The Pilgrims of Rayne tpa-8

by D. J. MacHale

  Everyone seemed to know exactly where they were going. Everybody but me. We moved silently along the shore and into the jungle. The narrow trail wasn’t much wider than my shoulders. Thick vegetation clawed at me from either side. If not for the light coming from the sky full of stars, it would have been impossible to see anything. As it was, the only way I could stop from running headlong into the jungle was to keep my eye on the silhouette of the Jakill in front of me.

  The trail led us around the rock outcropping where Siry and I had stood the day before to view the colorful fleet of ships. Instead of climbing, we stayed at sea level. After about twenty minutes of dashing through the dark jungle, the silhouette in front of me slowed to a walk. We were approaching the beach. As if on cue, everyone stopped and crouched down. The Jakill in front of me tugged on my shirt and silently motioned for me to move forward on my own. I crouched low and moved quickly to the front of the line.

  Waiting for me was Siry. He knelt on the edge of the jungle, scanning the rocky beach with an intensity I hadn’t seen in him before. The cocky rebel was gone. There was no fooling around here. He had his game face on. Or maybe he was just scared. Whatever. This was serious. Waves crashed against the volcanic stone, creating a steady white noise that would hide any sound we made.

  “We all know how to sail,” Siry said softly. “All we need to do is get on board and the ship will be ours.”

  “What’s the plan?” I asked.

  Siry motioned for me to follow him out onto the beach. He looked back quickly to the others and motioned for them to wait. He crept ahead, staying close to the edge of the jungle. I followed right behind. We got only a few yards when he stopped and pointed. I looked to see the first of the five long piers about a hundred yards farther up the shore. Tied along our side was a ship with its bow pointed out to sea. In the starlight it looked to be a light yellow color.

  “Each ship is guarded by five men,” Siry explained. “Three on the pier, two on board. There are sixteen of us, including you. Ten will get in the water and swim to the ship, using blowguns to stay low and breathe.”

  “Like snorkels.”

  “Like what?”

  “Never mind, keep going.”

  “The ten swimmers each have cords with hooks, to climb aboard. I’ll be with the second group onshore. As soon as I see the swimmers start to climb, we’ll move into position near the pier. When I’m sure the swimmers are on board, we’ll use the blowguns to knock out the guards on the pier and board the ship. From there we know how to get under way. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  “What do I have to worry about?”

  “You’ll be one of the ten swimmers,” he explained. “You can swim, right?”

  “What if I said no?” “We’d leave you here.” “I can swim.”

  “Once you get on the ship, your job is to take out the two guards on board.” “Take out?”

  “It was the weakest part of our plan,” Siry explained. “The blowgun darts won’t work after they get wet. The only way to get past those guards is to fight them. None of us would be able to handle one of those guards, let alone two. But you-“

  Ahhh, now I knew where this was going. They looked at me like some kind of fighting-commando-dude. I didn’t.

  “I’m no different from you guys,” I said quickly.

  Siry shot me an incredulous look that said, “Give me a break.”

  “What would you do if I wasn’t here?” I asked.

  “You are here,” Siry said. “You said you wanted to help?

  This is it. I don’t know where you came from or why you’re really here, but maybe this is the way it was meant to be.”

  I shot Siry a look. “Where did you hear that?”

  He shrugged. “It’s something my father always said.”

  How could I argue with that? Though I didn’t like being thought of as some kind of professional “muscle.” Loor gave me training and tools to defend myself, not to go around “taking out” people. That couldn’t be the way it was meant to be. Could it?

  Siry continued, “We’ve got to be quick and quiet. If the other guards hear trouble, they’ll come running and people will get hurt.”

  “We don’t want that,” I said.

  “We really don’t want that,” Siry echoed. “They’ll think we’re Flighters.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “They’ll kill us.”

  Oh.

  “Understand?” he asked. I nodded.

  He motioned for the others to come forward, then reached into a cloth sack he had strapped to his back. He pulled out one of those short blowgun weapons and a small coil of rope that had a three-pronged hook tied to one end. He held them both out and gave me a dark look. “Don’t cross us, Pendragon.”

