The Boy Who Could Fly

chapter twelve

Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. It was all Aimee could do to keep up as she was practically dragged through the forest. She couldn't see much around her; Katherine had the lantern at the front of the group. So all Aimee could do was hope that someone would rescue her before she reached the pirate ship. Who knew what kind of atrocities took place there? She knew that she certainly did not want to find out.

The longer they walked, the less hope Aimee had of being found. She had just disappeared into the night. She hadn't told Jack, Spot, or anyone else where she had been going. Hopefully they would notice before it was too late. And hopefully they would be able to deduce what had happened to her.

Finally, after what seemed like hours upon hours, Aimee heard the sound of the ocean. That meant they were close to the pirate ship. The sinking feeling in her stomach only grew stronger as they passed a break in the trees. There it was.

A large pirate ship. Like the ships in the books Aimee had read at home. It was made of beautiful wood, but she could hear shouts and noises coming from the ship itself that were anything but beautiful. As Katherine led the group aboard the ship, Aimee tried to read the name painted on the side. It was difficult to make out in the dark.

As she stepped on board, Katherine turned around and looked at Aimee with a grin. "Welcome to The World," she announced, spreading her arms wide and gesturing to the ship. On board were many gnarly, nasty looking men. They were exactly what Aimee would expect from pirates. They jeered at her as she walked past, making snide comments and inappropriate remarks.

Katherine strode up to a tall, burly man who exuded a foul stench. "Where is my father?" She barked. Aimee wouldn't expect a man of his size to follow the orders of a woman like Katherine, but he responded with an air of respect and fear.

"In the map room, miss. Waitin' for you," the man said, barely even glancing at Aimee.

Katherine nodded, flicked a strand of red hair over her shoulder, and walked across the ship. One of the men holding Aimee left when someone called his name. Aimee thought this would have been an ideal time to escape, but the other man had such a tight grip on her that she couldn't go anywhere without getting seriously hurt. The pirate practically carried her as he followed behind Katherine like a dog. They reached a door and stopped.

Katherine rapped her knuckles on the door. "Father?" She called, "I've got someone I think you'd want to meet." She stuck her head inside the door and had a short conversation, which Aimee couldn't hear much of, due to the muffled voices and the noise of the crew. After a few quick moments, Katherine turned back to Aimee and the man, shutting the door. "Take her to the brig," she ordered.

"The brig?" Aimee questioned, even though she knew exactly what that was. She had read enough books about pirates.

"Yes, the brig," Katherine repeated slowly, as if Aimee were a child. "A place on a ship like a prison. It's a place to keep you until we decide what we want to do with you." She turned her attention to the man holding Aimee. "Go. Lock her up. We'll deal with her later." She gave Aimee one last small, taunting smile before waving the man away and stepping into her father's office.

The man roughly took Aimee back across the ship, through another door, and down a narrow set of stairs. They passed several floors before stopping at the bottom. Aimee was shoved into a cell that smelled like stale air and sickness. She couldn't see them, but she could hear rats scuttling across the floor in the cells next to hers.

As the man turned to leave, Aimee called after him. "Wait! How long will I be down here?" She asked, trying not to show how afraid she was. It must not have worked because the man only smirked and left her all alone with her thoughts. And so she sat there on the small wooden plank that served as her bed, and she thought.

Why in the world did she ever leave camp? Why couldn't she just stop being so curious like everyone else. She hoped her siblings were being taken care of, and she hoped someone had noticed her absence. If not, she had no idea how long she would be stuck in the brig. Aimee didn't think she could last for long. By no means had she had a cushy life, but she didn't think she could survive long in a musty cell with vermin all around her. The rats would get to her before she ever got out.

Aimee turned her thoughts to Katherine. In every drawing Jack had done, Katherine was either smiling or relaxed. The Katherine in the drawings was not the same Katherine that Aimee met. How could Jack like this girl so much? She was rude, arrogant, and snarky. Had something happened between the time Jack knew Katherine and the time she turned into such a pirate? Aimee couldn't help but let her imagination run away with it for a moment, but she was brought back to reality by the sight of a large rat scurrying towards her. With a shriek, she kicked it out of her cell, feeling sick.

As much as she had longed for adventure, no amount of fantasy books could have prepared her for this.