Temporal Adventures

Chapter 10: Hatchling

Chapter 10: Hatchling

"What are we going to do?" Cassie questioned in a hushed voice.

Sean didn't answer. He continued crouching behind the boulder with his sister, one hand braced on the stone in front of him in a resemblance of a tiger about to spring toward its prey. His entire focus centered on his parents' captors. He counted their numbers, estimated their individual strengths, took an inventory of all weapons in sight, and examined the defenders on the boat in the distance.

"Sean?" Cassie hissed.

He turned his gaze silently in her direction and regarded her for a moment before putting a finger to his lips for silence. He held up two fingers so one pointed toward himself and the other directed toward Cassie. Closing his fingers together, Sean pointed them toward the sandy ground. Directing his eyes upward for a moment, he indicated the sun overhead. Sean kept his index and middle fingers together and raised them. Extending his thumb partway in a hook shape beneath his raised fingers, he made a C shape. Twisting his wrist, he reversed the positions of his fingers and thumb.

Cassie nodded her understanding of his silent instruction for the two of them to wait until nightfall. She hated waiting, even more when her parents were being held prisoner, but a direct attack had already failed. Stealth was now the more preferable method. Hunkering down behind the boulders, and under a thick covering of ferns, Cassie prepared for the long wait until evening.

***

Hours went by. The sun continued its slow and steady glide across the sky, heading for its resting place beyond the western horizon.

As time continued passing, Sean and Cassie became more and more on edge. They didn't know how long the sailors would remain anchored in the bay. If they decided to set sail before nightfall, any hope of rescuing Mike and Alison would be lost.

The anxiety of waiting had grown to a near unbearable level by sunset. Sean and Cassie were more than ready as the skies lit up in a spectacular finale of the day's end. Darkness grew as the sun retreated, and the two teenagers knew it wouldn't be much longer before they could move.

The sailors returned to their ship for the night, and the anchor remained down, indicating their intention to stay for the duration. When it was safe to come out of hiding, Cassie and Sean slowly emerged. Digging through a pile of driftwood on the beach, they selected two pieces of the proper size. They put their driftwood in the still waters of the bay and used them like surfboards, laying down flat and paddling out to the boat.

Two sailors patrolled the main deck to keep an eye on things while the remainder of the crew slept. Cassie and Sean approached unseen and silently climbed the anchor chain to board the ship. The links were cold and slippery, but Cassie and Sean managed to reach the top. They crouched in the shadows and watched the two sailors, memorizing their patrol route and looking for an opening to get past them.

When the right moment came, they snuck past the two boatmen and darted down the stairs to the next deck. The boards of the stairway creaked under their feet, despite their best efforts, but the noise blended in with the sounds of the ship itself as it rocked gently on the ocean's surface.

The store room at the bottom of the stairs was filled with the supplies gathered from the island during the course of the day, but it was also empty of any personnel who might sound an alarm. Barrels filled with fruit or water were lined up along the side walls, making the room resemble a giant egg chamber. Sean and Cassie crept between the barrels and occasional crate, using them for cover in case someone they hadn't noticed was still in the room.

They reached the other side of the space and descended a ladder to the next level. The room they entered had been turned into a makeshift prison. Iron bars blocked off the end of the room where Mike and Alison had been fettered to the wall with heavy chains.