Sea of Lies Part 35

Sea of Lies Part 35

Melody let out a shaky breath. That was it. She had no one on her side. Not Jim, not Delbert, not Amelia, and not even Silver. Silver, who had listened to her rants about how hard life on a ship was. Silver, who had made sure to pick the hairs out of her food.  She had no one. All she had was the icy stares surrounding her. Even little Morph was cowering on Silver's shoulder.

Silver gently took her by the arm. Melody jumped and the sudden burst of noise that came from Jim.

"Don't touch her!"

Melody looked at him. He was cradling his arm like a baby and he stared daggers at Silver.

"I said," he began. "Don't touch her."

Melody stared at him. She didn't know what he was trying to do. Until she saw his good arm slowly move towards his belt. Her eyes widened.

"Jim, no!" she yelled.

She was too late. Jim pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Silver. Melody's mouth fell open. What was he thinking?

Everything moved in slow motion. To Melody, at least. She could hear the click of the gun. Just as quickly, Scroop ripped his sword from his side and banged the handle on the back of his head. Melody stood, frozen in place as his eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed.

"Jim!" she yelled, yanking her arm from Silver's grasp.

She jumped the two steps over to him, and fell to her knees next to him. She was just about to shake his shoulders, but felt as sharp pain to the back of her head.

The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Scroop's grinning face.

*

Slowly, Melody's eyes fluttered open. She groaned. Her mouth was filled with the copper taste of blood. She took a deep breath and tried to take in her surroundings.

Woods. Trees. Vines. Darkness. The only light came from the crescent moon. She was sitting up. She felt dirt on her legs. She was tied to someone. She wriggled her wrists. It was a slipknot. No matter how hard you struggle, it only gets tighter.
She tried to remember what had happened. Scroop had hit her... she fell on Jim. Then Eris said something to Silver...and he tied them up.

She hissed. Her head felt  like someone had tied four cinder blocks together and was making her balance them on her head. She groaned. As much as her neck would allow, she turned her head to see who she was bound to.

Jim.

Their wrists were tied with the same rope. His eyes were closed and his body was limp. The only thing that brought Melody relief was the fact that he was breathing steadily.

She just sat there for a few minutes. Should she say something? Should she wake him up? What would she say? Could they come up with an escape plan?

She bit her lip.

"Jim?" she said in a small voice. "Are you awake?"

No answer. She sighed.

"This is all my fault." She said to no one. "I wasn't thinking through any of this. I lied." she almost choked on the word.

"I lied." she repeated. "I'm so sorry." Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Sorry... It's just a weak word. There's nothing that can justify anything I've done." She looked at the ground. "And now I'm talking to myself. And I thought I'd escape this with all my sanity."

She shook her head. She started to move her arm to wipe her tears, but she whimpered as the slip knot only got tighter, squeezing her and Jim's wrists like a python.  

"Sorry." she whispered. She moaned. "I'm starting  to hate that word."

Sighing, she leaned back. Back to back with Jim. "I just wish you could hear me."

She was wrong. He could hear her. He had heard every word she said.