The breeze from the window lessened. It seemed to be just a pause in the wind, at first, but then Patrick noticed that the clouds were no longer speeding past.
A glance out the window showed no land, but he could only see out of one side the ship.
The door shot open with a bang. Selna wore a playful smile as she entered, the other two close behind.
“Time to get your swimming gear on,” she said.
“I say we just throw him in and hope he makes it,” one of the pirates said. “A real waste, using enchantments on him.”
“Our whole mission revolves around keeping him alive,” Selna argued. “So if we’re going to save on enchantments, maybe you should go without?”
The pirate grumbled something under his breath but said no more.
“Get up there,” Selna commanded Patrick, as the other pirate undid his cell door. “Move it.”
He had to shield his eyes from the sun when he went above deck, and then wished he’d come out looking a little more macho. All of the pirates were staring at him. He nodded and turned to look for land. There wasn’t any.
“What’s happening?” he asked. “Where are we swimming to?”
“Down,” Selna said. She motioned to the other pirates. Two of them pushed an enchanting table forward, and another prepared an anvil.
Patrick licked his lips, feeling the nerves now. “We can’t just swim down, okay? Whatever we’re looking for, I can’t help. I don’t know anything, I swear, and we’d just swim around lost until we ran out of air. It’s not worth it!”
Selna was looking at him with one eyebrow raised, but the others had continued on without even looking over. They had already finished enchanting two helmets and handed them to the pirate at the anvil to combine them for better breathing capacity.
“Respiration enchantment?” he asked, feeling more curious now that he’d had his rant.
“It’s the only way we’d make it,” she said, turning to a chest beside her and pulling out some glowstones. “You’ll need one of these,” she said, tossing one to him.
“For…?”
“To see with. Down there.”
“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned us going down there, into the depths…But you do realize that there are aggressive squids, and worse.”
“That’s why we’ll be taking these too.” She hefted a stone sword into the air, assessing its edge.
Patrick held out his hand, waiting for his.
“Seriously?” Selna laughed. “You’re our prisoner. We’re not giving you the chance to chop your way out of here.”
“And if I die down there?”
“If you die, that means the monsters got through us, which means we’re all dead. So it won’t matter.”
He didn’t like her reasoning one bit, but didn’t see how else he could argue his case. At least they gave him one of those helmets enchanted with respiration, though he still didn’t get the point. It wasn’t like he was lying when he’d said he had no idea where the treasure was, so if they expected him to give up the information in a moment of underwater panic, they were in for a letdown.
Everyone put on their helmets, glowstones, and swords at the ready.
“Um, one question,” he said, standing at the edge of the ship, preparing to jump with the rest. “Won’t we sink with all this?”
“That’s the idea,” Selna replied, and then leaped.
A pirate behind Patrick gave him a light shove, his laughter loud until it was drowned out by the water that Patrick plunged into.
The normal sounds of wind and pirate banter were gone, replaced with silence and a pleasant floating sensation. A school of fish looked him over and swam off, and he took a moment to appreciate the way the sun, too, scattered in the water.
Then it all disappeared as he found himself sinking. Fast.
A quick look around showed him that not only were the other pirates sinking nearby, they had angled down and were swimming, to speed up their descent. He shook his head in frustration, then followed suit.
He hit the uneven ground before he suspected he would. It was just a purplish tint in these dark waters, and the pirates bounded across it, just like walking on land but with weightless moments of floating between each step.
“So, this way?” he asked skeptically when he caught up with Selna.
She glared at him, then jumped ahead.
He caught up and asked, “What?”
“Better to save your breath down here. You only have so much.”
That made sense, but her attitude didn’t. He followed in silence for a bit, wondering if they were bluffing, just waiting for him to crack and give up the location of some treasure that he’d no clue about. But they kept right on going.
Out of the dark waters ahead, something started to appear, hazy at first—a large structure. An underwater fortress, he thought. Maybe this was the treasure they were after?
They drew closer and he saw this was not the case. Large squids swam around massive glass parapets and walls, a square dome over it all, and inside, he could just barely make out the buildings.
“An underwater city?” he asked, mouth agape.
“You’re very observant,” she said, her voice thick with sarcasm. “Anyone ever give you a medal for that?”
He ignored that, too focused on what was happening here. But his hand did unconsciously go to the medallion around his neck, the one they hadn’t noticed and therefore hadn’t taken. He stared around in awe. “This is it, isn’t it?”
“This is what?”
“HQ. Headquarters of the Pirates of Brotherhood and Justice, or PB&J for short.”
Her stern expression told him that was a yes. This was the last place he wanted to be. He’d sworn never to get involved with PB&J. His instincts told him to run, and his eyes searched for options. But it was just open water in all directions, nowhere to hide, nothing except—
“GIANT SQUID!” he yelled, as its shadow fell over them and it moved in for the attack.
The pirates were quick to react, forming a semi-circle around the squid, swords beating at it. At first, the giant squid seemed to pull back, but then Patrick realized it had only moved to target the one unarmed person—him!
