The haunting ghost ship flew up from the waters tearing it and sending it splattering down onto the deck. I knew that cursed ship, I could tell it was it from anywhere. And it was strange because I had never seen it before, but I could feel it in my stomach twisting and turning. It was the Flying Dutchman and I grabbed my sword fearing for my life. I was going to die here.

Chapter Two
Press Ganged

As the water drained off the ship I quickly thought of anything I could do. Stow away deep in the ship perhaps and hide? No! A coward’s way to escape death! And besides I’d be stuck out here with little supplies… And being stuck in the vast ocean means little chance of anyone finding me. So I guess I would have to face it, the horrible fate ahead of me.

And almost as if it were on cue I heard strange noises as figures merged from the side of the ship. It was like pulling something sticky from something that was sticky. My hand instantly gripped the blade with such force, as the emerging figures became monsters before me. Covered in seaweed, barnacles, various amounts of life, but that was my littlest concern. The bigger one was that they were looking right at me.

One man or monster whom’s head looked like a hammerhead rushed at me holding a barnacle covered metal axe. My blade clanged against his as he pushed me fathered back. As I bared my teeth I took a aching leg and kicked under his own sending him down into the deck. But another was upon me this one covered mainly in seaweed as he lifted his sword against my own. In fact he was very strong that my back hit the railing. With a flick of my wrist my blade impeded against his own movements but I saw an opening.

Taking my sword and slashing out left to right his came from his right to slash me. But I lifted from lower right to the left clanging against his and then… With my strength the blade cut through his face as he fell back growling in an inhuman voice. Panting I saw them crowd me gleaming with ominous delight as furrowed my brows. I never thought I die like this… In fact I never thought I would see this damned ship.

“ Give up lad, you can’t win.” The man with the hammerhead shark head said his pointed teething spewing malicious intent.

“ I’d rather die trying!” I snarled back my wild side coming out as it usually did in battle. With that and a roar of rage I slashed out at the nearest monster, but the ones to my other side grabbed my arms. I tried to slash them but the others caught the arm holding my sword and with a very painful hit… It fell out of my hands. With a large crash they pushed my body back against the railing and I felt my arms being crushed. Snarling I tried to brake free flinging myself wildly about but no avail.

“You were saying.” I looked at him as he held my arms my cold blue eyes glaring at him with resentment. It took three of them to hold me in place but I struggled still. Damn it! Damn it! This was not supposed to happen! We were supposed to be destroying pirates not being destroyed ourselves! My body quit struggling as I breathed in and out trying to get back all the oxygen I lost. Why? Why did it always turn out bad for me? Why did I have to suffer?

“ We can’t find anymore survivors!” A man whose face resembled a puffer fish cried out. The man Maccus frowned and then shoved me hard against the side but I let out nothing.

“ All there is… Is this scrap!” They chuckled as I lifted my lower head glaring under brown bangs. “ He’s not even worth it!”

“ Aye just kill the boy maccus!” A man whose body had been disfigured into a rockfish called out his fanged grin smirking back. “ The captain won’t even care! It’s not like the boy could make it.”

“ We’ll just say there weren’t any survivors…” Maccus said coldly and he grabbed my hair pulling my head forward. Though I couldn’t see it I knew the axe hung grimly over my head waiting… just waiting to be called upon and tear my head from my body. I felt his arm shift as I close my eyes just waiting for it to be over… Mom… Dad… I’ll be there soon.

THUD. My heart leapt up into my throat wondering if I had just died. But no, I was still here on the same wrecked deck of the Bold Front. The crew however stopped laughing and chattering hearing the same noise. I tried to look up but Maccus shoved my head down it felt like he would rip my hair out. THUD. There was a light thud after it and then another loud thud as it came closer and closer.

“ Did I give orders tae kill all survivors? Even if it was just one-uh?” The voice asked with a cold unforgiving tone. The voice had a Scottish accent to it and was very strong not wavering in any slight. It was obvious by hearing this man was the captain.

“ No sir.” Maccus grunted keeping a firm barnacle covered hand on my head though. The foot steps stopped right in front of me and I looked at them, his left foot was a sea ridden boot the other what appeared to be a crab leg of some sorts… But I knew from the story my mother use to tell, that its captain was cursed.

“ Hmmm…” The Scottish voice droned before me in a taunting manor. With a yank of a hand my head was forcefully pulled up I growled in response. But my eyes widened at the pair of beautiful blue eyes looking back at me. In fact I couldn’t breath a moment as they gleamed back at me but as my eyes drifted farther… The rest of him was so much different.

His face was worn and weathered with scars and lines showing his many years among this world. A beard of tentacles flourished from his face slowly squirming like they had minds of their own. The face before me was disfigured and changed but there was still a man there that I could see. A siphon took the place of a nose on the left side of his face. He wore a smirk looking at me as I gaped a bit at him… How could I not? His left arm was a large crab claw slowly opening in consideration if it was needed and his right was normal except his pointer finger was a long curling tentacle. A large coat was worn across his broad shoulders the edges torn and tattered, along with a hat upon his head that made him look even more like the devil.

“ A small thing-uh.” The man mocked looking at me as I closed my partially open jaw and glared back at him. They had no idea that in fact it was a woman they were dealing with… But that wouldn’t help the situation either would it? “ How much work could a lad like ye do?”

