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Fear of Falling Chapter 12

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Chapter Twelve: Treasure A-Waiting




"Gentlemen," the captain gasped, trying to punctuate the silence with some uplifting strings of words, "We must stay together and . . . and . . ."

Doc removed his spectacles in frustration, "And what? What?! We must stay together and what?!"

Captain Amelia looked at him with a sort of dazed, adoring emotion, "Doctor, you have wonderful eyes," she sighed.

"She's lost her mind!" Doc declared.

"Well, you gotta help her!" Jim demanded.

"Dang it, Jim, I'm an astronomer, not a doctor! I mean, I am a doctor, but I'm not that kind of doctor. I have a doctorate, it's not the same thing. You can't help anyone with a doctorate. You just sit there and you're useless!" Doc slapped his hands over his head, and Jim could swear her saw a few tears slip out of his eyes.

"It's alright, Doc," Jim patted his back, "It's alright,"

"Yeah, Doc!" B.E.N. chimed in, "Jimmy knows exactly how to get out of this. It's just Jimmy has this knowledge of things,"

Jim strolled over to the threshold, where Vanesa sat on the ledge thinking over their situation. Jim went to the other side and peered into the night as B.E.N. slipped behind him, "Jim, any thoughts at all?"

He ran his fingers through his hair, looking up at the R.L.S. Legacy floating above the clouds, "Without the map, we're dead,"

"If we t-try to leave, we're dead," Vanessa pointed into the forest, where a small campfire glowed, casting the withering trees into darker shadows.

"If we stay here -"

"We're dead! We're dead! We're dead!" Morph mimicked.

Vanessa sighed as she stared into the night sky. The clouds above were blocking her view of the stars, which drove her into a deep discomfort. She looked back to Jim, and noticed her bandana still wound around his arm, stained deep red.

"You sh-should take that off," she claimed, "Not b-because I want it back, which I d-do, but it m-might get infected,"

He nodded, grateful for the short distraction, and removed the piece of fabric. His wound was more shallow than she remembered, and was covered with crusted blood.

"It d-doesn't look too bad," she said as he stretched his arm out to get a better look, "It'll heal f-f-fine,"

"Ooh, ooh! I have a clean bandage in the back!" B.E.N. ran into the back of his home. Jim tried to give Vanessa her bandana back, but she refused.

"Keep it f-for good luck," she said, "Just don't l-lose it,"

Jim looked down at the fabric, fingering its smooth texture, "Why is it so important to you?"

She reached over and pulled at a corner of the bandana, which held two initials.

"K.K.?" he asked.

"Kamal Kendrick," she whispered, "My f-father. This is all I h-have left of him, at least until I f-find my parents again,"

Jim contemplated asking a question he'd been asking all throughout their journey together, one that he desperately wanted an answer to. It was a question that she'd refused to answer.

"What happened?"

Vanessa took a deep breath and glanced out the entrance to the sky, hoping the clouds had disappeared, only to find they hadn't. She visibly trembled just thinking about it.

"You need to tell someone, Butterfly, and it might as well be me," he claimed, "It's such a burden to keep it a secret for so long,"

He was right. He was absolutely right.

"I -" she took another deep breath and closed her eyes, "I was w-walking home from school b-because my p-p-parents couldn't get away from work to p-pick me up. I had to c-cut through a ghetto part of t-town to get there, and I w-w-was halfway there when the sk-sky got dark and I heard s-s-s-screams around me. P-Pirates had d-descended on the block, and one of th-them grabbed me around the w-waist and sh-shoved me in a s-sack. I kicked and screamed, but I couldn't es-scape.

I was f-finally released on The Twilight Horror. S-Seven other p-p-people were kidnapped as well – men, woman, and ch-children alike. We w-were forced to give up all of our v-valuables, and then w-w-we were treated as slaves. Months went b-by, and slowly the prisoners were k-killed off, until only I was l-left."

"Why did they keep you?"

"A f-few times when Captain Tromis commanded his n-navigation crew, I corrected him,"

"That doesn't seem like something they'd keep you around for. More like something he'd punish, or even kill you for,"

"Well . . . I h-have this thing for navigation. I c-can memorize maps, quadrants, location s in an instant. I k-know galaxies like the b-back of my hand. The C-Captain saw value in that, so he k-kept me alive to h-help direct him towards p-planets to r-r-raid. I s-saw and experienced h-horrible things . . ." she trailed off. Tear spilled over her cheeks and her throat became so tight she could no longer speak. Jim reached over and took her chin gently in one hand as the other dabbed at the tears. His expression was determined yet soft as he stared deeply into her eyes.

