“Donde estas, pequeña rata?”

If he had been around to hear her, he would have pointed out that he was taller and more muscular than her, and certainly much more honorable. Of the two, she was the scoundrel, even if the two had been street rats once.

Barbara huffed and slowed her pace, knowing that there was no point in running. She had lost sight of Olve after chasing him for a full hour. The only thing she could see now was the thick and ominous shadows of the jungle. However…

“I can still find you.”

She put away her pistol, knowing he was far ahead. At her feet, there were footprints. The ground was humid, full of mud; it was what had allowed those ants to break the earth easily, apart from those sharp pincers.

Her eyes narrowed, trailing the vegetation ahead. She had never stopped following the sound of his rush, nor the small drops of blood he left behind. He was quite evasive, but there was no way for him to hide in his urgency.

She advanced once more, this time without running. Throughout her life, she had always managed to unnerve those around her. Her expression could be haunting, but not due to something evident in it. Somehow, she was able to sense fear.

That sailor was afraid deep inside, yet it was not due to the animals and beasts that could lunge at him from the shadows of the jungle. It was her treachery what he was wary of, for he believed that a pirate like her could be unpredictable and inhuman.

Barbara marched forward, like a predator. She trusted her instincts because they had never failed her, not once. Eventually, the trail he had been leaving faded… yet her heart and mind guided her, beckoning her towards her target.

I shall claim the prize you shield with your life, no matter what.

————–

 

Where to?

North, east, west… All those directions would eventually lead him to a dead end. Be it by the sea or the maws of a ravenous animal, his advances would be blocked. And heading south was not an option, because those scoundrels and their ship were there, tracing his movements.

Perhaps they had been hindered by those huge rapacious ants, but he knew they would not be stopped. Those green eyes held true greed, and nothing would offer much deterrence against her persistence.

He had lost her, for now. It would not last. After taking a minute to secure his makeshift bandages, he analyzed his surroundings, having stopped sprinting through the jungle. His blue eyes hinted anxious sorrow, for he saw no way out of his predicament.

All ever slowly, he kept walking north. It was not a real choice, just a subconscious advance. His heart was determined but discouraged at the same time. Preventing those fiends from snatching the trinket was just a delay in their ploys; it was clear they would eventually lay their dirty hands on it.

I’m just winning time.

A vain cause. No one had any way of knowing their ship had been sunk, not until a month had passed at least. Their disappearance would be questioned and investigated, but by the time another royal vessel made it through their route, those pirates or the jungle would have made a corpse out of him.

No, not even with luck would he survive a week. It was a fact. He just had to listen closely to the sounds of the jungle to know it. Things lurked. Many threats were inspecting the traces of his moves, not only that pirate.

He had been tense since he heard the first cannonball. If he ever worried now, he simply moved his gaze subtly, to keep all shadows in sight. Birds and animals of prey had fallen silent, but that did not mean there was stillness.

The echoes of rustling leaves kept reaching him, a few distant animalistic wails disturbed the peace of the island, and something kept scratching the tall thick branches high above. He really did not want to find out what was making any of those sounds.

Perhaps I should have accepted that quick shot. If I don’t throw myself off a cliff, my death will certainly be very painful and-

He did not finish that grim trail of thought. With a loud yelp, he tumbled forward, because his right foot tripped with something. Before he fell all the way down, he caught a glimpse of that obstacle: a stone. It was dark and metal-like, natural yet clearly moulded by humans.

There were more, yet they had been concealed by vines and bushes. His weight parted them all as he plummeted, breaking them apart and revealing the edge of a pit. It was a deep hole, crafted with those stones, resembling a huge well.

Before he knew it, he reached the bottom. The fall would have killed him if there had not been a pond of water to muffle his drop. That was natural, non-intended by the ones that dug the pit. The rains of the season saved his life.

He emerged from the pond with a raspy gasp. After a few coughs, he pushed his short blond hair back and looked up, cringing as he realized how he could not discern the edge above. He quickly eyed his dark surroundings and noted how he had fallen into some sort of ruins.

“Oh, gods…”

This island was not desolate; humans inhabited it… and they were not kind towards foreigners. The first thing he saw while looking at the walls, were the murals the natives had drawn ages ago. One clearly depicted a ritual ceremony, which involved a sacrifice. Suffice to say, he did not like how it involved lava and magma, all applied onto the victim.

He took his time crawling out of the pond, for nothing lurked in it. Once he sat by the edge of some steps, he tried to steady his breaths, letting out a couple of profanities between them. Luck was not on his side, for he could not see an apparent exit, and he could not climb back up.

His blue eyes hinted even more resignation now. There was a tunnel nearby, and it parted in multiple directions. Sadly, none headed up but down and deeper into the earth. Wherever those paths led he did not know, but they were his only option.

“Anything is better than waiting for that madwoman to find this pit.”

No, he could not stay seated there and simply greet her once she leaned to peek down. He would be shot on the spot. And so, he stood again, taking a deep determined breath. He outstretched a little, cracked his neck, and then set forth into the tunnel.

There was no light, and each step led him more into the shadows of the ruins. However, as he traversed the stony passages, he discerned light ahead. His heartbeat fastened, for those glimmers did not come from torches or the sun, but lava that flowed in the depths. Small holes outlined some tunnels, which connected to the floors far below.

The heat soon increased, and it did not do him any favours. Still, that fact gave him an idea, one that was painful and desperate. He really hated considering it, but it was one last resort he maybe could take.

“Magma can destroy anything…”

A buried treasure could be unearthed. Molten metal could not be grasped.

———–

 

She double-checked; an hour passed, in which she trailed the surroundings of the pit. The recent footprints she found led directly to the edge of it, yet she kept denying he was foolish enough to have descended into it.

Sadly, the more she scouted the surrounding areas to ensure he was not trying to fool her, the more she recognized that he could have only gotten down into that hole. Her instincts were calling her, and it truly confused her.

“Are you that desperate?”

She leaned away from the edge, pondering in disbelief. No one in their right mind would descend into such derelict ruins. But then again, he was indeed stupid; he had dared to flee from her.

The real question was if she would be as reckless. She knew how dangerous the island was, and that fact would only intensify in its depths. Past all her determined rage, even she had to consider if jumping after him was worth it.

There was hesitation in her heart. She slowly looked back south, towards where her crew had been. They surely had lost those ants by now, and they may have started to track her moves. If she headed back, she could reassemble them all, direct them here and scout the pit together.

She took one step back away from the pit. It was the only one. She halted sharply and scowled, letting out a frustrated growl. Her long black hair whipped in the air as she turned back to face the hole, her gaze flaming with anger.

After taking a deep breath, she made her mind. Going back to fetch her crew was a risk, for that sailor could find a way out of the ruins by the time she came back. She needed to corner him, as soon as possible.

Her hand grasped her sword strongly, and then she sliced some nearby vines. She procured a makeshift rope out of them, to tie around a tree. It was soon thrown down the pit, for she intended to descend.

“I’ve waited years for this chance…”

She couldn’t let it pass.