by Ryan Gilbert
“Oh… how touching,” said a mocking voice.
Garrett appeared at the bottom of the stairs, followed by several of his goons.
“Now that yer finally awake, yer comin’ wit’ me.”
Standing his ground, Riggs responded, “Bring Julia and my crew with me.”
Laughing, Garrett asked, “Or else what?”
“Or else I’ll tell ye nothin’. You’ll be stuck out in the middle o’ the ocean with nothin’ to even get close to the trident.”
His enemy’s laughs turned into a threatening frown, but Riggs remained committed to what he said.
With a jerk of the head, Garrett ordered his men to free the prisoners. Once they left the confines of their cells, the captive pirates and Julia had their hands tied and were forced up the stairs to the main deck.
Stepping out into the sun, Riggs could not tell where exactly they were. The ship seemed to be in the middle of the ocean. It was not moving.
As he was led across the deck, the Captain asked, “Where are we?”
Snickering, Garrett answered, “Oh, don’t ye know? We’re right where we should be. Somewhere around ‘ere is the trident… and you’re gonna tell me how to get it.”
Garrett unrolled the map in front of him, glaring at Riggs to tell him what to do.
“Get me some water.”
The request perplexed the mutineer, but he grudgingly obliged.
“This’d better not be a trick,” said Garrett, snatching a jug of water from one of his crewmembers.
Once the jug was in his hands, Riggs uncorked it and tossed the water onto the map, much to Garrett’s and his crew’s horror.
Tossing the map to the ground, Garrett grabbed Riggs by the throat and shouted, “Do you mean to make a mockery of me?”
Riggs coughed and tried to speak, but Garrett threw him to the ground and began to beat him. The Captain pushed his enemy away with a kick to the face, but the traitor caught him with a backhand.
Pushing Riggs against the rail, he growled, “Any last words, you pathetic pile of flotsam?”
Catching his breath, Riggs hissed, “Look… at the map.”
“Look at it for me,” said the pirate, thrusting Riggs to the ground.
He crawled on his hands and knees over to the map and saw the words starting to form. All of Garrett’s crew that were around the map nearly jumped back in astonishment.
“Cap’n… he was telling the truth. There be something on the page now,” they exclaimed.
Turning around, Garrett saw the words just as Riggs picked up the map.
“Read it!” he shouted, drawing his pistol on his former captain.
The last word had formed itself on the page, so Riggs started to read.
“Poseidon’s trident dost thou seek,
Not for the weary or the meek.”
The wind started to pick up as the words left Riggs’ mouth. No one seemed to notice as they focused on what he was saying. Even as he spoke, Riggs could hear the torrents starting to howl.
“Those who see are blind.
Those who swim will drown.”
The waves grew in size and intensity, and the Red Sky began to sway back and forth. Riggs’ crew began to panic. They had a thought about what was about to come, and it was not good.
“To find that which is hidden
Heart must be freely given.”
Clouds appeared in the sky and the sun was blotted out. Lightning shot from cloud to cloud. The wind howled so loudly that Riggs’ voice was almost drowned out, but he just yelled as loud as he could.
“Mediator of the old and new,
The pitiful give to their gods their dues.”
The map yanked out of Riggs’ hands and flew into the air. The wind pulled it away from the ship so that it dangled in the air over the ocean. It spun around like it was caught in a tornado. Everyone onboard the Red Sky could do nothing but watch.
Suddenly, the map burst into flames and formed a column of fire from the sky to the sea. The waters parted to form a hole, forcing the ship toward it.
Riggs was thrown against the rail, his hands still lashed together. He held on for dear life as the ship tossed around on the waves. Several of Garrett’s men found themselves thrown overboard by the raging winds and waves.
The water grew darker as Riggs watched it. Everything seemed to be getting sucked toward the whirlpool.
The ship lurched and stopped, knocking down everybody who did not have a handhold. Luckily for everybody, the Sky’s anchor had caught on something. The ship was not going anywhere… unless the rope broke.
