Author's Note: Hello everyone. Sorry it's been a while. Writer's block is the bane of all who enjoy writing. I had a very bad case of it. Hopefully, this won't happen again. Though I doubt it. Please enjoy.

Chapter 9: Alone With a Pirate

Evy, Jack and Emerson traveled single file and had nothing to show for it, accept that they were lost thanks to the jumping sun. It was now dark, whereas minutes ago, the sun had hung in the sky. Her brother had a compass, but the needle jumped to all four points at random. It felt to Evy they'd been going in circles ever since their search began. Her feet ached with each step and her arms and face were scratched from the thick bramble.

Ahead, Jack still led the way, undaunted by the strangeness of the island.

Evy hung back with her brother because there was something she needed settled.

"How did you know?"

Emerson smirked. Apparently, he didn't have to ask what she meant. "I was on deck. So that means at least four—maybe five—other crewmembers know; if they were looking too."

Evy groaned. "Perfect."

He started snickering until she swatted him. "It's not funny, Em."

"No, it really is," he countered, rubbing the sore spot on his arm. "All these years you've hated pirates and now you're kissing one."

"It was just once and it won't happen again." Evy felt that by saying this over and over again that it would be true.

"Why shouldn't it?" Emerson's question wasn't snappish, but of genuine confusion.

"Because a drunken pirate would not be a smart match," she said sensibly.

"Who said anything about being smart? If it's smart, then it's boring. Lifeless."

Evy shook her head. "This is pointless anyway."

"Why?" he asked again. "Jack's a good man."

"Everyone keeps saying that."

"Because it's true," he insisted.

"All right," she conceded. "Let's say it is true, how long would it last before he got bored? And—" she continued even though he'd opened his mouth to say something, "Who says he cares more about me than what the rum makes him care?"

To this, Emerson remained silent, and to Evy, this proved her point. This conversation held no weight for the future. Jack was not the kind of man to be tied down by anyone, especially a woman.

"He has no room in his mind for anything except the Pearl," she said finally, "Least of all me."

She hurried away from Emerson to hush anything else he might have said and caught up with the pirate.

"You seem to know your way around, Jack."

"Been here before, luv."

"Then why is it that we appear to be heading in circles?" she asked, eying a tree they'd passed at least three times in the past hour.

"If you 'aven't noticed, this island likes to play tricks on unsuspecting visitors."

"So you know exactly where we're headed?" she questioned dubiously.

"As I've said before, darling, this is not the first time I've been 'ere."

"Then why didn't you take the treasure before?" she asked, perplexed that a pirate would leave behind his only reason for living.

"Local inhabitants were not agreeable to any deals."

Her eyes widened in alarm. "You mean...savage people?"

Jack grinned secretively in a way she didn't like. "That I do."

"Is a bit of gold really worth your life?"

"Oh, they didn't threaten me life. Just threatened to cut off every appendage on me person is all."

"That's all? Of course. Nothing to be upset about," she grated sarcastically. "Did the local inhabitants by any chance warn you to never return?"

"Absolutely, luv," he confirmed, "But I am a man who never takes idle threats seriously."

"Cutting off every appendage on your body sounds more than idle, Jack," she argued.

He waved away her words impatiently. "I'm not that easy to kill, luv. Savvy?"

"But Jack, you're not invincible," she said reasonably. She huffed to keep up with his hurried pace and settled for trotting at his side.

"Says who?" Oddly enough, he looked truly offended. "I've escaped more perilous situations than we've time to converse over, darling."

"All it takes is one lucky shot," she insisted.

Jack stopped to look at her, trinkets clinking; the sash around his waist was blowing in the breeze. He cocked his head to one side as he regarded her confused face with a grin bright enough to compete with the sun.

"I must admit, darling," he drawled, "you 'ad me fooled."

"I beg your pardon?" she asked, completely dumbfounded.

"That cold almost brutal exterior of yours is just a front to your true feelings," he said with maddening superiority.

"Such as?"

"You, luv, are worried."

"About?"

"Yours truly," he replied smugly, pointing two greasy fingers at himself.

"Why on earth would I be worried about you?" she scoffed.

"Me life is in danger due to the treacherous environment and all you can think about is getting me safely back to the Pearl with all still-attached appendages in tow."

