I'd like to take a moment to thank Chirantha and Pretty Crazy and anyone else who reviewed for all their reviews and time. Thanks guys!
The last chapter:
I forced myself to focus on the scene at hand, just in time to see Kyran bring up his gun. “Your time is over, old man.” He said flatly. The shot rang through the air, and the old man collapsed at my feet, dead. And I had let it happen.
Chapter Six:
Blindly, I stumbled off the deck and into my cabin, collapsing onto my bedroll. The feelings I had been pushing back and bottling up so that they could never come to the surface began to pour out of the wound Andreas last words to me had left. No one knew I was still alive: Neither Mom nor Dad or even Liz knew. For them, I was long gone. They needed to move on. And they would.
Liz would have boyfriends, get married and have kids. Mom and Dad might have another kid, or adopt one. Maybe they would help out at schools a lot. But they would move on, I knew that. Soon, I would be nothing more than a memory that occasionally surfaced, bringing a tiny bit of sadness with it.
Bitter tears poured out even as I fought to stop them, and I prayed that JB wouldn’t come in to give me an order. Curling up into as small a ball as I could manage, I cried and cried until I finally drifted off to sleep. There were no nightmares or dreams this time, and I slept soundly, drifting in and out of darkness. A warm hand was on my shoulder, shaking me gently. “Ash. Get up. We’re going ashore. Kid, wake up.” I rolled over and rubbed my eyes, blinking blearily at James.
“Why?” I asked, forcing back the memories of last time I had gone ashore. The heat from the burning house still seemed to scorch my face whenever I thought back to that night.
James grinned at me, pulling me to my feet. “You are about to witness a sacred ritual, child. Open your eyes. The captain is waiting.” There was a warning in those last words, even under the joking tone. Quickly, I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled on my combat boots, strapping my knives on my forearms and calves before slinging on a dark baggy sweater.
James watched with approval and led the way up onto deck. It was dark now, and the stars winked in the midnight sky as the moon reflected its light onto the darkly glistening waves that lapped against a dock surrounded by endless beach. We were at an island, and so far it seemed pretty empty of human life.
James leaned towards me a little as we walked off the boat. “This is an island that can’t even be found on most maps. We’re one of the only ones who know about it, and we’re stopping here for a couple months.” I nodded silently and carefully made my way onto the dock, stumbling a tiny bit as I got used to the lack of movement under my feet.
JB was already walking off the dock and onto the sand a little way off, followed by most of the others, and I hurried to catch up. “Get a fire going!” JB’s authoritative voice rang out in the silence, and I found myself gathering dry wood and placing it in a growing pile. When the pile of wood was as high as my shoulder, JB ordered a stop.
“Kyran?” He asked. Kyran stepped forward and brought a lighter to the pile. Immediately, fire flared up, dancing around us all while some of the pirates chuckled to themselves. I found myself mesmerized by the flames, as beautiful as they were. Blue, green and magenta flames danced right along with the orange and red fire, harmonizing and blending with each other.
Vaguely, I remembered hearing in class that when you burnt salted wood, the color of the fire changed, but I had never thought that I would see it in real life, especially not in this situation. Reminded of what was going on, I snapped my head away from the fire to look at JB. He and Kyran were standing in front of each other, clasping each other’s wrists.
“Kyran, you have served me faithfully for many a year.” JB intoned.
“My captain, for all those years you fulfilled your duty as my protector and benefactor.” Kyran answered in the same deep, detached voice.
“Now comes the time of reward. Do you, Kyran, swear to fulfill your duty as first mate and eventually captain of this crew?”
“I do.” I was oddly reminded of a wedding ceremony, but I wasn’t tempted to smile at the irony. There was an air of something much bigger than just any old ceremony in the air, and everyone was frozen in anticipation.
“Do you swear to honor the laws and rights of the individuals you protect?” JB was staring deep into Kyran’s unblinking eyes.
“I do.”
“Then I grant you the great honor and responsibility of being first mate of this crew.” In a movement so sudden I barely even saw it, they let go of each others right hands, drew out their knives, and slashed each others right palms. The fire hissed as droplets of blood fell into it, coloring the fire for a moment before both men clasped their bleeding hands together and let the blood fuse.
I stood there in silent shock while they clasped hands for a good minute, and finally they released each other. “So mote it be.” They said in the same flat tone as before. I felt ancient power course through the crowd at those words, and suddenly the completely frozen crew let out an animal cry of approval. From behind us in the trees, a flock of black birds took flight, cawing and circling above us.
