A Red Sky Has Fallen

by Ryan Gilbert

  “Damn this,” said an upset Riggs, pushing past his crewmate and running out into the morning sun.

  On the deck, the Captain could see a crowd of pirates surrounding the two brawlers. He could see arms flailing in the air as the group cheered. Riggs pushed his way through the crowd, trying to stop the fight before it got any nastier. They were so tightly packed that it was difficult to even get through them. The Captain shoved men aside as hard as he could, needing to put an end to this barbaric behavior.

  Once he got to the middle, he saw Garrett holding Coral Jack by the collar and beating him against a barrel. Blood stained Jack’s shirt, fresh from a stab wound in his side. The bloody knife hung loosely from Garrett’s belt as he brutally punished Riggs’ friend. By this time, Jack was almost unconscious.

  “Stop this right now,” Riggs shouted.

  Nobody listened. Garrett continued his onslaught, not even hearing his captain over the cheers of his fellow pirates.

  Riggs pulled out his gun and shot it into the air. The blast was loud enough to make the pirates fall silent and cause Garrett to drop Jack to the ground. The smirk on his face disappeared and was replaced with a scowl.

  “What’s goin’ on here?” asked Riggs as he helped Coral Jack to his feet.

  Wiping his fist, Garrett said, “That lil’ idiot tried to steal me rum.”

  Spitting blood, Jack said, “Did not. That was mine and ye know it.”

  Placing his hand over his chest, Garrett said, “Captain, I swear I’m tellin’ the truth.”

  “I don’t care which of ye’s tellin’ the truth. I won’t have anyone fightin’ about stupid things… like rum.”

  “Why’s he gettin’ the special attention then, Captain?”

  “Because ye beat him nearly half to death, you scoundrel. I don’t see you strugglin’ to stand.”

  Just as Riggs and Jack turned away, Jack muttered, “Cursed bollocks…”

  “What’d ye say?” growled Garrett, pulling the knife from his belt once more.

  *shing*

  Riggs pushed Coral Jack to the ground and had his sword out in an instant. With a blind swing, Riggs knocked the knife from his vicious crewmember’s hand. It skidded across the deck as the Captain held Garrett at the tip of his sword. The deck was silent as the crew watched what their captain would do.

  “I could very easily just gut you right now,” snarled Riggs.

  “Ah… but ye won’t,” said Garrett with a sneer.

  Pushing the blade against his crewmate’s skin, Riggs said, “What makes ye think that? I just saw you beatin’ the holy hell out o’ one o’ me friends. I’m well within my role as captain to kill you… right… now...”

  A tiny spot of red appeared on Garrett’s neck, but the sneer did not leave his face.

  “… but I’m not cruel and heartless. Consider yerself lucky, Mr. Garrett.”

  Lightly pushing the blade away, Garrett answered, “Aye, Captain. I will.”

  Sliding his sword back into its sheath, Riggs grabbed Coral Jack by the arm and helped him through the crowd. He could feel their eyes following him, unsure of what he’d do. Carefully, he assisted Jack down below deck and summoned Doc to care for his friend’s wounds.

  Once Doc poured some alcohol on his wounds, Coral Jack cringed in pain. His hands gripped his seat so hard that Riggs thought that the wood would break.

  Jack grabbed Riggs and said through clenched teeth, “You’ve gotta believe me, Captain. I didn’t want nothin’ to do with him. I don’t care ‘bout the rum. Ye think I’d nearly get meself killed fer a drink?”

  Doc applied more pressure to stop the bleeding, the pain causing Jack’s fingers to dig into Riggs’ arm. The Captain grasped his friend’s wrist and tried to help relieve some of the pain. Unfortunately, it did not do much.

  “Ain’t no way in Hell I’d think ye started that fight,” Riggs said when his crewmate had calmed down.

  Coral Jack grinned... that is, until Doc started cleaning the wounds again.

  “What’s the damage, Doc?” asked Riggs.

  The old man surveyed the wounds and shook his head.

  “It’s like a god attacked a human,” he mumbled.

