Kwazii sometimes had a hard time falling asleep.
He was usually very energetic, and so he would read a comic or a pirate tale to calm down enough to fall asleep.
With Calico's journal, reading was a nightly ritual now. It was fascinating learning about his grandfather's life, all the adventures he had with his pirate wife, Amelia, and his parrot friend, Pete. There was adventure, treasure, and as much swashbuckling as Kwazii wanted. Sometimes, when reading the journal, he would get wistful and wonder if he had made the right decision. But Kwazii knew that the Octonauts was where he belonged, and so he was glad and grateful to stay there.
In the journal, Kwazii was even able to read about his own father, how he was born and raised on the ship. Lucky, Kwazii would think. Calico's love for his son bled through the pages and ink, and the parents did everything they could for him. But it was a dangerous life, and after a few adventures as a young adult, Kwazii's father left to live on land.
"It's his life," Calico wrote. "We'll miss him heartily, but it'll be right wrong of me to claim to have a life of freedom, but restrict it with me own son. I wish him all the best."
That was one of the more interesting events, and over the last few weeks Kwazii had read countless other entries, spanning a couple years in Calico's lifetime.
As the night grew near and Kwazii was doing his night routine, he reached over to his bedside table and grabbed Calico's journal. For once, he was actually quite tired already. But I'll just read one entry, he told himself.
Kwazii opened to the next entry. He had this thing where he never looked ahead of where he was. He kind of treated it as a novel; he didn't want any spoilers. So he was no doubt surprised when the entry date was about a year later than the previous one.
"I haven't written in this dingy old thing in a while," Calico Jack wrote in his scrawling writing. "So much has happened. I... I wasn't able to talk about it, to tell the truth. Amelia says that writing it down could help, so... I'm giving it a try."
Kwazii furrowed his brow. Calico sounded so hesitant, so tired.
"If I have to say it, then I guess I should get it over with and start already," Calico continued.
"Amelia told me what happened…"
It had happened so fast. Amelia, Calico Jack, and Parrot Pete were having breakfast downstairs when all of a sudden, they were knocked out of their chairs. The ship jerked.
"Something's hitting us!" Calico cried.
They ran up onto the deck, but they didn't see anything. The boat rocked again; they had to hold on to the rail as they looked out.
"There!" Amelia pointed.
They saw the gray flesh of a snake-like creature rise and sink in the water. It sank deeper, disappearing under the waves, only to rise up again.
"What is that?'
It lifted its head up; soulless, beady eyes stared at them. It's long, sharp teeth jutted out from its closed mouth.
Calico Jack stilled. "It's the Bánaithe Serpent," he whispered.
To see Jack like that, not whooping for adventure nor confident against the adversary, immediately made Amelia uneasy.
The great Serpent sank into the water again.
Pete squawked in alarm.
They never stood a chance.
Next thing Amelia knew, the ship was wrapped around by the Bánaithe Serpent, the wood cracking under its sheer strength as it constricted the vessel like a python. They tried to stab it with swords, but it didn't even flinch.
"We need to get to the lifeboat!" Amelia said. "This ship is lost!"
She started to run to the side of the ship, where the lifeboat was. Calico Jack did one more swipe again the flesh of the Serpent before following. But before they could reach it, there was a final crack, and the boat and cats went under.
Amelia wasn't sure, but she thought she heard Calico scream.
She was surrounded by black and cold, and her lungs immediately filled with water. She was disoriented, but she tried to swim her way to the light.
Amelia's head burst out of the water. She gasped and coughed, trying to get her bearings. There were planks of wood here and there, the pieces of the wreckage. She spotted Pete flying in circles above her, a bit wet, but no worse for wear.
She scanned around herself. She couldn't see the Serpent.
Her heart clenched.
"Calico!" she cried. She kept looking around.
He wasn't there.
"Calico!" she cried again. She took a deep breath and went under. The salt water stung fiercely, but she kept her eyes open. It was so dark, but she could see silhouettes of the ship, the main part of the hull sinking into the deep.
Did he get caught among the sails or rope? Was he being dragged down there?
Did the Serpent get him?
She kept scanning, not wanting to get air, even though her lungs screamed, because she couldn't bear to miss Calico for a second.
There.
She saw the silhouette of her husband.
She took a quick, deep breath then submerged again, swimming with all her might towards him.
She could see it, the long form of the Bánaithe Serpent in the far reaches of the deep, curving in and out of the darkness.
Faster!she pleaded with herself.
She came up to Calico. He was unconscious, but other than that, she couldn't see the features on his face.
The Bánaithe Serpent was staring at them, she could tell.
She grabbed under his armpits and immediately dashed up towards the surface.
As quick as lightning, it sprung towards them, its long body going side to side as it went straight for them.
She was almost there!
Calico was pulled down, and she along with it. The movement jostled her, and a burst of air bubbles flew out of her mouth. She looked down, and her heart leapt to her throat.
The Serpent's huge jaws were around Calico's leg, crimson blood oozing from around its jaws.
Let him go!
Taking out her sword, she struck with all her might, right at its head. It must have been a weak spot, because it reacted, writhing away. It left a deep gashon its forehead. It slithered down into the deep again.
They broke into the surface. Amelia wasted no time, though, and searched the area again.
Did that scare it off? It was quite a deep cut. Was it coming back?
She looked down at Calico and screamed.
Calico Jack's left leg was gone. Bitten clean off. Blood pooled out where it should have been.
Blood also dripped from her husband's left eye. She looked closer, and she almost threw up.
During the wreck, when they all fell, some splintered wood must have gone into his eye. A big chunk waslodged in there.
She looked away, gagging again, but then cooled her breathing.
Pete squawked in despair, seeing the pair.
"Calico needs help!" she cried to him. "Find someone, a boat or land nearby. Please! He doesn't have much time."
He was losing so much blood.
Pete nodded and flew off, leaving her alone with her charge.
She had to do something. If not, he would die way before help arrived.
Getting tired, but still mustering her strength, she dragged him towards a large slab of floating wood. She made sure his face was above the water as she went to their small sanctuary.
Finally, she reached it and dragged him onto the wood. It was just enough room for him to lay on it. She held on to the edge of the wood, inspecting the damage more.
With her sharp teeth, she ripped off strips of cloth from her sleeves. She would need to make a tourniquet. That was her top priority.
She started fastening the tourniquet, and it must have hurt something fierce, because all of a sudden, Calico screamed.
He snapped awake and struggled. Amelia held on to him.
"Let go of me!"
"Calico, it's me, Amelia!"
He seemed to be a bit more lucid, staying still, taking short, jagged breaths. He winced. He reached towards his eye, but Amelia grabbed his arm.
"Don't touch your face, Jack."
He seemed a bit calmer and put his arm back down, so she moved back to finishing the tourniquet. He still screamed occasionally, and she would apologize profusely. She tried to keep her tears back.
"What... What happened to me leg!?"
He was looking down at it, one eye wide and disbelieving. She couldn't stop them; her tears finally fell.
He gave a wild cry that resounded and echoed throughout the sky, one that she never heard before, and knew would never forget.
Her face crumpled, and she held on to him tightly. But she didn't give in to despair. As he gripped her tightly back, processing what just happened, she vowed that she would be strong for the both of them. For Calico's sake.