Lost Pirates

by Jamie Hawke

  Frank stared, blood racing to his head, adrenaline pumping. He was about to challenge this man, probably committing suicide in the process, when—

  BOOM!

  Shouts sounded from below, ships setting their sails to take action.

  “What the bloody hell is it this time?” The Pirate King turned and looked out over his armada to see a series of small sloops darting past.

  Sure enough, Frank saw his companions from the rebel camp, Esmeralda and Teddy, at the helm of one sloop, preparing their cannon for another shot. They were being smart, not leading a direct attack against the city this time, but coming in for strikes and then moving out of range. Still, as Frank looked back over all the Pirate King had shown him, he worried that it might not be enough, that the entire rebellion would throw away their lives for him.

  He couldn’t let that happen.

  Taking the chance, he lunged for his escape.

  20

  Frank’s only chance was to get out of there as fast as possible, so he lunged to take down the Pirate King, slamming into his upper thighs and grabbing him behind the knees. The man fell and, before he could recover, Frank was up and running for the window.

  Only, he heard a clatter. Glancing back instinctively, he had no choice but to freeze. The Pirate King was kneeling beside the compass. Patting his pocket, Frank realized the pirate must’ve taken it without him realizing, the son of a bitch. Frank turned back, feeling unsteady on his legs, confused. He didn’t have the balance effect from the compass, and it was like coming down from a high.

  That didn’t stop him from lunging for the man, throwing every punch and kick he could think of, trying to wrestle the compass free. But it was no good, and when two pirate guards came charging in, he knew it was his life if he stayed.

  His ticket out of there in the Pirate King’s hands, Frank threw himself out the window, grabbing hold of the ledge to stop from falling uncontrollably down the cliff. Hands reached for him and he had no choice but to drop, but the second he took to glance down gave him a strategy, and he aimed for the small ledge below. Hitting it, he kicked off—as it wasn’t big enough to hold him even if he had his balance—and reached for the flagpole sticking out, the flag emblazoned with the Pirate King’s crowned skull. He hoped to swing off of it but instead felt it give the moment his hands wrapped around the pole, and then he was toppling down.

  At least here, though, it wasn’t a straight drop, and the flagpole caught between two rocks, giving him leverage to pull himself up to safety on a rocky hill. Much better than being on the cliff, here he was able to carefully sidestep. Shouting came from the direction he was going, though, so he doubled back, trying to figure out his next move.

  There, about three feet out of his reach, was another window. Going back for the flagpole, he pulled it free. He wasn’t sure if this was really possible but had to try. With a grunt of exertion, he vaulted from the rocks, pole out like an athlete, and landed so that it wedged in the rocky space beneath the window. The shouting was growing louder, but he heaved himself up and was in.

  He fell to the floor and threw his back against the wall, hoping they wouldn’t notice the flagpole outside or have seen him enter. Catching his breath, Frank had a chance to look at his surroundings. This was no an ordinary room, but a workshop of sorts. More than that, there were illustrations along the walls very similar to the blueprints from his compass. Some with scratched out areas and lines drawn in different ways, as if someone was trying to recollect these from memory.

  Holy shit, he thought, moving away from the window and standing to take it all in. There was the blueprint for the gliders, others for turrets, and more for other weapons and armor he hadn’t seen out there. The man knew how to make some of this stuff, but didn’t have all of the pieces.

  What he did have, however, Frank quickly realized he could use right now to make a weapon. As he started to put pieces together, the sound of ships firing at each other echoed through the harbor. The Pirate King’s forces had gone out to meet Teddy’s. He had to make this happen, fast.

  Throwing more pieces together and analyzing blueprints, he started to improvise. Parts were making sense, after all the work he’d done on the guns. And there was ammunition, unused, items that he guessed the Pirate King had acquired but not quite figured out yet.

