Pirate Chronicles

After the shot was fired, Jacob quickly pushed me down to duck on the deck floor and took the pistol in my hand. He was about to fire back but there was another shot and this time he got hit by his left arm so he stayed down with me. That was when I realized that we were getting fired at.

"Beckforth Naval ship to the right!" Elgo warned us too late.

I know I was partially to blame because all of their attention was on me. I was demanding to be explained to after all. I groaned after realizing my mistake and what my tantrums cost us. Maybe Jacob was right. I should've just let it go and moved on.

Jacob groaned. I turned to him and saw him grimaced because of the pain. More blood gushed out from his wound. I immediately ripped the hem of my breeches and used the cloth to stop the bleeding. It got soaked up with blood immediately. I looked at him worriedly. My compression was not working, he was still bleeding nonstop.

"GONDRO!!!" I called out in the midst of the gunfire.

Gondro was beside me right away and checked on Jacob's injury. "We have to take the Captain out of the firing range," he told me.

Lowen quickly saw our dilemma and covered for us while Gondro and I carried Jacob to his room. Gondro quickly took out some of his medicinal concoctions and medical tools out of his jacket after we made Jacob lay on his bed. I turned to go back to help the rest of the crew but Jacob grabbed my wrist.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

I turned back to him, "What do you think? I'm going to help fight back," I sassed.

Jacob scoffed, "I don't think so. You stay here."

I shrugged his hold off my wrist. "I always help out when we are in a chase," I reasoned.

Jacob raised his voice. "Well, not today!" he ordered me.

"Captain, you have to hold still. I need to take the bullet out," Gondro said. I headed to the door.

"DARLING, YOU STAY HERE!" Jacob screamed after me. But, I refused to listen. I still went out.

The exchange of fires was more violent than usual. Good thing the naval ship had not deployed cannons yet, which was a bit surprising to me.

"Be careful Miss Darling. They have a good sniper," Lowen told me as he took cover. "Elgo, do you see where the sniper is?" he called out.

"Forecastle deck to the right!" Elgo responded.

Lowen quickly stood up from his position and aimed. I glanced at his target. It was a perfect hit. After that, we heard and felt the first explosion. Labyrinth rocked wildly but thankfully it did not hit us. I groaned and started firing back.

Puma who was at the wheel gave us a warning next, "Stacks up ahead!"

I looked at what he was saying and saw the scattered columns of rocks ahead of us. Then, an idea came to my mind. I ran to Thaddaeus.

"Can we do a 180 degree turn?" I asked.

"Bootleg turn!" Paco exclaimed as he understood right away what I wanted to happen.

I nodded even if that was the first time I heard of the name. "We let them chase us to the stacks then we make the turn," I explained.

Sandlot grinned in agreement after he pictured the plan in his head, "You heard the lady, mates. Prepare for a rocky ride!" He turned to Thaddaeus. "Labyrinth can take the hit, correct?"

Thaddaeus nodded, "She can and I'm here to make repairs so that would not be a problem."

"Head there, Puma!" Paco pointed at the direction we should head. There was a very huge gap of rock columns and Labyrinth will perfectly fit in between. We had to time the turn perfectly though because there were more stacks ahead of that.

Lowen led the gunners to fire back at the naval ship both with guns and cannons. The musicians were up the ratlines waiting for Thaddaeus' signal for the bootleg turn. Paco quickly made a knot to the rope. He, Neville, and I were prepared to toss it to the rocks to guide the ship for the turn. The weight and pull of that will cause Labyrinth to make a sharp turn.

If we are successful and our timing perfect, we could make a quick escape and lead the naval ship to the stacks. The stacks will bring damage to their ship. They will either get shipwrecked or stranded!

We were all looking at each other, being alert with each other's signal. Paco was looking closely at the distance calculating in his head. He took the lead in Jacob's absence.

We tossed the rope and pulled until it roped around the piece of column of our choice. Puma brim reached to the left. Thaddaeus and the musicians maneuvered the sails to catch the wind that would guide the ship. It was working! It was working! Labyrinth was doing the 180 degree turn. My plan worked!

After we made the turn, I quickly looked at the ship that was chasing after us. I saw the shock in the captain and the sailors' faces as they saw where they were headed to. But, it was too late for them. I grinned. Call me evil at the moment, but our enemies' demise brought joy to my soul.

Fate judged my sinful thoughts quicker than I had expected because I forgot to let go of the part of the rope I was holding and it tugged. I let out a quick scream as I began falling off the ship. I tried to grab something to hold on to but there was none. I closed my eyes but then someone quickly grabbed my arm.

I looked up. It was Jacob. I hold on to his arm tighter so I won't fall. He winced. I saw his blood stained his shirt once more. His wound reopened because of the pressure but he did not let me go. As a matter of fact, I felt his grip tightened more.

"Captain, I told you not to move!" Gondro scolded him as Paco and Neville helped pull me back onboard. Jacob slumped at the deck floor after.

"Why are your concoctions not working as fast as they should?" he asked as Gondro poured another dose on his wound. I saw him make a pained expression.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly.

He narrowed his eyes at me, "I told you to stay. You defied my order."

"Her idea is what brought us out of the mess," Thaddaeus responded in my defense. The other pirates did so too.

He looked at me with eyes seething, "I DON'T CARE. Apology not accepted. It's terrible to be on the receiving end of unforgiveness, isn't it, Darling?" he said meaningfully. He stood up after and walked to his room.

I followed him with my gaze, my mouth gaping, "How childish could he get?" I muttered.

Neville gave me a pat on my shoulder and dispersed with the other pirates as I continued to shake my head in disbelief. He just gave me a dose of my own medicine.