Nine years later…
The sea was calm. The water moved slowly – in utter silence as daylight showered the area. But there was something in that sea that was not calm. The silence was broken by the sound of fifty guns roaring to life with deafening power – cannonballs ripping through the clear sky in a blaze of glory as they impacted the back of a pirate ship.
The British naval vessel Monarch was giving chase to a Dutch barque, which had been stolen by pirates. The sound of deadly cannons echoed through the sea, as they fired towards the pirates which were attempting to escape. In the distance, where the pirates were heading, was a large clouded area surrounded by giant, deadly reefs.
Down, in the lower deck of the Monarch, was a young man using a mirror to see exactly where the ship was heading. The yells and orders of the First Lieutenant were heard nearby. "Faster, you low-lives! We're chasing pirates!"
One of the crewmembers looked at the young man. "Henry, get back here! You don't want to be kicked off another ship!" Henry ignored the man, looking through his mirror to see the ship's heading. The clouded skies were visible, above the structures of rock where the pirates were running to.
"My god." Henry muttered, pulling the mirror back in and processing what he just saw. Everything he had researched – everything he knew told him that this was a bad idea. Henry knew that where the Monarch was heading had one repercussion – death. He started running, heading towards the stairs to the upper deck. "Know that you are leaving you post, boy." The First Lieutenant stated.
"I need to speak with the Captain!" Henry stated. "I beg your pardon?" The First Lieutenant asked, before being pushed aside by Henry in a sudden rush. He ran up the stairs, now on the upper deck of the Monarch.
The Captain of the Monarch watched through a telescope as the pirates' stolen vessel headed slowly through the reefs and into a large opening. "He's going in." The Captain stated to himself. "Chase her down!" He ordered the crew.
However, the Captain would suddenly hear the noises of a young man rushing across the upper deck, pushing past any sailor who stood in his way. "No," Henry yelled. "Don't do it!" The Captain walked across the upper deck and looked down at Henry. "Sir, I believe you're sailing us into the Devil's Triangle!" Henry stated.
The Captain formed a smirk on his face as he listened to Henry. "So this young landsman believes in an old sailor's tale." He responded with a mocking tone. Henry walked forward, taking his hat off. "Sir, with all due respect, I've spent my life researching the myths of the sea. I know every legend – every curse."
Henry continued speaking. "I know that every ship that sails into the Triangle does not necessarily sail out of it." Suddenly, Henry was cut off by the sudden arrival of the First Lieutenant. "I'm sorry sir, this one is clearly disturbed." The Lieutenant stated.
Henry ignored the Lieutenant, continuing to speak. "Sir, trust in what I say. Change your course." The Captain scoffed at the idea. "You dare to give me orders, boy? Arrest him!" He responded. Before anyone could do anything, Henry leaped forward, running up the stairs and rushing for the wheel. "Turner!" The First Lieutenant yelled.
"I will not let you kill us all!" Henry yelled, attempting to reach the wheel. However, several guards grabbed hold of him, and he was met with a dozen rifles aimed at his face. The Captain slowly walked over to Henry. "This is treason." He stated clearly, ripping the sleeves off Henry's coat. "Lock him up!"
The guards dragged Henry down into the lower decks of the ship, throwing him in a cell. Several posters of Jack Sparrow fell out of Henry's coat, landing onto the floor of the cell. "This was your last chance, Turner." One of the guards stated clearly. "If it were up to me, you'd already be dead."
The two guards walked away from the cell quickly. In the next cell, an old, bearded man bent down and picked up one of Henry's posters. His beard was white, and his skin rough. The old man scoffed upon seeing the poster. "Jack Sparrow. He's dead. Buried in an unmarked grave." The old prisoner said to Henry.
Henry shook his head. He refused to believe that the man he had been searching for all his life would be dead now. He had to find Jack, and get the Trident of Poseidon – all to save his father from the eternal life aboard the Dutchman.
Slowly, the Monarch moved through the reefs, entering a large, dark opening which led deep into the Devil's Triangle. The shimmering light of day slowly disappeared as they went deeper into the cursed waters. The crewmembers of the Monarch slowly looked around, seeing their source of light dissipate. Had the young Henry been right?
A moment of silence enveloped the entire ship. The pirates they were chasing were nowhere to be seen – and now the light of day was gone. There was a deathly quiet as the Captain stood on the upper decks of the Monarch, watching the ship move deeper into the triangle.
The First Lieutenant walked over to the side of the ship, looking into the water. A pirate flag was floating in the sea. "Sir. There's something in the water." The Lieutenant stated. The sailors of the Monarch watched as the pirate flag drifted away from the Monarch.
