The sound of a church bell rang through the empty streets of the small town. A boy, no older than 16, and his two friends stood at the large wooden arch at the front of town, the side closest to the thick forests. Their eyes shined with fear at the sound of the scream that resonated from the bell tower. This bell had many meanings to the small townsfolk, breakfast,church being in session, dinner, town meetings. The frantic ringing of this bell was a whole other meaning. To the boys it meant trouble, to the town it meant danger, to the future it meant running, and hiding.
Adrien moved his gaze from the bell, that had long since stopped its frantic ringing, and toward the old cobbled street that went straight through the small town. A man, strong and burly, stood at the other side. His face worn from sea and covered in a hairy black mess.He stood at the entrance to the beach, where a large wooden ship creaked with a sense of ominous feel. Adriens' gut had told him to run, Adriens' head had told him to go, but Adriens' heart fell behind.
"Adrien,Adrien honey," his mother whimpered,her voice echoing through the empty town, "Go,run! Please,Run!" She screamed, her voice cracked and hoarse. This was apparently enough to shake the boy from his stupor,his hands flying out to grab ahold of his friends upper arms. He tugged the boys back and the trio began running. For all of them they had seen something different, but for the eldest... he seemed to understand what was going on. He understood he wouldn't be able to keep up, he was 80 after all. He was already falling behind but he seemed to be accepting the fact that he would probably not make it out of this alive.
They turned a wide corner on the worn dirt path, theirs breaths fast and spastic. The eldest had slowed down and had leaned back against a broad trunk, his hand clenched in his shirt above his heart. The other boy, a few weeks close to the same age as Adrien, had glanced back feeling the absence of their friend.
"Vas! Vas what are you doing! Come on!" He yelled, his young pubescent voice cracking .
"Go," Vas muttered wheezing air into his lungs,"Go I'll be fine, I'll stall 'em for a while"
The boy had stopped, Adrien by his side, both glancing at each other then to Vas who had started walking over to a tree that had hid away the boys' hideaway. He pulled the rope ladder down from it's hidden perch and was currently making his way up into the full leafs, disappearing from sight. From above the boys saw Vas moving around inside the treehouse, his face appearing in the window.
"What are you boys waitin' for? I'll meetcha at the bunker!" He called watching as the boys nodded and turned to run away, dust left in their quake. Vas sighed and his breath finally caught up with him. He turned toward the wall right of the window to see the crossbow he had hung there long ago. It hung from its large wooden arch, the arrows in their quiver hanging delicately beside it. He grasped it in his hands delicately, he had vowed to never raise it against another man again, but times have changed, so he should too. He flung the quiver over his shoulder and started walking toward the small balcony that branched to other trees surrounding the small treehouse. He laid down on his stomach and aimed the crossbow between two balusters. He sat quietly as he waited and wondered why of all times would that wretched man show up now.
Half a mile away the boys slowed down to a walk, both trying to suck in air that seemed to want nothing to do with them. Several yards ahead of them an old stone staircase ascended up the side of a rather large mountain, its peek too far away for them to see from where they stood. They walked hurriedly to the stairs and started to climb the steeper growing mountainside. The stairs where worn and crumbly beneath their thin leather shoes and the higher the boys got the worse the stairs became. They climbed for what seemed like ages before they heard the familiar roar of the large waterfall that was their entrance to the bunker. With hurried steps the boys reached the top, or close to it. The peek loomed over them and if it weren't for the situation at hand it would have been very appealing to the eyes due to the almost hidden sun.The land they walked on was relatively flat and covered in overgrown weeds and grass and the waterfall fell into the small river that, due to its speed, slowed intruders from getting away with out some form of work required. Fortunately for the small boys a wooden plank was left laying across part of the river and with little hesitation the boys ran toward the plank and crossed it.
"Should we move it?" Ern asked glancing over to the way they had just come. Adrien nodded and the boys pulled it across the river with great trouble and hid it away in the trees nearby. When they finished they ran toward the vine covered entrance beside the waterfall and slid inside. They then proceeded to walk down the narrow corridors, having memorized their way through the large maze of hallways, and finally reached the main part of the bunker. It was a large circle shaped room that held several barrels and crates full of food and necessities pushed against the walls all the way around, and tables that littered the center of the room. To the left and right we're two hallways that branched off to other rooms and those rooms to another longer room, giving the bunker a circular shape.
"Hello" Adrien called out, cupping his hands around his mouth to try again.The thing about the bunker is they had hoped someone would have been there, anyone, but they were sadly greeted with silence. The room was dark and musty, and if it weren't for the fact that they had been here only a few weeks prior, it would have proven to be something out of a scary book, or a spooky tale they heard on Halloween. The boys slowly walked toward one of the tables and pulled out chairs. They sat down beside each other and laid their heads on the table,arms folded to cushion their heads. Eyes peering over to the other.
"What do you thinks gonna happen?" Ern whispered. Adrien hesitated, his eyes searching through the dark to Erns'.