Patrick struggled to swim away as fast as he could, but the squid’s long arms were reaching for him, and he knew there was no way he could out-swim them.
A flash from the corner of his eye, and he turned to see Selna swimming forward, motioning for him to get behind her. She valiantly swung her sword at the squid’s arm, then followed it as it recoiled, so she could strike its body.
“Swim for the city gates!” she said. “We’ll be there soon!”
He watched for another moment as the pirates charged the giant squid, pushing it farther and farther back. The way they fought, the precision, it was not at all like how pirates fought before they had been united under Captain Blackheart and PB&J. In a way it was awe-inspiring, but the fact that they were still pirates made it terrifying.
He started to follow Selna’s command, but as he approached the city he looked around at the open waters and back to the distracted pirates.
If there was going to be a chance for escape, this was it. Only, when he breathed he felt it pull at his lungs. The air was running low. He assessed the city, then the water above and the distance to the surface. He could make a break for it and maybe run out of air, or he could go with them to PB&J headquarters and live—for now anyway. He punched the water in frustration, then continued swimming toward the doors to the city.
Behind him, a cheer rose up as the pirates defeated the squid, and soon Selna was at his side.
“You were smart not to run,” she said, giving him a new look of acceptance and maybe even a hint of respect.
“I know.”
She waited until the others were with them, then used a special key to open the doors to the underwater city.
“After you.”
Patrick breathed deep, using the last of his
air supply, and then walked into the place he dreaded most in this world.
Chapter 4: Down where it’s Wetter
The second door closed behind them and Patrick found himself in the largest underwater city he’d ever seen. He’d been to one or two, but they were more like secret hideouts, small shacks, sometimes with tiny castles. This was a whole pumpkin patch compared to the tiny seeds of underwater cities he’d seen.
Massive structures were built along a broad road that led through it all. He saw houses in the shapes of skulls, weapon shops built in the form of swords and pirate hats, and a small hut that looked like a pineapple. Flags were displayed, but in groups—the gray flag with a single bone to one side, representing the legendary pirate known as One Arm, because he had one arm; the purple flag with a red ruby at its center, representing the pirate who’d earned the title of the Blood Queen; a green flag with a wither-storm on it (a flying monster with three heads), for Captain Jessica; and more, continued on farther than Patrick could see.
“Keep it moving,” Selna said, sheathing her sword.
He obliged, but didn’t like walking among these flags. Several pirates lounged about—a group over by the shop were sharpening swords, one seemed to be digging for treasure, and others were crafting a new building out of yellow sponge. It wasn’t clear what it could be, but then they placed a final touch on it and he realized they were making the building look like a pile of treasure.
They came upon a small square where several pirates were having a juice-drinking contest, another burying her face in a pie. Someone had a zombie that he was using for target practice with some red-stone arrow dispensers, laughing and waving his pirate hat in the air each time an arrow hit.
A building door swung open and a pirate staggered out, followed by another shaking her fist. The first found a sand block and heaved it at the second, but it only fazed her. She pinned the other pirate to the ground and started letting a long thread of spit dangle from her mouth over the other’s forehead.
“What’s wrong with these pirates?” Patrick said in disgust.
Selna looked back with a scoff. “Um, they’re pirates. That about sums it up.”
Yeah, he had to give her that one.
They walked between the buildings, one that said “TNT Shop: Come on in for an explosive time.” Patrick walked faster, not wanting to be around when a fight broke out in that store.
A shadow covered the whole area for a moment, and then it was gone. For the first time, Patrick looked up. The glass walls and roof way above allowed them to see the squids still floating around out there. Above them, the shadows of boats floated past.
“This is amazing,” he said, before realizing he was saying it.
“You feel at home then?”
He turned to her with a cocked eyebrow. “Never. Not here.”
“Half these pirates would give their treasure to try their hand in a fight against the legendary Patrick the Sea Slayer.”
“That pirate’s long gone.”
She didn’t even look back as she kept walking on, leading the way. Ahead, a new flag appeared, and a chill ran down Patrick’s spine.
The red flag with the black heart, torn in half—Blackheart.
“Any chance I can bribe you not to take me there?” he asked, slowing his pace.
A pirate shoved him forward and Selna grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him with her.
“Other options? A fight of champions? Parle?”
“Parle?” she said, looking at him like he was an idiot. “Doesn’t that mean you want to talk to the captain, or leader or whatever? What do you think we’re doing?”
“Right, I was just trying different things….”
“Yeah, well stop it.” They reached the steps and she turned on the bottom one, staring him down. “Something happened with you and Blackheart, is that it?”
He stared, jaw set. There was no way he was answering that. Just then, a half-dozen pirates stepped out of an alley between a building made to look like a ship and another that resembled death.
The lead one wore a pirate hat almost as wide as the man was tall, and his crew had to walk spread out around him. He took one look at the situation and laughed as they approached.
