Somehow, she had managed to fall asleep. She only realized after she had been awoken by someone grabbing her arm and shaking her awake.
“…Huh…?” For a moment she had forgotten about her situation, and the cage surrounding her made her think she had falsely awoken simply into another dream.
“Hey, girl, wake up!” someone hissed at her.
It was the man across the cage from her. She wasn’t dreaming after all. Then the memories came back.
Somehow, the man had gotten out of the ropes binding him to the cage. He was the one that shook her arm.
“How’d you get out?” she whispered, all feelings of sleep forgotten.
“One of those jackass pirates didn’t tie the rope very well.”
“And you just figured this out?” She tried hard to keep her voice down, but anger towards the man welled up in her voice.
“I had some motivation. Overheard one of them talking about my wife. They have my wife somewhere here! If I let you go, you have to help me find her.”
“..What?” She couldn’t believe what he was asking. He obviously didn’t realize the extent of the situation they were in.
“Um, we’re in a pirate camp, we can’t just break out and go looking for people right now!”
“Yeah, well what about your friends, huh?” he countered. “You help me find my wife, I’ll help you find your friends.”
As she thought about it, she realized how terrible the choices were. They couldn’t sneak through the camp releasing people. It seemed huge from where they were, probably had pirates in every corner, and surely they’d be caught. Even if they found her friends and the man’s wife, they would all have to split up anyway. A group of ten people had no hope to sneak through the camp unseen or unheard.
However, if she simply agreed to help the man and not her friends, what kind of friend would she be? She loved her sister, even though the drugs had changed her. True, she hardly felt anything for her sisters friends, but she wasn’t the type to let people get mercilessly slaughtered by pirates, either. Any friend of her sisters was her friend, whether she liked it or not.
“Well…” She thought about the few options they had.
“It’s just after midnight. We only have a few hours before dawn. We have to do this now,” the man told her.
“But we have to split up.”
“What?”
“My sister and her friends…There was seven of us, including me. We can’t sneak through the camp with that many people. Either we come back later, or we split up.”
“Well if we come back later they’ll probably all be dead, or moved, and then you won’t ever find them. If you help me find my wife, I’ll find three of your friends and take them with me. Then you can find the rest, and we can try to meet up in the jungle.”
She was somehow beginning to like this man. He was smart, and level-headed, and though he almost seemed too calm most of the time, it was better than the alternative, and it gave her hope that they would indeed escape.
“How can I trust you?” she asked him. They had just met. How could she know he really would free her friends?
“There’s nothing I can do to prove it to you. You’ll just have to trust me, I suppose.”
She had no choice. She nodded to him, nervously he could tell, but she could think of no better option.
He began to untie the rope binding her wrists to the cage wall.
After a few moments, she felt it’s tight bond come loose.
She rubbed her wrists. They were red and chafed, and mildly itched, but there were bigger things to worry about at the moment.
“What’s your name?” the man asked her, moving silently toward the door. He was slightly overweight, but not necessarily to be considered fat. He had obviously been through more trauma than her as well; his hair was dirty and wiry, sticking up like he had just gotten out of the shower, and he had a gash near his temple which leaked old blood down to his neck.
“Annie Cornell,” she answered. She rubbed the back of her head. Under her brown hair she could feel a drying scab. Someone had hit her with some kind of blunt object at some point. There was a little blood in her hair as well, dried to a crispy texture that chipped in her hands.
“I’m Frank.” He gave no last name.
“…Nice to meet you…I guess.” She felt stupid saying it, like being polite in this situation was a joke (which it certainly was) but the sentence came out before she could stop it.
“Sure. Just not in this situation.”
She sighed.
After a few minutes passed in silence, Frank had managed to unwind the ropes securing the gate closed. Fortunately, the hinges were so ill-made and wobbly they made no noise as he pushed the gate open. It came to rest at a ninety-degree angle from the cage, sifting into the dirt.
Frank looked back at her. “Ready?”
She only nodded.
Frank crouched and cautiously tread over the rough ground, careful not to kick any rocks. Annie followed right behind him with the same precautions.
A shanty guard house sat just in front of them. They could hear men laughing and telling stories behind the boarded walls, no doubt drunk and hardly paying attention to the world around them. Maybe it didn’t matter whether they kicked rocks or not.
