Dead men tell no tales
The wind blew west that particular morning, and the sun wasn't even up yet when work began for my crew. "Alright, up and at 'em you clowns." I barked, flipping over several hammocks in the barracks. The men responded to me with a chorus of whining and yawning. "C'mon boss!" Niko whined, rubbing some sand out of his eyes, "can't we at least sleep in a few more minutes?" how do I describe Niko? Childish, insubordinate, ummm . . . dead? "For pirates, work begins when the captain's awake, so that already means you scumbags are two hours late. Now move it." I'll admit it; I was a bit anxious to set sail that morning. There were rumors going around that people were being snatched right out of their daily lives by some giant bird, there was no way I was letting that thing get my ship. "Plot a course south by southwest, I feel like raiding windfall."
"Yes captain." My crew rushed out of their quarters, fully dressed and ready to go within moments. I'm so proud of them, but I'd never tell them that, or they'd get soft. Senza, Nudge, and Zuko began raising the anchor while Mako and Niko began swabbing the deck. Gonzo, oldest person on board and my first mate. Hey, when you inherit the ship, you're born ready for the job.
"After we sack windfall, I suppose we'll be going after these treasures, right?" Gonzo asked, leaning against the bow, looking calmly at the sky. "Sure, couldn't hurt." I shrugged, looking out over the prow to a sun barely rising. As the men below began preparing the ship for sailing, they began singing this one song they always sing when doing their chores. I didn't really mind, parts of it I even liked:
Shiver me timbers, shiver my soul,
Yo, oh heave ho!
There are men whose hearts are as black as coal,
Yo, oh heave ho!
And they sailed their ship across the ocean blue,
A blood-thirsty captain and a cut-throat crew, (Guess which part's my favorite?)
It's as dark a tale as was ever told
of the lust for treasure and the love of gold
That's my men; even when working, plunder's all they can think about
Shiver my timbers, shiver my sides
Yo, oh heave ho
There are hungers as strong as the wind and tides
Yo, oh heave ho
For a second I thought I heard something above me flap, but I convinced myself it was the flag of our ship.
And those buccaneers drowned their sins in rum
The devil himself would have to call them scum
Every man aboard would have killed his mate
For a bag of guineas or a piece of eight
A piece of eight
A piece of eight
Five, six, seven, eight
Something under the water gurgled, surprisingly joining in
Hulla wacka Ulla wacka something not right
Many wicked icky things gonna happen tonight
Hulla wacka Ulla wacka sailor man beware
When de money in the ground dere's murder in de air
Murder in de air
"Something wrong?" Gonzo asked, noticing me clenching my fists. "- no I'm fine."
One more time now
Shiver my timbers, shiver my bones
Yo oh heave ho
There are secrets that sleep with old Davy Jones
The sun had finally risen now, giving the ship a powerful glow. My mom used to call this ship the Epona, but the name washed away before I turned seven
Yo oh heave ho
When the mainsail's set and the anchor's weighed
There's no turning back from any course that's laid
And when greed and villainy sail the sea
You can bet your boots there'll be treachery
"Yaaaaaaaaa." something high above me shrieked, it sounded an awful lot like a bird.
Shiver my timbers; shiver my sails
Dead men tell no tales
"Shut up!" I barked, listening intently, "I think I heard something." For a second I thought I heard more flapping, then a whoosh. Before I could comprehend it, I was staring down at a miniature version of my boat, with something clamping around my stomach. Turns out that thing was bird talons. Great.
It tried to fly north by northwest, but my crew was already hurling stones at it with the catapult. Well, looks like they can survive without me. The bird took me high into the air, where everything got cold and the air got thinner. I guess I passed out, 'cause that flashback I had didn't happen recently.