CHAPTER NINE

SAILING CIRCLES AROUND THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE

The pirates scurried across the decks of the Dolly Llama like panicked ants. They blew out all the torches, lanterns, and candles until the ship sailed in total darkness. With the moon as their only source of light, they lowered the sails and took full advantage of the night breeze. The sailors were released from the cells belowdecks and put to work loading and positioning the cannons. All it took was the mention of Smoky-Sails Sam’s name and the sailors didn’t hesitate in joining the Dolly Llama’s crew.

Admiral Jacobson stood at the front of the ship with one leg on the bowsprit. He scanned the sea ahead to make sure there was nothing the ship might collide with in the darkness.

“It looks clear,” he called up to the captain. “I’ll let you know if that changes.”

Auburn Sally kept a firm grip on her ship’s wheel and a close eye on the approaching fleet of pirates behind them. With every minute, Smoky-Sails Sam was getting closer and closer to the Dolly Llama. The captain prayed Conner’s shortcut would work and they could finally defeat Sam and his crew.

“You said to sail west to the Parakeet Islands, pass the Isle of Skulls, and then what do we do?” she asked.

“Then we’ll sail to the right in a circle for an entire day,” he said. “The legend states, if you travel starboard for a day in the Bermuda Triangle, it’ll take you to Starboardia—hence the name.”

“Yes, I know the legend,” Auburn Sally said. “Every pirate has heard of the myth. Are you sure it’s real?”

Conner was getting tired of repeating himself. “Yes, I’m positive,” he said. “It’s how you guys find it in the end of the story. I’m sure it’ll work now, too.”

“So, Starboardia is an actual location?” Alex asked.

“Why else would I name this story ‘Starboardia’?” her brother said.

Alex shrugged. “I thought it was just a cute name based on pirate lingo,” she said. “Is there also a Portworld or Portopia or Portland?”

Conner froze and thought about it for a moment. “No, but that would be a great name for a sequel!” he said. “Hmm… I should write that down.”

“Let’s stay focused on the original,” Alex said. “Is Starboardia a country?”

“Starboardia is an ancient island,” Auburn Sally said. “It’s believed to be the only surviving land from the Lost City of Atlantis. It’s nearly impossible to find because it floats around the Bermuda Triangle like a large ship, and never passes through the same part of the sea twice. They say the debris from all shipwrecks in the Caribbean eventually washes ashore on the island’s coast.”

“Nice backstory, Conner,” Alex said. “How will Starboardia help us defeat Smoky-Sails Sam?”

“Hundreds of years ago, when the Europeans first settled in the Americas, an indigenous tribe was forced off their island by the white men who settled there,” Auburn Sally said. “The tribe was outnumbered ten to one, so they had no choice but to vacate and hope they would find another island somewhere else in the Caribbean. They set sail and were caught in the middle of a horrible hurricane. When the storm finally cleared, they saw Starboardia in the distance. The tribe used all the wreckage on the island to build a magnificent fortress. The structure was carefully designed to help the tribe defeat an enemy that outnumbered them ten to one, should they ever be invaded again.”

“Oh, I get it now,” Alex said. “We’re going to use the fortress! How fun!”

“Exactly,” Conner said. “Including Sally’s pirates and Jacobson’s sailors, we have about fifty people on this ship. Smoky-Sails Sam has five ships and about a hundred pirates on each. The fortress should do the trick.”

Suddenly, the twins and the captain were startled by loud eruptions coming from above. Everyone aboard the Dolly Llama looked up and saw red fireworks exploding in the sky. With each bright burst, the ocean and the ship were briefly illuminated by red light.

“Where are those coming from?” Conner asked.

They turned to the fleet of pirate ships in the distance and saw another set of fireworks being launched from their decks.

“Smoky-Sails Sam,” Auburn Sally said as the fireworks exploded overhead. “They’re using them to see us in the dark! Clever scum!”

Since all the light on board the Dolly Llama had been extinguished, the approaching fleet had lost track of them, and were headed in a slightly different direction. But now with the fireworks illuminating the ship, the fleet repositioned itself and was once again headed straight for the Dolly Llama.

“What do we do now?” Conner asked.

