The Fallen | Risen Book II

Chapter Eighty Eight

Trapped
Ryder Slade

The bag over my head stunk of rum, vomit, urine and rotten eggs. The darkness I sat in was wavey, it was hard to stay focused with this terrible stench filling my lungs. I wasn't sure where I was now, I knew my feet rested on wood planks, so I wasn't in the forest anymore. Jeff still had me however, delaying his revenge. It's almost like he doesn't actually want me dead.

I sat here for what felt like years, I knew it was late at night in the forest. Realistically it's probably only been a few hours since I was in those woods.

I didn't hear much, they put these sound muffling headphones on me. But I did hear the occasional muffel. So I knew someone was still watching me. I had my hands tied behind my back again, same as when I was tied to the chair in the forest.

By now, Maya's attack was over, and she would be safe at the Fight Pits with our son. She was probably worrying about me by now, scared for what happened to me. Maybe Jayce, if he was truly alive and safe with the Sandlock Unit managed to reach her and tell her where I was.

Or maybe he knew how Maya would react, she would drop everything and go on a murder spree to free me.

God I love her.

But that would be putting her in danger, something that Jayce wouldn't allow. Something I wouldn't want Jayce to allow.

Suddenly I felt the ground shake under my feet, and then I felt the wood lift itself from the ground. The feeling when your on a plane, and you know it just came off from the earth, that feeling. I knew where I was.

I was on another flying Pirate ship.

After a few minutes I felt the headphones be ripped from my ears, and the bag from my head. My eyes squinted at the lanturn candle light that lit this cabin. I had a dozen pirates open mouth yellow tooth grin facing me, a few chuckled as Carter pushed me towards a set of stairs.

"Get up there" Carter ordered.

"Where am I?" I asked as he pushed me up the first step. I approached a trapdoor, blocking the top of the staircase, that was suddenly swung out and open by Jorge, who stood on the deck above.

"Shut up" Carter spoke pushing me up to the deck. We were high up, the blowing cold night breeze set me off balance and sent a shiver down my spine.

This ship only had two cannons on each side, and while seemed quite large. It looked very new, like the wood itself didn't seem very worn out.

"Hello there" A voice spoke. I turned around to see Jeff walking down from the poop deck. 

"Hey Jeff, are we getting this over with yet?" I asked quite sharply.

Jeff smiled as he walked over to me. Carter grabbed my arms to keep me from going anywhere. The Pirates from below deck started coming up to see what Jeff was going to do. 

"Soon" He spoke. "But first, I need you to admit to me that you betrayed me" Jeff spoke looking at me with intensity, trying to get in my face. "That you betrayed all of us" He finished.

I wanted to, I was a few seconds away from just shouting that I betrayed him. I thought about every wrong that I did, every person that I killed. But then I remembered that it wasn't me, it was never me who did those things. 

Then I thought about Ebow and Maya.

I realized that I couldn't die by this lunatic, I know now that this whole redemption path that I've been on is valid, but I don't deserve to die for what I did.

"I can't" I spoke. I watched as Jeff backed off from me in frustration. "It wasn't me" I answered.

He punched me hard across the face and grabbed my chin with his hand.