'm putting this on hold again, at least until the end of Red Gold, as I focus my attention on other things. I kinda want to save these big stories for the off-season, and I want to test how many times I can put this on hold before someone tries to kill me. I is looking at you Griffin, simply because I know you desperately want an excuse. *shakes head* So, in my stereotypical way, I leave you with a cliffie and no idea when this will return. Mwah ha ha. Hate me yet?