“Pray the wind is stronger with us than it is with them,” the captain said. “Otherwise, we might not make it to Starboardia.”

Conner paced the deck trying to think of a way to put distance between their ship and the fleet. At this point, Alex didn’t care how much her brother opposed her help; she wasn’t going to let his pride jeopardize their mission. When he was facing the other way, Alex covertly pointed at the sky. Almost instantaneously, thick clouds blew in and covered the stars. The atmosphere became too humid for the fireworks to go off.

Now that the fireworks were taken care of, the Dolly Llama needed a boost so the fleet wouldn’t catch up. Alex took a deep breath and blew air toward the sails. A strong breeze came out of nowhere and pushed the ship a little faster, causing everyone on board to jolt.

“Captain, it’s a miracle!” Siren Sue shouted from the crow’s nest. “Clouds are blocking the fireworks and the wind is making us sail faster!”

The pirates and the sailors cheered in celebration. Auburn Sally stared at the sky in awe. Conner was surprised at how quickly the weather had changed in their favor—it was a little too convenient.

“Alex, cut it out!” Conner said. “I told you no magic!”

His sister shrugged innocently. “It wasn’t me,” she said. “Must be some kind of tropical storm.”

“Nice try,” Conner said. “But tropical storms don’t blow clouds in one direction and ships in the other!”

Auburn Sally eyed the sky again and noticed the strange phenomenon he was referring to. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Your sister is causing this?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I forgot to mention she has magic powers—but don’t encourage her! This is my story and my project. I can get us to Starboardia and help you defeat Smoky-Sails Sam on my own.”

Conner stomped off the upper deck and joined Admiral Jacobson at the front of the ship. Auburn Sally’s imagination had been broadened so much by the twins, this wasn’t hard to grasp. She sauntered over to Alex and casually leaned on the railing.

“Men,” she said with a sigh. “They always want to feel like they’re in control.”

“It’s my own fault,” Alex said. “He asked for my help earlier and I kind of embarrassed him about it. Now he thinks he has to prove himself to me.”

“Rule number one on my ship: No woman is allowed to take orders from a man,” Auburn Sally said.

“That’s a philosophy I could get behind,” Alex said.

“Then as your captain, I order you to leave Smoky-Sails Sam’s fleet a few presents behind us,” the captain said. “If you get my drift.”

Alex and Auburn Sally shared a smile—Alex knew exactly what she meant. She turned toward the fleet in the distance and pointed at the water. Several clusters of sharp rocks stuck out of the ocean behind the ship.

“Attagirl,” the captain said.

The obstructions and the wind helped the Dolly Llama gain distance from Smoky-Sails Sam’s fleet. Soon the pirate ships had shrunk so much in the distance behind them, they could barely see the trails of smoke emitting from their sails.

The Dolly Llama sailed through the night, and by sunrise the Parakeet Islands appeared on the horizon ahead. Unfortunately, the rising sun gave the fleet of pirate ships a better view of the ocean, and the Dolly Llama was spotted again.

The ship entered a narrow channel between the Parakeet Islands, and the crew learned why Conner had named them so. The islands were covered with thousands and thousands of colorful birds. It was a beautiful sight, but the farther the ship sailed through the channel, the louder the birds’ squawking became. As if they were competing for the pirates’ attention, each bird tried to out sing the next. When the Dolly Llama reached the center of the channel, the sound became deafening. The whole ship covered their ears and moaned.

“PUT A SOCK IN IT!” Conner yelled at the birds.

“PUT A SOCK IN IT! PUT A SOCK IN IT!” the parakeets mimicked. “PUT A SOCK IN IT! PUT A SOCK IN IT!”

Alex couldn’t stand the noise any longer. She snapped her fingers and birdseed rained on the islands. All the parakeets swooped down from the trees to feed and went silent. Conner shot his sister a look—but one of gratitude.

“Okay, I suppose some magic won’t hurt,” he said. “But nothing crazy—the Dolly Llama’s crew has to feel accomplished, too.”

A twinkle came into Admiral Jacobson’s eye as he watched the birds eat the seeds. “You know, the red worm is known to cleanse a parakeet’s stomach,” he said. “Perhaps we could leave a nasty storm behind for Sam’s fleet?”

