A Pirate's Love

For Death or Glory

The sound of sprinting footsteps and clamoring voices echoed through the ceiling of my quarters. The crew prepared themselves for what was to come. My body started shaking with fear, my stomach suddenly feeling nauseous. I turned to face Sam, feeling lightheaded. "What do we do if they come in here?" I asked, nervously. He looked down at me, deep in thought, blinking blankly.

"Hang on, I will be right back," Sam said, quickly moving towards the door.

"Sam, you can't leave me, not now!" I exclaimed, trying to pull him back into the room.

"Stay put," he said, firmly, and brushed my hands off of him, leaving me in shock. I crouched on the wooden floor, feeling out of balance, and hugged my arms around myself, hiding my face on my knees. My heart was beating faster than ever at the thought of what the pirates would do to me if they found me. Oh, to be a woman is a frightening thing. I prayed and hoped that we would somehow make it out of this alive.

Sam rushed back into the room, holding a large flintlock pistol. "I saw it in the Captain's quarters earlier," he explained, while closing and locking the door. He rushed to the table and set down gunpowder, thin pieces of paper, and musket balls in preparation for loading the gun. "Just so we're ready for anything," he said, glancing in my direction. He poured a precise amount of gunpowder into the barrel, keeping it steady, pointing it at the ceiling. He then placed a small circular piece of paper on top of the barrel, setting a musket ball over it, and pushed it in with his thumb. The paper wrapped around the musket ball and set into the barrel. Using a thin rod, he pushed the ammunition further into the gun and studied his work with intense concentration.

All of a sudden, the shuffling of feet and voices above deck came to a silent halt. Sam and I made eye contact, frozen, unwilling to believe that this could be the start of hell on earth.

*CRASH*

Both Sam and I jumped at the sound of cannon fire, which shook the whole ship. I quickly stood up and came close to him, aching for comfort and support. Shots fired, voices screamed, returned cannon fire rumbled in the belly of the ship. The screams of men and fracturing wood echoed throughout the entire vessel. Commotion of footsteps stomped above us as cannon balls continued hitting the ship. The Mountain of the Sun groaned at the splintering blows, struggling to subsist. The smell of smoke filled the room, causing me to choke. Trampling sounded on the stairway and Sam instantly pulled me close to him. He shielded me behind himself and pointed the flintlock at the door, pulling the hammer back in anticipation. I peeked from behind his shoulder as the footsteps got closer.

*SMASH*

The door burst off of its hinges and an enormous man with a bald head, as tall as the doorframe, ran into the room yelling, with cutlass in hand. 

*BANG*

Sam's shot rang through the whole room, perfectly landing its mark, leaving my ears ringing. The man fell to the ground, dead, only to reveal a smaller man from behind him, eyes fiery and hair wild, pointing a pistol directly at Sam.

*BANG*

Sam fell to the ground in an instant. "SAM!" I screamed a high pitched cry in shock and horror. The crazed man scurried forward, towards me, in a slightly hunched over position. A sword in one hand and his pistol in the other, he held his arms out, trying to corner me.

"Come on, mama," he said in a hushed tone as he creeped forward, "I don't bite," he clamped his teeth loudly together in intimidation, "Not if I can help it!" he mock growled and lunged at me. I screamed, threw my washing bowl at him that was sitting on the table, and ran out the door as fast as I could. I heard the glass bowl shatter on the ground, the man groan, then laugh, maniacally. I glanced behind me in fear and saw him racing after me, red war paint covering his face. I bolted down the hallway to the bunks, racing past hammocks and wooden chests. Quick and nimble, he followed my every move, making it extremely difficult to escape. I slipped through a small doorway, hoping to lose him, yet he slipped right through after me, his small frame giving him an advantage. I circled back into the hallway, trying to flee his chase. I ran up the stairs to the deck, his blood curdling screeches from behind making me fear I was running from something other than human. I ran into a complete blood bath on deck, pirate fighting pirate, swords and cutlasses clashing together. I wove in and out of the crowd, trying desperately to evade the monster behind me.

