by Ryan Gilbert
“What’s your plan now, Val?” asked Jack, throwing his arms up in frustration.
Without a second thought, she pulled Jack’s sword from his scabbard and swung it at the rope tethering the anchor to the ship. She desperately tried to cut through it, but it was not as quick as she thought it would be.
“Move,” shouted Jack as he swung an axe at the rope, tearing through it like paper.
“At least we still have one anchor,” Jack yelled as the ship lurched forward, free of its restraint.
“Does this mean we’ve got to work together?” asked the mermaid.
Coral Jack nodded, albeit reluctantly.
He dashed to the wheel and spun it as fast as he could. With a chorus of creaking as the hull dug into the waves, the ship turned into the wind, and the sails filled with the gusting torrents.
Jack and Valera needed to keep up with the Red Sky. They were their friends’ last hope, especially against a madman like Garrett.
“We’re losing them,” Valera yelled.
Pulling the mermaid in front of the wheel, Jack said, “Keep ‘er steady. I’ve got an idea.”
Valera grabbed onto the wheel as Coral Jack scurried into the head officer’s quarters. It was a completely new experience for the mermaid. This much responsibility being thrust upon her was extremely unnerving.
*crash*
From behind her, Valera heard the cabin’s glass break. Running to the back, she saw a chair floating away from the ship. Seconds later, a barrel joined it. Looking below her, she saw a crate fly through the gaping hole.
“Jack! What are you doing?”
A voice from inside the cabin said, “I’m gettin’ rid o’ some weight.”
Another box flew into the water.
Then, the mermaid noticed the shadow of the ship moving. It was like the hands of a clock, spinning in a circle.
“Val… where are you?”
“Seeing what you’re doing… why?”
“Get back to the wheel!”
Turning around, she saw the wheel spinning out of control. The wind had taken the ship, pushing it every which way it wanted. She tried to find a rhythm to the spinning, but it was too fast.
“If ye don’t stop that wheel, we’ll never catch ‘em,” Coral Jack yelled from the cabin.
Taking a deep breath, the mermaid braced her feet against the deck and grabbed hold of one of the spokes. Instantly, the wheel forced her to the ground, nearly dislocating her arm in the process. Valera struggled to get to her feet, pushing against the weight of the wheel. With the wooden wheel pressing down on her shoulder, she strained to direct the ship the other direction.
Little by little, she started to force the wheel in the other direction. She could hear the rudder moving, breaking through the waves behind her. Once she reached the center of the wheel, she drove the full weight of her body to the ground, redirecting the ship to its original course.
The ship stopped turning and stabilized. Valera locked her hands onto the wheel and did not let go. She did not want to have to deal with that again.
She looked out over the sea and saw the Red Sky on the horizon. She hastily turned the wheel towards it, finally getting back on track. If they were going to catch anything, Jack would really have to lighten the ship.
“Finally… I get an audience with you, Riggs.”
“It’s not much of an audience with a gun pointed at my face.”
Riggs was sitting in what used to be his chair as Garrett paced in front of him, his pistol at the ready. Shackles kept the Captain from moving very far, and he knew that Julia could not help him now. She had her own problems as Garrett dragged her to and fro behind him. There was nothing within his reach that he could even use to pick the locks.
“It’s also not much of a fight when someone loses a hand, now is it?” Garrett snarled.
His hook glinted in the candlelight, sending shivers down Riggs’ spine.
“I’ll give ye one thing, Captain… you’re not a coward.”
Garrett dug his hook into the table and ran it across the wood, gouging a line in the furniture. With a metallic *shing*, he pulled it away.
“You and I are both fightin’ men, Captain. I see how yer pullin’ on those chains.”
Riggs clenched his fists and glared at his enemy.
“Right now though, I have the bargaining chip… the one thing you love more than this ship.”
With the look of a maniac, Garrett harshly grabbed Julia by the neck and threw her onto the table in front of Riggs. He held her down, right in front of her helpless lover. There was nothing Riggs could do.
