A Red Sky Has Fallen

by Ryan Gilbert

  They carefully eased the Commodore onto the pirate captain’s bed, letting him rest at last. After everything that had just happened, he needed some time to recover. Nearly everything that he had previously believed had been challenged in the last couple hours. The sea serpent, the strange hypnosis of his crew, and the power of the trident were all foreign to him.

  As Julia sat down on the bed to clean her father’s wounds, Commodore Hamond reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out the book. The girl looked at it, confused as to what it was.

  “What is this book, father?” she said, taking it and setting it on a chair.

  Hamond gently took his daughter’s hand and said, “That, Julia, was a gift from Daniel Travers. He wanted you to have it after he…”

  The Commodore could not bring himself to finish the sentence, but Julia knew what he was going to say. Daniel had been a good friend to her for many years, and the news of his death caught her unaware.

  “How did he die?” she asked calmly.

  “Like a true hero,” her father replied.

  One solitary tear trickled down the girl’s face as she latched onto her father for comfort. It was heart-wrenching when she lost a friend.

  The pirate captain watched the whole scene unfurl, awkwardly standing off to the side. He had never known Travers for more than a brief moment, but he knew that the deceased lieutenant meant a lot to the girl. Leaving Julia alone with her father, Riggs made his way out onto the main deck to resume control of his crew. Nearly all of the pirates were staring out over the rocks while the Red Sky sailed along the coastline.

  He took the stairs two at a time, venturing up to the wheel. When he got to the helm, he found himself locked in an almost suffocating hug.

  “So good to have ye back, Riggs,” said Clint, patting his friend on the back.

  “Ah… it’s good for me too… back right where I want to be.”

  Clint walked back to his position at the wheel and asked, “So… uh… what’s the plan with the Commodore aboard?”

  Riggs took out his flask to have a drink but found nothing but salt water in it. His and Valera’s swim to the Magistrate must have drained the rum. Swiping Clint’s bottle, he had himself a swig and filled his flask with some of the drink. He gave it back to Clint once he was done.

  “Don’t do nothin’ different.”

  Hands resting on the wheel, Clint asked, “Are ye sure that’s a smart idea, Captain?”

  Sticking his hat on his head, Riggs replied, “The poor man’s been through enough. He even helped us fight that scum. Besides, what’s he goin’ to do? With his ship gone, we’re the only way he can get back home.”

  “You’re not worried about any other Navy ships coming up on us?”

  The Captain shook his head.

  Shrugging, Clint resumed steering the ship. He simply left the conversation at that. Once Riggs had his mind made up about something, he followed through with it.

  Eyes full of glee, Riggs watched as the members of his crew kept their attention on the rocks and shores. Every once in a while, someone thought they saw Garrett, but it turned out it was just a piece of seaweed or flotsam.

  “Turn the ship about. There’s no way he could have gotten this far wit’ a bum leg,” said Riggs.

  As he strode to the other side of the ship, he nearly ran into Julia as she was coming up the stairs.

  “You feelin’ alright, love?”

  Wiping her eyes one last time, she replied, “I’ll manage. Daniel was a good friend, but he wouldn’t want me to fret.”

  “How’s yer father holdin’ up? What with his injuries ‘n all…” he asked.

  “Actually… he wants to talk to you,” she said.

  “Me?” asked Riggs, a tiny bit astonished, “Why me?”

  “He wouldn’t say.”

  The Captain took a quick gulp of rum and said, “Wish me luck, love.”

  Making his way down to the cabin, he mentally prepared himself for a barrage of questions and demands. The Commodore was going to want to know exactly what was happening, what they were going to do, and where they were going. He certainly would not be happy about the pirates abandoning him in their pursuit of the Red Sky. Riggs took a deep breath, straightened his hat, and opened the cabin doors.

  Now that he actually had time to look at the inside of the room, it looked like a brawl had broken out inside of it. Most of the windows had been shattered, spreading glass all over the floor. The table had been blown into the corner, and all but one of the chairs lay all over the room. The only part that was remotely clean was the bed, but that was only because Julia had cleaned it off for her father.

