Prologue: The beginning. “Die!” the pirates screamed as their boat rammed into ours. Suddenly, they were all over the crew, swords swinging rapidly as our men screamed and groaned in pain. By the time some of us could draw our swords, the pirates had murdered most of our men. I pulled out my iron sword and faced by best friend, Glenn. He glanced at me and shouted for me to duck. I dropped to the deck and heard his sword pierce the skin of another person. I stand and turn around and see a pirates with his arm outstretched. I follow his sword with my eyes all the way into my friend’s stomach. “YOU *******!” I shout, rage overtaking me. I kick him in the chest, knocking him back. He nearly falls over the edge of the ship, but manages to throw his arms over the wooden rails, gripping on for dear life. He looks at me, a pleading, desperate look in his eyes. The anger that had just captured my heart loosened its iron grip just by the thought of letting this man die. I was only an explorer. Just a captain of a ship. I was not a warrior. I was not some sort of hero, murdering his enemies to avenge the important people in his life. I just wanted to go and discover something new to contribute to humanity. I grabbed his hands and began pulling him back on board. He kicks off the side of the ship and the momentum that he draws is enough to pull both him and me overboard. My feet hook onto the rails for a few seconds before our combined weight breaks the rail from the ship. I hear my crew mates’ screams of “Laurence!” as I fall off. I hit the water and barely manage to swim to the surface without running out of breath. I quickly scan the ocean for something to grab onto, as the boats were already sailing away and there was no land in sight in any direction. I see the rail that fell overboard when me and the pirate had wrestled and grab it. A hand grips my foot. I quickly begin kicking it back, aiming for where I assume the face of the attacker would be. “JUST DIE ALREADY!” I shout. Then he stabs my leg with the sword he had in his other hand. I cry out in pain and almost lose my grip on the rail. A large wave crashes into us both, and he releases me. The sword gets pulled out of my leg while the holder gets swept down. I let go of the rails and get pushed in god knows which direction. I ignore the searing pain in my thigh and kick my way back up to the surface again. I take a quick gasp for breath and grab onto the rails again. I see the pirate floating at the top of the water, his sword piercing his chest. He must have lost control of his own arm while being pushed around by the waves and stabbed himself on accident. I pass out from the wound in my leg, safely resting on top of the rails. Chapter 1: Awakening. I open my eyes and cough. I was wet, sandy, and confused. Why was I not in my comfortable bed in the captains’ quarters, being faintly rocked back and forth by the waves? I stand up and slowly check my surroundings. Below me were wooden rails. It all comes back to me then. The battle with the pirates, the personal fight that dropped me over the edge, and the large waves that saved my life by both killing the man I was fighting and bringing me to land. Behind me was the ocean. In front of me a desert, with a few cacti sticking out of the sand. Both places were equally dreadful to me. They were vast, empty, and mysterious. I pull out a glass bottle of rum in the hopes of a quick drink. Somebody from my crew put clean water inside of it. They always hated me when I drank. I decide to save that water for some other time that I get thirsty. I also have a piece of fabric in my pocket than instantly becomes a bandage in my mind. I decide that my best bet to survive is to try to find other people out here. “Hello?” I try to shout. My voice is quiet because of how dry it is. I cough in the hopes of cleaning my throat, but instead end up collapsing onto my knees in a fit of coughs. As soon as I stop, I hear a growl. “He-hello?” I say. My throat was clear. Instead it was the fear that softened my attempted scream. In return, I get another growl. I break off a piece of the rails that makes what looks like a very ill-constructed wooden sword, scared of whatever wild beast was stalking me. I scan where I think the growl is coming from, and I spot what looks like a torn apart building. It was made out of hardened sand and wood. I see some parts of the wall torn to the ground. I silently walk around the building until I find the entrance. In a hole in the wall I can see a man with blood staining his hands, side, and lower face. I drop my sword at the half broken doorway and come running to him, hoping to patch him up with the bandage that I have with me. “My god! Are you okay?” I ask while I sprint over to him. He turns to me, and I almost cry out. His eyes were blank, emotionless. The pupils were a pearly white color. His skin had turned a dull green and he was bent over the corpse of a woman who was clearly dead. The woman’s whole leg seemed to have been ripped to the bone in several spots. The man stands up from his feast and begins sprinting at me with remarkable speed. In a panic I turn around and run back to my sword. Only once I reach it do I realize that it was a futile attempt at protecting me. I could hear the footsteps and groans of the man behind me, and he wasn’t too far behind. I would never be able to bend over and manage to get a good slice in with the sword on time. I face the man and punch him in the face. His head is knocked back by the force, but he still reaches forward and grabs my shoulders. He brings me closer to him, and opens his mouth wide, exposing blood-covered teeth. I stand there in doing nothing, too shocked to think. I was going to die. It was a strange thought. What’s in the afterlife? I wasn’t ready to find out. I still had so much time to live. I try to struggle against the grip of the man, but his hands are firmly grasping me. I close my eyes as his mouth closes in on the closest target, my face. I feel blood dripping down onto my body as the man brings me to the floor with his weight.
So sing a lonely song/Of a deep blue dream/Seven horses seem to be on the mark/Yeah, don't you love her/Don't you love her as she's walkin' out the door.