In front of the guard house, Frank stopped. Annie halted just behind him.
“Left or right?” he whispered over the sound of intoxicated laughing.
“Umm…”
The guard house was at a T in the dirt path. To the left was a narrow aisle with a wooden wall on one side and a large building structure on the other. To the right lay a similar path, though with vegetation growing heavily inside the wood wall, and two smaller structures on the right side. Beyond the structures, Annie could see some sort of clearing, which was more than she could say for the other direction. The left-bound path ended in a simple corner. No telling what would be around it.
“Right,” she told him. He nodded and shifted his body to the right, moving quickly but carefully and low to the ground, knees bent and arms slightly out, ready for any abrupt action.
The laughing from behind them unnerved Annie. There was a gap in the wall behind them, and she could see the pirates partying. If any of them decided to look out, they’d be caught immediately.
She heard shuffling in the vegetation to her left and glanced over.
Frank had moved into the cover of the ferns. A pirate’s approaching silhouette along the wall was an early warning. Annie entered the bushes next to Frank, then froze.
At that moment, not only was a pirate approaching them from the narrow path, but one had left the tiny guard house to urinate. They were surrounded.
Frank looked over at Annie, with his index finger held up to his lips in a “shhhh” motion. She nodded and stayed perfectly still.
Footsteps to her left. The pirate on the path was getting closer. The man to her right had finished his business and turned around.
“Hey, what the fuck!” he shouted. He had seen the open gate of the cage, and no one inside.
“Sound the alarm!” he roared to the pirates in the guard house. “The fucking prisoners are gone!”
The pirates had shifted in as little as a second from drunken slobs to organized killers. A few ran down the path Annie and Frank had not taken, while others ran down the path where they now hid.
In just a few seconds, they were alone.
“Shit…” Frank muttered. “They’ll be guarding the rest of the prisoners now. They now we’ll try to free them. What do we do?”
She was stunned he was asking her for advice. He was over twice her age, and expecting her to think of something?
Even so, she had no idea’s whatsoever. He was right. What could they do?
“I can’t…I can’t leave my wife…Just so they can torture her…” Frank put his face in his hands, holding back tears. He loved his wife too much to let this all happen to her.
Annie only had one thought at the moment, and she was sure it was naive, but the situation was so dire it seemed that no matter what they decided on they were bound to be killed.
“Well…Maybe they’ll be so hyped up we can sneak right past them.”
A siren rang out in the distance.
Frank looked at her, his eyes red and his face the pure definition of worry.
“It’s possible, right?” It was really false assurance. There was a tiny chance she would be right, but they were still in an even more dangerous situation than they were in previously.
“I guess…”
“Well we can’t just sit here.” Where had this sudden bravery come from? Must have been the adrenaline rushing through her system. She needed out, she couldn’t stay here and let herself be killed.
“Come on,” she continued, shuffling past him. The bushes swayed with her movements. Maybe it wasn’t safe to seek cover in the vegetation.
“I used to be a Marine.”
“What?” For a moment she was confused at the sudden info, then she understood.
“I’ll cover you. Just go.”
She peeked out of the bushes.
She could hear pirates shouting off in the distance, but none were in the direct vicinity.
“Why aren’t they searching near the cage?” she wonder aloud.
“Who cares, go!!” Frank hissed at her.
She left the cover of the bushes and flattened herself against the far wall. Frank followed, most traces of his fear gone, though she could still faintly see the glow of worry in his dark blue eyes.
They sneaked along the wall, their fear escalating as they approached the clearing. They could see pirates standing guard silently, AK-47’s clutched in their hands.
“Shhh…” Frank whispered. He moved ahead of her, back into the bushes. She followed. He waited for the movement of the plants to calm before picking up a rock near his foot.
“What are you doing…?!” she asked nervously.
“Sh!”
He threw it far across the clearing, in the opposite side of the pirates. It struck the hard ground with a thud.
“What was that?” one of the guards gasped. They left their post cautiously, one falling just behind the other, searching the area with his AK at the ready.
“Follow me, and be quiet,” Frank whispered to Annie. He ran silently out of the bushes toward where the pirates had been standing guard. Annie followed reluctantly, sure the pirates would turn around at any moment.