The sensible side of me knew this was because of the noise we were making, but the part of me that was swept up in the ancient and magical sense of the ritual fervently believed that they were honoring Kyran. For the first time, I felt like one of the crew as the same animal cry ripped out of my throat, though somehow I knew I shouldn’t be shouting. I wasn’t one of them. Only I was. I had been for over almost two months. This was just the first time I had felt like one of them.
The howling went on until all our throats were sore, and then the sense of euphoria began to fade. Together, we grabbed our bedrolls off of the yacht and set them out on the sand. Unlike normal camps, we were very organized, almost scarily so. Our bedrolls were set out in rows of military precision, with our weapons in the sand in front of us, wrapped in a sweater or shirt.
I watched from my bed roll as the others dropped into their bedrolls and fell asleep instantly. They seemed lethal even in sleep, wary and ready for action, and I felt an involuntary shudder course through me as I slowly fell back onto the sand. Oddly, I felt as though I were a part of them now. A part of these wild, lethal men.
I decided not to think too much about it. Who knew when we would next be able to sleep? I wasn’t going to waste precious time worrying. God knew there was enough time for that during the day. I closed my eyes and was asleep in an instant, just the way I had trained myself
The darkness was complete, and yet I was on my feet in a fighting stance, knives drawn. Staring around me, I realized what had woken me. JB was standing next to my bedroll, silently laughing. Sliding my knives back into their sheaths, I snapped off the hated salute. I didn’t mind respecting Kyran so much, because he was fair. JB still had my hate. “Captain.”
JB nodded. “Ash. I was just checking to make sure you were really there and not trying to escape. As soon as I lifted your blanket, you popped up like a jack in the box.” I restrained my urge to glare and settled for a nod. “Go back to sleep.” He ordered me. I settled back into my bedroll, and I was out like a light again. The last thought I had before sleep took me was: I guess the others aren’t the only ones who are lethal and ready for action even in sleep. I wonder if that’s a good thing…
The next morning greeted me with sunshine and a soft breeze. Judging from the sun, it was already almost ten, but everyone was just beginning to rise. I stared out over the island and ocean, drinking the majestic beauty of the place in. at the edge of the beach trees began to grown, and hills rose up towards the sky, dipping and rising seemingly randomly.
One of the men came over to me. “You are in training group five. Remember.” He told me. “Go over there.” Pointing, he indicated a group of maybe nine men. There were five groups in total, each with ten men. Kyran was in our group, and he took charge.
“All right. We’re training now. I know all of you are proficient fighters,” In spite of everything, I felt myself swell a little with pride as he continued. “But we won’t be getting much opposition here, and the last thing we want is for our skills to go rusty. We’ll start with one on one and then move up to two on one, three on one, etc. understood?”
We nodded, and he paired us all up. I was paired with Sam, a blond haired blue eyed giant. He grinned at me before lunging in for a kill. I dodged him and returned a punch, and we were off. Nothing was off limits, and knives flashed in the morning sun, stopping before they pierced skin but dancing dangerously close. Guns were brought to people’s heads as often as hands and feet were.
Adrenaline pumped fire through my blood as I swerved and hit and slashed and dodged, and though sweat ran in rivulets down my bare back and mixed with blood from several flesh wounds, I felt truly alive for the first time in ages. This was something I could do, some area where I had power and skill. My partner was also covered in small wounds and sweat when we finally came to a stop, panting.
Kyran drove us further. “Now two on one! Ash against Sam and Danny.” He went on pairing people up as I squared with Sam and Danny. Sam grinned at me again, his eyes full of respect now as well as anticipation, and Danny lunged first. Now my mind wasn’t allowed to wander for even a fraction of a second, and I let my instinct take over from hours of drills: blocking, kicking, punching, elbowing, grabbing, twisting, slashing, stabbing and kneeing all came just in time as we swirled around each other in a deadly dance.
Finally, Kyran called a halt. “Great work, men. Take a break before we move onto three on one.” I nodded weakly, leaning over with my hands on my knees and breathing deeply. Sam and Danny were doing the same, and we grinned at each other, not needing words to understand that we had enjoyed the fight.
Now that I had stopped moving, the adrenaline flowed out of my body and left me feeling drained, and I collapsed next to the others. The sun was high in the sky, so we all got up and went to eat. For once there was no porridge, and I almost fainted with delight at the smell of fish over the barbeque.
