The Seven Cities
The ocean broke before them, spray sent up to greet their upturned faces. Sun reflected off of the rough waters sending shafts of bright light upwards and down; illuminating the sea until it was a bright turquoise gem they were surfing upon. A better day for sailing was hard to imagine. With ease the ship cut through the miles, following the wind's encouraging push towards their destination; adventure. The large ship was busy with activity as the crew ran about harnessing their friend the wind and rushing forward. The great beige sails were full and from afar looked like clouds that had fallen to kiss the ocean's surface. Above the sails and just above the crows nest a small black flag snapped a warning; pirates. The pirates below grinned their foul grins, smiles full of holes and stains.
A man stood watching over them all, a long collapsible telescope extended in his left hand. In his only hand. Where the right should have rightfully been, a gleaming metal hook was instead. Upon the rail of a set of stairs that led to the quarter's deck the man rested his hook. Beneath the telescope a long hooked nose protruded over a fine, well attended moustache. The man raised his hook to steady the end of the telescope and trained his practised eye upon a speck in the distance. Through the telescope an island was seen; great green trees growing upon the sandy shore and mountains rising farther inland. Beyond that even his keen eye could not see. A snap and the captain had collapsed his telescope settling it gently inside of his bright red over coat. Beneath the thin moustache his mouth opened and he bellowed out a few orders to the crew that quickly ran to follow them. A better day for sailing was hard to imagine.
On deck the crew ran around, with the exception of one young man. He mopped the deck slowly, enjoying his time beneath the sun and the ocean spray that came up to splash his face every now and again. Three years had passed since the captain had found him on the streets of the capital and taken him in upon his ship. Every moment of those three years he tried his hardest to remember as they were the best of his life. To the young man, it felt as if he had been born for life upon the great open sea; meant for a life of searching for adventures and finding the treasure that usually was at the end of most of the quests. The mop in his hands was familiar and he swapped the deck with care. Even after three years he was still given the menial tasks and not much responsibility fell to him. The young man did not seem to mind however, he watched his fellow crew members carefully and memorized their tasks and actions; one day he would find himself elevated to another position on the ship and when that day came he would be ready for it.
"Jim! Mop faster, boy! We're going to hit land soon!" one of the crew shouted. Jim looked up from his mopping. He brought an arm up over his face to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun and saw that it was the quartermaster, Long John Silver, who had yelled his name. His face broke into a wide grin; pearly whites flashing. The mop in his hand took on life of its own and the mopping job was done with much more vigour and at a speed he hardly knew he could mop at. Silver demanded it however and he was more than willing to oblige.
Once his mopping was done Jim joined the crew in racing about the ship in preparation for arrival at the island. Captain Hook had spent the last ten years looking for this island and the map that was said to be hidden upon it. Jim heard his name again and helped another crew member tie down some lose ropes that were hanging from the sails. He hopped and dove with great expertise about the masts and tied great knots into their appropriate rings, even earning a compliment from the man he was helping. Jim only grinned wider and reached forward to grab another rope. His off white shirt billowed around his lean frame as if trying to mimic the great sails propelling the ship forwards.
Only a few hours later did the crew slowly pull the ship to a stop and threw the anchor over to completely bring it to a halt. Two row boats were untied and lowered down to the ocean's surface. Silver and Captain Hook lead each of the row boats with three pirates in each boat to accompany them. Jim leaned over the side of the ship and waved to his captain. Captain Hook lifted his hook in return, his glittering black eyes meeting Jim's and an excited smile spilt his face. Hook and Jim had spent many nights upon the deck, looking out into the ocean together; Hook telling Jim stories while Jim told Hook his dreams of adventures he would one day have. Jim looked up to Hook and never turned down an opportunity to make his Captain proud; he would never make Hook regret his decision to take him upon his ship. Hook never regretted it, in fact as he had watched the boy grow up among his crew he had taken time to make sure the boy was learning his way upon the ship and learning the way of the pirate's life. If Hook had ever been honest with anyone, even himself, he would have admitted that he had grown to think of the boy as something of a son. The sight of the boy, now a young man, waving to him as he left for his newest adventure was heart warming even to a pirate as villainous as Hook. Already it was easy to picture an evening in the near future where, beneath the stars and with the steady turn of the waves echoing all of their words, Hook would recount his adventure upon the island and how he had discovered the map to Eilon. Jim would look up at him with wide blue eyes and dream of a day when he would one day be having the kind of adventures Hook told him about.