Still barely on his feet, Riggs looked over the side of the ship and watched as the doomed crewmembers were sucked into the whirlpool. That took care of some of his mutinous crew.
Then, he saw something more terrifying than anything that Garrett had done. The waters that surrounded the whirlpool were black.
The last time that he had encountered black waters, both he and the crew had ended up unleashing a force bent on the destruction of the whole sea-faring world.
He did not want to relive that.
His instincts took over as he ran to the wheel and shouted, “Full canvas! We’ve got to get outta here.”
Garrett caught up to Riggs at the wheel and shoved him away, yelling to his crew, “Belay that. Belay that. We stay here ‘til something happens.”
The Captain grabbed onto Garrett’s collar and asked, “Have ye ever seen black waters? Have ye?”
Before his enemy could respond, Riggs pushed him against the rail, forced him to look at the water, and said, “That will spell yer end. Evil surrounds black waters, and unless ye want your prize to be death, you’d do best to listen to me.”
Garrett kicked Riggs in the gut and pushed him to the ground, saying, “And abandon the trident? No chance in Hell, boy.”
Garrett swung his hook at Riggs’ chest, but Riggs rolled out of the way just in time. As quickly as he could, he drove his knee into his captor’s arm, preventing the hook from moving. He slid his bonds against the sharpened metal, freeing himself.
The current seemed to be pulling the ship even more than before. All of the crew stumbled to the side of the ship and watched as the column of flames swirled around in the air above the black water.
While all of Garrett’s men were distracted, Riggs’ crew rushed down to the lower levels of the ship, cut their bonds, and grabbed their weapons. They had an idea of what was going to happen, and they were not going to be unprepared for it. Once they had all of their gear, a shockwave shook the ship.
SSSSSHHHBOOOOOOOOOOOOM
Peering onto the main deck, the group saw a red beam of light blast through the fire and into the whirlpool. The black water grew even more chaotic as the red beam created an eerie glow beneath the surface of the water. As Riggs watched, the glow started to move closer and closer to the surface.
“Full canvas! Haul up that anchor NOW!” he shouted, grabbing the wheel and spinning it to the side.
Both his crew and Garrett’s crew obeyed without question once the rock formations started jutting out of the sea. They did not care who was leading them. They just wanted to survive.
Dozens of rocks shot out of the water, the pirate ship just narrowly avoiding them. Riggs was running purely on instinct and luck.
A pillar launched out of black water, giving Riggs precious little time to avoid it. He could hear the scraping as the bottom of the ship seemingly scratched against sand.
“Captain, we’ve got a serious problem!” Clint shouted.
“What is it?”
The navigator pointed ahead, drawing Riggs’ attention to the two massive stone walls that had just appeared in front of them.
With no time to prepare, he ordered, “Fire the bow cannons!”
All he could do was hope that they were loaded.
Holding onto the wheel with all of his might, Riggs braced for impact.
BOOM BOOM
Two cannonballs shot into the wall
, blasting a hole through it. Dust and mist rained down on the pirates as they passed through the hole. Seconds later, the entire structure crumbled, sending gigantic bits of rock tumbling into the black water. Now that they were away from the rocks, both crews could turn their attention to the other unnatural anomalies.
To Riggs’ crew, it did not look promising.
KABOOM
The red beam exploded in a grand display of fireworks. It showered down sparks and bits of fire all over the island, temporarily shrouding it from sight.
As everyone was regaining their balance, one voice cried out, “What the devil is that?”
As the last of the sparks fell, the pirates laid eyes on a gigantic island… or at least what looked like an island. It looked like something that had been created thousands of years ago… and had withstood many fairly destructive attacks. From afar, it looked like very little vegetation covered it. The entire island looked like an old ruin of an ancient temple of some sort. A massive stone sculpture seemed to be the centerpiece of the island, perhaps meant to honor the gods. Everywhere else that the eye could see, there were rocky cliffs and stone formations that looked like they were created through some sort of accident. Beaches lay at the outskirts of the island, the only part that looked inviting.