The twins made eye contact and mischievous smiles grew across their faces.

“Oh, Conner,” Alex said, and clasped her hands together. “Please, please, please let me leave red worms behind!”

“Yeah—you’ve got to,” he said. “It’s just too good.”

Alex jumped up and down giddily and snapped her fingers again. Small red worms rained down on the islands, too, and the parakeets happily dug in. The admiral and the twins laughed as they imagined the mess the birds would leave on the fleet later that day.

A few hours after exiting the channel, the Dolly Llama sailed past the Isle of Skulls. It was a creepy island with a permanent layer of fog hanging in the air. The shore had no beaches and was lined with dark eerie caves. The land was littered with large rocks that had been chiseled to look like large human skulls. Alex could have sworn the heads were following her as the ship passed them.

“Hey, Conner, watch this,” Alex said. She cleared her throat and all the skulls started singing an obnoxious song by a boy band the twins knew from the radio.

The twins were laughing so hard, their stomachs hurt. The rest of the ship screamed and pointed at the possessed skulls.

“It’s the devil’s music!” Winking Wendy shouted.

The pirates waved crucifixes at the island and shot the rocks with their rifles. Alex figured the joke had gone far enough. She cleared her throat again and the skulls returned to normal.

Once the Isle of Skulls was far behind the Dolly Llama, Conner excitedly ran from the front of the ship to Auburn Sally’s side on the upper deck.

“All right, we’ve passed the Isle of Skulls!” he said. “Time to travel starboard.”

“And if we sail in circles to the right all night, we’ll find Starboardia?” Auburn Sally asked.

“More like Starboardia will find us,” Conner said.

The captain stepped to the side of the wheel and presented it to him. “Would you like to do the honors, Commander Bailey?” she asked.

“Oh gosh,” he said. “Sure!”

Conner had never even driven a car, so he wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to steer a pirate ship. He put his hands on the wheel and could have sworn he felt the ship’s heartbeat pulsing through it. It was an exhilarating sensation—with just the slightest movement, he had the power to change the ship’s course and the crew’s destiny. It reminded him of the feeling he had when he wrote, but it was ten times stronger. He was living and breathing the adventure he had only dreamed about.

Naturally, being chased by a fleet of dangerous pirates took some fun out of steering the ship, but it was thrilling nonetheless. Since they arrived, he had been angry, frustrated, anxious, and scared by different things, but the excitement of being in the world he created never left him. He wished every author got to feel what he was feeling right now.

As the sun started setting, it illuminated the ocean waves around the Dolly Llama like golden zebra stripes. Conner turned the wheel as far to the right as it would go and tied it down.

“Starboardia, here we come!” he said.

That night, all the pirates and sailors gathered in Auburn Sally’s chambers so Conner could tell them what to expect the next day. It was strange to prepare them for a place he technically had never been before. He could only rely on the images in his head and hope they matched. The Rosary Chicken got cozy on Alex’s lap and she stroked her feathers while she listened to her brother.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and chicken,” Conner said. “Welcome to Starboardia 101. I’m assuming by now, whether through eavesdropping or word of mouth, everyone knows why we’re headed to Starboardia.”

Not-So-Jolly Joan and Too-Much-Rum Ronda raised their hands.

“No one ever tells me anything,” Not-So-Jolly Joan said, and burst into tears.

“I was told, but I don’t remember,” Too-Much-Rum Ronda said, and hiccupped so hard, she fell off her seat.

“No worries, I’ll explain,” Conner said. “We are outnumbered ten to one by Smoky-Sails Sam’s fleet. There is a fortress on Starboardia that was designed for a group in our exact predicament. The fortress is filled with hundreds of booby traps; there are trapdoors, human slingshots, swinging blades, endless mazes, and much more. Once the fortress is activated, the traps will go off every thirty seconds.

“Unless you want to be crushed, cut in half, or fall to your death—listen to this part very carefully. There are safe zones throughout the fortress painted in red. Five seconds before the traps are set off, you will hear a bell—when you hear the bell, find one of those safe zones immediately! I’ve come up with a motto to help those of us who have difficulty remembering directions. Repeat after me: In Red, Ain’t Dead.”

