Overboard!

by Michael White

  “I see.” whispered Daisy and she ushered them onwards, marching carefully out of the cave and back into the tunnel.

  Neep began to imagine that the slope was not quite as steep as it had been before, though now the heat was becoming stronger all of the time. The distant rumbling was now much stronger, and from time to time the ground would give a low deep trembling sound, and they would all stumble for a few steps until the shaking ceased.

  “What was that?” asked Bones but the pirates mostly stood open-mouthed, the torches trembling in the hands now that the tremor had passed. Neep felt a warmth against his chest from within his shirt, and pulled out the bottled lightning to examine it. Within the bottle the lightning now raged, forks of bright blue electricity bouncing around the glass as if possessed of some form of life. Bones looked over his shoulder as they made their way down the tunnel, his face showing surprise at the storm raging in the bottle. Neep quickly hid the small bottle inside his shirt again and the group of pirates continued their march down the tunnel.

  “The tunnel seems to be levelling out.” Said Daisy from the front. As she said this another tremor shook the ground and the pirates steadied themselves against the wall of the tunnel to prevent being shaken from their feet. Neep instinctively grabbed Jones, who clung to him as if they were braving a storm at sea.

  “It was never like this when I was last here.” Said the old inventor, “We used to get the occasional tremor, but not as regular as these.”

  “Every twenty-seven minutes.” said Bones in his customary deep voice, “I counted.” Daisy raised an eyebrow but Neep could not help but notice that she picked up the pace a little as they continued along the tunnel.

  After another hour the floor of the tunnel became completely flat. There had been two more tremors since Bones had last remarked on them and the heat in the tunnel was now becoming fierce. After shuffling along for a little while longer Neep noticed far ahead a dull red glow illuminating the darkness ahead.

  “Lights ahead.” Whispered Neep, and he heard the sound of the pirates behind him pulling pistols from belts and bandoliers and readying them.

  “Slowly.” whispered Daisy as they began to almost tip-toe towards the ever growing circle of light at the end of the tunnel.

  As they crept along as quietly as they could it soon became apparent to Neep and the others that the glow at the end of the tunnel was coming from beyond the tunnel itself, and so they picked up pace as they eventually left the tunnel and found themselves on a high ledge in a huge cavern.

  Neep gasped at the sheer size of the chamber in which they found themselves. The tunnel ended where they now stood led into the chamber, but the path did not, for in front of them a wide bridge of hewn stone crossed a chasm that fell away below before commencing in a new tunnel across the cave. The roof high above was coloured red; flickering flames of light and shadow being reflected from the flames below, for at the base of the chamber a sea of molten lava and flames gutted about the stone, flowing through the cavern before falling off what must have been a cliff to the west but was out of sight from where they stood, despite the height at which they found themselves.

  As Neep watched the lava below guttered and threw gouts of burning molten rock high into the air, like a storm at sea but bathed in bright red smoke and flame. The lava raged as it poured from east to west, the smell of brimstone and flame rising through the air in thick clouds. Neep found himself coughing, and his skin prickling in the almost overwhelming heat. The sound of the lava flowing through the chamber from below was thunderous, almost deafening them.

  Neep took another look, rubbing his eyes to try and remove the sheen of ash, dust and smoke that rose from the chamber. To the west the lava fell over a cliff, heading to who knows where, but the roof was low there, the lava almost squeezing through the lower ceiling of rock before cascading down out of view. The light resembled that of a small slit through which the melted rock flowed before falling down below.

  One by one the pirates took turns to look upon the sight that presented itself to them before eventually Daisy gestured them back into the tunnel from where they had come, ushering them back a little way up the tunnel.

  “I think we shall rest for an hour here.” She shouted above the sound of the roaring inferno of the chamber beyond, “The tunnel across the bridge swerves west so we cannot see what is beyond. We shall rest a while to gather our strength.” Neep slumped to the ground thankful for the respite and soon food and water was being passed around, which he took eagerly. Especially the water.