  When he finished, he had a large tube with a handle and trigger. He heaved a bag of ammo onto his shoulder before charging out of the building again. He froze at the sight ahead of him—another ship had joined the fray below, but this wasn’t just any old ship—this ship had shields in a way that almost gave it a spaceship look, both metallic and energy shields that glowed. It had crazy cannons that shot out energy, causing explosions at times, bursts of electricity at others. There was no way that ship should have been around in this time period or even his own! He had to assume it was again somehow related to his grandpa’s having been here once.

  Teddy’s side was winning now, and some of the ships were landing, pirates streaming ashore to fight the enemy.

  On the one hand, Frank knew he should run down there and escape. However, if there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that he wasn’t going to leave here without his compass. Thanks to his new creation that might be a reality.

  Instead of going down to meet his companions, he turned back to the Pirate King’s mansion and charged up as fast as his legs would allow him.

  Once at a safe distance from the entrance, he shouted, “Pirate King, let’s make a trade. I’m calling you out!”

  First came the guards, rifles ready, then more with sword and pistols, and finally the Pirate King. He gave one look at Frank and the tube on his shoulder and scoffed.

  “No way does that work, boy.”

  “I said a trade,” Frank repeated, ignoring the man. “Your life, for the compass.”

  The Pirate King glared and then said, “Shoot him,” but before they could, Frank closed his eyes in silent prayer, and pulled the trigger. If this didn’t work, he was a dead man. If it broke the compass, he was in trouble. But this was the last option.

  What followed was a great power pushing him back as the tube on his arm shot out its rocket, fire trailing, and then the whole entryway and every guard there was blown to pieces, all except for the Pirate King, who fell, hands over his head as parts of the building collapsed in on him, and an energy shield flickered, finally dropping and vanishing when the chaos subsided.

  “Say hello to my big-ass bazooka, bitch,” Frank said, and then went for another round.

  The Pirate King, however, wasn’t stupid enough to let that happen. He was up and charging, screaming bloody murder.

  “You little shit, you mother-fucking, shit-eating, maggot-fucking fuck!” The Pirate King pulled his sword, swinging for Frank, but Frank blocked with the bazooka and then heaved it at the man, so that it hit him and then fell, the shot going off and taking out more of the building. The Pirate King was irate, watching his home fall apart and collapse into the harbor below, but Frank was on top of it, running to snatch a sword from one of the fallen pirates in the rubble.

  He turned, ready for the fight of his life, and froze as a group of enemy guards charged up behind the Pirate King.

  Seeing this too, the Pirate King started laughing. He pointed his sword at Frank and said, “Last words, boy.”

  “Please…” Frank said, preparing to jokingly quote his favorite line from the Man in Black in the Princess Bride, but a volley of shots interrupted him and three of the guards fell dead. Behind them, Esmerelda led the ladies, swords at the ready, fancy pistols aiming to take out more guards. “Please allow me to say that you can go fuck yourself,” Frank finished, then charged the man.

  Only, when the Pirate King slashed, Frank dove, rolling, and slammed his fist up into the man’s nuts. Not the most chivalrous of moves, but he figured that since he was a pirate and really wanted his compass back, that was allowed—and it worked. The compass fell from the Pirate King’s hands, clattering a
cross the cobblestones.

  Frank went after it, kneeling to grab it as a sword went over his head. He spun back, ready for the next strike, now able to see that the pirates and his ladies were getting closer as they fought. More of the enemy went out to meet them, but with their sword skills and advanced guns, the ladies were pulling their weight and then some.

  Now that he had the compass, Frank needed to get the hell out of there. He ran, sprinting away, realizing that this man was the better fighter. He’d likely been training with that sword the whole time he was here.

  Keisha was the first to see him coming. Her opponent thought he could take her with his size and strength, but she spun past him, opening his gut, then slid her sword up and into his ribcage before dropping him to come to Frank’s aid.

  Blood made the cobblestones slippery and Frank nearly lost his footing, but then Milly was there, catching him by the arm and spinning him back to face the Pirate King.

  “No retreat this way,” she said, then stepped aside as another pirate attacked and she countered with a thrust and then kicked him so that he stumbled back and fell over the cliff. “Only way out is to deal with the devil himself.”

