by Ryan Gilbert
Relaxing in his chair, Travers replied, “Awfully hectic, I must say. I barely have any time to enjoy myself.”
“Do you have a lot of responsibilities?”
“Oh my, yes. It makes me wish I was a child again, without a care in the world.”
Resting his arm on the table, Travers continued, “I need to get ready to head out on another voyage.”
“Another one? Didn’t you and my father just return from one last month?” asked Julia.
“Yes, we did, Julia, but we are bound to obey the Crown. If there is an uprising somewhere, then we need to stop it.”
Rubbing her tired eyes, Julia said, “I only wish it wasn’t so sudden.”
With a sigh, Travers said, “Most of the ships have already left port. Your father and I are holding back for as long as we can, but we have to leave eventually.”
Julia fell silent once again, staring at the woodgrain on the table. Even with her best friend sitting in front of her, she did not know if she wanted to tell him everything. As she struggled to find the words, she felt Daniel’s palm rest on top of her hand in a gesture of comfort. She took a deep breath and started to speak.
“Daniel… have you heard the rumors that I’m a pirate?”
Nodding, Travers replied, “Yes, I’ve heard them. I know it’s actually the truth, but I don’t want people thinking you’re evil.”
“I don’t know what to do. What can I do to keep this from getting worse than it already has?”
Travers looked her straight in the eyes and answered, “Nothing.”
Shocked, Julia asked, “What?”
“Nothing. Do nothing. Act the same way you did before you knew there were rumors. No respectable person will think you’re a pirate if you act like the commodore’s daughter they’ve known for years.”
“Will it actually work?”
“It worked for my mother.”
Surprised, Julia repeated, “Your mother?”
Travers explained, “She was accused of infidelity once by a woman in the marketplace. She ignored it, and she, my father, and I went about our lives as usual. We eventually heard that the woman who accused her was drunk at the time, and the entire town no longer believed the story. Everyone who knew my parents knew that the woman was spewing lies.”
Julia could not believe it. Could it really be that simple? Just act like she had been before she had heard about the rumors and everything would resolve itself. It was almost too easy to actually work. One thing was still on her mind though.
“Daniel, what happened to your mother? I don’t ever recall actually meeting her.”
As he took a deep breath, it seemed like Daniel was remembering bad memories. He did not look relaxed any more. In fact, he looked tense.
“Well… my father died when I was about four. My mother remarried, this time to a Navy officer. They both sent me here so I could live with my aunt and uncle and get a better education. After several months, I stopped receiving letters from my mother, and I never heard from her again. I don’t know if she or her husband are alive or dead.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” said Julia.
Not really focusing on anything, Travers shrugged, saying, “I’ve long since come to terms with it. It’s part of the reason I joined the Navy. With all of the traveling that I do, maybe I’ll find them some day.”
Standing up from her chair, Julia made her way to Daniel’s side. She felt he needed some reassurance. Wrapping her arms around him, she gave him a hug, comforting him if he needed it. The two best friends sat there, keeping each other sane as the rest of the world bore down on them.
CHAPTER THREE
Throughout the entirety of the next day, Riggs tried every possible way to use the flame to get more information from the map. A couple times, he nearly lit the paper on fire because he held it so close to the burning wick. The only things that appeared were the same shadows as before.
Riggs took a swig of rum and let the despair sink in. There was nothing else to see. There were no more secrets hidden in the map.
Frustrated beyond belief, Riggs rolled up the map and tossed it across the room. He pounded his fists on the table and yelled, trying to relieve himself of the sting of his failure.
Bottles were smashed. Tables were overturned. Incoherent shouts filled the room. In short time, the floor of the cabin was covered in glass, junk, and spilled alcohol and water.
Breathing heavily, Riggs sat down in the only upright chair and rested his forehead against his palms. He did not want to tell the crew that there was no trident. That would make him seem like a worthless captain. Everything that he had been trying to accomplish for the past year would have been for naught. If he had nothing to show for a year of searching, how much would the crew continue to obey his leadership? After his outburst yesterday, it seemed like he was already on shaky ground with the crew.
