"Nothing, nothing," She whispered. A fog-like mist poured out from her hair and started to seep into both children. As it did, a drowsy feeling washed over them even stronger than before. By now, Molly was already passed out. "Just let my sink sink fruit pull you down into a world of slumber for a while, little ones. When you wake up, everything will be much better, I promise."

Shane glanced weakly at the mist that formed before him, confusion and exhaustion evident on his face. He knew something horrible was likely to happen to him and his sister, but he had no way to resist anymore. His eyes fell shut, and the boy's body went limp. The realm of dreams consumed him, all against his own will.

The last words that sunk into his mind were Sink Sink fruit. He did not know what he would wake up too, but he feared the worst. But his concerns were drowned out by positive memories. He dreamt of playing with his sister, eating his favority candy and doing all sorts of games all day long. After all, his life up until now had been rather peaceful and happy.

Shane and Molly were completely passed out within seconds. The woman responsible gently laid them to rest in the sand and stood tall, pulling the smoke back into her hair. She turned to her allies and nodded. Without delay, hundreds of men and women began to rappel down from her giant ship, and within minutes, they split up and combed the island like a colony of worker ants desperately searching for food.



Shane woke up a few hours later. His body was sore, like somebody had just tossed him down a bumpy hill, but he could move just fine. Behind him, the boat still loomed overhead, but now he was surrounded by endless sets of footprints on either side of his body. Molly still slept at his feet, but wouldn't awaken.

Shane's eyes slowly opened, and he sat on one knee. He simply sat there for a small moment. He tried to re-collect his thoughts on how he even ended up on the beach again, and what had happened to him. Then, it all came back. Chasing Molly to the beach, the pirates, everything. The boat still being nearby was the final confirmation he needed to know that he hadn't just dreamed all of that.

The boy began to nudge Molly near him. "Molly...? Molly, wake up! Hurry...something crazy happened!" He called out, trying to wake his sister up. They had to find out what happened to everyone in the village!

Molly roused from her slumber slowly, but was still too groggy to speak. She looked past Shane at the sky, and without a word, pointed up at a giant smokestack that climbed into the cloud-line. It wasn't coming from town, though. It rose up from the northwestern outskirts, where Shane's uncle owned a private lumber mill. It was hard to tell exactly where the smoke came from, but if it wasn't uncle Richardson's mill, then the pirates would have had to be burning through the forest at random.

Shane stared in shock at the giant smoke cloud that emerged from the forest. He glanced over at Molly. "Marines...the marine outpost! It's our only chance to save everyone! Molly, what direction is it?" Shane asked, looking around in the meantime to make sure that no more pirates were loitering around nearby. He certainly wanted to avoid angering any of them, but he wasn't about to just sit there.

Molly's eyelids fluttered and the light in her eye faded in and out with her consciousness. She couldn't respond.

The smoke showed no sign of stopping. Either way, spending time near the massive ship might have been more dangerous than calling for help. It was strange though. It seemed like the ship was completely unguarded. Ladders and ropes hung down from its edges, providing plenty of access points, but not a soul was in sight.

Shane frowned as Molly didn't respond. Did the woman's strange power do more to her than it did to him? His sight drifted from the large smoke cloud to the ship, and he thought things over for a moment. Trying to locate the marine outpost would be a waste of time now. Going to the smoke would likely result in running into pirates, which seemed the most dangerous. Which meant that they could take their chances to either hide elsewhere on the island, or hide on the ship that seemed unguarded. After a few more minutes of consideration, the boy made up his mind.

"Hold on, Molly.." He whispered to her. He wrapped the end of a rope around Molly's waist, made a tight knot to tie her onto it firmly and placed her on his shoulder. He began to climb a ladder near that rope, holding onto Molly tightly with one hand, while grappling onto the ladder with his other while doing his best to balance himself and to avoid falling. If he did fall, at least Molly would be safe on the rope. He tried to keep his chest area against the boat, knowing that reeling his weight back would be worse. The boat itself would prevent him from falling forwards, after all.

The boat's sheer scale was a trial for such a young boy, especially while hauling his sister's unconscious body. Against the odds, somehow he managed to reach the top. With the new vantage, nothing changed. It seemed like the pirates were confident enough to leave their ship unguarded while they combed the island. But who were they?