“Stop! Garrett, I’ll tell ye anythin’, just let ‘er go.”
Raising his hook in the air, Garrett looked at his captain and said, “Think of this as a… as a gift.”
With a quick thrust, he drove his hook into Julia’s thigh. Julia screamed in pain, and Riggs cried out because he could do nothing to stop it. Blood oozed from the wound and through her torn dress. The girl tried to reach it, but the mutineer just slapped her across the face.
Smiling, Garrett turned to Riggs and said, “Be glad it wasn’t her heart.”
Callously, he tossed her off the table. She crumpled on the ground and grabbed her leg. She tried to stand, but the pain was too much for her. Desperate to get away from the villain standing in front of her, Julia scooted across the floor. Cackling at the girl’s pain, Garrett pushed her to the ground with his boot, savoring the tears streaming down her face.
For a moment, Riggs and Julia locked eyes. Both could see the other’s pain. She could see the hurt in his eyes as he was completely helpless to stop Garrett. He could see the pain in her eyes as she wrapped her leg with torn cloths. They just wanted it to end.
“Bring the map to me so we can end this, you monster.”
Straightening his posture, Garrett slowly walked over to where the map lay and rolled it up. He seemed to be enjoying Julia’s whimpering from the corner. The look on Garrett’s face was the same as when he had betrayed Riggs. It was the face of a psychopath.
Unrolling the map in front of Riggs, Garrett tapped his hand on the hilt of his sword and said, “Tick-tock tick-tock, Riggs. I want that trident… right… now.”
“Bring me a candle.”
Garrett laughed.
“A candle? What kind of a fool do ye take me for? You’ll just burn the map so only you’ll know where it is.”
“Just bring me a damn candle,” yelled Riggs.
With a sarcastic sigh, the mutineer unlocked one of the clasps on Riggs’ wrists. He pulled the pirate’s hand onto the table and pinned it there. He tapped his hook in between each of Riggs’ fingers, toying with him.
“Tell me why.”
“I’d prefer to show ye.”
Garrett brought his hook down hard. Riggs shut his eyes, expecting a wave of pain to flow through his body, but when he opened them, he saw that the hook had just missed his finger. It was instead imbedded in the wood of the table.
“Damn… missed.”
Before Riggs could say anything, Garrett pressed his hook into his captive’s hand. Blood spurted onto the table as Riggs’ hand shook with pain.
“Come on, Riggs,” his enemy taunted, “I want to hear you cry for mercy.”
Breathing heavily as he clenched his fingers, Riggs said, “Yer goin’ to have to do… a lot more than that.”
Without missing a beat, Garrett bashed his former captain’s face into the table repeatedly. Riggs felt his forehead start to bleed as a red splatter appeared on the table. Through the blood dripping in front of his eyes, he could see Julia trying to crawl closer. Garrett merely picked her up and threw her against the wall.
Giving in to stop the monster’s assault on Julia, Riggs confessed, “Hold it over a flame, and the real map will be shown to ye.”
“I though you’d ‘ave lasted a little longer ‘n that,” Garrett chuckled.
Lifting the map off the table, he held it over the open flame of a
nearby candle and watched as the inky blackness formed into the map of which Riggs had spoken. The greedy, murderous light in his eyes changed to glee and happiness. At least, that’s what Riggs and Julia assumed his expression was.
“Now ain’t that a wonderful sight to behold,” Garrett snickered.
While he was busy studying the newly discovered secret of the map, Julia shuffled across the floor to Riggs. She tried to get there as fast as she could, but she could only use one leg and one arm, what with her wound still needing pressure to stop the bleeding.
Using his free hand, Riggs tried to tell her to stay where she was, but she would not listen. Even with Garrett still in the room, she had to be at her love’s side.
“Riggs… can you get free?” she whispered.
“Does it look like I can? These things’re bitin’ into me skin.”
