Mark of the Ranger

XXIII. Kidnapped By Pirates

          Isabel shivered. Whatever had happened at the Wizarding Guild must have ended, because she seemed fine now. We had carried her over to her bed, for she had been shaking uncontrollably. "Do you know what happened?" I asked her. She shook her head with an expression of gloom. "All I know is that the Wizarding Guild was attacked. Usually, I wouldn't go into shivers for such a common thing, but there was...something there. Something strange." She looked right into my eyes. I could see that she was greatly disturbed, so I asked if there was anything we could do about it.

          She shook her head, then took a few deep breaths. After that, she shooed us away, and we went back to our rooms. 

          The rooms were just fine. Comfortable beds, a perfect temperature, and a good view of the village. I turned to Jeff, who was sleeping in the bed next to mine--there were two in each room. "Well, hopefully we won't have horrifying nightmares and get kidnapped by pirates in the morning," I joked. I later would wish that I hadn't. Jeff and I laid on our beds and went to sleep after about a half hour of laying there.

           I can't remember the last time someone I knew has ever had a good dream, if any. Such was with that night. 

          I awoke in some sort of ravine, standing on a ledge. In the opening in front of me, I saw Elena. She was leaping from wall to wall, trying to avoid some giant beast. A geovore. I tried to call out to her, but I had become mute. I turned around so I wouldn't have to see the inevitable carnage--a geovore was almost impossible to escape--and I saw Jordan and Josie, the Woodland Rangers I had met at the ball. They were holding Ko's corpse in their hands, tears flowing from their eyes.

          Next to them, I saw Jeff trying to walk to me, but he was steadily turning to stone. "I can't see," he managed before his head became geovore food. Tears began to flow from my eyes. What was happening? Behind The Woodland Rangers, Karen and David were fighting some man in dark armor. The last thing I saw of them was the man cleaving them in half. After that, I could watch no more. Before I could huddle up and cry, however, I saw something strange.

          I, or at least a version of me, was standing in front of Jeff, also turning to stone. "I can't see," Jeff said to the other me. The other me opened his mouth to say something, but I awoke before I could hear it.

          I snapped awake with a gasp. I looked at my pocket watch, which was resting on a table next to me. It was nearly six o'clock--time to get going. I heard Jeff spasm, and I turned quickly. He was drenched in sweat, but he was otherwise fine. "I had the scariest dream I've ever had," he informed me. I nodded to show I could relate. We quickly dressed, and Jeff felt that the mood needed lightening.

          "Well, so much for not having a bad dream. Let's not get kidnapped by pirates." I snickered at that, hoping that he didn't just jinx us. I looked around the hotel room for my lances, but they didn't seem to be anywhere. "Do you know where my lances are, Jeff?" I asked my greatest friend. He shook his head. "I can't find my hammer, either." A strange occurrence, definitely. We opened that door of our hotel room, thinking that we might have dropped our weapons elsewhere. 

           However, we instead found a group of pirates, holding our teammates and charge captive. Karen, Isabel, and Ko were gagged expertly, and everyone had their hands behind their backs, most likely in manacles. I knew Karen was gagged because she could make the pirates do her bidding if she sang to them. Isabel was gagged so she couldn't cast spells, and I was certain Ko was gagged so the pirates wouldn't have to endure his insults.

          I pulled up my sleeve and swiftly traced my Mark of Strength. Jeff did the same, and we leaped to attack the pirates.

          I knocked one pirate out, and Jeff took down another. The pirates had cutlasses, though, so they sliced and cut with them, making wounds on my stomach and back. I grabbed one of their wicked blades and snapped it in half like it was a twig. I marveled at the power of the Mark of Strength as I punched another pirate. I think i knocked out his jaw, for his lower teeth went father than they should have. I looked at my knuckles. They weren't even bleeding. I spun around and went for a punch to the face of what looked like the captain, but he dodged with ease.

          I knew that the captain would be harder to beat, so I called to get Jeff's attention. He cracked his knuckles threateningly, and we went for two punches to the bearded man's solar plexus. 

          However, I predicted correctly that the captain was going to be hard to beat, for he grabbed our wrists and threw us to the side. I hit my head on the wall and, due to my insane strength, my head broke straight through the wood. My head could not sustain such a blow, Mark of Strength or not, and I nearly passed. From another crack of wood, I could tell that the same thing had happened to Jeff. We had failed, and I felt the cold metal of manacles snap around my forearms--The manacles covered the forearms to stop Rangers from tracing their marks--as I slowly lost consciousness.

           I had the same evil dream as I had had the night before. It played again in my head, every point of misery, every bit of death, every morbid tear. I couldn't help thinking that I had seen a sort of vision. But the question was,  when would this happen?