Mutiny

[Arabella Porter]

       It was a violent wake up that night when the sharp tug of Arabella Porter's scalp slammed her cheek to the hard wooden floor of her room. Her mind rushed to keep up with her nerves as panic and confusion flooded Ara's mind.

    "No," she said impulsivley without knowing exactly what was going on. A hard slam on her back and there it was, the realization.

   "Drug this bitch and weld her in here." There was no doubt about it. That was David's voice.

    "No," Ara stumbled up to be recieved with another sharp grab on her scalp again and the feel of bare skin on hard wood again. She could see clearly now: David, Emmet, Daniel, Laz, Lang, Victoria,....Chanter? no.... and then the panic when lanky fingers wrapped her head in thin, lanky arms, glass pressing against her lipsand she squirmed and struggled.

  "Hurry up," Daniel hissed and Ara's body grew numb before she collapsed, full body on the ground. The last thing she saw was Kolfife's grin before everything went black.

  "Mutiny," her own voice echoed in her head. Images carried themselves through her mind, whirls of color and glimpses from the past. It was the soft echo of a familiar voice that awoke her. Ara, wake up, Leander said and her eyes shot open....wood....metal...door...gun? Gun. there was a lurch in the ship and she gasped as she pulled herself to a steady stance, regaining her equilibrium. gun. she pulled her revolver out of an old desk drawer and threw on trousers and a shirt. She looked to where her defense belt usually charged....gone. David was too smart. But that was the least of Ara's problems. She stared, beholding the most frustrating sight she had ever seen on this blasted ship. They had welded the door shut. Outside that door her captain, the girl that had taken her in as her own, was being attacked. Her crew was being attacked. All behind that door that was welded to the room. what could she do? Mercurian always said,

     "When "can't" plagues reality, you're not thinking enough,"  Ara stared to the door and then to her hammock. Was she really expected to sit down and think? she sighed and then took a deep breath before releasing a loud, ear piercing scream. when finished, she sat on her hammock....and thought. The door was welded shut. she had only a gun, no explosives, nothing to her knowledge that she could make explosives with, the door was out of the question. Think outside the box... Leander's voice echoed in her head again. Ara rolled her eyes. Yes, think outside the box. Maybe create a mystical telephone that could summon Wil or Alex, hell, maybe even Oz through the wall or someth....thing.....walls. Ara stared at the door.

   "You're off limits," she said to the door, "but you're not the only way out of this room." It was risky, and she could die, but ara looked to her desk again where she knew there was a lantern in case of blackouts. she stared at it with a good few hesitations with a twinkle in her eye. "This better burn right." she said, grabbing her lantern off her desk and a lighter from her pocket. she lit the lantern and took a deep breath.

    3...

 

    2...

 

    1...

  "ARA!!! Oy!" with the lantern in her fist in the air, Arabella stopped midway to burning her wooden wall down and possibly the ship. "Ara, esce-que tu es a cote de la port? Si la reponse est "oui", BOUGEZ!" Dominique called through. with a smile Ara ducked and a blast threw her back with wood and a metal chair. Her head buzzing and her vision blurry again, Ara coughed and as she regained her senses, there was Dominique, standing on a chunk of rubble withone of Mercurian's ultrablasters over her shoulder. "allons-y, salope." she said, "Let's fucking go before they come to see what the ruckus is about. Half the australians and a good chunk of our ship has everyone locked in the fucking brig." Ara coughed and grabbed Dominique's hand as it reached down to help. She pulled herself up.

    "Merci." Ara smiled.

    "save it, I'm too pissed off to say "de rien"."

    "you just did."

    "ah, nique la." Dominique whispered as smoke cleared on a giant dark figure. Chanter stood in the blasted hall. Ara and Dominique exchanged glances, both cocked their weapons in perfect syncronisation. what could she say to him?

     "Chanter, I dont know what we've ever done to you and I don't know why you're doing this but you're still my brother. Move so I dont have to shoot you." Ara tried all she could to keep her voice steady but it shook anyways. Images flashed before her eyes of the times she had with him. Chanter was her pal. How could she- He crossed his arms and shook his head before drawing his schimitar. "Chanter stop," Ara yelled and when he grinned at her panic, she knew then. he was already dead to her. that smile. It was a dare to shoot. He was gone to her. "You turned on us. All of us." she said. Chanter shrugged.

    "We're pirates," he shook his head, "Did you think we were family? I don't have stockholmes syndrom like you do. I don't grow to love the people who kidknapp me." she pulled the trigger. There was the ring of gunfire and then the look on his face; shock.

     "That's exactly what I thought." Ara frowned to hold back tears and once again exchanged glances with Dominique who then stared down at Chanter's lifeless body as he lay there, pools of blood growing around his torso. Ara took another deep breath and stepped over the body. There was no body. He was dead to her.

     With loaded guns and ready stances, ara and Dominique inched their way down the hallway. They stopped at the stairwell. "How many do they have-" shhhhhh. Marlow ducked out of a dark corner and put his hand on Ara's mouth before she gasped from the surprise. Dominique snickered at her and then nodded to Marlow.