  I took them. “Don’t worry.”

  The other Jakills had reached us. They sat crouched along the edge of the jungle. Siry faced them and whispered, “Once we start, there’s no going back. We’ll be criminals. We may never be able to return to Rayne. If anyone has second thoughts, this is your last chance.”

  Nobody spoke. Siry smiled.

  “There’s a huge world out there. It’s ours to explore.”

  Everyone exchanged excited looks. They were ready.

  “Be careful,” Siry added. “Be smart. Let’s go.”

  There was no cheering, obviously. The Jakills moved quickly and quietly forward, creeping along the edge of the jungle toward the pier. I felt a tug on my arm and saw the blond thief, Loque.

  “You’re with me,” he said, and kept moving.

  I gave Siry a quick look. He nodded. I followed Loque. When we got halfway to the pier, Loque motioned toward the water. Instantly he and eight more Jakills split off from the main group. They got on their bellies and crab-walked toward the ocean. I went belly down and followed. The distance from the edge of the jungle to the ocean was about forty yards over rock. I was feeling pretty good. Physically, I mean. The bee stings weren’t bothering me anymore, and my strength was back. It’s amazing what a little food and sleep will do. It also helped that I was bursting with adrenaline. We got close to the water and dropped down behind low rocks a few yards from the crashing surf. We looked to the ship. There was no movement. No alarm had sounded. So far so good.

  “Now what?” I asked Loque.

  “Now we swim” was his answer. “Time the waves. Get in quick and move out beyond the break.”

  Yeah, no kidding. The waves weren’t huge, but they were breaking directly on the rocky shore. If we didn’t time this right, we’d get thrown right back onto the rocks. Getting bashed would end the mission very quickly. Everyone had their wooden weapons gripped between their teeth and their cords wrapped around their waists. I did the same. They had practiced this. I wished I’d been to a few of those practices. Loque crept closer to the water, scanning the surf. A big set was coming in. Three waves bashed the shore, one after the other.

  “Now!” he called out in a strained whisper.

  We all ran the last few yards across the rocks and dove into the water. I did a fast crawl to get past the break before the next set came in. It was a jumble of thrashing arms and kicking legs. A couple times I got rapped in the head, but it wasn’t the time to stop and complain. A few seconds later we were all floating beyond the break.

  With no further instruction, everyone started doing an easy breaststroke toward the ship. We made very little sound. It was more about silence than speed. The breaststroke might not be fast, but it’s quiet. As we slowly approached the ship, I wondered how I had gotten involved with this crazy commando mission. Here I was with a bunch of kids who weren’t even as old as I was, and who were going to hijack a ship and head off across the sea in search of something they weren’t even sure existed. We were about to become outlaws and traitors. Was I nuts? The only thing I could hang on to was that Siry was a Traveler, whether he liked it or not. Whatever was going to play out on Ibara, Siry would have to be part of it. I had to
believe that his passion for learning the truth about their history was justified. I just wished we didn’t have to go on such an extreme adventure to get there.

  When we were about twenty yards from the ship, the Jakills took their weapons out of their teeth and put the ends in their mouths. They did it without a command or signal. Again, they had practiced this. I followed their lead. The wooden tube wasn’t the best snorkel in the world, but it allowed us to keep our heads low in the water. That was good, because I caught sight of two people walking on the deck of the ship. The guards. They didn’t see us or they’d probably have been pointing and shouting. Instead they looked to be walking casually and not all that alert. Why not? Nobody had ever attacked one of their ships before. Until tonight.

  Five of the swimmers broke off and made their way toward the bow of the ship. I shot a questioning look to Loque. He took the snorkel out of his mouth and whispered, “Five on this side, five near the bow on the far side. On my signal swim to the ship and wait. I’ll stay here to observe the guards. When the deck is clear, I’ll signal to toss the hooks on board. Climb up as quickly as you can. Once you get on board-“

  “Yeah, I know. Take out the guards.”