  “But we’re at your side,” Keisha said, turning to face the Pirate King, so that his advance faltered.

  Behind them, they could hear the fighting moving toward the streets, and Frank saw she was right. Also, he didn’t want to be seen as a coward in front of them, almost more than he didn’t want to die.

  “Fuck it,” he said snatching a sword from one of the fallen pirates, a nice saber like he was used to from back home. “The best lay ever after this, right?”

  Keisha laughed, but nodded.

  “Then let’s earn it.” He charged forward, Keisha and Milly at his sides.

  “Don’t forget me in that equation,” Esmerelda shouted, kicking out a man’s legs and slitting his throat. She tried to charge up to join them, but then more pirates moved in for the attack. “I’ll just be keeping your asses safe from over here, for now.”

  “For once,” Frank shouted back with a laugh, adrenaline flowing through him, a mixture of the fight-or-flight reflex switching over to fight, but also because the compass had likely filled him with stamina.

  “Aghhh!” The Pirate King’s war cry filled the street as he charged in to meet him. Frank saw firsthand how smart of him it was not to try facing the man alone, since he was meeting their strikes, dodging, and attacking over and over, driving them back. He must have been something even in his time, because these were the moves of a true master—at least, as far as Frank could tell.

  Frank swung, thrust, parried, then tried coming in with a kick, only to get a slash across his shin that stung like a bitch. Next, he waited for Milly to lunge, following up with a strike for the man’s head, only to get rebuffed and then watch in horror as the Pirate King spun out of the way of Keisha’s attack and caught her upside the head, knocking her so that she fell and rolled toward the cliff.

  Her groan and limp form told Frank she was in trouble, so he gave up his advance to fall back to her, only to see another pirate join his enemy’s side, engaging Milly as the Pirate King came for Frank.

  “Thought it would be that easy, did you?” the Pirate King asked, raising his sword to attack.

  Frank grabbed Keisha and heaved her away from the cliff edge, only at the last second pulling up his sword to barely block the blow. Another strike, then another, and at last the Pirate King pulled back for the final blow.

  It was Frank’s chance, so he rolled out of the way, only to see his blunder—the Pirate King could continue his strike and it would take out Keisha for good. Instead of letting that happen, he spun, moving back in to throw his weight against the man.

  A sharp pain hit his shoulder. He looked down to see the Pirate King’s blade impaled there, blood already showing through the jacket.

  “You care for her so much?” the Pirate King asked, eyebrow raised. “Good, it will bring me that much more satisfaction when I force you to watch them die.”

  He pulled the sword free and disarmed Frank, then went for the killing blow on Keisha. Frank grabbed hold of the man, only to be flipped on his side and find a boot in his face.

  When he looked up, the Pirate King was holding the compass, grinning.

  “Get up!” Milly shouted, but she was being pushed back by more pirates, a seemingly endless supply of them streaming from the side alleys and holding his ladies back, though as of yet not being able to bring them down.

  Frank tried to push himself up, but the pain was too much. “Cum-nugget-faced shitstain!” he shouted, trying again but collapsing. Keisha was just out of reach, starting to come to, eyes groggy.

  Frank lay on the ground, watching as the Pirate King removed the red stone from his ring. It was flat and round, about the size of a dime. The man leered at Frank as he opened the compass, then a back section that Frank hadn’t even known about, and inserted the stone. It seemed loose at first, so he fidgeted with it, annoyance taking over, but then had it and barked out a laugh.

  “There was a reason your grandpa didn’t understand how to use the device,” the Pirate King said, ignoring all the fighting around them. “He always thought it needed this stone to work. A stone which I’d stolen, along with his wife, right before kicking him through the portal.”

  “All this time…” Frank’s eyes stung as he tried to process the pain his grandpa must have gone through knowing his wife had been killed right before he’d gone back to his own time. No chance for revenge for the old man, no way to even get back and find out for sure if his wife was actually dead.

  “For me, it hasn’t been much time at all from that glorious date. For your grandpa, judging by your age, I’d venture a guess at him being much older.”