"Don't know..." he finally answered, his words holding more meaning than he knew. Ern solemnly nodded and sniffed, the thick,dusty air clogging his nose. They sat quietly for several minutes the only sound between them was the very muffled sound of the waterfall.
"Who was that?" Adrien whispered, pausing to try and figure it out himself, "The one who had mom" Both boys stayed silent for a few moments, recalling the events.
"He had one of those pirate hats on, the ones with the feathers,so he must have been a pirate" Ern decided, his crazy long brown hair moving around his head as he nodded. Adrien seemed to agree as he recalled what he had seen towering over the man.
"Did you see the ship, it was huge!" Adrien exclaimed raising his head from the table to gesture widely with his hands. Ern raised his brow questionably.
"You saw a ship?" He asked, the words peeking his interest.
"How could you not!" Adrien asked, sounding almost offended, "It had the largest masts I think I've ever seen! No it was the biggest mast I've ever seen! And the figurehead on that thing was absolutely beautiful!"
"Man now I wish I had seen it,"Ern sighed dreamily, "I was too busy watching as Mrs.Cernabelles house fell to the ground..." Ern trailed off. His gaze fell to the table where an ant seemed determined to cross the entire table.
"Was that the only house that you saw being torn down?" Adrien asked carefully.
"No... that entire block of houses was nothing but a field of ash" Ern replied quietly, quickly rolling his head to dig it deeper into the comfort of his arms before slowly moving his head to the side with a sly smirk across his face, "Did you see the guys beard!?! That thing was like an over grown sheeps' wool!" Ern said, trying to break the boys of their sad stupor they had somehow fallen into.
Adrien nodded in agreement before they both fell silent again. Tension building around them in the stuffy room.
"But why did he have to show up? Why did he have to come now?" Adrien asked his voice cracking and stumbling over the words.
Ern shook his head helplessly and shrugged his shoulders awkwardly from where his head was on the table. Adrien opened his mouth to ask another pointless question, that probably would never get answered right then and there, when they heard a voice echoing through the tunnels.
"God dammit" The voice muttered underneath their breath in a low grumble, hurried footsteps following the words. At this point Ern had shot up from where he lay on the table and both boys where silently trying to scramble away from the center of the room. They glanced at each other as they ducked behind a few scattered crates at opposite sides of the room.
The footsteps had grown louder as they finally came to a steadying halt at the center of the bunkers' main room. Adrien peeked around the crate until he caught sight of a man, no scratch that he looked like he was in his teen years, probably 15, maybe 16. He wore a brown leather coat that seemed too big for him and his chest was broad but it looked like he hadn't grown into his own body, arms long and flimsy looking but they still seemed to hold muscle. A sword was strapped onto his leather belt and his hair was dirty blonde. The boy groaned, frustrated about something, and turned in every direction before heading off to the left where he disappeared into the side room. Ern had peeked around his crate that sat next to the room that the boy had just disappeared into, leaning just barely enough to see Adrien. He nodded his head toward the hallways that would lead them back outside and Adrien nodded in reply slowly starting to stand when he saw Ern suddenly duck back behind his crate. Adrien hesitated before doing the same. The boy came barreling around the corner beside Adriens' hiding spot just as Adrien stilled.
"Dammit I missed them" He hissed quietly, his eyes scanning the room. He walked to the middle again before jogging into the room to the left, the side he had gone through first. The minute he disappeared both Ern and Adrien quietly and quickly as possible ran for the hallways. Both boys' hearts pumping wildly. They ran through the hallways in record time and leapt through the vine covered entrance back out into the... dark sky.
"What? But it was sunny just a few minutes ago!" Adrien exclaimed breathlessly. Ern shook his head and turned to the left where the trail continued up the mountain.
"Come on" he said grabbing his friends forearm and off the boys fled. They ran up the worn dirt path and climbed more of the old stone stairs until there was no longer a noticeable path to take, then started to scale the steep side of the rocky mountain before they reached the very peek. It was flat up here as well, but there was no trees or bushes to hide them from preying eyes. At the center was a fireplace surrounded by big tree trunks and if they looked out, they wouldn't be able to see anything but ocean.
Ern ran ahead and sat himself down near the edge, the furthest point from where they came and Adrien trailed behind following suit.
"That was a close one" Ern whispered, his voice shaking from the near thought of the huge drop behind them.
"Yeah" Adrien replied, his arms wrapping themselves around himself. Above them the clouds rumbled and a light drizzle started to form. It fell but the boys didn't notice, or at least didn't care enough to say anything.
"Do you think Vas is okay?" Ern asked his voice drifting quietly.
