The Shadow's Revenge

Chapter 1: The Shadow

“Captain Cole’s breath caught in his throat as he came face to bow with her. The Shadow. The storm that had been brewing around them had miraculously disappeared and they were left floating in the calmest waters the captain had ever seen. The look on the captain's face could only be described as reverent.

“‘We've found her,’ his words were breathless, his eyes never leaving the worn dark wood of the ship. He shook his head and seemed to come back to himself.

“‘All hands!’ he called to his crew. He grabbed his rapier and attached it to his belt before rushing down the steps of the quarterdeck to the main deck. His crew, all fifteen crewmen and six officers, were waiting for his order to board. The crews’ faces weren't quite as happy as their captain, but not a one of them would dare question his order. This crew had been on the sea searching for this ship for over a year.

“‘First wave, board the ship!’ he shouted, though the extra volume was unnecessary as there was naught a draft of wind, nor a trickle of rain. The air was still, the waves had ceased. Two of the officers and five of the crewmen readied their grappling hooks. The sight was one that Captain Cole had long since wished he would witness. The seven men, in sync, spun the hooks and simultaneously launched them over to the other ship, the hooks grabbing the railing.

“Collectively, the crew held their breath. When nothing happened, the captain called for the first wave to board the ship. Nervously and cautiously, the seven men used the ropes to swing onto the apparently abandoned ship. The first officer waved to the crew of the ship tied to The Shadow. Captain Cole followed his crewmen over to the deck of the cursed ship.

“‘No one has stood upon this deck for over a century,’ he announced and made his way below deck. The spaces below deck were empty as though no one had been there in centuries. The wood looked and smelled rotten, but when touched it didn't fall apart as one might think it would. Captain Cole spent a considerable amount of time just running his fingers along the grain of the blackened wood before ascending the stairs to the main deck. His crew, divided among The Shadow and his own ship, stood locked in place, mostly out of fear and superstition.

“‘Captain, perhaps we should leave her alone,’ his first mate remarked. ‘We've found her. We know the stories to be true now. Let us leave before we become part of the legend.’

“‘Nonsense, Mark, we've come this far. We’d be amiss if we'd leave now and not take her.’ Though the first mate was not keen to this plan, it was not his place to disobey his captain. Captain Cole walked up the steps to the quarter deck. The entire crew held their breath. Captain Cole's hand was outstretched towards the helm. The moment his fingers brushed the aged wood, the ship came to life. Black tendrils secured the captain’s wrists to the helm. The screeching of the wood and snapping of rope echoed in their ears as the rigging came for the crew. SNAP! SNAP! Like deadly snakes, the rigging snatched up the crew members.

The crew of his own ship were not spared either. The ropes grabbed them from the deck and pulled all twenty-one men of his crew high up into her rigging.

“Their horrendous screams cut off as the rigging tightened its hold around their necks. Their choking gasps and sound of limbs ripping as the rigging of The Shadow tore his men apart would be something that Captain Cole would hear repeating in his head for the rest of eternity.

“Finally the screams died down, but she wasn’t finished. The Shadow turned her ire on the captain. The same smoky tendrils that held him fast to the helm, now formed into ghostly black chains, binding his wrists and ankles to the ship itself. The last thing he saw was the black closing in upon him as a burning stole his sight.

“Captian Cole now roams the seas, captain of the cursed ship. No sight. No crew. Yet, always sailing.”

“Mama! Read it again,” I bounced on the soft bed, my pirate themed bedspread fluttering as I landed, as my mother closed the book. She smiled and handed me the large book. I ran my fingers over the embossed cover, tracing the shape of the ship much as the captain in the story ran his fingers along the rotted wood of The Shadow.

“Not tonight. Maybe another night. Goodnight, my love,” she kissed my head and walked out of my room, turning off the light. That was the last time I saw my mother or father.