Before she had realized it, they had entered a small shack the pirates were standing in front of. Frank hid just behind the wall.
“What the fuck, man, nothing here. Fucking coke.” The pirates made their way back. Annie quickly hid next to Frank, hoping the pirates would not enter the room.
She could see Frank was hoping the same thing. She could almost see him sweating with worry.
Fortunately, the pirates stopped at their original position. Annie breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Frank quickly ran across the room, sticking to the shadows along the wall. Annie followed silently, almost too nervous to breath.
The door out of the shack led to another large clearing, with paths both to their left, right, and in front of them. They could hear pirates everywhere. There was no way to discern which path would keep them safe.
“What do we do…?” Annie asked, her voice cracking in fear.
“Uhh…” He had no idea how to answer. It wasn’t safe for them to be standing in the doorway, so he moved to the side, jumping down from the tiny porch into the ferns below them, followed by Annie.
“What do we do?” The fear in Annie’s voice made Frank sad. He felt the need to protect this young girl. That was his Marine side showing through.
A few pirates ran through the clearing, waving their guns angrily.
“Where the fuck they go?!” one shouted as he passed by them.
Annie was terrified. Would they get out of this alive?Or were they both just being overly hopeful? As more and more time passed, the latter seemed to be the truth. There was nothing they could do.
As if reading her mind, Frank turned to her angrily. “We have to go. Follow right behind me, don’t lag.”
He left the bushes. Annie sighed nervously and followed, just a foot behind him.
She couldn’t do this. All the fear she held inside her threatened to freeze her from the inside out.
Think of something else, her mind told her. Think of your life before all this happened.
Before she had decided to go skydiving with her sister, she was a hobbyist writer. She didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life exactly, so she wrote stories. Maybe one day someone would see her talent (if indeed she had any, she had no idea) and she could sell her writing.
As a matter of fact, the situation she was in at the moment seemed like a story idea of hers. Now she was living it. If she made it through all this alive, should she write a biography? Maybe a story based off this misadventure? Could be a good idea, unless she came out of this so traumatized she’d go crazy if she thought about it again. No way to tell at the moment.
She was running on autopilot now, following Franks hand signal’s without really thinking. She was afraid to leave her daydreams and go back to reality. She didn’t want to remember how close to death she was.
Just as that thought went through her head, she realized how selfish it was. She was supposed to be helping Frank, not letting him do all the work. Whether she was scared or not, she was obligated to help him, he had let her go in the first place.
“Over here!”
Someone had seen them.
Frank had turned a corner right into a pirate.
What happened next, Annie had to check twice that she was not seeing things.
Frank moved almost inhumanly quick, rushing to the pirate and snapping his neck in under two seconds.
She was shocked. She’d never seen someone killed right in front of her. She didn’t know what to do.
“Come on, don’t stand there!”
She snapped out of it as he waved at her.
“Come on!” he yelled at her again.
Then the wooden wall next to her exploded, shards of wood battering her bare skin and tearing at her arms like tiny fingernails. She fell to the floor with her arms over her head.
More wooden shrapnel fell over her like a cascade, the explosion ringing in her ears.
“Get down, man! Get fucking down! On the ground!” she heard a voice yell. If the situation hadn’t been so dire she would have thought the accent was almost cute, but now it was just terrifying.
“Get on the fucking ground!” The man pronounced each word carefully but quickly, pronouncing every part of the word with no slurring or shortcuts like most people do.
Annie looked up. Frank had his hands up in the air, but was not on the ground.
“Frank what are you doing?!” she shouted. She heard footsteps on the wood floor behind her, and a rough hand wrapped itself around her upper arm, pulling her off the ground.
“Who’s this?”
The man holding her smelled of all kinds of drugs. His grip was tight on her arm; there would be no escape for her. This was the end.
“This ain’t your girlfriend, is it man? Fucking disgusting. You? With a pretty girl like this? How fucking old are you?”
“No-no, of course not!” Why was he answering to this lunatic?
“I really fucking hope you are telling the truth. The pirate looked at Annie.
She was quite unnerved by his appearance. Somehow, he was attractive. Even with a mohawk, sloppy clothes, bandges and scars, there was something about him that was appealing.
She internally slapped herself. What the hell was she thinking?
