Dawn of a Red Sky

by Ryan Gilbert

  “Redde mihi ut detur potestas!”

  The skin of Every’s previous victim burned off of the skeleton captain’s bones. Dawson tried to scream as his captain’s face melted away to reveal a yellow skull, the glowing orbs burrowing deep into his eye sockets. Every’s jaw opened in an echoing laugh as he watched his former crewmember’s face turn purple, oxygen no longer able to reach his lungs.

  Once Dawson took his last wheezing breath, Every felt the bones of his fingers suddenly spread open. The yellow and purple mist emanating from his bones started to form tiny bolts of lightning, each tiny bolt whirring around Every’s bony corpse.

  Twinges of pain started to hit the skeletal pirate as the lightning obscured his vision of the bones that made up his body. At first, the pain was only small doses, but as it continued, it seemed to get worse and worse. As the lightning whirled around his body as fast as it possibly could, Every felt like he had been stabbed in the chest, forcing him to fall to his knees. The howling winds around him were nearly deafening as the light became blinding.

  fwwwWWWWWKKSSssssssshh

  As quickly as it had begun, the wind and the lightning stopped. Captain Henry Every lay on the ground, his fingers digging into the dirt right next to the corpse of Joseph Dawson. Johnson and Morrison rushed to their captain’s side, helping him to his feet.

  “Are ye alright, Cap’n?” asked the first mate.

  Every’s bony hand immediately rested on where his stomach would have been.

  “I feel… strange. Something doesn’t feel right.”

  “What do ye want us to do, Captain?” asked Morrison

  Lurching a little, Every grabbed onto his navigator’s clavicle, yanking him closer.

  “I want you to check what’s causing this pain,” he groaned.

  Wincing, he pulled open his shirt so that his crewmember could see.

  Immediately, Morrison’s skull jerked backward in surprise. His grip on his captain’s coat tightened, alerting Every.

  “What is it, you fool?” he asked.

  “Captain… look down.”

  Every tilted his skull down, first laying his sights on a new pair of lungs resting inside his ribcage. Letting go of his navigator’s clavicle, he carefully felt around his neck, feeling the tube of his esophagus. He could see his liver, stomach, intestines… all of his organs back inside his body.

  He had never imagined that he would actually be able to see them.

  Through the pain, Every laughed, saying, “So… Alystor was telling the truth.”

  “How do you feel?” asked Johnson.

  Every looked at him with a toothy smile and cackled, the pain finally starting to wear off.

  “I feel one step closer to being my old self.”

  Out on the ocean, the Panting Dog was just about ready to abandon its voyage. The sea had not been kind to Captain Hamilton and his crew, and now, with Julia and Ororis onboard, the setbacks had started to pile up. Ever since the sun had gone down, a fog had engulfed the ship, forcing Hamilton to order his crew to substantially slow the ship. The two women watched intently as the Dog carefully cut through the waves, wary of the unpredictable weather.

  “I’d get comfortable if I were you ladies. We’re going to be here for quite a while until this blasted fog dissipates,” said Hamilton.

  “If it dissipates,” said Ororis, not really paying attention to the good captain.

  Sensing the disinterest, Captain Hamilton cleared his throat and fidgeted with his scarf. His nervous actions and his constant failures made Julia pity him.

  “We’re trying our best, miss,” he said, trying to appease the mermaid.

  Before Ororis could respond, Julia interjected, “We greatly appreciate your help, Captain. We really do.”

  “It’s the least we could do,” he said with a smile.

  “And we thank you for that, but I believe your crew needs you right now more than we do. We can handle ourselves for a couple hours.”

  “Are you absolutely sure, m’ lady?” he asked with a slight bow.

  “Positively.”

  Hamilton gave the women a nod, excusing himself. He pivoted on his feet, turning his attention to his crew as they scrambled to keep watch of the ship’s surroundings.

  Once the captain turned away, Julia shot Ororis a cross look.

  “You need to stop this,” she said, scolding the mermaid.