Both of them knew that they would probably not survive now that Garrett knew what he thought was the only secret hidden in the map. The mutineer was too calculating to have them help him and just let them live. They needed to make him believe they still knew something of vital importance if they wanted to escape with their lives.
“Julia, first chance you find, get off this ship. Jack’s comin’ after us, I know it,” Riggs whispered as quietly as he could.
Clasping her hand in his, Julia said, “I’m not leaving you, Riggs… not again.”
“I’m not askin’. You need to get off this ship.”
*click*
“If you think I can’t hear ye, then yer dead wrong,” said Garrett, cocking his pistol.
The two captives immediately shut up. He could not have heard what Riggs had said about Coral Jack. Riggs was sure of it.
Walking over to the desk, Garrett said, “That was a mighty fine lil’ secret in that map, Riggs. Makes me almost wonder why I didn’t figure it out meself.”
Checking his pistol, he continued, “Thanks to you, I now know where to get the trident. I don’t need either o’ you any more.”
Slowly, he pointed the gun at his two prisoners.
Riggs’ mind was racing. What was there that he could use to save their lives? He racked his brain to remember what else there was in the map. With the mutiny, the attack on Yorktown, and the torture that both he and Julia had been made to endure, Riggs had a difficult time focusing on what he had discovered about the map. He could feel Julia’s cheek resting on his bleeding hand. Neither of them wanted it to end like this.
His eyes urgently searched the room for a reminder, settling on an overturned bottle from where Garrett had thrown Julia. The water spilled out onto the floor, creating a puddle.
The water.
That’s what Riggs was forgetting.
“There’s somethin’ else ye should know, Garrett.”
Curious, but not lowering his pistol, the treacherous pirate said, “Go on…”
Taking a gulp of air, Riggs said, “I’m not sayin’ anythin’ ‘til you put down your gun.”
For a moment, it looked like Garrett would still shoot them. His desire for vengeance was almost too strong. The pistol still pointed straight at them. The Captain could see his captor’s upper lip twitch as his irritation grew. Which would prove stronger? His greed or his lust for blood?
Reluctantly, he uncocked the pistol and stuck it in his belt.
“Tell me what ye know.”
Standing his ground, Riggs said, “The only way I’m tellin’ you anythin’ is if ye promise that you won’t kill us.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Garrett replied, absentmindedly rubbing his hook.
“Who has the upper hand now?” said Riggs, his signature grin finally appearing on his face after a long absence.
Garrett leaned over the table and glared at Riggs. The Captain knew that he was angry and seething, but there was nothing that he could do about it.
“You may have the upper hand, Riggs…”
Reaching over the table, Garrett grabbed Julia’s arm and hauled her to her feet. She struggled to stand on her injured leg, but he forced her to stand.
“… but I still have yer girl. If what you’ve got to say ain’t true, then she dies.”
With a frown on his face, Garrett dragged a hobbling Julia to the cabin door and shoved her out onto the deck. Through the space not covered by Garrett’s body, Riggs could see the girl stumble and fall, try to stand, and fall again. He could not see anything else once Garrett slammed the door shut.
As his former crewmate approached him, Riggs asked, “You want to know the secret?”
Grinding his teeth, Garrett said, “Of course I do, mongrel.”
Smiling, Riggs said, “You’re goin’ to have to go by my time now.”
After a glance at his hook, Garrett said, “Your time… my fist.”
Without any warning, Garrett smashed Riggs across the face with his fist. The Captain tried to protect himself with his free hand, but the angry pirate was just too fast. He flipped the chair on its back, driving his boot into Riggs’ wrist. Now, his captive had no way to shield himself from the barrage of blows. After several strong strikes to the face, Riggs started to see blackness as the taste of blood appeared in his mouth. Seconds later, he saw nothing.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Riggs could feel himself drifting in and out of consciousness. Patches of time flew by in total darkness. He could vaguely remember being dragged down to the brig. He heard the door lock, but he could not see it. The faces of his crewmates flitted past his eyes, his glazed vision unable to focus on any of them. Their words blurred together, forming an incoherent jumble of jabbering. As time progressed, the words and images started to become clearer. Staring into a black abyss, the Captain could hear one phrase repeating over and over.
