The second Jay stepped out into the sun, he squinted his eyes shut and took a staggering step backwards.

Back! His mind screamed at him. Get back where it's safe—

Cole's hand pressed gently against the small of his back and Jay froze.

Right.

"You can't stay down there forever," his brother whispered, not unkindly. "You need some sunshine."

"You need some sunshine," Jay shot back under his breath.

"What's that even supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. It was the best comeback I could think of."

"Do yourself a favor next time and don't. Now come on, you need some sun. You're so pale!"

"You're so pale!"

The following push was gentle enough, yet accompanied by the force needed to shove Jay out the door and onto the sunny deck.

"You've been down there for three days," Cole went on as he stepped out beside Jay. "You need fresh air."

Jay sucked in a large breath, then, with a slight touch of dramatics, he blew it out. "There. Mission accomplished. Let's go."

The second he spun on his heel, Cole was spinning his back around and driving him further out onto the deck.

"Come on!" Cole said, grabbing Jay's hand and pulling him over to the edge of the ship. "The view is amazing!"

"Cole,"—Jay set his jaw in an effort to keep the grimace off his face—"it's just miles of open ocean." Miles and miles and miles with no escape and— "We've seen that before."

"Okay, sure, but there are so many other cool things to look at up here."

"In case you've forgotten, we live on a ship. We've been on the Bounty a bazillion times, and this ship isn't any different." It's no different than the Bounty. It's just a ship… just a ship…

"Yeah, okay," Cole said with a grin, "but does the Bounty have this?"

Before Jay could catch his breath, Cole was dragging him across the deck. A quick stumble was all he needed in order to catch up and for once, he was grateful for Cole's tight grip on his arm.

Don't fall, a voice taunted from within. Don't let them see you fall. Don't let anyone see—

"Ta da!" Cole exclaimed as they both came screeching to a halt in front of what was probably the oldest cannon Jay had ever seen. "The Bounty will never have one of these!"

"Cole," Jay said, swallowing down the urge to sigh, "it's just a cannon. The Bounty doesn't have one of these because its cannons are better. They're electrically engineered, for crying out loud!"

Despite Jay's protests, Cole remained unphased. "Sure, they're high tech, but this is an ancient relic! Just think about how much action this baby's seen. Don't you get it? It's like it's fresh out of a scary pirate story! This thing is old enough to be in a museum! And look!"

When Cole bent down to get a better view of the gold engravings, Jay allowed a shiver to run down his spine before baring his arms tightly across his chest.

"It even has a date and everything! And look over here!"

The next thing he knew, Jay was being yanked along the length of the deck. Again. Only to come to a stop in front of another old cannon.

"That's literally the same one!"

"No," Cole corrected, "it's identical, not the same."

"Those words mean the exact same thing!"

"No, they don't," came Cole's inevitable protest. "They're part of a matched set."

"Right… Well, not that looking at old man cannons isn't entertaining, but it's way too hot to be standing out here. I'm going back to the cabin. You can stay here with your matched set if you want."

"Too hot?" It's only like sixty degrees out here!"

"Well, I'm hot." And if it sounded more like a whine than a retort, Jay couldn't bring himself to care.

He had just turned on his heel when Cole's heavy sigh thickened the tension between them. "What's wrong with you?"

Jay froze as all time seemed to stop.

"I mean," Cole pressed on, his tone gentler this time, "you've been hiding out in that tiny room since we got here and you won't even tell me why. And you used to love stuff like this—old pirate stories and relics and all that junk. I've spent most of my time alone when we set out on this journey together! That was the whole point, right? To not be alone?"

"Well, you could've come down with me!" Jay shot back. "No one forced you to stay up here all the time!"

"Are you kidding me? It's hotter down there than it is up here! And it's so stuffy and small and claustrophobic and—ugh! I don't know how you can stay down there 24/7!"

"I never said I liked it down there!" Jay spat back.

Cole flung his hands into the air, his exasperation evident. "Then don't go back down! It's not like anyone's forcing you to stay down there!"

"You have to stay in until someone else loses."

And Jay couldn't quite stop the shiver before it wracked his frame. He cursed himself as Cole's brows furrowed.

"Come on, Jay… Talk to me."

All Jay could do, however, was shake his head. Get out! His brain screamed at him. Get out of there now!

"It's too hot up here," he mumbled, hoping that if he said the lie enough, he'd eventually come to believe it—to believe that this was the only reason he couldn't stand to be on deck.

Surrounded by pirates on all sides…

Cole called out after him, but Jay didn't hear any signs that his friend was coming after him. So, he quickened his pace. The sooner he got below deck, the better.

