When Aria awoke the sun beat down upon her bruised face, burning every cut
and gash on her exposed skin. No longer was she lying in the little boat. .
. had it all been a dream? Why did she hurt, then? She opened her eyes and
slowly propped herself up, focusing on the sand below her or the salty tide
splashing around her; anything but the pain. Her muscles ached as if she'd
just lost a boxing match and she clenched her teeth as her arms trembled
under the weight she was placing on them.
She slowly lowered her body back to a lying position and sighed deeply. She tried to see her surroundings from where she was. It was so familiar, almost exactly like the place she'd been when she found the boat. But at the same time it was completely different. The air was different. The sky was clearer and the sand whiter. Where was she? She saw her overturned, battered boat about a quarter of a mile up shore. In the distance she thought she saw her canvas bag washed up onto the sand.
Turning her attention to the left side of her body, her eyes widened as she looked over the body of another person lying next to her. His skin was a rich cocoa color, tanned by the Caribbean sun; his resting eyes were lined thickly with kohl. His long, black mane of dreadlocks, braids, and beads were tamed by a faded burgundy bandanna wrapped around his head. His high cheekbones gave way to a moustache and beard, and the beard was done in two neat braids kept in place by more beads. His loose, off-white cotton shirt blew slightly in the breeze and his charcoal-colored pants were covered at the waist by a tan sash.
Carefully she propped herself up onto her side to look more closely at him. Her throbbing head kept him slightly blurred. His eyes slowly opened and when he saw her hovering near him, his lips turned upward into a comical sneer.
"'Ello, lass." His deep voice left a rumbling in her head and his sneer forever imprinted in her pained mind. The man began to sit up, still eying her. Suddenly the calming shock that had washed over her body when she first came ashore began to fade. Panic once again set in her gut and she struggled to breathe. She tried to emit a cry for help and fell flat on her back in pain. Her mind was screaming "GET AWAY!" and so the signal was sent to the rest of her body. She began withering away from him, trying to scoot from him on her back.
The man's sneer quickly turned to a frown as he began to stand up. "Now, Lass, calm down. Yer in no shape to be runnin' from anybody, now are ye?"
This caused Aria to panic further. Pushing her throbbing body to the back of her mind she managed to stand up. She hobbled as quickly as she could down the beach to her canvas bag, adrenaline pumping as if she was being chased. Picking up her bag, she turned to where the man had been. Not there. He was gone. Delirious relief washed over her as she realized he had to have been a hallucination caused by the heat and her aching head.
Her aching head. She fell to the ground, suddenly aware of the pounding pain shooting through her entire body. Bringing her hand up to the place her head hurt the most, her fingers ran across a sticky fluid and a pain shot through her head and down her neck. Suddenly she recalled being thrown from the boat and gashing her head on a rock. She looked down at her slender body. Bruises and welts everywhere.
"Where am I?" She muttered aloud, finding a shady spot underneath a coconut tree and sitting against it. She lightly rested her head against the trunk as a wave of nausea overtook her. She closed her eyes and again, darkness washed over her.
When she opened her eyes again it had become dark. She squeezed her weary eyes shut once more and panic rose in her throat. Where was she? How did she get there? How far from the resort was she? Would anyone find her? Her eyes opened and darted over to her bag. Her cell phone. Was it destroyed from the storm? The bag was waterproof. If the phone hadn't been knocked around too much she could call 911 or something. She could call the resort. Someone could come find her.
She made a move to stand up but quickly realized her hands were not exactly available to her. They were tied behind her back, tied around the tree trunk. Her eyes darted frantically around her, looking for that man or someone. Anyone. What was going on? To her far left, on the beach where she had been, she saw a bonfire.
Balancing hersel, she slowly attempted to stand up so she could see better. She used her bound hands as leverage against the tree trunk but the pain was nearly overwhelming. She cried out as she stood on her two feet. She felt someone behind her.
"Ah . . . I see you're awake again."
"Who are you?" She whispered through her gritted teeth.
"The question is, Darling, who are you?" The man sneered. He made his way around so she could see him, but stayed a good 10 feet away from her. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, lass. And you'd best not be causin' a scene 'cause for one, ain't nobody here but you and me, missy. And two . . ." His eyes seemed to roll back in his head and his body swayed as if he was intoxicated. ". . . two. . . I told ye before you aren't in no position to be doin' anything rash, savvy? Now. What be yer name?"
