Sequel to Life at the Academy. Final story of Jim and Raphaelle.
When Delbert and Amelia's children are kidnapped, Jim, Raphaelle, and their friends set out to bring them back. But things get complicated when the ransom doesn't consist of gold or w...
Time seemed to move in slow motion as my arrow glided toward Alex. His sword moved closer and closer to Jim. Everything was lined up perfectly and the arrow would hit its intended target. What I didn't anticipate was Jim dodging the sword, and moving right into the path of my arrow.
"Jim! Get down!" I screeched.
He listened without question and immediately pressed himself flat against the floor.
Just as he moved out of the way, the arrow went sailing over him and buried itself deep into Alex's shoulder.
He cried out in pain, and everyone on the boat stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. He dropped his sword and stared in horror at the arrow sticking out of his shoulder.
Jim quickly picked up the sword and pointed it at Alex, making sure he didn't move. Adelaide and Iris, who were nearby, ran over and pointed their swords at him too, cornering him.
While all the pirates were distracted by the shocking defeat of their captain, our crew and the Intergalactic Navy took the opportunity to disarm and arrest them.
Captain Amelia came up behind Alex and pulled his arms behind him, locking them in handcuffs. He grunted in pain when his shoulder was moved, but Amelia ignored him.
"Captain Alex Blackmore, you are hereby arrested on the charges of piracy, kidnapping, thievery, and a whole list of other crimes against the Intergalactic Empire, and the Universe," she said.
"Take these pirates to the brig and send the medic down to care to any major injuries," Amelia continued, handing Alex off to one of the Intergalactic Navy officers to take back to their ship.
He was escorted right by me. His vicious gaze never left mine. I returned his with a heated glare of my own. "I told you I would be there to watch you fall," I said when he was less than a foot away from me.
He tried to lunge at me, but the two Navy officers held him firm.
As the rest of the pirates were escorted off the ship, Roxanne and Jaegar were also paraded by me, hands tied behind their backs. Jaegar was pretty beat up and was bleeding in several spots on his tail. He bared his fangs and hissed at me. Roxanne still had the arrow lodged halfway through her wing, and she glared at me as she walked by.
"This isn't the last you've seen of us," she threatened, also attempting to lunge at me. But the Navy officers had a tight hold on her, so she didn't even get close to me.
I just stared at her blankly as she was herded off Alex's ship.
"Hey," Jim said, coming up behind me. "Are you okay? You're shaking."
I looked down at my hand, which was still clutching the bow, and realized he was right. I was trembling like a leaf.
"I almost killed you," I stated. That moment had scared me so much; I'd thought I was going to lose him for a second.
"That was my fault. I didn't know you were shooting," he answered.
"I've never shot someone before," I admitted. It was true. While we had practiced many times in our various weapons classes, I had never actually shot at a living, breathing person. To say I was unnerved by the experience was an understatement. And I had done it not only once, but several times within the last few minutes alone.
"You did what anyone would have done. And you didn't aim to kill. That was really noble of you," he replied, moving around so that he was in front of me.
I looked up into his face. Suddenly, everything started to spin. The bow fell out of my fingers as they went limp.
"Jim," I gasped, falling forward.
He caught me immediately and sank to the floor, letting me rest in his arms.
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"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he asked, searching my body for injuries.
I looked up into Jim's face; the spinning was already starting to slow down.
"I feel dizzy," I said.
"Is something wrong?" Captain Amelia asked, jogging up to us.
"Raphaelle practically just fainted. She says she feels dizzy. It doesn't look like she's injured. What's wrong with her?" Jim asked.
"Let me see," Amelia said.
She leaned down and looked me over, checking my forehead for a temperature, my eyes, and my pulse. I was still shaking, but I didn't feel cold. Amelia straightened up and smiled.
"She's just tired and in shock. She's been running on adrenaline since she woke up. She just needs to rest and she'll be right as rain," Amelia said, smiling at us reassuringly.
I smiled back, mostly because I was glad everything had stopped spinning.
"I'm fine, Jim. I just need to rest for a while," I said, grinning at him.
"Do you want me to carry you back to the ship?" he asked.
"No, I think I can walk," I answered.
Jim helped me stand up, and we started walking towards our ship. However, exhaustion was harder to stave off than I had anticipated. I kept stumbling and almost fell asleep walking a couple of times. It was weird; I'd been asleep for three days and yet I was so exhausted. It must have been a side effect of the poison, or maybe it was simply because my sleep had been so unrestful.
Jim picked me up and started carrying me the rest of the way. I began to protest, but he interrupted me.
"Just relax and get some sleep. When you wake up you'll feel better," he said softly.
I smiled at him and let myself relax. I was asleep before we made it back to the Glacier.
