14 Years Later
Two pirate ships float next to one another, there is silence and calm, but it is quickly broken by the firing of cannons.
Battle has begun between the two foes.
The cannons tear through the hull of the Captain’s enemies. There is luck to be had for the Captain as their ship is only missed or knicked.
The Captain is weak and weary, but from a chair on the main deck he sits and calls out orders through a wretched cough,” Signal the Nautilus.”
A crewman close by pulls out a fusee and smiles at the Captain then in a nasally tone says, “Those Dutch and Orients sure are imaginative, eh Cap?”
“Yea, yea, Smee, now off with you, signal the sub, boy! Ye wastin’ me time!”
Smee skuttles down the steps and around the boat dodging stray gun fire and cannon fodder. As Smee reaches the front end, he reaches up and blasts the flare into the air.
At the back of the ship a rope line is pulled and tugged on by two pirates. The chains wrapped around the rope jingle and rattle heavily underwater.
Within seconds a wooden submarine, shaped like two boats folded on top of each other with five oars on each side, floats quietly to the surface behind the Captain’s enemy ship.
A small hatch pops open and out pops Louis. Shortly after, two more climb out. The third one has a grappling hook in hand. Louis and the others laugh quietly as Louis takes the grappling hook from one of his men.
The ensuing cannon blasts continue as the ships edge ever closer to each other.
Louis winds up and latchs the hook onto a back window, tightens the hold with a tug, and ties it down to a latch on the sub.
“Ye boys climb out and let’s say hello to our new vessel.”
Louis jumps up and wraps his legs around the rope as he climbs toward the window, he whispers,” And a fine one she is.”
From behind Louis, the other two pirates follow, and from underneath out comes four more crewmates. Louis grins ear to ear.
As he opens the window with his right hand, he pulls his body quietly into the room. With one quick move, he grabs his hook sword from his back and rolls onto the floor into the shadows.
Then as he stands up to check on his men, he pulls his Rapier out with his left. Fully armed, he watches all ten of his men climb the rope.
Louis leans hard left to catch his balance as the boat he has boarded is pulling even closer to his own. Five of the other nine have joined him, but one near the top slips and crashes back into the sub below.
Louis in a rage, leans out and yells at the remaining three hanging on for dear life,” Hurry scallywags! This is for not if ye fail me now. Move it!”
Louis leans back into the room as the last four make their way up, and says truimphantly to his five men surrounding him with a ferocious smile,” Death is beyond that door me boys, let’s say hello!”
Louis clenches his teeth and runs toward the door. His men follow behind each removing their weapon of choice, blade, mace, knife, gun, and others of more uniqueness, but just as deadly.
Louis now salivating at the mouth lunges back with both blades in each respective hand and slams his worn but durable deep black boot against the door. With one crack it flies open, and Louis is suddenly faced with three large pirates caught off guard.
Louis slices the closest to his right with his hook sword sending blood flying from his enemy’s neck onto his already blood colored overcoat and pants; only staining Loius’s face and his white fluffed feather stitched to his bowled hat he ‘found’ off a dead Spanish sailor.
Louis turns his head to the left to pierce one and then two. The other two fall with just as much ease. Louis turns to look at his men, but for a moment and yells with energy and excitement that stirs strength and kills the fear hidden behind his mens’ eyes.
“Don’t think the adventure stops after today boys, it’s just beginning!”
And with a quick turn he disappears. His men grunt and stomp their feet like bulls on the charge. They tighten their grip around their weapons and stampede toward Louis, out into the fire and smoke.
Each pirate fighting for Louis does their duty bravely. Only one pirate is shot in the leg. Two stabbed; in the leg and the arm respectively, and Louis. Who is only injured due to the amount of blood he has in his eyes from his enemies splash and spray of blood.
This mainly endangered his crewmates due to Loius’s fury in battle and is actually what led to Moe, his crewmate, getting stabbed in the arm. Most have learned to let Louis just do what he does.
With haste and ease they gain control of the second pirate ship, Louis hastily goes below and searches the hold. He finds the chest and bolts toward it.
While he is unlocking the chest, the same pirate who had held Smee captive 14 years ago walks quietly behind Louis out of the darkness.
Louis raises his head and turns to face his own crewmate and supposed ally. Drenched with blood, Louis steadies his hands with blade in each and crouches ready to pounce on his old enemy.
“So ye came to pay a fourteen year old debt. Here, I thought we laid old issues aside.”
The pirate raises his gun to Loius’s head and grins feverishly showing off a bouquet of gaps and broken teeth.
“Ye is always ready to fight, Lil Cap. That’s what I respect about ye.”
Other pirates run down the stairs and stop in shock.