"Yeah, he's..." Adrien started, his eyes searching around him to help him find the words, "he'll be fine, he used to be a pirate himself remember?" Ern nodded and turned away from Adrien to look at the fireplace. They sat there silently, trying not to draw attention to themselves, both however seemed too frazzled to carry on another conversation anyway. Lightning flashed across the sky as the rain started to pour down harder. Ern groaned in annoyance and used his hands to shield his eyes as he tucked his knees to his chest. Adrien leaned forward and placed his elbows down on his criss-crossed legs, his eyes downcast to the wet ground below him. They sat there in the rain not moving, too afraid to go anywhere at this point. Their minds filled with crazy explanations and scary scenarios that had both boys trembling. The weight of a coat being placed on top of his head however was enough to have Adrien scrambling to get up and try to run, if it weren't for the arms that encompassed his body.
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down kid were not going to hurt ya'"
Adrien thrashed his legs and clawed at the arms wrapped tightly around his middle before looking up at Ern who was running around the fireplace with the boy he had seen in the bunker chasing him. Ern looked over at him
"Adrien! It's the boy from the bunker!" He screeched.
"I know it is!" Adrien replied, his voice cracking horribly. His struggle to escape became more intense as he managed to slip down underneath the mans' hold due to the rain and started running toward Ern. They collided and fell to the floor rolling several feet until they stopped close to the edge that was right above the waterfall. They looked down over the edge to the small lake below before turning toward the men that had just tried to take them. Both Ern and Adrien seemed to pause as they looked at the boy that had been in the bunker,just instead of the one boy there was two boys,that looked... exactly alike.
"What!?!" Ern squawked haphazardly.The boys looked at each other before turning their gazes back to the boys.
"Okay look, we're not here to take you okay? We know Vas and we came here to get you out of here, like now" One of the boys said, his double nodding along to his words.
"Prove it" Adrien said, his hand slipping on the wet grass. The boys groaned before the one, whose coat still laid on the floor, raised his shirt to show the tattoo that lined his side. It was the same one Vas had.
"That doesn't mean anything!" Ern yelled over the rain," Vas said all the pirates in his crew had that!"
Adrien suddenly turned to Ern, "Yeah but remember what he said! The riddle!"
Ern nodded before turning back to the boys.
"Why don't pirates ever sleep!" He called, his voice seeming to be loud enough to hear. The boys suddenly burst out laughing before the one who wasn't wearing a jacket called back with his hands around his mouth, " because they have to be on gaurrrrrrrd"
Ern turned to Adrien, "do you trust them?"
Adrien nodded before standing up and helping Ern stand. They turned toward the twins and walked up to them.
"Okay, we believe you now" Adrien said nodding his head firmly,"I'm Adrien"he paused to gesture to himself, "and this is Ern" Ern waved in greeting.
The twins nodded at each other and smiled.
"Tony!" The one with a jacket said,"Tank" the other one continued. The grumble of thunder brought the boys to reality and Tank turned around to pick up his jacket from the ground. He draped it over Adriens head and the two eldest of the four started leading the younger ones back down to the bunker. They slid into the dry space and maneuvered through the halls until they found their way back inside.
"Those hallways are like, a maze" Tony said as they turned the last corner into the main room.
Ern and Adrien snorted with giggles.
"That's the point" Adrien replied. Tank rolled his eyes as his brother let out an exasperated "Ohhh", he knew his brother simply was trying to cheer the boys up.
They walked through the main room and through the sleeping quarters of the bunker until they reached the back room. On the far left was an old rickety door that was wide open to the elements outside. From what either native boy could remember, they never knew there was a back door to this place. The twins led them out said door and along a trail where the cliff side arched over the trail to create a sort of long cave system, except the water from the ocean still could be seen along the edges of the path.Stalagmites hung from the roof like crystals would in caves and the only source of light was from the the light that reflected off the ocean floor and into the cave, giving it an eerie glow. They walked briskly and inaudibly until they reached another door. Tank, who was leading the group, creaked it open with great force and held it open while Tony took the lead and the younger boys followed behind him. Tank pulled the door closed and the group was met with rain, trees, and not walking.
"Where are we going!" Ern yelled over the rain.
"The west side of the island" Tony replied, glancing behind him
H
Rain pounded down on the island as swords clashed and thunder boomed around them. Adrian and his friends were surrounded in the bloody battle called war. Lightning flashed as Adrian slipped on the muddy path, mud clinging to his leather boots seemingly wanting to slow him down.
"You can't run forever!" Screamed the man Adrien had now considered a little more of a challenge than he had expected.The man hobbled after the boy with his one wooden leg.
"You can't be stupid forever either" replied Adrian over the rain. He lifted his sword, ready for the fight with this man who only sniggered at the boy who stood at the edge of the 100 foot drop.
"Insignificant Fool! You dare challenge the Greatest Pirate of the Sea!"
Black Beard then lifted his sword ready to par with the white haired boy.
"That's what it looks like right? What are you blind?" The man grumbled in reply, irritation and anger evident in his eyes and features.
Adrian took a step forward and the thunder grumbled above them.
Black Beard growled and ran toward the boy full force.Adrian side stepped and the Greatest Pirate of the Sea...
went tumbling the 100 feet and under the frothy water.
"Huh...That was easy"
Adrian then turned and walked back down the hill.