  “Watch,” he said, pointing to the ship. “They walk the same route. From the bow to the stern and back again. All night. Once they leave the bow, I’ll signal. You’ll have until they reach the stern and turn back to get yourself on board.”

  I looked to the ship to see exactly what Loque described. Two guards walked toward the bow. They weren’t in any hurry. Maybe they were bored. They were going to become unbored very soon. When they reached the bow and started back, Loque gave the command.

  “Go,” he whispered.

  Four of us swam quickly and quietly toward the ship. We reached it in no time and hovered there, treading water. The swell from the waves wasn’t too bad, so we were able to hang there without getting thrashed against the hull. Looking up, I guessed the deck was thirty feet above us. It wasn’t going to be an easy climb. I followed the others’ lead as they gripped their snorkels in their teeth to free their hands and unwrap the cords from around their waists. We spread apart along the hull so we wouldn’t catch one another with the hooks when we tossed them. Siry made it sound so easy, but as I bobbed there I wasn’t even sure I could throw the hook high enough to catch the deck. Why did I agree to this? What was I thinking?

  I kept my back to the hull and watched for Loque’s signal. He looked like a dark bubble bobbing on the surface. I hoped I’d be able to recognize his signal when it came. I don’t mind admitting that I was getting jittery. We must have floated there for five minutes, waiting. Waiting made me nervous.

  Finally I saw a quick movement near the dark bubble. Was that the signal? I looked to either side to see the Jakills throwing their hooks up to the ship. It was time. I grabbed my hook, did my best to wind up, and tossed it. It barely reached halfway up to the deck. It make a lame arc and fell right back toward me. I had to cover my head to avoid getting hit by the falling hook. Pathetic. I tried again. While kicking my legs to get as much of my body out of the water as possible, I held the cord in my left hand while dangling the hook with my right. Like a lasso, I wound up and let it fly. This time the hook hit the hull with a thunk and fell back into the water.

  A quick look showed me that all three of the other Jakills had gotten their hooks up top and were pulling themselves out of the water. I felt like an idiot, but c’mon! I hadn’t practiced this! I was about to try again when I felt the cord being pulled out of my hand. It was Loque. He took the cord, swam back a few feet from the hull, wound up, and let it sail toward the rail. The hook shot straight up and landed on the deck. With a quick tug, Loque imbedded it into the wood. He pulled hard on the cord, making sure it was secure, then handed it to me. I didn’t take time to thank him. We were behind schedule.

  The other Jakills were already halfway up the side of the ship. Was there still enough time to get up and onto the deck before the guards returned on their next lap? Waiting and wondering wouldn’t help things. I grabbed the cord, put my feet against the hull, and started to climb. I saw how the other Jakills did it, and copied them. With my feet against the side, I sort of walked up while moving hand over hand on the cord. The thin cord had several small knots along its length, so it was easy to grip. Climbing was tough at first, because the water created a suction, but once I muscled my way out of the water, it got easier. While gripping the wooden snorkel in my teeth like some soggy pirate, I inched up toward the deck.

  I soon realized I wouldn’t have trouble making the climb, and my mind shot ahead to the next challenge, which was all about me. I had to get rid of the guards on deck. How was

  I supposed to do that? I couldn’t just jump them and start wailing away with my wooden snorkel. That would be, like, barbaric. I’m telling you, fighting isn’t like what you see on TV. People don’t get dropped with one punch and conveniently fall asleep. Hitting somebody hurts. And it could hurt them, too. I couldn’t count on knocking them unconscious, so what was I supposed to do? As I climbed the last few feet to the edge of the railing, I decided that the best thing would be to get on deck, pull up the cord, and hope that I could take them on one at a time and tie them up with it. I figured there might even be someplace on board where I could lock them up. I didn’t know why Siry thought I could pull this off, because I wasn’t sure at all.

  The other Jakills clung to their cords, each hanging about a foot below deck level.

  I wondered why they didn’t climb up and over. Maybe they were waiting for me.