“Brought him for me, have ya?” the man said.
“Bilgerat,” Selna said with a nod. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“What it looks like,” he said, leaning in to sniff at Patrick, “is that you need to step aside so I can deliver this pork chop.”
“Hey,” Patrick said, but took a step back when two of the pirate’s men drew swords and pointed them at him. “Okay, okay. Pork chop it is.”
“I found him, I deliver him.” Selna drew her sword now, as did her pirates. The fight would be almost even, and Patrick had no interest in being involved.
“You know how many villages I had to burn, only to learn you were sailing back here first?” Bilgerat said. “I figured you must have a good reason. So this must either be the Sea Slayer, or some rando who knows where the Blade of the Sea is. Which is it?”
“None. Of. Your. Business.”
They all glared at each other for what seemed like forever, long enough anyway for a squid to stop at the glass wall nearby, stare, and then float away. Bilgerat’s shoulders loosened—he was giving up.
But maybe that wasn’t what was best for Patrick at the moment. He needed a distraction, so he decided to make one. He gently nudged the pirate beside him, who stumbled forward and his sword pricked the opposing pirate right in the butt.
“ARGH!” the pirate said, holding his butt with one hand while he attacked with the other.
Soon all the pirates were at it, and more pirates were running over to join in. Many of them laughed and cheered as they joined the revelry, not even sure who to attack.
“Where is he?” Selna was yelling, but Patrick was already disappearing behind the alley and dodging into the shadows as three more pirates rushed into the fray.
He had escaped Selna and her pirates, but he still had to find a way out of here.
Chapter 5: Friends in Strange Places
Patrick sprinted as fast as he could, dodging pirates who ran in the opposite direction with cheers and weapons held at the ready. Start a brawl on a pirate ship, it’s going to be a circus, but start one down here? You get the whole jungle.
He ran down a dark tunnel and came out on a ledge, then had to quickly jump back to avoid a large laughing pirate who swung a shovel at him. Apparently, the fight had expanded past the area he’d just left.
Something hit Patrick’s head as he backed up. He turned, fists up and ready for a fight, but it was just a block sticking out of a building made to look like a boy’s face. But the blocks were red, so that made them…. Yup, he saw when he took a step back, some pirate had thought it funny to build pimples onto this image of a boy’s face.
As odd as that seemed, and kinda gross, Patrick had no choice. He dodged another strike from the shovel, then leaped onto the first pimple. He almost lost his balance but turned to the next and leaped. Soon he was parkour-jumping to the boy’s forehead and across an opening with a small pool filled with crocodiles.
“Who builds a parkour area over crocodiles?!” Patrick screamed out in frustration as, with the third jump, he had to steady himself and remember not to look down.
He remembered himself and glanced around, then continued on, glad no one had been there to hear him. The last thing he needed was to be dodging more shovels while trying to make these jumps.
With a sprint he charged, leaped as far as he could, and landed with a toe on the edge. He swung his arms, hoping that somehow he’d regain his balance, but he wasn’t so lucky. There was, however, a ladder on the side of the wall that he was able to grab hold of. He swung hard against the building and his arm hurt, but at least he wasn’t crocodile food.
A window half-way down seemed to be his best bet, so he made his way to it. As he was about to go in, he paused, realizing someone was talkin
g inside. He hadn’t noticed until the last minute, because they were speaking in hushed voices.
“You’re wrong!” a female voice said. “There’s no way we’d make it.”
“I’m telling you,” a deep, soothing voice said. “This could be our chance. I have a plan, and I found a route. Someone who’s agreed to help.”
“You’ve already talked to them about it?”
“Tell me this, are you happy here?”
“We’re pirates! Happiness isn’t our concern. We care about looting and treasure, and yes, we get that here. That and our lives.”
“If we make it, we keep our lives. And have freedom.”
“Agh!” The girl said, then footsteps gave Patrick the impression that she was storming away.
He waited a minute, then decided he had to take the chance. With a breath to steel his nerves, he stepped in through the window.
“What’s this?” the soothing voiced-pirate said. He was tall, thin, and pulled two swords out at the sight of Patrick, who stood a good block or two taller than him.
“Don’t attack!” Patrick said, hands up to show he was unarmed. “I heard what you said, I want in.”
“You a pirate?” another voice said, and Patrick jumped when he saw a short woman pirate standing in the corner. She was so tiny, he hadn’t noticed her.
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
She stared at him unconvinced, until the door flew open and the one who had stormed away entered and said, “And if you think I’m just going to sit by and….” She paused, frowning at the sight of Patrick.
“This your escort?” she asked. “Come to take you away?”
“I’m not,” Patrick said. “But I need to get back to the land above, and I think you all can help me with that.”
“Oh, great, another nutcase. What, you think we should be free of this pirating world too?”
“Yes, given the choice, I’d say no more being a pirate.” It wasn’t a lie, after all.
Blade of the Sea Book 2: A Children's Survival Unofficial Minecraft Book Page 2