  Commodore Hamond lay there, staring up at the ceiling. He did not even look at the pirate entering the room. Riggs could not tell if he was terrified or too prideful to look at those he considered vermin. Regardless, the Captain took a chair from the ground and set it up close to the bed.

  “Your daughter said you wanted to talk.”

  “That is correct,” said her father.

  The two sat in silence, each waiting for the other to say something.

  “It’s not much of a talk if there’s not words involved.”

  The Commodore sighed and said, “I guess you’re right.”

  Hamond propped himself up on his elbows, saying, “Let me get one thing perfectly clear. I do not condone your actions. Regardless of whether I am on your ship or not, I will still be a loyal officer of the Navy.”

  “Understood,” said Riggs with a nod.

  “So… how long until you send me to the brig?”

  “Yer not goin’ to the brig, mate. You’re stayin’ right here until we get back to Yorktown.”

  Julia’s father looked surprised. The raised eyebrow and the inquisitive look in his eyes gave it away.

  “Were you even listening to what I said? I just told you that I’m still under the jurisdiction of the Crown.”

  Reclining in the chair, Riggs said, “I heard every word, but I don’t care if you’re a Commodore or not. Your injuries ain’t goin’ to let ye do anythin’. It’s just you now. No soldiers at your disposal. No flagship. No nothin’… ‘cept us.”

  The Commodore winced as he moved his arm. The wound in his shoulder still hurt, just not as much as before.

  “Why did you abandon us when we left Yorktown?” he asked, rubbing his arm.

  “Why’d we abandon you? Did ye see what that trident could do?” asked Riggs, “If anyone in the English Navy had gotten hold o’ that, your precious Crown would be more powerful than the God you worship. Piracy would be dead, and the Red Sky along with it.”

  “I welcome that day.”

  Grinning, Riggs replied, “But of course you would.”

  The Captain moved his chair closer to the bed and said, “Commodore Hamond… there is goin’ to come a day when you’re goin’ to have to choose whose side you’re on. I think you’ll see then that the Navy is the wrong side.”

  “I will never denounce the Navy. To do so would mean to give up my morals and my virtues as a human being.”

  “Not all men in the Navy have those.”

  “That’s impossible. All the men I’ve worked with have proven their worth.”

  Sitting back, Riggs took off his hat and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the jagged scar on his arm. He held it in the light so that the Commodore could see it.

  “This is reason I became the man I am today, Commodore. I was given this… scar… a permanent reminder of wretchedness… by a Navy officer. My mother abandoned me so that I could get away from that man’s violence.”

  Hamond looked at the scar and said, “I’m sorry, lad, but when you sail under a pirate flag, safety is never guaranteed.”

  Laughing, Riggs said, “You don’t get it, do you, Commodore? I wasn’t a pirate. I was a mere child when that Navy officer… my own damn father… took a knife to my arm to show me the worthless pile of scum that I was. Should any mother have to raise her child in that kind o
f environment?”

  Commodore Hamond was not expecting that statement. He looked completely flustered as he tried to search for a response.

  Riggs continued, “Since that day, I’ve never seen my mother again, but I’d like to think she’s proud o’ me. Ye see, I learned somethin’ that day which I see every single day of me pirate life.”

  He let his sleeve unroll and cover the scar again.

  “I learned that everybody has a dark side to ‘em… even the people that were supposed to protect me.”

  Pointing to the door, Riggs said, “Your daughter, on the other hand, has a heart unlike any woman I’ve ever met. All the girls I’ve been with… they’re just that: naïve girls and nothin’ more.”

  Riggs let his mind wander.

  “Julia’s willin’ to fight for what she wants. She’s strong, independent, and a beautiful young woman. She is the reason I never give up. If any harm came to her… I don’t know what I’d do.”

  For a long time, the Commodore stared into space. Riggs could almost see his mind racing. When he had finished thinking, he sat up in the bed. Very slowly, he extended his hand to the pirate captain and ordered, “Take it.”