Louis bears his teeth and shouts,” Well, get on with it, so I can take yur innards already. Pull the trigger if ye have the sack equal to this chest of gold here!”
Louis kicks the chest open and from the reflection of the gold behind Louis illuminates a greasy dirty pirate in the corner with nothing more than a rusty blade in hand.
He lunges for Louis, but the tough, old pirate’s gun fires and hits the dirty hull troll in the chest singing a bullet hole in his worn and ratty shirt. The dirty pirate falls back, and with a couple of slices in quick sucession, Louis takes the wounded pirate’s head off with his hook sword before the hull troll’s body can even fall to the ground.
“But ye never check to look around when ye thinks yu’re safe. Haha!”
Louis stops and with the blood of his enemies on his face thickening and hardening, cracks a smile. He holsters his weapons, as well as his colleague.
The other crewmen behind them start laughing. Louis motions to the treasure chest by his feet.
He speaks in a voice not heard by his men since his arrival on their ship,” To the man who saved my life, what else could I offer up? I can never doubt you ever, Bart.”
Bart laughes and pushes Louis out of the way,” Promise me ye won’t talk all tender again, Lil Cap. Blood and death suit you more.”
Loius’s demeanor returns to leadership and control. He let’s Bart have a moment at the chest as he looks to the other pirates on the stairwell,” What are you soft footed scallywags gawking at?! The theatre is over, clean up the ship!
I want it ready and usable by the time I get up there! Move it, don’t speak!”
Louis pushes Bart out of the way as he asks in a low and monotone voice,” Get yur fill, Bart? Good.”
Bart takes what he filled in his shirt and heads back up. Before he does go, he watches Louis throw gold and pendants on to the floor searching.
Louis glares back at Bart, which sends him shuffling out the door.
Louis digs through the chest and finds a rolled parchment. He unrolls it and smiles. He grunts little laughes as he eyes the front and then the back of the paper.
“Final piece of the puzzle. Map will be complete for sure. For the Captain! Father.”
Louis heads up and sees the deck has been cleaned up for the most part. Bodies thrown overboard, wounds tended to, and the ships have been linked for the time being.
Louis sees his old friend Smee uninjured and unarmed standing on the main ship. Smee’s nose has been broken even more over the years, in several places, and his skin is scarred and blistered from the hard days out in the sun. Though not battle hardened, Smee is a loyal ally of Louis’s; no doubt.
Smee waves, but Louis shakes his head disappointed as he steps over on to the main ship. He focuses his attention to the Captain’s room and heads in that direction.
Smee pays no mind and instead smiles proudly at Louis and shouts as loud as his little voice can go,” Three cheers for Louis!”
Bart steps behind Smee and slaps his shoulder, ” How about me? Baby Smee.”
The other pirates laugh and cheer in different beats, “Lou-is, Hook.”
Smee with a shudder in his voice at first says,” Yes, yes, and of course Bart.”
Smee turns and faces Bart. He starts clapping uncontrollably to the point where Bart, annoyed and bored, roughs up Smee’s little hat and knocks it off.
“Enough clapping and talking you little tick.”
Everyone laughes. Louis finally nears the Captain’s door and knocks.
The crew silences then all at once cheers loudly and excitedly. The Captain comes out in a luxurious purple suit. He walks out onto the deck and stands next to Louis. He puts his left hand on Louis’s right shoulder and stands proudly next to him.
Louis raises the map in the air sending both ships’ men howling and roaring uncontrollably.
The Captain puts his right hand up motioning for quiet and takes the map from Louis with his left.
“15 years. 15 years of effort are finally going to amount to something. Enjoy yourselves today, boys, because tomorrow we are on our way to the infinite gold.”
The crew cheers again, but is quickly silenced by the Captain’s winded coughs.
The Captain turns serious and focused. He looks at Louis and nods.
Louis looks toward his men and says,” Set sail toward the sun boys, and take the rest of the day off.”
He touches his face and laughes.
“Maybe clean off the enemy scallywags’ blood if ye get a chance.”
The pirates laugh as Louis turns and shuts the Captain’s door.
The crew gets to work setting up the ships. Others pull out drink and food from under the deck.
In the cabin, the Captain reaches into his cupboard and pulls out a bottle of whiskey. His parrot says repeatedly in the background, “15 years.”
The Captain takes a swig from the bottle and coughs.
“Good stuff, want some Hook?”
Hook nods and takes the bottle. Still the parrot keeps saying 15 years, but once in a while he throws in,” Final map! Good stuff, Hook.”
The Captain watches Louis drink three gulps with ease.
“That’s me boy, Hook! Now give one to Crackers!”
