A Red Sky Has Fallen

by Ryan Gilbert

  It felt so good to finally eat food that had not been below deck for days upon days. Whenever the drinks came, the men downed the liquid in a matter of seconds. The ladies, on the other hand, had to ease into their drinks. Valera tried gulping hers and ended up nearly spewing it across the table. Julia, remembering her last visit to Rebelde, raised the cup to her nose and smelled it first. When she knew it was rum, she started with little sips.

  “It still burns,” she said, her eyes watering.

  “Aye, that it does,” said Riggs.

  Once all of their stomachs were filled, the group made their way to the door. The Captain tossed the bartender a coin, and while the man was distracted, swiped a bottle to bring back to the ship. The five were out the door before the man even knew it was gone.

  Wiping her hands on her torn dress, Julia said, “I still think this is an absolutely wretched place, but that was some delicious food.”

  “Much better when yer not gettin’ hit on by some drunken fool,” Riggs replied, taking out his flask.

  “Speakin’ o’ drunk…” whispered Coral Jack.

  “I’m not deaf, ye know,” said the Captain, pocketing the alcohol.

  It felt good to not have a care in the world. Nobody knew what to do, and best of all, there was not anything they had to do. They could stay there for as long as they wanted.

  Riggs laid his arm on Julia’s shoulder as the crew walked down the street. This was the life that he wanted to live. He wanted to be able to spend an eternity with his true love.

  The only problem was that his heart would not let him do that. He wanted her to be safe, and that was not possible if she was with him. That much had been proven to him during their adventures together. Something drastic would have to happen to make him change his mind.

  “Tell me dere’s still some time ta get food, man.”

  Ripper approached the crew from behind, followed by at least fifteen other sailors. The Captain was a bit taken aback, too much so to answer his crewmate’s question.

  “Um… Ripper… who’re all these buggers?” he said, pointing at the crowd of men.

  “New crewmates, Captain. All o’ dem are damn good fighters an’ ready to heed yer orders once dey be said,” said Ripper, seeming quite proud of himself.

  “And you would put yer faith in these men, Rip?”

  “Absolutely, Captain,” he said with a smile on his face.

  Slightly concerned, Riggs stepped forward to examine the potential crew that his master gunner had recruited for him. He could not take any chances, given that his last crew had caused so much trouble for him already.

  Gesturing to one of the men, he said, “Step forward, mate.”

  The man did as he was told. So far they seemed promising.

  “Have ye ever rebelled against yer leader?”

  The man chuckled, saying, “Of course not. I want money, not a place in Davy Jones’ Locker.”

  “Alright… alright. What’s your dream as a pirate?”

  Before Riggs had even finished speaking, the man said, “To find a lot o’ treasure and get lots o’ wenches.”

  Grinning, the Captain said, “You’re my kind o’ pirate, matey. There’s just one last thing I’ve got to mention.”

  Riggs pointed to the ladies and asked, “Ye see those two lovely ladies over there?”

  The man nodded.

  “Nobody lays a hand on either o’ them. If ye do, you’ll walk the plank. Capische?”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Smart man… you can join,” said Riggs, calling the next man forward.

  The process repeated itself for about ten minutes. If the Captain found the sailor to be a suitable crewmember, he would let him join. If the sailor seemed too despicable, Riggs would make him leave. Some random people who were wandering the streets joined the crowd as well. The same process applied to them. It was comical for Riggs, watching the gutter rats try to speak in coherent sentences.

  When the recruitment ended, the Red Sky had thirty more crewmembers.

  Petey and Eli caught up to the group right at the end of the impromptu recruitment. Eli’s eyes and Petey’s eye nearly bulged out of their skulls when they saw the new crew. Getting that many men to become part of a crew that they knew nothing about was astonishing.

  “First order of business, ye mangy scoundrels, is repairin’ the ship. We took a beatin’ on the last voyage, and we need to get it good as new. What say you?”

  “Aye!”

  “Then hop to it. Move on… move on,” Riggs ordered.