The First Lieutenant looked up, before pointing out into the ocean depths. "Ship to starboard!" He yelled out, several sailors running over to see the supposed ship. But it wasn't what the First Lieutenant thought it was. "That's no ship, sir. That's a shipwreck." One of the sailors stated. It was obvious. The ship they were looking at was old, battered. The ribs of the vessel were visible, and all of the masts were broken. The sails were tattered and torn.
What the sailors failed to notice was the figures moving across the water towards the Monarch. They were a shimmer in the light, a shadow in the dark. Each step impacted the surface of the water but didn't go under it. They were shadows – ghosts of the past.
"No," The Captain stated, looking closer at the 'shipwreck'. "She's sailing straight towards us!" Fear was heard in his voice, as he processed what he was seeing. A dead ship sailing? It was the stuff of nightmares. Suddenly, something moved across the upper deck – a shimmer in the dark.
The sailors looked around in confusion for a brief moment, before hearing the Captain yell out. "OPEN FIRE!" Each sailor quickly ran to their posts, igniting the cannons which fired deadly cannonballs at the ghost ship. The roaring of cannonballs echoed the triangle.
But they would fail to realise that their attacks were doing nothing. The ghost ship moved closer, unaffected by the onslaught of cannonballs. As it moved into view, the sailors were suddenly attacked from behind. Shadows of the dark moved through the Monarch, cutting down any sailor found.
The First Lieutenant watched as his men were slaughtered, as ghosts of death roamed the Monarch in a bloody murder spree. One of the figures saw him, and launched forward, sword in hand. The First Lieutenant screamed as the figure slashed him brutally with the sword, blood spraying across the deck.
Henry looked above him, and saw the dripping blood of the sailors on the upper deck. He could see the shimmers and whispers of dark, distorted figures moving across the Monarch, hunting down any survivors. There was a silence as the movement stopped – was everyone dead?
Suddenly, the silence was broken by large footsteps. A man, shrouded in darkness, face cracked and broken, walked across the upper deck of the Monarch. In front of this man was the Captain of the Monarch, being held by the mysterious man's subordinates.
"You are the Capitán of this vessel, yes?" The man asked. The Captain nodded hesitantly, terrified by the situation he was in. The man slowly raised his rapier, and the Captain started pleading. "No, no no! Please!"
The man sliced his rapier down, killing the Captain of the Monarch in a single, swift strike. Henry, hearing the slice, stepped back in fear before accidently knocking a bucket in his cell. The man slowly looked down, towards the source of the noise.
Slowly, Henry could hear the footsteps of the man, as he walked down the stairs to the cells of the Monarch. He got a clear view of the mysterious man – his uniform was old and darkened. His face was cracked, and black liquid dripped from his mouth. His black hair was flowing in the air.
The old, bearded prisoner started to whimper, stepping away in fear as he saw the sight in front of him. Behind the mysterious man was the rest of his crew, all blackened and cursed. Their skin was broken, black liquid dripping from their bodies, and parts of their body simply missing.
The mysterious man walked forward, simply moving through the bars of the cell in front of Henry, who stepped back in shock to see the supernatural magic at work. The mysterious man stabbed one of the Jack Sparrow posters with his rapier, holding it up in the air.
One of the cursed crewmembers walked forward, stabbing the whimpering old man and killing him instantly. The mysterious man looked at the poster with curiosity. "Jack…Sparrow. Do you know this Pirate?" He asked Henry, his voice rough and deep.
"Only by name." Henry responded, fear heard in his voice. The mysterious man walked closer to Henry, analysing him. "You are looking for him?" The man continued. Henry looked at the cursed men around him, hesitating for a moment as he wondered what to say.
"Is that a yes?" The man pressed, looking directly at Henry. "Yes." Henry responded, turning back to the ghostly man in front of him. "For too many years the triangle has cursed us," The man began, motioning to his crew around him. "Condemned us to this hell on Earth."
"The key to our escape is Jack Sparrow. And the compass which he holds." The man said. "You need not fear me, boy. I always leave one man alive to tell the tale." He said, noticing the obvious fear in Henry's eyes. He moved closer to Henry. "Find Sparrow for me. And relay him a message from Capitán Salazar."
"Tell him, that there will be a day where I see the daylight again, and on that day – death will come straight for him." Salazar emphasised, black liquid dripping out of his mouth as a sinister smile formed on his face. "Will you say that to him? Please?"
"Yes." Henry responded, both shocked at what he was seeing and curious for what he was hearing. "Good. Oh, I wish I could say it to him myself," Salazar started, a sense of regret heard in his deep and terrifying voice. He moved even closer to Henry.
"But dead men tell no tales."