Jack Sparrow and the seven avatars.

Chapter nine: His act of bravery

Jack's heart leapt into his throat as he stared at Karline, unable to drag his eyes away from her stunning face. Even though the approaching daylight barely lit the room, Jack could see her clearly, as if she were under a glow.

A roar outside the room startled everyone, throwing them into fearful alertness. Jack flew to his feet, his heart lodged in his throat, threatening to spill from his mouth. The others got their weapons ready and stared at the window with anticipation.

"His b****y scream brought the sentinel here," Zen snarled, shooting Jack a deadly look. Terror, like the hands of the monster roaring outside the barn, took hold of Jack. He was more occupied with thoughts of encountering the beast he saw yesterday than Zen being his hateful self.

His legs began to shake as the roar grew closer to the building. His fear and anxiety made him feel like going, and only the shame that would surely follow should he piss himself kept his legs locked.

"What should we do? The sentinels have the barn surrounded?" Tokorah asked, and all eyes flew to Jack. Jack stared back at them, clueless. He wondered why they were looking at him.

Zen scoffed like he bit something foul. "Yep, what a great leader he is."

Jack didn't need his brain working to know the other boy was mocking him. Zen's words reminded him of their decision last night, the ridiculous decision of him leading them. They can't be serious. Jack looked at each of them, and they waited for his instructions. They were serious.

His heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. They were going to die here. He was so scared that he stammered the first thing that came to mind. "We run."

"We can't; the sentinels have blocked off all exits," Karline gently reminded him. Jack nodded like he knew that all along. "So what do we do?" He stared at Karline, pleading with his eyes for the girl to rescue him from this embarrassment.

Karline briefly looked like she accepted his plea, but then her expression turned grim. She looked away from Jack to the others, who now focused on her, and said, "We fight."

Jack shook his head vehemently in disagreement; this was not what he wanted from the girl. It is so far from what he wants. Fighting those things was useless. The monsters are massive and a lot stronger than them. How the f**k would they be able to defeat it.

As if provoked by Karline's words, the monsters outside shattered the barn window and a section of the wall and entered.

Jack screamed like a crazy fellow and ran for cover. He hid his trembling body behind a heap of hay while the others engaged the six monsters that invaded the room.

He watched from his hideout as the others fought Tokorah with his spear. He was so fluid with the long weapon that he amazed Jack. Varah, too, was deft and quick with the little things in her hand. Jack doesn't know what it is called. Narashi ran around the room using his arrows on the monsters, but most of them fell to the ground without touching the monsters, but he managed to anger them.

Zen fought with his axes, using brute strength with a crazy expression. Lur was like a feline cat in his movement with his two swords. Not only was he quick and smooth, but he also handled his swords like they were extensions of his limbs.

Karline was also good with her sword and very quick on her feet. Her small stature enabled her to keep out of sight of the monsters, and she was the first to draw blood. The beast she managed to land a fatal blow on roared angrily and came at her with a killing intent.

Lur killed one of the monsters by thrusting one of his swords into his side, and that is when Jack noticed the green area on the monster's side. It was throbbing like a beating heart. Is that where their heart is?

Jack gets pulled out of his thoughts when he sees Karline struggling to deal with the monster on her. The others were busy fighting other monsters and couldn't come to her rescue. A choice emerged before Jack: Remain in his safe zone, watch his teammate die, or muster courage and do something.

The first choice sounded reasonable. Why should Jack risk his neck for a girl he just met? Yes, she is beautiful, but Karline would be out of his league if this were real. Beautiful girls like Karline never notice him.

He was about to settle for the first choice when his mind reminded him of Zen's words. He would never hear the end if he sat back and watched Karline die. The bad-tempered boy might just kill him.

So it is either death by an ugly monster or death by his crazy teammate. At least with the first option, Jack dies as a hero. He didn't like being labelled a coward.

Jack took several deep breaths to prepare himself for this journey of courage, but no amount of deep breath could bring courage into his heart. With a faint heart and a prayer to God that he wouldn't die out there, he ran out from his hiding spot and picked up the sword he had dropped last night. It felt too heavy to handle with one hand, so he carried it with two hands and ran towards the monster. He thrust into his side with all the strength his terrified mind could provide him; only he missed the green organ he was aiming for.

The monster roared angrily and turned to face Jack.

Jack froze as he came face to face with the ugly monster. The heavy sword slipped from his hand, and his body became heavy. I am going to die. Jack closed his eyes to await his mortality, but suddenly, his body went mobile as someone swung him off the path of the monster's swinging limbs.

Startled out of his frozen state, Jack turned his head to look at his saviour and came face to face with Lur's icy blue eyes. His heart skipped to his throat as he stared at the blonde boy with amazement.

Lur gently lowered him to the ground and then went after the monster that nearly killed him without saying a word to Jack.

Jack remained in that spot, watching until the battle finished, leaving a massive pile of ashes on the ground. Everyone looked out of breath and ragged except for Lur. He looked calm and collected as if the battle was a trip in the park.

"Is everyone alright?" Karline asked, looking around the group. They all nodded, except for Tokorah. "I got kicked," and he rolled his sleeves to reveal a deep gash along his left forearm.

Jack winced at the sight of the angry-looking wound and then watched, amazed, as the gash began to close.

After the gash closed, Tokorah looked at the watch on his wrist. "Damn, I am down to eighty," he exclaimed with displeasure.

Jack had no idea what he was talking about, but the sight of Tokorah's watch alerted him to the fact that he had one on his wrist, too. When did this appear? He touched the watch's surface, and the screen lit up to display a long green line across the screen. It looked like a full-battery sign but spanned the entire screen surface, with one hundred per cent written above it. Was this his life force?

Jack looked up from his watch when Karline approached him. "Thank you," the girl said, shocking him.