Louis takes a mouthful and spits it into the cage at the parrot. The parrot jumps back and flaps his wings flustered. Louis pours some of the brew into Crackers’s bowl. Crackers soon calms and flies down to lick the liquor.
The Captain laughes through broken coughs, “ That will quiet he for a good while. 15 years, Crackers is right. Our search has taken us this long. Yet, still we are not sure our find while prove fruitful.
Is the treasure really there, Hook? We have to risk it, boy. Gold beyond dreams.”
The Captain walks over to Louis and snatches the bottle. He takes a gulp, clears his throat, and continues.
“Each time, we search, find and fight, we only get one more map to add to our collection of the others. But now it be complete. Thanks to ye, Hook.”
Louis moves closer to the desk analyzing the 12 maps laid out, connecting to create one full map, a detailed area map of an island.
“Ye see it before ye on me desk, me boy. I have thought for countless hours in this very room looking at these maps as we gathered them in sum and I asked as I do now, how many more times must we do this? Are these enough? The island of Neverland is now here for us.”
The Captain sits quiet for moment. He walks over to Crackers and opens his cage. Crackers hops onto his shoulder and says,” Justice!”
“Yes, Crackers. Justice, is there any justice? This will be the last time we fight for a map. And now the real fight, to find the treasure!”
“Last time! Treasure!”
The Captain sits behind the desk with the bottle in hand taking sips.
The Captain gathers his breath and asks Louis,”Look at the location, Hook. They all point to the island, here. The gold is located there, I believe this. This island of Neverland.
Do you see where they all show the island? But it only ocean there when we compare it to a standard sea map.
Is this all for not, me boy?”
The Captain sighs and adds a little more after taking another drink,” Don’t let an old pirate give ye to much doubt, dangerous for us dreamers.”
Louis looks down at the map, he smiles and rubs his cheek under his eye.
“I still haven’t the powder off me face, Cap. What, what is it yur seeing, that I can’t?”
The Captain stands up for a moment paused in action.
Crackers calls out,” It’s the same!”
The Captain nods as he takes a cloth from a near table, he dips it in a bowl and wrings it out,” Yea, this spot showing on the final piece, where this Neverland is written on this small island in the sea of no where. The name I’ve heard echo in my head.”
The Captain hands Louis the rag and motions toward his face.
“Clean yur eyes, to see what I need of ye.”
Crackers chirps,” Neverland, Neverland!”
Louis wipes the blood and as he does, he moves closer to the bowl to clean it all off his face. Gently he wrings the cloth and wipes the stains of battle off.
The Captain sits back down, and lets out an exaustive breath and collapses back in his chair. Through his labored breathing, he leans forward to point at the island,” About one year before ye boarded the ship and ever since, this name echoes. Neverland. The island under the ocean to all my accounts.”
The Captain leans back, Crackers flaps around to readjust and says,” Smee and Louis, Smee and Louis.”
Louis finds a seat and opens another liquor bottle near the maps. His cleaned face shows off his youth again and his fiercly curved mustache. He pops the cork with his teeth, drops it into his lap and downs a good portion.
The Captain smiles contently and says after a hearty cough,” This spot in the ocean, this Neverland under the sea, this be nearby the same area that we found ye and yur friend, Smee, 14 years ago. Hook, my boy, what is yur dream?”
Louis smiles wide, takes a good three second swig, swallows and says without hesitation,“ Well, I have always wanted to fly, Cap.”
The Captain nearly chokes on his last sip. Crackers jumps in the air and sails around the room.
The Captain chuckles a bit and says kindly,” Well, may not be able to make flying like Crackers possible, but, Hook, this island when we find it, it will be all for the pickin’s, the entire crew. Infinite gold!”
The Captain stands up to escort Louis outside and opens the door,” Till then, I want ye to run our new ship. Take the number of crew necessary, plus any captured ye need for slob work.”
Louis looks over at his new ship and smiles largely enough to bend the tips of his mustache into his nose. Water forms in his eyes, but only enough to redden his eyes.
“Thank you, Cap. That is all I could ever ask for, worth more than any infinite gold or even flight.”
The Captain clears his throat. Crackers flies out onto the deck and shouts,” Listen up!”
“Great work today. Ye boys enjoy the night today, for yur work and fighting deserve a proper rest and drink.”
The men cheer and raise bottles and cups from both ships. The Captain leans in and puts his hand on Louis’s shoulder.
“ I have one more announcement! Hook is no longer me second in command.”
The crew saddens at the news, and moans and groans come from the two boats.
The Captain coughs slightly and before he can speak, Crackers tweets,”Hail, Captain Hook!”
The Captain pulls Louis’s hook sword out from behind Louis and puts it in Louis’s right hand, he raises Louis’s hand and sword in the air and screams,” Yeaaaaa! Captain Hook is here! Tonight we feast, and tomorrow we find our infinite treasure at daybreak!”