Evy's mouth nearly fell open in shock, but grit her teeth hard. She'd once thought that Jack could read minds. Now she was convinced he really had that ability. She was worried and hated herself for caring about this wretched pirate that had somehow wormed his way into her every thought, and disgustingly, into her heart.

"I most certainly am not," she lied, making sure to keep eye contact.

"You don't 'ave to pretend anymore, darling." He took a step closer to her, tracing his fingers across her cheek. It took every ounce of her willpower not to shiver. "Just admit that you care 'bout me."

She once again took up the path that he'd been following. "Do not," she argued childishly.

He caught up and slipped an arm around her, fingers curling over her shoulder. "Can't say I blame you. I am rather dashing, don't you think? Only a matter of time before you fell 'ead over 'eels, eh?"

As she could think of nothing to say without screaming, she ignored him, slapping his arm off her shoulder in the process. Undaunted, he trotted round in front of her, barring her from continuing.

"Move!" she snapped.

"Time on this island is a bit odd. It's not as though we're in a rush, luv," he pointed out.

"Well I am. The sooner we find the bloody treasure, the sooner I can get away from you."

She attempted to shove him aside and nearly made it, but he clasped her hand and swung her around until she was back in his arms and kissed her with deliberate slowness. Though she'd been thinking almost nonstop about that kiss the other night, she was not in the mood for one now. Evy pushed him back and slapped him with all her might. To her satisfaction, an angry red print matching her throbbing hand appeared on his cheek.

Rubbing his new injury, he pouted. "Didn't deserve that."

"Oh no?" she countered. "Can you tell me why exactly?"

"It's a dangerous island, luv. Our lives may soon be forfeit."

"How does that warrant unnecessary kissing?"

"Just trying to make every last moment we have count for something memorable, darling."

"Aren't you just full of brilliant ideas?" she said acidly.

He grinned. "Aye, they're my specialty. That and my spectacular kissing; as you well know by now." Jack wiggled his eyebrows. "We could keep living life to the fullest and 'ave a bit of fun as well. You know...kill two birds with one stone, eh?"

Jack tilted his head down to hers again, but she leaned back. "I've had enough fun for one day."

"Don't you like to 'ave fun, Evy?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, but I don't like your kind of fun."

"You need to live a little, missy. My kind of fun allows for so many new experiences," he said, eyes glazing a bit as he recalled some of his so-called new experiences.

"You already kissed me once before so your experience is not new."

"Did I?" he asked in mild and uninterested surprise. "I don't remember."

"Of course you don't because you'd swallowed an ocean-sized amount of rum!"

"The best friend of every pirate," he agreed, searching through his pockets and frowning when he could find no 'best friend' within.

"Your only friend," she corrected snappishly.

This didn't appear to faze Jack. "Piracy is about business, luv, not friendship."

"Then you're definitely an accomplished businessman, Jack."

"You wouldn't be deliberately trying to 'urt me feelings, would you Evy?"

"What feelings? You can't even remember kissing me!"

"There've been lots of kisses." He smirked suddenly and laughed. "Oh yeah—I remember this one—"

"Shut up, Jack!" she yelled. "I don't want to hear about any of it."

Evy'd had enough. She tromped forward, crushing branches, slapping away at leafy vines and not paying attention to where she was going. The flat ground soon gave way to the steepest incline yet and she slipped a few times—anger making her clumsy. A firm grip on her forearm pulled her the rest of the way up to the rocky slope of the mountains in the center of the island. She ignored his existence by her side and pressed on, determined not to stop long enough for conversation. He wasn't going to let her get away with that unfortunately.

Jack watched Evy with amusement. "Do you know where your 'eaded, luv?"

Without any word or look, she kept going up. To his annoyance, it was the right way. Two problems faced them. The strange course the sun followed could envelope them in darkness without warning and going up the mountain at night would probably kill them both. As dangerous as rock climbing would be in the dark, that wasn't what worried Jack. The peak of the mountain—where the insurmountable treasure waited—was also the residence of the barbarian tribe. Stealing it outright was out of the question. He glanced at Evy. She eyed the long way up with well concealed trepidation. Her eyes drifted across the rocks, obviously searching for a path.

"It's the only way up," he said quietly, answering the question she hadn't asked.

Squaring her shoulders, she marched onward, having ignored him completely and irking his usually fluidic demeanor. It wasn't protocol for a crewman to ignore his captain; or crewwoman in this case, which explained her inability to submit to authority. That being, the urge to pick at the festering wound was too great an opportunity to pass up.

