By: Bryant R. Haake, Honors College, Presidential Honors Student, English Major
Cannons.
Jacob knew the sound of cannons firing off, but never before had he heard any so loud. The wall
beside him — opposite side from Georgiana, thank Neptune — was in splinters, the finely toned, smooth
wood now jagged and smoking. The cannonball itself had gone through the other side of the garden as
well, and they could both see where it had landed in the smoking bog a few feet past the outside wall.
Jacob and Georgiana sat in stunned silence for a moment before another deafening BOOM
erupted, shaking the house. Jacob didn’t feel another impact, but could hear one somewhere off down the
street.
“Jacob, what’s going on?” Georgiana asked with a shaky voice.
“Cannons,” he responded, deadpan. “We’re being fired on. Run.”
Jacob grabbed her hand to pull her up, and they both started running. They went back to the
dining hall but it was empty now. No signs of the three adults remained aside from their discarded dishes,
now broken on the floor. Jacob pushed down the panic at his missing Captain, but he knew the pirate was
resilient.
“We head back to the Forsaken. That’s where Captain Vexx would-”
Another explosion rocked the island, closer than the last one. The few times the Forsaken had
been fired on were some of Jacob’s most frightening memories, and even still these explosions felt much
stronger than anything he had felt those days.
Dust fell from the ceiling, covering the two in a fine layer as they ran. Jacob considered the fact
that, if the town was being subjected to cannon fire, the port may not be the best place to run to, but
considering the only alternative was the bog… he kept running.
They burst through the door, Jacob trying to stay just ahead of Georgiana. It was hard though,
since she was not only taller, but a bit stronger, too. The sky was red under the light of the blood moon,
making the fires and explosions around them glow with an otherworldly light. They rounded a building
and gained a clear view of the sea. At least a dozen ships, all bearing the dreaded Jolly Roger, sailed in a
line, barricading the island from help… or, more accurately, keeping anyone from escaping into the sea.
There was at least one cannon shot every ten seconds now as each of the ships alternated between
shots. The balls of iron flew through the sky like toxic pufferfish, poisoning the landscape with burning
scars and shredded buildings. The ship closest to the center of the lineup fired another shot, but suddenly
a torrent of water shot up, slowing it down. It still struck a building, but didn’t explode like the others,
having lost too much momentum and heat. Jacob could see a figure on the water’s edge, hands raised.
Light shone from his eyes like beacons, brighter than he’d ever seen before.
“Captain!” Jacob shouted over the chaos.
Captain Vexx did not hear him. Another cannon fired, and he reacted immediately, another plume
of water — much larger than the last — shooting up from the docks to intercept the cannonball. This time
it was completely successful, taking the ball into the sea with it. Jacob began to cheer before his Captain
dropped to one knee, holding one hand up, but shoving another into his side. The light had hidden it
before, dulling the special golden color, but it was clear now that Jacob saw it.
Blood.
He didn’t tell his feet to run. He didn’t tell his arms to grow tentacles. He didn’t know what he
was doing. All he knew was that his Captain was in danger. His Captain needed him. He ran, faster than
Georgiana, and skidded to a stop beside Captain Vexx, nearly two dozen tentacles at the ready. Another
cannon fired, but Jacob was ready.
We won’t let our Captain die.
The blazing ball of metal came into contact with the slimy, purple flesh of the tentacles, burning
through a few before finally stopping at one. Jacob gritted his teeth but called the injured ones back into
him and released the ball. Another one fired. Then another. He caught one after the other, tentacles
becoming smoked calamari in the process, but nonetheless they stopped. He screamed in pain, and only
then did he look down.
Georgiana was tending to a wound in Captain Vexx’s side. A shard of metal stuck out, stained
gold with blood. It was in deep, and every move the Captain made was pained and shot more blood onto
the ground, the wound squelching along with his winces. Suddenly his eyes, no longer glowing, shot up to
meet Jacob’s. For the first time in his life, despite everything he’d been through with his Captain, despite
the Captain’s forced smile, Jacob could see fear in his Captain’s eyes, and that scared him in turn.
It was a small distraction, but it was enough. Two cannons fired off at once, just missing the
remaining tentacles and sailing into the town. They exploded, sending shrapnel scattering into the streets.