Aria stared at him long and hard as mixture of anger and confusion clouded her mind. "My name.is Aria." She replied sharply. "Why are you doing this? What's going on?"
Jack took another step closer to her with a very matter-of-fact expression plastered onto his face. "I'm doing this because if I let you go, you'll run away and bring more harm to yerself than you already have. An' I didn't swim halfway 'cross the ocean to save you, only to 'ave you kill yourself on this island."
". . . You rescued me?" Aria replied, "Who are you supposed to be, anyway?"
"No 'thanks,' lass?" His eyebrows creased in mock upset, his dark eyes lit by a comical flame.
"Not if you're going to be an ass about it. . . but. . . .thanks. Sorry."
"And whaddaye mean, 'who am I supposed to be anyway?' You want me to tell you I'm a pirate? A scallywag?" He rolled up his right sleeve, the skin on his forearm bearing a branded "P." His eyes became dark and sinister as he looked her up and down, licking his cracked lips and swaying a bit, using his arms to keep balance.
Aria chuckled to herself. "A pirate? I didn't know those still existed."
His eyes smiled but his lips remained in a frown. "Well they bloody well do, lassie, and you been rescued by the best."
She glared at him. "If you rescued me, as you say, then how come I'm all tied up? Holding me captive, matey?" She spat, mocking him.
His eyes took to a concerned gaze and he backed away from her, his hands raised up in form of surrender. "I ain't holdin' no captives, missy, as we're both captives to this island. I b'lieve I told ye why yer tied to this tree."
Aria sighed. "If I promise not to run, will you please untie me?" She whispered. "It's awfully painful to be here like this, what with my bruises and all. I won't run, I swear."
Jack took a few steps closer to her, leaning his ear in towards her mouth. He smelled of the ocean, but his clothes reeked of booze. Aria's eyes grew wide until Jack whispered back, "what was that, lass? Yer gonna have to speak up."
"Untie me. Please. I promise not to run." She said with more strength than before. "And if you let me go, I can see if my cell still works. We can call someone. Some-"
"-Who ye gonna call, missy? No one would hear. Anyway if I let you go, how can I be sure you won't run and hurt yerself?" He looked at her warily, his distrust apparent.
"Mr. Sparrow, at the moment I'm in so much pain I can hardly walk, let alone run." She reasoned.
Jack's eyes took a turn for the sinister and a strange grin crept over his face. He looked up toward the moon and place a hand on his hip. Aria's jaw dropped as he swiftly unsheathed a long, steel blade.
She slowly lowered her body back to a lying position and sighed deeply. She tried to see her surroundings from where she was. It was so familiar, almost exactly like the place she'd been when she found the boat. But at the same time it was completely different. The air was different. The sky was clearer and the sand whiter. Where was she? She saw her overturned, battered boat about a quarter of a mile up shore. In the distance she thought she saw her canvas bag washed up onto the sand.
Turning her attention to the left side of her body, her eyes widened as she looked over the body of another person lying next to her. His skin was a rich cocoa color, tanned by the Caribbean sun; his resting eyes were lined thickly with kohl. His long, black mane of dreadlocks, braids, and beads were tamed by a faded burgundy bandanna wrapped around his head. His high cheekbones gave way to a moustache and beard, and the beard was done in two neat braids kept in place by more beads. His loose, off-white cotton shirt blew slightly in the breeze and his charcoal-colored pants were covered at the waist by a tan sash.
Carefully she propped herself up onto her side to look more closely at him. Her throbbing head kept him slightly blurred. His eyes slowly opened and when he saw her hovering near him, his lips turned upward into a comical sneer.
"'Ello, lass." His deep voice left a rumbling in her head and his sneer forever imprinted in her pained mind. The man began to sit up, still eying her. Suddenly the calming shock that had washed over her body when she first came ashore began to fade. Panic once again set in her gut and she struggled to breathe. She tried to emit a cry for help and fell flat on her back in pain. Her mind was screaming "GET AWAY!" and so the signal was sent to the rest of her body. She began withering away from him, trying to scoot from him on her back.
The man's sneer quickly turned to a frown as he began to stand up. "Now, Lass, calm down. Yer in no shape to be runnin' from anybody, now are ye?"
This caused Aria to panic further. Pushing her throbbing body to the back of her mind she managed to stand up. She hobbled as quickly as she could down the beach to her canvas bag, adrenaline pumping as if she was being chased. Picking up her bag, she turned to where the man had been. Not there. He was gone. Delirious relief washed over her as she realized he had to have been a hallucination caused by the heat and her aching head.
