Pirate Chips: A Buccaneer's Curse

Day Two: Walk the Plank

Even though my soul was as stake for all eternity, I would have rather been cursed than share the sea with the Concord Carlisle. The main difference between the Bedford Blue and this ship was that The Bedford Blue did not look evil—it just had a spell put on it by evil. The Concord Carlisle, on the other hook, was a colossal piece of wood just as long as the Bedford Blue, but much wider, with skeletons of its past crew-members and slaves tied to its bow.  The Concord Carlisle had not always been a slave trip, but once its Captain, Lexington West, realized that no one wanted to sail with him, he began to take captives to help him plunder. This was one of the darkest sides of the Pirate Code: When your ship is captured and your new Captain decides to take you with its treasure, you either surrender and sail with him as your slave, or you told to walk the plank. If you had a more forgiving Captain, that is.  

                   I managed to escape the Concord Carlisle before Lexington got good at what he was doing. I was the last of his crew to be un-slaved, so I owe nothing to him anymore. Besides, Lexington and I always knew the Concord Carlisle could only have one Captain. It might be that idea that makes him still try and duel me every time he sees me: the idea that if there were ever to be another Captain of the Concord Carlisle, it would be me.

                   I was careful to steer away from his ship as soon as I spotted the six masts and tattered, maroon flag. Even at night, I could recognize the maroon bridges it was decorated with. It had a bridge on its flag because a bridge was where its Revolutionary War had begun. I think the ship wanted everyone to know ordinary civilians—famers and pirates, had started that war, and remind them that it could easily happen again.

                  I set my course opposite what the Concord Carlisle appeared to be heading on and held my breath, to see how it would respond. After about ten minutes, as I was on the edge of pulling out of sight, I noticed its massive flag catching the wind from a different direction. It was going to try and catch me. “Too bad my ship is faster,” I muttered under my breath. “Alright, Bedford,” I called to no one except the spirits who had apparently stowed away on board. “Time to show me the rumors are true.”

                  I checked behind me to find the Concord Carlisle had oriented itself to intercept me from the side—the perfect angle to use all 40 of its starboard cannons. But if you remember from before, the first thing a ship loses to sail faster are its cannons, and if the Carlisle had a chance at taking me, the most I’d be fighting with was ten.

                  “Ten is still a lot.” I licked my lips and ran to change my sails. The tapestries beat heavily against the air as I swung the ropes to shift their angles. “Come on, we need more power!” I shouted around the boat. And just as the Bedford Blue had kept me from subsiding during the wicked storm, it was as if she was responding to me now. The Bedford’s sails swung to the perfect angle to catch what little wind there was, and she started to glide through the waves like she was crafted by an underwater sea lord himself. Although if the curse were any indication of The Bedford’s connection to sea magic, the latter idea was more than plausible.

                  I hopped back towards the rear of the ship and put my hands back on the steering wheel. I looked out of my periscope to spot for more trouble, while the ship steered herself away from the Concord. But then I heard the jarring sound of chains sliding against wood, followed by a loud clank, like the sound of an anchor pulling against rocks.

                  “Hold on…” I said, because the last time I checked, the anchor was secure. But before I could check for myself,  the ship had turned on its side by 90 degrees, and it anchor remained steadfast on the rocky bottom. It was lucky that we were shallow enough for the anchor to hold—an island must have been closer than I realized. Or this ship is magic, the voice in the back of my mind reminded me.