People ran for cover, some into the ocean, others — braver than most — into the bog. Some just lay down
and accepted their fate.
“Jac… ob…” Captain Vexx stammered. “Jac… ob… Find… Mayor… Buckley.” He coughed,
sticky gold liquid splattering into his hand. He tried standing, leaning against Georgiana, but could barely
even get a foot under him. Jacob gasped in horror, seeing that it wasn’t a shard of metal sticking out of his
Captain’s side; it was a spear, the tip of it twisted in a skin-wrenching form of torture weapon.
“Who did this?”
“Doesn’t… matter,” Captain Vexx coughed. “Just… find… him.”
“No…” Jacob stammered. “NO! I won’t leave you alone, Captain!”
“That… is a direct… order, Jacob.” He shoved Georgiana off of him, wrenched out the spear and
used it to bring himself up to his feet. “My minutes are numbered. I… wish I was… better to you, and the
crew…”
“No, Captain, you’re not dying,” Jacob screamed. “You’re our Captain. You can’t die…”
Captain Vexx smiled warmly. “Jacob, my boy… Everyone dies. Just… don’t waste your time.”
He rummaged through his coat pocket and removed a small object wrapped in cloth. “You’ll know what
to do with this. Or not. I don’t know… either way, it is yours now. Now,” his gaze steeled, “you need to
go. Go with Georgiana. The crew will be okay, but you two won’t make it back. I’ll… do what I can for
the townsfolk.”
Jacob just shook his head in disbelief. Captain Vexx smiled one more time.
“You’re strong, Jacob, and you have a gift. Don’t… just, do what you enjoy. Don’t worry about
me. I’m okay. Now, go. That is an order.”
Jacob could feel tears forming, but didn’t let them out. “Aye aye, Captain. As you say.”
Jacob ran off, Georgiana following. He clenched the covered object in his hand and stuffed it into
his pocket. They ran through the town’s streets, avoiding cannonballs and burning buildings. More than a
few times a building fell in their path, forcing them to take a new route, but eventually they found Mayor
Buckley.
At least, they found the body.
The mayor was spread out on the ground, portly stomach stabbed through by a fallen, blazing
timber. Georgiana took a step forward, voice and body shaking.
“Dad?” She reached a hand out, but didn’t kneel to touch him.
Jacob wanted to hug her, or bring her dad back, or rewrite time, but he only had tentacles.
Nothing useful came from tentacles. He couldn’t save anyone like Captain Vexx. He couldn’t fight like
Heilyn. His gift wasn’t a gift at all. If it couldn’t protect the people he loved, then Heilyn was right. He
should’ve just learned how to use weapons, or how to manage a crew, or…
Jacob stared at Georgiana, and knew he still had someone left to save. At least one person he
could protect. The crew would be fine, but she was still alive.
“Georgie…”
Georgiana wiped tears from her face, mixing them into the soot and dust from the salty, smoking
air. She turned to Jacob, a new fire in her eyes.
“How do we kill those pirates?”
Jacob wanted to laugh, not because it was funny, but because it was insane. They were two
people. Even with his gift, they may not even make it past the first ship. He was sure that a pirate fleet
that large would have its own share of Goldbloods and Stonehearts, not to mention regular, nasty pirates.
But, something in Georgiana’s eyes made him think.
“We can’t,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “At least not tonight. We have to get out of here.”
“What, you’re just going to abandon your friends?” she yelled. “You’re just going to let them die?
They won’t survive this; no one will!”
Georgiana panted, anger flooding her gaze. Jacob wanted to give in, go with her on whatever
revenge plan she had brewing, but he had his orders.
“No. They will not die. Not while Captain Vexx still lives, and not while Heilyn still fights. I’m
sorry about your dad, but we can’t stay here. We need to go.”
She stared at him, right into his eyes. Instinctually, Jacob stared back. Usually he’d be
embarrassed to do so with her, but something felt different this time; somehow familiar, but also strange.
Eventually, Georgiana’s gaze softened and she looked away, cheeks red.
“Sorry… I- I didn’t mean that. I’m just-”
“I know,” Jacob interrupted her. “It’s different the first time you see someone…” he waved in the
mayor’s direction. “I can’t blame you. I feel it too, but we need to focus. Do you know anywhere we can
go to hide, or run away?”