"Vanessa Gwen Kendrick," he whispered, "I promise that -"

"Found it!" B.E.N.'s arm popped in between them, holding a scrap of clean white fabric. Jim sent a death glare to the robot before ripping it from his hand and wrapping it around his arm. The air around them became suddenly awkward and a bit unsettling, the intense and intimate feeling gone.

"Well, I think Jimmy and Nessie could use a little quiet time. So I'll just slip out the back door," B.E.N. said as he tip-toed away.

"Back door?" Jim and Vanessa repeated.

"Oh yeah," B.E.N. turned over a circular mechanism which brought in a blue light and mechanical shifting of gears, "I get this delightful breeze through here. Which I think is important because ventilation among friends -"

Jim pushed off the wall and ran towards the secret passage, witnessing the gear shifts and metal workings move in sync, "Whoa! What is all this stuff?"

"You mean the miles and miles of machinery that run through the entire course of the inside of this planet? Not a clue,"

"Hey Doc! Doc, I think I found a way out of here!"

"J-Jim wait, you don't know where that l-leads!" Vanessa said.

"No, no Jim, wait. The captain ordered us to stay -" the doctor tried to stop him.

"I'll be back," and with that he dove into the passage.

"CANNONBALL!" B.E.N. screamed as he jumped in after.

Doc gently let the captain lay back before dashing to the entrance and peering into it. Vanessa joined him, her red locks pushed back by a strong, cold wind.

"Jim!" Vanessa shouted into the tunnels, "H-How is he going to g-get back up here? It doesn't l-look like there's anything t-t-to climb back up on,"

Doc sighed and slammed his closed fist on the side, "First he gets in trouble with pirates, then he gets shot, then we're almost caught in a black hole, there's a mutiny, and now this. Sarah is going to kill me!"

"I'm s-sure he'll be f-fine, Jim is always f-fine," Vanessa slumped to the floor and rested her head against the spherical door. Doc stayed standing, pacing a short length of mossy floor and rubbing his scratchy jaw with his palm, muttering to himself.

"Can't help anyone, can't babysit properly, I'm so useless, he stopped when Vanessa came back into sight. He sat crisscross in front of her, examining the poor girl, "So . . .you're an excellent navigator. You like stars and planets?"

Quietly, Vanessa nodded, and he continued , "If you're interested, I've got an observatory on Montressor. I'd really like to see what you can do. I could even give you a job. If you're interested, that is,"

For once, since she had been kidnapped, Vanessa could see a future for herself. She could see herself in a cozy apartment on her home planet, spending days with Jim and nights at Doctor Delbert's observatory. It sounded like . . . heaven.

"I w-would love that, D-Doctor," she agreed.

Doc smiled kindly, "Great! Now all we have to do is . . . get to that treasure without dying, and then . . . find a way off this planet and back home,"

Vanessa didn't know how long she waited for Jim to come back, but it felt like hours. The two took turns watching the entrance to their shelter and taking care of Captain Amelia, who began to regain a sane and authoritive mind.

"What in God's name is taking them so long?" she asked impatiently.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon," Doc reassured her.

"They better be, we don't have all night,"

Vanessa's eyes were beginning to droop. No matter how much she tried to hold on to her consciousness, it kept slipping through her fingers.

"Go ahead and rest, Vanessa," Doc offered, "I'll watch,"

She refused, but her eyes had a mind of their own, and she let them close completely. And at the sound of his scream moments later, she instantly regretted it.





His nerves were pumped with adrenaline, the real map weighed down his pocket, his mind consumed with riches. This was it. They were going to get to that treasure first, it would be all theirs. His mother could rebuild the Inn, he could update his solar surfer, he could even drop out of school if he wanted to. Life would be so much better from now on.

Jim climbed out of the center of the planet, pulling B.E.N. up with him. Everything was dark around them, and he could only pick out a few large lumps that looked like resting bodies. Pulling the map out, he ran to the spot where he last saw Doc, excitement lighting up his voice, "Doc! Doc, wake up! I got the map!"

A robotics hand reached out and took the globe from him, "Fine work, Jimbo," Silver came into the light, a malicious smirk tugging at his fat lips, "Fine work indeed,"

Oh fuck.

Like the monsters they were, they leaked out of the shadows, with their scared faces and dirt covered, tattered clothing, and they had his friends bound and gagged. Five of them surrounded Jim, grabbing his arms and legs to prevent him from running.

