Captain Jansen and the Phoenix

Chapter 8

When Floor came to, she was still in her cell. Her nose hurt, and her face was covered with something warm and sticky. She touched her upper lip, and her fingers came away bloody.

How hard did she hit me? she wondered, slowly sitting up. Both Ruud and Tarja were gone. She was completely alone. She tried the door, just to make sure, and found that there was something wedged between the door and the barred wall of the cell. Curious, she pulled it out. It was the smallest knife Floor had ever seen, no longer than her little finger. She slid her hand through one of the gaps between the bars and poked the knife into the keyhole, wiggling it around. There was a click, and the door creaked open. Floor quickly grabbed a hold of it to keep it from making noise, then sneaked out of the cell and up the stairs to the hall. She peeked around the corner, saw no one, and made a dash for the ladder leading to the hatch. Quickly climbing it, she paused at the top for a moment, listening. She heard voices, mostly men's, then Tarja's. She was laughing, and, it sounded like, flirting with them. Floor heard footsteps coming along the passage, and panicked. There was nowhere to hide. In desperation, she threw the hatch open and climbed out. The startled pirates ran after her, trying to stop her, but she climbed over the railing and threw herself into the sea. As she sank beneath the waves, she thought she saw another ship a few yards away, just past a huge rock spire that stuck out of the water, but it was dark and she assumed her eyes were playing tricks on her. She let herself sink, succumbing to the ocean's cold embrace.

Sharon stood on the deck of the Night Temptation,watching the pirate ship. She was still not fully healed, but Troy said she could get up, as long as she didn't do anything that would reopen her wounds. The moon came out from behind a cloud, casting a bright silver light over everything. She mentally cursed. They had been using the cover of darkness to shield themselves from the pirates. Then something on the other ship caught her eye. Was it her imagination, or had someone just leaped over the ship's railing into the sea? She watched the water for a moment, looking for anything that looked like a person. There was nothing.

Must have been my imagination,she thought, turning her gaze back toward the pirate ship. There was a commotion over there, the pirates all crowding toward the railing as if looking down at the water. Sharon looked down again, and this time, she did see something. A person was floating in the water, a dark blur in the rippling waves. Sharon stared, wanting to see who it was, and then, all of a sudden, the moonlight fell across the person's face.

"Floor!" Sharon screamed. She climbed up onto the railing of the ship, forgetting her injuries, and dove into the water. She plunged beneath the surface and quickly swam back up, reaching Floor only seconds later. She grabbed the other woman around the waist, struggling to keep them both afloat. Floor wasn't moving, and Sharon couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. Her face was covered in blood, too. Someone on the Night Temptation flung a rope down. It landed a couple of yards away, but Sharon swam over and grabbed it, pulling Floor with her. She wrapped both arms around Floor's waist, holding onto the rope with both hands as she was pulled on deck. The two women collapsed in a heap, and Sharon suddenly realized that she felt very tired. But Floor lay still, her eyes closed. Sharon sat up and leaned over her. "Floor? Floor, wake up!" she cried. Floor's chest wasn't moving, and Sharon feared the worst. She put her mouth up against Floor's and blew hard, trying to get air into the other woman's lungs. She blew again and again, refusing to give up. Suddenly, she heard Floor gasp and cough. Sharon sat up, looking at her anxiously. They stared at each other for a minute.

"Did you just kiss me in front of the whole crew?" Floor asked. Sharon was so relieved, she could have cried. She tackled Floor in a hug, right there on the deck, in front of everyone.

"Oh, Floor, oh, Floor!" she cried, unable to say anything else.

"Captain den Adel," Floor began, looking very serious, but there was a hint of amusement in her voice. "That was quite possibly the stupidest thing you've ever done." Troy cleared his throat.