The Goonies – Mouth's Experience of the Pirate Ship.
By Allyson.
(A/N – The Goonies belong to Steven Spielberg not me.)
The warped floorboards groaned and the cloth sails creaked. Though the Pirate ship floated steadily on the water, strange eerie noises drifted through the boat as if it was sailing on a rocky wave. Below deck it was dank and dim. The only light came from a few melted candles scattered around the hold, causing shadows to skitter along the walls and floor. The grinning skeleton of One-Eyed Willie seated amongst his stolen treasure seemed to dance amongst the garish candlelight and shadows. The creaking floorboards seemed to echo from the bones of the skeleton itself.
The scene looked exactly how it had the moment Mouth had entered the Pirate ship with Mikey and his other Goonie friends. Only this time something wasn't right. This time Mouth was alone with One-Eyed Willie's skeleton for company. It was darker than he remembered and, if he was honest with himself, he was a lot more scared.
A chill blast of wind swept through the hold, almost extinguishing the candles and causing Mouth to involuntarily jump in surprise. Goosebumps pinpricked his skin and he suddenly wished he had someone alive with him. Even Ma Fratelli would be a welcome companion at that moment. Mouth froze in fear as he suddenly became aware of a crooning menacing voice sounded in his ear.
"Dead men tell no tales . . . Dead men tell no tales."
Backing away towards the direction of the stairs, Mouth looked furtively around for the source of the voice. To his horror he couldn't see anyone else around but himself and the . . . skeleton. His eyes jerked forwards as he squinted across the darkness and at the table. One-Eyed Willie still sat in rigor mortis in his chair, grinning inanely, giving Mouth the creepy sensation that the decayed man was laughing at him.
Mouth's blood froze ice cold in his veins as he did a double take at the startling bright white skull in front of him. The gaping hole in the eye socket that wasn't covered with a leather eye patch had changed. A ghostly pale eyeball now hovered in the bony socket oozing red veins and yellow mucus. The dark brown iris bore straight through Mouth's mind. It rolled and squelched, causing Mouth's stomach to heave.
The clacking and popping of ill-used joints and bones rubbing together caused the colour to drain from the young boy's face. Try as he might, Mouth couldn't seem to uproot his feet in order to run up the stairs to safety. One-Eyed Willie slowly raised an arm, the tattered remains of his moth-eaten shirt dancing wildly in the breeze it created, and a crusty, bony hand clutched a dusty tankard and raised it in salute. The skeleton's neck cracked loudly as it dropped stiffly forwards and back in an impromptu nod, directed towards Mouth.
Mouths jaw dropped open in a mixture of shock and terror. After a moment of holding the ghostly gaze of the now animated skeleton, Mouth managed to find his voice. And he screamed. Loudly. The scream seemed to kick-start his body and at least he was able to turn and run up the stairs.
He hit the deck running once he emerged from the hold and skidded on the wet floorboards in his haste. Stumbling over a discarded length of rope, Mouth lost his balance and fell overboard. The sharp sting of salty water hit Mouth painfully in the face as he went under forcing him to gasp in shock and swallow a mouthful of water. Coughing and spluttering in panic, Mouth kicked for the surface. Straining, he managed to swim upwards and get his head above the water, gasping for fresh air. His lungs ached and his legs were growing tired from treading water while wearing heavy shoes that were bogged down with water. He felt like he was about to sink back under.
"Mikey!" He called out for his friends, his voice echoing around the huge cavern. "Steph! Data! Brand!"
Silence smothered his voice as he strained to hear a reply from one of his friends.
"Hey, c'mon, guys!" he called out again. "This isn't funny! Hey, guys?"
The only response, Mouth received was the soft ripple of water from nearby. Frowning, Mouth kicked out gently to face the same direction as the ripple. Another ripple washed towards him, growing bigger in size. There was no warning for Mouth as he was jerked back under the water, gasping for air and thrashing his arms in a futile attempt to re-break the surface.
A strong leathery tentacle had wrapped itself firmly around Mouth's leg and showed no signs of releasing him. Blearily squinting through the water, Mouth almost choked in terror as he saw the giant octopus rising up to meet him. No amount of kicking his legs or hitting with his arms had any effect on the creature. Another tentacle snaked around Mouth's chest, slowly restricting his breathing and movement. He was only vaguely aware that he was being pulled towards the octopus's mouth as black spots filled his vision and, with a lungful of water, he lost consciousness.
"Brand, why isn't he waking up?"
"I don't know, Mikey, I haven't got a medical degree."
"C'mon, Mouth, wake up. We haven't got all day."
"Hey, guys, I've got a great idea. My extra loud wake-up alarm will wake him up."
"No, Data. I'm not being deafened by one of your stupid gadgets."
"Data's gadgets aren't stupid!"
"Yeah! Thanks, Mikey."
"Guys, shush, I think he's coming around."
Mikey, Brand, Steph, Data and Andi all gathered around their friend as his eyes began to flutter open. With a groan, Mouth's eyes opened and winced at the bright light shining in them. Briefly closing his eyes, memories of drowning and being attacked by the octopus caused him to bolt upright with a terrified gasp.
"Don't kiss the octopus!"
His friends drew back in confusion at Mouth's outburst. Mouth became aware of his surroundings and noticed that his friends were looking at him as if he had grown an extra head.
"What?" he asked confused.
"Are you feeling okay, Mouth?" asked Mikey, in concern.
"My head hurts," he confessed, before asking, "Where were you guys when the octopus attacked me?"
"Octopus?" repeated Brand, frowning. "You weren't attacked by an octopus."
"You hit your head when you slipped over on the deck, you dork!" added Steph, in exasperation at Mouth's confused expression.
"I did?" he replied, dazed.
"Snap out of it, Mouth," said Mikey.
"Yeah, Mouth, you're starting to sound like Chunk and one of his stories," agreed Data, standing up and moving away from Brand and Andi.
Mikey helped to pull Mouth into a standing upright position before following Brand to continue looking around the Pirate ship. Steph stayed next to Mouth to make sure he was okay.
"So, Mouth," she teased, with a friendly punch on his shoulder. "Kissing octopus's now? Was she your kind of girl?"
"Ha-ha, very funny," Mouth responded, with a smile. "As I recall, the octopus got frisky with you first."
At the leery look he gave her, Steph scowled, her previous concern washed away. "Grow up, Mouth," she snapped, before storming off.
Mouth chuckled to himself. As he turned to explore the other side of the boat, a hideous shrunken head, half-matted with feted hair and sunken eye sockets lurched towards his face. With a cry of terror, Mouth stumbled backwards and onto his rear.
"Hey, Mouth, look what I found," Data's voice seemed to echo from the dead creature. Mouth fainted. "It's a dead monkey, I think. We could use it as a booby trap for the Fratel . . . Mouth?"
Data looked down at his unconscious friend with a sigh of exasperation. "Sheesh," he commented, as he shrugged and moved away to find another unwitting victim. "Some people just don't know how to have any fun."
The End.