That evening would never take place however as Captain Hook never returned from that final adventure. Jim raised his hand once more to wave his Captain and Quarter Master off before the sun became too bright and they disappeared off the edge of his vision. That moment would be the last he would ever share with the admirable Captain Hook. That night the ocean swelled as the humidity rose. Unbearable the heat pressed down on them, sweat so slick it seemed to roll right off the skin and pool beneath any that stood still long enough. The crew left on the boat moaned and slept out in the open upon the deck in a hope that perhaps some breeze would come down and bring them relief. With the dawn came a thick covering of cloud as black as the night had been. This wall of clouds swung low above them, so close it seemed that if one simply reached high enough, the clouds would be within touching distance.
Just before noon, the storm broke.
A flash illuminated the ominous clouds over head and with the resounding clash the heavens opened upon them. The ocean churned and boiled beneath them, water angry and frothing so it threw the boat this way and that. Rain drops so large and heavy they were painful upon impact crashed down, ripping at the sails and any foolish enough to stay beneath the open sky. The crew all ran below deck in a fever; few of them had seen such an angry cloud. Many were thankful that they were safely anchored down.
Another great thunder clap tore at their ears and all conversation between the pirate crew members ceased. Jim did not go below ship. He tied himself to one of the masts and slowly made his way up to the crows nest. The climb was nerve wracking, his hands slipped twice and it was only his speed and years upon the ship that saved him from falling. The wind tore at him viciously, his hair snapping around his head as it had found its way out of its usual low pony tail. The young pirate threw himself into the pirate's nest; heart pounding so loud in his heart it felt as if a thunder storm was storming within his chest. He lifted his head cautiously over the rail of the crow's nest and was buffeted by the rain and wind there. He lowered himself and wondered for the first time since tying himself to the mast if his idea had been that great after all. The Captain was due to return that evening; Jim would be the first to spot him coming back and do all he could to help Hook return safety. Quick as he could manage without slipping Jim poked his head over the rain again and looked down at the empty deck than out onto the raging ocean. The island had disappeared, nothing farther than two feet in front of his nose existed. The rain ripped into his skin and tore at his eyes. He fell back down into the crow's nest and pulled up the collar of his shirt to try and shield himself at least a little from the onslaught.
The storm played on, tossing the ship to and fro but never turning it. Jim slowly fell into some place between reality and nightmare, heaving with the lurches of the ship and trying to get as comfortable as he could in the nest. Soaked to the bone he was only half awake when the storm began to drift away and the pelting rain slowed. In the growing light Jim turned his heavy head upwards and peered out with tired eyes. The island was still hidden in shadows, the storm moving in that direction. Out of the shadows a small spec on the choppy waters caught his attention. He shook the sleep off of himself and stood straight, his body falling to the side and hitting the rail hard. The pain barely registered and he leaned farther out, squinting.
The spec, was a row boat.
He tossed himself over the side of the crows nest and began in a frenzy to climb down the mast, swinging from rope to rope with an expertise that would have amazed any onlookers had there been any. He hit the deck with a loud thump before he rolled and with cold fingers he hurried to undo the knots of the rope around his waist. His landing on the deck alerted the rest of the crew beneath the ship that the worst of the storm had passed. The other pirates began to trickle out into the weak sunlight but Jim paid them no mind. He slipped in the water that had accumulated on the deck and picked himself up, doing his best to run to the beak of the ship. Once there he leaned out over the mermaid figure head, using her curling wooden hair to hoist himself up and over the ship's side. The young pirate swung his boots over the side and found footholds in the wooden mermaid's clasped hands.
The spec was getting closer and Jim felt his heart leap up to his throat. There was only one boat approaching. The boat was still too far to see who was in it but somewhere in the pit of his stomach he knew Captain Hook was not on that boat. He sagged into the mermaid's arms, settling into his familiar place against her. One arm wrapped itself tightly around her neck so the other could cover his face. Grief was beginning to settle upon him despite the faint hope that still shone somewhere; perhaps Hook was alive. The boat got closer and Jim could see neither the distinctive red coat or a glimmer of a shiny left hook. Silver's broad figure was at the back of the boat, his peg leg propped up on the seat in front of him. Jim brushed away the stinging feeling in his eyes; the Captain could still be on the island, or their row boat had been damaged and they were waiting for the ship to come and pick them up somewhere. That dark foreboding feeling in the pit of Jim's stomach grew and he knew that Hook would never step foot upon his ship again. Jim looked up at the clear sky and felt the faint whisper of wind pick up his wet hair and throw it in his face. The ocean was calm once more and it glittered beneath Jim, mocking his lose. A better day for sailing was hard to imagine.