“In Red, Ain’t Dead,” the pirates and sailors repeated.

“Very good,” Conner said. “Now, once we’re on the island and find the fortress, we have to wait until all of Smoky-Sails Sam’s men are inside before we can activate it. The fortress sort of works like a clock—a very heavy net of boulders pulls on gears located at the top, which turn and operate all the booby traps. The net is held up by twenty-one ropes and needs all twenty-one ropes to support it. Once one of these ropes is cut, another rope will snap under pressure every thirty seconds, causing the net of boulders to drop a little lower, which pulls on the gears, and activates the booby traps. Does this all make sense?”

The pirates and sailors stared at Conner like he was speaking another language. Even Alex was having a hard time following along.

“Those are just the logistics in case anyone was wondering,” Conner said. “There’s only one thing you have to remember—which is?”

“In Red, Ain’t Dead!” the pirates and sailors said in unison. They were very proud of themselves and looked like dogs expecting treats.

“Great,” Conner said. “Everybody break a leg tomorrow! Oh—no offense, Somersault Sydney!”

“None taken,” the legless pirate said.

As the Dolly Llama sailed in large starboard loops around the Bermuda Triangle, the pirates, sailors, and the twins went to bed to rest up for the following day. In the sleeping quarters belowdecks, rows of white hammocks were stacked from floor to ceiling. It was chilly down there, so Alex and Conner were thankful their mother had packed sweatshirts for them.

The hammocks swung with the sway of the ship and were very relaxing. Soon the pirates and the sailors fell asleep. Their snoring was so loud, the twins were worried the sides of the ship would burst open. Alex glanced down at the hammock below hers to see if Conner was still awake.

“Oh good, you’re still up, too,” she said.

“I don’t think the dead could sleep through this,” he said.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” she asked.

“A little bit,” he said with a long sigh. “I just hope it all works out so the trip here hasn’t been for nothing.”

Alex could sense the doubt in his voice and she felt a little guilty. Had she been more supportive and encouraging in the beginning, he probably wouldn’t be so cynical.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Alex said. “You’re a really great author, Conner. I keep forgetting to tell you how impressed I am by all of this. Every beat of your story is so well thought out and entertaining. The more it unfolds, the more intrigued I become. I can’t wait for you to write your first book—there are millions of little Alexes and Conners around the world who are going to love it.”

Conner was touched by his sister’s words. It meant a lot coming from her, since he was convinced she had read every book in the world.

“Thanks, Alex,” he said. “I would never have met Jack and Goldilocks if it weren’t for you—so thanks for supplying all the inspiration.”

“But think of everything you came up with all on your own,” she said. “You would have done just fine without me. I wish I had your imagination. What’s your secret to making a story so good? Do you have any writing tricks or rituals?”

Conner had never thought about it before. He thought back to the very first time he wrote a story and recalled a tool that had helped him write ever since.

“Whenever I write, I imagine everything in Dad’s voice,” he said. “I try to describe everything with the same energy and enthusiasm he had when he read stories to us. Sometimes when I miss him the most, writing makes me feel like he’s there with me. It’s almost like he’s telling me the story and I’m just writing it down.”

The thought brought tears to their eyes. Alex knew exactly what he meant, because her dad’s narrative was ingrained in her mind, too. Whenever they thought about John Bailey, they didn’t think about the night they lost him, the funeral that followed, or the days they spent mourning him. They remembered the nights when he’d read them fairy tales by the fireplace in their old house, the animated gestures he’d make while acting out every scene, and the different voices he made for each character. Their father was a storyteller in every sense of the word, and Conner had inherited the same gift.

“Dad would be so proud of you, Conner,” Alex said. “He would have loved everything about Starboardia.”

“He’d be proud of you, too, Alex,” Conner said. “Other fifteen-year-olds would have given up on saving the fairy-tale world by now.”

The twins laughed at the thought of another brother-and-sister duo going to the same extremes. Alex cast a spell so their roommates snored in silence, and the twins let the sway of the ship rock them to sleep, too.