  Quickly, the new crew made their way down through the streets to the port. Everything was falling into place for the pirates of the Red Sky. They were ready for anything.

  Or so they thought.

  SKEEEEEeeeeeeee *pop* *pop* *skizzle*

  A firework blew up in the air, right above the building they had just passed. All of the pirates froze in fear and pulled out their weapons. Julia was completely confused.

  “What’s happening?” she asked.

  Riggs grabbed her and pulled her into a doorway.

  “Listen to me, Julia. Do ye remember when I first brought you here and told you about the alarm in Rebelde?”

  “Yes.”

  Pulling out his pistol, Riggs said, “That was it.”

  The town grew dark as the merchants and barkeeps extinguished all the lights in their establishments. Julia had never seen pirates panic this much. In a matter of moments, all of Rebelde became quieter than she had ever imagined it being. Riggs and Julia could hear a pin drop, and they still had not seen the actual ship yet.

  Hiding in the doorway, they could see all of the crew crouched behind whatever they could find, whether it be a crate or a barrel. Some men were even lying down on the ground, covering themselves with blankets to avoid being seen.

  Riggs kept his eyes fixed on the watchtower. Once they signaled that it was alright for everything to return to normal, he and the crew could get back to the ship.

  K-BOOM

  The watchtower burst into flames, throwing its occupants straight down to the street below. As the flames consumed it, the entire structure toppled to the ground, crashing through the roof of the building closest to it.

  Men and women started rushing out into the streets, trying to get to higher ground. Pirates ran to their ships, still hung over from whatever they had been drinking. Riggs saw several sailors running down the street in just their nightshirts.

  Peeking out from the doorway, Riggs finally saw the ship that was attacking. It had gleaming blue sails, almost like they were glowing. The ship itself was very dark, almost like it was decayed.

  K-BOOM

  Instead of a yellow burst, he saw a bright blue, almost white burst of flame as the cannons blasted all over Rebelde. Whatever kind of ship it was, it was not normal.

  K-BOOM

  A shop several yards from the crew lit up as a cannonball smashed through the wall.

  “Come on, mates. We’ve got to get away from all o’ this,” he shouted as he ran down the street, pulling Julia along behind him.

  “Captain… ain’t ye goin’ the wrong way?” asked Clint.

  “I’d trust myself to my ship long before I’d go dashin’ to God knows where. Ye with me?”

  K-BOOM

  A cannonball struck the ground right behind the crew. It did not matter where they wanted to go now. They were running as fast as they could down to the docks.

  K-BOOM

  The shop next to the crew blew up, showering them all with glass and bits of stone.

  K-BOOM

  Another building exploded, dropping a balcony down into the street, narrowly missing several of the new recruits.

  K-BOOM K-BOOM

  Riggs could already see smoke rising from the docks as they ran through the streets. None of the columns of smoke seemed to be near where his ship was docked, but it still fueled him to run faster.

  K-BOOM

  A cannonball hit the ground right in front of
Riggs and Julia, blasting them into the air. He could not feel anything for a couple seconds as he flew through the air. Once he crashed through the top of a fruit stand, his senses returned.

  Wearily pulling himself out of the destruction, he could see Julia lying in a collapsed stack of barrels. His ears were still ringing from the explosion. When he tried to yell, he heard nothing except annoying little bells inside his head.

  As Clint and Ripper rushed over and tried to help him, the pain hit him. He knew he was okay, but it felt like he had just been on a massive drinking binge. Stumbling over to Julia, he helped her to her feet as well. Given how quickly her hands went to her head, Riggs could tell that she was feeling the same things he was feeling.

  Gradually, his hearing came back, and the ringing went away. Everyone around him was asking, “Are ye alright, Captain? Are ye hurt, Captain?”

  He waved them off like nothing had happened.

  “I’m fine, but we still need to get to the ship.”

  It was then that he realized the cannon fire had stopped. The guns had gone completely silent.

  Everything struck Riggs as being strange. If whoever was attacking was doing so without any returning fire, why would they stop? If they wanted to destroy the port, they could have easily done it if they had just kept firing.

