The Pirate Raiders (22 page)

Suddenly, I was in the water for the second time that day.  I looked around wildly in all directions for any sign of the kraken but it seemed to have left the area just as quickly as it had appeared.  It was as simple as that.  I don’t think attacking ships was something that came natural to the creature.  It was being forced to do it against its will and when the power holding it there ceased, the animal fled quickly. 

Gordon swam over to me and said, “I think I’ve had my fill of the pirate life.”

I laughed at him and then the two of us grabbed onto a large piece of debris and began paddling toward
Neptune’s Castle
. 

“Do you think we’ll catch it?” he asked me as we began kicking.

“Well if we don’t, we’ll die,” I answered very matter-of-factly. 

With that, he began to kick harder.  We somehow
did
manage to catch up to our ship and we weren’t the only ones.  Langley had already made it there, and Joe made it soon after.  When enough men made it to the ship, we got her drifting toward the wreckage of the
Sea Witch
and picked up any other survivors that we could find.  When it was all over, I lost nine men to the kraken.  We contemplated picking up the survivors of Trimble’s crew from the longboat, but I decided to let fate have its way with them.  Cruel and vile men such as those deserved no mercy at all. 

I informed the crew that our heading would be New Providence.  There would be no returning to Port Royal.  Although we’d accomplished what Governor Winter’s had asked me to do, it wouldn’t matter now.  He would most certainly hunt us relentlessly after learning that we stole one of the Royal Navy’s ships.  And the fact that I’d killed his nephew probably didn’t help matters either. 

On our way to New Providence we came across another piece of ship wreckage floating aimlessly in the ocean.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was from Ricardo’s ship.  There were two survivors on the wreckage and it was even more surprising when one of the men turned out to be Ricardo himself.  Unfortunately, his battered body was in a grave state when I found him.  There was a large puncture wound in his left flank, and his breathing was very ragged.  His company, on the other hand, appeared to be in good condition. 

“Ricardo, you hold on just a little longer and we’ll be back in New Providence.  Someone there will be able to help you,” I tried to reassure him, although I was probably trying to reassure myself as well. 

“Señor, you and I both know that there is no chance,” he said, gasping for air.  “You tell Jane that I love her…and,” he tried desperately to get his breath.  “You take care of her for me…she’s always loved you too.”

“She loves you more, mate,” I told him.  “She’d much rather see you again.  Don’t make me have to give her bad news.”

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and I quickly wiped it away.  “I’m glad I held on long enough to see you one more time señor,” Ricardo said.  Suddenly, his eye’s widened as if he’d just thought of something important.  He coughed loudly, and tried to sit up.  I pushed him back down.  “Andrea…” he mumbled. 

“What about her?” I asked.

“She…she..,” he began to drift away.

“She what?” I asked him, and I shook him lightly. 

He opened his eyes again and looked into mine.  “She killed her uncle Redd…I found out after you left…she’s a killer.”   

He began coughing again and this time there was no bringing him back.  The warning about Andrea was the last thing he ever said to me.  I felt the tears well up in my eyes and a knot formed in my stomach.  I wanted to hit something.  I wanted to scream.  I’d lost so many close friends over the past few days.  The pain I felt inside was maddening.  I then looked around to my other shipmates…the survivors.  I could see the pain in their eyes as well and it was at that moment I knew that seeing me grieve wasn’t the best thing for them right now.  I was their captain, and it was my job to see to their well-being first. 

I glanced over at the only survivor from Ricardo’s ship.  The young man had tears streaming down his face and I then realized that my loss was not nearly as great as his.  He’d just lost every man on his ship.

“What’s your name
, mate?” I asked him, hoping he spoke English.

“Macuya,” he replied, his accent thick and heavy. 

I put a firm hand on his shoulder in an effort to comfort him.  “Well, Macuya, I’d be honored if you joined my crew.  Although our losses are not as bad as yours, we’ve still lost a lot of men.  We could use another good sailor.  I know any man that sailed for Ricardo was indeed a good sailor.  He didn’t settle for anything less.”

Macuya looked down at Ricardo for a long moment and then began to wipe the tears from his eyes.  Finally, he looked up at me.

“He wanted me to survive so that I could tell you to take care of Jane.  He said he wanted you to look after his cats too.”

I grinned and shook my head.  “Leave it to Ricardo to think of those bloody cats as he’s dying,” I said, trying to stifle a chuckle. 

Macuya smiled for the first time.  “They were like children to him.”

“Aye, they were,” I agreed.  “We’ll look after them, and we’ll look after you, mate.
"  We stayed by Ricardo's side for a while, in silence.  Finally, I asked him, "Have you ever seen anything like that, Macuya?”

"Seen anything like what?" he asked.

"The kraken."

The young sailor turned his head and looked off into the vast ocean as if he were deep in thought.  "I have seen things like it," he replied.  "Beasts that will make you awaken from your dreams screaming and wet with sweat."

I did not ask him to elaborate.  Quite frankly, I didn't think I wanted to know.  I left Macuya with his fallen captain, and then gathered up the surviving members of my crew.  I climbed what was left of the quarter deck stairs and gazed upon the small group of men that were nearly all the family I had left. 

“Gentlemen, please know that the death of your shipmates was not in vain,” I said.  “There are no words I can say now to express my gratitude to each and every one of you.  Captain Trimble is dead and when the word spreads about what we—what YOU all did today…well, there’s not a pirate alive that will challenge us now mates!  We’ll return to New Providence, we’ll make repairs, and then we’ll return to the sea, where all of us belong.”

The men erupted in joyous applause.  The sea was exactly where they would always belong.

THE END