“Captain… Captain, wake up.”
The blackness slowly receded as Riggs opened his eyes. The brig was dark, but his eyes just needed to adjust for a couple seconds. All of his crew were crowded around him, trying to wake him up. He had no idea how long he had been out, nor did he want to know.
“Welcome back, Captain,” said Clint.
“Ye were out fer quite a while, man,” Ripper added.
“Even counted the days,” said Eli, picking at his fingers.
Astonished, Riggs said, “I’ve been out for days?”
“Three to be exact,” Doc added.
Riggs rolled his eyes. There went his wish to not know. It was embarrassing being unconscious for a day, let alone three days.
“Help me stand up, mates.”
Clint and Ripper helped pull the Captain to his feet. Once Riggs was on his feet, a splitting headache hit him full force. It felt like a cannon was pressing against his head.
“On second thought, I think I’m goin’ to sit back down. This is worse ‘n the time I smashed my head off the wheel,” said Riggs, slowly lowering himself back to the ground.
“You look worse too,” Doc muttered.
Slightly irritated, Riggs asked, “Where’s Julia?”
“I’m here.”
He turned around and saw her sitting on the ground in the cell across from them. From the small amount of light, he saw that her dress was stained with dried blood from her leg wound. The cloths looked like they had been changed because there was no blood on them. A small pile of dark red bandages rested in the corner of the cell.
“I’m sorry I let this happen to ye, love.”
In the limited light, Riggs could still see a small smile on the girl’s face.
“I wouldn’t do it for anyone but you, Robert.”
Both of them reached through the bars of their cells, each wanting to reassure the other that everything would be alright. As they soon discovered, the space between them was too far. They could not even touch the tips of the other’s fingers. They were able to be in the same room together, but they were separated by metal and five feet of empty space. There was no way they could even brush fingertips.
“Well… what’d I miss while I was out?”
&nb
sp; “Riggs, Garrett’s reaching his breaking point. Every day, he comes down here and seems to get angrier whenever you haven’t woken up. All of us have had to deal with it… one way or another,” she said, wincing as she stood up.
As Riggs turned around, his crew raised their heads so that the meager light of the lantern could show their battered features. A bloodied and nearly broken crew sat in front of their Captain. Clint had a fat lip that looked like it was split open. Ripper had a gash running above his eyebrow. Eli had a dried trail of blood running down from his mouth. Petey had a black eye. Even poor old Doc looked like he was recovering from a swollen jaw.
Pulling his scraggly hair back, Riggs looked at his crew with awe. They had done so much to prove that they were loyal that it hurt him to see how badly they had been treated. He had brought all of this on them.
Hanging his head, the Captain said, “I’m sorry, mates. From the bottom o’ me heart, I’m sorry.”
He grabbed onto the bars and pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the headache.
“Ever since I became captain, I’ve wanted the best for this crew. I never intended for this to happen. After what ye’ve been put through, I would understand if ye want a different leader. I can’t help but feel that… I’ve failed each and every one o’ ye.”
Riggs stared down at his feet. He did not want to look his crew in the face. He did not deserve that privilege.
Instead, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. It was Clint.
“Look me in the eye, Captain Riggs.”
He could not.
“Look at me, damn you!”
Clint grabbed his captain’s chin and forced Riggs to look him straight in the face.
“You’ve failed nobody. All o’ these men here… even Ms. Hamond… will follow you to the ends o’ the earth… dare I say even to the Locker. These wounds are our marks of loyalty to ye. We will always be yer crew… Captain.”
The navigator seized Riggs’ hand and gave him a hearty pat on the back. Directly in front of Riggs, Eli stood up and saluted his captain, wiping his dried blood on his sleeve. Solemnly, the rest of the crew raised their hands to their temples in salute for their captain.