I ate with my group, sitting silently by the sidelines while everyone but Kyran talked. He was watching the rest of them sharply, but not in a way that would make any of them scared. More like he was looking out for them, not like he was looking to send them to the chopping block, as many felt about JB. The stories I had overheard whispered about him told me that he had once been a fair and patient captain whom everyone loved to follow.
Now, the power had gotten to his head, and though he still looked out for his crew, many whispered about how he was too quick to kill people, and that a life no longer meant much to him. Many only stayed out of fear, or they clung to the memory of the fair, just man he had been. I hoped that Kyran never ended up like JB, and somehow I didn’t think he would. JB had always been a little crazy, and the man watching over us now was very sane.
Finally, everyone was done eating and we were once again paired up, three on one. Danny was now in the middle, and Sam and I were joined by James, who nodded at us before grinning ferally at Danny, who rolled his eyes before attacking. This fighting was different, less intense for me. With the others moving around me, it was more difficult to hit Danny, and Danny concentrated on moving and occasionally hitting back.
When Kyran joined us, Danny began to fight harder, and I noticed that he got better, even though there were now more of us to fight. Everyone else worked harder as well, even me. It was some aura that Kyran radiated that made people want to show him their best. Still, Kyran was the only pirate I would ever respect. These men were good fighters, and jovial enough, but there was always that sense that they would turn on me and each other in an instant. Kyran was sworn to protect us, and he would.
We worked hard until sundown, when JB ordered everyone to stop. Instead, we fished for food and gathered fruit and any edible food we could find in the nearby vegetation. We slept in circles this night, with a fire inside it. There were only ten people per circle, because we were sleeping with our groups. Just as we were all laying down, Kyran informed us of our plans. “We’ll be staying here for a little while. The rest of this month will be training every day. Then we’ll move on to other things. Get some sleep, because tomorrow will be brutal.”
He held true to his promise. The next day was brutal, and so were the days that followed. But for me, they were necessary to my survival. Gage had trained Liz and me to fight well enough to pass our tests, but we definitely couldn’t fight to the same level that these men did, not in a real fight. That month fixed the problem. When someone fought all day and only stopped to eat and sleep and go to the bathroom, it didn’t take long to see a radical improvement. That showed in me, and even in some of the others.
By the time a month had gone by, I couldn’t remember what it felt like to be un-bruised, or have no cuts. Pale, thin scars laced themselves across my arms and hands as well as my torso, standing out against my skin, which had browned under the scorching sun. I was growing almost by the day, getting taller and filling out. When I counted, I realized I was almost eleven. Not that it really mattered: I knew that I was probably more clear headed and mature than most thirteen or fourteen year olds.
So I barely noticed when my birthday came and went in the middle of our training frenzy. I was too tired to even dream now, and during the day I managed to push all thoughts of Liz completely out of my head, along with the image of Andreas begging for his life and his wife and daughter dying. That made it easier to go on, day by day and night by night.
About three months after that first day, I stood near the water, looking at the waves. If my calculations were right, it was early February now, even though it felt like summer. Staring at the reflection of the boy in the water, I tried to consolidate this image with the last time I had looked at myself in a mirror, in the hotel the day that Liz and I were taken.
I could still see the similarities, but the differences were much more striking. This boy had lean muscles all over, and his face was sharper, more angular. My face was the only part of my body not laced with the almost invisible white scars that covered the rest of me. I tried to picture Liz in my mind and found that though I could conjure a general picture, the details were beginning to fade from my memory.
I was wondering if she had changed as much as I had and where she was now, what she was doing, when a voice cut through my reverie. “Ash!” I turned away from the sparkling blue water to face the first mate. He looked steadily at me, squinting slightly in the scorching sun. “The captain has assigned you to my team. We’re looking for a water source on the island that might make it a good rest stop.”
I nodded as he turned away from me to get the others. With one last lingering look at the beautiful water that shimmered in the sun like a thousand little diamonds had been poured into it, I followed him. The salty air played with my hair as Kyran gathered two other men and began to lead the climb. I needed to cut it soon, or it would start to look like a girls. Grimacing, I fell in behind Kyran, in front of the other men.
The hills were getting steeper now, but I managed to keep pace with them as we navigated around the lush plants, thanks to my recent growth. As we were about to walk past a small side trail made by some passing animal, I stopped.
“Move it, kid!” The man behind me gave me a sharp jab, but I ignored him, listening hard. There it was again: the sound of water in the distance. Kyran turned around, looking at us.
“What are you waiting for? We have a job to do.” He barked. I cleared my throat.
