Chapter 12
The kiss lingered on her lips as she followed Flint out of the room. There was a tingling sensation dancing across her skin, forcing her lips to tremble and her hands to shake nervously. She had never experienced a kiss as strong as the one she shared with the captain. It wasn’t as terrifying as her mind wanted her to believe. That feeling drifted from her mind the second she felt his warm lips upon her own.
Sam stayed one step behind him, walking past his men as they swabbed the deck. He took her to the stairs and each one creaked under their feet as they descended. She held onto the rotting handrail and let go of the damp wood after the last step. The crewmen below deck were busy stacking barrels of gun powder and a few cases of glass jars she believed to encase rum.
Flint lead her further below the deck of the ship until the smell of mold and mildew caressed her nose and she grimaced at the stench. The lighting was dim, only two small, round windows to let the sun’s rays shine through. The lowest level of the ship, the Brig as Flint had called it, was nothing more than a depressing prison home to a few pirates and three familiar faces.
Darrick was the first to notice her when she entered the prison. He stood up from the barrel he was siting upon and walked to the bars. He said her name quietly, but loud enough for her to hear his voice. Rusty and Sarah also spotted her and ran to the bars, begging to be let out. Sam glanced from her friends to Flint and stared into his calming eyes.
“Go ahead.” He stated, motioning toward the cell with her friends, “I’ll give you a few moments to see them.”
Sam nodded and said, “Thank you.”
Flint leaned in to her ear and whispered, “Just remember our kiss, my love.”
She let that short moment play in her mind again and shivered when their lips touched in her mind. It wasn’t a shiver of disgust, more of wonder and longing. A longing for what, she did not know, but she was willing to find out.
He let her walk by and move across the Brig to the bars of the cell. She stopped in front of Darrick and forced a smile to her lips.
“Are you alright? Did they hurt you or anything?” he asked, frantically.
“Yeah, what did they do to you up there?” Sarah spoke up.
“I’m fine.” Sam replied. “They kept me in the captain’s room and gave me food and everything.”
“Why won’t they let us out of here, Sam?” Sarah asked, her eyes pleading for an answer.
“I don’t know. But I just have a few minutes before he’ll make me go back with him.” Sam replied with a shrug.
Sarah’s eyes turned red as tears fell to her cheeks. Rusty grabbed onto her and she buried her face in his shoulder to cry. Sam didn’t expect any different from Sarah. She would cry over anything.
Sam turned her eyes to Darrick’s. His hands were latched onto the bars and fear was in his eyes. She reached out and put a hand over one of his. His skin was cold against hers and he was shivering. It was relatively colder in the brig than in Flint’s room and she realized all of them were shivering.
“He didn’t touch you, did he?” Darrick asked, quietly motioning toward the captain who still stood by the stairs.
Sam shook her head, “Just a kiss.”
“What? Why?”
She shrugged, “I wanted to come see you and that was the only way. He thinks I’m someone else, a girl he’s madly in love with because we look alike.”
Darrick shook his head and glared at Flint, “I don’t understand any of this. Why are we even here? Why are you out there alone without me to protect you?”
Sam raised an eyebrow, “You want to protect me?”
He nodded and turned his eyes back to hers, “You’re damn right I do, but I can’t being stuck in this cage while you’re surrounded by pirates.”
Sam moved closer to the bars, her hand still resting on top of his, “Then save me, Darrick. Find a way to get out of here and save me.” Her voice was filled with fear and her eyes were pleading for help.
The sound of boots clanking across the wooden floor interrupted them and Flint approached the cell. He grabbed Sam’s hand and took it away from Darrick’s.
“It’s time to go, darling.” Flint said, keeping a steely glare on Darrick.
“No!” Darrick shouted. “Let us out of here!”
Flint pulled Sam away from the bars, fighting with her a bit as she dug her feet into the floor, “I think it’s best if you rot in here for a while.”
He forced Sam to go with him, his arm wrapped around her waist, pressing her close to his side. She looked over her shoulder and Darrick was fighting with the bars.
“Save me, Darrick! Find a way, please!” she pleaded.
T. R. Justus 