Georgiana began pacing, but was startled from her thoughts by another explosion. They were
getting faster, destroying more and more of the town. Few buildings still stood against the onslaught, and
most of the remaining buildings were smaller than the homes. Jacob could see the last of the townsfolk
fleeing deeper into the bog, running to their deaths with no one to protect…
“Georgie, we need to go into the bog.”
“What?” Georgiana exclaimed. “But, we’ll die in there.”
“So will they,” Jacob said, motioning to the fleeing people. “They have no abilities, no strength,
no training, nothing. We need to do something.”
Georgiana stared at them as if she was seeing them for the first time. Her people, those she and
her father had presided over for so long.
“Yeah… yeah, okay. We do that.”
They both began to run, heading down the road at first but soon veering off onto the damp grass,
green becoming scarlet with the glare from the moon on the dew drops. Neither of them was dressed for a
trek into the bog, but they didn’t have much of a choice to change. The mud stuck to their shoes,
threatening to pull them off. Their pace dramatically slowed as they ungracefully dodged around trees,
roots, pools of murky water, and the occasional man-eating plant. The sounds of the impacting
cannonballs got quieter and quieter before suddenly stopping entirely.
Jacob glanced back at the beach and stopped. He tapped Georgiana on the shoulder and she
turned back, also staring in awe. Despite their distance, they should’ve still been able to see the ships, but
the only thing they saw was water.
A wall of water stood between the ruins of the town and the ships, flowing upwards like two
colliding waves, unmoving.
Captain… how?
No Goldblood or Stoneheart was more powerful than another. Sure, some gifts were more rare,
and some gifted with the abilities were more skilled with their gift, but none were more powerful than
another, only able to take down a small vessel with the right conditions. This, though, was something
Jacob knew had to be impossible, and yet his Captain was holding the whole portside hostage in his grasp,
water blocking any assault the attack pirates could still manage.
“Jacob, we need to go,” Georgiana said, tearing her gaze from the town. Jacob nodded, taking in
the view one last time before setting off again.
The two ran for another half an hour, deep into the bog. A few times Jacob thought he heard
people passing on their sides, but they were too far for him to see. Finally, after nearly a whole hour of
running, they emerged from the thick trees, nearly stumbling into a hulking figure before them.
“Hey, watch it ya’ dogs,” the figure said in a sadly familiar voice. She turned around, torn red
captain’s coat whipping with her sudden movement. At the sight of the two of them, Crimson glared.
“Well, if it isn’t Edmund’s brat and his little girlfriend. What are you two doing so far from the shore?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” Jacob retorted with red cheeks. “Doesn’t your crew need their
captain right now?”
“My crew isn’t mine anymore, knave,” she said, averting her eyes. “Those mutaneers are dead to
me. I’m gonna look for a new crew, someone who won’t desert me just ‘cause I couldn’t fend off that
rope slinger in that tavern.”
“You mean Heilyn?”
Crimson glared at Jacob. “Yeah, and I’ll kill that bilge-sucker some day, but right now I’ve got
bigger problems. So, if ye’ll kindly leave me to it, I’ll be on my way.”
Two blacktip shark fins grew from the sides of her forearms which she began using to slash her
way back the way Jacob and Georgiana had come from. She worked slowly, having to make paths that
could fit her much larger figure. As she stepped aside, the clearing behind her opened up, revealing a few
dozen people all standing around a shallow cave. Someone had started a fire, and a meal was already
started. The people looked ragged. Many had torn clothes and mud splattered shoes. Some didn’t even
have shoes. Jacob glanced back at Crimson, seeing she hadn’t made it much further.
She’ll kill Heilyn, someone said. Better kill her now, while her back is turned.
Jacob looked around for who had spoken, but no one was paying much attention to the duo. He
kept hearing that voice, the same voice, over and over again. He remembered Captain Vexx teaching him
about the human mind. He had mentioned something called intrusive thoughts, where your mind gave you
random ideas that you’d never actually do.
“Must be those intrusive thoughts,” he muttered.
“What was that, Jacob?” Georgiana asked.
“Nothing, Georgie,” Jacob said. “”I’m fine. What now?”