"Couldn't we start over, Evy?" he asked kindly.

Though she still ignored him, her head turned slightly to the side. He took this as a sign to continue. "Perhaps a truce? I can see you're a strong-willed woman capable of making sound decisions." Nothing but the wind answered. "Giving the captain silent treatment isn't ship's protocol."

She tutted, but said nothing. He could see her biting her lip as though putting every reserve of strength she possessed towards not answering. Just a bit more needling and she'd no doubt kill him just to keep from having to speak to him again. He hooked their arms together tightly so when she jerked back, she stumbled and had to grab him with her other hand to keep from toppling down the mountainside. She wrung her arm about to free it, but he just tightened his grip, effectively pinning her arm to his side.

"Jack..." she began, attempting and failing to be sweet. The snarl on her lips prevented any kind of sweet countenance. "I'm perfectly capable of climbing on my own."

"To be sure, but we need to stay together. I can't afford to lose ship's superb cook."

"Why?"

"Because, darling as you 'ave obviously not noticed, we're being followed." Her eyes widened. "Oh! And your dear Emerson is no longer in our cheerful party."

Evy stopped short. "What?" Panic filling her eyes, she spun round, but he jerked back.

"Don't!" he warned. "Just keep going."

"But what about Emerson? We can't just leave him out there alone."

"Your brother is not alone, luv. They've already got 'im."

"How do you know?"

"Because he disappeared 'bout the time our friends showed up."

"You knew we were being followed?" she said angrily.

"Course."

"And you let them take my brother?"

She grabbed his arm and clamped so tightly he thought his bone would snap. Jack reconsidered his plan to irritate her since she looked ready to push him over the cliff.

"They won't kill him," he said, attempting reassurance. "They didn't kill me. They'll probably just torture 'im is all."

"Well don't I feel better now?" she spat. He flinched when she pointed an angry finger in his face. "If anything happens to him, I'll personally hand you over to the tribe without your appendages."

Evy shoved him off and began running up the rocky incline. Jack rolled his eyes, but ran after her anyway.

"You can't just 'asten to 'is rescue like a bull in a china cabinet, luv!" he yelled up.

"You have any better ideas?" she snapped back.

"As a matter o' fact, luv, I've always got a better idea."

Before he could share his plan, the sunlight suddenly vanished, as did their path. No moonlight replaced what was taken. Too many clouds covered the sky. The path before them was too dark to see. Judging by Evy's yelp and the sound of sliding rocks, she'd fallen.

"Careful, Evy! You falling off would ruin my plan!"

"It's a bit late for that, Jack!"

He was afraid to ask, but hurried up after her. She'd not only fallen, but had slid halfway over the slide of the cliff. Jack grabbed her hands.

"Now what'd you go and do that for?" he asked, starting to pull her up.

Before he could get a good grip, he lost his footing under the loose gravel and went toppling over the side, managing to jab his hand into a small crevice. With the other, he still held onto to a dangling Evy.

"You were saying?" she asked sarcastically.

"Please be quiet so I can think," he grumbled.

"Think of something fast because I'm slipping."

"Now there's an idea," he said delightedly. "'Cept I'm slipping too. Bugger, luv! 'ow much do you weigh?"

With a growl, she stretched toward the rocks and grabbed onto a thick vine that grew from the side of the mountain. Faster than he believed she could, Evy'd made it to the top. Jack now used both hands to steady himself and was about to reach for the vine when she jerked it out of his reach.

"I need that, luv!"

"Not so heavy am I, considering I got myself up here and you're still down there," she said tauntingly.

"Yes, yes, all right. You're light as a feather. You could fly as the birds do...now, will you please give me that vine?"

Without a word, she tossed it to him and stood there watching him struggle his way up. Only when the roots of the vine started unraveling from the earth in which they were buried, did she take his hands and pull him the rest of the way.

"Thought you didn't care," he said, rubbing his grazed palms.

"I don't," she said coldly. "But since you've been here before, I can't afford to lose my guide."

"I'm all warm and fuzzy inside, luv."

She ignored him and squinted up the dark path. "I suppose we'll have to wait for the sun to show up."

"Unfortunately for us, its appearances are random. It could appear within ten seconds or ten hours."

"Terrific. What do propose we do?"