  Bones remained standing however, leaning on the edge of the tunnel and peering into the chamber beyond.

  “Are you okay, Bones?” asked Daisy, concern in her voice.

  “Yes.” Muttered Bones, “The humming sound is stronger here. Much stronger.”

  “I can’t hear anything.” Said Daisy.

  “Nor I.” Responded Neep.

  “It’s not a sound.” Said Bones, as if he were still preoccupied with locating whatever it was only he seemed to be able to detect. “It is more of a feeling. It is very near now.”

  “I see.” Said Daisy, and her and Neep shared a look of concern as Bones continued to peer into the heart of the volcano they lay ahead of them in vain.

  “It will not be long now.” He said wearily, and the company fell into an uneasy silence as they continued to try and rest.

  Chapter 32

  ~The Lures of the Serpent~

  “...And as well as the cook finding all of the ship’s biscuits gone, it was then that the dog came back with the fuse still in its mouth…” Finished Boom and of the seven pirates manacled to the stakes nearby six of them burst into loud laughter. Captain “Mad Dog” Jenkins however was having none of it at all.

  “Scurrilous cat wailing son of a dog baiter!” he roared, “I demand to be freed and have parley with your captain!” Boom sighed loudly before standing.

  “You know that is not going to happen, Jenkins.” He said and Jenkins turned a bright shade of crimson.

  “CAPTAIN Jenkins to you, you keel hauled bucket cleaner!” Spluttered Jenkins, and Boom sighed to himself and walked a little way off from the prisoners: just far enough to be able to keep a close eye on them, but far enough from Jenkins to prevent him from haranguing him.

  He looked out across the bay to where the Magpie’s shattered mast was being repaired, or as best it could be. Only minutes before he had sent all hands to the ship to help, for they were not needed here, and the removal of the shattered mast was a heavy and back breaking task. It would need as many crew members as they could spare. The prisoners were quite secure and were going nowhere. Now there was just the prisoners and him ashore. He wondered how Daisy, Bones, Neep and the rest of the party that had entered the tunnel system were getting on. They had been gone but an hour and already he was restless.

  Turning, he looked up at the volcano that dominated the island, and the thick black clouds of smoke that seemed to be constantly erupting from the lava tipped lip of the crater. As he watched red explosions of melted rock shot into the air before plummeting down the hillside far across the bay. Fascinated he watched as the smoke continued to rise, thick black vapour rolling in broiling clouds above the island.

  He had always been fascinated by fire. Even when he was a child his parents were very careful not to leave him alone with a piece of kindling, or disaster would ensue. Disaster that usually included a lot of smoke and a flame or two. Once he discovered explosions through the medium of gunpowder he had never looked back. It was true of course that in a vague attempt to get his life back on track he had founded the “Sons of the Pinched Fuse” and had spent a good few years in denial.

  Yet once he saw the explosion of the Patch and Parrot pub he had once again been instantly hooked. He stared at the volcano again. It was almost as if it was whispering to him. He squinted, concentrating on the violent expulsion of molten rock coruscating down the side of the hills, destroying all in its path. It was like the
volcano was a giant weapon; a bomb of immeasurable proportions.

  He licked his lips, his attention held completely by the volcano. In his mind he imagined it exploding, tearing the island asunder. What a sight that would be! The biggest explosion ever! In his mind he saw the volcano suddenly detonate, throwing rock and molten lava high into the air, smoke filling the sky as the island began to sink…. He took a deep breath and became suddenly aware of a voice nearby as the volcano settled back to normal as he stared at it.

  “An impressive conglagationary edifice is it not?” said Jenkins silkily, his voice soft and low. Boom turned to look at him briefly and then turned back to the volcano.

  “Yes.” he almost whispered.

  “Yet that is but a scarce part of it.” continued the captain, “I am told that the inside of such wonders of nature are a revelation for those interested in the combustive arts.”

  “Is that so?” said Boom, now transfixed on the entrance to the tunnel that surely lead into the heart of the volcano itself.