  They weren’t. The one nearest to me held out his hand to signal “Stop!” He pointed above. I could guess what he meant. The guards had returned. The extra time I had taken to climb up had cost us. I figured we’d wait until they got to the bow, turned, and walked past us again. Trouble was, we couldn’t see up to the deck, so there was no way to know when it was safe to go.

  Loque pulled himself up next to me. While still gripping the cord, he stuck out a finger to me as if to say, “Wait.” Cautiously he pulled himself up higher to peer over the rail. It was a risky move. For all he knew, the guards were right there. We watched him slowly rise and peek onto the ship. I can’t speak for anybody else, but I held my breath.

  I didn’t know how long we’d been hanging there, but my arms were getting tired. Tired arms weren’t good in a fight. Finally Loque put one hand on the deck and used the other one to motion for me, and only me, to climb up on deck. It was time. There was no chance to think or reconsider or plan out a strategy. The show was about to begin, and I was the first one to step on stage. Hand over hand I climbed the rest of the way and scrambled onto the ship. I hit the deck and rolled back toward the wooden rail, hoping to make myself inconspicuous.

  The deck was empty. No guards. No alarms. Nothing to alert anyone that a scabby commando was about to hijack their yellow ship. Though the ship was new, it looked to me like something out of olden times. The deck was made of long strips of wood. There was a wooden cabin structure near the bow that looked about the size of a large shed. Another larger cabin was to the rear. The ship had two heavy masts. I don’t know much about sailing ships, but I guess you’d call this thing a square-rigger, because it looked like the sails dropped down from horizontal poles that were positioned about halfway up the masts. A second, smaller horizontal pole was farther up each mast. There was a complicated tangle of lines everywhere. I hoped Siry was right when he said the Jakills knew how to sail this thing, because I sure didn’t.

  The only sounds came from the roar of the ocean and the groaning ship as it pulled against the ropes that held it to the pier. For a fleeting instant I felt as if I had stepped into another world, and I was on an ancient pirate ship. Stranger still, I was the pirate.

  Looking out from the deck, I saw the other nine ships at their piers. They were just as quiet. Just as empty. My confidence grew. I thought maybe the delay I had caused might have made this mission all the easier.
It gave the guards the chance to do another lap back to the stern. If Siry and the others attacked with their silent blowguns, maybe all the guards were taken out at once, and my job was over. It was suddenly looking like a piece of cake. I was so confident that I stood up, leaned over the rail, and looked down to the other Jakills.

  “All clear,” I whispered… an instant before I was jumped from behind.

  “Ahhhh!” screamed the guard as he grabbed me and threw me to the deck. Where had he come from? He must have heard us climbing aboard and ducked into the wooden cabin near the bow to lie in wait. It was the only place he could have come from so quickly. It didn’t matter. The surprise was over. The guy was going Tasmanian on me. The battle for the yellow ship had begun.

  I hit the deck on my back and saw I wasn’t being attacked by one guard, but two. The second guard was waiting for me, and I obliged him by landing right at his feet. He wound up to kick me. I rolled away. Both guards pounced. They were bigger than I was, but whatever advantage they had in muscle, they lacked in agility. And experience.

  I realized that right away. They both charged like a couple of bulls. I was able to bounce to my feet and dodge them easily.

  They didn’t give up. One guy charged again. I ducked him, but got speared by the second guard, who followed right behind. He drove me backward, slamming me into the wooden cabin. At the same time, he and wound up, ready to drive it into my ribs. He swung the weapon toward me. I blocked the downward thrust with my right arm, then whipped the same arm up to catch him across the cheek. He never saw it coming. I didn’t think these guys had ever been in a fight with somebody like me. I had learned from the best and practiced to fight against seasoned warriors. These two tropical guards may have been big and imposing, but they didn’t stand a chance. That was the good news.

  Bad news was they were about to get help.

  A loud horn sounded, tearing through the predawn quiet. Huge spotlights flashed on, bathing the ships in bright, white light. The surprise was really over. This was no longer about taking down a handful of guards. The entire security force that watched these ships would soon be headed our way.