Better to be killed by a cute guy, I suppose, her brain told her. That seemed to justify her thoughts. But she realized the attraction came from his eyes. They were a stunningly beautiful green; something she never expected to see on such a deadly person.
“What is your name? Please tell me,” he told her. More pirates surrounded them on each side. The green-eyed one smiled at her manically. He was obviously insane, hopped on God only knew what and wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if she made a wrong move. Or maybe any move, she wasn’t sure.
“A-Annie…”
He smiled wider and nodded his head, chuckling a little. “A pretty name for a pretty girl.”
She didn’t know whether to be disgusted or flattered. His insanity made her wonder whether he was playing with her or if he really thought she was pretty.
Then he looked around at the other pirates. “What the fuck are you all looking at?!” he demanded. He shoved Annie away and started waving his arms.
“I can fucking handle this on my own, leave us alone!”
For a moment the pirates were confused, but didn’t seem to want to mess with the man and soon dissipated back into the camp.
The green-eyed pirate focused his attention on Annie and Frank again.
“You two. What the fuck were you two thinking, hm? Are you insane? You think you can fucking escape from me?”
Annie had no idea what to say. She looked over at Frank, who still had his hands up in the air. He had no ideas either.
“Hmm…Silent, hah? Hmmm….” He tapped a pistol against his chin, looking up toward the ceiling. Abruptly, he pointed it at Franks head.
“Get out.”
“…What?”
“Get the fuck out of here!”
He didn’t know what to do. What was this crazy guy planning? He wasn’t actually letting him go, was he?
“Okay, you won’t so I’ll just put you out!” He cocked the gun with a click.
“No no no no!” Annie rushed the pirate, grabbing his hand.
“Ah ah ah,” he said ,shoving her against the wall. “Not a good idea.”
“Please let him go!”
“I already offered, he’s too fucking pussy!”
“No, I’ll go,” Frank interrupted. “Just promise you won’t hurt her.”
“Really?” He released Annie and turned toward Frank, lowering his gun but looking at him with a tilted head, malice clear on his face. “You telling me that you’ll leave in return for this girls safety? When you are in my territory? Think that over for just a single fucking moment. Still a good trade, you think?”
It was really bad, Frank realized.
“I respect you two, though. Really I do. Willing to risk so much for each other?” He nodded his head and turned away from Frank, walking slowly around the room with his eyes on the silver pistol in his hand.
“Listen here, okay? You,” he pointed to Frank with gun, “get out, no questions ask. I promise I will not hurt the girl. Not yet anyway. Just know…” He approached Frank, stopping inches from his face, gun pointed to his left temple, “if I see you in this camp again, I will not hesitate to put a fucking bullet in your brain. Not get out.”
Frank gave Annie one last look before turning on his heals and running out into the jungle beyond the camp borders.
The green-eyed pirate then looked back at Annie, who stood in frozen terror against the far wall from him.
“Terrified? Of me?” He laughed. “I am not sure what to say. I suppose I should be flattered.”
“What are you going to do?”
“The same thing I always do with my little friends in cages. Sell you back to the United States for some large amounts of moolah,” he told her, rubbing his fingers together.
He was going to ransom her off. Her terror increased to the point where she felt faint. Would the US even pay to get her back or would the pirates kill her before that? She had heard the stories go both ways; the pirates get tired of waiting and give up.
“P-please…” She couldn’t continue, no matter how hard she tried.
He cocked his head, still holding that creepy, evil smile. “Yes?”
She looked down at the floor, unable to meet his gaze.
“Listen here…Annie, was it? I’m going to promise you something.” He approached her and put a hand underneath her chin, forcing her to look up into his green eyes.
“You will get a wonderful cage all to yourself, just in front of my shack so I can keep on eye on you No more escaping. And you know what? I’ll even give you scraps of my own food. And you know, the cooks on this island, they are wonderful.”
So he was going to keep her as a pet. A tear fell down her cheek.
“Ah, tsk tsk tsk.” He released her again and stepped back. “I will not rape you or anything like that, you do not worry so much. Is not my style.”
This statement gave her more relief than she thought it would. She no longer felt terribly faint, though terror still coursed through her like malevolent adrenaline.
“Come, come,” he said, taking her arm roughly and almost dragging her along with him. They left the shanty shack where her and Frank had entered and began to walk slowly through the camp.