Silver's Return: Sequel to Trapped

A School Ablaze

I woke to the smell of something burning. Confused to why Silver would be cooking something this late at night, the light behind our door revealed something else. Panic swept in, and I rushed over to Tom, who was still sleeping.

"Tom!" I yelled, shaking him roughly. "Tom! Wake up!"

"What is it?" Tom asked groggily as he woke up.

"I think the school's on fire!"

This snapped Tom wide awake as he jumped out of bed.

"We have to get out of here!" he exclaimed, pulling on his shoes and running out of the room.

I quickly grabbed a leather pouch that I had been keeping under my pillow, shoved it in the pocket of my nightclothes, and pulled on my shoes before running after Tom.

Smoke limited our eyesight, and we coughed when it entered our lungs. Not wanting us to get separated, I grabbed Tom's wrist and began running in the direction to the entrance. A figure began to form in front of us, and I recognized it immediately.

"Smollett!" I yelled, before coughing again.

The figure turned to reveal that it was indeed Smollett.

"Jim!" he yelled, waving us to him. "Tom! This way!"

We began to run towards him, but a fiery piece of wood fell in front of us, blocking us from him. We tried to find a way around it, but a new voice caught our attention.

"Lads! This way!"

Silver. He was waving at us through the smoke, coughing as well. I turned back to Smollett, who's eyes widened in recognition.

"Jim! Tom! Don't follow him!" he yelled.

"Let them follow Mr. Smith!" the Headmaster suddenly appeared and grabbed Smollett's arm. "We have to get out of here before the whole building collapses on top of us!"

"No!" Smollett cried out, but he was soon dragged away.

Having no other choice, I followed after Silver, dragging Tom along with me. Silver ran as best he could for someone with a fake leg, and soon we were out of the fiery blaze that was once our school.

Suddenly, I heard a cry from Tom, and his wrist slipped from my grasp. I turned to see a man holding Tom, one arm around his arms and a hand clamped around his mouth. Tom struggled to escape, but to no avail. I turned to confront Silver, but another man grabbed me and held me like Tom. Silver stood there, gathering his breath, until he nodded at the two men. Without a word, they began carrying us towards town, and the harbor.

Tom and I eventually gave up trying to escape as we realized that the mens grips were like iron. Since it was the dead of night, no one was up to notice three grown men bring two boys towards a ship that was tied up. With the moonlight, I was able to faintly make out the name of the ship. The Kraken.

As soon as we were on board, Silver ordered his crew to set sail. The men that were holding us brought us below deck and into a holding cell. There they left us, locked the cell, and made their way back up on deck.

***

"Would you please stop pacing?" I asked, placing my head in my hands.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm terrified that we're being held by pirates!" Tom yelled, exasperated. "Unlike you, I haven't been on some grand adventure that made me rich and fearless of enemies!"

I glared at him after he said this, and he flinched at it.

"I'm sorry, Jim," he sighed and sat next to me. "I'm just scared at what's going to happen to us." He gave me a sad smile. "This is probably waking up bad memories from your past, isn't it?"

"Yes, I guess it is," I replied. "I should have never trusted Silver. He was probably the one who set fire to the school anyway."

"Then why did you trust him?"

"He did save me from Vlad. I guess I owed it to him for saving my life."

We sat in silence until we heard the sound of footsteps approached the cell that we were in. We looked up at the same time to see one of Silver's men unlocking our cell door. With a grunt, he motioned with his head for us to follow him. Reluctantly, we did so, and soon we were pushed into the Captain's cabin. Silver sat calmly, drinking wine and feeding Cap'n Flint crackers. As soon as he noticed us, he gave us a smile before leaning back in his chair.

"Ah, Jim lad," Silver greeted. "And your friend. What be your name, lad?"

"T-Thomas," Tom stuttered. "Thomas Silberg. Are you really Long John Silver?"

Silver laughed at this, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"That be my name, lad," he replied. "I see that young Hawkins here has been talking about me."

"Yes, and it wasn't all nice, 'old friend'," I frowned, folding my arms. "What do you want with us?"

"Not 'us', Jim," Silver replied, leaning back. "Just you. Your friend just happened to tag along. What I want from you, young Hawkins, is the map."

I froze at this. After I thought I had escaped danger, here was Silver and he was dragging me right back into it.

"Why do you want it?"

Silver chuckled. "I know you and the others weren't able to bring all the treasure onboard, right?"

I hesitated before nodding my head.

"Aye, I want your map to find that treasure. And I want you to come along with me. I was glad to find out from old Ben Gunn where you were going to the school that I was thinking of being a cook at."

"What did-"

"I did nothing to him, lad. Just asked politely. Now, are you willing to come along?"

"It doesn't seem like I have a choice."

"Hang on," Tom interrupted. "If you don't need me, then why am I even here?"

"More men, more help," Silver shrugged. "Besides, I don't think Jim would like me much if I hurt his friend."

Tom narrowed his eyes at this, before huffing and folding his arms. We stood there in silence before I reluctantly pulled out the leather pouch I had grabbed and handed it over to Silver. His eyes widened with glee as he opened the pouch to reveal the map of Treasure Island.

"Well, lookie here!" Silver chuckled as he stood. He placed his hands on our shoulders and gave them a pat. "Boys! Get ready to work! We're sailing to Treasure Island!"