Compass (A Pirate Story)

Chapter 5 (Nic)

Nic opened his eyes, head throbbing. He looked around frantically, not knowing where he was. Then, he remembered. He was kidnapped by pirates! He moved his head around slowly, his headache getting worse. He must have hit his head when he fell off the boat.

Nic seemed to be in a storage room, because there were bags of dried food and old fabric. He could also tell by the rocking that he was in a boat and the water around it was deep.

"Hey. You gonna acknowledge me?" Nic turned to see a man sitting on a barrel two meters (around 6 feet) away from him. The man had curly brown hair in a small ponytail and a few earrings.

"I didn't see you. What's up?" Nic asked, nonchalantly. The man raised an eyebrow.

"I'm Anthony, the captain of this ship and I want you to tell me everything you know about Victory's Fortune," he replied, leaning forward.

"Have you been watching me sleep? Don't you have other responsibilities as a captain?" Nic asked, tilting his head to the side. Anthony turned scarlet.

"No!" he avoided eye contact and continued snobbishly, "and as captain, I can do whatever I want." Nic glanced out the window to avoid the awkward silence. It seemed to be around 1 in the afternoon.

"Alright," Anthony cleared his throat, "so, what treasure is Victory's Fortune hiding? Where is it going?"

"I'm not answering you. Your trying to get the ship back to you using me as hostage, right?"

"Nope, why would you think that?" Anthony's surprised face disagreed with the statement.

"Oh, so then you ARE an idiot, I assume?" Nic asked, straight-faced and serious. Anthony's face turned scarlet again as he banged his fist onto the barrel.

"I'm asking the questions here!" he growled. Nic looked at him, amused, as he huffed angrily. Nic knew exactly what kind of person Anthony seemed to be. A self absorbed, rather dumb, shallow, and ego-inflated kinda person.

"Let's make a compromise." Nic grinned. It's a good thing he has dealt with these kinds of people before.

"Elaborate." Anthony narrowed his eyes. Nic knew he had his attention.

"Well, I'm stuck here, so at least make this interesting. Let's duel. Your choice of weapons. If I win, you give me a lifeboat and enough food and money that I can make a new life in Jamaica."

"And if I win?" Anthony asked, a glint in his eye, "which of course I will..."

"If you win, then I will tell you everything I know about Victory's Fortune and I will join your crew as a navigator. Judging on the fact that your boat is going in circles."

"How did you-" Anthony looked astounded.

"I'm smarter than you think." Nic replied, smiling proudly.

"That doesn't matter much, as your arms are as thin as an oar's pole." that wiped off Nic's grin. He knew this guy probably wasn't much of a problem. Nic had been training for years.

"Well, I accept your challenge. We need a navigator anyways. We're fighting with swords. Any type and size. The duel starts on the deck when the sun is close to setting. 5 hours to get ready."

"Mind taking off the binds so I can practice?" Nic asked, holding up his arms. Anthony hesitated.

"Sure, but I'm keeping someone down here to make sure you stay," he finally muttered.

"I keep my word. See you at sunset." Nic felt very confident in his fighting abilities. This Anthony character seemed like he never had a rough day in his life. The match would be over before he knew it. Then, Nic could finally get to Jamaica. Not only that, but he would have food and money. He might not even have to sell the compass! No, Nic wasn't going to lose...

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, please vote!