Another story in my Slumbering Superhero series where Zack dreams of grand adventures. As usual, I don't own TSL. Alas. On with the show!
"Wow! That movie was awesome!" Zack yelled as they left the theater. They'd just finished seeing the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie and the twins were dueling in the parking lot as Carey walked a few safe steps behind them.
"I know!" Cody said as he parried Zack's invisible thrust and gave one of his own.
"A pirate's life for me," Carey said softly as she imagined herself drinking rum with Jack and Will on some secluded Caribbean beach. She watched her boys sword fight as they made their way to the bus stop. She already knew that the rest of Sunday would be filled with cries of Yarr! and Shiver me timbers! but that was okay. Boys would be boys.
Monday rolled around and Carey was sitting at the table eating her breakfast while the boys still slept. She wasn't eating by herself though – it wasn't only the boys who'd taken things from the movie. Captain Jack Sparrow was sitting at her side and they were eating apples together.
"Mom, can we go to the library today?" Jack asked her and the fantasy ground to a halt.
"Sure, Cody. We can do that," she said without looking up from her bowl of Cheerios.
"I'm not Cody." Carey whipped her head around and saw her other son standing before her. She wiped her eyes just in case there was a bit of warm white sand in her eyes.
"No, you're not." She turned back to her bowl for a split second before looking back at Zack. "Did you say you want to go to the library?" A grin split her face nearly in half.
"Yes, Mom," Zack told her with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "Har har. So can we go now?"
"You can go ahead now if you want. I'm sure Cody will go with you."
"Well, there's a problem. I don't have a library card so you have to go too." Carey snorted and sprayed her mouthful back into the bowl.
"Okay, honey, let me finish eating and get ready," she told him as she wiped her mouth. "You might want to grab a shower because I won't be riding the bus with a boy who smells like he's been at sea for two months." She looked past Zack and into the boys' bedroom and saw Cody still sleeping. "And wake your brother up while you're at it."
Zack scampered off and Carey finished up. This was obviously going to be an odd day since not only was Zack up before his brother but he wanted to go to the library. I should probably buy a lottery ticket, she thought to herself with a laugh as she placed her bowl in the sink.
The trip to the library was rather uneventful even with Cody's jabs. "These things on the shelves with the hard covers are called books, Zack," or "Careful, Zack...some of those have words other than Pow! or Smash! or colorful pictures of girls in spandex with, well, amazingly big stuff." Those earned Cody a few return jabs in the arm but Zack pretty much ignored him once he found where the books on pirates were.
The trip home was slightly more eventful as the three of them discovered that Zack cannot read on the bus without suffering major motion sickness.
A short while later Cody was on one end of the couch and Zack was on the other with a bowl of popcorn between them. Both boys had books open and were avidly reading. Cody looked up from his book every now and then to make sure that Zack was still alive since he'd never seen him this still or quiet for so long before. Once his curiosity was satisfied he'd go back to his book and enjoy the silence.
Eventually Cody had had enough for the time being and closed his book and left to do something else but Zack still didn't move. He was making steady progress and he wasn't to be denied. More time passed and Cody left to go hang out in the game room for a while and Zack turned down the invitation to go with him.
Morning had moved on into mid-afternoon and Zack began to feel a bit drowsy. He still fought on a little longer before he began to doze, his eyes closing for longer and longer periods before they didn't open again. The book fell against his chest and his hands crossed over it as he fell headlong into a deep sleep.
Zack stood at the helm with the wind raging fierce all around him. The large wheel fought with him as he tried to keep his course as the rain crashed down upon the boat nearly sideways. The storm was as huge as it was violent and it was all he could do to keep the ship, his ship, from being swamped by the huge waves.
Zack fought on as the crew battled to keep the sails fully furled. It couldn't be that much longer until they were out of the storm so he only had to keep to the southwest. Easier said than done, he thought to himself as the ship was nearly broadsided by a monstrous wave. He slipped to the side, nearly going down and most likely into the deep, but saved himself with a last second grab on the wheel.
