by Ryan Gilbert
The vision progressed along at a breakneck speed as the surroundings morphed once again. Metallic behemoths shaped like ships rested in the water beside the pirate and the magic-user. There were no sails, so how could they be ships? What concerned Riggs more were the chains that hung suspended by the unusual machines.
Hanging from the chains was a decaying skeleton of a ship. The sea poured out of it as the chains hauled it above the surface of the water. It looked old, decrepit, and robbed of its fearsome appearance.
“Is that… what becomes o’ my ship?”
Before Riggs could see what ship it actually was, a wave crashed over his head, sending him below the surface once again. As the current took him, he soon felt a hard, slippery surface beneath his feet. A sudden upheaval of water sent him crashing into a wall.
Standing on uneasy feet, Riggs could no longer hear the sound of the ocean. Instead, he was in a room, alone with Alystor. However, it did not seem like any room that the pirate captain had ever seen before. Glass cases surrounded him on all sides, and marble pillars stretched to the ceiling.
“Where are we?” Riggs asked Alystor.
Once the magic-user caught her breath, she said, “I have no idea, you fool.”
As Riggs walked around, he could hear his footsteps echoing on the tile floors of the huge chamber. From what he could see, the room was significantly larger than the rooms of the Hamonds’ mansion.
*th-thunk*
Two doors slowly swung open just behind Riggs, gently tapping the wall. What he saw inside was enough to shock him.
Inside the next room sat a rather large sculpture of the ocean’s waves. They looked extremely realistic, but they were secondary to what rested on top of them. The broken and battered hull of a ship sat atop the sculpture, held in place by supports and ropes. Riggs knew it was the Red Sky without even having to look at the red sails. In front of the rather skeletal display sat another glass case, this time holding a gnarly flag emblazoned with the skull and crossbones.
It was the same flag that hung above Riggs’ head every day onboard his ship.
“Riggs…”
A white light started to shine against the Captain’s face, filling him with a strange, otherworldly warmth. A soothing voice accompanied the light, echoing in Riggs’ ears.”
“Riggs…”
Turning toward the light, the pirate could see white start to envelop the scene. Soon, it was all that he could see. The outline of a figure started to appear, reaching out her hand to him.
“Come with me…”
He felt an overwhelming calm settle over him, causing him to reach out to the figure. It felt heavenly.
Before he and the figure could touch, Riggs felt Alystor grab him by the arm. Instantly, a gust of wind blasted against Riggs’ face as the light flashed and temporarily blinded him. As his vision returned to him, he could see two green lights in front of him. To his surprise, the wind and the blinding glare quickly subsided, revealing that the two green lights were Wynona Alystor’s glowing eyes.
Both the pirate and the magic-user were back in Alystor’s house.
Hurriedly, Riggs ripped his arm away from Alystor as her eyes stopped glowing. Once she realized that the vision had ended, she jumped backwards as well, her usual calm demeanor shattered.
“Are ya alright, Captain?” asked Ripper, laying a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
The sudden touch startled Riggs, causing the Captain to latch onto the table behind him. The vision was over, but its effects still intrigued and haunted the young pirate. Turning his attention to Alystor, he saw her breathing heavily right in front of the rest of his crew.
“What in the bloody hell was that?” asked Riggs, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
Standing up straight and cracking her neck, Wynona tried to slow her breathing, saying, “Captain Riggs, I warned you.”
“About what? Pushin’ yer limits?” Riggs laughed a nervous laugh, saying, “I think I blew those limits out o’ the water.”
Shoving away from the table, the Captain weakly grabbed the woman by the shoulder, pulling her to face him.
“Now tell me, what… was… that?”
Alystor pushed his hand away, finally breathing normally.
“That… what you just saw… is a future. It is not THE future, but it certainly seems like it is A future. That is what happens when you dare to push my limits,” she said sternly.
“I’m not satisfied with that answer.”
“Too bad. That’s all you get,” Alystor snapped.
