Author's Note -
Thanks at the bottom because there are a lot!
See, I can keep promises. Update ready as planned. Course I still have to finish packing but hey, its all good! Enjoy the week everybody!
-A-
Last time -
The door snapped shut behind her and I walked slowly over to the bed to sit down. I felt shaky but I convinced myself that it was only nerves. I leaned down, put my elbows on my knees and cradled my face in my hands, trying to remind myself to keep calm.
I heard the door creak open and looked over to see ...
-A-
Beyond the Horizon
Chapter 15 - Fever Dreams
Rion was standing in the dark doorframe, the very image of evil incarnate. A smug smile graced his face as he swaggered over to me. I stiffened, my spine snapping into a straight-backed position, I had to look strong.
"What do you want, Rion?" I hissed vehemently.
"Poor senorita. Poor, poor senorita, no captain to save her now. No Captain Jack Sparrow any more."
My heart stopped. "Wh-what?"
"No Captain Jack Sparrow any more," he repeated, now within arm's reach of me. "Not that I'm too upset, myself. He made a mess of things. Had me locked in the brig for a time. But I got out. And the bloke steering after midnight was too easy to dismiss. And here we all are. No more Captain Jack Sparrow to plague my life."
I forced my drained body to stand and stood, shaking slightly before him. "Tell me what you mean, Rion. What happened to Jack? What have you done?"
He just smiled mischievously.
"TELL ME, DAMNIT! TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO JACK! WHERE IS HE?" I screamed at the top of my voice. "TELL ME!!!!" I yelled again when he did not answer.
Still he did not answer me.
Frantic now, I rushed at him, punching, scratching, screaming, biting, clawing, praying that something hadn't happened to Jack. But Rion was stronger than me and though I had inflicted some damage to him, he pushed me back with both hands to my shoulders. "Get off, wildcat."
I glared at him as I struggled weakly against his restraining hands. "Where is Jack?"
"He won't come to save you now. Or ever," Rion said quietly.
Tears welled in my eyes. Jack was ... Jack was ... I couldn't think it because that would only admit it. He couldn't be. He wasn't. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. "NO," I said quietly. "He's not ... He can't be."
"He is, senorita. I assure you."
"NO!" I screamed as I wrenched myself away from him, scrambled past him, and fought to get to the door. "JACK!!!!!! JACK!!!!!!!!"
I was nearly to the door when Rion caught me around the waist and clamped a hand over my mouth. But I bit his hand and kept yelling as loud as I could. "JACK!!!!"
Just then, the woman and her husband, the captain of the boat, reappeared in the doorway. She rushed to me and ran a cool hand over my forehead. "She has a fever, Diego."
"Where's Jack?" I whispered, staring frantically into the woman's eyes through my fevered ones. "Where is he?"
"He is not here. Calm down, senorita. Everything will be okay," the captain said as he came over to me. "Put her to bed, Esperanza. Rion, help my wife with the girl and then come with me."
"No ..." I whispered, tears in my eyes. "No ... where's Jack?"
"Sssh," Esperanza said quietly. "Relax. Sssh."
I was ushered into the large bed and covered up. I tried to sit up but Esperanza simply pushed me back down gently. "I'm not that sick. I need to know where Jack is."
"Sleep now. You'll feel better later."
I was starting to feel desperate now. I NEEDED to know where Jack was. "Please. Just tell me. Is he alive?"
Esperanza didn't answer, she just continued to try and settle me in the bed. I grabbed at her hand but she gently pried my fingers away. "Calm down."
I shook my head. "I need to know," I whispered before everything went black.
-A-
I drifted in and out of restless sleep for the next several hours. When I woke, the woman - Esperanza, I thought her name was- would put a cup of water to my lips and I felt it dribble down my chin more times than not.
Sometimes when I woke, I was able to think, other times not so much. When I could, I'd try to ask my earlier question. "Jack? Where is he?"
"Sssh," came the response every time.
"Where is he?!" I cried, sitting up in the bed. I only half saw the captain standing near the bed with his wife. Gentle hands pushed me back down and soft voices told me to rest. "I don't want to rest! Where's Jack?"
"Senorita. Calm yourself. Rest. You're safe," came a calm male voice from somewhere in the room.
I looked around, not truly seeing anything. "Where am I?" Everything spun around me. The ceiling and floor kept dancing and pinching up to meet each other. I could feel cool tears falling down my burning face but I didn't realise I was crying. "Where's Jack? What ... what did you do to him?"
A cool hand touched my face and said, "She's getting worse." Next thing I knew, a cold rag was being dabbed against my face and a woman was talking slowly, calmly, like my mother.
"Mother?"
"Ssh. I'm not your mother. I'm just helping you."
I look up at the speaker. Her face swam before me, blurring in my skewed vision. "Mother ... where are you?" A fit of shivers wracked my body and I clutched at the blankets, wishing desperately for warmth. "Mother ... I need you ..."