  Riggs did.

  “Do you truly love my daughter?”

  “With all me heart, sir. Always have… always will.”

  Matthew Hamond clasped Riggs’ hand, laid his other hand on the Captain’s shoulder and said, “Robert Briggs… I’ve wanted to ask that question for a long time, but never in my strangest nightmares would I have imagined that I’d be asking a pirate.”

  “I’ll consider that an honor, sir,” Riggs said with a grin.

  For the first time ever, the Commodore embraced the pirate. It was in direct violation of his Navy training, but after hearing Riggs’ testimony, he had no choice. He knew the Captain was telling him the whole truth. He did not know how, but something just felt right about it.

  Even for Riggs, it felt strange. It felt like he was letting his guard down completely. For some reason, he thought it was the right thing to do. No, he knew it was the right thing to do.

  There was a pounding on the door, causing Hamond to hastily break off the embrace. Coral Jack rushed into the room.

  “We’ve got ‘im, Captain.”

  Quickly standing up from his chair, Riggs said to the Commodore, “Do excuse me. I have a traitor to kill.”

  Julia’s father nodded in agreement and lay back down on the bed.

  Out on deck, Riggs grabbed a spyglass and searched the coastline. The crew had already dropped anchor and reduced sail. They knew that Garrett was there.

  As he peered through the glass, Riggs saw the mutineer. He was laying on a small stretch of sand, face down and not moving. Half of his body was laying on the sand, but his lower half was still being pounded by the waves.

  “Is dat monster dead?” asked Ripper, pulling out his pistol.

  Riggs kept looking, but the ship was too far away to see anything definite.

  “Can’t say, Ripper. Got any extra shots on ye?”

  The gunner handed him some extra shots and powder for the pistol.

  Turning to Eli, Riggs said, “I want a longboat ready as soon as possible. Got it?”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  As the crew prepared the longboat, Riggs stepped below deck, down to where Petey kept the weapons. He pulled out a sword, ran his hand along the sharp blade, and stuck it in his scabbard. If he was going to put an end to Garrett, he was going to do it right.

  By the time Riggs reached the small beach, Garrett had started to stir. As the Captain secured the longboat, he could see his enemy trying to crawl further onto land. He hoped that every movement caused the pirate pain. Riggs checked his pistol and made his way over to his former crewmate.

  As he got closer, he could see the full extent of Garrett’s injuries. The explosion had done more damage to him than it had to the sea serpent. Almost the entire side of his face had burned. One of his eyelids had swollen so much that Riggs could barely even see his eye. Part of his ribs had been blown off, the blood leaking into the water that surrounded him. The hook was now fused onto his arm, the metal clamps holding it in place having melted to his skin. Nearly all of his hair was gone, exposing the veins and burnt flesh of his scalp. Most of his clothes had remained intact, though they were scorched black and barely clinging to his body.

  Riggs took a seat right in front of his enemy, staring down at him as he continued trying to crawl out of the water. With slow movement that looked downright painful, Garrett lifted his shaking head to look the Captain in the face.

  “Ye should’ve known this day would come, Garrett,” Riggs said, pulling out his pistol.

  “Why…don’t you just… kill me… now?” his enemy rasped.

  Rubbing his chin, Riggs responded, “I think you said it best when ye told me that the wait is all just part o’ the fun.”

  Garrett cringed as he pulled himself further up the beach. His burnt hand closed around the sand, the little particles burying themselves in his wounds. He tried to ignore Riggs’ gloating, but the Captain persisted.

  “Do you want to live, Garrett?” he asked.

  The helpless pirate slowly turned his head toward his captain. Riggs knew the answer, but Garrett’s pride would not let him say it.

  “I’m goin’ to assume that’s a yes. Ye see that longboat over there? If you get to it, I’ll let you go.”

  Garrett’s eye widened as he looked over towards the boat. He tried to crawl, but it hurt too much.

