Thicker Than Water – Chapter Three - Tattoos
Yet another two years later, it turns out Jack left Dawn something else that night in Tortuga. A child.
Dawn had been shocked, afraid of being a young, single mother. But she knew Jack would return from sailing, proud to find that a family was awaiting him.
Dawn had her child, a beautiful girl who she named Rebecca.
One night, Dawn was holding one-year-old Rebecca. She pulled out Jack's map, as she did every so often, and carefully unrolled it.
It was a normal-looking map. Leading to nowhere she could identify. Dawn wondered why his mother would have such a map, but she didn't linger on it. All she knew was that if she kept this map safe, she would see Jack again, and then one look into his daughter's big brown eyes…Dawn just knew that he would stay for good this time.
All of a sudden there was a loud boom of cannon fire from outside. Terrified screams of civilians and sailors echoed outside as another, and another shot came down.
Dawn rushed to the window. She could see down the road to the harbor. A ship was docked and firing upon Tortuga. Dawn couldn't read the name, but atop the mainmast was a black flag with a white skull and crossbones. Pirates.
Dawn could hear the shouts of the pirates running down the streets.
"Pillage every house! This map is here somewhere…"
Dawn froze. Her gaze slowly moved from the window to the desk where the map lay.
Adrenaline rushing, she quickly turned things over in her mind.
Pirates really are after the map!
I must destroy it!
But what if it really is sentimental to Jack?
Oh, he'll understand.
But he wanted me to protect it!
But I must protect Rebecca as well.
Wait a minute…
Dawn rolled up the map and then picked up Rebecca. She ran out the back door and headed down a dark alley. She eventually made her way onto a main road, and hurried into a small hut. A sign was nailed next to the door. It said: Tattoos.
The hut was Dallin's house, also small and dirty, like Dawn's, but a corner had been set aside with two stools and a table with needles and ink.
Dallin worked at a local Tavern, but he tattooed for some extra money.
"Dallin, my brother, you must do something for me. Please."
Dallin, a short man with curly brown hair, was bustling about, gathering up his most prized possessions.
"Dawn, don't you hear the pirates attacking? We must get out!"
Dallin grabbed her arm and started dragging her and Rebecca out the door. Dawn wrenched herself free and grabbed the front of Dallin's shirt.
"They're after me! Please, help me."
Dallin stood, shocked. "What? Why?"
"There's no time to explain. Here." Dawn sat Rebecca down on a stool and unbuttoned the back of her dress, so that Rebecca's back was showing. Dawn kept one hand on Rebecca to steady her, as she wasn't quite balanced yet, being just one year.
Dallin stared at Dawn in utter confusion. "Dawn, what are you—?"
Dawn thrust the map into Dallin's hands. "Tattoo this onto her back."
Dallin unrolled the paper and looked at Dawn as though she had gone mad. Maybe she had. "Dawn, this is a map. You want a map tattooed on your daughter's back?"
"I'm supposed to be keeping this map for Jack Spencer—Rebecca's father. It is of sentimental value to him. But it's also what the pirates are after. If you tattoo the map onto Rebecca, then when Jack comes back for his map, he will also find his daughter."
"Dawn, that's crazy." Dallin looked down at the map.
"Maybe, but I think I can make the pirates go away if they see that I've destroyed the map."
Dallin finally understood. Dawn was determined to keep Jack's map safe and have Jack find his daughter. However, she also wanted to save Tortuga and prevent any more people from being killed. If the pirates saw that the map had been destroyed, they would go away. "Dawn, I hardly think the map is what was sentimental to Jack. It's the fact it was his mother's. I don't think he will find you marking up his daughter's back the same thing."
"He told me that it was important that the map stay in readable condition. That must mean that he wants the map. Besides, if I don't destroy the map, the pirates will burn the whole town."
Dallin hesitated. This was ridiculous. Tattooing a map onto a one year old's back?
"Dawn, the pain Rebecca will have to endure for this tattoo. People have gotten sick from the ink, I couldn't risk that…"
"Dallin, we're running out of time." Dawn said, gently but crisply.
Dallin sat down on the other stood and picked up the needle. He laid out the map and examined it carefully. The he began to tattoo. Rebecca began to shriek in pain. Dawn held her steady, keeping her arms from thrashing. Dallin hurried, trying his best to keep the map as accurate as possible. It was a very detailed map. Of course.
By the time he had finished, Dawn was sobbing and Rebecca had passed out. The tattoo took up the majority of Rebecca's back and was different shades of black.
Dawn took her time re-buttoning Rebecca's shirt. She stroked Rebecca's hair and picked her up. Tears rolled down her face. "Be good, ok?" Dawn whispered. She put her head on top of Rebecca's and looked upwards. "Oh, how I love you." Dawn down at Rebecca's closed eyes. "Never forget that." She kissed Rebecca's forehead and then slowly handed the limp girl to Dallin.
"Dawn, let me go destroy the map. They'll surely kill you."
Dawn looked into Dallin's eyes. "This is something I must do." She said quietly.
Dallin's eyes were shining. He was trying so hard not to cry. "I love you, Dawn." He said, and immediately let out a soft sob, putting a hand over his mouth. Dawn rushed in to hug him tight.
"I know, Dallin, I love you, too." She kissed his cheek and gave his hand a final squeeze. Then she headed for the door. Dawn's hand hovered over the handle a moment. She turned. "Dallin. I've always wanted Rebecca to go to school. You know, to become a lady. I want her to have a better life than me. Than both of us." Then Dawn opened the door and stepped out into the night.
The streets were worse than before. Houses glowed orange as flames slowly ate away the wood paneling. Families ran out screaming, holding loved ones close and carrying whatever items they could. Pirates robbed house after house, taking anything of value, still searching for that map.
Dawn walked over to a burning house. She pulled out the map and unrolled it.
"Bloody pirates!" she shouted.
A few pirates turned to look at her from down the road. Dawn held up the map.
The pirates shouted. "She's got the map!" "After her!"
Dawn took the paper and slowly ripped it in two.
"No!" "Stop her!"
She took the halves and ripped it into fourths.
The pirates started rushing towards her in a panic.
She ripped it into eighths.
One pirate pulled out a pistol.
"This is for you, Jack." She whispered, and threw the eight pieces of parchment into the window of the burning house.
The flames greedily licked in the eight pieces fluttering in through the open window. The pirates watched with horror as the papers quickly turned to ash. The man with the pistol, in a state of fury (he was probably going to have hell from the captain because of this) took aim and shot Dawn straight in the chest.
Her eyes widened in shock. She couldn't breathe. Flashes of her childhood, Jack and that night, Rebecca's birth and the short year she got to know her, Dallin and his house. Then everything faded and turned to black.