Forever and Always

Chapter 10

My head was resting against the bars of my cell. Jim's shoulder was just on the other side, but my head couldn't fit through the bars to rest against it. When the metal hinges of the door to the brig squeaked loudly, I knew Alex was approaching. I decided I would keep my eyes shut and pretend to be asleep. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think I just didn't want him to think I had been waiting for him.

"Raphaelle," Jim whispered.

"Shh," I shushed him. Footsteps were reverberating against the wooden floor, steadily headed in our direction.

"Raphaelle," he tried again, shaking my shoulder.

"Shh. Pretend I'm asleep," I whispered.

I heard the footsteps stop in front of my cell. My hand was intertwined with Jim's, and I felt his tighten ever so slightly.

There was silence for a long time. I could feel someone's eyes on me, and I was sure everyone else's were on whoever stood outside my cell.

"I know you're awake," a familiar voice said.

I debated continuing my charade but decided it would get me nowhere, or into trouble more likely.

I lifted my head from the bars and opened my eyes.

They fell upon Alex.

I knew that it would be him, but I hadn't really believed he was back until he was standing there right in front of me. Now there was no denying it.

I wasn't sure what to do at first. But when I looked at his cocky smirk, I found something to say.

"You're going to pay, for everything," I spat. "And I'm going to be there when everything comes crashing down around you. That's a promise."

His smile only got wider, and I could see the amusement in his eyes. "I doubt it," he replied.

"How did you get back?" I asked.

"I was wondering if that would be the first thing that crossed your mind. You see, I'm not entirely sure myself. But my theory is that you must have accidently gotten some of your blood onto one of the stones. It must not have been a lot, but it was enough to reopen the portal, one year later," Alex explained.

"When I stumbled," I whispered, realization hitting me hard in the gut.

"What?" Jim asked, not hearing me well even though I was right next to him.

"I stumbled trying to get back to the ship. I leaned against one of the stones to keep myself from falling over. My hand was covered in blood from when I touched my bullet wound. It was mostly dry, but some of it must have smeared onto the stone," I explained.

"Yes, I figured that must've been what happened. Although, in all honestly, I didn't think you would survive that. You're stronger than I thought," Alex complimented in his own twisted way.

"If you've been back here for three years, how come you didn't make a move until now?" Jim asked, changing the subject.

"I was waiting for the right moment. I needed to rebuild my crew and stock up on weapons and resources," Alex answered, not looking at Jim.

"How did you know it wasn't me when they brought Adelaide to the ship?" I asked.

"I had some spies on your ship. They came back and informed me of the trick," he replied.

"Spies! On my ship! Who?" Captain Amelia shouted from across the hall.

"Us," a female voice said.

Two figures clad from head to toe in black materialized out of thin air on either side of Alex. Their faces were concealed by those weird ski mask things, but I could tell from the build of their bodies that one was male and the other was female.