Everyone drinks and eats as musical instruments are picked up by a few of the crew members. With the ships close together and board bridges allowing easy access, they all move around the two ships.
The Captain heads back in and looks at the maps and stares.
Later that week, the crew are on their individual decks as each captain runs a ship. They are using the stars and the little moonlight they have in the sky to navigate; there is silence all around.
Some of the crew whispers amongst themselves.
The Captain in a monotone, but loud voice shouts over the quiet sea, “Maintain yur calm, and stay at yur posts. We have been thru much worse than this. Ye pirates are sheep or wolves?”
The men on the edge of the ship keep prodding the water with long sticks to make sure they don’t run aground.
As time passes by, the men go about their usual ship activities. A couple hours later, they are still at sea searching as the sunlight starts to peak over the oceanline.
Louis takes an opportunity to board the Captain’s ship to talk.
“Perhaps we should just give the search up, just for the day.”
The Captain growls in frustration,“It be takin’ me too long to get this far. I have to continue on, no matter what. Hook, today be the day. I feel it in me. I know it me, boy!”
Dawn’s sunrise can be seen breaking the darkness over the night sky’s horizon. The ships still work to search the waters, where Neverland Island mapped.
The Captain quietly clenching his fists and teeth, finally let’s out a chest wrenching cough and slams his fists onto the closest beam.
He slunks back into his cabin worn out and disparaged. He leans over and blows out the candle on his desk.
One Year Later
The Captain lies dying in his bed. The feeling of defeat, loss and even embarrassment come over the Captain throughout the year, but it is a seaborne illness that finally does him in.
Louis sits next to his mentor and gives him some drink to ease his pain.
The Captain chokes it down and then with heavy and drawn out breaths he mumbles, “Hook… This dream… All me life… Neverland…Infinite gold… So close…”
Crackers in the cage screechs,” Dream! Neverland! So Close!”
Louis eyes Crackers angrily as he taps his Rapier on his side. He looks at the Captain and whispers in his ear gently,” I know how you feel, my dear Captain. Father.”
The Captain’s eyes fill with tears of happiness. He chokes to breathe and lays back in the bed a bit more to ease the pressure on his chest.
Louis continues,”It’s the same as one day finding out that all the stars in the sky are just temporary candles waiting to burn out. Not the glorious permanent lightbeings we know that guide us through our voyages throughout the rages of the seas.
This island be a real dream ye have. And it be possible, Cap.”
Louis stands closer to the Captain while resting his right hand on the Captain’s chest and his left hand on his own heart.
“Yea, Father, I know what ye dream of. As I dream of wanting to fly, ye of infinite gold and the Island of Neverland.”
Tears escape the Captain’s eyes as a smile runs across his face simultaneously. Louis smiles back.
Crackers howls,” Flyyyyyy! Flyyyyy!”
The Captain huffs and puffs,” Dream Neverland… For me… Fly…”
Upon hearing the Captain’s final words, Louis is silent. He stares off at the Captain, his adoptive father, as he slowly fades away and stops breathing.
The crewmen are huddled outside the Captain’s door awaiting any news at all.
Crackers calls out from the other side,” He’s dead! The Captain! James T. SQuAwK!!”
Crack!
Suddenly, crashes and screams of rage come from the Captain’s room.
Outside Smee, closest to the door, steps back and starts to chant, “Captain Hook” over and over.
The louder he raises his voice the more nasely he gets. He still manages to get the crew behind him to chant. Bart chants the second loudest, and moves within the deck standing the depressed and tearful men up one by one.
Little by little the noise in the Captain’s room grows quieter and the chants,” Hook! Hook! Hook!” grow louder.
The thick door violently swings open.
The crew on both ships raise their weapons in the air and chant “Captain Hook, Captain Hook!” even louder.
Louis stands on deck, unsheaths his Rapier and his hook sword. Pointing his left sword, the Rapier, at the crew on the dead Captain’s deck and his right hook sword at his own ship just to the right.
“Bart, ye will take hold of our former Cap’s ship. I pass ye the honor without regret or hesitation.”
Bart stands taken aback for a moment.
“Thank you lil Cap, uh, I mean Captain Hook.”
The other crew members on the both ships cheer.
“Hook! Long live Captain Hook!”
Smee finds an opportunity and runs next to Louis,” Hello, Captain!”
Louis continues,”Enough of the formalities, boys. For the Captain, we go back and search for the infinite gold.
In memory of the Captain and he dream. We will look one more time. The Island of Neverland be ours in due time! Let’s ready the ships, pirates!”
Atrishna Agathon 