The Rookie Pirates (Parts 1-6)

06. The Ambush

Hues of orange and yellow surrounded the fifteen-year-old girl as she found herself trapped by a raging fire.

The pain felt excruciating when the flames licked at her delicate skin. Endless tears leaked down from her stinging eyes as she curled up into a ball, trying any means possible to escape from the never-ending inferno that surrounded her.

Her throat itched, and she coughed, gasping for fresh air. With each passing second, she found it harder to breathe as her lungs filled with ash and soot, choking her to death.

She was going to die, and she knew it. There was nothing she could do to save herself; she was trapped and would burn to death. The entire town was on fire, and no matter how many times she screamed and cried for help, no one would come.

She let loose a heart-piercing cry as the flames started to burn through her clothing.

Would the pain ever end?

The girl sobbed, curling her body tighter into the small ball, but to no avail. The flames had already won. All hope was gone.

Footsteps approached her, and the heat of the flames died down. The girl uncurled from her ball and through blurred vision, she could see the silhouette of a man standing above her, and he reached his hand down for her. She couldn't see his face or sense whether he was an enemy or not, but the sound of his voice when he said three simple words made the girl trust him instantly.

"Take my hand!"

Jessica awoke from the nightmare, a cold sweat spreading across her body. She slowly sat up from her bed, her trembling hands running through her long red hair.

She hadn't had that particular nightmare since Kirk had arrived on the island, and she had almost forgotten about the mystery man who had saved her life two years ago.

This was the reason why she had ventured out to sea; it was in the hopes of finding her saviour. She wanted to find out who he was and why he had saved her. Not only that, she wanted to thank him, whoever he was.

After she had taken the man's hand, she had blacked out, allowing the smoke of the fire to consume her consciousness. She awoke on the beaches of the neighbouring island, her burns healed, her belongings, which she'd had on her the day of the fire, had been placed neatly into a bag next to her.

Jessica tucked her knees to her chest as a form of comfort and warmth against the chill in her bedroom. She lived in the attic of a house a mile northeast from the tavern. The rent wasn't too bad, and it was all she could afford in such a wealthy town. The attic was small, dusty, and in dire need of repair, as water would leak into it whenever it rained, and a cold draft would always keep her up at night.

Jessica sighed; this was the first time this week she hadn't stayed on Kirk's ship. She remembered the morning after her drinking contest with his crew. She had awoken from a dreamless sleep, the first one in a long time, to find herself in Kirk's comfy double bed. The captain was hunched over his desk in an awkward position as he slept. She had stayed at his ship every night since in preparation for when the navy would attack.

So why had she returned to her rotten home? Her landlord had argued with her that if she didn't stay the night, he would lease it out to someone else who paid their rent on time. As a result, she wasn't surrounded by her new friends, who she knew would keep her safe at night, and the nightmare of the fire had returned.

She reached for her dresser and grabbed her golden locket, which was tinted with honey-coloured hues. Her thumb ran over the bee engraved into it, a smile forming on her lips. She hadn't worn it in a very long time; she was scared she would lose it. This locket was her prized possession.