For a moment I can’t even breath. Jasper’s grey eyes are fixed on me, like it’s all my fault that his crew mate is dead.

                But it is my fault, isn’t it?

                The jewel in my pocket weighs hundreds of pounds, it’s practically burning a hole in the fabric of my pants. It caused this somehow. Somehow it had turned the captain into some kind of monster, and apparently it was spreading. Fast.

                I glance nervously around me, at the pirate crew surrounding Gus and Ellie and me. They’re all staring at us, glowering actually, and the orange light of the flickering flames throw their faces into shadow, making them look even more threatening.

                Someone from the back says loudly, “This is ‘er fault, isn’t it?”

                “Let’s leave them here and get shot of this place!” Another voice chimes in.

                Jasper frowns, “wait now, we sent out six men. Maybe the rest of them are fine.”

                “Or maybe they’re walking dead too!”

                I can’t tell who said that, but the voice is high pitched and shaky, and I picture the cabin boy, with his skinny face and wide eyes.

                “We have to get out of here!”

                There’s a chorus of grunts and shouts, agreement. The pirates want to leave, and it looks like they have no intention of bringing us with them. So once again we’ll be stranded in the desert with nowhere to go.

                Jasper is still standing perfectly still, his face is practically twitching, his grey eyes darting from me, then back to his men crowded around the fire. It’s obvious that part of him wants to succumb to what his men want, wants to leave us - the troublemakers - behind. But it doesn’t look like an easy decision for him.

                Working up the courage I step closer to the fires, letting the warmth wash over me. I clear my throat, “Look, I’m sorry that this happened, that the captain touched the jewel.” I reached into my pocket and pulled it out, watching the pirate’s eyes grow wide, glued to the black jewel that swung back and forth on the chain, as if they were mesmerized by it.

                “This is dangerous, it needs to be destroyed. All of this will stop when I take it to the right person, when that person destroys the jewel, until then, this thing just spreads. If you don’t help me stop it….it could mean the worst plague you can imagine. The end of mankind.”

                The tension in the air is thick, the silence almost unbearable. Every single eye is on me, and I’m just bluffing. I have no idea if this thing will stop once we destroy the diamond. I don’t know the rules to this messed up game. For all I know, it’s too late.

                But I know that I can’t let them leave without us. I know I can’t let Gus and Ellie down like this, not after we’d so narrowly escaped the desert such a short time ago.

                “Look,” Jasper begins, but then there comes a crashing sound from the dark forest just beyond the edge of the campfire, and he falls silent again. We all fall silent, listening, straining to hear the noise again.

                It’s just a bird, I tell myself, or something hunting in the dark. A fox or something.

                Right. A fox hunting in the middle of the night. Why not?

                In the light of the fire it’s perfectly silent, nobody is even breathing. There’s a faint rustle again, just to the left of me, and I whirl around and face the dark forest, knife in hand. One of the pirates grabs a stick of wood from the fire and holds it up, one end burning brightly.

                “Wha’s that?” he says, and the light wavers as his hands shakes, “wha’s that noise?”

                Nobody answers him, but a few of the other pirates repeat his action with the fire, making torches, getting ready to bolt into the woods. Out of the corner of my eye I see Gus do the same thing, and then the crashing in the woods becomes louder, and my attention fixes on that, eyes glued to the depth of the shadows between the trees. My entire body is tense, and my chest is tight, heart beating hard against my ribs. Is there something moving just outside of my vision, lurking in the forest?

                Now I can see it, without a doubt. Movement in the forest. The pirates around the fire stagger back, holding their torches in front of them, warding off whatever is coming.

                A shape emerges slowly from the woods, one lurching step at a time. A black silhouette. It stops just at the edge of the woods, and I squint, trying to make out a face.

                “Simon?” Jasper calls, and I turn slightly, seeing him grip his sword, taking an uncertain step forward, “is that you?”

                More movement in the forest. Another black shape looms out of the dark, then another and another, until there are at least four man-shaped shadows amongst the trees. They just stand there, not moving, not responding to Jasper.

                None of the men around the fire move, they’re frozen. They’re faces are half terrified, half hopeful, as if they think that it might be their men who have returned. But as the shadows loom at the edge of the dark forest I know what a cold certainty that these are not the men who left, at least, not exactly. My fingers are wrapped around the knife handle so tightly that they tingle slightly.

                Finally the shadows move, and someone steps into the circle of light. The man’s skin is ragged, hanging from his face in black strips. When he walks forward he drags one leg behind him as if it’s broken.  Behind him the others lurch forward, faces twisted and horrible. The black veins cover them so completely that you can barely see the healthy skin underneath. The plague has eaten these men alive. Their eyes are dull and bloodshot as they scan the faces of the shocked men before them. It’s like they can see us, but they don’t register who or what we are. The only sign that they are alive is the animal hunger that burns there. They shamble forward, and I feel a stab of panic when none of the pirates move, whirling around on my heel,

                “Don’t let them get near you! We have to run or the plague will spread!”

                My cry seems to rouse them. The pirates run, tripping over one another, yelling and screaming, torches flashing in their hands. There’s a loud “crack, crack” as some of them turn and fire their pistols at the monstrous pursuers.  Gus is beside me, lighting the way with the torch in his hand. My feet kick up sand as we break out of the forest line and hit the stretch of desert that separates us from the ship. From our way of escape. If we don’t make it on time…if one of them touches me or Ellie or Gus….

                Don’t think about it. Just…run…

                Someone grabs my hand with a firm grip, pulling me along even faster, and I glance up to see Jasper. His eyes meet mine, dark brows drawn down in anger and terror, “Go!” he yells.

                I dart a glance over my shoulder, making sure Gus and Ellie are still right behind us. The ship seems so far away, and the shambling wrecks of the pirates…the blackened monsters chasing us, are surprisingly fast. Faster than I thought. As I look back I’m horrified to see two of the monsters pull down the cabin boy, and even though I’m running in panic, and everything is happening so fast, there’s time for a stab of guilt. I’m sorry I beat the shit out of him now.

                But…not sorry enough to go back.

                “Almost there,” Jasper pants, and I see he’s right. The ship is just over the next sand dune, I can see the rigid spikes of the masts looming out of the darkness.

                Almost there.

                More screams behind us, more men falling. How can this be happening? The monsters had looked so pathetic, with their shambling walk and jerky movements. I hadn’t thought they would be able to come after us like this.

                “Don’t go up the rope ladder!” Jasper yells at me, “go around to the gang plank we set down, there’s no way we’ll all make it up the rope.”

                There’s no way we’ll all make it up. That’s all I hear.

                When we finally crest the hill I put on another burst of speed, hearing bloodcurdling screams and guttural snarls close behind us.  The ship seems almost threatening in the dark, it’s just a tall, dark shape towering over us. But Jasper yanks me sideways and we run around the hull, to the broad plank of wood propped up against the deck.

                “Go!”