Skull and Dagger

“Everyone stay where you are and prepare to fire,” Gerard ordered, testing the strength of the rope ladder that had been looped between the two ships. “Don’t worry about what happens to me.” With that, he quickly made his way over to the other ship, his feet nimble on the ropes.

It was just as he reached the halfway point that the first shot was fired.

“Gerard!” Frank cried out in alarm, arriving on deck just in time to see his first mate fall into the water. He pulled out his pistol and…

All hell broke loose.

The dozens of pirates that had been hiding just below the rails of the ‘ghost ship’ all leapt up simultaneously, firing at Frank's crew with brutal accuracy. The more experienced pirates instantly hit the deck, waiting for the first volley of the enemy’s shots to be fired.

They rose up once again in a ferocious wave, but by that time, the ‘ghost ship’s crew had already invaded the decks. Swords clashed and fists swung, and in the middle of it, Frank fought whoever came him, desperately trying to force his way over to the side and discover whether Gerard had survived…
* * *

“Annabelle!” Elizabeth exclaimed in relief when she crashed right into her friend on the stairs that led below deck.

“Elizabeth!” Annabelle said in surprise, dropping the sword she’d ‘acquired’ for a second to give her friend a quick hug.

“What are you doing out here?” Elizabeth demanded. “They’re right behind me!”

“Who are—?” Annabelle began, but her question was answered when the door at the top of the stairs shook with the force of a powerful impact.

“They’re coming down here!” Elizabeth said in alarm. “We have to find someplace safe to—”

Annabelle grabbed her shoulders and gave her a quick shake, pulling the other woman out of her mild hysteria. The door at the top of the stairs made a cracking sound as the wood started to give way.

“What’s happening?” she demanded of Elizabeth.

Elizabeth shook her head and turned her full attention to the matter at hand. “We’re under attack!” she exclaimed. “Again.”

Annabelle rolled her eyes. “This is getting old,” she said, mildly annoyed.

“It’s only happened twice,” Elizabeth pointed out.

“It was old after one time,” Annabelle retorted, snatching up the sword she’d dropped. “Is it the navy?” she suddenly asked hopefully.

Elizabeth shook her head. “More pirates, I think…”

The door shook again as the foreign pirates continued to batter it.

“I-I locked it behind me,” Elizabeth said somewhat nervously, “but that will only hold them for so long…”

“Right,” Annabelle agreed. “We need a room with a solid door that we can defend, but also has enough room to fight in, if it comes to that.”

Elizabeth nodded. “The dinning cabin,” she decided.

“Lead the way,” Annabelle gestured with her blade.

Elizabeth easily made her way through to bowels of the ship, quite familiar with its design by now. Annabelle followed her, nervously looking back over her shoulder to make sure the raiders hadn’t broken through yet.

“In here!” Elizabeth announced in triumph.

Annabelle slammed the wooden door shut behind them, and the two of them quickly moved to barricade it with the scant furniture that was present in the room.

“What I wouldn’t give for one of my father’s wardrobes right now,” Annabelle joked lightly when their task was accomplished.

“So now what?” Elizabeth asked nervously, fiddling with the sleeves of her gown. “Do we just wait? Because Gerard's out there, and—”

She was cut off by the first pound on this door. “They’re in,” Annabelle whispered.

Elizabeth gulped and retrieved her dagger from the folds of her skirt. And, together, they waited...