"Stay 'ere for the night, as far away from the edge as possible."

Even though it was dark, he could still make out some features on her face and she looked none too pleased. Obviously the idea of spending the night alone with him revolted her. Funny, that this bothered him a little. He was used to women giving him that same revolted look time and again, but on Evy it looked terrible.

"Guess we don't have any choice then," she said dolefully.

Jack led the way to an indention in the mountain. He'd sheltered here once before. It wasn't large enough to be called a cave as it was only about five feet deep, but it was enough to protect them until the sun decided to show itself.

Emerson had begun to feel that he was intruding and quickly left his sister and the pirate behind. Out of habit he kept checking his compass and watched as the needle spun in an endless circle. Just as they'd been doing ever since they arrived on the island. One confusing circle after another and it was leading him deeper into paths never walked.

He glanced over his shoulder, but the shore had long since disappeared, taking all manner of jungle noise with it and leaving him alone in the middle of nowhere. He briefly thought about heading back to find the beach, but according his father and Jack, there was treasure here. The desire to push on was more for the benefit of his mother and sister than for a selfish need. If they were to have any kind of life away from the one they'd had in Nassau, then they would need all the gold he could find.

For hours Jack had led them towards the center of the island—steep and unfriendly rocks that resembled small mountains. After what he'd seen done to the other pirate ship, he had no doubt that a slip on one of the sharp cliffs would slice him to ribbons. He looked back over his shoulder, the trees seemed denser, as though closing off the path should he entertain the notion of escaping the way he came.

Superstition of the unnatural hadn't been part of his upbringing, but since he'd seen that thing in the water, he was considering revising his beliefs. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, sending a shiver rippling down his body. Though none were visible, he felt hostile eyes staring at his exposed back. When he stopped walking, his pursuers stopped. Emerson wasn't easily given over to panic, but not being able to see what was out there caused his heart to beat with unease.

Even though it was a long shot, he took off at breakneck speed, shoving aside the sharp branches and vines. The unmistakable stomps of pursuit followed, missing no steps and gaining ground. Just as he switched directions unexpectedly to hopefully fool them, they changed to match his new path. It was a game they were playing to get him deeper into the core of the island.

Then suddenly coming from every direction, a strange high-pitched cry blasted through the trees behind him. It was only a matter of time before he was caught, but he wasn't about to give up. A stinging pain erupted in his neck. He slapped a hand to the burning skin and pulled out a tiny, feathered barb. The pungent odor of poison caused him to stumble. The taste of dirt in his mouth surprised him. He'd fallen to the ground, but crawled across the leaves and the dirt, determined to fight to the last. Something hard pressed into the middle of his back and roughly tied his hands together, while another bound his feet.

At least six pairs of dirty feet gathered around to hoist him up and carried him off. To his surprise, he never lost consciousness, but as he attempted to struggle free of the ropes, his arms and legs grew stiff. The barb had not been an attempt to drug him, but a means to cease his mobility. Moments later he was paralyzed, but aware of his surroundings.

He tried to memorize the route along which he was being carted, but his captors twisted along so many paths that he quickly lost count his bearings. There were too many trees identical to the previous ones. Not one word was spoken to him or to each other. Being unable to move his head, he saw nothing but the thick grass beneath his face. He couldn't even close his eyes. Of interest, the grass disappeared and the terrain grew rocky. With renewed excitement, he realized the ground now sloped upward. The captors were taking him towards the rocks.

Emerson wasn't stupid though. Escaping alive was probably unlikely, but it was a worth a shot anyway. As they descended further, his legs began to tingle painfully, as though he'd been sitting on them for too long. It was a relief to finally feel something after being paralyzed so long. Within seconds, his entire body was tingling as the effects wore off.

With an abrupt jerk, he was on his feet standing at the mouth of a dark pit covered by a bamboo cage. A sharp weapon poked his back, halting everything he thought of saying.

"Filthy swine of man, you have trespassed on our island," said a chilling feminine voice behind him, "For this crime, you are sentenced to eternal imprisonment."

Emerson spun fast, intending to argue, but shut his mouth when every face glaring back at him proved to be female.

"You're women!" he said, astounded.

"Clever man. Perhaps there is hope for your gender yet," snarled the tallest of the group circled around him.

"Where—"

But Emerson never got the chance to ask his question. The tall woman slugged him so hard in the nose he fell over backward into the dark pit.