I woke to the loud sound of a canon from maybe a mile away. My arms and legs scrambled to get me up. I slapped my palms on the nest's edge while leaning over and gasping. There were the glowing lights of a small town approaching quickly. It would have been a hopeful sight if it weren't for the bursts of fire followed by the large black spheres hurling at us.
Cannon blasts splashed in the ocean far behind us. The following couple splashes sounded fairly far from the ship, but that didn't erase the danger- people were shooting at us. Upon closer inspection, there was a naval base on the island, our attackers.
My first thought: Why had no one alerted us? My realisation: Because I hadn't alerted them.
I took a deep breath.
"LAND HO! ALL HANDS ON DECK!" I yelled from my perch to the pirates who were already beginning to scramble from the lower deck to their places.
The Dragon Nest grew louder as the bustling increased. Men yelled across stations, amongst them was the distinct thunder of Captain Gryphon's orders.
"We're being attacked men! Everyone to your stations! Now!" I could hear the struggles of the moving canons below deck and the gasps and grunts of juniors and pirates at the sight of fire. There was a collective gasp as one canon blast landed just shy of our starboard. A wall of seawater crashed over the side soaking a handful of junior pirates. The pilot rushed to the wheel but August reached it before him. I braced myself ready for us to change course, but the course didn't change.
"Hold her true!" Gryphon shouted, almost cheered.
With a burst of worried adrenaline, I crawled down the ropes to yell to the madman.
"Why are we going toward the angry militants?!"
He threw his head back and gave a hearty laugh with a maniacal gleam in his eye.
"It's the final boss!" He announced.
After a puzzling moment, I understood: the treasure was straight ahead. I turned back, my braid whipping my cheek as I gazed at the naval base with renewed awe. Behind those canons and guns and soldiers was an unimaginable wealth.
Filled with new life, I flew down the rest of the ropes. My feet punched the floor with solid determination. I whistled for another pirate to take lookout then ran for the lower deck.
"Try to veer away from unnecessary killing!" the Captain yelled with a certain irony.
With a glance back over the edge, I note the worrisome numerity of troops seeming to increase as we drew closer. However excited I was, a thought couldn help but cross my mind- some of us could die.
I disappeared below deck, quickly making my way to a bustling gun deck. Powder monkeys ran back and forth between storage units and canons. I smiled to myself as Shiloh and his friends ran with boxes as big as themselves. They were too young to die. I tried to imagine a life without each of them; without chubby-cheeked Blake, without quiet Chris, without my little spy Shiloh.
I shook the thought from my head and surveyed the rest of the deck.
Cliff barked orders from a position at the window, having more of a presence than the senior master gunner. Able-bodied sailors assisted aiming the cannons. There was so much tense movement in the room I felt an odd mix of adrenaline and claustrophobia. Understanding Cliff had everything under control down there, I headed back up.
As I ducked through the door to the main deck, a sailor surprised me with a sword. He plopped it onto my palms before I could register why. A loud thud answered my unspoken question. A wooden plank had linked our ship to the navy's dock. We had travelled to shore much quicker than expected.
I held the cutlass in my hands, tenderly grasping the hilt. The blade was heavy in my hand and smelled like the rest of the sea with a metal twang. I'd never held a weapon before, probably hoped I'd never have to, but now that I had it in my hand I would use it for its intended purpose. I would protect my friends, my family, all my loved ones.
My noble self-serving motivational speech was cut short by the shouts as pirates growled at the militants crossing the bridge to invade.
Men with swords surged at each other with their pride on their swords. I scanned the deck as militants rushed at pirates and vice-versa. I spotted Cliff sliding out onto deck, an adventurous gleam in his eye as he grabbed a sword from a senior pirate running past him toward the gun deck. Before Cliff could fully grasp the situation, a larger militant was charging at his back.
"Cliff behind you!" With my warning, the boy spun around, sword in hand. Their blades clash in the air. They stay deadlocked in a battle of strength for a split second before it becomes obvious all that soldier's weight is more than just fat. Cliff kicks the man's shin quickly, just hard enough to make the man hesitate. Cliff closed in for the kill but was met by another man. They engage in battle as the larger man escapes.
"He's going downstairs!" Fay yells to me.
I panic knowing if he hits our supplies, our battle will likely not end well for us.
I begin running toward the door, but am relieved from my duty.
The man was thrust back out onto deck followed by a hooting Raven. A grin plastered on the young Captain's face as the boy shouted into the man's ear and the once frightening killer became a frightened baby as he turned and ran, almost stumbling over his own feet.
I slow to a stop and sigh in relief, throwing him a smile. Raven smiles back and gives a thumbs up.
In a flash of pain, I remember I was mad at him and averted my eyes. In the back of my mind, I may have heard him call to me, but I wasn't ready to listen. Then when the clank of metals clanged just a foot above my head, my attention shot to the sound origin.
Jasper stood in front of me, his blade in stalemate with a soldier twice his age.
I gasped dramatically as I crouched to avoid the parrying. With me out of the way, Jasper pushed the man back then quickly punched the hilt of his cutlass in the soldier's stomach, physically pushing the militant all the way to the edge then giving a final thrust sending the soldier flying over the side into the water.
I stood up with a burst of hope.