“ I’ve done a lot of work sir.” I mocked back at him my scowl plastered on my face. “ I’m not some sniveling wimp who makes themselves live upon idiotic excuses…” His smirk faded a light and in return he scowled back at me as well. “ I do not care if you kill me… I’m not afraid of you…”

“ Ah ye are a brave lad so I’ll give ye my offer…” His cold harsh eyes looked down at me and for a moment. “ Join my crew and serve one hundred years-uh… Escape your judgment, escape all the transgressions ye have committed…” My eyes widened a bit as my mind reeled back through all the pirates I had killed. All the men begging for mercy to find none as I tore them apart, left nothing but bodies to be thrown over board… “ Well ye serve-uh?”

“ I serve no one but myself.” I hissed back at him the pair of blue eyes examining me closely. In fact I didn’t like the way he looked at me, it made my insides foam up and confused my thoughts. “ Because I can’t trust anyone one else!” His eyes shimmered a moment in deep thought and it made my snarl stop a moment… What was he thinking? But it faded as they masked themselves again.

“ Take this boy back and throw him in the brig-uh!” The octopus-faced captain bellowed erecting himself back up. Maccus ripped my head up as I was pulled to my feet and forced forward.

“ I never agreed to anything sir!” I spat out trying to yank myself away but my energy was depleted. He glanced back at me that devilish smirk on his face.

“ Aye but ye will-uh.” He ominously said his beard of tentacles swaying with him as he turned away. Snarling and wriggling I tried to brake free. Maccus grunted but then with a swift thrust of his arm I felt a bolt of pain. His fist dug into my stomach as I gasped my eyes widening. I dropped to the deck vomiting a little as I dug my fingers into the deck. Why? Why the hell does this happen to me? The shark man grabbed the back of my coat and dragged me along where to I didn’t know. My vision was blurry and my sense numbing the last thing I saw was him heading right to the mast of the ship.

“ Get in there whelp!” I was thrown from his grasp onto the cruel and unforgiving floor. Getting to my knees took quite a bit of effort but I glared up at the monster before me and bared my teeth. He left though mocking my pain and I slumped onto the floor breathing slowly. Looking around at my where abouts was a metal barnacle encrusted cage. My hands gripped the cold bars pulling myself up but I actually looked at my hands. They were worn rugged you probably wouldn’t be able to tell they were once a pair of pampered soft girl hands.

Sighing I sat down on the chair placed inside and ran my hand through my hair again. How was I going to get out of this one? I could tell I was in the belly of the ship; there was no one else here except for the few scuttling creatures that scurried along the wall. My eyes drifted about as my mind whirred in outrage and anger… Pirates… Bloody pirates… My hands tightened into fists as my rage increased. How I hated them!

“ Have ye been reconsidered my offer?” A voice hissed in the darkness as a face appeared before me. It surprised me and I flinched a little but scowled seeing it was him. He stood on the other side of the prison smirking at me with those cold deadly eyes… His eyes were a glow burning with evil pleasure but as cool as ice. My eyes, the deep blue they once were was brighter like ice… so cold and alone. It was like I was seeing my own eyes…

“ Not really.” He glowered at me but with a quick motion his crab claw grasped my neck draining the air from me. My hands scratched uselessly at his claw but his grip only tightened at he continued to glare at me with most distaste.

“ I could just kill ye whelp… Ye are nothing!”

“ Then just do it… In fact I want to die! Just kill me!” I shouted letting go of his claw and allowing the pressure to continue there was nothing I could do. Just kill me… I’m nothing… Always have… Always will… I couldn’t even save my own parents!

“ Nigh, I don’t think I’ll let ye off so easily…” He purred maliciously as he violently pulled back his claw cutting my neck. A hand went up to stop the now leaking blood but Jones reached out his right hand grabbing my right. I gasped feeling the icy touch of his hand as it gripped mine. The tentacle finger of his snaked up my arm while his fingers crawled in my palm. With a slight jerk he pulled back his tentacle making a suction noise as I looked at my slime cover hand. It wasn’t the slime that startled me but the strange black spot that appeared in my palm.

“ What? What did you do?”

“ Whether you like it or not, Welcome to the crew-uh!” He laughed at me a wicked laugh as I curled my fingers over my palm. “ What’s yer name lad-uh?”

“ My name is D- Ballston… Edwin Ballston…” I replied holding my hand but I had almost said my real name, which would have been bad. He didn’t seam to really notice that detail but I couldn’t read his mind.

“ Mr. Ballston I’m yer new captain Davy Jones-uh. Yell start working tomorrow, enjoy yer one hundred year stay-uh!” He snickered at me turning to leave as I grabbed the bars glaring at his backside.

“ You’re not my captain and you never will be!” I hissed holding the bars so tight they cut my palms a bit.

“ Well see about that boy-uh…” And with those last few words Jones disappeared up the stairs and I listened until the sound of his crab leg hitting the deck was gone. My body slumped back into the chair as I closed my eyes. I wish this were just a dream; I wanted this just to be a bad dream… But it wasn’t. My eyes opened again wondering thinking trying to come up with anything I could do to get out of here. Was this karma for all the men I killed? Was I going to be stuck on this Hell boat for all the sins I’ve committed…

But I was the one wronged! My parents, my home, my life, they were taken away from me! Why do I have to suffer? Because I wanted revenge? Against all pirates and their filthy barbaric ways… Why didn’t this Jones kill me? I was just a whelp young, wild, and he forced me into his crew. My mind whirled in thought trying to comprehend his actions but I could make no answer.

My stomach was sore, my ankles from the harsh treatment they got, and my head, which was throbbing even now. I would figure out a way… I would and then I would get away from this cursed ship… They couldn’t press gang me here, I’m not some one to deal with so lightly. I let out a deep breath of air as I leaned back against the damp sea life covered walls of the cage.

“ You’ll see Jones you’ll see… Not to mess with Dawn Leavold!”