Pirate Story!!! (In Which We Find Jamison Isn't So Bad After All )

Chapter 16: Feeling a Little Bit Better

Sarah woke up in a small room, she blinked in the light. The room was well worth looking at, for there were interesting things everywhere.

A shelf held pieces of driftwood, shells, smooth strange colored rocks, along with other things you might find on exotic beaches. There was a safe with several padlocks on it, several cigar boxes, maps of all sorts, a long curved sword, a fishing spear made by Indians, and an old figure head of a dolphin.

On a desk was a pile of charts and a small framed painting of a young girl with dark hair and sad eyes. His sister. Marie.

Along the wall was a large collection of "Wanted" posters, all starring Jamison. There were ones from France, Spain, England, Italy, and many others, he was wanted for stealing, kidnapping, escaping jail, and many other crimes, none of them murder though...

It was a very cluttered room, but in a pleasant sort of way.

Sarah suddenly realized how sick she was. Then she remembered what had happened. It felt like years ago she was down in the hold. Surely she would have died, had Jamison not come. Well, maybe he wasn't too bad after all...

Then, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" called Sarah, sitting up. It was Jamison. He looked tired and worn out, but relived. "Ah, good, you're awake. You know, you nearly died."

Sarah nodded.

"You feeling any better now?" he asked

"Aye. A little. How's Skinner?"

"Not very good."

"And everyone else?

"Pretty darn sick."

"Why aren't you?"

"Lady luck." he laughed "I don't know how long it'll last though. David fell last night with it."

So, Jamison was the only well one on the whole ship! Even the captain had come down with it, he told her. This left Jamison alone to care for the sick and run the ship.

There seemed to be no end to the dreadful sickness. It struck you, and never left. Sarah could barely sleep for five minutes before awaking with a fit of coughing and a burning fever.

Sometimes Jamison would come, but not always. There were many others that needed his attention.

One time Sarah was half asleep, burning up with fever. It was hard for her to tell what was real and what wasn't. Horrible dreams haunted her from hour to hour. She was locked in an everlasting battle, and it was pulling her to pieces. At last she fell asleep, but it was not a restful one.

Jamison had heard her cry out, and had come to see what was the matter, he found her asleep but as hot as fire. He looked up at the picture of his sister on the desk. There was no doubt she was probably dead now. All because of pirates, pirates like himself. He suddenly felt angry at himself, like he never had before.

"How could I let this happen?" he whispered "Its all my fault she's here, dying of this blasted illness. How could I have been so thoughtless? She's so...innocent and trusting, or at least she used to be. What am I doing? I've always known its wrong. I've got to stop all this, this life, this cruel trade. I just can't keep living this way!

"But where can I go? The only people who accept me are pirates..." he paused "But I can't keep hurting innocent people..."

Then, Sarah's fever broke, and she relaxed into a real slumber. Jamison sighed a breath of relief.

"How could I do such a thing to her? If she survives this illness, I'll be lucky. I want to make things up with her, but... How could I ever expect her to forgive me?"