“Fair enough,” agreed a reluctant Riggs, not wanting to go through another strange experience like that.
Turning to Julia, he asked, “How long was I just standin’ there?”
To his surprise, the girl seemed confused.
“Riggs… you weren’t just standing there. Alystor grabbed your wrist, you pulled away, and she jumped backward. Whatever you saw, it was all inside your head.”
Behind Riggs and his crew, Wynona pounded her fists against the table and grabbed her head. She leaned back in her chair, resting her head against the back of the chair. As the pirates turned around, the magic-user stared up at the ceiling, rubbing her fingers against her temple.
“Both you and your crew can leave now, Captain Riggs. I will give you no further assistance,” she said, not even looking at the pirates.
“But I…”
“I said to go, damn it,” said Alystor under her breath, her fingers starting to glow with green energy.
The sideways glance that she shot Riggs let him know that she meant it.
Holding up his hands to show that he understood, the Captain nodded to his crew, leading them to the door. They all left without saying another word to Wynona Alystor. They could not tell if she had actually helped them at all, but they felt relieved to be out of her presence.
As the crew weaved their way through the trees, leaving Alystor’s house behind, Coral Jack approached Riggs, asking, “So Captain, what be the plan now?”
Pulling his sword out of its sheath, Riggs said, “My plan is to hope that the witch was tellin’ the truth. We need to find Hades… and fast.”
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH
The sound of Valera’s screech cut through the trees, causing several of the crew to jump. Jack was the first to ready his sword. Riggs quickly followed, rushing past his friend. Within seconds, the horrid realization hit the rest of the crew.
The screech was a distress call…
…and it was followed by the sound of cannons.
CHAPTER FOUR
Riggs, Julia, Coral Jack, Ripper, Eli, and Sapphire all rushed through the woods, trying to get to the beach as quickly as possible. As they hurried between the trees, they all readied their weapons. The pirates yanked out their swords and pistols, and the fairy pulled her wand out from her belt, dropping the Gicmae wood into a pouch at her side. It would have to wait until another time.
Soon, the pirates could hear the sounds of the cannons even clearer. There was another ship attacking the Red Sky. Riggs could tell by the sounds that were getting louder as they got closer.
FEBOOM FEBOOM
BOOM BOOM
The small band burst onto the sandy beach, immediately having to avoid an explosion of sand thrown in the air by a cannonball. Rushing to the side, the crew could see the Red Sky weaving through the water, trying to stay as close to the shore as possible, all the while pursued closely by a slightly smaller Navy vessel.
FEBOOM
Another explosion rocked the ground, throwing the crew in two directions. As the pirates landed hard on the ground, Sapphire hovered in the air, her wings fluttering to keep her off the ground. Hurriedly, Riggs pulled Julia to her feet, running toward the longboat as the rest of his friends scrambled to get up.
As they reached the longboat, shots began to ring out, like someone was shooting at the pirates. Unable to get to their feet, the rest of the crew scurried across the sand on their knees and ducked below
the side of the boat, just barely catching a glimpse of another longboat. It was full of sailors, and they were just now landing on the beach.
With shots peppering the longboat, Riggs grabbed Julia by the arm, saying, “Julia, go with Sapphire. Both of ye get back to the ship.”
“I’m not leaving you,” she protested.
“Too late,” said Riggs, motioning to Sapphire to come to them both.
Just as the fairy swooped down, Riggs said to Julia, “We need Clint to bring the ship about. We’ll get there. Just tell ‘im not to stop.”
Before Julia could say anything, Sapphire snatched her underneath her arms and flew out over the surface of the water, heading directly toward the fleeing Red Sky. Riggs watched the two for as long as he could, just trying to make sure they reached the ship.
BANG
A shot whizzed by his ear, pulling him back to the fight at hand. Swinging his arm over the top of the longboat, he leveled his pistol at the first sailor that he saw. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger, watching the man’s head snap back as he fell to the ground.