"Keep her trimmed, boys!" He yelled, doubtful his voice would carry above the booming of the waves and the howling of the wind. Zack pulled his hat a bit tighter over his head and righted himself. "We'd better make it through this storm because I didn't go through all the trouble of capturing that Spanish galleon for nothing!" he yelled into the wind, his ship moaning and creaking against the pounding in response
Their hold was full of ill-gotten gains and the crew had every intention of spending every last coin that, unless they got out of this storm quickly, would be spent on repairing his ship. They'd not take kindly to that so it was up to him to get the Queen Carey's Revenge out of this hurricane and into safer waters before it was battered to pieces.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they seemed to be entering calmer seas; the winds began to decrease from a gale to a strong breeze and the waves began to lessen. "We're almost out, mates!" Zack yelled to the brave crewmen still battling with the riggings. A muffled cheer answered him. His men were just as exhausted as he was and he knew it. Zack had to bring the QCR into port or at least a sheltered cove as soon as possible.
The sun was just beginning to set when they finally left the storm for good. Crystal blue waters reflected the beauty of a Caribbean sunset that was unlike anything else on earth. Against the dying light lay a tiny speck of land and it was there that Zack pointed the bow of the ship. He hoped they'd make it by nightfall and then his crew could have their first moment's rest since they encountered the storm nearly two days ago.
They pulled into the shallow waters of some small spit of land and dropped anchor. "Have a good rest, mates. We'll tidy up the ship in the morning and make for port." Zack pulled his hat off and set it on the wheel, watching with disinterest as the water dripped off the lowest corner. He then pulled the bandanna from his head and wrung it out. To finish everything, he whipped his head side to side, flinging water from his dreadlocks everywhere. "Sweet dreams, mates," he said as he retired to his quarters for the night.
The morning light found a few rips in the sails but no other major problems. Once they were repaired they weighed anchor and were on their way. According to his navigator's estimate, Nassau was less than a day's sail away. It wasn't Tortuga, or for that matter Port Royal, but it was very close, very pirate friendly, and very close.
They rode into Nassau around mid afternoon and the cheer given by the crew after they spotted the trees and buildings would make one think that they hadn't seen civilization in years instead of three weeks. The sails were stowed and the boat securely tied to the dock before Zack gave the crew permission to go ashore. "Have yourselves a blast, mates, you've earned it. From the sacking of Martinique to the capture of that galleon, I can't think of a better crew to divvy up plunder with." They cheered him again and made haste for town, their pockets nearly overflowing with pieces of eight.
He followed them at a much more leisurely pace. He'd been here many times before but this was most of the crew's first deep water voyage and first stop in an exotic port of call like Nassau. He bowed deeply to a rather astonishingly beautiful woman as she exited a small shop and nearly walked directly into a post after he failed to take his eyes off of her. "Easy, Zack," he said to himself as he straightened his hat, "there's plenty of time to find her later."
A few minutes' walk took him to the best house in all of Nassau, one of the illest of the ill-reputes in all of the Caribbean. He could hear the yells and laughs and bawdy songs of scores of sailors forgetting about their trials at sea with the help of more than a few stiff drinks before he even pushed the door open.
"Aaaah...Home sweet home," he said quietly as he stepped inside.
I've had the idea to do a pirate-themed story for a while now and seeing PotC:DMC only made it burn ever hotter in my brain. I'm a huge history nerd and this is one of my favorite periods of history so I couldn't wait any longer. First things first...even though Disney usually can't find any facts for their movies with two hands and a flashlight, they didn't do too bad a job on this one. Port Royal and Tortuga are real places and the majority of the 'pirate life' they show is legit. Zack's ship, Queen Carey's Revenge, is based off Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge. I think that's all the notes I need to make for now. More will be coming shortly!