The Guardians of Island X (5 page)

“All right. I’ve got a plan,” Scarlet said. “I don’t think the pirates will face the jungle in the dark, either, but we can’t count on them to be yellow-bellies.”

“Yeah,” Gil Jenkins piped up. “They’ve got Lucas now, and he’s not afraid of the dark.”

Twenty-two pairs of eyes turned to glare at Gil.

“What?” The boy crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m just saying he’s no yellow-belly.”

“As I was saying,” Scarlet continued. “We can’t assume
that they’ll stay on board the
Dark Ranger
till morning. But there’s a lot at stake here, and not just the rubies. We can’t let those bilge rats lay eyes on this clearing. So I say we leave here tonight and head them off near the Boiling Lake or even farther down the trail in the valley. If they don’t arrive tonight, we’ll be ready for them tomorrow. It’ll just mean camping out in the jungle.” Even Scarlet’s voice wavered on this note. It was one thing to sleep in the peaceful clearing, but another thing altogether to spend the night elsewhere on Island X.

“But then what?” asked Monty. “When they show up, will we fight ’em?” He kicked the air halfheartedly with a big foot.

Scarlet shrugged. “We’ll have to.”

“The uniforms aren’t ready yet,” Smitty moaned.

The Lost Souls shuffled and shifted.

“Wait!” cried Liam. “What about Uncle Finn and Thomas?” He looked at Jem. “Where are they?”

Jem had no answer for that. Then he remembered. He had a pipe to call the explorers—right in his pocket. “I’ll find out,” he said.

“Good,” said Scarlet. “And I’ll ask the smelly wild pigs and the monkeys if they wouldn’t mind helping us out like they did before. I hate bringing them into this, but…maybe just once more.”

Jem felt a bit better hearing this. The pigs were fierce and the monkeys very obnoxious. They’d set the pirates on the run in mere seconds last time.

Everyone else seemed to brighten as well.

“I forgot about the pigs!”

“Of course they’ll help us.”

“I’ll do what I can, crew,” said Scarlet. “Gather your weapons before it gets too dark and meet back here. Be ready to hike.” Then she looked down at her bare feet, grunted, and marched off.

The rest of the Lost Souls ran off to find their cutlasses and knives. Jem emptied his trouser pockets, pulling out some nuts, a wad of lint, the beautiful silver and ivory handled knife he’d stolen from a pirate named Deadeye Johnny, and, finally, Uncle Finn’s pipe.

Uncle Finn had warned him that it could blast out an eardrum, so Jem moved away from everyone. He held the pipe between his lips while plugging his ears with his fingers and blew into it with all his might.

Nothing.

Not a sound.

Jem blew harder, until his own ears popped.

Still nothing.

He smacked his forehead. A faulty noisemaker. “Uncle Finn, how could you?” He jammed the pipe back into his pocket.

“I still can’t find my dagger!” Edwin yelled. “Whoever took it had better fess up!”

Jem shook his head. “Good thing the animals are on our side. We are not ready for a fight.” He pictured the tree houses that should have been built already and the Lost Souls ambushing Captain Wallace from above. But then, Scarlet was right about not letting the pirates get close to the clearing. Perhaps he could build houses at strategic points along the trail, too.

Jem’s thoughts were interrupted by muttered curses in the bushes nearby. A moment later, Scarlet emerged, looking frustrated.

“Did you find Uncle Finn?” she asked.

Jem shook his head. “The pipe’s faulty. Doesn’t make a sound.”

“Well, now we’re in trouble,” Scarlet said. “I couldn’t find the pigs, either.”

“What about the monkeys?”

“I found some monkeys. But I’m pretty sure they don’t understand English.”

“Really?” Jem’s stomach tossed and turned as though he were on a ship instead of standing on solid ground. What were they going to do?

“Really. The one who borrowed my boots just ignored me when I asked him to give them back.”

“Wait a minute. You gave your boots to a monkey?” Jem asked, incredulous. “Why?”

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Scarlet pierced him with a cutlass glare, then stomped off. Jem sighed. If only Uncle Finn were there to help. And Thomas. The giant would give them the strength they needed to take on a shipload of cutlass-wielding pirates. He gulped. How on earth would they stand a chance?

The other Lost Souls looked as though they were wondering the same thing as they set off down the dark trail. It was the only one on Island X they knew fairly well, having followed it to the treasure in the first place. Out in front, Scarlet held a lantern brought up from the
Hop
, but near the back of the line, where Jem found himself, there
was nothing but the odd firefly to light the way.

Over the past month, Jem had learned that the jungle was always much noisier at night than during the day. At night, it seemed as if every insect had something to say, and loudly. Some voices were high-pitched and squeaky and others deeper, like creaky wooden rocking chairs. Jem liked to imagine they were saying something like, “Dark tonight, isn’t it?” “Sure is.” “Hey, check out Mona’s web!” “Ooh. Nice work!”

But on this night, the chorus seemed quieter, as if even the bugs understood the seriousness of the situation. A few bats flapped low overhead, and Jem wished he were closer to Scarlet so he could ask if they were trying to tell her something.

“It’s too quiet,” Smitty said suddenly. “I think it’s time for…” And the Lost Souls’ unofficial lyricist broke out into song.

“Smitty!”

The songster looked up at his captain, who’d stopped marching and was staring at him in disbelief.

“Maybe something a little more…uplifting?”

Several wide-eyed pirates murmured their agreement.

Smitty shoved his hands in his pockets. “Everyone’s a critic.”

As they passed the pit of deadly striped vipers (the “ophidian aggregation,” as Uncle Finn called it), Scarlet slipped down into it to attempt to speak to the snakes. She emerged a few minutes later, shaking her head—apparently the snakes didn’t understand English, either. She peeled a small one off her ankle, tossed it back into the pit, and continued marching down the trail. The Lost Souls followed, quiet once more.

