Interstellar Academy
19: BREAK 5
"You see," Rayn began slowly, "that doesn't answer the question of 'why?'"
Jim's brain was calculating distance, as well as time it would take to get back to the ship and return here. It would take up too much precious time. So he looked upward, wondering if anything would help him there.
How perfect. A boat.
"That." It hung suspended by some chain, and with exact precision he could shoot it down, jump inside grab what he can and turn up on the other side. With all three of them doing this, they could grab a few handfuls of treasure and leave rich as kings.
"Did you forget about the dragon creature sleeping on top of the treasure, Jimbo?" Silver inquired, taking Jim's head and making him face the monster.
Actually, he had. We gotta get him to leave somehow."
The ground shook again, and the group hid just inside the entrance mouth to avoid any large shards of rock hitting them. The creature woke up from its deep slumber, growling frustratingly and sitting up.
"Perfect timing, Captain Grill."
"What do you mean?" Rayn asked, lost.
"That, my boy, is the sound of a ship taking off," Silver added, his eyes gleaming at Jim knowingly.
The beast flapped its four sets of wings and took off in the opposite entrance, appearing smaller than it actually was inside the hole. They waited a few breaths before making their moves.
Silver took out his large flintlock and aimed it upward. Aiming for only a second, he hit just right. The boat at first descended slowly, then quickly toward the ground- toward them. When it was right under the opening, they leapt inside, reaching down. They did this twice, filling their arms with as much treasure as possible. Jim even grabbed for a chest. Just when they thought they were home free, the other chain broke- probably rusted from however many years of suspension- and they dropped onto the tiny island.
"Well, darn it!" Rayn cursed, his eyes shooting up to the opposing hole the dragon creature had escaped from earlier. "We gotta hurry before he decides to return."
"And turn us into stew," Jim said, ducking under the old control panels.
"Anything you need me to do, boy?" Silver knelt beside Jim, awaiting any instruction.
"I'm gonna need you under here, Silver. Rayn." Jim ducked his head quickly to look at the blond. "You gotta keep a look out. Anything- a wing, a head, a SHADOW, you tell us. Got it?"
Rayn pulled out his gun and charged it up, nodding. "Got it."
They fiddled with the controls and wires, Rayn watching the area anxiously.
The roar that came before the neck of the beast popped into view warned them they better hurry.
"Uh, Jim?"
"I got it!"
Just as the dragon found them, growing angry at the sight, the boat came to life, floating slowly but surely. Silver pushed himself from under the controls and took over, steering the boat upward. The dragon didn't seem to appreciate their presence, and made it known by shooting plasma fire at them.
Morph, who'd been quiet in Silver's pocket, now came out to watch the spectacle. He squeaked and hid again, shaking the small crevice in John Silver's pants.
"It's gonna be OK, Morphy," Silver promised, focused on escaping.
Jim and Rayn shot at the beast, though it seemed potentially pointless. It didn't even phase him. Jim stole Silver's flintlock and tried again. The second shot did some damage to its wing, slowing it down.
Now they were in the hole, racing against time- and a giant flying creature- to head back to their ship. Jim aimed once again at another wing, which slowed down the dragon, but also made him angry. It roared powerfully, giant crystal spears spiraling toward them. Silver maneuvered the boat away from them, though a tinier one nailed the front.
"BLAST IT!" he cursed, speeding up.
Then entrance stood in front of them now, and they zoomed through it just as Jim nailed the dragon in the wing once more. The dragon gave up on them and swirled around, cursing them with one last growl. The entire planet shook, but nothing was coming down upon them.
Always a good sign.
"Are you serious?" Rayn had a huge smile crossing his face, his dimples showing through. "That's what you guys do when you're together, that's crazy!"
They laughed at his excitement, relieved and happy themselves to have missed death again.
They docked the longboat beside their ship, tying down so they didn't have to go through the motions of removing the treasure and putting into their ship; there wouldn't have been room.
The voyage home was rather slow and uneventful. They were quiet for awhile. A month in, they decided to find some sort of agreement for splitting the treasure.
"This is yours, boyo," Silver said, scooting the chest to Jim. The boy smiled and opened it, relishing in his findings.
