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Chapter 12 Part 2
"What happened?" Jessie asked.
"You pushed me into the sensor before it was blinking."
Rake and Stretch came up behind them. "What happened?"
"I didn't tell Jessie about the sensors soon enough."
"I pushed him into it."
Rake pointed at the sliding door, which was almost halfway shut. "Got a dart?"
Stretch nodded. "I hope it's enough. If that blast door shuts before we're out, we could be here awhile."
Rake nudged Jessie and Ryder forward. "Stand by the door. Plug your ears and close your eyes. After the explosion, dive through. Hurry!"
The boys did so. When they reached their spot, the blast door was just under half-way closed and gaining momentum. Ryder clenched his eyes shut and plugged his ears. Jessie followed suit. A loud crack sounded. Jessie opened his eyes, saw the bottom half of the regular door was gone, and followed Ryder through. With the blast door about three-quarters of the way shut, Stretch and Rake sprinted down the corridor. Their natural bouncy gait made their strides that much more powerful, and they closed the distance quicker than Jessie thought possible.
With just enough room to spare, the two dove through the opening. The blast door slammed shut a second later.
"Safe!" Ryder bellowed, making the umpire signal with his arms.
"High five us later," Rake said as he and Stretch bounced to their feet.
Stretch pointed down the corridor. "Last door on the left. Go!" All four took off and met no resistance. Rake waved his hand in front of the door, springing it open.
"Nice try," the hissing voice of the pirate leader said. A glance through the door showed a half-dozen pirates waiting for them. Fastball 1 was on the other side.
Each pirate drew a gun, and though they didn't point them at anyone, the threat was there. Jessie felt light-headed, but he bit the inside of his cheek to stop from blacking out. This time it could spell doom, not just for him, but for his friends. He managed a glance around, and though he couldn't read either Rake's nor Stretch's expressions, he could see the fear in Ryder's eyes. The pirate leader saw it, too.
"So this is the other human child. The one, they say, who can actually play the game." He ran a scaly finger across Ryder's cheek. Jessie had to suppress a smile as the fear in Ryder's eyes turned to hate. "If he's as good as my master says, why aren't we targeting him? Why have we been instructed to kidnap the other boy?" He threw a questioning glance to Rake and Stretch, both of whom shrugged.
"We're just the hired help," Rake said.
The pirate leader bellowed an unpleasant laugh. His snake-like vocal tendencies almost completely took over. "I think you underestimate yourselves. On purpose, most likely." He turned to the five pirates at his back. "Let them pass."
"The boy?" Stretch asked, nodding towards Jessie.
"He's still our captive. The offer was for you three only."
Ryder stepped towards the pirate leader. "No deal." Even though he was at least a foot shorter, he stared into the pirate's eyes.
This time all the pirates hissed out their reptilian laughs. Even with Ryder's aggressive move, none of them pointed their guns. Ryder wasn't perceived as a threat. Jessie figured that was to their advantage, but he wasn't sure how yet. He glanced over at Rake and Stretch, but still couldn't read their passive expressions. Were they really as calm as they appeared? Did they have any of this under control?
"Do you think you could stand against me, boy? I promised all but the loser boy would arrive to the tournament safely, or I'd teach you exactly how inferior you are. When it's all said and done, feel free to challenge me."
"Did you call me a loser?" Jessie said. He wasn't sure where the courage came from, but he needed to do something before Ryder took the bait and got himself into real trouble.
The pirates again laughed, and the pirate leader reached for Jessie. Before his hand grasped Jessie's shoulder, Ryder shoved the leader hard to the side. That set off a series of simultaneous events.
The pirates aimed their weapons, while the leader whirled around on Ryder. Jessie reared back and kicked him as hard as he could in the shin. Rake moved in to help Jessie and Ryder, while Stretch yelled, "Now!"
An explosion rocked the pirate ship, which knocked everyone off balance. A couple of the pirates dropped their guns, and none of them were in a position to use them. Rake pushed the leader, who was already off balance, into the wall. Jessie and Ryder sprinted towards the Fastball 1, where Coach and Mickey Martell stood with laser rifles in their arms. As the pirates regained their composure and saw the guns, they kept their own pistols aimed down. In seconds, everyone was aboard, all in one piece, and the airlock connecting the two ships closed.
"Won't they chase us?" Jessie asked as he gasped for breath, not just from the quick sprint, but from the whole terrifying incident.
"We're safe," Stretch said. "When that robot blew up, it sent waves to disrupt both their engines and their navigation. By the time they get it all figured out, we should be at the space station."
"Packed a heck of a punch, too," Mickey Martell said. "We felt it all the way in here."
The whole group filed back to the sitting room and collapsed into the couches and chairs. No one said anything for a few minutes until Ryder broke the silence.
"Dude, Jessie, that was awesome when you kicked that pirate guy. I didn't think you had it in you."
"Yeah, kid," Rake said. "See? You do have some courage. You'll be fine." Everyone else nodded and agreed. Even Mickey Martell.
Jessie felt himself get a bit light-headed again. This time it was from smiling so hard.
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