16
The smell of the sea filled my nostrils, tempered slightly by the coppery scent of blood. My heart began to race as the pirate ship, The Aquinius, sailed into view. The pirates aboard shouted insults and taunts as our ships came to bare, cannons poised, waiting for the signal to fire. I gripped my cutlass eagerly, waiting for battle, hidden beneath the railing to avoid the musket fire.
The captain dropped his arm. The pop of the muskets were joined by the roar of the cannons, and the screams of dying men filled the air. An explosion of wood shot splinters through the air like needles, peppering the railing beside my hand. I fell backwards, realizing how close I had been to losing an arm.
“Get up boy!” The captain shouted, dragging me to my feet. Grappling hooks whistled through the air, thudding against the railing. I ran up and down the side, cutting the hooks away while ducking low to stay out of sight. There were just too many hooks, and despite my efforts, the ships began to pull together.
“Cutlasses and pistols, boys!” The captain shouted. “Let's teach this rabble how true men fight!” The ships ground together with a shuddering groan. Regaining my balance, I stepped up to the railing and jumped across. The air was filled with smoke, and I couldn’t see very clearly.
A dark form came into my view, swearing and cursing. I thrust my cutlass towards him, but to my surprise, the man blocked the blade, and then kicked me backwards. I hit my head on the railing and my head began to spin. When my vision cleared, the man was leaning over me, a sword horizontally at my throat. “You’re young to be on a ship like this, boy.” He pushed the blade closer, whiskey fumes making me gag. “It’s a shame that you won’t ever be old enough.”
“Yes it is,” I managed, cutting my throat on the blade. Then I kicked the man between his legs. He swore and dropped his blade, toppling over with a grunt of pain. I straightened, gasping for breath. I turned towards my ship, and found that it had been overrun with pirates. I jumped back onto the familiar deck and began to help defend my ship.
The battle was quick and bloody. There were simply too many pirates. They attacked with savagery, giving no quarter, and taking no prisoners. My friends fought valiantly, but I saw them fall, one by one. I was dueling clumsily with one younger man when a cannonball hit the deck between us. Light and sound collided in a painful blast as I-
BRRRRING!!!
I jolted out of my stupor, breathing hard. I looked around. I was sitting in the school library, with my backpack next to me, and a book, The Pirate's Bane, open in my lap. My breathing slowed as I realized that I was not under attack from a pirate ship, but instead, I was going to be late to my next class. I thrust a bookmark into the pages and closed the book with a snap. “Until next hour then,” I muttered, thrusting the book into my backpack.
The Pirate's Bane
Joe Wirthlin