His eyes wandered around the room. It was a mess. It felt like everything in his life was falling out of place. He missed Julia. If she were there, she could make him forget about the trident that did not exist. What else could possibly happen to make the day any worse? Groaning, he pushed himself out of the chair and started to clean up the cabin.
As he kicked the broken glass into a pile, his eyes settled on the treasure map. It just lay on the ground, nothing extraordinary. The paper had fallen into a puddle of water and just lay there. Riggs ignored it as he cleared the rest of the room, but something kept drawing his attention back to it. Periodically, he would glance back at the parchment with a slight hope that something new would have appeared. So far as he could tell, nothing had.
The map just seemed to be resting there, mocking his inability to find anything of value with it. It annoyed him, almost taunting him. Riggs picked it up and shook the water off of it, angry and disillusioned.
Crumpling it in his hand, Riggs said through gritted teeth, “I’ve waited for a whole year to find that trident. Don’t ye dare fool me into thinkin’ it don’t exist.”
The map did nothing.
“Please… just show me somethin’… anythin’.”
Riggs looked down at that moment, his eyes pouring over the piece of paper. Underneath one of his clenched fingers, a sentence was starting to appear where the water had been. His eyes widened in glee, unfurling the map from his hand. When he laid it on the floor in front of him, he was given a huge surprise.
The faint sketches of the islands were gone, replaced by the solid black outlines of the real treasure map. However, something new had appeared, something that had not appeared when the flame was beneath the paper.
It was a poem.
“Poseidon’s trident dost thou seek,
Not for the weary or the meek.
Those who see are blind.
Those who swim will drown.
To find that which is hidden
Heart must be freely given.
Mediator of the old and new,
The pitiful give to their gods their dues.”
Riggs was left scratching his head. It was almost too cryptic for him. He read through it several more times, but he still did not understand it.
Wiping the water off the map, Riggs watched as the words and the outlines faded away. He needed to let Clint know about this.
BANG
Startled, Riggs grabbed his sword and gun from the ground. If it was an attack from another ship, the sound should have been coming from a cannon, not a pistol. Had the Red Sky been ambushed? As he slung his scabbard over his shoulder, Riggs heard a very loud commotion outside his door. From what he could hear, it sounded like his crew had the upper hand over whoever was attacking. Drawing his sword, he prepared for battle, kicking the door open.
It was not at all what he thought it was.
It was a mutiny.
Swords were flying everywhere. Guns were blasting. Crewmates were pitted against crewmates. Riggs had never seen it amounting to this. One of the pirates dashed at his captain, but Riggs dodged the man’
s sword and rammed his attacker’s head into the cabin door.
Amidst all the chaos, he saw Garrett, standing in the middle of the deck with his arms folded and a smug look on his face. Coral Jack and Eli were trying to hold off five men, but it was only a matter of time until they both were overpowered. Doc was grabbed immediately, followed by Petey. Clint bashed his assailant over the head with a bottle, but that only protected him for a brief moment. Ripper was the hardest for the mutinous crew to subdue. He snapped one man’s neck and tossed a second man into a cannon. It took seven pirates to keep him from killing any other attackers. Within minutes, Riggs’ friends had been held at bay, none of them prepared for an attack that severe. All of them were soon rounded up and forced to one side of the ship.
Garrett looked up and saw his captain standing at the cabin door with his sword drawn as several crewmembers encircled him. The traitorous pirate doubled over laughing.
“Put yer sword away, Captain Riggs. We don’t want to harm you,” he said, still laughing with delight.
Riggs still stood there with his sword in his hand. This was not happening. This could not actually be happening. He was not about to let Garrett take control of his ship.
