I woke up with a jolt, lying upright against a wooden table leg. It took a few seconds for me to realize where I was, where I had ended up after a very long few day journey. It was very loud, to the point that I was tempted to remain where I sat, partly hidden from the unruly crowd of drunks. I had never been here before, but I knew from the stories I had heard as a child from old family friend and frequent drunkard, Mr. Bartley. He described his journey with such detail and fervor; it was hard not to picture the place on ones own. This was it. I was sure of it.

I was in Tortuga.

Not ideally where I had hoped I would end up, but this was a prime location for what I was searching for… a way out. Bits of details were coming back to me as I tried to remember exactly how I had gotten here, in this position, knocked out and propped against a table leg. I briefly remembered having an altercation with a woman dressed in a tattered dress. She may have bumped into me…or me into her. I had turned around, ready to walk away when I felt a painful blow to the face. That was all I could recall, at least at the moment. Slowly, I took a deep breath, praying that this woman would be gone and that I could sneak out of here unnoticed and find a place to rest for the remainder of the night.

I began to raise myself up when suddenly I dropped back down with a horrifying realization. I didn't have my hat on anymore. I reached my hands up to my head, feeling around for something that clearly wasn't there anymore. Damn. Squeezing my eyes tightly, I tried to remain calm. Why would anyone take my hat? Had anyone recognized me why I was lying here? It seemed improbable since I was pretty much out of plain sight, but whoever put me here would have seen me. Glancing over my shoulder, I quickly did a sweep of the surrounding area. People seemed pretty preoccupied with themselves and whichever unfortunate looking person had their attention. It was a guarantee that just about every person in here was completely sloshed out of their minds. I think I have a good chance of getting out of this place without drawing too much attention; I just need to find a hat.

Peering over my right shoulder now, I notice a man not too far away with a perfect sized hat; one with enough space to tuck my hair into while also providing great coverage of my face. I slide myself over so that I'm basically under the table at this point, as to get as close as possible to this man. He seems fairly intoxicated so it shouldn't be too difficult. I position my legs so that I can swiftly get up and make my move. You can do this…you can do this… you've gotten this far.

I get up, not with as much grace as I had hoped, but I am up and moving. I brush my dark bangs over my eyes as much as I can and keep my head down. While watching my feet move hastily, I try to peer up as much as I can to check if anyone has taken notice of me. It doesn't appear that I've drawn much attention. Thank God.

I see the man with the hat, laughing with a group of other dirty looking men, presumably pirates. I'm close and nearly within distance of grabbing the hat when one of the men in his group makes eye contact with me. His eyebrows furrow and he cocks his head to the side, appearing to recognize me from somewhere. Oh no. Quickly, I grab an empty rum bottle from the table to my right and throw it subtly but with considerable force in the opposite direction. This causes all the men in the group, and several others in the area to stare in confusion in that direction. I have a mere second to think so I snatch the hat from the man and run full speed out of their sight. While doing so I tuck my long black hair up into the hat and pull it forward so that I blend in with every other drunk man in this tavern. I even stumble a bit for added effect.

I'm just about to exit when I notice a line of drunks waiting to speak with grungy looking man, wearing a blue vest and a haggard expression, sitting at a makeshift desk. He has some papers in front of him in which each of the men in line sign and then is given what looks like a blanket and some sort of pillow. Could this be what I was looking for?

I waited in line for about ten minutes until it was finally my turn.

"Hello lad. Are you interested in filling that void in your life…want to find adventure… not afraid of death…then come join our crew," the grungy looking man said quickly as if he had said it a hundred times over and couldn't care less anymore. He barely looked up at me, which worked out to my advantage.

"It pays nothing and requires intense manual labor for very little if any reward. But hey, you get to be out on the sea for weeks, maybe months at a time. Now doesn't that sound exciting? What'll say?" He glance up at me and put on a forced smile. I don't understand how he got anyone at all to sign up, but I suppose if you're drunk enough…

I returned the smile and simply nodded as I forged my name on the parchment. He handed me a very thin blanket and of course that very flat pillow and signaled me to the docks where the ship was posted. I hurried along out the door, relieved I no longer had to stay in that awful place. I was finally going to be free. My heart started racing, but it wasn't because I was scared, at least not completely. This was going to be the first time I would actually be free. Free from my overbearing father, free from all the expectations. It was finally my time to live my life the way I wanted to and have an adventure! All the stories I've been told my whole life, I was actually about to experience one on my own, and perhaps get to use my sword…I could barely contain my excitement.

A wide smile spread across my face, but it would be nearly impossible to see since I kept my head bowed so low. A little ways a head I noticed a few of the men who were in front of me stepping on board the ship. As I approached it I saw several unfamiliar men bringing cargo on board, one nearly knocking me into the water as he whipped around to get another box.

"Whoa…sorry mate." He caught me by the shoulders and gave me a few hard slaps on the arm and shooed me along. When I knew he wasn't looking I rubbed my arm where he hit me…that really hurt. One of the most important things I had to do was remember that I was supposed to be a man and that I needed to convey that I was much stronger than I actually appeared.

Cautiously, I lifted my head up to see what this ship that I was going to be sailing on actually looked like. I felt my breath hitch in my throat for a moment; the ship was massive. I had never seen a ship this close up before but it was much more daunting than I had ever imagined. The exterior was entirely black, including the sails, which looked to have been patched up in several areas. I stood before the ramp, my heart sinking as I contemplated what I was about to do. Is this really a good idea? What in the world was I getting myself into? Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that this is what I'm supposed to do. This is where I'm supposed to be.

"You didn't change your mind did ya?" I jumped as the man with the scruffy beard who was signing people up appeared beside me. He began to chuckle as he slapped my arm. He smelled horrible.

"Ahhh, it's not nearly as terrifying as it looks lad. You'll be fine. Every young pirate should experience sailing out to the deep sea. And you're fortunate enough to be sailing with the best!" He seemed to be in a much better mood now.

"The name's Gibbs. Well, Mr. Gibbs to you I suppose." He reached out a dirty hand and I shook it as firmly as I could manage.

"Thom…Thomas. I'm Thomas," I said in as deep of a voice as I could muster. I glanced at his face, trying to read whether he bought it or not. It appeared he had.

"Nice to meet you Thomas. So are you just going to stand there or are you going to head on up? Come on lad…take a leap of faith why don't ya. It probably isn't going to kill you."

I took a deep breath and with a slight grin took my first step onto the plank. As I made my way up towards the ship, something felt right. I didn't know what it was but something was pulling me forward and I wasn't turning back.

Behind me I could hear Mr. Gibbs shouting, "Good choice! Welcome to The Black Pearl!"