The entire deck was empty, and wide open at there. The only play Shane could hide would have been inside of the ship, but there were only two ways in. A giant hatch near the middle, and a pair of doors just below the helm.

Shane collapsed on the deck, breathing heavily on the deck as he placed Molly down beside him. He lay there for a few minutes, allowing himself to catch his breath. Sweat drops slid from his forehead, and he was hurting all over. Despite his pain, he forced himself back on his feet, and gently picked her up. "We'll be...fine.." He mumbled to Molly, and headed for the doors. He gently tried to open one ever so slightly, to peek inside to see if the way was clear.

The door creaked open without a hitch. It seemed like the room inside was singular. No secondary doors. No hatches. Nothing. On one hand, a long, thin bed was coated in dark sheets and various throw pillows. On the other, a very tall wardrobe reached to the high ceiling, and was surrounded by scattered dresses, far too big for any normal sized person to wear.

Near the end of the room though, an unlocked chest sat unguarded.

Shane quickly scanned the room with his eyes, firstly searching to see if anything was moving at him quickly. The last thing he wanted right now was for some pirate to rush them and capture them. Or worse, kill them. When the room seemed quiet and safe, the boy quickly made his way towards the chest. He placed Molly on the bed momentarily, and he slowly opened the small chest. His curiosity took the better of him. After all, there was only very little he knew about these pirates.

As the chest opened, Shane found a curious sight inside. It was a weird, swirly fruit. Some kind of giant pear? Or maybe a mold covered bunch of grapes? It looked delicious, and it was all alone inside that chest.

As Shane looked within the chest and spotted the fruit, he sighed in relief. He was half expecting some kind of death trap or whatnot, to be waiting inside. The boy had a lot of imagination, as expected of a child. And his fear didn't exactly allow him to think clearly.

A strange roar could be heard, almost like a bear growling. He quickly looked around, but he saw no threat nearby. Upon closer examination, the growling was coming from his belly. He hadn't eaten in quite some time, and he felt rather hungry. Just how long had he been unconscious, anyway? The boy grabbed the fruit, and glanced over at Molly. With the state she was in, and him being as exhausted as he was, he may just collapse again. He could not afford that, definitely not now. Or it would be over for him and his sister.

The boy began to eat the fruit.

With every bite, it became clear that this was no ordinary fruit. It was a rotten, piece of garbage that tasted absolutely foul.

"Yuck!" Shane blurted out, tossing the remainder of the fruit in the chest. That was the worst fruit that he'd ever eaten. He turned to Molly, and frowned. "We need to hide.." He mumbled. He opened the closet, hoping it's large size would give them a safe place to hide. It all depended on how much stuff was within.

But he suddenly felt strange, unusually cold. A strange sensation went all through his body. What was going on? Was he feeling sick because he ate a rotten piece of fruit?

The floor rumbled as Shane stumbled towards the closet. It was a familiar rumbling, like that of the marines marching through town. Footsteps, barrels, and even splashed of water cascaded across the deck, signaling that at the very least, a part of the crew had arrived. More terrifying than that, though, Shane could hear the voice of the lady Captain mixed in along with the crowd.

Shane's eyes widened. There was no time. The young boy swiftly shut the chest, quickly snatched Molly off the bed, and hid in the closet with her. He made sure to hide behind some clothes and whatnot, hoping that the pirates wouldn't find them.

If the pirates found them here, there was a very good chance that they would not show any mercy this time. He looked down at Molly, and whispered as quiet as possible. "Don't make a sound, Molly..." He muttered softly.

The rustling continued for some times, on and on, until it was partly muffled by the sound of the door slamming shut, and the Lady captain's amused chuckling. She was there. Her footsteps clacked over to the opposite side of the room, and her bed shook as she fell backwards into its cushioned embrace.

From within the closet Molly's nose started to twitch.

Shane was as quiet as possible, but he glanced towards Molly who was sniffling. It was a clear sign that she was going to sneeze. He couldn't see her too well within the closet. "Hold it in..." He whispered to his sister. Their situation was quite horrible. He shuddered to think what would happen if they were discovered now. He felt terrified, and tried not to make any noise himself.