She shrugged. “This was your idea. What do you think we do now?”
Jacob looked around the small camp. Most of the weaker people had been laid in the cave:
children, the elderly, anyone injured. A man Jacob pegged as the town’s alchemist was tending to the
wounded, but most still looked pretty helpless.
“Do you think there’s enough plants around here for some healing ointments?”
Georgiana surveyed the environment. Jacob could see her eyes moving, quickly taking in the
various types of flora in the area. He could pick out a few simple things — poison ivy, moss, yew trees,
cranberries — but most of it was alien to him. As he looked around, Georgiana began to move, walking
around the small clearing and picking out various plants. Jacob followed at a distance, trying to decipher
what she was picking out, but unable to do so aside from the few basic things she picked up.
As she finished, she turned back to him, arms full of many different mosses, berries, leaves and
sprigs. A few insects crawled around her arms, but she didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she didn’t care.
“Okay, I just need a bowl now. Come on.” She walked into the cave, dumping the materials on
the ground just inside and dusting off her arms. She walked over to the alchemist and tapped him on the
shoulder. “Sergi, I need your help.”
The alchemist — Sergi — glanced over his shoulder, eyes lighting up. “Ah, my favorite prodigy!
How can I help you, Gigi?”
Jacob saw her shiver at the nickname, but continued. “I need a bowl to combine some things for a
healing ointment. Do you have anything with you?”
Sergi stood up and stretched, rubbing the back of his neck. He was short and stout, smaller even
than Jacob. His clothes were stained with mud and chemicals, and singed along the hems, especially
around the cuffs of his shirt.
“Sadly not,” he said, stretching his arm to the right. “Most of my equipment is still back in the
town, and I imagine most of it was destroyed by those damnable pirates… no offense,” he finished with a
glance at Jacob.
“None taken,” Jacob responded. “Though, those of us with the Company prefer the term
privateer. It makes sure we’re not confused with those barbarians.”
“Privateer it is then, youngin’. As for your bowl, Gigi,” he looked past her to the bog, “you might
be able to find something in the forest. I know I taught you to carve, at least a little, right?”
Georgiana nodded and took a small knife from her dress’ pocket, which Jacob could tell she had
sewed on herself. She flipped the knife in her hand and returned it to the pocket.
“Have you all seen any basilisks yet?” she asked.
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time, I suppose.” Sergi’s gaze returned to the two teens in front
of him. “Say, I don’t suppose your father made it, did he?”
Georgiana hung her head and began fidgeting with the fabric of her dress. Jacob looked solemnly
from her to Sergi.
“He… didn’t make it, sir.”
“Ah…” Sergi’s eyes welled up a bit. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Gigi. He will be missed… by
all of us. Are you doing okay?”
“I’m fine!” she snapped, head springing up. Her gaze became softer and she hung her head again.
“Sorry, I… I’m sorry.”
Sergi carefully reached up to lay a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I get it. I remember my own
father’s funeral. It isn’t a happy memory, but we must remember that they’re both in a better place,
swimming in the Great River.”
Jacob could see anger on Georgiana’s face, but she was holding back.
“Thank you, Sergi. I’ll go find some wood for a bowl now. Bye.”
Sergi nodded and went back to tending to the wounded. Jacob could see a single roll of gauze
sitting in front of him. Some of it was wrapped around the arm of a small child, and he could see a few
others around the room who had some of it, as well.
Jacob turned and began to follow Georgiana, but was stopped by a hand around his wrist. Sergi
was pulling him back.
“Boyo, you’re gonna need something here if you two run into basilisks out there.” He pulled a
vial of blue liquid from his apron. “This here is an elixir meant to increase your courage. It was the only
thing I was able to grab from my shop back in town, aside from a roll of gauze and some basic burn
ointment, that is. There’s enough for two people, but it’ll only last ten minutes, so use it wisely.”
Jacob took the vial and pocketed it, feeling it clink against the small, cloth-wrapped object his
Captain had given him. “Thank you, sir. I’m sure it’ll come to good use.”
Jacob ran after Georgiana, who was waiting for him at the edge of the small camp. “What was
that about?” she asked.
“Something to help with Basilisk Fear,” Jacob answered, showing her the vial. “Let’s go.”