“We’re sort of trapped here, Captain. What’s your plan to get out o’ this one?” asked a panicking Coral Jack.
Reloading his pistol, Riggs shouted, “Grab onto the longboat. We need to get it down to the water’s edge.”
“We can only use it as cover for so long,” said Eli, shooting a charging sailor.
“Ye think I don’t know that?” Riggs asked sarcastically, “Just do what I say and we’ll get back to the ship.”
Each of the pirates grabbed onto the longboat, pushing it along the surface of the sand as quickly as they could. A hail of shots rained down on the boat, but it did not hamper their progress. They could feel the splinters of the wood hit their fingers as the tiny balls of lead just missed their appendages. Every couple seconds, one of the crew would fire a shot, careful to always try to aim for a target. One by one, the Navy men started to fall, but there were still plenty to avoid.
With the sea water starting to lap at the four men’s feet, Eli asked, “What now, Captain?”
“We push a bit further, and then we get in,” Riggs replied, firing a shot.
“Are ye mad?” Jack yelled in shock.
“I’d better be!”
When the water reached his knees, the Captain clambered into the longboat, grabbing one of the oars. Ripper wielded both of his pistols, providing cover for the other two to climb in. With the sailors reloading their own weapons, the Jamaican gunner gave the longboat one strong push, vaulting over the side as it floated out onto the waiting sea. Not even waiting for his crewmate to sit down, Riggs tossed him the other oar, frantically starting to row toward the raging battle.
The Captain could only hope that Clint was able to get the ship turned back in time.
Thankfully for Sapphire and Julia, they both made it to the Red Sky with no one from the Navy ship noticing them. As the sound of the pirate crew rushing about the ship reached their ears, they knew they were going to have to make this quick.
As soon as Sapphire landed on the deck, Julia ran to the helm, weaving in between crewmembers on her way to Clint.
FEBOOM *splash*
A spray of water hit Julia as she bounded up the stairs, finally reaching the helm. Not even waiting to catch her breath, she rushed to the wheel where Clint stood, spinning it from side to side like his life depended on it.
Surprised by the girl’s sudden appearance, Clint said, “Julia! I didn’t see all of ye get back.”
Panting, Julia replied, “We didn’t. Riggs sent me and Sapphire. He needs you to turn the ship around. We need to get them.”
FEBOOM
“That might be a bit difficult, Ms. Hamond,” said Clint as a cannonball scraped the side of the ship.
“If Riggs has faith in your navigational abilities, Clint, then so do I. Just get the ship turned around,” begged Julia.
FEBOOM
SHAPOW
At that moment, a bright blue light shot off the deck of the Red Sky, exploding a cannonball before it could even reach the pirate ship. Sapphire stood on the main deck, letting loose another magical attack and hitting a sailor straight in the face with a beam of energy.
“Good girl, Sapphire. Keep doing that,” yelled Clint as he grabbed the wheel and spun the ship back toward the beach.
As the Red Sky turned back around, the fairy kept attacking the Navy ship, letting loose bolts of magic with every second. The cannons of the two ships roared, each trying to blast the other apart. Even musket shots started to hit the side of the pirate ship as Clint tried to slip past the vessel.
“This is going to be cutting it a bit close, Julia,” said the navigator, crouching beside the wheel as they narrowly avoided the Navy ship.
“So long as we get the rest of them back onboard, I don’t care,” said Julia.
FEBOO-SHAPOW
Another cannonball exploded, this time immediately after being shot. Bits and pieces from the explosion pounded against the hull of the Red Sky as Sapphire brought her wand back for another attack.
FEBOOM FEBOOM
As the two cannons fired, the attack caught the fairy off guard. The attack smashed against the rail and the deck, just barely missing the fairy’s hand. The recoil sent her flying across the deck as a wave of blue sparks hit her. She slammed hard into two crewmembers, one of whom was Morgan Salthers. He helped cushion her impact as all three of them crumpled on the ground, holding themselves in pain.