"Ssh. You're going to be fine," the voice said quietly as cooling drops of water hit my face.
I looked away, trying to find something not spinning before me. But all I saw was darkness. I had fainted again.
The darkness faded into bright lights that made my head throb worse. I put my hands in front of my face to shield my eyes but my hands were transparent. "Go away..." I whispered to the light. It didn't listen.
Feeling trapped by the brightness, I struggled to move away from it but there was no where to go. My legs didn't work, they were stuck to the ground or was I just too tired to move them? I didn't know. I flailed my arms hoping for something to grab and pull myself away on but there was nothing. All I could do was look at the lights.
Then, they started to change. The brightness was fracturing and balls of colour were floating towards me, each with something inside of them.
I saw Rhia. She was a baby and I had just laid her on the steps of a church. I saw her as a toddler, learning to walk and falling often. I was so worried that she hurt herself that I rushed to her every time she fell but when I made to grab her, she vanished and reappeared farther away. I saw her sitting beside me learning French, her little face screwed up in concentration as she tried to master a skill.
Then I saw her sitting on the floor of a room sobbing, beating her fists against the floor. "MUMMY!" she wailed hopelessly in heart-wrenching cries.
"I'm here Rhia. I'm right here," I said from my place in the room.
She looked up. "Mummy?"
"I'm here sweetheart. I'm right here," I said as calmly as I could.
Tears cascaded down her face again. "No you're not! You left me. You left me when I needed you. You abandoned me."
"No I didn't, darling. I'm right here."
"No you're not. You're a terrible mother. You don't even take care of your child."
My heart throbbed painfully. "I'm here, baby."
Rhia walked closer to me. She leaned down and whispered, "No you're not, Mummy. Papa said you got sick. He said you died."
"I'm not dead, Rhiannon. I'm right here," I choked, not breathing.
The tears fell more fiercely now. "You left me! I needed my mother and you left!"
I was crying now as well. I reached out to hold my darling daughter but at the instant that I should have touched her, she changed into something else.
Someone else, rather.
Jack.
"Jack..." I rasped. "I thought you were ... I thought you were dead."
Jack stood in a room overlooking the ocean. He didn't hear me.
"Jack," I repeated.
He turned and I saw that in his hand, he held a necklace. The same necklace he had given me five years ago.
The room swirled in a dazzle of colours and I struggled to keep from loosing sight of Jack. "Jack," I whispered again.
To my surprise, he looked over at me, wherever I was, I didn't know. But he didn't respond
"Jack!"
He smacked his head in dismay. "Not again," he muttered before going to a drawer and pulling out a bottle of rum. "Its been seven years. Not again," he said before taking a drink.
There was a knock at the door and Jack quickly put the bottle away before giving the permission to open.
Standing in the doorway was Rhia. A very grown-up Rhia. "Are you ready?" she whispered.
Jack nodded and followed her out the door and I floated, bodiless, behind them.
They left the house and walked up a hill that overlooked the ocean. At the top of the hill was a small wooden cross stuck into the earth.
Rhia knelt down and placed flowers onto the ground. "I miss you, Mother," she whispered, her dark hair hiding her face. "I think of you often."
I struggled to call out to them but I could not, my mouth and voice were not working any more.
Rhia got up and Jack placed a single flower of his own beside it. "What can I say love ... I'm sorry, but you know that. I never should have taken you when others were sick but I did and ... and now ... and now you're not here. And Rhia is twelve and I'm staying ashore now. The Pearl's gone and I miss you so much. Why was it you and not me?"
I screamed out "JACK! RHIA!" but no sound came out of me.
Rhia put a hand around her father's shoulders and together the two walked back to the house, leaving me staring at the flowers, at the grave that was mine.
My vision changed again and I was standing in a room full of people whom I did not know. I wandered through the crowd, I was looking for someone or something but I couldn't find it. I kept walking around and around, retracing my old footsteps through the crowd.
Then, I saw it!
Ahead of me, there was a flash of red before vanishing again.
I ran after it, running as fast as I could. I would get close, painfully close but then it was gone again.
FLASH!
I saw it again.
And again!
I was getting closer.
Finally...
I caught the red scarf that I had been following but it was longer than I had realised. I held onto it, like a child holds a favourite toy and followed it.
But as I walked, it lengthened in my hands.
I kept walking, following it as I heard snippets of noise. Maybe I was getting closer. I stared down at the cloth as I walked. I knew that bandana. I knew it but ... from where?
I heard a deep male voice, calming, smooth with a slight drawl to it. "Come on, love. Just keep coming."
I started running towards the voice, never ever letting go of the bandana but I felt as though I didn't get closer. "Where are you?" I screamed frustratedly.
"Just keep following my voice," but now the voice was echoing around me, changing in tone and sound. I was so confused.
"I can't find you," I moaned helplessly as I spun around in circles.