They arrived at the Boiling Lake in darkness so deep and thick that it hid the rising steam. The Lost Souls knew exactly where they were, though. It was impossible not to, with sweat dribbling down their faces.

“Stay to the right, crew,” Scarlet called. “The edge is just on your left.”

Jem shuddered, thinking of the long fall down into burbling water. Like falling into a giant pot of soup.

Soup. His stomach rumbled, and he wondered if anyone had thought to bring snacks. He certainly hadn’t.

The Lost Souls pushed on toward the nearby Valley of Simmering Streams. Even in the morning light, they’d barely be able to find one another in the steam rising from the Boiling Lake; the pirates would sneak right up on them before they knew it.

As they trudged on down the trail, Jem tried to distract himself by looking for details to add to his map. He noted a tree with roots as high as his forehead lying on top of the ground. He also noted that if he looked closely enough at the vegetation around him, dozens of tiny silver eyes would glimmer, then disappear.

He shivered. Perhaps this was best done in broad daylight.

Think happy thoughts, he told himself. Like Christmas pudding. Or booting a football clean past the goalkeeper in a tied game. Yes, that was good. Football matches rarely involved gleaming silver eyes.

He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice they’d arrived at the Valley of Simmering Streams until Scarlet announced, “We’re here, crew.”

They huddled around her lantern. Away from the lake, the air felt much cooler, and the sky glittered with millions of stars.

“I think we should camp close to the trees in case it rains. We’ll take turns standing guard while the others sleep. Five patrollers at a time.” She tapped the closest five heads. “Spread out along the valley and keep your eyes up.” Scarlet gestured at the big hill in front of them. The pirates would have to climb up over the top before descending into the valley. The Lost Souls had slid down
that very hill several times now. The slippery-slidey ride was always the best part of the trek into camp.

Jem found a dry spot on the ground near the edge of the trees and settled in, doubting that anyone would actually be able to sleep. If the moans and squeaks from the jungle didn’t keep them awake, the knowledge that they would soon have to face the pirates surely would. Back on the
Hop
, they’d at least had their black cloaks to protect them—the pirates and King’s Men had cowered at the sight of the little ghouls. But when Lucas had left, he’d blown their cover. Now his new crew knew that the Lost Souls were only children. They had nothing to hide behind anymore.

Jem leaned back on his elbows and looked up at the stars. He fell asleep trying not to think about how they reminded him of all those eyes in the jungle around him.

Jem awoke to a soft, steady clicking noise. He opened his eyes and for a moment assumed he was back in the clearing near the pool. Then he remembered and sat bolt upright. The stars had faded, and the sky was now a deep blue streaked with pink and violet. The clicking noise continued. Jem looked around for its source and found Emmett lying nearby, clacking his teeth in his sleep.

“Phew,” he breathed, then wondered why no one had woken him for his night-watch shift. He glanced around the valley and saw a few patrollers on duty: Liam was drawing in the dirt with a stick while Ronagh chirped at
a bird in a tree. But where were the others? Scarlet had said five would be on guard at a time. Jem stood and surveyed the bodies asleep on the ground around him. How had they all fallen asleep? How had he managed to fall asleep? And where was Scarlet?

Then Jem looked up at the hill.

He gasped as he took in one of the most terrifying things he’d ever seen.

Three faces stared down at him over the crest of the hill. One was blockish with dirty-brown hair and a nasty grimace. The next one was small with a pointy rodent nose. And the third had a red bandana wrapped too tightly around his dark hair. Lucas Lawrence. The Dread Pirate Captain Wallace Hammerstein-Jones. And Iron “Pete” Morgan, the captain’s right-hand man.

The air was so still that Jem could hear Captain Wallace hiss, “Do you think he’s seen us?”

Lucas didn’t answer. Instead he hopped to his feet and waved at something behind him. Suddenly there were twenty—no,
forty
more pirates on top of the hill. Together they took a breath, then let out a big, bloodthirsty battle call.

“Everybody up! They’re here! The pirates are here! SCARLET!” Jem screamed.

The Lost Souls leaped up from the ground, hollering and fumbling for their cutlasses. The pirates atop the hill roared again, but Jem could barely hear them. His own cries of “Scarlet! Captain!” drowned them out.

He found Tim searching for his spectacles in the grass.

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know!” Tim found the glasses and settled them on his nose. “What do we do?”

Jem had no idea. He looked back to the top of the hill. There seemed to be some delay. Pete and Lucas Lawrence looked like they were arguing, while Captain Wallace was flapping his arms like a crazed parakeet.

“Let’s block the trail,” said Tim. “If we’re spread all over the valley like this, the pirates’ll just run by us and up the path.”

“Right. Of course.” Jem turned and sprinted through the crowd of Lost Souls, passing on Tim’s instructions. On the hilltop, Lucas threw himself down on his stomach and began to barrel headfirst down the mountain. Even from a hundred yards away, Jem could see the wild look on his face. One by one, the
Dark Ranger
pirates began to slide down the hill behind him.

“To the trail!” Jem called and made a dash for it.

“We’ve got them on the run!” Captain Wallace crowed. “After them!”

The Lost Souls halted at the mouth of the trail and looked back, puffing and shivering. It was a horrifying sight—dozens of pirates sliding down the hill, cutlasses clamped between their teeth. And one wicked boy out in front, hollering curses the Lost Souls had never even heard before.

“We’re in for it,” whispered Sam.

What would Scarlet do?
Jem wondered. Before a raid, she always wished the crew a peaceful death rather than the nasty one that might well await them. But Jem didn’t think it was really the time for that. Lucas had slid
to a halt at the bottom of the hill and was picking himself up, ready to charge.