"AVAST! HEAVE TO," a loud, bellowing voice sounded from above. All pirates stopped fighting and looked to the source of the sound. I looked up to the helm to follow their gaze. A tall, broad shouldered man with thick, black, curly hair held his sword outstretched to the neck of Captain Blacksmoke. I gasped at the sight and covered my mouth. "Or your Captain dies," he finished, glaring into the Captain's eyes with pure hatred. No one moved. No one spoke even a whisper. The Captain had his hands to his side, sword at his feet, and was panting erratically, evidence of an epic dual. "Surrender," the pirate hissed. The Captain looked around at his men in shame, making tears well in my eyes. His eyes met mine; a beaten, depressed, apologetic expression across his face. He swallowed hard, choking on the air trying to fill his lungs. "Surrender!" the pirate shouted loudly. 

The Captain made eye contact with the man holding him captive. "Drop your weapons," he somberly ordered the crew, in defeat. A slow clamber of weapons falling to the deck echoed around. Shouts of the pirate crew's celebration drowned out all sounds of the ocean around us.

"To your knees," the pirate yelled over all, sticking his blade closer to the Captain's neck. The Captain fell to his knees in obedience. "For death or glory, Captain," the pirate said, his expression dark.

"Then be done with it," the Captain spat, "I am ready to die."

"NO!" I cried, tears streaming down my face, drawing the pirate's attention to me. His eyes lit up in evil intention.

"Ah, what is this?" he smirked, "You saved me a wench?"

"Dan, if you touch her I will make you dance with Jack Ketch, you bastard!" the Captain barked, rising to face him, only for two other men to hold him back.

Dan Deranged laughed at the Captain's passion and lowered his weapon now that he was being held back. "You wouldn't hang me if you had another chance, you coward," he spat in his face, "Come, wench," he called to me, and the crazed man from before seized me by the shoulders, pushing me forward, "Behold your beloved Captain," the pirate mocked, "with no true sense of loyalty. He's too busy licking the bollocks of both piracy and the governor; a traitor through and through," he turned to the Captain and kneed him viciously in the stomach, causing him to wince and gasp for air at the sudden blow. "No, Jake," he grabbed the Captain by his hair to make him look in his eyes, "I will not give you the honor of immediate death, for you do not deserve it. I will keep your crew captive; they will slave on my ship, the wench will be mine to have every night, and you will feed the fish, savvy?" Dan Deranged humiliated him, aggressively releasing his hair, shoving his head down. The Captain looked up at him with a fuming expression.

"I saved your ass in the end, bastard, what more do you want?" the Captain spoke, and immediately was thrown a fist to the face. He spat out blood and saliva, then held his head high in hatred. Trying to process everything happening, I let out a quiet sob and the man detaining me gripped my shoulders tighter. His breath stank as he breathed down my neck.

"Get him out of my sight," Dan Deranged hissed, "and shackle the crew for flogging." The crew was gathered together and held at sword point in preparation for imprisonment. Dan Deranged made his way down the steps of the quarter deck and started spitting out more orders. "Scupper the dead overboard! The sharks will be feasting tonight, just in time for our Captain." He then boldly strode towards me and caught my chin, gripping my face forcefully and looking me over. "Well done, Joshua," he addressed the man keeping me in place, "Take the wench to my quarters. I will also be feasting tonight," he smirked with a devilish grin.

"Aye, Captain," Joshua slimed, pushing me towards a plank connecting the two ships. I struggled against his surprising strength, screaming for help.

"Captain, Captain!" I cried, searching for any sight of Captain Blacksmoke to bring me hope. On the quarter deck I could see a struggle between a group of men. "Jake!" I called out for him again, and he appeared out of the struggle, leaning against the railing with hands tied behind his back, a gag bound to his mouth, preventing him from calling back. The crazed pirate pushed me down the stairs and into Dan Deranged's quarters, suddenly enveloping me into darkness.