"Can't you?"
"No."
"But I'm right here," the voice said.
"No one's here."
"Yes, I am. I'm always with you. You're looking too hard."
I was really frustrated now. "Well, if you're always with me then why aren't you now?"
"But I am."
"So come out."
There was silence for a long time and then a man appeared before me. I couldn't see him but I knew he was there. "You need to wake up, Christina. There are people waiting for you."
I stared at the light, the voice, trying to piece it all together. "Are you ...?"
"You know who I am, Christina. Wake up, now."
"Where's Jack?"
Although I couldn't truly see the person's face, I could tell that he was smiling. "He's right here. Chasing him led you here," the voice explained before Jack stepped out from the shadows.
"Come on, love. Its time to go back. You've got a fever. You need to wake up."
"But I want to be with you," I cried.
"You are. You're right here, in my arms. I've got you. Just come on."
I looked over at him, he was beside me now, an arm around my shoulders protectively. "Jack?"
Everything was starting to swirl in a dazzle of colour. The few images I had seen blurred together and faded in and out before finally disappearing. Now all that was left was darkness.
-A-
Author's Note -
Okay, nice long chapter for you all. I hope this means you won't kill me. I'm going to be gone for a week but I'm not entirely sure when I will have a chance to update. There should be a new chapter no later than Wednesday, January 12th. Enjoy!
-A-
Author Thanks -
Chapter 14
Eccentric Banshee - Thanks, mate. Actually, I can only answer one of your questions. I'm not sure that reading this will help your Spanish but hey, there's no point in not trying. Thanks for the cliffie comment, I'm quite proud of mine, lol. Haven't seen Finding Neverland yet, probably will when I get back. Hope you liked the chapter!
Anaknusan - Thanks! LOL, you didn't do anything to deserve it, I'm just mean, lol. Hope you liked the chapter.
Princess - Thanks! I hope you liked the chapter.
JessicaVanHelsing - Thanks! Happy New Year to you too! Hope you liked the chapter.
Captain Tish - Thanks! I can't tell you how it happened but I CAN tell you that all questions will be answered in coming chapters.
jisAtsU siLENcE - Thanks! Can't tell you anything, mate. Hope you liked the chapter and Happy New Year.
The lady of the shadows - Thanks! Can't tell you, mate, I'm sorry. Just hold on, its gonna be a wild ride.
S.S.I. - Thanks! That sounds like cruel and unusual punishment, being in a car w/ a depressed old lady. Ouch. I feel for you. Hope you liked the chapter and Happy New Year.
Trinity144 - Thanks! Hope you liked the chapter.
Moulin-Rouge-PIrate - Thanks. I try, I truly do. Hope you liked the chapter.
TriGemini - Thanks! I can't tell you, sorry mate. If I did I'd have to kill you and I'm really not into the whole murder thing. Hope you liked the chatper.
Dimonah Tralon - Thanks! My cliffhangers are one of the things I'm especially proud of, hope you like em, lol. Hope you liked the chapter.
kgirl5678 - Thanks! Yep, Rhiannon was born on February 1st. Happy Birthday, you share one with the most adorable character I've written! Hope you liked the story!
Chapter 13
Jeeves - Thanks! Sok, I'm behind in reviewing too. I described Colin because there were a lot of questions about him. Hope you liked the chapter.
Captain Tish - Thanks! Yeah, it wasn't entirely fun but I survived. Hope you liked the chapter.
lady lorethei - Thanks! I quite agree ... I think I'd be bored out of my mind. Hope you liked the chapter.
Moulin-Rouge-PIrate - Thanks! I'm glad you liked Jack's comments about the queen of England ... they were fun to write. Hope you liked the chapter.
S.S.I. - Thanks! Don't worry about it, my computer goes spaztic all the time, I quite understand. Hope you liked the chapter!
Vimpire Princess Nissa - Thanks! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Lil Bit - Thanks, poppet. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
RMB - Thanks! It wasn't the most fun of weeks but I survived. Excellent idea, the bath ... only its hard to get that much fresh water until there is rain. Glad you liked the humour. It was a blast to write. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Anaknusan - Thanks! And I got the C2 thing to accept! Yay! Hope you liked the chapter!
TearsOfBlood24 - Thanks! I figured out my mistake, it was a typo but I honestly don't speak Spanish. Thanks for the hint, though. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
TriGemini - Thanks! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
jistAsU siLENcE - Thanks! Hope you liked the chapter and remember - patience is a virtue ... but its one that I personally don't have, LOL. (cuz you said that you needed to be patient ... I'm never good at that.) Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
JessicaVanHelsing - Thanks! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Dimonah Tralon - Thanks! Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Well, that's all the reviews that my computer delivered ... BUT if I misplaced one or forgot you, its not personal and I really appreciate you taking time to read my story.
Mange Klemmar
CrazyCanoeingGIT