When the boat scraped along the shore, Jason and Abraham
lept out of the boat and sprinted up the hill towards the town. After the initial confusion, the pirates
organized themselves and gave pursuit. Only
trailing them a few hundred yards, there
were dozens of angry sailors at the humiliation of their captain.
“Better hurry up, Ab.”
“Oh really? I
should’ve just realized that we’re being chased by a horde of angry
pirates. My bad, must’ve overlooked that
detail.”
“Shut up and just follow me.”
With that the trio bounded away into the town, Jason and
Abraham dashed up the road that led away from the warf, with Frodo dancing
along behind them. The pirate’s boats
scrapped along the bottom, and out scrambled the enemy.
Jason turned and back-pedaled to get a view of the sailors,
and then spotted a few with bows
clutched tight in their grip. “Hurry
Abraham, down this alley! If we can’t
get off this main street, we’re going to be shot down.” With that, he dodged down the alley closest to
him, Abraham and Frodo right behind. This
way and that way, they wove through the streets of Alepp with pirates on their
heels. Finally, they came to a dead end,
a high garden wall stretched fifteen feet into the air, and the houses on both
sides that gave no signs of moving. And on
top of all that, the cries of their pursuers were drawing nearer and
nearer.
“We’re dead, Jason.
We’re so dead.” Abraham moaned.
Before Jason could reply, a female voice whispered, ”You two!
In here. Quickly.”
Looking around, they saw a slight figure cracking a door
open for them, Ab and Jason leapt
through the door with the shaggy black dog right behind them. When the door shut with a crack, they were
plunged into darkness, then the woman struck a match and motioned them away
from the entry and deeper into the house.
“Go down these stairs and to the left is a false wall, push
on it in the top right corner, and hide in that secret room while I make sure
the crooks don’t do anything stupid.”
With that she handed them a candle and rushed back to the door.
Jason cocked an eyebrow at Abraham, and led the way down the
cellar stairs, soon they found the niche that unlocked the door, and the trio
were safely stowed away in a dusty room that was more like a closet than
anything else. When the voices of the
pirates receded and faded into the distance, the woman came and opened the
wall.
She was a slight figure, with brown hair that cascaded down
her back, and dark brown eyes that could twinkle with joy or burn with an
unquenchable fire. She stood only about
5 foot 2, but she was lithe and had well-toned muscles which bespoke of
constant activity.
“Hello, my name is Lydia.
And I saved your lives.” She
grinned. They were surprised to find
that she looked only sixteen.
“Hello Ms. Lydia! My
name is Jason Sterling, and this is my best friend, Abroham Johnson. Oh, and
this is Frodo.” He said nodding his head
at the beast at his feet.
Abraham glared at Jason.
“Excuse me, Miss. But my name is
actually Abraham, my friend sometimes has selective memory.” Jason snickered.
But Lydia only had eyes for Jason. “What did you say your name was?” She asked breathlessly.
Jason looked confused. “Jason.”
“No, your full name?”
“Jason Sterling.”
She looked him up in down in the dim light as if she was
just looking at him for the first time.
“Where are you from?”
“Washington, one of the 50 states of the United States of
America.”
She appeared frightened and at the same time happy, like her
birthday came sooner. “Please, come
upstairs. We have much to talk about.
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