  Riggs and Jack looked at each other and then back at Doc, and asked, “What?”

  “In short, ye might as well ‘ave gone against a god, Coral. Yer lucky these cuts ain’t deeper, otherwise ye would’ve bled out right on that there deck.”

  “Well… lucky that didn’t happen AUUUGHH!” he yelled as Doc poured some more alcohol into the wounds.

  A few seconds later, the three heard footsteps bounding up the stairs. Ripper had just woken up to Jack’s yell and he looked extremely concerned. When he saw his friend getting fixed up by Doc, his concern turned to anger.

  “Who did dis?” he asked, his black mouth turning to an angry scowl.

  Riggs tried to calm the Jamaican, but to no avail. When Ripper was angry, there was very little that could keep him under control.

  “Ripper, calm down. It was just a misunderstandin’.”

  “Misunderstandin’? Ain’t no way dat was a misunderstandin’. Show me de man.”

  Riggs pushed back against his crewmate, but Ripper overpowered him. He pushed his Captain back, knocking over some barrels and boxes. His eyes were burning with a want for vengeance.

  Hurrying to get to his feet, Riggs pleaded, “Ripper, don’t make me pull a knife on you.”

  “Go ahead, Captain. I’ve been through de worst.”

  He stepped back in front of the Jamaican, desperate to keep his crew from fighting amongst themselves. He would not have the whole situation spiral out of control.

  “Get out o’ de way!” the master gunner roared.

  Ripper pushed his captain out of the way, ignoring the threats. He was on his way onto the main deck when Riggs said, “If you don’t calm down, I’ll have to lock ye in the brig until ye settle.”

  Slowly, Ripper turned around and pulled out his pistol. Riggs was actually a little scared as his crewmember approached him.

  “Are ya goin’ to make sure dis bastard is punished fer what ‘e did?” Ripper asked, still fuming.

  Unable to take his eyes off of the pistol pointed in his direction, Riggs said, “I’ll make sure he’s given what he deserves. You have my word, Ripper.”

  The gunner stood in silence, his muscles rippling as he wanted to beat the man who had attacked his friend and crewmate. Riggs looked him in the eye, frightened for what might happen.

  Just when the Captain thought Ripper would let loose his fury, the Jamaican took a deep breath and stuck the pistol back in his belt.

  “If ya don’t settle dis, I will kill da man myself.”

  Riggs had never seen Ripper so angry before. The last thing he needed was for people’s tempers to boil over and tear the crew apart. After he thanked Ripper and assured him that the situation would be resolved, he climbed up the stairs onto the main deck and made his way to the wheel.

  Clint was the only one standing there, simply minding his own business. He did not seem the least bit surprised when Riggs sat down on the ground and let out a long sigh of relief.

  “Coral Jack’s gonna be fine, I assume?”

  Riggs nodded.

  Turning to his navigator, he asked, “What’d ye see, Clint? Both of ‘em are tellin’ me somethin’ different, and I’m more inclined to agree wit’ Jack.”

  Leaning down, Clint whispered, “That’s the safest bet. Saw the whole thing, I did. Can’t tell what they were saying, but it sure looked like Garrett started the whole thing. Would not want to be Jack in that situation.”

  Riggs held his hand to his forehead, irritated by the whole situation. Up until now, Garrett had seemed to get along fine with the rest of the crew. Now, he was turning hostile for petty reasons. Something did not seem right.

  “What should I do Clint? I don’t just let members o’ the crew go.”

  Taking a quick peek around him, Clint again whispered, “Maybe
some o’ them need to go.”

  With as dangerous as he thought Garrett was, Riggs still saw him as a crewmate. He belonged on the Red Sky just as much as the rest of the crew. It had only been one outburst. Maybe he still needed some adjusting to Riggs’ vision of the crew. He had only been on the ship for a year.

  “I’ll give ‘im ‘til we find the trident. If he starts another fight and hurts someone that badly… he’s swimmin’ with the sharks,” said Riggs, standing up and straightening the hat on his head.