And when we finally get off this ship, it'll all be over… Just like it never happened.

Like it never happened… Another shiver wracked his frame. Because none of it really did, did it? none of it really happened…

So what are you so afraid of? What's so terrible about this ship that you can hardly sleep at night? What's your probl—?

Jay bit back a cry as he stumbled onto his knees, being sure to shoot the offending coil of rope a death glare before he gathered his bearings again. Not looking where he was going in the heat of the moment had always been a struggle for him. Honestly, who doesn't struggle with that? How many times have I told you? You're not special, Jay—

"Need a hand?"

The second Jay glanced up was the second his brain froze over. No…

He was tall—had the classic fancy hat and plume and everything. There was no ridiculous accent, but there might as well have been anyway. The sword on his belt sparkled from the sunlight, but it could have just as well been from the reflections of his friends. His trapped, dying friends.

No…

This man was without a shadow of a doubt the captain of the ship.

And he was smiling.

Nadakhan used to do that—in fact, the djinn almost never stopped smiling that wicked, murderous grin.

"I've told the crew time and time again to keep the deck clear," the captain said because he was still talking, "especially when we have passengers aboard. It seems a bit of reinforcement is in order…" With a somewhat disappointed shake of his head, he extended his hand further out to Jay.

It would be weird not to take it, to accept help when it was offered—and so clearly needed, too. But he couldn't get his limbs to move, to react, to do anything.

Move, you idiot! Take his hand and—

"I wish you had taken my hand…"

No, please… not now… He couldn't remember, not until he was safely tucked back inside his cabin. Safe. Safe… It's not safe, you're not sa—

The screaming alarms going off in his head failed to warn him about the hand closing around his arm… as well as the pirate that was getting closer and closer…

"Perhaps it's time to involve him in some of our on-ship entertainment…"

Before he knew what he was doing, Jay had wrenched out of the captain's grip with a force that would no doubt come back to haunt him later. Away, away! Get away!

The two looked nothing alike, and yet all Jay could see when he gazed up at the captain was Nadakhan. He took a staggering step backward because all he could hear was Nadakhan.

"Are you all right, son?"

"Believe me, aboard my ship, you will break."

It was illogical, perfectly and utterly irrational, but in that moment, Jay couldn't see or hear anyone else—could think over the roar of the ghosts from the past that had come back to haunt him at full force.

Another wary step backward had him tripping on the rope coil again, but this time, he never hit the floor.

Foreign fingers wrapped tightly around his wrist and for one brief, horrific moment, Jay was back on the Tigerwood's island, saved from certain death only by the villain who would soon become his worst nightmare.

"Now, say goodbye to the only thing that can stop me. And say goodbye to your friend…"

"Let go of me," he heard himself hiss as he struggled against the captain's hold.

"Now, hold on there, son," Nadakhan began, his stupid accent as smooth and silky as ever. "I'm the only thing standing between you and a very nasty fall."

"You seem to have landed on a sky mine. One shot from Flintlock and kaboom."

Despite the logic of his words—and why did he always have to be so dang logical about everything?—Jay fought harder, trying desperately to wrench himself free.

Away! Get away—!

"Don't you just want to wish it all away…?"

"No…" Jay breathed, prying harder at his captor's clenched fingers. "Stop! I'll never… You c-can't…"

Then, he was moving closer. Closer… Before Jay could even think about filling his screaming lungs, Nadakhan began to yank him upright, bringing him closer… closer…

Always too close. Jay gasped for air as he wracked his brain for some sort of escape. Why does he always have to get so close?

The question is, what do you plan on doing about it, huh?

Right.

Still gasping for air in his panic, Jay did the very first thing that came to his fogged-over mind and released a bolt of lightning from his fingertips. It was his only defense in the heat of the moment, his last resort when his arms and legs rebelled against him in pure terror.

The djinn bit out a curse and let go of Jay, who tumbled backwards onto the deck with a dull thud. And for a split second, he saw stars.

Then, the shadows came, loaming over him like thunderclouds on a dark horizon. Jay didn't even have to look up to know that the rest of the crew had begun to circle him, and they were closing in quickly. Closer… Closer…

Squeezing his eyes shut, Jay forced himself to take a semi-steadying breath. If there was a storm on the horizon, he would bring the lightning.

He would be ready.

He had to, after all. When it came to pirates, it was all about survival.

Something Jay knew far more about than he would've liked.

All right, he thought as electricity crackled through his fingers. Bring it on.