*click* *click*
Once he heard the click of two pistols beside his head, he reluctantly stuck the weapon back into his scabbard. Two of Garrett’s supporters dragged Riggs onto the main deck so that he was face to face with the head mutineer. Riggs could barely contain his anger at his crewmate’s betrayal.
“What’s the meanin’ o’ this?” asked Riggs, still taken by surprise.
“What’s the meanin’? I want a ship, Riggs. I’ve wanted a ship ever since ye let me join yer crew. It’s nothin’ personal... I would ‘ave done it to anybody.”
“The Red Sky is mine, Garrett. Ye can’t have it.”
“Ah… but I already have it,” he said with a maniacal grin on his face.
“And what’s gonna stop me from takin’ it back?” asked Riggs, resting his hand on his sword.
Instantly, twenty of Garrett’s supporters pointed their swords at Riggs’ face. He let his hand fall to his side. He was doomed.
“Ye think threatenin’ me is gonna keep me from takin’ back my ship?”
Pulling at his beard, Garrett said, “No, Riggs, I don’t think that’ll stop you… but this will.”
Turning to what was now his crew, Garrett yelled, “Make ready the plank.”
Riggs was brought over to his remaining crewmembers and friends. They were all just as surprised as he was.
Clint turned to his friend and said, “We’re sorry, Captain, but there was too many of ‘em. We tried to fight, but…”
“I saw, Clint. It was a noble attempt, but I doubt anyone could’ve stopped them,” Riggs replied. There was no way that any of his loyal crew could have predicted this would happen.
They watched as the long plank was lashed to the side of the ship. Many sailors had met their end by walking the plank, whether it be the long swims to land that nobody ever seemed to survive or the vast amounts of sea creatures that liked to devour sailors right down to their bones.
Riggs’ crew was made to walk in a straight line, one right after the other to the end of the wooden board. The waters of the ocean churned beneath them as they feared the worst. First was Doc, who floundered in the water like a cat until Eli jumped in to keep him afloat. Next was Petey One-Eye, tumbling over the side as a mighty gust of wind pushed him. Ripper had to be forced off of the plank by Garrett’s crew. Coral Jack jumped right after Ripper, his splash soaking both him and the master gunner.
Clint was the last of Riggs’ crew. As he stood at the edge of the plank, he looked up at the skull and crossbones waving in the night breeze, saluted it, and leapt into the waters below.
At knifepoint, Riggs climbed onto the plank. He stared out in front of him, into the darkness of the night. Was that his future? Nothing but darkness?
“What’re ye waiting fer, Riggs? Are ye afraid?” Garrett laughed.
Riggs said nothing. He clenched and unclenched his fists, multiple emotions rushing over him at once. This could not be happening.
“Look at the pathetic captain. He can’t even handle defeat like a true pirate,” Garrett spat, taunting Riggs.
But Riggs was not ready to concede.
He had fought to make the Red Sky his ship. This was not how it should end. The era of the Red Sky could not end. There was no way in Hell that he would leave those dark red sails without a fight.
The Captain yanked his sword from his scabbard one last time.
“Garrett, fight me. If you want to have this ship, then kill me for it.”
The traitor snickered and said, “I’ve been waitin’ to run my sword through your chest. This’ll bring me such pleasure… and it’ll make sure you’re dead.”
Brandishing his own sword, Garrett stepped onto the plank. The wind swirled faster, driving the spray of the sea into the two men’s faces. Riggs swung first, but his former crewmate blocked it. He immediately jabbed forward, forcing Riggs to jump back, almost falling off the plank. Riggs’ loyal crew cheered for him from the water as they tried to stay afloat.
Garrett lunged forward and tried to split Riggs’ head in half, but Riggs held his sword up, deflecting the mutineer’s blow.
A kick to the back of the leg sent Riggs to his knees, and he just barely got his sword behind his back to stop Garrett’s sneak attack.
“Ye ain’t gonna win, Riggs. This ship is mine… no matter how hard ye fight for it. I will find the trident, and when I do, I’ll be unstoppable,” said Garrett as he pushed his sword with all of his might.