  “It might work better if ye stand up,” said Riggs, effortlessly getting to his feet.

  The traitor slowly moved his leg to the side. Grimacing, he pushed off of the sand. With a loud groan, he planted his toes on the beach and tried to straighten his legs. He nearly collapsed, but he eventually got his legs straight. Resting his bloody hand on his waist, he cursed as he stood with a hunched back. The wounds to his spine were too painful for him to straighten it.

  He looked Riggs right in the face and could not even bring himself to frown. The burns on his body were causing too much pain for him to even worry about Riggs.

  “Now’s yer chance, Garrett. Get to that longboat… and you’re free.”

  Without a word, Garrett limped forward a step, almost falling, but catching himself just before he lost his balance completely. He stepped forward again, the sand sliding across his sensitive skin with each tiny movement.

  Behind him, Riggs leveled the pistol at his enemy.

  “Give me the sea;

  Give me the wind.”

  BANG

  The ball blasted through Garrett’s hook arm, making him cry out in pain, but he did not fall. It just added to his already intense pain. Riggs quickly reloaded the gun as Garrett took another horrible limp of a step.

  “Give me a ship

  To plunder the land.”

  BANG

  The shot made a hole right through the pirate’s hand. He cried out again and started weeping. Since he had no other hand to hold it, he stuck the hand against his chest and tried to stop the bleeding that way. Looping his hook through a stray piece of cloth, he forcibly lifted his leg and dragged it forward.

  “Steal and lie;

  Steal and lie…”

  BANG

  The last shot ripped through his ankle. Garrett collapsed on the beach, his ankle reduced to a bunch of broken pieces of bone.

  For all of that trouble and hurt, he had not even made it close to the longboat.

  Riggs stuck the pistol back in his belt and casually made his way to Garrett’s side. The blood was already spreading from his enemy’s wounds to the sand.

  “Get up, Garrett,” Riggs ordered, taunting the mutineer.

  “I… can’t,” he rasped through his dry lips.

  Crouching down, Riggs grabbed Garrett by his neck and forced him to stand, broken ankle and all.

  “Before you mutinied against me, I told ye that I wasn’t cruel and heartless, but right now,
I think I want that side to come out an’ have some fun. That is what ye wanted, ain’t it?”

  Garrett did not even have the strength to grab Riggs’ arm. He tried raising his hook in defiance, but he could not.

  The Captain slammed Garrett face first into the sand. The defeated man groaned and cried, but those fell on deaf ears.

  Riggs pulled out his sword as Garrett knelt in front of him, powerless to stop his former captain. The traitor’s unharmed eye followed the blade as Riggs raised it in the air

  “Say hello to Davy Jones for me.”

  There was no hesitation from Riggs. He swung the sword with every bit of strength that he had in his body. This was for his ship. This was for his crew. It was for Doc, and it was for Julia.

  Garrett’s decapitated corpse stayed kneeling for a few seconds before Riggs kicked it to the ground. The pool of blood grew quickly, spurting like a hose out of the neck. Following the red line, he saw his enemy’s head sitting on the ground, staring up at him with blank, dead eyes. His death mask was not that of an arrogant madman. It was that of a pathetic mongrel.

  Stepping over the corpse, Riggs made his way down to the water’s edge and washed the blood off his sword. He and everyone onboard the Red Sky could finally rest easy. The most dangerous threat to their existence was dead.

  He slid the sword into its scabbard and climbed into the longboat, leaving the beach at last.

  “Steal and lie;

  Steal and lie;

  There are no rules,

  So you just died.”

  After several days of sailing, the Red Sky finally arrived back near Virginia. Some of the Commodore’s wounds had healed up, and he was finally able to make an effort to meet some of Riggs’ most loyal crewmembers and friends. Most of them were hesitant about letting the Commodore know them, but they eventually caved. The only person that stayed quiet and actually avoided Julia’s father was Valera. It was all for the better too. Every time that he would see her, he would feel uneasy, mostly because of what she had done to the soldiers on the HMS Dagger.