A couple hours and more drinks had passed. Skullblade, Tom, Gavin and the three odd men laughed. Skullblade’s crew stood around watching, as were Tom and Gavin’s friends.
“May luck be my lady!” said the smaller man, as he laid his bet in the middle of the table.
“Where did ye get that?” Skullblade appeared mesmerized by a sparkling red gem, and suddenly all eyes were on the teardrop shaped ruby necklace atop the pile of treasures.
The man smiled. “I found it. Off a dead corpse.”
“Oh,” said Skullblade shrugging it off.
“Captain is that...?” started Tom.
“Tom...” Skullblade gave Tom a silencing look that everyone pretended not to notice. “Let’s finish thee game, shall we?” Skullblade laid his cards down confidently followed by Tom and the others – except Gavin. The small man’s face dropped. “Not so confident now are we, Mr. Jones?” Captain Skullblade sneered at the small, disappointed man, as his crew cheered.
“Yay! Ye’ve got da’ other map!” laughed one of Skullblade’s men.
“Map?” asked Mr. Jones. “How be that a map?”
Skullblade swiftly pulled out his pistol, shot the sailor that had spoken and said with a dark look. “That’s a secret, Mr. Jones.” He leaned forward looking at the small man.
“Well, either way, it’s mine.” Gavin laid his cards down with a smug grin. Everyone’s face was shocked. “Thank you, I will take that.” Gavin pulled the pile of goods toward himself. He picked up the ruby studying it.
“Mr. Gavin...” started Captain Skullblade.
“Captain,” said Gavin looking at the ruby. It sparkled in the candle lights
“Captain Gavin, you don’t want that gem.” Skullblade watched Gavin, though his eyes were drawn to the red glistening stone with a greedy hunger.
“Why...?” Gavin looked at the older pirate suspiciously. “Because it’s a map to this certain treasure and you want it all to yourself?”
Skullblade suddenly became very serious, gone was the humour in his eyes. Tom stood up aiming his pistol at Gavin’s chest and Gavin’s friends aimed their weapons at Tom. “No, because you’re a blimey cheater!”
“Tom...” Skullblade said cautiously. “Maybe we can work out a deal with Captain Gavin.”
“Ah don’t think you understand, Captain. Gavin is bluffin’.” Tom quickly showed Gavin’s cheat. Skullblade looked shocked.
Gavin smirked and rolled onto the ground. Tom fired a shot hitting no one, as Gavin bumped into Tom. Gavin’s friends started fighting valiantly their captain’s attackers, even though they were soon outnumbered by Skullblade’s crew.
The fight spread throughout the tavern. Gavin and his friends attempted to run out without getting too stalled up by someone trying to fight them.
A fat drunken man stepped in front of Gavin with a sneer, looking like he had the upper hand, whilst holding a cutlass loosely.
Gavin smirked and yanked out his own cutlass, startling the man. Gavin skillfully fought the man’s cutlass out of his hands.
The man was shocked and slightly terrified. He held his hands up in surrender, saying, “Pardon, me, sir. My mistake, please don’t hurt me!”
A cutlass’s blade suddenly came through the fat man’s chest from behind. The man was in even more shock, as he fell to the side, revealing Captain Skullblade.
Skullblade leered at Gavin, who stared at him with some surprise.
“Did ye know there’s ne’er a man yet looks me betwixt t’ eyes an’ lives ter see a good day afterwards, Captain? You may lay ta’ that,” said Skullblade.
Gavin carefully looked to see that he was surrounded by five of Skullblade’s crew.
Gavin’s two friends just finished fending off their own attackers and looked up to see Gavin in a hopeless spot.
“Take off his shirt,” Skullblade ordered.
Gavin’s eyes narrowed questioningly, but without fear, as Skullblade’s men caved in on him. They held him tightly, while another tore off his shirt, revealing the ruby that hung on Gavin’s muscled chest. Skullblade pulled out a wicked-looking dagger and sauntered toward Gavin.
“You like that uh?” Skullblade lifted the ruby with the tip of his dagger.
“Captain, what of his friends?” asked a tall pirate built like an ox, leading Gavin’s two friends held between several hands fastly.
“Hand them over to the authorities,” said Captain Skullblade. “And tell them they’re Skullblade’s gift.”
Gavin tried to pull his arms free from the brutes holding him firmly, as he glowered at Skullblade.
Skullblade unexpectedly sliced just enough of Gavin’s bare chest with the cold steel to draw blood. Gavin yowled, jerking violently.
“Be still, boy!” Skullblade growled. “Before ye kill yerself! It’s only a warnin’ if ‘n ‘e thinks to try somethin’ against me agin.”
Gavin stopped, but his chest rose and fell rapidly. His sea-green eyes flared venomously at the older man.
Tom stared helplessly with a look of disgust, as Skullblade cut lightly into Gavin’s stomach once again enough to draw blood. Gavin howled. A crowd had gathered to stare. People were too afraid to interfere or stand up to the pirate.
The howling was heard across the street, where the middle-aged man from the shadows in the tavern walked out the back door of another tavern. He crept back into the tavern with the sound of pain.
“Next time ye try to cheat me, I won’t be so nice,” said Skullblade, carefully cutting into the top layer of skin on the right side of Gavin’s stomach. Gavin breathed deeply and quickly, but brokenly. He gritted his teeth, as he tried not to scream, but managed to scowl hatefully at the Scottish pirate.
“Skully!” Gavin growled. “Take the blasted ruby and let me go!”
