The Ring

Chapter 22

     Jaz, Aanadi, Zee and I sat quietly behind the larger rocks on the beach, while the rest of Jaz's crew hid in the woods, all of us covered in war paint, helping us blend in. Jaz and Aanadi were behind the boulder to my left, and Zee and I were behind another one. Zee said that he's noticed a few pirates come to this part of the island every other day and fish while he was patrolling the area. He told us there was one pirate who was always drunk beyond reason and was dropped off on the beach while the other two fished, where he passed out every time.

     I felt Zee shift and I glanced up. He lightly tugged his ear three times, the signal that only the three expected pirates showed up. I fingered the hilt of my sword on my side, just for the comfort of knowing it was there. The pirates voiced rang out.

    "Get on with ya! Go on! Cap'n wants us back before sundown!" I peeked over Zee's shoulder. Two buff pirates were throwing off a thinner, older pirate off their little row boat and onto the beach. The one shouting had long, curly black hair, about a million tattoos, and looked about thirty. The other one was just as buff, with short, choppy blonde hair, and a ton of piercings, and about the same age.

     "Why Cap'n keeps sticking him with us is beyond me. The dog is USELESS!" Blondie remarks as they pushed the boat back out to the water. The third pirate was already passed out, laying on his back in the middle of the beach. Zee nods once and we spring into action. The boys cover us while Aanadi and I sneak up behind the pirate. Aanadi poked his shoulder with a stick, and he didn't even breathe off beat. He was out. Cold. Which was just what we needed. Zee lay down in the pirates spot, just in case his buddies looked back to check on him, not that they were close enough to tell if it was him or not, while Jaz, Aanadi and I pulled him into the woods. Jaz's minions removed his clothes and weapons, wrapped him in an animal skin, then tied him to a tree.

     I just about gagged when Jaz tossed me the clothes. When people say pirates have terrible hygiene, they weren't exaggerating. The stench was terrible.  Like, make a flower wilt kind of terrible. I shivered and looked at Jaz, as if to say "You're kidding, right?" But he shot me a glance back with a half smirk as if saying "Hey, your plan, not mine."

     I groaned and Aanadi ushered me into the bushes. She tried as hard as she could to rub a bunch of crushed flowers on them, but it was no use. I held my breath and stuck the clothes on over my own. It was even worse when they were on, and I felt about ready to pass out.

     We walked out again and even the guys cringed away from me for a second. Ok, you KNOW something reeks when GUYS back away. I groaned aloud again and turned to walk back to the beach. Before we came out from the trees, Jaz helped me strap in the pirate's weapons: six daggers, a pair of iron hand cuffs, and a huge samurai-like sword that weighed about fifteen pounds more than my own, then helped me hide my own dagger and sword UNDER my clothes. Aanadi quickly caked my face in dirt and I was ready. I was struggling against the weight when we reached Zee, who was very relaxed, legs crossed, his hands behind his head, and the dude was whistling. Whistling. "Boys." I muttered under my breath. Aanadi heard me and we shared smirks. She clearly knew what I meant.

     "Alright Addie, you ready for this?" Zee asked me, still laying down. We all looked at the other pirates, but thankfully their backs were currently facing us.

     "Hell yeah." I smiled, and so did everyone else. I quickly glanced at the other pirates again, making sure they weren't looking, and hugged everyone.  Aanadi was first, pulling me in a tight hug and telling me that she'll have everything ready for me when I get to the camp. I thanked her and pulled away, moving to Jaz next. He crushed me into a bear hug, careful to avoid my shoulder, and whispered in my ear, "Don't get killed, Aashi, ok?" He said if with a laugh, but I could tell he was worried, we all were.