  “Considering my dad was only ten when his mom went missing, yeah, I’d say so.”

  “Well isn’t that fascinating.” The Pirate King fidgeted with a dial in the back section and beamed as it started to glow red in one part, green and blue in others, a map projecting out in front of him with times and coordinates. “It’s all about point of reference, boy. A triangulation, you see. When the stone was separated, the compass was able to work with a map, but with the stone returned? Anything is possible.”

  “Eat shit and die,” Frank said, trying to push himself up, but not able to work through the pain in his shoulder.

  “You fail to grasp the true threat here, don’t you?” The Pirate King stared down at him with pity. “I can go anywhere, do anything. If I wanted, I could move between here and our home world any time I want. I could bring as many airplanes—or anything else from other times—as I can find. But not only to squash your little friends, because I have grander plans. This world has a new emperor, boy.”

  Done with him, the Pirate King turned as the light from the compass grew, engulfing him, and he was mumbling something to himself, going on about power and changing the world, and Frank wondered if the man still thought he was talking to Frank.

  Fucking lunatic.

  There was no way Frank was going to let this happen, even if it meant death. Pushing through the pain, he rolled and thrust himself up, charging the Pirate King. When he hit the light, it was like a wave of electricity coursing through his body, but he kept on and slammed into the pirate.

  “It’s not going to happen,” Frank growled, headbutting the man and wrestling for the compass.

  “Die already!” the Pirate King shouted, reaching for a blade at his side. But that was all the distraction Frank needed, and he snatched at the compass. He got it, but the Pirate King was quick to recover, fumbling for it too so that latches came undone and colored light shot out in various directions as they fought over it.

  A shout sounded and then another, not of worry but encouragement. Frank’s ladies were right there, having taken down the other pirates, and were yelling for him, cheering him on. It wasn’t the sex that he thought of this time, it was the caring in Keisha’s eyes, the way Es
merelda held him, the way all of them were the perfect team.

  He wasn’t about to let that end, not like this.

  With even more strength than when he’d had the compass before, he gave it up to punch the Pirate King in a legendary uppercut. It worked, the bastard started to fall backward. Only, the compass was flying through the air, three colored stones drifting away from it as if in slow motion, and then they all landed.

  In a flash and as the Pirate King scrambled to snatch them up, the light around the compass flashed bright—about to activate. The pirate’s hand reached out and Frank realized he was going for the red stone, sitting alone just outside the light bubble.

  Frank lunged forward, throwing himself down, and grabbed hold of the stone so that the Pirate King’s hands only met his. The Pirate King stared at Frank with wide- panic-filled eyes as the light became blinding and then vanished, taking him and the compass with it.

  Frank lay there, clutching the red stone and staring at the spot, dumbfounded.

  “Oh, shit,” was all he could finally say. The women were around him, even Keisha, who had recovered. They were all silent, and after a moment Esmerelda and Milly helped him up.

  Whatever had just happened, Frank had no idea if he’d won or lost. He had the red stone, but the compass and the Pirate King were gone.

  “He’s… gone,” Esmerelda said, voicing his thoughts but in a much more upbeat way.

  “I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” Frank said.

  “Actually,” Keisha took Frank by the hands, opening them to see the small red stone. “Don’t you see? If he’s not back yet, that means he can’t return. Because why wouldn’t he return to this exact time and spot to get his revenge, or seconds earlier to stop you? If we’re still here, and you still have this…”

  “He failed,” Frank said, eyes wide.

  “But that doesn’t mean he isn’t in some other time causing trouble,” a raspy but still feminine voice said, and Frank turned to see a whole new group of pirates there, some still walking up from the shore. The fancy ship was docked, as apparently they’d defeated their foes below. Teddy stood at the side of this woman, who wore all red in an over-the-top fashion, her black hair tied back and red lipstick bringing out her lips. He had to wonder where she’d gotten the lipstick, and if it too were related to time travel. Did they have lipstick in the pirate times?