Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or any characters or settings related to it. I do, however, own any original characters in this story.
Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm so, so, so, soooooo sorry it took so long to update, but I repeat, during this lifetime, I plan not to abandon ANY of my stories, even if it takes ages to update. Well, now the fourth chapter is here, so….enjoy! And review! Oh, and PS: this chapter is a little shorter than usual (sorry!).
Chapter Four
Escape
The girls were put back in their cells, looking at one another in confusion. The men that had put them there immediately left, agitated and worried.
As soon as they were gone, Maria reached for her dagger and began to hack away at the cell lock. Raquelle rolled her brown eyes, annoyed. "Why didn't you think of that before?" she demanded at Maria. "I had thought of it ever since we were locked in this bloody place. I were simply waitin' for the opportune moment," Maria replied, continually hacking at the lock. It was gradually becoming looser and looser.
"C'mon, c'mon," Maria muttered. In a last desperate push, the lock fell off completely and the cell door swung open. Maria hurried out of it and undid Raquelle's lock in a matter of seconds. Replacing the dagger, she pulled out her fang necklace and shoved it in Raquelle's creamy hand.
"I dunno what's about to happen, bu' I trust ye. Keep it safe for me, please," she requested briskly. Raquelle nodded, grateful to be free at last. She tied the necklace around her neck.
"Now, c'mon! Stay close behind me," Maria whispered, grabbing her pistol and cutlass from where the pirates had hung them up.
The two girls hurried up the ladder to the main deck, where already a mad battle was raging between the two pirate ships. Pirates were crossing blades noisily all over the deck, and the occasional cannon ball was fired on either ship. It was absolute chaos.
At first the girls were blinded by the sun's radiant glow, having not seen proper light for the past five days. Then slowly they could make out their surroundings. The pirates were so absorbed into their own battle that for a long time no one even noticed the two young girls standing there, Raquelle looking tired and sacred, Maria, confident and fierce.
The girls tried to quietly sneak to the starboard side, facing the invading ship. Maria grabbed a loose rope from the rigging and turned to Raquelle, "Grab one of these ropes, and swing after me. And please…try not to scream." Without waiting for a reply, she swung on the rope and landed perfectly on the deck of the other ship. She waved to Raquelle, urging her on.
Raquelle was terrified from the moment her fingers touched the rope, but even so, she did her best to wring body tightly around it. She took a step back, then ran forward in full swing. The rope swung forward at an alarming rate, and even when it hovered over the other ship, Raquelle was still too afraid to jump. The rope swung back and forth, and still Raquelle shut her eyes, clinging on to the rope for dear life.
Eventually the rope came to a stop, but not because it was done swinging. Raquelle opened her eyes and looked down, surprised by the sudden stop. But at the end of the rope was Johnson, ginning madly and trying to grasp her foot. Raquelle squealed and tried to climb upwards, but she only slid farther down., her hands stinging. Johnson continued to leer at her, and now he spoke in that awful, raspy bald voice of his, "Where be ye off ter, me beauty? Surely you mustn't leave so soon. Our fun was just gettin' started." His groin spread out even wider as his hands managed to finally grab hold of Raqulle's foot. But Raquelle was suddenly overcome with rage, pure rage as she had never felt in her life. It triumphed over her fear, and she kicked Johnson fully on the face, surprising even herself. The rope swung fully again, as Johnson let go, his pudgy hands clasping his face in agony.
Raquelle was sure she would jump now, courage filling her heart, but she jumped a moment too soon and her hands grasped the side of the invading ship, clinging on but slowly slipping.
Maria had been watching the whole scene and she was proud of her friend. She hurried over to the side and grabbed Raquelle's hand just as it slipped from the railing. She pulled her up, into a much needed hug. The girls started into each other's eyes, glad to be alive.
Then behind them a pirate from the new ship seemed to finally notice them. "Blimey!" he cried, "Where did you lasses come from?" He took in their torn clothes and pale faces, scorched with fear. He seemed genuine, even kind. Raquelle's sincere eyes stared into his surprised ones. "We were held captive in the other ship. This is our only chance of escape. Please…please help us," she pleaded. The man studied the girls for a while, then seemed to make up his mind.
"Go down that central hatch there, and wait down there. After this battle's done fer, I'll come collect youse and we'll talk to the captain," he instructed. "Thank you!" Raquelle cried, happy for the first time in days. She grabbed Maria's hand and dragged her along to the hatch. She hastily opened it and climbed down into the small room beneath it, Maria following closely behind her. They closed the hatch and sat down in two rickety wooden chairs, the only furniture in the room besides the table.
The two girls breathed deeply as relied swept through them. For the moment they seemed mildly safe.
After what seemed like an eternity, the noise of clashing and shooting gradually died down, and a moment later the hatch was opened and the man who had talked to them before climbed down into the room with them. He half-smiled as he spoke, "Well, the other ship has retreated, and we haven't lost any of our men. I think it's about time you meet the cap'n, ladies."
The girls nodded and stood up to follow him up to the deck. "Oh, an' by the way, me name's Red," he said as he climbed back up. The girls followed him, not really knowing what to expect as they clobbered back onto the main deck.