Her aching head. She fell to the ground, suddenly aware of the pounding pain shooting through her entire body. Bringing her hand up to the place her head hurt the most, her fingers ran across a sticky fluid and a pain shot through her head and down her neck. Suddenly she recalled being thrown from the boat and gashing her head on a rock. She looked down at her slender body. Bruises and welts everywhere.
"Where am I?" She muttered aloud, finding a shady spot underneath a coconut tree and sitting against it. She lightly rested her head against the trunk as a wave of nausea overtook her. She closed her eyes and again, darkness washed over her.
When she opened her eyes again it had become dark. She squeezed her weary eyes shut once more and panic rose in her throat. Where was she? How did she get there? How far from the resort was she? Would anyone find her? Her eyes opened and darted over to her bag. Her cell phone. Was it destroyed from the storm? The bag was waterproof. If the phone hadn't been knocked around too much she could call 911 or something. She could call the resort. Someone could come find her.
She made a move to stand up but quickly realized her hands were not exactly available to her. They were tied behind her back, tied around the tree trunk. Her eyes darted frantically around her, looking for that man or someone. Anyone. What was going on? To her far left, on the beach where she had been, she saw a bonfire.
Balancing hersel, she slowly attempted to stand up so she could see better. She used her bound hands as leverage against the tree trunk but the pain was nearly overwhelming. She cried out as she stood on her two feet. She felt someone behind her.
"Ah . . . I see you're awake again."
"Who are you?" She whispered through her gritted teeth.
"The question is, Darling, who are you?" The man sneered. He made his way around so she could see him, but stayed a good 10 feet away from her. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, lass. And you'd best not be causin' a scene 'cause for one, ain't nobody here but you and me, missy. And two . . ." His eyes seemed to roll back in his head and his body swayed as if he was intoxicated. ". . . two. . . I told ye before you aren't in no position to be doin' anything rash, savvy? Now. What be yer name?"
Aria stared at him long and hard as mixture of anger and confusion clouded her mind. "My name.is Aria." She replied sharply. "Why are you doing this? What's going on?"
Jack took another step closer to her with a very matter-of-fact expression plastered onto his face. "I'm doing this because if I let you go, you'll run away and bring more harm to yerself than you already have. An' I didn't swim halfway 'cross the ocean to save you, only to 'ave you kill yourself on this island."
". . . You rescued me?" Aria replied, "Who are you supposed to be, anyway?"
"No 'thanks,' lass?" His eyebrows creased in mock upset, his dark eyes lit by a comical flame.
"Not if you're going to be an ass about it. . . but. . . .thanks. Sorry."
"And whaddaye mean, 'who am I supposed to be anyway?' You want me to tell you I'm a pirate? A scallywag?" He rolled up his right sleeve, the skin on his forearm bearing a branded "P." His eyes became dark and sinister as he looked her up and down, licking his cracked lips and swaying a bit, using his arms to keep balance.
Aria chuckled to herself. "A pirate? I didn't know those still existed."
His eyes smiled but his lips remained in a frown. "Well they bloody well do, lassie, and you been rescued by the best."
She glared at him. "If you rescued me, as you say, then how come I'm all tied up? Holding me captive, matey?" She spat, mocking him.
His eyes took to a concerned gaze and he backed away from her, his hands raised up in form of surrender. "I ain't holdin' no captives, missy, as we're both captives to this island. I b'lieve I told ye why yer tied to this tree."
Aria sighed. "If I promise not to run, will you please untie me?" She whispered. "It's awfully painful to be here like this, what with my bruises and all. I won't run, I swear."
Jack took a few steps closer to her, leaning his ear in towards her mouth. He smelled of the ocean, but his clothes reeked of booze. Aria's eyes grew wide until Jack whispered back, "what was that, lass? Yer gonna have to speak up."
"Untie me. Please. I promise not to run." She said with more strength than before. "And if you let me go, I can see if my cell still works. We can call someone. Some-"
"-Who ye gonna call, missy? No one would hear. Anyway if I let you go, how can I be sure you won't run and hurt yerself?" He looked at her warily, his distrust apparent.
"Mr. Sparrow, at the moment I'm in so much pain I can hardly walk, let alone run." She reasoned.
Jack's eyes took a turn for the sinister and a strange grin crept over his face. He looked up toward the moon and place a hand on his hip. Aria's jaw dropped as he swiftly unsheathed a long, steel blade.