  Climbing onto a barrel, he looked out over the bay and watched as the attacking ship just sat in the water. He could feel the eyes watching him. There was something familiar about the ship, but Riggs could not guess what it was.

  Scurrying over to the shop across the street, he smashed the window with his elbow and grabbed a spyglass from the display case. He climbed back onto the barrel and peered through the eyepiece.

  He had been right. There was something familiar about the ship. It was most definitely from the Navy. He could still see the dark blue and light brown colors of a ship under the control of the Crown, even if they were darker than before. Instead of the stark white sails, this ship had glowing blue veins running all throughout its gray sails. It was like the ship was supernatural. As it circled around the harbor, Riggs finally got a look at the stern.

  The nameplate on the back of the ship read HMS Magistrate.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Riggs tossed the spyglass to the ground and ordered the crew to follow him. They needed to get back to the Red Sky if any of them wanted to get away with their lives. Commodore Hamond was sure to be furious.

  The HMS Magistrate had not fired a single shot for nearly five minutes. People began to step out into the streets, not sure what to make of what was happening. Were they still being attacked? Why was the ship still keeping guard in the bay? By now, even if the crew did make it to the ship, they would not be able to make it past the Navy vessel. That would be downright suicidal.

  Watching the Magistrate sail around in the bay, Riggs dared the Commodore to keep attacking. At some point, he would have to run out of ammunition.

  The tension was thick in the air. The pirates in Rebelde could not leave, and the Navy would not leave. It was the Navy’s turn to play their cards. If they wanted the pirates destroyed, then they were certainly forestalling judgment long enough.

  Somewhere in the streets, a pirate shouted, “For the love o’ all that’s holy, just kill us already.”

  “Shut up, you fool. You don’t really want to die. None of us want to die,” Riggs yelled.

  “THAT’S TO BE EXPECTED.”

  A booming voice echoed throughout the town. It seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.

  “ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MESELF. MY NAME IS CAPTAIN MARCUS GARRETT OF THE NEWLY CAPTURED HMS MAGISTRATE. SPEAK… WHILE YE STILL CAN.”

  While the multitudes of people started to beg for mercy, Riggs and his friends tried to catch their breath. Garrett’s revelation startled the Captain. Riggs had seen the traitor get crushed under a ton of rocks. How could he possibly still be alive?

  Garrett finally had them in a place where they could not escape. It was only safe to assume that he had Poseidon’s trident, hence the power of the god as well. Riggs unconsciously grabbed Julia’s hand. With the threat of total destruction hanging over his head, he was squeezing it extremely tight.

  “What is it that ye want, Garrett?” Riggs shouted, not really knowing what direction to speak.

  “AH, RIGGS… GOOD TO HEAR YE AGAIN AFTER YE LEFT ME FOR DEAD. I’LL MAKE IT SIMPLE. I WANT YOU.”

  “What do ye mean, you coward? Come here an’ fight so me and my crew can actually kill you this time.”

  “IT’S NOT GOIN’ TO BE THAT EASY, YE LIL’ WORM. I’LL FIGHT YOU, BUT IT’LL BE ON MY TERMS. MAN TO MAN… YOU AGAINST ME. WE’LL SEE WHO COMES OUT ALIVE.”

  Sensing dozens of pairs of eyes staring at him, Riggs tried to think of other alternatives. Running away was not an option. Garrett would only find him again, bringing death and destruction in his wake. A bait-and-switch would definitely not work. With the trident, Garrett could easily destroy Riggs’ crew and ship if he suspected treachery.

  He had no choice.

  “You’ve got yourself a deal, Garrett.”

  Riggs could hear his enemy start to chuckle, stopping only to deliver one final message.

  “BE DOWN AT THE DOCKS IN AN HOUR. YE’D BETTER BE READY TO DIE.”

  The voice turned into a maniacal laugh, burning itself into everyone’s brains. It was nearly deafening. Even the thought of that dangerous psychopath having the trident was enough to send shivers down Riggs’ and his friends’ spines. Slowly, Garrett’s voice became quieter until it could no longer be heard.