  Shrugging, Clint said, “Can’t say I disagree with that. Speaking o’ the trident, care to tell me where we should be sailing?”

  Riggs motioned for the navigator to follow him. He had not shown Clint the secrets of the map yet, instead just giving him the headings. Given the brawl that had just occurred, he was glad he had not said anything about the mysterious parchment. Clint and Riggs both went to the captain’s quarters, where the Captain laid the map out on the table.

  “Where are we on this map, Captain?” asked the navigator as his eyes surveyed the map.

  “You tell me,” said Riggs.

  Clint looked over the map for a few moments longer. The look on his face said it all. He was utterly stumped.

  “There are certain secrets to this map that can’t be seen by the naked eye, mate,” said Riggs.

  The Captain lifted the map off the table and held a candle underneath it. In seconds, the shadows started to appear on the map, showing the true heading to Poseidon’s trident.

  “We can’t look on the map to find the trident… we have to look IN the map.”

  The navigator’s eyes grew so wide Riggs almost thought they would pop out of his head.

  “Riggs… who have you told about this?”

  “Just you so far.”

  Hurriedly, Clint rolled up the map and stuck it in his captain’s coat pocket. He was as jittery as a little boy who had just been given a gift.

  “Keep it secret, Captain. Only yer most trusted friends can know about the secrets of this map. With Garrett acting the way he is, I wouldn’t trust ‘im with anything, much less something as valuable as that. Got it?”

  “Aye.”

  Giving Riggs a clap on the back, Clint said, “Alrighty then. Just give me a minute and we’ll be on our way to steal from a god.”

  “Amen to that,” laughed Riggs.

  The rays of the afternoon sun peeked through Julia’s bedroom window as she lay in her bed reading a fascinating book. It helped to distract her from the sound of her mother and father arguing. At no point in her life had Julia heard her parents fight like they were at that moment.

  “Matthew, what do you think you’re doing teaching our daughter how to fight? She could hurt herself.”

  “Catherine, darling, she’s not a child anymore.”

  “Does that matter? I don’t want her running off with those pirates. It’s bad enough that she sees herself as one of them.”

  Julia heard a thump against the wall, presumably her father pounding his fist against it.

  “Those pirates are not coming back. I promise you that, dear.”

  “Your actions don’t say that.”

  For a couple long moments, there was nothing but silence. Even just listening, Julia could sense the tension in her parents’ voices.

  “What does teaching her how to handle a sword do, Matthew? What good does it do when we want her to be a proper lady?”

  “It gives her a means to defend herself.”

  “From what? I have tried over and over… week after week… to try to get her to see other men… to make her forget about that dreadful pirate.”

  “He’s… not like any other pirate, Catherine.”

  Julia nearly dropped her book. She did not expect that kind of a response. Not like any other pirate? Her father was usually the first to denounce pirates in any conversation. He would call them barbaric, vile, disgusting creatures. Now, he almost seemed to have changed his views.

  “Not like any other pirate?” her mother yelled, “A year ago, you would have said they were all the same.”

  “And now I’m saying I might have been passing judgment too quickly.”

  “Too quickly? The man kidnapped our daughter and held her against her will.”

  “Only at first. You’re forgetting the part where Julia helped them escape from me. Our daughter saw something in that pirate that neither of us can possibly understand.”

  Julia could hear her mother try to respond, but she was crying too much to form any coherent words.

  “I still cannot stand the thought of it though… my baby… in the clutches of a pirate,” she said, still sobbing.

  “Dearest, it’s not going to happen again.”

  “But what if it does, Matthew? What if it does? I don’t want our daughter to become a criminal.”

  Comforting his wife, Hamond replied, “Those pirates will not dare show their faces around here. I warned them that I would not give them a second chance to escape, and I intend to keep that promise.”

  Quietly slipping out of bed, Julia readied herself to head into town for some much needed fresh air. Taking her ruby necklace out of a drawer, she fastened it around her neck, gently touching the cold jewel to her skin. Much as she wanted to think about Riggs, she could not bring herself to do it right now. With her parents arguing in the neighboring room, it did not feel right. She did not want to listen to it any more. It hurt hearing her parents bicker, but it had sadly become more common after she had returned home from her adventure last year.

