The Boy Who Could Fly

chapter sixteen

Jack settled on the crow's nest, up high on the mast, his hands resting defiantly on his hips. "I'm not gettin' any younger up here!" He grinned widely as he stared down at Pulitzer and his crew.

That sentence seemed to put Pulitzer on edge. "Then come down here! You're not afraid of a fight, are you?" The captain replied.

"When am I ever afraid?" Jack only stood taller. Aimee wasn't sure how, but she could see Jack glancing at her every now and then.

Pulitzer gripped his sword. "Come down, boy!"

Jack laughed loudly. "You think I'm an idiot? What is it, thirty to one? I ain't stupid, codfish." Yet he flew down anyway, landing on the raised deck area where the wheel was. "Let's fight, just you an' me."

"Alright," Pulitzer agreed, pulling his sword out of the sheath. "Then we'll fight." He stepped up to the deck where Jack was as Jack pulled out his small sword. Without another word, the two began to clash their swords together while the crew cheered on from the main deck.

Aimee watched, afraid that the taller Pulitzer would quickly best Jack. But Jack was quick on his feet, and he was able to fly. He could quickly dodge any attacks Pulitzer sent his way while jabbing his sword at Pulitzer every chance he got.

The fight continued for several minutes, but then Aimee noticed some movement behind Jack. One of Pulitzer's crewmen had snuck behind Jack, brandishing a sword. Just as the man raised it, Aimee had to do something.

"Jack! Behind you!" She shouted loudly, successfully bringing attention to the man. Jack shot up in the air, smirking.

"I thought we were fightin' fairly," he said to Pulitzer, who seemed very upset that Aimee had helped Jack.

Pulitzer turned to Katherine. "Deal with her," he ordered, speaking about Aimee. Katherine walked over to Aimee and began to untie her from the mast. Aimee would have escaped, but Katherine was holding a dagger to her back.

"Let's get you out of here," Katherine said lowly. Aimee noticed that during the whole altercation, neither Jack nor Katherine had acknowledged the other's existence. She would be asking questions if she wasn't being threatened with a knife. Katherine led Aimee off the ship and down the gangplank, towards the forest.

"Where are you taking me?" Aimee asked, wondering why she was going to the forest and not inside the ship.

"Shut up," Katherine said, glancing back at the ship before stepping inside the treeline. Aimee felt her move the dagger away from her back. "Go back to the camp," she said.

"What are you-" Aimee stopped short when she felt Katherine begin to saw through the thick ropes binding her wrists.

"Go back to the camp and don't come back," Katherine instructed. "Jack will be fine, don't worry." Just as she was almost finished, something hit Katherine in the head. "Hey!" She shouted.

"Let her go!" A voice came from the trees. Aimee recognized it as Spot's voice. "Or I'll shoot ya again!"

Katherine scowled as Spot stepped out of the trees. "I was letting her go, you imbecile. Don't shoot me."

Spot lowered her slingshot, also scowling at Katherine. "Then do it, pirate," she practically spat.

With a huff, Katherine cut through the final strand of rope, freeing Aimee's wrists. "Good riddance," she muttered, turning back and going back to the ship quickly.

"She let me go," Aimee said in disbelief.

Spot watched Katherine suspiciously. "Yeah. C'mon, doll. Let's get outta here before she changes 'er mind." Spot grabbed Aimee's hand and began to quickly pull her through the woods. "We gotta get the rest o' the boys."

"Why?"

"We ain't gonna let Jackie Boy fight a whole crew of pirates by 'imself." Spot kept leading Aimee towards the camp. They made it faster than Aimee had expected.

The camp was in disarray. Boys were shouting at one another, the clearing was a mess, and people were running around between buildings.

"What is going on here?" Spot shouted, quickly commanding everyone's attention. In response, every single boy started to talk on top of one another. While all the boys moved around, Aimee caught a glimpse of Sebastien and Sally, both of them looking confused and afraid. At the same time, Sally caught Aimee's eye.

"Aimee!" She shouted, darting over to her older sister with Sebastien in tow. Aimee enveloped her younger siblings in a tight hug, holding them close to her.

"You're okay," Sebastien said in a small voice. "You scared me." His eyes watered as if he was about to cry.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm alright," Aimee said comfortingly, holding them tightly. After a moment, she turned her attention back to Spot trying to corral the Lost Boys. Finally, she stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly.

"Listen up! Only one of ya can talk at a time now!" She yelled. "You!" Spot pointed at Race. "Tell me what happened."

"Mush came back and said Pulitzer's got Aimee, so Jack went off. But then," Race paused, getting angry, "we's found out that Mush sold Jack out!" The boys began to yell again.

"Stop shoutin'!" Spot looked very frustrated. "Come on, we gotta go help him out. Get ya stuff together." She then pointed at Les, Sebastien, and Sally. "You three stay here. Find someone to watch 'em. I'll go get my boys and meet ya in the woods outside the cove as quick as possible. We don't have much time." As soon as she finished speaking, she scampered off into the trees, headed back to her own camp.

"Alright!" Davey shouted, taking the lead on this one. "Henry, stay with the kids please. The rest of you, get ready for a battle!"