Fear of Falling [Treasure Planet Fanfic]

Chapter Two: The Missing Found

The crew cheered in victory.

"Jim, Jim are you alright?!" Delbert rushed over to Jim and gave him a quick inspection, his eyes stopping on the boy's stomach. His shirt had a large burn hole in it, the fabric singed black, and a section of his skin was cauterized and held a gaping wound. The pain wasn't as bad as it had been a moment ago, but it was still hurt like hell, "Oh God, you're hurt!"

"I'm fine, really," Jim grunted.

"We need to get you medical attention right away! I thought I told you to be careful!"

Jim rolled his eyes. The crew quieted when Captain Amelia cleared her throat from the top of the stairs next to the wheel, "All heads accounted for, Mr. Arrow?" she asked.

"Yes, Captain," Mr. Arrow answered with a salute.

"Very good. Congratulations, gentlemen, on your conquest. Thankfully we have the sufficient supplies to repair the damage. I want all personnel who aren't on a continuous duty or injured to be cleaning up and restoring. Those injured will be taken below deck to the ship's infirmary and taken care of,"

Delbert glanced nonchalantly to his side and then did a double take when he noticed the girl kneeling on the floor, "Wait a minute, who's this?"

All eyes turned to look at her, and it became dead silent. Not even the etherium winds blew. Then the barrels of guns were pointed at her as someone mentioned she was from the pirate ship. Jim could see her visibly trembling with fright and her eyes were brimming with hopelessness.

Now that they weren't in danger, Jim could get a better look at her. She was rather pretty, even under all the grime and blood that covered her skin. Her hair was poppy red, tied into two messy braids that hung over her shoulders and topped with a lavender bandana. The eyes that showed forlornness were burnt ochre, and her cheeks were sunken in. Her clothes, a white blouse with mismatched sleeves and dark brown shorts, were torn in several places. Her body was slender enough for him to see the outlines of her bones, but there were muscles on those bones.

"Hold your fire!" Captain Amelia said. Reluctantly the men lowered their weapons as she approached the girl, surveying her with suspicion but a strange gentleness, "You're from the vessel we just destroyed?"

The girl gulped and nodded, "Y-Yes,"

"What is your name, girl?"

"Vanes-s-sa K-Kendrick,"

Jim whipped his head around to look down at her, his body tensing. No, that couldn't be. Vanessa Kendrick disappeared from Montressor four years ago. The memories of that day in class flooded back to him. This couldn't be the same girl. Although, now that he took an even closer look at her, Jim did see a resemblance of the eleven-year-old chick he barely knew.

"Vanessa Kendrick . . ." Delbert was momentarily distracted from Jim as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Vanessa Kendrick . . . you mean you're the girl that -"

Jim elbowed Delbert in the ribs, shutting him up immediately. Why he did he couldn't illuminate, even to himself. But he felt that now was not the time to replay the girl's past. And from the look on her face, she didn't think so either.

"Vanessa Kendrick, how strong is your allegiance to your former vessel?" Captain Amelia questioned.

Vanessa's fearful gaze gained a hardness to it, "T-There is no allegiance, m-m-madam,"

With a purse of her lips, the cat woman took this into consideration. She stared at Vanessa a moment longer before turning her back on her, "Take her to the brig until we decide what to do with her,"

Two men grabbed her underneath her arms, causing her to writhe and whimper. Jim watched as they dragged her below deck.

"Come on, Jim," Delbert tugged at his shoulder, "Let's get you fixed up,"

But Jim couldn't move. All he could do was stare at the place they had taken her.

.-+*+-.     .-+*+-.     .-+*+-.

The brig was cleaner than the other ships Vanessa had been on. The metal cot she sat on had a stained, flat cushion on it and there was a small toilet on the other side of the cell. Thick bars kept her in, and a faint smell of mold lingered in the air. All in all, it was a thousand percent better than where she'd been living.

Vanessa winced when she tried to lie down on her side and looked at her am. There was a tear on her flesh, obscured by both dried and fresh blood. Captain Tromis cut her when she tried to escape The Twilight Horror. Relief filled every vein in her body as the ship's demise replayed behind her closed eyelids. Tromis was dead. He and his damn crew would no longer torment her. She could live the rest of her life without fear.

No, that wasn't completely true. She would always live in fear after the horrible events that befell her. And who knows what would happen to her now. If she were lucky, they would let her stay on the boat.

The sound of boots stomping down the stairs made Vanessa tense and curl into a sitting ball. A boy appeared past the bars, the same boy that pushed Tromis off the boat and saved her. He was around her age, maybe a few months to a year older. Tall and lean, he was definitely built under those baggy clothes, although now he wasn't wearing a shirt. His torso was wrapped in white gauze underneath a leather jacket. The teenager had medium brown hair that was of short length on the upper part of his head and shaved shorter near the bottom. His skin was sun worn, he had bright blue eyes, and his left ear was pierced with a golden hoop.

He looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't put a name to the face.

They didn't speak to each other. He only stared at her. Vanessa fidgeted on her cot, pulling her bent legs tighter to her chest. Then he licked his lips and spoke to her.

"Are you really Vanessa Kendrick?"

What was he getting at? He acted like he knew her; like he was making sure it was her. Hesitantly she nodded, and heard him inhale sharply.

"Do you remember me?" he asked. When she shook her head in answer, a small smirk stretched across his lips and he chuckled lightly, "Don't expect you to. We've never talked before,"

"And w-w-who are y-you?" she asked quietly.

"James Hawkins," he answered

James Hawkins . . . Jim . . . Jim Hawkins . . .

Oh. Now she remembered him.

Jim Hawkins was a bad boy. His appearance now made sense to her; he just screamed rebel. At a young age, Jim was already showing signs that he would be a teenager with a defiant attitude. He'd been caught several times for riding his solar surfer in restricted areas, broke enough laws that he almost went to juvenile hall, and even at eleven he had the whole anti-social, bad boy thing going for him. From the rumors, he lived for danger and adventure. That was years ago. She had no idea how much trouble he'd gotten in by now. Vanessa's mother told her to stay away from people like that if she wanted a future, so she had never spoken to Jim and avoided him at all costs.

It was strange to see him now, how much she remembered of him and how much he had grown. No doubt he was still a trouble maker. What the hell was he doing on a ship, she wondered.

"Still don't remember?" he asked.

"N-No, I r-r-remember you,"