Chapter Sixteen: Insult to Injuries
Jack watched Anamaria kneeling beside Chloe, hands pressed to her side. "Jack, it doesn't look good." Her voice was soft, but it carried the distance between them as though it were a shout. "We need to either abandon this plan and head back to the Pearl…"
"No." Jack shook his head. "We'll continue with the plan."
"But Jack…" He cut her off with a look.
"You and Gibbs will accompany Chloe back to the Pearl, let the Commodore know, and tell him to deploy his troops a little early. Stay with her, Ana…I'm asking you." She noticed how worried he seemed, with his shoulders hunched and his fingers pressed to his temples. He paced back and forth, mumbling to himself. "Please, Ana, do this for me?" She blew out a breath and nodded.
"All right, Jack." She nodded to Gibbs. "Come on."
"What?" Gibbs eyed her. He had just walked back into the clearing, followed closely by two pirates carting the long sturdy trunk of a sapling to use as a litter to carry her. She shook her head and motioned for him to follow her back the way they had come.
"I really don't like leaving you all alone Jack." She declared one last protest before he waved her on.
"Chloe's all that matters now, Ana." He shook his head. "Get her back to the Pearl. I'm betting that Commodore Norrington has a surgeon on board. See if you can borrow his services." He brushed a hand through her dark hair, worrying over the overly warm feel the skin had to it. "Go." He encouraged. "Don't stand about wasting time!" He grabbed his sword from the neck of the prone pirate where he'd left it, and rushed off into the brush.
When I woke, I woke with a scream, flailing about and beating at the hands and arms holding me down in the bed.
"Take it easy lass." Gibbs voice broke through my nightmare and I gasped, covering my face with my hands. "You had a bit of an injury, just take it easy." I groaned.
"Why do I feel like my chest is on fire?" I demanded through parched lips. Anamaria was there, almost faster than if I had asked for her, holding a cup to my lips. I drank without question. The burn of the rum down my throat made me cough. "And where's Jack?"
"He wanted us to take you back to the ship so the surgeon could look at you." Gibbs replied.
"That wasn't my question, Gibbs." He nodded.
"Aye." He murmured. "Jack went ashore, to, uh…finish the operation." I gaped at him.
"You mean to tell me you let him go after that bastard while he's injured?" I demanded, sitting up, ignoring the fiery pain that danced along my ribs and across my back. I shook my head. "Shame on you." I growled, climbing out of bed, grabbing onto the bedside table when my head spun dizzily around my shoulders. "Shame on me too…"
"Yes, I could see how it was your fault you were stabbed." Anamaria replied glibly. I rolled my eyes at her and continued to walk drunkenly towards the door. "Just where do you think you're going, Chloe?" She asked me. I grunted in response and struggled with the doorknob.
"That's for me to know and you to butt out." I snapped. She chuckled and walked up to me, assisting me in opening the door. "Thank you very much." I said coldly, marching from the room. Well, really in hindsight, I must say my "march" looked much more like a toddler's first steps, but there you go. She followed me out and Gibbs brought up the rear.
"Chloe. Do you realize that you were almost killed today?" Gibbs puffed, climbing the steps swiftly to keep in stride with the rest of us. "Jack would not want you going off half-cocked on some hair-brained scheme that's more'n likely going to get yourself killed."
I cocked an eyebrow at him and grunted again, struggling to keep from fainting as I felt the gentle breeze floating on deck nearly knock me over. "Well, he should realize by now, that I'm a champion of the hair-brained scheme, and expect me to use them at any opportunity." I nodded slightly. "As for getting myself killed. That option sounds much more appealing than losing him." I shoved past them, grabbing up an unattended belt containing a pistol, shot, powder and a dagger. "Don't wait up for me." I murmured scathingly. "Mommy." Then I was gone, hurrying down the gangplank, splashing through the shallow waters and trudging up the beach.
I hurried through the jungle like the dogs of hell were on my heels, praying that I wasn't too late, hoping that Jack had fallen in a hole somewhere, keeping him safe from harm. I glared slightly, my anger at his rash actions returning. The idiot deserved to be strung up by his toenails.
Crashing through the brush made me feel like some sort of sleek jungle cat, and I bared my teeth, pain forgotten in the sudden rush of adrenaline.
A gunshot made me stop, skidding to a halt in the bedding of decaying leaves. I panted heavily, reaching out a hand, resting it on a tree trunk trying to regain my strength. The run had sapped me and I felt about as rigid as a limp noodle. The voices had my spine snapping straight and prudence sent me diving into a patch of bushes.
The pirates were sloppily drunk and I smirked when one tripped over a tree root and fell on his face. They were complaining noisely as they retreated to help their fallen comrade to his feet. "C'mon Gatson, on yer feet." One of them barked. I shook my head to clear the angry pounding behind my eyes, blinking rapidly. Missing Jack's entrance to my left.
"Have at ye, y'scurvy dogs!" He cried, brandishing his blade before slicing the still prone Gatson in half. The other three pirates leapt away from the bleeding corpse and drew their swords.
He took the sword off of Gatson and swung both of them, catching Baddie Number One in the arm and ducking under the killing blow of Number Three. I pulled out my dagger and pulled myself into a low crouch. The moment I saw Jack hesitate, I leapt forward, taking Number One out around the neck. I plunged my dagger in his neck, jerking back when the bright red blood spurted up, coating my face and arms with its sticky warmth. I leapt off of his body and cornered number two. He drew a second blade, swiping at me with his sword.
I avoided, barely, cursing when the wound in my side protested violently. I pushed the pain back and managed to drop and spun around, tripping him with my outstretched leg. He lost his grip on his sword and I leapt onto his chest, pressing my dagger to his neck. His arm deflected the blow as he tried to stab me with his own dagger. I caught his hand, pressing my advantage by rising to my haunches, using my body weight to press the blade downward.
The arm holding the blade coming toward my face was shaking with effort and I grunted, giving one final push. He rolled, pinning me beneath his body. Before I had to worry about this position, He slumped against me, the dagger dropping from his hand. I grunted and shoved at his body, but failed to move him. Suddenly, Jack's head peeked over the curve of his back and the body jerked, apparently from Jack's abrupt removal of the blade. I felt my stomach roll excruciatingly. He pulled the body off of me and hauled me up, both of us wincing at the same time.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded.
"I could ask the same of you." I retorted, putting my hands on my hips. "You're barely strong enough to stand unassisted for five minutes, what possessed you to march out here and try and take on four pirates by yourself?" He scoffed.
"What possessed you, a person who was unconscious mere hours ago to attack a man with two blades, and you only armed with a dinky dagger?" I rolled my eyes, ignoring the shooting pains in my side.
"Okay, let's table that issue for a moment." I told him angrily before advancing on him. He eyed me warily and I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him thoroughly. His arms came around me and his lips grew mobile under mine. "You stupid idiot." I mumbled raining kisses over his face. "I could strangle you."
He grunted and deepened the kiss. "You mutton-headed fool." He retorted. "Once we're all healed and Renfield is dead and buried, I'm going to throttle you. Or make love to you until both of us can't move." He drew his face back and looked at me. "I haven't decided yet."
"You'll make up your mind." I told him. "Come on, let's find Renfield." I laced my fingers with his, grabbing a sword on our way out of the clearing.