  Rolling her eyes, Ororis said, “Stop what? The fog or my speaking?”

  “Both,” Julia ordered sternly.

  Holding up her hands, the mermaid said, “In case it happened to slip your mind, Ms. Hamond, I don’t have any magic any more. I can’t control the fog or anything else.”

  She leaned against the rail and continued, “When it comes to my speaking, I can’t help it if Captain Hamilton is a pathetic excuse for a seaman.”

  “What? He’s our only way to get back to Riggs, and he’s doing the best he can.”

  “I’ve seen better,” said Ororis, letting her eyes follow the white waves as they broke against the bow of the ship.

  Julia grabbed her companion by the arm and turned her so they were face to face.

  “Captain Hamilton is a good man, Ororis. He didn’t have to bring us aboard his ship, but he did. It was out of the kindness of his own heart…”

  Ororis pulled her arm away from Julia, immediately returning to watching the waves.

  “… something you know nothing about.”

  To Julia’s surprise, the mermaid sighed. It was not a sarcastic sigh, but rather a sigh filled with regret. Ororis did not bother to turn, but she spoke either way.

  “I used to know how it felt to just do something because my heart told me to do it. God, that was so long ago… so long ago.”

  Julia leaned against the rail next to the mermaid. Almost immediately, she noticed something that she had never thought she would see. The mighty and terrifying Ororis clutched her arms closer to herself as her shoulders started to shake. The mermaid’s red eyes shimmered as tears started to form. It was then that the Red Sky’s former adversary did something that she had not done in a long time.

  Ororis wept.

  “I used to remember… my mother sitting me on her lap, holding me close. I always felt so… so safe with her. Whenever I wanted to get away from everything, I would go searching for pearls with her… oh, the pearls.”

  The mermaid’s hand rested on her neck, running her fingers along the skin that pearls used to adorn.

  At last, she turned to Julia and said, “I used to know how to treat people with kindness, Julia. It was one of the only things that I remember from my mother… and now I’ve long since lost that.”

  Hurriedly, Ororis wrapped her arms around Julia and held on to her. The girl could feel her former enemy shaking as she cried. It shocked her. Unsure of what else to do, Julia laid her arms on the mermaid’s back and hugged her.

  “Ororis… I promise you that I will help you,” she said.

  “Ship approaching! Starboard side.”

  The two women felt strong hands push them below the rail, hiding them from sight. Captain Hamilton rushed past, barking orders.

  “What colors are they flying?” he shouted.

  The lookout was silent for quite some time, the spyglass looking like it was stuck to his face.

  “The colors, boy. What are their colors?” Hamilton prodded.

  Confused, the lookout said, “I can’t rightly say, sir. It may just be the fog, but I can’t see any flag.”

  At that moment, some of the fog parted, almost like a breeze had forced it to move. What Julia, Ororis, and the crew of the Panting Dog saw was enough to send shivers down their spines.

  As it sailed by them, the ship nearly dwarfed them with its size. The hull shimmered like the sea, alternating between green and red, like scales. The figurehead of an angel hung from the bow, stained green like weathered copper. Fifty-six portholes covered the sides of the ship, most likely housing cannons as Julia presumed. In
between each board, there was a faint green glow that gradually diminished until it was no longer there. Everyone’s eyes rose to the sails. The fabric looked like veins of green blood pumped through it, making the ship seem like a living entity.

  The mysterious and creepy ship passed the Panting Dog slowly, almost like they were watching the fishermen. Shadowy figures roamed the deck, much to the horror of the Dog’s crew. However, to their relief, none of the portholes opened, and the ship passed without attacking. As it slipped by the fishing vessel, everyone could hear an unearthly cackling, followed by undecipherable voices.

  Once the mysterious ship disappeared back into the fog, Julia asked, “Captain… what was that?”

  As Hamilton turned around, the girl could see he was deathly pale. He looked like he was ready to faint.

  “That… was every sailor’s worst nightmare.”

  Taking hold of Julia and Ororis, he led them to his cabin. He beckoned for them to go inside, trying to hide his terror.

