by Jamie Hawke
Frank grinned, turning to get back to his assigned task of cutting wood for that night’s fire, when one of the pirates brushed past him, slamming his shoulder into Frank.
“Think ye’d be able t’ ‘andle Milly?” the pirate asked, turning and glaring.
“In a fight? Doubt it.”
“In the sheets, too, boy.” The pirate laughed. “She’d tear ye in two. Mark my words.”
The pirate kept on, starting to hum a sailing song, leaving Frank to glare after him. So the large woman was Milly, he thought, and now he was starting to wonder how she’d be in bed. It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered it before, but it had been more of a fleeting thought. Now, he imagined that grin as she’d watched him trying to tuck away his boner, and imagined her coming over to take it and shove it inside of her, and found himself liking the idea, even becoming aroused by it.
That night at dinner, when he noticed her with an arm around another lady, he found a hint of jealousy rising up, and since there was no sign of Esmerelda, or the local woman, there was nowhere to redirect his emotions.
He excused himself and found a corner of a nearby tent to sit in, where he pulled out the compass and assessed it. Strange symbols, circles that moved, and more. All very confusing. Better to try and direct his thoughts and energy into figuring this out, than exacerbating his sexual frustration further.
A giggle caught his attention and he went to the edge of the tent, looking through canvas flaps to see two forms moving toward the nearby tree line. One was larger, the other female, though when the light hit their faces he realized the larger one was Milly.
The giggle came from the smaller woman as Milly took her in a kiss, one hand reaching into her dress and pulling her breast free, exposing and playing with it. A moment later, Milly hiked up the other woman’s dress and was apparently fingering her, all while Frank sat there watching.
Milly looked up, right at him, and grinned.
He pulled back, horrified, then looked again. She was still looking his way as she exposed the other’s ass, having her bend over, and then started fingering her from behind. Holy shit, Frank thought, watching. This was a show for him! Or, at least knowing she was being watched turned Milly on.
That thought turned him on, and he started to caress the bulge in his pants, even reached down, when a voice said, “Please don’t.”
He froze, turned around, and saw he was caught.
Esmerelda stood there with a look of mixed humor and disappointment on her face. She walked past him, took a look, and then shook her head. “That’d be Milly for you.”
“Hmm?” he asked in a moan, trying to rearrange his boner in his pants so it wouldn’t be so obvious. She clearly noticed.
While his fantasy version of the situation quickly played out in his head with him and Esmerelda suddenly going at it and then the others joining, she simply smiled again and then went to walk back out.
“Oh, I’d come to pass on a message—the Captain said he’d like you to meet him at first light. Wants to check in, ask you some questions.”
Frank nodded. “Thank you. I’d be honored.”
“Right…” She grinned, nodding at Frank’s crotch. “Be sure to take care of that so you’re not up all night wishing you had.”
Frank chuckled, but she glanced back, very serious, before nodding good night and leaving. For a moment, he lingered, considering his bed, and then exited to find a nice palm leaf he’d be able to catch himself in and easily discard.
She was right, of course. There wouldn’t have been any chance of him sleeping without taking matters into hand, but when he was finished, he returned to bed where he curled up and passed out.
6
The next morning came fast, and Frank found himself being shaken awake by Esmerelda. Frank was still somewhere between dream-state and reality. Seeing her beautiful eyes and exposed cleavage, he reached out to take her for a kiss, as if they were in it together. She slapped his hand away and gave him a half-smile as she said, “Come on, Sleeping Beauty. Before the captain starts wondering what’s taking so long and we have to make up an excuse.”
Having Captain Steele mad at him was enough to get him out of bed and alert. He scrambled up and adjusted his clothes, which he’d slept in, and stumbled out into the light. An orange glow from the sky hit the white sand, spattering across it and blinding him at this angle. It struck him at that moment, thinking about the world and the angle of the sun, that he hadn’t only traveled through time, but time and space. When or if he was able to travel back, would he have to somehow account for that, or would the compass do it for him? He had no idea how it had worked or brought him here, nor how to get home.
Home… what a strange thought, he realized as he stumbled over to the captain. He’d been so caught up and confused, he hadn’t really put any effort into thinking about how he would get back. Maybe it was a simple matter of tinkering with the compass? Or maybe it had brought him here for a reason, like he was a lost soul, a ghost that had a mission to complete before moving on. He hoped that in this case ‘moving on’ meant returning to his own time, but had to admit that it was entirely possible he’d blown himself up back at his dad’s place. This could be hell… Or, watching the local girl pass with a pot filled with something that smelled like coffee, it could be heaven. Had coffee arrived at this time, with trade and all that? He imagined it could’ve, not quite remembering. Then again, time travel.
For now, he’d stick with the assumption that he’d traveled through space and time, but for a reason. Next, he’d have to find out what that reason was.
The captain grinned and waved off the other pirates he’d been chatting with, then handed him a half-peeled mango. “Eat up. We’ll take a walk and then get you some more food.”
Frank accepted it and took a juicy bite, working hard not to moan with delight and not look like a slob as the juice ran down his chin.