"Thank you!" I heaved out in a breathy tone. He turned. For a moment, I believed he would smile and say "no problem" like I knew him to back when he'd help me in the orphanage. Back when I ordered a hundred pizzas, one boy accidentally let it slip I had something to do with the plan. Many heard the Matron made plans to whip me in response but Jasper backed me up and made an alibi for me. The Matron spat and argued but Jasper's defense for me was solid. Afterwards, we were so happy we threw a mini party with the gang where we recalled all our adventures and sang and danced and stole some good food from the kitchen. We were so happy together. We were inseparable. We were the perfect team. What happened?
He jerked his head away without so much as a nod. Though I could have easily imagined a slight hesitation before he walked away, I didn't dare give myself false hope quite yet.
Lightning sizzled as Raven and Jasper made solid eye contact. A small nod between the boys passed like a light breeze on a hot summer day, well appreciated to the few who felt it.
I opened my senses to avoid such dangers again. The action also left me vulnerable to the emotional pain as I witnessed two pirates I had conversed with before collapse to the wooden floor. I hadn't known them well, but I had known them. They were living just a moment ago. Then they were dead.
Gunshots rung over my head, but the sound was droned out by my own heart thumping over all other noises. Men with guns fired from the dock without putting themselves in any danger. One more pirate fell before the soldiers ran out of ammo and left.
I couldn't believe that people could just end another person's life like that. My blood boiled at the thought. My eyes flickered between focus and fuzz.
A small growl became a war cry as I tightened my grip on the sword and rushed at every soldier I saw.
"Argh!" I slashed at one man who stumbled back in surprise then followed my momentum to stab at another. Both men easily dodged but I didn't give up.
I spotted an easy target amongst the bunch, a soldier that appeared to only be pushed on board by the flow of those around him. He held his head high even as he spun around in uncertainty. I knew what I had to do.
I pushed through the crowd and lunged at the youthful middle-aged man. He spun around in response to my yell and swiftly drew a sword from his belt. The surrounding men jumped away from us as our swords clashed. I lunged and parried and slashed. Each of my attacks came within inches of injury yet none drew blood. The man seemed to continually get lucky, dodging and blocking each of my attacks just in time. I felt the wide eyes of many soldiers glued to our battle.
Every shocked pair of eyes added a certain realism to the fight. I was fencing with a soldier, a man with training in weaponry, and our sabers could kill with a flick of the wrist. It was an empowering experience.
I lunged at him and he humoured me, moving back at my pace. I stabbed at his chest. He flicked the end of my sword away. The momentum took me with the blade as I crashed into a fellow pirate. He grunted and pushed me back to my fight with an annoyed scowl. Unphased, I leapt back into combat realizing I needed more space. Just my luck, the man I was jousting began to climb away from the sword fights up a rope ladder. Perfect.
I pursued. Throwing the cutlass into my belt, I rolled back my sleeves and tugged at the rope. With a heave, I began to climb one hand after the other up the web, eyes trained on the swinging figure ahead. I avoided the increasing pull of gravity as my distance from the ground increased steadily. I felt the rustling in the web lessen as my adversary leapt into the nest. Only moments after, I too leapt into the basket. His surprised smile caught me off guard. There was no malice, or smug in the grin; it was simply a sincere, pleasant surprise. I sharpened my focus on his soft aura. I almost wish he were a bit more angry.
I growled as I began staring him down once again. The smooth metallic sound of of my blade being drawn sent a silent shiver through my limbs. And then, I charged.
The clashes of our swords overwhelmed the clanking of all other on-deck battles. I began to realize our battle was not as close as I thought it was. The percentage of this man's luck was perfect. Though he never tried to attack me, his defense was irritably perfect. Every single lunge was parried, every stab knocked away, every slash blocked. The frustration only made my attacks harder.
My feet gripped the ground before I launched at the dashing middle aged man with an uppercut of my blade. Even as he jumped back, the tip of my blade grazed his cheek. We both momentarily paused. In our moment of silence, I registered the man's wide golden eyes that reflected my own. An obvious lack in rustling below alerted me the fighting had slowed significantly. Murmurings replaced it as pirates and soldiers stared with curious eyes up the mast at our fight. I let them stare.
I can do it. I realized with a shock. I can defeat this man.
With this thought, I took a deep breathe in and focused on the man. He was still shaken as he wiped the small trickle of blood from his chin.
My resolve solidified as my adrenaline kicked in.
I clenched my sword in my hand.
I lifted the blade.
"Alistair!" a deep voice bellowed from below. It was Howler. Howler knew the man I was fighting.
The man, Alistair, froze and looked down toward Howler eyes wide with joy and surprise. His attention elsewhere. I put the last bit of my energy into this one final strike.
Finally, I lunged.
"ARGH!"
"He's not the enemy! He's the King!" The Captain's voice boomed across the deck even travelling up the mast.
I heard the message with a shock, a shock that blocked my ability to control my own limbs. I was still moving, still surging. And I couldn't stop.
"Get out of the way!" I managed to croak as I wheeled forward barely managing to drop my sword.
His attention shifted back to the battle at hand too late. I was already within blade distance. In start, pointed his blade at me then tried to quickly raise it as he noticed I had dropped my own weapon, but before he could, the sharp edge sliced through my hair tie and the cloth on my back in a swift, straight line. I felt a sharp pain as the knife traced a shallow cut along my upper-mid spine, followed by a second pain as my gut rammed into the edge of the nest. My momentum pushed my upper body over the edge. Then by some twisted concept of physics, my legs kicked up just enough- to send me flying over the edge.
*Author's Note*
My goodness this is a packed chapter... I'm sorry if this felt rushed... Tomorrow's may or may not be better!