Riggs spun around and pushed his adversary’s sword away.
“I’ve fought against unstoppable things before, mate… and I’ve always come out on top.”
The two pirates fought with clanging swords and crashing metal. With every step, Riggs had to be careful not to fall off the plank. If he fell, it would mean the end of his reign as captain.
Garrett brought his sword down on Riggs’ blade, forcing the two weapons to the ground. Once he had an open path, he kicked his captain right in the face, knocking him on his backside.
As Riggs steadied himself, he felt the cold touch of steel on his neck. He looked up, seeing the arrogance smeared across Garrett’s face.
“Time to say goodbye, Riggs.”
The Captain’s sword lay at his side. As the steel left his neck, his fingers curled around the handle. He would not let Garrett get the better of him.
Garrett raised his sword in the air as he prepared to finally kill his captain.
With the traitor’s blade slicing through the air, Riggs’ life flashed before his eyes as time slowed down. He saw everyone who had ever counted on him. He saw his mother. He saw the grand battles in which he had fought.
Then he saw Julia.
He wanted her. He needed her. He loved her.
It would not end like this.
With speed like lightning, Riggs slashed his sword upward, right as the traitor’s sword was falling. A cry of pain broke through the howling of the wind.
But it was not Riggs who was in pain.
Riggs’s sword had cut clean through Garrett’s wrist, severing his hand. The traitor’s sword fell harmlessly into the churning waters below.
Before Riggs could capitalize on his attack, Garrett cursed at his former crewmate and kicked him in the chest, knocking the Captain overboard. The last thing that Riggs saw before he hit the water was his mutinous crewmate holding his bleeding stump of a hand.
For a couple brief seconds, the Captain floundered underneath the surface of the water. The cold wetness of the water soaked through his clothes and bit into his skin. Two hands pulled him to the surface of the water, one belonging to Clint, the other to Ripper. He wiped the water out of his eyes as he watched Garrett sail away with the Red Sky. It pained him to not be able to do anything but watch as the madman stole his ship away from him.
> Then Riggs heard Garrett shout something to him that made the adrenaline flow through his body.
“I’ll strike down all that ye care about, Riggs. Everyone that you love will die… even that pretty lil’ wench waitin’ fer us in Yorktown.”
A wave of panic overtook Riggs as his instincts kicked into gear. As fast as he could, he tried to swim after the ship, but it was far too fast. There was no way that he could catch the fastest ship on the seven seas.
In minutes, the Red Sky was nothing more than a dot in the distance. The pirate’s arms and legs were aching already. He was soaked to the bone, and his clothes were weighing him down. He did not know if he could go on.
He had to push on. If he let Garrett get to Yorktown, Julia would be doomed. The entire port might be doomed if Garrett was angry enough. With a ship like the Red Sky, he could level an entire city.
Riggs tried to lift his arms to swim, but he could barely get them out of the water. He had sucked every bit of energy out of his body.
Behind him, he heard the splashing of his loyal crewmates as they eventually caught up to him.
“We’re sorry, Captain. We didn’t expect anythin’ like that,” said Clint, gasping for breath.
“We were just goin’ about as usual when the others let Garrett out o’ his cell,” said Coral Jack.
They did not need to explain themselves any further. Even Riggs could not have expected such a vicious turn of events. No amount of apologizing would bring the Red Sky back to them.
Treading water, Riggs said, “Don’t worry ‘bout how it happened. Just be glad yer alive.”
“But Captain… Garrett has the Red Sky.”
Riggs rolled his eyes and asked, “Ye think I don’t know that?”
He did not need to be reminded. The loss of his ship still stung like a knife that had pierced his side.
Spitting water out of his mouth, Eli asked, “Are we going to die out here? Out in the middle of the bloody ocean?”
“Are ye goin’ to keep swimmin’?” asked Riggs.
“I’m sure hope so.”
“Then no… yer not goin’ to die here.”