A ship stood majestically upon the sea, whilst we were mere specks—like ants that, even if run over, would go unnoticed. "Whose ship is that?!" one of the crew members from the Jolly Roger shouted, his finger pointing at the colossal vessel.
The ship's captain, Captain James Hook, walked towards us, tucking the heart of the ocean into his red jacket. "Come on, everyone, let's have a look! And be careful in case any of the crew members attack you!" he ordered before running off, closely followed by the crew behind him. Robin and I exchanged glances before running after them—what a reckless thing to do! We could have just watched from a distance, after all.
I ran until I was alongside Captain Hook. "Is that the Flying Dutchman?" I asked to confirm, as Mother hadn't told me what the ship looked like—she'd only said it liked to sink other ships; I studied Captain Hook's face and from his expression I'd got enough of an answer.
"Most likely, lad."
"Well then we'd better be careful! Don't go checking it out up close like this!"
"Why are you panicking? You're the right-hand man of the greatest woman I've ever known, and the strongest too–I'm sure you can handle it if we find ourselves in a life-threatening situation!"
Hearing that instantly made my shoulders feel heavy; I deeply regretted boasting about my abilities to him—I should have just played it more passive. My hands clenched tightly and my brows furrowed—there was no turning back now; they'd thrown their expectations right in my face. "BLOODY HELL!!!"—I shouted, full of frustration and annoyance, and without realising it, that made my feet move faster, leaving Captain Hook behind. "I WANT TO GET THIS MISSION OVER AND DONE WITH AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!"
"Oh? Alice's really raring to go! Come on, everyone else, don't let her outdo you!" cheered Captain Hook, and that made almost the entire crew shout and pick up the pace of their run. Robin, who was behind me, knew full well that I wasn't in the mood, and instead of helping me, he just laughed with amusement.
We passed row upon row of coconut trees, which, as time went on, began to make me feel queasy; at least on the mainland I wouldn't end up throwing up—and that was one of the things that made me want to stay on this island a bit longer. After quite a while, my feet finally stopped. I looked up and took in just how huge this ship was; it could probably hold hundreds of people at once, as well as some livestock. "Looks like there'll be a proper flood," I muttered, and the sound of footsteps following me from behind began to fade away slowly.
My eyes were instantly drawn to something fluttering in the breeze. "There's a ladder…" Liz said before walking over and stopping right beside me; she glanced at me and, judging by her expression, was waiting for me to come up with a suggestion as usual, but I was too tired of everyone relying on me. I turned round and my blue eyes met Robin's dark ones as he folded his arms; I furrowed my brow and put on a pleading face.
Robin quickly picked up on the signal. "Captain," he called, instantly drawing the attention not only of the captain but of several other crew members as well. "Let's go up and check it out. If we're ambushed, I'll clear a path for you lot." That was the very scenario I'd been hoping to avoid, but at least I wouldn't be the one they'd come after if the situation turned dangerous.
"All right," he said, turning and pointing at one of the crew members with light brown hair. "You, go up first," he ordered, and as usual, left no room for argument. The man swallowed hard before walking awkwardly towards the ladder; both his hands and feet were trembling as he began to climb.
Everyone began climbing in order, including me, who climbed up right at the very end, followed by Liz and Robin behind me, and Captain Hook was the last to set foot on this ship. I looked around and everything was much bigger than I'd imagined, yet on this huge ship—there wasn't a single other person apart from the Jolly Roger's crew; that was strange. So who had been steering the ship to allow it to dock at the island earlier?
"Huh?! What on earth is going on?"
"You've felt it too, haven't you?!"
"Another earthquake?"
"No, no, this isn't like an earthquake!"
Everyone was panicking as the ship began to sway wildly. I walked over to the side of the ship and my jaw immediately dropped—I couldn't believe what I was seeing; the ship wasn't floating on the sea but in the air. "Everyone! We're—" Just as I tried to get everyone's attention, the ship had already shot high into the sky, causing everyone to scream in fear. "We're flying!" I announced, making everyone even more panicked than before.
"Alice! Robin!" the captain shouted, calling me over, urging me to find a solution to this problem—even though it had been Robin who'd said he'd find a way out if we got into trouble, he now looked completely at a loss.
"Alice! Tinkie!" My name was called out again, along with the fairy who was asleep in my pocket; hearing her name called made her fly out straight away, bewildered by the situation. She asked in a tinkling voice, but I was at a loss as to how to explain it to her.