Rayn was quietly scanning over the treasure, then reached out and plucked a solid gold chain out from the other gold objects. It was a locket. He opened it up and smiled. "This is all I want, honestly." He turned it around, allowing them to see what he wanted. "This was my grandmother's favorite locket. It holds a family portrait of her, her parents, and her big brother. She lost it when she traveled here." He unhooked the chain and fastened it on his neck, hiding the locket under his shirt collar. "Yep, this is enough for me."
That night, after dinner, Jim was looking out at the stars, memories of a year ago flashing behind his eyes.
"I didn't realize it was humanly possible to have that much fun." Rayn came up beside him, startling the younger boy.
"Yeah, it's an everyday thing, actually."
"Oh?" He laughed. "I imagine with the friends you have, it's never really boring."
By 'friends you have', Rayn obviously meant Nova. This entire time Jim hadn't even thought about her, or even Leslie, his current girlfriend. His heart sank. "You could say that."
"Do you miss her?" Rayn asked. "Your girlfriend."
Jim was glad Rayn clarified. "Yeah, I guess. We were only dating for like a week before school let out, so I'm not sure…"
Rayn laughed. "You two were talking forever, though. Figured it was a matter of time." He shrugged. "Time for bed, little man. Coming up?"
"Nah, 'think I'll stay here and watch the stars for awhile."
"Suit yourself."
And Jim spent two hours watching star after star fly by, a meteor shower far away falling gracefully through them. But he didn't spend that time missing his girlfriend, which made him feel guilty.
He spent that time missing a different girl entirely.
When they arrived on Montressor, Jim and Rayn dumped the remaining treasure into the ship and took the longboat to the dock. Jim and Silver exchanged one last hug before he left.
"Uh, well, Jim, I'm not fond of going back home to the Island, BUT if I gotta-"
Jim laughed. "Yes, you can stay with me."
"Thank GOODNESS."
Sarah Hawkins was finishing with some clean up, the lunch rush long gone. Jim burst through the door, a wide smile on his face, and she dropped everything she had and hugged him. "You want to tell a mother when you're adventuring with pirates next time?"
"Aw, you knew?"
"Moms know everything." She rolled her eyes, then looked, shocked, at Jim's companion. "Er… hello?"
"Hello, ma'am." Rayn bowed formally at his friend's mother. "Rayn, at your service."
"Ah, hello, Rayn."
After brief introductions and a detailed recap of their adventure, an exhausted Jim and Rayn went to their rooms.
Though Jim didn't get a chance to crash.
"Oh yeah," he muttered. "I turned seventeen a week ago." He looked through the random packages and cards, taking out a piece of paper and a pen to write down names to thank later. His mother always had those special cards for occasions like this.
Then his eyes spotted a little blue package wrapped with a gold ribbon. He didn't know why this particular gift stuck out from the rest, but at any rate he reached down and admired it. The tag on it read, "Happy Birthday! Nova"
So that was why.
He slowly opened it up and looked inside, gasping. He pinched the gift at the top and carefully removed it from its box. He set it on his desk and stared at it, unsure of how to feel.
She knew where they were going. Rayn must have told her.
It was made of pure, clear crystal, the platform swirling upward like a wave and surrounding a light blue orb that replicated a planet. He admired the piece of work, then looked in the box again. There was a small card inside and he opened, reading it over and over.
"Hi, Jim!
I'm really no good at these sorts of things. So I'll start a point and go from there!
This past year with you has been nothing less than an adventure and a learning experience. You helped me really come out of my shell. And for that, I thank you so much! I know in the end, things turned out bad, and I was rather childish, and I'm so sorry for my behavior. I hope when school starts up, we come back completely new people, and I'm planning on growing up! Rayn told me where you'd gone, and I thought I'd make a gift to commemorate you on that. Congrats on the voyage! I hope you have fun, and I hope you have a great birthday!
Nova"
When his eyes were reading too slow for his brain to process the words he now memorized, he put the card carefully in his desk. He noticed a gift with a tag that read "Leslie" but he didn't touch it. Instead, he crashed onto his bed, closed his eyes tight, and forced himself to sleep, hoping his mind would shut up all the thoughts that were now racing through his head.
A/N: And that's it! The BREAKS are over, and a new year is starting! How exciting! Thanks for sticking with me through it, I know they weren't really that exciting. I just had to get away from Nova. Thanks again, readers!