     "We'll get the others free. I think you're looking to get the captian." Dominique suggested. Ara nodded slowly.

    "I have the captain...and fucking David." She said. Dominique and Marlow nodded.

    "Fink got his friends out of the Dawn Rider's brig. They're locked up with the crew but Fink is hiding in the air vents above the brig waiting for the first gun shot so he can act from above." Marlow said, "whatever you do though, watch out for Kolfife. No one knows where he is but he got into Mercurian's lab. God knows how." and then he and Dominique vanished down the steps with the sounds of quick foot steps on metal. Ara's eyes flashed around, she snapped her head around with alertness and started up the steps to the upper deck. Upon stepping into the night air, she continued to look around her. The balloon creaked ominously and the netting that covered the ship flapped in the breeze. Ara began walking cautiously towards the other side of the ship to the captain's study, the deck boards croaking under her feet. Her breath became course as her eyes widened and her mouth went dry. a snicker...

     Ara yelled and whirled around to nothing. There was nothing. More alert now than before, she flashed her eyes around.

    "Kolfife!" she yelled, "ani...I know it's you! Come out and fight me!!" she cried out when everything happened all at once. she looked up to the image of a large lanky body that slammed down on her. A sharp punch hit her cheek after her head hit the floor and she could hear her gun skid accross the floor boards. She struggled against the man's bashings and finally elbowed him off her as she stumbled up to grab her revolver. loud, fast foot steps advanced on her and she fired when she turned. the pale ghost of Kolfife stopped in his tracks and fell like a marionette to the ground. "I never liked you anyway." Ara scoffed and looked towards the Captain's door. As she put her hand on the handle to open it, here was a click and her head snapped to the right. More loud clicks and a giant creak made Ara's heart stop. she ran to the starboard side and ducked over the edge to see every life boat fly aimlessly out to nowhere. "that's not good." Ara said aloud when a whistle caught her attention. there they were,

   Daniel, victoria, emmet, Laz, Lang, and David....with the captain, bobbing up and down in the sky on a life boat. David smiled hauntingly warm and picked up the captain, bashed, battered, and torn.

    "we need to get rid of some weight, Help us out." David called over and threw captain Bennet back onto the Silver Widow where she seemed to almost unravel accross the deck.

     "Captain!!" Ara cried out and slid to her side, glaring up at David and aiming her gun.

    "ah ah ah," David held up a familiar clicker. "Remember using this to blow up the Whistling Hound in the harbor?" It was from Mercurian's lab. "Good riddance." he said and unanchored the life ship as it floated off into the night. The captain coughed and Ara waited. Was this it? She looked to the door to the lower decks where Marlow and dominique ran out.

    Then there was a sound. Like fireworks at first, that turned into nightmares. an orange blaze cast its color over the upper deck. 

 

      EVERYBODY HIT THE DECK!!!!!" Ara screamed as a giant chunk of metal flew over themm. "RUN!!" Ara grabbed the captain and tried to lift her, the load lightening when thomas dunning grabbed the young girl's legs and they all ran together. there was a lurch and then an unbelievable wind. Panic...panic.

     Was this actually happening? death had never seemed so frightening before. why was it now? 

      "we're falling!!!" Thomas yelled to Ara. "we're dying!" Ara gasped in not sure what to do. She was helpless. why hadn't she seen any of this coming. the air howled around them. she knew it was going to happen and she didn't think to sleep with one eye open? she to Captain charlotte.

     "Captain, we're going to die." It was the strangest feeling. Those words. "we're falling from the sky."

    "No...emergency...lowest deck. Get the emergency balloons you idiots." The captain groaned.... Dominique and Roderick were hugging behind ara when she turned around.

   "We've been such fools." Ara whispered,

    "Quoi?" Dominique shouted over the wind.

   "Get everyone to lowest deck now!!" ara screamed. Dominique stared at her. "Do you want to live?" Dominique turned and shouted to everyone else on the deck.

    "get to lowest deck!"   ara could hear everyone shouting at eachother as word passed from deck to deck as a stream of crew members gathered behind her. they were going to live. they could've died in the stupidest way possible.

           when "can't" plagues reality, you're not thinking. 

   down uner, on the lowest deck, everyone stationed themselves and got to works.

           "release the gas!!" Ara shouted, "push out! Belay that pathetic look on your face or I'll shoot it off!" slowly, the wind began to die.

          When "can't" plagues reality, you're not thinking enough.

        "hold the girls steady!" Ara ordered...it was a silence uninterrupted as everyone tied the emergency balloons down. The balloon on top was burning...but the widow now rode on top of her balloons instead of underneathe. The silence was pushed ara's stomach against breath as there was another lurch and a thump...."what the hell was that?"

       "Are we dead?" She heard Jon at the back. Ara looked to Marlow who tilted his head towards the lower hatches of the ship. He pushed open an emergency door.

       sunlight streamed through.