Skulblade laughed. “Why? ‘Ave ye learned yer lesson, then, hmm?”
“Yesss!” Gavin met the villainous captain’s eyes squarely.
The man from the shadows pulled out a double-barrelled pistol, standing in the shadows in the crowd.
“Ye’ve got courage, I’ll give ye that.” Skullblade shrugged. “Bring forth thee whip, Ned!”
Gavin’s eyes shot wide open. “No! Why do you not believe me?!” Gavin tried to shake free.
“Hold ‘im!” Skullblade barked. “An’ you!” He pointed his pistol at Gavin face. “Be still or I will blast yer brains all o’er kingdom come!”
Gavin stopped again, as Ned walked forward. The goons pulled Gavin’s arms out tighter. Without warning, two shots fired off and the goons holding Gavin let go, yowling and holding their hands that dripped with fresh blood.
Gavin tumbled forward to the dirt and pebble covered floor landing on his face and chest. Pain seared through him like fire, starting from his freshly opened wounds. He pushed himself up and ran toward the front door, as the man in the shadows slinked back out of the tavern unnoticed.
“Who was that?” Skullblade growled looking around angrily. The crowd suddenly dispersed.
Gritting his teeth from a throb of pain executing around his stomach and chest wounds, Gavin easily pushed past willing people and out the door.
“Don’t let ‘im get away!” Skullblade shouted.
Gavin halted outside looking around for an easy escape. To his left, he spotted someone leading a saddled horse.
Gavin ran, hopping on the horse and kicking it into a run.
“Hey!” yelled the horse’s handler.
Clinging to the horse, Gavin hugged his waist in a protective gesture at the same time.
“After ‘im!” A Scottish voice yelled from behind him.
Gavin glanced back without loosening his grip on the horse’s reins. He saw Skullblade pointing to some other horses.
“Kill ‘im!” Skullblade ordered. “An’ bring me the ruby.”
Tom and Chauncey climbed up onto two other horses and raced after Gavin.
Gavin followed a dirt road, riding through the outskirts of the town into the tall, vast cluster of trees.
The man from the shadows was on a horse of his own and rode behind Tom and Chauncey a little ways but off the path dodging trees and not being seen. Pulling out another double-barreled pistol, he then cut across the path behind them into the other side of the forest.
Tom and Chauncey kicked the horses forward. Tom raised his pistol and fired at Gavin, hitting the back of Gavin’s shoulder. Gavin screamed, as another shot was fired from Chauncey, whom caught the thigh of Gavin’s horse. Gavin’s horse stumbled. Gavin rolled off his horse into the bushes. He staggered up and ran.
Tom and Chauncey turned their horses after Gavin.
The man from the shadows followed. He fired a shot then another. Tom and Chauncey’s horses stumbled.
“Agh!” Tom growled rolling away from his fallen horse and getting up, as his friend did the same. He looked behind them, but did not see anyone.
“Someone was following us,” said Chauncey holding a pistol and coming to stand next to Tom.
“Aye...Ah betcha’ it’s the same bloke that saved Gavin’s hide back in the tavern.” Tom twirled around peering off in the direction Gavin disappeared.
“‘E’s probably jus’ as good as dead now,” said Chauncey. “Come on! Let’s git back to Skullblade.”
“He wants the ruby. We can’t go back without that.”
“Right...well, I don’t think ‘e’ll git far. ‘E’s los’ a lot of blood. We’ll come back in the mornin’, eh? When we can see in this bloomin’ darkness.”
“Aye...” said Tom not too sure.
“We’ll go back an’ tell Skullblade that Gavin’s probably in that small farm not far ‘aff if ‘e’s still alive, because I’m sure that’s where ‘e’ll be, yeah?”
“Yeah...” Tom was still not so certain. He wanted to get the job done, but he knew it was too dark to find him, so they headed back.
Gavin had run for about two agonizing minutes then dropped against a large dead tree truck. His chest rising and falling, he breathed noisily and painfully, but looked back and saw no one. He grimaced, as he looked down at himself. He was covered in dirt and blood, some of it dried. He was swollen around his stomach and chest wounds. He made a face of disgust. “I hate blood...” He then spotted the ruby. He looked ahead and saw a small barn a few yards away. Hope rose in him at being in a somewhat warm and hidden place, rather than under the stars. He took the ruby off and dropped it into a hole in the tree trunk. With some strength left, he tottered to the barn.
He entered the rundown barn and fell into a pile of hay against a wall. Seconds later, he didn’t hear footsteps or notice a candle.
“What are you doing, son?” asked an old but lively male.
Gavin wearily opened his eyes to see an old thin man, pointing a rifle down at him cautiously. A curious-eyed, young boy, holding a candle out stood next to the man.
Gavin gulped. “It’s cold.”
“Ye’re not wearin’ a shirt.” The old man’s expression changed to sympathy at the sight of the young man’s bare and bleeding torso. “An’ ye’re hurt.” He lowered his rifle. “Why don’t yew come inside?” He spotted a horse blanket then pointed. “Give ‘em that horse blanket, George.”
The scrawny boy grabbed the worn, brown blanket and handed it to the Gavin, as the old man said, “Cover yerself with that...or yew’ll give the ol’ lady a heart attack.”
Gavin stared at him with surprise, taking the rough blanket.
An Idea of what I'm imagining in my head for some of the scenes here, but I must warn that none of the pictures are exactly what I'm seeing, because the images (movie playing) in my head is so much better! ;P
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