Captain Steele let out a boisterous laugh and tossed him a kerchief, then motioned for him to follow. As Frank ate, they made their way outside of the main part of the pirate hideout, moving through trees and away from the sand to where the path was firm dirt.
“Are you with him?” the captain asked.
“With who?” Frank asked, swallowing.
“The Pirate King. First thing I have to know—and if you’re lying I will see through it—is whether you’re truly with us or not.”
“Not only am I not with the Pirate King, I’ve never even met the guy.”
The captain stared into his eyes for a moment, then nodded. “Good. So where are you from?”
“Sir?”
“It’s not a complicated question.”
Frank stood there, blinked, and considered how best to answer this. Finally, he settled on, “For me, it is. Basically, though, I’d say the northwest.”
“That so?” He grinned. “That rules out the Brits, at least.”
“Definitely not one of them,” Frank said, glad to be telling the truth.
“Local, eh?” The captain seemed pleased by that, and then motioned to Frank to keep up. “I like to think of myself as a local now. Only got into this business in the first place as a way to stick it to the crown. But now? Now it’s all about freedom.”
“Freedom from the… other pirates?”
Captain Steele laughed. “Aye, and I see how that could be confusing, me being a leader of these men and women that you see as pirates. Others have labeled us as such, too, but here’s the thing—no matter how close me and these men and women get, there aren’t many you can trust. Remember that, or you’ll end up with a cutlass in your skull.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Frank replied.
“Do.” The captain hesitated, turning toward a rustling in the nearby trees, and then a form appeared.
With all the talk of traitors and backstabbing, Frank took a step back, ready for the worst. Instead, Teddy walked into their path, his glare strong in Frank’s direction.
“Why him?” Tedd
y asked.
“Because an outsider seems more likely to know,” was Steele’s reply.
“Know what?” Frank asked, not sure if now was the time to speak up, but too curious not to.
Teddy and Captain Steele shared an uncertain look, then Teddy nodded and took up the lead.
“The captain says you’re to be trusted with this, so who am I to argue,” Teddy said. “And hell, maybe you’re the magician they say you are. Maybe you came here by some magical light from the sky or appeared on a sea serpent’s back. I don’t give a fuck. What I do care about is your loyalty.” He paused, glancing back at Frank. “So keep your mouth shut about this.”
“Of course,” Frank replied, wondering if he was supposed to swear on a bible or make a blood oath or something, this guy seemed so intense about the situation.
For now, at least, he was placated.
They reached a point where Teddy moved aside some shrubbery and nodded toward a hidden path. Frank followed him onto it, sunlight filtering through the dense foliage above, stopping at a point along a rocky cliff face.
Teddy approached the rocks and moved some aside. “We don’t want anyone who hasn’t seen it to know, yet.”
Pulling out a bundle of papers, he turned to Frank, checked to see that they were alone, and then motioned to a small clearing of sand and stones. Kneeling there, he laid out the documents.
“Do you know what these images are?” Captain Steele asked, standing behind Frank.
“Uh…” Frank knelt to get a better look. They were mostly sketches, some with writing, and a couple had pieces of metal nearby with someone’s noted assessment. One of the images looked like it was possibly a dragon, but then he noticed the propeller and other strange elements that led him to believe it might be an airplane. Of course, those weren’t invented until the early twentieth century, so this told him exactly what he needed to know. Somebody had most certainly time-traveled here before him, likely some time before his arrival.
There were more pictures too, some that looked like winged men, a machine like a cross between a tank and a dragon, and more.
“Holy… shit,” Frank said, going through them a second time.
“So they’re recognizable,” the captain said, nodding. “I knew it.”
“But how?” Teddy asked.
“That part’s more complicated,” Frank replied. He knew these two wouldn’t believe him, so said, “Where I come from, local military has been testing out machines like these.”
“That so…?” Teddy said but was already looking away, moving on. “The military, then… A military that might be backing the Pirate King.”
“Indeed,” the captain said, eyeing Frank with major skepticism. He gestured back to camp. “Come, you will tell us what you know of these machines back in camp over breakfast. How do we fight them?”
On the way back, Frank explained to the best of his ability how the airplane worked and where it would need to get hit for the fuel to leak out, if that was the strategy they’d take against it. Also, where the guns likely were. The others he took guesses at, but really couldn’t even pretend to know how to deal with a tank, if that’s what it was.
On the outskirts of the pirate hideout, Teddy turned to him and said, “We’re the good guys here. I hope you remember that. You seem to fit in well, but the real test will be when the time to attack comes.”
Frank’s stomach rumbled again as the captain stood next to him.
“These are our people, your new brothers and sisters,” the captain said, leading him back to the group of pirates where the smell of food was coming from. Ox was there, heating up a pan of beans and already opening a bottle of rum—he stopped with the latter at the sight of the captain. “Some of them… just need to be watched from time to time.”
Frank watched the other pirates emerging from tents, some bringing meats they’d been cooking at nearby fires. They were all setting up what looked like a morning potluck. There was something about this group he could respect. Maybe that kinship aspect the captain was talking about? They all seemed to belong, and all seemed to hold a strong loyalty to one another.