  “Captain Hamilton, I must know what we saw,” Julia insisted before she stepped through the door.

  Taking a deep breath, he said, “Miss, do you know the myth of a ship sailing the seas forever… even after death?”

  “Why, yes, I do, but…”

  Not even letting the girl finish her sentence, the frightened captain said, “That ship… the one that just passed by… I believe it’s the Flying Dutchman.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Riggs and his crew hurried down the alley, following the bloody footprints. After Valera convinced a passerby to give them a lantern, they tried their best to find where the footprints led. With Every already in Delaware, they needed to quicken their planning. Before long, the pirates reached the edge of a field, the tall grass blowing in the brisk wind. Much of it looked like it had been hacked away with a sword to form a path. It certainly did not reassure the Red Sky’s crew when they saw the imprint of a skeleton foot stamped in the dirt.

  “Get your weapons ready, mates,” said Riggs, pulling his sword out of its scabbard.

  Eli and Thomas followed suite with their swords. Coral Jack readied a pistol as Valera’s fangs poked out from underneath her lip. They were ready for a battle.

  Holding the lantern high, Riggs led the way through the field. He could not help but be paranoid. The tall grass provided the best place for an ambush. If Every and his crew wanted to kill them, that was certainly where they would hide. Trying their best defensive strategy, the five pirates stood in a tight circle, watching each other’s backs as they inched forward.

  *rustle* *rustle*

  Jack whipped his sword to the side, pointing it at whatever had caused the rustling. He and his crewmates turned their attention toward the noise, fearful that it might be one of the skeleton crew.

  “What should we do?” Coral Jack asked in a quiet voice.

  “We need to kill it before it kills us. We just need to hope it ain’t seen us,” whispered Riggs.

  As one unit, the group crept over to destroy their potential attacker before he could even move. They were ready to attack if anything jumped out at them.

  *rustle*

  The pirates froze for a moment as the rustling came from just behind a tall patch of grass. Before the sneaky attacker could make another move, Thomas spread the grass with his weapon, clearing the way for his crewmates to attack.

  It was a squirrel.

  A damn squirrel had frightened the five pirates.

  With an audible groan, Riggs turned his attention back to the path. Every had all of them scared out of their wits, unable to predict what would happen next. A rodent had scared them… a bloody rodent. The King of Pirates had definitely gotten into their heads.

  Carefully making their way up the hill, the group started to hear something else. This time, it was definitely not an animal. It sounded like creaking joints, almost like an old man. As quickly and quietly as he could, Riggs crouched down below the top of the grass. The rest of the crew followed his actions, crawling up beside him.

  Just outside the wall of grass, a single skeleton stood next to a tree, a shovel leaning against the brown bark. A large hole lay in front of the creature, beside which the dead body of Joseph Dawson lay. Scratching at his exposed ribs, the skeleton stepped over the stiff corpse and tried to roll him into the hole, his back turned to Riggs and his crew.

  Stealthily creeping out of the grass, Riggs held his sword at the ready. If the skeleton noticed him, he was prepared to fight.

  “Stay here and bury the body, he says. Captain’s orders, he says. I’m sure they’ll ‘ave a grand time taking out that codpiece wit’out me,” the skeleton muttered, not even hearing Riggs as he tried to flip Dawson’s body into the hole.

  “Hello, mate.”

  The skeleton spun around just as Riggs swung his sword. He had no chance to stop it. The Captain’s blade separated the monster’s skull from his spine with one swing. The head rolled across the ground, stopping at the Riggs’ feet. Eli and Jack tackled the body to the ground, pinning it down as it writhed around without a head.

  “Put me head back, ye miserable wretch,” the skull yelled from the ground.

  Riggs picked it up, careful to avoid its chomping jaw. He held the lantern up to the side of the skull, glaring into its empty eye sockets.

  “Do ye remember me?” asked Riggs.

  With no facial features, the creature was very difficult to read. Eventually, it said, “You were the coward who brought us all back.”

  “Coward?” asked Riggs.