  “I am told….” whispered Jenkins, trailing off into silence, his eyes carefully avoiding the ring of keys swinging on Boom’s belt.

  “What?” said Boom, tearing his eyes away from the tunnels to see Jenkins beckoning towards him. For a second Boom was distracted, and he leaned in closer as Jenkins leaned towards him. As the volcano rumbled ominously overhead and the ground shook slightly, Boom never saw the blow coming from the pirate chained alongside Jenkins and suddenly everything went black.

  ***

  Boom came to, a dull throbbing feeling in his head, and for some reason his feet were aching. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it, and raising his view upwards he saw by torchlight he was being dragged along a wide tunnel by each arm, his legs trailing out behind him.

  “Prisoner awake, captain.” Said a gruff voice from beside him and Boom turned his head in both directions to see pistols and swords swinging at his captor’s belts.

  “Ensure he is suitably held.” yelled Jenkins without turning his head. Boom took a glimpse about him. The captain was leading them at a brisk pace down the steeply sloping tunnel, with two the pirates rapidly following him. The two dragging him along were followed by two more behind him. Boom groaned as realised his stupidity had led to Jenkins being free and now he was following Daisy down into the tunnels! He groaned as the pirates entered a small cave, a large open wooden cart stacked with what certainly looked like gunpowder to him off to one side.

  “Tie the pyro manic wood rustler to the vehicular motion makers!” yelled Jenkins, looking down the tunnel that fell down before them.

  “The wheels. The wheels. Tie him to the wheels.” he heard one of the pirates whisper to the other.

  “Then unlock your pistols, lads!” spat Jenkins as Boom was secured to the truck, “I intend to give that upstart Daisy a shock she will not forget in a hurry! The treasure will be ours yet!”

  Boom gave a deep groan and tried to free himself from his bonds but to no avail as Jenkins and the other six pirates rushed from the cave down into the tunnel, flintlock pistols ready in each hand.

  Chapter 33

  ~The Battle at the Bridge~

  Neep touched the bottle of lightning. It was definitely much warmer than it had been before, though of course he was himself as well. He had kept hold of the bottled lightning since Jones had revealed to to them on the beach. He had shown it to Daisy and both she and Bones had carefully examined it but neither had come to any conclusion about its use, ad nor had Neep. They had it turn handed it back to him for safe keeping and so he stowed it away in his pocket carefully.

  Several of the pirates sat with their backs to the tunnel, trying to drain some coolness from the rock itself, but even here the walls were warm to the touch and offered no relief from the relentless heat.

  “We will move out in five minutes.” announced Daisy to nobody in particular and Neep noticed that she now had a look of anticipation about her, almost an air of determination.

  “I wonder how far down we have travelled?” mused Neep, and Jones picked up his ears at this, as if he knew the answer but was unwilling to share the information. He obviously thought better of answering, turning his face back to the ground and pushing at some ash there with his finger as if he was trying to pretend that he was not actually there at all. Neep raised himself to his feet, flexing his legs, his calves still aching from the steep descent, groaning quietly to himself. Daisy busied herself amongst her men, giving words of encouragement here and there, laughter rising from the pirates as she encouraged them to get ready to move by chiding them for their lack of exercise and therefore energy.

  “Mister Gilligan!” chided one of the pirates nearby who was rubbing his legs as if to ease the pain in them, “You look lost there! Come - raise your anchor and pull yourself together.” Gilligan laughed at her but he was soon on his feet and ready to move off. “That’s better.” laughed Daisy. Neep was just happy to find that none of them appeared to be wearing a red shirt. Neep tested his legs by stepping towards the edge of the tunnel where he saw that Bones continued to look out from where the tunnel ended into the chasm below, the lava flowing across the chamber before falling off to the west, presumably down into an even lower chamber. The sound from within the chamber was deafening; the heat fierce as the lava flow below continued to flow and pour over the edge of the chasm to the west.