Congratulations, Jim Hawkins. You just handed the enemy the treasure.

"You're just like me, Jimbo. You hates to lose,"

Damn right I do, Jim thought with a grunt.

Silver's smug attitude vanished when he realized he had no idea what to do net. He tried everything with several of his arm's attachments, yet the secret activation code escaped him. At last he turned back to Jim, who had taken his smug look, and shoved it into his hands, "Open it,"

Jim was released, but there was no way out. He glared at Silver with as much poison as he could muster. There was no way he'd open it for a lousy lowlife like him.

Silver whistled, and the alien holding Vanessa dropped her on her hands and knees. One of his hands was covered with a rubber glove, holding a broken piece of Vanessa's shock collar. Jim felt his insides freeze a thousand times over, and he started to struggle against his captors.

"Found it in the forest where ye crash landed. May be broken, but it still has a . . . shocking effect," Silver snapped his fingers. Vanessa's gagged was removed from her mouth so her whimpers could be fully heard as she kicked and writhed in desperation. The alien brought the open, circuit infused side of the collar to the flesh of her neck.

"No, don't -"

Impossibly, he could hear the sizzling of her kin over her agonizing shrieks. The smell of burning skin was immediate. Vanessa shook violently and lost her balance, falling onto her back. The shock collar was lifted away by the time he broke free and reached her. She twitched and gasped for air, tears streaming down her face.

"You're fucking crazy if you think I'm doing anything for you now!" Jim spat with as much poison as he could muster, holding Vanessa to his chest. But she was ripped away and he was lifted back onto his feet. Jim tried to get back to her. He would not let them hurt her any more, and he would not activate the map.

That was, until Silver changed his arm into a gun and pointed it at her head.

"I'd get busy," he threatened.

Jim looked to Doc and the captain for guidance. He could feel the authority in her gaze as she shook her head. Doc nodded at first, and when he saw the captain's head movement, switched his opinion to match hers. He looked toward Vanessa, who's gaze was locked on the ground, her hair covering her expression.

It was the sound of the gun clicking that synched his decision. With a flat expression, he activated the globe with the pattern he knew by heart. The pirates gasped as green particles exploded from the map to form a floating hologram of the planet.

"Oh, the powers that be, would you look?" Silver whispered with wonder.

The particles dispersed to form a glowing, pulsing arrow, revealing the direction of the treasure.

"Tie him up and leave him with the others," Silver ordered, "Til we -"

Like hell you're leaving me, Jim thought as he deactivated the map, the arrow disappearing, "You want the map? You're taking me too,"

Silver pondered this for a moment before chuckling manically, "We'll take them all!"

The five of them were forced out of B.E.N.'s home to a waiting long boat. Jim was the only one who wasn't tied up, and he was able to catch Vanessa as she was thrown into the boat.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, his arms tightening around her fragile frame, "I am so sorry about this,"

"No talking!" Silver ordered as he plopped down next to him.

They followed the map's arrow out of the giant mushroom forest. Jim had no time to take in the scenery of the planet he'd dreamt of all his life. His mind was running at a million miles an hour, and his heart even faster. Despite the situation, the excitement still buzzed with in him. The treasure was just within reach, he could practically feel the gold in his hands, and he wouldn't be leaving without at the least a handful.

When they couldn't go on the boat any farther, they landed on the ground. Captain Amelia and Doc were left tied up on the boat with a guard while Jim, B.E.N., and Vanessa were forced to follow Silver. Jim had an arm around the red-headed girl the entire time, letting out animalistic growls whenever someone went near them. As they walked, B.E.N began to get more nervous and twitchy.

"Jimmy, I-I don't know about you, but I'm starting to see my life pass in front of my eyes. At least, I think it's my life. WAS I EVER DANCING WITH AN ANDROID NAMED LUPE?"

"B.E.N., shh! Jim hissed, glancing at Silver's back. He hadn't seem to notice the robot's outburst, "Tis isn't over yet,"

Silver pressed on eagerly, going as fast as he could with his injury. The beam above him pulsed faster as it pushed through the tall green reeds ahead of him. His lips broke out into a grin worthy of a kid on Christmas, "We're getting close, lads!" he turned his arm into a sword and thrust forward, "I smell treasure a-waiting!" he grabbed the front of Jim's shirt and tugged him forward.

Slashing through all of the canes, Silver and Jim's excitement grew to an impossible size, ready to see the metallic shine of gold and the glimmer of jewels.

But all they saw was a cliff.
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