  The skull’s teeth gave the impression of a permanent grin.

  “Aye… a coward. Ye ran away rather than face our might,” said the skull, laughing.

  Tightening his grip on the skeleton’s head, Riggs argued, “But I’m here now, and I promise ye, I will destroy you and your captain.”

  The skull just laughed even more ferociously, almost causing the pirate to drop it.

  “You’re too late, boy. Once my captain restores ‘imself, ye’ll be next.”

  “Restores himself?” asked Riggs, confused.

  The skull abruptly stopped talking, almost like he was catching himself.

  “Bugger.”

  The next moment, the skull was flying through the air, thrown at a tree by Riggs. It bounced off the wood, bashing against several branches on its way down to the ground. With every hit, the skull cursed at Riggs.

  As it rolled around on the ground, unable to move much, the Captain walked over and placed his boot on top of the skull.

  “Jones… get a rock,” he ordered.

  “Aye, Captain Riggs.”

  With panic in its voice, the skull sputtered, “What’re ye doing?”

  Looking down at the skeleton’s head, Riggs said, “I don’t rightly know. I was thinkin’ about crushin’ yer head with a rock. Now… I don’t know how you skeletons work, but I can bet that it’d be extremely painful.”

  Jones handed him a large rock as Riggs said, “Shall we see?”

  The Captain raised the rock over his head, ready to bring it crashing down on the skull.

  “Wait! Wait, I’ll tell you everything!” the skeleton immediately screamed.

  “Start talkin’,” said Riggs, still holding the rock in his hand so the skull could see it.

  “My captain wants to get back to the way he was… ye know, flesh and blood.”

  “Is that why he killed Dawson?”

  “Aye. He needed to sacrifice someone that knew his secrets from before. Dawson was the only fella we could find.”

  “What else does he have to do?”

  “I don’t remember. Just please let me go free!” wailed the skeleton.

  “What do you mean you don’t remember?” asked Riggs.

  “My captain rarely tells his crew anything. I don’t think ‘e wants us telling anyone his secrets.”

  Pressing his foot against the skull even more, Riggs snarled, “Where is Every now?”

  Still pinned by Eli and Coral Ja
ck, the skeleton’s arms wriggled around, the fingers pointing to a street at the bottom of the hill.

  “Follow it. I’m sure ye’ll find ‘im,” said the skull.

  A grin slowly spread across the Captain’s face.

  “Much obliged, mate.”

  Taking his boot off of the skull, Riggs dropped the rock right on top of it. The skull did not even have a chance to shriek as the rock crushed it, sending fragments of bone scattering in all directions. The bony limbs pinned underneath Eli and Jack went limp, no longer needing restraint.

  As Riggs walked by him, Thomas said, “I know what you’re thinking, Captain.”

  Riggs did nothing except motion for the rest of the crew to follow him down to the road. He was going to find Every and stop him.

  “You’re thinking that killing Every will be like killing his underling. I’m warning ye, it will not be so simple. He has magic, Riggs. That alone presents enough of a challenge.”

  Not bothering to turn around and take his attention away from his destination, Riggs said, “I’ve fought against magic many times, Jones. I’ve always come out on top.”

  Once they reached the road, Riggs picked up his pace, hurrying down the street. He could almost feel Every’s skull crushed underneath his boot. The rest of the crew followed behind, trying to keep up with their friend. Thomas brought up the rear, shaking his head in disappointment.

  “We’ll see, Riggs. We’ll see.”

  The Captain rushed down the street, holding the lantern over his head as the rest of his friends struggled to keep up. At Riggs’ feet, he could see several pairs of newly trod footprints. He did not care where they led him, just so long as they led him straight toward his enemy.

  Even though he did not know how skeletons functioned, Riggs thought that Every and his crew moved surprisingly fast. Their tracks led Riggs off the road several times, most likely in efforts to fool any pursuers. It did not fool the crew of the Red Sky. Whenever the trail of footprints would disappear, it would only take a couple moments before one of the crew found them again.