Chapter 24
W e stay quiet for what feels like forever though it’s been only a couple of hours. I spent every moment replaying the last four days in my head. All the signs were there, Jasper even tried to say something in the council room and Ace stopped him. I was so stupidly consumed by Ace and so focused on my fathers death that I didn’t piece anything together. ??
The ship is now swaying pretty hard. We must be heading into a storm because the entire ship begins to lean to the side, back and forth. My body is sliding with the movement and then I hear noise from up top.
There’s yelling above the deck. No, not quite yelling, but demanding . It's Ace’s voice directing his crew. Thunder is roaring and when the storm comes in, chaos breaks loose. The waves are getting stronger as they slam into the side of the ship. I’m not sure how far down into the ship we are but this is incredibly unwelcoming.
?? “This feels like a remorseless storm, We are in for one hell of a night.” Jasper stated with concern in his voice. Just then a loud crash comes from the back end of the ship. I jolt up against the side of the cell and smack my head off of the bars. My hands still tied making it hard to catch myself as I slide back down to the floor. “Shit!” I yell. I have to get my hands loose. The already dim lights start flickering. " Jasper, you okay over there?”
??“I’m fine, but Abs, but we definitely hit something.” His voice is trembling as he yells out. “There’s a leak over here!”
?? Shit! What could we have possibly hit ? My heart is pounding as fear is filling my head. I have to get us out of here. How am I going to get us out of here? Think Abby !
??“Do you see anything on your side that could be useful?”
??He’s silent for a moment then responds, “It looks like they have a sword on the ground just passed your cell.”
?? I need that sword! Just as this thought enters my mind I hear the water coming into our room. The waves slam into the ship causing us to slide back into the bars. This time I turned my body enough to miss my head but I still hit my rib cage. ??
Air sucks into my lungs as I try to catch my breath. I don’t have time to feel this pain. I look around and saw a piece of one of the bars was broken and had a sharp edge just poking out. I rush towards it, put the rope that has my hands tied up against it and rub.
The water is now starting to fill the room as it has made its way over to me. It’s only past my toes but one good wave could quicken the pace in a split second. I continue to rub the rope across the sharp end of the bar. After a couple minutes the rope breaks releasing my wrists. I didn’t realize quite how tight they were until I felt the Pulse amplified in my wrists where the rope had dug in. I rip off two long pieces of my shirt and wrap it around each wrist to keep any cuts closed off. Just as I looked up, Jasper was near my cell unlocking the door.
??“Jasper! How-” before I could finish he responds with a smirk.
“Avery.” He says almost cheerfully.
Suddenly Avery appears, handing Jasper his sword. He grips his own tightly in one hand and waves a key in the other. I exit my cell and grab the sword that was laying on the ground but just for a moment I’m stunned in place. It’s my sword, the one my father gave me when I was younger. I grip the sword tightly and prepare myself, I know I will be forced to use this sword today.
I look up at Jasper and Avery and nod. Before, holding this sword would make me sad, but right now I am in a towering rage. I grip the sword even harder as Jasper and I both look at Avery. I have fire running through my veins and couldn’t think of a more poetic way to get revenge.
We hear a sharp crack as a peal of thunder sounds its way through the ship. I snap back to the moment and glare at Avery. “What’s the plan?”
??Avery looks at me unsteadily, “There is no plan. We need to somehow get off of this ship before we either get caught or we drown.” The water is starting to fill past our ankles. We don’t have a moment to spare, we need to get off this ship.
?? “Do we know how many spare paddle boats there are on this ship?” I ask in a rushed tone.
Avery becomes immediately excited at the idea, “there’s at least four that I’ve seen. This is a massive ship and the battle boats hang on each side.” ??I look at Jasper, then back to Avery.
??“Okay, then this is our plan.” They both nod their heads in agreement. This ship is filling with water so there’s really no way around it.