“Well that certainly caught me *ugh* by surprise,” said Morgan, rubbing at his ribs.
“Shut it,” said Sapphire, gritting her teeth and getting to her knees.
BOOM BOOM
FEBOOM
As another attack rocked the Red Sky, Sapphire threw her arm forward, hoping to see another flash of blue light. Instead, her gaze settled on her wand…
…or rather, what remained of it.
In her hand was half of her wand. The surprise attack had shattered it in two, sending the other half to God knows where. Blue sparks were just now stopping their slow drip from the broken end of the magical weapon.
Sapphire’s hand started to shake as the panic started to seep into her mind. She thrust her arm forward again, trying to elicit some response from her wand.
There was none.
Peering down at the magical artifact that had been at her side for as long as she could remember, Sapphire said the only thing that she could think to say.
“Oh… bugger.”
With his ship heading straight toward them, Riggs rowed as fast as he could, trying to be careful not to get behind Ripper’s pace. Eli and Coral Jack tried their best to keep the soldiers on the beach at bay, shooting at their enemies before they could fire back. Unfortunately, the musket balls still flew past the pirates’ heads, always seeming to get closer with each shot.
BANG
A soldier fell to the ground, the shot burying itself in his chest. Coral Jack hastily reloaded his pistol as a lead ball shot into the water beside him.
“Row faster,” he yelled, cocking his weapon once again.
“We’re tryin’, mate,” Riggs barked back.
BANG
The pirates rowed the longboat over the top of a wave, temporarily shielding them from the view of the soldiers. They did not even have time to take a breath. In mere seconds, the barrage would continue, and they did not have any way to avoid it other than luck.
Riggs pulled on the oar, plunging it deep into the water and rowing as fast as he could. He could not see where he was going, but so long as it was far away from the soldiers, he would be fine. All of a sudden, he felt a tap on his shoulder from his carpenter.
“Can’t ye tell I’m a bit busy, Eli?”
“Um… Captain… you might want to see this.”
Still rowing, Riggs turned his head, seeing the instrument of their escape.
The Red Sky was fast approaching, and it would reach them in moments. In the little time that he had
to focus, the Captain saw a rope draped across the side of the ship.
With the Navy ship in pursuit, there was no way Clint could stop the ship.
The four would have to improvise.
Tossing the oar to the side, Riggs said, “Jack! Eli! Stop shootin’.”
“But Captain…”
“Listen to me. We need to be ready to jump once the ship reaches us. We’ve only got one chance to make this work. Capische?”
The three nodded their heads, trying to ignore the shots coming from the shore. It was nearly impossible to focus, but they had to try.
The Red Sky was just yards away, so close that the pirates could see each separate board of the hull. The sea foam crashing underneath the front of the ship had nearly reached the longboat.
“Jump!” shouted Riggs.
As the wave from the ship tossed the front of the longboat into the air, each of the pirates leapt from their small craft. Riggs and Eli latched onto the draped rope with both hands, clinging desperately to it. Ripper hung on with one hand as Coral Jack clung to his leg, not even close to the rope.
“Haul up the rope. We’ve got ‘em,” they heard one of their crewmates say.
FEBOOM FEBOOM
As the crew pulled at the two ends of the rope and hauled the four over the rail, Riggs could hear the sounds of cannonballs starting to fly once more from the Navy vessel. From the sounds of it, it was rather close.
The Captain, Eli, and Ripper tumbled over the wooden rail, quickly followed by Jack. They all scrambled to their feet with the boatswain immediately being caught in Valera’s desperate embrace.
“Get yer gunners to fire all o’ the cannons on the port side, and load some chain shots as well,” Riggs ordered Ripper, “We need to end this quick.”
“Aye, Captain,” said the master gunner.
As Ripper hurried to the stairs to the lower decks, Riggs rushed to the helm, joining Julia and Clint as his navigator directed the ship to face the Navy vessel. Once he reached the top step, he was greeted by a sharp slap to the face, looking up and seeing a very concerned Julia.