“Die!” the pirates screamed as their boat rammed into ours. Suddenly, they were all over the crew, swords swinging rapidly as our men screamed and groaned in pain. By the time some of us could draw our swords, the pirates had murdered most of our men. I pulled out my iron sword and faced by best friend, Glenn. He glanced at me and shouted for me to duck. I dropped to the deck and heard his sword pierce the skin of another person. I stand and turn around and see a pirates with his arm outstretched. I follow his sword with my eyes all the way into my friend’s stomach.
“YOU *******!” I shout, rage overtaking me. I kick him in the chest, knocking him back. He nearly falls over the edge of the ship, but manages to throw his arms over the wooden rails, gripping on for dear life. He looks at me, a pleading, desperate look in his eyes. The anger that had just captured my heart loosened its iron grip just by the thought of letting this man die. I was only an explorer. Just a captain of a ship. I was not a warrior. I was not some sort of hero, murdering his enemies to avenge the important people in his life. I just wanted to go and discover something new to contribute to humanity.
I grabbed his hands and began pulling him back on board. He kicks off the side of the ship and the momentum that he draws is enough to pull both him and me overboard. My feet hook onto the rails for a few seconds before our combined weight breaks the rail from the ship. I hear my crew mates’ screams of “Laurence!” as I fall off. I hit the water and barely manage to swim to the surface without running out of breath. I quickly scan the ocean for something to grab onto, as the boats were already sailing away and there was no land in sight in any direction. I see the rail that fell overboard when me and the pirate had wrestled and grab it.
A hand grips my foot. I quickly begin kicking it back, aiming for where I assume the face of the attacker would be. “JUST DIE ALREADY!” I shout. Then he stabs my leg with the sword he had in his other hand. I cry out in pain and almost lose my grip on the rail. A large wave crashes into us both, and he releases me. The sword gets pulled out of my leg while the holder gets swept down. I let go of the rails and get pushed in god knows which direction. I ignore the searing pain in my thigh and kick my way back up to the surface again. I take a quick gasp for breath and grab onto the rails again. I see the pirate floating at the top of the water, his sword piercing his chest. He must have lost control of his own arm while being pushed around by the waves and stabbed himself on accident. I pass out from the wound in my leg, safely resting on top of the rails.
Chapter 1: Awakening. I open my eyes and cough. I was wet, sandy, and confused. Why was I not in my comfortable bed in the captains’ quarters, being faintly rocked back and forth by the waves? I stand up and slowly check my surroundings. Below me were wooden rails. It all comes back to me then. The battle with the pirates, the personal fight that dropped me over the edge, and the large waves that saved my life by both killing the man I was fighting and bringing me to land. Behind me was the ocean. In front of me a desert, with a few cacti sticking out of the sand. Both places were equally dreadful to me. They were vast, empty, and mysterious. I pull out a glass bottle of rum in the hopes of a quick drink. Somebody from my crew put clean water inside of it. They always hated me when I drank. I decide to save that water for some other time that I get thirsty. I also have a piece of fabric in my pocket than instantly becomes a bandage in my mind. I decide that my best bet to survive is to try to find other people out here.
“Hello?” I try to shout. My voice is quiet because of how dry it is. I cough in the hopes of cleaning my throat, but instead end up collapsing onto my knees in a fit of coughs. As soon as I stop, I hear a growl. “He-hello?” I say. My throat was clear. Instead it was the fear that softened my attempted scream. In return, I get another growl. I break off a piece of the rails that makes what looks like a very ill-constructed wooden sword, scared of whatever wild beast was stalking me.
I scan where I think the growl is coming from, and I spot what looks like a torn apart building. It was made out of hardened sand and wood. I see some parts of the wall torn to the ground. I silently walk around the building until I find the entrance. In a hole in the wall I can see a man with blood staining his hands, side, and lower face. I drop my sword at the half broken doorway and come running to him, hoping to patch him up with the bandage that I have with me. “My god! Are you okay?” I ask while I sprint over to him. He turns to me, and I almost cry out. His eyes were blank, emotionless. The pupils were a pearly white color. His skin had turned a dull green and he was bent over the corpse of a woman who was clearly dead. The woman’s whole leg seemed to have been ripped to the bone in several spots. The man stands up from his feast and begins sprinting at me with remarkable speed. In a panic I turn around and run back to my sword. Only once I reach it do I realize that it was a futile attempt at protecting me. I could hear the footsteps and groans of the man behind me, and he wasn’t too far behind. I would never be able to bend over and manage to get a good slice in with the sword on time.
I face the man and punch him in the face. His head is knocked back by the force, but he still reaches forward and grabs my shoulders. He brings me closer to him, and opens his mouth wide, exposing blood-covered teeth. I stand there in doing nothing, too shocked to think. I was going to die. It was a strange thought. What’s in the afterlife? I wasn’t ready to find out. I still had so much time to live. I try to struggle against the grip of the man, but his hands are firmly grasping me. I close my eyes as his mouth closes in on the closest target, my face. I feel blood dripping down onto my body as the man brings me to the floor with his weight.
So sing a lonely song/Of a deep blue dream/Seven horses seem to be on the mark/Yeah, don't you love her/Don't you love her as she's walkin' out the door.