Pirate's Life For Me....

So Flint's Alive....Hardy Bugger

  The wood of the ship creaked as it rocked over the waves, and all 42 of us were silent and sitting shoulder to shoulder. We were all chained together, all able to hear the men shouting orders and walking across the deck above us.

  We were sailing to the mainland where each and every one of us would be tried and hung for piracy.

  Raising my head, I saw three soldiers as they came down the stairs. One had a nasty cut over his brow that would no doubt scar and blood smeared down his face.

  "There's a fight soon to be underway in Nassau." He spoke low without looking at us. "A fight that we are entitled to be a part of. A fight to answer a cowardly crime. A fight that's been stolen from us....by you fucking people." He finally turned his gaze in our direction. "So, the way I see it," He stepped closer to Jack and Anne in the front. "each one of you owes us a fight. And Mr. Milton....is here to collect." He turned back to a larger man by the stairs.

  "I am responsible for delivering all 42 of you to the law in Port Royal. Let me dispel that notion for you right away." The dirty-faced man began to walk between us, looking down at those around him as he stepped over the chains. "It won't be happening. I assume there is some token number I must actually deliver for appearance's sake. How many that is I-I honestly couldn't say. You're the captain now that Teach is dead, yes?" He stopped walking, looking right at Charles. The captain had a cold expression, not even bothering to pay the redcoat any mind until the man nudged his leg with his foot.

  Charles slowly looked up at the soldier, hate and anger burning in his eyes.

  "I am."

  "Then you choose. Which of your men is going to be the first?"

  "Fuck you." The redcoat backhanded Charles, but that only made the fire burn brighter in the captain's gaze.

  "You choose....or it starts with your partner here." The soldier's gaze drifted to me, and Charles and I exchanged glances. I gave a sharp jerk of my head, telling my captain to not say a word. I'd rather fight the giant by the stairs than have these men get fed to him.

  Charles clenched his jaw but didn't speak a word, and we turned to look right at the man standing over us.

  "Choose." He repeated, but only silence came. "Fine." He bent down, grabbing the chains around my wrist and jerking them up.

  "Carver." Charles spoke, and I quickly looked at him, but he was glaring at the man in front of me. He let my chains go, and Carver stood up and waited to be detached from the others.

  Keys and metal links clicked as the hulking man up front slid off his coat. Nothing signaled when the fight began, but Carver was the one to land the first hit, busting the bigger man's nose. The pirate seemed to hold his own at first, but it soon became clear that the giant had the upper hand- especially when another soldier held Carver and the giant was given a large hammer.

  The pirate's screams made my ears ring as blood smeared the wooden boards on the floor. However, the screaming was cut short by the hammer coming down onto Carver's face.

  "Who's next?"

~

  "Charles....no more." I spoke low, watching as the latest man was being beaten to death by the giant and his hammer. Several others already lay dead on the floor, and more soldiers had come down, cheering and jeering at the bloody show. "When he asks for a name, don't say a fuckin' word."

  "Deana-"

  "No. If we don't do something now, what's left of us when we reach Port Royal are just gonna swing. Just trust me on this. Give me a chance." The last scream stopped and the pirate's body was dragged to the side.

  "Another name, Captain?" Charles was looking at me from the corner of his eye, and I glanced at Anne as she was giving me a firm look. "Captain? Will you be choosing, or will I?"

  "Go fuck yourself." The captain's voice rumbled in reply.

  "All right, then. Her." The chains on my wrists were unlocked, and I was shoved to the front where I would have to battle for my life. The giant was watching me from where he sat on the stairs, and quiet fell as all eyes were on me now. My gaze drifted over my surroundings, seeing what was available to me now that my blades were no longer in my possession.

  There was some broken glass in the corner, but I'd have to get around the giant to reach it. Getting around him and that hammer would be difficult- he was fast for his size- so I'd need to find another way. The man stood, getting closer, and I now had a ticking time limit and honestly....it felt like I was back on the streets when I was younger, fighting to stay alive.

  The hammer swung at my head, and I jumped back to dodge, then to the side as it came at me again. I felt hands on my back, pushing me forward, and I didn't have time to stop myself before crashing face-first into the long handle of the hammer. I went down, pain spiking through my nerves as I spit blood from a busted lip.

  The giant came at me, and I had to bite back the pain to roll away. Crouching, I was poised like an animal now with my eyes locked with the larger man as hot red stained my chin and dripped to the boards below. Undoing my buckle, I pulled it from my trousers and the leather snapped like a whip.

  The atmosphere seemed to spark as I now held the belt as a weapon. The giant wasn't phased, however, thinking I was no threat even now and advanced. As soon as the man got within range, there was another whip-like snap and he was yelling from the end of the belt hitting him right in the eye.

  Running, I jumped, both feet kicking right into his gut and sending him stumbling back. As soon as he fell, I was on him, stabbing the pin in the belt into his neck over and over again. A soldier tackled me off of the giant, but I only turned on him and started stabbing him in the same manner.

  Another redcoat came at me, but I was faster this time, snatching the keys from his waist and throwing them to Anne before wrapping the belt around a man's neck and pulling it tight.

  Gunfire rang out as the pirates sprung into action, fighting back and killing the soldiers before taking their weapons. There was chaos all around, and it flooded to the top deck.

~

  As soon as my feet hit the sand, I collapsed and closed my eyes, basking in the sunlight as my muscles still ached. After taking the ship, we had made it back to Nassau where the odds had yet to be determined. We didn't know who was in control right now, so we went to the island away from the harbor.

  "Deana, as much as I know we all want to just rest, now really isn't the time to-"

  "Shhh." I waved my hand to Jack. "Just a moment."

  "Oh, well, you may want to get up to see this." He replied. I peeked open an eye, seeing the scrawny man walking away. Following him with my gaze, I watched as he went to meet....Captain Flint. 'So I guess that hardy bastard is still alive.' I thought, and my eyes drifted to the group of people standing a few yards off behind Flint.

  I paused, seeing near blinding blonde hair in the sun. Slowly rolling over, I double-checked the face of the woman standing there, still wearing a fine dress without a single stain.

  A cloud of sand entered the air from how fast I moved, kicking up more of it as I bolted across the beach.

  "Deana!"

  "Oh, for fuck's sake-" I ran right past Jack and Flint, and Eleanor's eyes widened as she saw me coming and turned tail to run the opposite way, knowing full well I would kick her ass as soon as I caught her. The woman tripped on her dress, and I was on her, already swinging a fist and catching her jaw on my knuckles.

  Eleanor was screaming, putting up her hands to try and defend herself, digging her nails into my arms which had very little effect with my sleeves down.  I was forgiving to a degree, but this woman, this rancid excuse for a human, had gone too far.  I was literally hung and nearly killed because of her, and it hadn't been nearly long enough for me to forget such a thing.

  I heard a distinct crack, and I knew her nose was broken before I was physically dragged off of the woman that was already bloody and bruising. Three men- English soldiers- struggled to pin me to the ground as I was kicking and fighting and even biting.

"Deana! Let her up! Now!"