But was it where he belonged? He had a home, a degree to finish. A woman back there, though she was only a crush at the moment. She had spoken to him at least, and never made him piss while she watched or anything weird like had happened here. Though, thinking about it now, he realized that had kind of turned him on. A glance over showed Milly and Esmerelda chatting, pointing out at the direction he had last seen the waters, so he assumed they were strategizing.
The local woman he’d noticed a few times passed by and eyed him suspiciously, disappearing into a tent.
He was considering going for food, or maybe joining the conversation between Milly and Esmerelda to see the plans, as weird as joining them might be. Before he could move one way or the other, though, a piercing sound filled the jungle.
Ox looked up, face pale as he said in a hushed voice, “The demon’s scream.”
“At arms!” Captain Steele shouted, and the peaceful moment at the campfire suddenly became chaos.
All around Frank, men and women were running, grabbing steel and pistols, and a loud thudding had begun from somewhere not far off.
“What is it?” Frank asked when Esmerelda charged up, once again with a sword in each hand.
“Damn my hubris,” she said. “They’ve found us, the Pirate King has found us.”
A pirate screamed and then landed with a thud at Frank’s feet. Blood seeped out from the crossbow bolt in his neck.
“Down!” Esmerelda shouted as she moved aside. Three shots exploded into the wood of the cabin where their heads had been.
At the top of the walls, pirates were aiming with more pistols and muskets. Then, with a BOOM that seemed to shake the jungle, the main wall came crashing inward and Frank saw why they had said “the demon’s scream.”
Steam billowed from the top of what appeared to be a motorized battering ram. As pirates streamed into the base, the demon machine turned and took down another section of the wall, then proceeded into camp.
“To each their own,” Esmerelda said, and she charged forward to plunge her sword into an enemy pirate’s chest.
Frank’s first thought was to run, but something about that demon machine pulled at his curiosity. He made his way from tent to tent, ducking to avoid being seen. Then, when he was close enough, he peeked out and got a closer look. Something about the machine was familiar, and then it dawned on Frank—it looked a lot like a steam locomotive. Built like a pirate ship, the machine had roughly-formed tank treads made from leather, with plates of steel on the sides for protection. The “demon’s scream” was a steam whistle which periodically pierced the air as the machine bellowed steam from a dragon-like “face” attached to the front. It looked very intimidating and menacing. No wonder the resistance thought the Pirate King had some kind of demon army.
The steam whistle sounded again, pulling Frank from his reverie just as a pirate dropped dead in front of him. He pulled back into the tent, freaking out. What world was this where pirates lived alongside weird steam engine-type ships that moved about on land? Something was very wrong. He had to get out of there, he realized, but just then hands grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him out of the tent.
Frank spun to see a man pull out a dirk, ready to slit his throat. Not today, Frank thought as he kicked at the man’s shin, then rolled to grab the saber from the man who’d dropped dead moments before. He stood, blocking the next sword strike, and plunged his new-found sword into the pirate’s gut.
An instant dizziness took over, the taste of bile strong in his mouth before his stomach squeezed and sent what little had been in it onto the ground. Killing a man wasn’t part of his daily routine, and now that he knew how it felt, he was especially glad of that fact.
Pull yourself together, Frank thought as he looked around, planning his next move. A section of the wall had come down nearby. He thought of looking for Esmerelda
to see if she or the others needed help. They had seemed nice enough… or at least better than the Pirate King’s people.
But no, right now was about survival. He had to get as far away from here as possible. Only, there was the local woman, the one had given him soup, and she had two enemy pirates tossing her against a wall and hitting her.
“Shit,” he mumbled, then charged to her defense.
The first pirate turned to see him and grinned, glad for more of a fight, but didn’t expect the local woman to dodge his friend’s next strike and follow it up by snatching the man’s sword from his hands and thrusting it through the first pirate’s gut.
A third pirate charged in and paused at this sight, just as the now-swordless one lunged for the woman. She caught him with a knee to the face and drew one of her short blades, but the man recovered before she could strike and caught her with a punch to the gut that sent her stumbling back. Now the new pirate and Frank met, the former easily overpowering and disarming him. But the stabbed pirate was on the ground nearby, that sword sticking out of him, and Frank was able to pull it free.
He rolled along the ground to avoid two pistol blasts, then was up and lunging—a good thrust and his blade was in his opponent’s shoulder. A strong attack knocked Frank off balance, and then Frank spun as he’d done many times in his Jedi fencing. Where he’d hoped to defend a girl before, now he was struggling to save his life as well as hers.
A glance over showed that the woman didn’t need much help after all, as she took down the other pirate with two blades across his throat, spilling hot blood on the white sand.
It was Frank’s turn, so before this woman had a chance to see the fright in his eyes, he shouted as loud as he could and came at the pirate before him like a madman. Three good slashes, and the last two drew blood. A parry, and then he caught the man with a spinning strike with the pommel of his sword. The pirate’s hat fell off as he collapsed, groaning and twitching.
The woman stepped up, grabbed the pirate by the hair, and slit his throat.