The rest of the island looked treacherous.
*splash* *splash*
Riggs did not even have to give an order. Eli and Doc jumped into the black water before any of Garrett’s men could raise a sword. Clint eluded capture by doing the same. Ripper tossed Julia into the water before anybody could get to her. He then smashed two attackers’ heads together and leapt over the rail to join his comrades. Petey jumped over once Ripper had caused his distraction.
Turning around, Riggs was face to face with Garrett. He narrowly dodged the hook, but he managed to catch his enemy with a good punch to the face. It was enough to send him reeling back.
The Captain climbed onto the rail and said, “So long, Garrett. I’m gettin’ the trident… then I’m takin’ back me ship.”
Garrett pulled out his pistol, but Riggs dove into the black water below. He heard a shot ring out just as he hit the water, but he was safe.
Underneath the surface, he opened his eyes and saw the rest of his crew many yards ahead of him. They were swimming with all of their strength. None of the pirates on the ship could see them, giving the group the advantage. Underneath the black exterior of the water, the liquid was clear, almost like they were swimming in air.
Once they surfaced, they were greeted by cannon fire. The cannonballs struck the water around them, but, as luck would have it, the gunners seemed to have horrible aim. They were probably still a little woozy.
Planting their feet in the sand, the crew tried to run as fast as they could, but it was not a surface that supported running. They had to constantly move back and forth to avoid getting hit with shots and cannonballs. Sand blasted into Eli and Clint’s faces, forcing them to run blindly. Luckily for them, Ripper was able to help them evade the cannonballs.
When they all got to the rocks, Riggs said, “We’ve got to get to that trident before Garrett does. We have the advantage… now let’s not waste it.”
Riggs started to clamber over the rocks, but Clint stopped him.
“Where do ye reckon we look, Captain?”
Without even thinking, Riggs pointed to the massive stone structure that rested in the middle of the island. Surely, it had to be where the trident lay.
“I was afraid o’ that,” Clint muttered to himself.
Shaking the remaining water off of themselves, the group started the final stretch of their journey to Poseidon’s trident.
“Keep firing at them, you fools,” Garrett shouted as the cannons stopped their attack.
“Cap’n, we can’t see ‘em. How are we supposed to hit ‘em?”
Overflowing with anger, Garrett tossed his hat to the ground. The entirety of the crew watched as their leader pounded his fist and hook against the rail. None of his men wanted to say anything, purely out of fear. With how their captain was acting, he was likely to kill someone.
Ceasing his outburst, Garrett pulled the gunner aside. No one knew what to expect.
Seething, he asked, “Do ye know how long I’ve waited to get this trident?”
After some head scratching, the crewmate answered, “Can’t rightly say, sir. A year?”
Reaching his boiling point, Garrett said, “Aye. Do ye think I want to lose that power to a no good, half-wit like Riggs?”
“No, sir.”
“Correct, matey. Now get a boat ready. We need to get over to that island right now.”
Pushing the gunner away, Garrett picked up his hat and started to walk away, but the crewmember kept talking. That was his first mistake.
“Ye know, Cap’n… Riggs did save the ship. Maybe he’s not the half-wit ye think ‘e is.”
All of his fellow crewmembers froze in their tracks. Was he mad? Anyone with a brain could have seen that Garrett was not in the mood to be antagonized. Right now, picking a fight with him seemed like picking a fight with Davy Jones.
The fool kept talking, even though his mates urged him not to.
“We’ve already lost several good men to that… whirlpool thing. How many more do ye want to lose, Cap’n?”
All of the men around him were trying silently to hush him, but their begging fell on deaf ears.
“At least with Captain Riggs, we actually cared ‘bout our mates. The crew bein’ family… that’s not as dumb as ye make it out to be. Hell, Riggs ain’t as stupid as ye think ‘e is, Garrett.”