  “What is down there, Jones?” asked Bones suddenly, not turning from looking into the chamber. Neep stood alongside him and was surprised to see Jones stand and move towards the chasm, peering out over the edge, eying the thin stone bridge that rose about the lave before them, eyeing it eagerly. The old man sighed deeply.

  “The culmination of a life’s work.” he said softly, the roaring of the chasm beyond almost drowning out his voice. “A great treasure. I will be glad to look upon it one last time, abomination though it is. The fallacy of a younger man eager to combine sciences and ending in nothing but despair.” He paused slightly, rubbing his chin as if lost in thought. Daisy clearly decided to take advantage of the fact that Jones suddenly seemed to have become much more talkative.

  “Traps?” she enquired, giving Jones a steely stare. “The bridge isn’t going to collapse the minute any one of us sets foot on it, for example?” Neep gulped besides her. He certainly had not considered that!

  “Of course not.” Laughed Jones. “It hardly makes for a safe working environment does a collapsing bridge.” He said sarcastically, “No. Not a single trap at all. Across the bridge the tunnel twists west and then steeply down past the lava falls you can just see the rim of in the chamber beyond into an even larger chamber. Perhaps a quarter of a mile downwards.” He paused, pulling his shirt about him, “Precisely a quarter of a mile in fact.” he sniffed testily. “Beyond that lies the lost treasure of El Bongo.” he sighed once again, “It is a beautiful sight to behold, and yet.” he stopped suddenly, as if remembering something.

  “And yet what?” snarled Bones, tearing his attention away from the chasm beyond to Jones, who stood looking into space, an empty look upon his face.”

  “The spirit of the air…” mumbled the old inventor and Bones visibly prickled at the words before reaching out and grabbing Jones by his collar, raising him seemingly effortlessly from his feet.

  “What of it?” spat Bones, “Tell me, old man - what does it mean?”

  “I am just a scientist.” Screamed the old man, “The treasure is the highlight of my life’s work and yet the islanders here worshipped this volcano as if it were a god. They said that there were spirits that lived inside the volcano. Spirits of the air.”

  “Mumbo jumbo nonsense!” Spat Bones, yet he did not release his grip on the old man whose legs still swung uselessly in the air.

  “Says a man who is no more than a walking skeleton and has already seen the work of the air spirits.” laughed Jones and Bones dropped him, the old man stumbling to the floor. As he fell however he grabbed Bones’ robes and they fell with h
im, pooling about the skeletons feet.

  Bones gasped as he stood there, his skeleton frame now seeming to almost pulse with the red light from the chamber beyond; the small medallion at his neck catching the light and winking almost, a dark red blood like pulse of flame glowing at his throat.

  The crew gasped as Bones tried to pull his robe back up, but Jones had the advantage of surprise and threw it over his shoulder, down into the fire flow below.

  The crew gasped and stood back as Bones’ true form was revealed. Daisy strode amongst them.

  “Steady now.” she yelled, “This is still the same Mister Bones you have all come to know and respect. He is the same man; no other.”

  “Man?” gasped one of the pirates and Bones kicked Jones away from him.

  “Yes a man.” said the skeleton, fire and flame glowing off the bones of his body. “A man who suffered an accident that was manufactured by those who used the forces of a strange magic against him.” He held his hand up to his skull, light bouncing off the fingers, “And yet I remain…”

  The pirates settled as Daisy strode amongst them and Neep made to lift Jones to his feet again.

  “Come here you.” He snarled, lifting the old man, “You have caused quite enough trouble as it is!”

  “You don’t understand!” yelled the inventor, “I did not seek to embarrass Bones. Far from it!” He turned to face the skeleton, spit running down his chin, “I merely seek to warn him. The spirit of the air will not be denied. The very soul of it was suffused in the very fabric of the sh….”

  There was a sudden loud detonation and Neep found himself splattered in blood as the old man fell down in front of him, his shoulder spurting blood into the air.

  “I..” began Neep but he managed no more as several more shots rang out and two of Daisy’s men fell to the tunnel screaming.