“Sir, I can hear water. Let’s follow this trail. There must be a reason for animals to walk here often enough to create a trail.” Kyran cocked his head, listening hard. Finally, he nodded curtly and changed directions, going down the trail. Here, the vegetation was thicker, but the path was clear and wide. Still, we walked in single file, with Kyran in front with all the bags.
Just as we were turning around a bend, a sound from behind made us all stop and stiffen. Something was coming through the foliage. Kyran didn’t seem that worried, and he stood without putting down his bags. “Probably just a small animal.” Said the man in back of our little line. Either he didn’t see Kyran’s sudden gesture or he chose to ignore it, because he walked towards the noise.
A huge animal exploded out of the greens, slashing at the man with one huge black paw. The bear reared on its hind legs, almost seven feet tall. I managed not to scream, scurrying backwards away from the beast that towered more than two feet above me. The man fell, gashes across his face and chest as the second man screamed.
Kyran was in front of me, desperately trying to untangle himself from all his bags as the bear lumbered forward, stepping on the man’s head. I choked back a scream as a horrible crunch resonated through the air, but the second man screamed again.
Turning away from Kyran and me, the bear lunged at the second man, who drew his knife at the last second. It was too late, and the lethal black paws knocked the man to the ground. Kyran was still struggling with a strap that was tied around him, and he was unable to do anything as the bear took a final smack at the man’s head. We heard his neck crack as the bear turned to us.
Once again, it reared on its hind legs and launched itself at Kyran. He moved out of the way, but the bear swiped his side. I saw him gasp, holding his side as he dropped to his knees for a moment. Already, blood was pouring from the three jagged cuts. Unless I did something, he was going to die. I hated Kyran for what he was even though he was the best of the pirates, but I couldn’t bear to witness another murder today. Later, I reasoned that the bear would have killed me if I hadn’t acted then.
Whatever the reason, I drew my knife and jumped at the bear, grabbing its thick coat and stabbing it in the back. Roaring, the bear shook itself, trying to get at me. I hung on with fierce determination, knowing that if I let go, I would die. Bringing my knife down, I stabbed the bear again, trying to kill it quickly and hurt it as little as possible.
Enraged, the bear smashed me against a rock with enough force to break all my bones. Screaming in agony, I dropped my hold. Clenching my fists, I surged to my feet again. There was no way I was going to die now, after everything I had gone through.
But the bear was right in front of me, angry and about to attack. Just as it lunged, a shot range through the air, and the bear jerked back, falling to the ground right at my feet.
I stared blankly at it for a moment before looking up. Kyran was kneeling on the ground in a growing puddle of blood, smiling slightly at me, his gun in hand. Gritting my teeth, I ran over to him and quickly knelt beside him, taking off my shirt and tearing it into strips. The bear had broken a few of my ribs, but now was not the time to worry about that. Kyran was bleeding out.
I pressed my shirt over his wound, elevating his feet to lessen the blood flow. “Stay awake. How do I get attention?” I demanded, hoping that he would be able to speak. Coughing, he mumbled something. Leaning in, I asked, “What?”
“Shoot into the air.” He said, this time a little louder. Making sure not to lessen the pressure on his wound, I grabbed his gun and shot twice into the air, hoping that someone was watching for a signal. Kyran mumbled something again, and I leaned in.
“What did you say?” I asked, straining to here him.
“Thanks. You saved my life just now. I owe you.” He said. I looked at him in surprise, but he was already unconscious. Right now, I needed to concentrate on keeping him alive. I pressed harder on his wounds, willing them to stop bleeding. Thankfully, Kyran was knocked out so he didn’t have to go through the pain.
My kneecaps were going numb as I leaned on the wounds, but it paid off. Slowly but surely, the blood flow stopped, and as soon as it did I took off his shirt and tore it, wrapping it tightly around his wounds.
That would have to do for now. Now I got up slowly, listening for sounds of men coming our way. There was nothing. Dropping my head into my hands, I rubbed it in exasperation. We couldn’t stay here indefinitely. Avoiding looking at the two men and the bear, I hauled Kyran up and over my shoulders, nearly buckling at his weight. He was probably two hundred pounds of pure muscle.
Steadying myself, I took a step and then another, walking slowly in the direction of the water. We were going downhill now, and I stumbled over rocks every once in a while, earning a groan or mumble from Kyran. Finally, the source of the sound was in sight. A small stream wound down the hill opposite us, hidden by the lush trees that grew on its banks. A rock jutted out into the stream, and I collapsed onto it, laying Kyran next to me and dipping my hands into the clear water.