  Making as little sound as possible, she made her way down the stairs. The door to her parents’ room had been closed. She could still hear their voices, but neither of them sounded like they would be leaving any time soon. Tiptoeing from stair to stair, she eventually made it to the entranceway. Within moments, she was outside, the humid air rushing into her nose. The sounds of the town helped to force her mother’s words of anger out of her head. She breathed a sigh of relief as she started on her way.

  Finally, she was able to walk around freely. Most of the time, it seemed like the Commodore kept her on a short leash. He did not want her entertaining any ideas about running away from her family. She pulled a fan out of her purse and tried to cool herself by waving it in front of her face. It helped a little.

  As she walked through the streets, the people greeted her politely, just like they did for everyone else. Nobody backed away from her. Nobody looked at her like she was odd. The men followed her with their eyes, mesmerized by her beauty. Nothing seemed different than before she had encountered Riggs and his pirate buddies.

  Julia did not care where her walk took her. It would be a little adventure, something she desperately wanted. She needed some excitement in her life. Everything was getting dull with her parents keeping her cooped up in the mansion all of the time.

  She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not notice that she was walking past fewer and fewer people. The people that she was passing were getting more unkempt and poor as she kept walking. She did not even notice the change in the smell. The smell of saltwater filled the air, but all that did was make the girl want to be out on the open seas again. The buildings became less lavish and dirtier with each step that she took, but she paid it no heed. She was lost in her own fantasy.

  As she walked down a street, she saw two shadows creep up behind her. She did not think anything of them until they grew larger. Stopping, she turned around and was face to face with two gruff men. From their tattered clothes and dirt-covered faces, they seemed like trouble.

  Trying to sound polite, Julia asked, “Can I help you gentlemen?”

  The men’s breath reeked of alcohol and fish as they stared down at the girl in front of them. She had seen their kind before, preying on the young and inexperienced girls at the taverns. Julia looked around for something with which to defend herself, but there was nothing.

  The two crept closer as one said, “I reckon you can.”

  The other pu
lled a knife and said, “Give us all o’ your money.”

  Urgently, the girl looked around for help. Nobody else was on the streets or within earshot of her. If she screamed, they would certainly kill her.

  “Who are you, girl?” asked the man wielding the knife.

  “Why do you care?” she asked, backing against a wall.

  The man shrugged and said, “Dunno… I just want to know what rich broad I’m stealing from.”

  He reached forward to grab her arm, but she slapped him across the face.

  “You’ve got some fight in you, I’ll give you that, but there’s two of us… and one of you,” he said, nodding to his accomplice.

  The two men jumped forward, but Julia ducked to the side. The men’s hands smashed into the brick wall. As they turned around, the girl kicked the weaponless man in the groin and grabbed the knife from the other man’s throbbing hand. With the one man rolling on the ground in pain, Julia held the knife to her attacker’s throat and forced him to the ground.

  Now that the tables had been turned, the man’s gruff demeanor fell, and he blubbered like a little child.

  “Please don’t kill me, lass. I-I didn’t mean to trouble you.”

  Not backing down, Julia said, “I’m not going to kill you, but I just might hurt you really badly.”

  The man pressed his back against the wall as much as he could, the blade of his own knife resting against his unshaven neck.

  “You want to know who I am?” asked Julia, still holding the knife to the man’s skin.

  He did not respond, his fright evident.

  “I am Julia Hamond, daughter of Commodore Matthew Hamond of the English Navy. Never cross paths with me again, do you hear me?”

  The man’s breathing slowed as the girl could see some clarity coming to his face.

  “H-Hamond? Lass, I didn’t k-know that. We… we would o’ never ever tried to… b-borrow your money if we knew that.”

  “Any thief should be frightened of my father,” she said.

  The look on the thief’s face morphed to show the true terror behind his words.

  “No… i-it’s not that, miss. It’s everything else we’ve heard. They speak it all around the ports. Every sailor knows it too.”