Jack Sparrow and the seven avatars.

Chapter eight: The nightmare

Jack froze at Tokorah's words. His eyes flew from one member to another nervously. He looked frozen in fear. He didn't want to be a leader. He barely wants to be here. Zen burst into laughter like Tokorah's words were the funniest thing he had ever heard. Jack felt embarrassed by his mocking laughter. Varah and Narashi looked interested in the idea, and Karline had no expression on her face.

"No," Jack shook his head vehemently, gesturing with his hands for more clarity. The group ignored him and looked at one another. "You can't be serious," Zen looked at the others incredulously. He couldn't believe they were considering the clown as their leader.

"Look, guys, I can't be the leader. I just got here; I barely even know what the f**k is going on"; Jack pled his case, hoping the others would forget this madness. When no one looked at him, he threw his anxious eyes at Karline, hoping the girl would be the sane mind among the group. She looks bright and hopefully knows what a colossal idea this was.

Karline shrugged her slender shoulders and said. "If that is what everyone wants." And then she walks off.

Jack stared after her, his mouth gaping like a fish. He couldn't wrap his head around the new development.

Varah smiled at him and followed after Karline. Zen threw him a glare and walked off. It was now him and Tokorah. "This belongs to you now," he said, handing Jack a giant sword. The weapon felt too heavy for Jack, and it slipped from his hand, nearly splitting his foot in half if not for his quick reflex.

Jack dragged his eyes to Tokorah; his face flushed with embarrassment. The black boy stared back at him with a patient smile. "Don't worry; you will get used to it," he said, patting Jack's shoulder and then walking away.

Jack stood in the middle of the room, wearing a bewildered look on his face. He looked like he didn't know what to do next, whether to go to bed or run from the room screaming like a banshee.

He looked up towards the other group members, and his eyes fell into the icy blue ones staring back at him. He jump-started, not expecting the blonde boy to be awake. Lur looked away from him without speaking, leaving Jack to his misery.

Jack bent down to pick up the sword Tokorah left to him, but it felt too heavy to hold, so he just let it clatter to the ground and then walked off in frustration. There is no way he is going to use that weapon. He can't even carry it.

He found a spot to sleep on the hay beside Tokorah. He laid down and folded his body against itself to shield himself from the night chill. The night got chilly with each passing hour, and his clothes weren't exactly a good protection from the cold.

Jack rubbed his hand over his arms to disperse the cold bumps on his flesh, and that is when he realised something. His clothes were different. He sat up quickly and looked down at his body, his face etched with shock. In his new get-up, he looked like a ninja, except his top was white, and he had some weird stuff on his arms.

This new development boggled Jack's mind. What happened to his clothes?

"Are you okay back there?" Tokorah asked, getting Jack's attention. Jack nodded. "I am fine," he murmured and slowly laid back down.

He closed his eyes tight, hoping that sleep would come. The fire in the middle of the room was slowly dying out, casting shadows that scared Jack around the room.

Please, let me go back, he prayed desperately, his eyes filling with tears. But nothing happened. He was still in the nightmare, and he couldn't fall asleep.

He started to shiver as the last embers of the fire died out. Jack drifted into the dream world when his mind couldn't stay awake much longer.

Outside his dreams, in the room, his body turned restlessly as his nightmares tormented his mind. In his dream, the monster he saw earlier came after him. Jack screamed in terror as he ran from it, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't escape the monster. He kept running, even as his lungs burned, and he felt like he would pass out. He screamed when the monster caught him and opened his huge mouth to swallow him.

His scream of terror woke everyone in the room, including Jack. His heart pounded like a war drum as he sat up on the hay, his skin dripping with sweat, the expression on his face one of horror. The others quickly surrounded him and stared at him with worry.

"Are you alright?" Karline asked.

Jack swallowed against his dried throat and nodded. "I had a bad dream," he whispered, his heart still terrified by his dream.

"Is that all?" Zen snorted at his words and got to his feet.

"It wouldn't hurt you to be a little sensitive," Varah snapped at the boy.

"Why should I? He woke us all just because he is a sissy and can't handle a little scare in his life. If the sentinels terrify him this much, what happens when he meets the Cavaliere and Vescuz?" Zen spat without any sympathy in his voice.

Jack hung his head low, feeling like the spineless coward they accused him of earlier.

"Cut him some slack," Lur snaps, shocking everyone. Jack gaped at the blonde, surprised that he defended him.

"Ah! The mute speaks," Zen mocked, a sly smirk on his lips and his brown eyes filled with malicious dark humour.

Lur got to his feet slowly and looked at Zen with a deadly look. "What did you say?" he snarled in a cold, low-pitched voice, his blue eyes hard.

Zen took a threatening step towards Lur. "You heard me," he snarled, his brown eyes daring Lur to do something about it.

Lur stared at him coldly, contemplating the best way to deal with him. The boy was a troublemaker and believed himself untouchable, and he would love to disabuse him of that notion by teaching him a lesson.

"Ow! A fight!" Varah flew to her feet, an excited look on her face. Tokorah got to his feet as well and stood between the two guys. "Stop, guys; there is no need for a fight. We are on the same side, remember?"

Zen and Lur ignored Tokorah's words and glared at each other. They looked on the brink of a fight, and nothing Tokorah said penetrated the fog of fury clouding their minds.

Jack worried that these two would fight because of him. Narashi looked on with interest, not bothering to interfere. It was none of his business. Karline, who was still on bent knees, stood to her feet and walked to the two guys. "That is enough, both of you," she said, looking from one to the other with a stern look.

The boys looked away from each other to her, and whatever they saw made them stop and then walk away.

From his position, Jack gaped at Karline like she was the messiah. How could someone so little command such an authority? She didn't raise her voice to get the two boys to obey her.

Karline turned to look in his direction, and their eyes locked.