I splashed all the blood off my hands and soaked my shirt until most of the blood came out before using it to clean off Kyran’s wounds. When I was done, I rewrapped them and knelt back. That was the best I could do right now. I sat still again, hoping that someone would come, but there was no sound and I didn’t want to waste another bullet.
Getting up silently, I scanned the hill opposite, noting that there were a lot of rocky platforms hidden by the foliage. That was just what we needed. I glanced at Kyran but decided to leave him here. I couldn’t carry him and explore the hills at the same time. I wouldn’t go far. Quickly, I waded across the stream and climbed up the hill. One of the lower platforms of rock led to a small hole in the rock, just big enough to squeeze a man through.
Slipping in, I saw that it widened out into a good sized chamber. This cave was ideal for my purposes: small entrance, bigger inside. Most dangerous animals couldn’t get in, and I would have space to stock up on food and take care of Kyran while we waited for him to get better or rescue to come.
Turning, I slipped back out of the cave entrance and moved slowly downhill, wincing at the pain from my broken ribs. Kyran was still passed out, much to my surprise. He had lost a lot of blood, sure, but he was one of the strongest men I knew. Deciding to settle that problem later, I once again lifted Kyran up, wincing at his weight and the pain in my chest.
Slowly I staggered up the hill with him on my back, finally maneuvering him into the cave entrance. I collapsed next to him, breathing hard for a moment before carefully lifting him again to bring him farther into the cave. That’s when I realized I had forgotten our packs. Groaning, I shook Kyran. He needed to be awake when I was gone, just in case.
He came awake with a shuddering breath and tried to sit up. He didn’t need my gentle push to stop him, because halfway up he winced in pain and slowly subsided back onto the floor. I stood up next to him as he looked at me curiously. “Where are we?” He demanded. I was impressed. He was in obvious pain, yet his voice was calm and collected.
“In a cave right above the water source. I need to go back and get our packs. Stay awake, just in case.” I didn’t need to say in case of what: whether it was an animal attack or rescue, he needed to be able to call out. He nodded silently, and with one last glance back at him, I made my way down the slope and waded across the stream.
On the other side, I began a cautious ascent back the way we came, and it wasn’t long before I arrived at the place where the bear had come out. It was identifiable from afar because of the slight blood trail leading towards it. I couldn’t tell whether it was blood from my back or Kyran’s blood leaking from my soaked clothes, but it helped me find the packs.
When I got there, I realized I wasn’t the only one to follow the blood. Vultures took to the air when I arrived, but they had already gotten to work on the bear and the two men. Repressing the urge to vomit everything my stomach, I grabbed the packs and left quickly. There was no way I was staying around for one extra second.
Thankful that none of the others were around, I scrambled down the hill as quickly as possible and balanced the packs on my head as I crossed the stream. When I ducked into the cave, Kyran had a gun pointed straight at my chest. When he saw me, he lowered the gun, grimacing at me.
“Did you get the packs?” He asked gruffly. While I had been gone he had somehow levered himself into a sitting position against the wall. I nodded curtly, not knowing what to say. Kyran shocked me by grinning. “Good man. Now come over here and I’ll get out the chocolate.”
Now my eyes were almost falling out of my head, and Kyran laughed at my expression for a moment before grimacing and clutching his side. “Ash, I’m not a complete monster, you know. I don’t have the energy to recuperate and keep up this emotionless façade, so I’ve given up.”
Not only was my head aching from Kyran’s mood swing, but it was having trouble wrapping itself around his earlier comment. “You…you have chocolate?” I asked incredulously, rushing over to his side. Kyran laughed again in a deep chuckle.
“Chocolate, sour candy, sweet candy, hard or soft candy, fudge, you name it, I got it. I have a big sweet tooth.” I gaped at him as he opened the biggest and heaviest bag to reveal that it was full of candy. Kyran grinned ruefully at me, throwing me two giant Kit Kat and Twix bars. “My secret stash.” He informed me through a mouthful of Hershey’s chocolate.
Tearing open the Kit Kat bar, I stared at him. “What’s in the other packs?” I was almost scared to ask. Kyran shrugged.
“Food and water rations, a compass, a flashlight, knives, a gun, ammunition, a change of clothes and bandages.” He told me.
“Oh.” I devoured the candy, which tasted unbelievably good after months of porridge. I was in pig heaven. Sighing regretfully, Kyran put the candy away and I agreed with his silent judgment: we didn’t know when rescue would come.
lol, what did you think of Kyran's more open side? Reviews are greatly appreciated!
'What's wrong with him?' when I read this. 