"Use Everafter and Pixie dust to get us off this ship!" I looked at the man on board; if we split the effort, it might be enough using both our powers. But as I took out my card, my ears caught the sound of creaking wood—I turned and found a figure standing at the bow.
"As if I'd let you lot get away with it," the deep, grating voice came from the man standing ramrod straight before taking a step forward to approach us as we stood on his deck; the closer he got, the more I could feel an intense and all-too-familiar pressure. "You've succeeded after all, Hook," my heart skipped a beat—did that man know Captain Hook?
My eyes glanced over and I saw Captain Hook—his black pupils had narrowed, his pale skin glistening with sweat and trembling—he quickly dropped to his knees and placed his fists on the wooden deck. With gasping breaths, he finally managed to speak, though his voice trembled with fear, "Captain… Davy Jones, 'The Hanged Man'," he said, and that immediately caught me off guard.
"The Hanged Man"? It sounded like a Tarot card—I wondered before receiving an answer—no wonder this pressure felt so familiar; I'd felt something similar before, though far stronger than this—A hand rested on my shoulder; it was none other than Robin, who was sensing the same thing as me. "Alice, he's..." He didn't need to say it; I nodded immediately, understanding what he was trying to say.
"Captain, who is he?"
"Idiots, get down on your knees, all of you!"
Hearing this, they were bewildered but obeyed nonetheless, kneeling just like their captain; everyone was now forced to pay their respects to a man they didn't even know. "Seems not everyone has," muttered the man; his face was still unclear from here—but one thing was certain: he was turning towards Robin and me, who were still standing tall and didn't look as though we intended to bow our heads.
"Alice, Robin! Bow your heads!" Captain Hook even shouted, but that wasn't enough to shake us—we'd already been made fools of by his mate once, and we weren't about to let it happen again. "Do you want to die, then?!"
"Alice Lindsey and Robin Loxley, yes," the man said as he slowly made his way down the stairs. He approached us all, and it was only then that I could make out his face—it was truly hideous, as if it had been doused in boiling water, with patches of skin flaking off; his complexion was a pale bluish colour. "I've heard about you from Lord Death."
"I hope he spoke well of me, you ugly thing," I retorted, and that startled them all except Jones, who didn't flinch in the slightest—I said that because it was exactly what Red would have said at that moment. "So what's the deal? Do you want to destroy us, just like that ghost who has no consistent form?"
'The fact that you're still alive means you're not weak—I thought you'd got a "Bad Ending", but if that were the case, you'd be wearing it right now,' he said before rolling up his tattered sleeves. There was something that really bothered me about what he'd said—what did he mean by "wearing a Bad Ending"? I'd never heard anyone say that before.
"What do you mean?" I demanded an answer, and that made his eyebrows shoot up; he seemed quite surprised to see that I didn't understand what he was saying. "A 'Bad Ending'? What sort of nonsense is that?"
"So you don't know," he muttered before raising his cold hand; slowly, his hand became as hideous as his face—but that wasn't all; fish scales also began to appear, covering his hand and arm. He walked over to one of the Jolly Roger crew members and touched his shoulder. "This is what's called a 'Bad Ending'."
Instantly, the crew member who'd been touched collapsed to the floor, writhing in agony. He scratched all over his body only to discover that it was already beginning to be covered in scales—the horrifying sight truly sent shivers down my spine, and by the end of it, the man had calmed down again. "Jim!" another man called out his name, but the hapless man had already been cursed; he stood up and dragged himself to a standing position behind Jones, whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest.
"You… cursed him?!"
"Yes, that's the ability of my 'Bad Ending'"
"Explain to me what a 'Bad Ending' is!"
"One question per day," Jones turned and walked away, followed by Jim—who was no longer an ordinary man; he had become a fish-man who would obey every command given by Jones. "And Hook, take them both to prison."
Robin and I immediately turned to see Captain Hook, who had lowered his head as if afraid to meet our gaze; he walked closer without uttering a single word. "Captain! Don't do this!" Robin and I shouted—was I about to be betrayed by the very man who always put traitors to death? Or was I now considered a traitor myself?
But that question was answered immediately when Captain Hook whispered amongst us. "Just go along with it for now, lad," before landing a hard blow to our stomachs, sending us flying backwards until our bodies crashed to the floor.
"Alice! Robin!" Liz's faint voice could be heard screaming in fear. I wasn't going to die because I still hadn't met Red again; I still hadn't taught her a lesson for just walking away and leaving me like this.
And also… I didn't want to die before getting them out of here.