Slowly, Garrett turned his gaze toward the pirate. His stare had never looked so threatening before. All of the crew backed away in terror as their captain stepped closer toward the pirate.
“What… did ye say?” he snarled, his hook swinging at his side.
The pirate struggled to find the words.
“Tell me what you said!” Garrett screamed in the man’s face.
“I-I-I said that… maybe Riggs ain’t as s-stupid as y-ye think ‘e is, sir,” the man stammered.
Garrett took a deep breath, and, for a minute, he seemed like he was calm once again. He took the man to the side with a hand on his shoulder.
“My apologies, mate. I thought I heard wrong. Did you say that Riggs was not stupid?”
“A-aye, sir.”
Patting the man on the shoulder, Garrett looked at all of his crew and said, “Well, you’re correct in that regard. Riggs and his friends are formidable adversaries. It’ll be a challenge that I’ll pursue until ‘e’s dead…”
Squeezing the crewmate’s shoulder in a vice-like grip, Garrett said, “… but I will not let ‘im get to the trident before me.”
His eyes burned with the fires of greed and hatred as he spoke.
“That power is mine… and only mine. I will rule the seas as the greatest pirate to ever sail ‘em.”
Turning his attention back to the lone crewmate, he said, in a calm voice, “There’s just one more thing I must say.”
Before anyone had a chance to react, Garrett sliced his hook across the man’s neck. Blood spurted onto his coat as he pushed the dying man over the side of the ship. The expression on Garrett’s face did not change one bit. It was unsettling to watch.
“You will call me Captain.”
Wiping the blood off of his hook, he shouted, “Get that boat ready now… otherwise, ye meet the same fate.”
The pirates stumbled over each other as they dashed to ready the longboat. Their captain was terrifying them. If he would commit such heinous acts against his own crew, how would he deal with their enemies?
Most of the men were shaking in their boots, but each of them felt like they were definitely loyal to Garrett. Or was it perhaps that they were afraid of him? They dared not waste their time pondering. They did not want to die.
Miles away, Coral Jack and Valera saw the tiny flash of red on the cloudy horizon. After days of just
barely keeping up with the pirate ship, they finally knew their destination. The Red Sky had stopped.
As they bore down on Garrett and his crew, Valera started to get excited. She hoped that if she fought well, then she could gain Coral Jack’s trust again. To test the waters, she tried to give him a congratulatory hug, but he declined. He was in quite the opposite mood.
“Isn’t that the Red Sky?” she asked.
Without saying a word, Jack hurried down to the head officer’s quarters and came back with a spyglass, one of the few things that he had not thrown off the ship. Sticking his eye to it, he surveyed the spot where the flash had appeared, and then gave it to Valera.
“That is the Red Sky… but that’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried about that flash.”
Valera was confused.
“What do you mean, Jack?”
Not even bothering to look the mermaid in the face, Coral Jack said, “I’ve only seen somethin’ like that once before in me life. What follows after it… I never want to see again.”
“Surely it can’t be that bad. It’s only other pirates. How can they be that much of a problem?”
“You’ve never seen what I’ve seen.”
Curious, the mermaid said, “Well then help me to see.”
Coral Jack stared out in front of the ship like he was lost in thought.
“Just over a year ago, Riggs took control of the Red Sky from our first captain. He had a grand plan to make us all better pirates than we were. Almost immediately, we all ended up on a course to Isla de Dolor. It was a cursed island, but we didn’t care. All of us wanted nothing but to be notorious and rich. None of us expected what we found.”
Taking a deep breath, he continued, “We unleashed a magical force on that island, the likes of which we had never seen before. I’d never believed in magic until then. It had all just been a part of Doc and Petey’s insane ramblings.”
Holding the wheel tightly, Jack said, “I saw the forces of evil rise that day on Isla de Dolor… that wretched place.”
Carefully trying to take his hand, Valera asked, “What sort of evil was it?”