  “Who was that?” asked one of the new recruits.

  “Not someone ye want to meet, that’s for sure,” said Riggs.

  “What’s yer plan, Captain?” asked Clint.

  When he did not answer, Clint grabbed his captain by the shoulders and yanked him around to face him. Riggs had the look of a man determined to do something brave, but crazy. His eyes were darting back and forth as he rambled to himself.

  “Captain?”

  Snapping his fingers, Riggs said something.

  “I got it.”

  He had a sly look in his eye, but he would not say anything further.

  “Captain, tell us what yer doin’,” Clint begged.

  “No… I’m not chancin’ ‘im hearin’ me. I’m not sayin’ a word.”

  “But Riggs…”

  “Ye want an order, then I’ll give ye one. Go down to the docks an’ wait. I’ll be down before the time runs out.”

  Visibly upset, Clint hesitated. Seeing this, Riggs pulled him close and gave him a pat on the back. Clint was his friend, but he was also the closest thing that Riggs had to a father.

  “I promise ye this, mate. I ain’t goin’ to let you or any of this crew down. You have me word, Clint.”

  “Aye, Riggs,” said the navigator solemnly, “You heard ‘im, gents. Let’s get down there before Garrett blows a gasket.”

  As the crowds dispersed, Riggs ducked into a blacksmith’s shop and started looking for something, anything to help him beat his enemy. Pretty soon, mallets and hammers were lying in a heap in the middle of the floor. Tables were overturned. Cabinets were ripped open. Riggs knew there had to be something. He just needed to find it… and fast.

  Finally, he found that for which he had been looking. Just as he was about to take it out of its hiding spot, he heard footsteps behind him. They were the distinct footsteps of a worried girl, desperate for answers.

  “Are you actually going to do it, Riggs? Are you really going to feed yourself to that monster of a man?” asked Julia as she approached him.

  “Don’t worry about me, love. I’ve got a plan, and if it works, it’ll spell the end o’ that bastard.”

  The girl looked like she was going to cry.

  “And what if it doesn’t?” she stammered.

  He stopped what he was doing and actually started to think. He had been so busy trying to think of how to beat Garrett that he had not even stopp
ed to consider what would happen if he lost. With his strongest adversary gone, Garrett would believe he was untouchable, tearing apart anyone who crossed his path.

  Meeting the girl’s eyes, Riggs said, “I don’t know. I’ll try to get you and the crew safe passage away from here, but I’d still be ready for a fight.”

  “I don’t care about that. I mean what about you and me? I don’t want to lose the only man I’ve ever loved,” she said, laying a hand on his scruffy cheek.

  “Well… guess I’d better make this count then,” he said.

  Pulling her closer, he locked lips with her and kissed her. For that moment, they breathed as one. Their hearts beat as one. Her hands rested on his chest as he held her close, trying to reassure her that everything would be alright. The warmth of her touch was calming to him, draining his mind of all the worry and anxiety. He knew that his plan would work. It had to work… for his sake, but more importantly for Julia’s sake.

  Gently breaking the lip lock, Riggs looked his true love straight in the eye and said, “I love you, Julia. Even if I die, don’t ever forget that.”

  Gesturing towards the door, he said, “Now go, I need to get somethin’ for this duel.”

  “Can you at least tell me what it is?” she begged.

  Riggs shook his head, a pained look on his face. He knew it was eating away at her, but he forced himself to remain silent. Their lives depended on it.

  Julia tried to keep from crying as she backed away from him. Without saying another word, she made her way out the door, leaving the Captain alone once again.

  As Julia made her way down to the docks, she could see the crowd starting to form. Those who had not already fled the town flocked to the docks. Men and women of all ages and backgrounds filled the crowd, eager to see the bold pirate who challenged the powerful attacker. All of them were counting on Riggs beating Garrett. They wanted to go free, just like the crew of the Red Sky.

  Approaching the crew, Julia tried to regain her composure. It was tough, but she thought she could do it. She could not let them know she was hurting. The uncertainty of the situation was killing her.