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WARNING: The following chapter is extremely intense and quite graphic, and gruesome. Read with caution. It may disturb some readers, and I don't want that to happen. If you do not wish to read it, PM me and I can summarize it for you. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! I am not responsible for any emotional harm that may come to you. Ye have been warned!
Its quite lengthy... enjoy!
Chapter 28: Shadows Rising
Port Royal was in view. It was close to midnight now. The island would not be expecting them. With the voodoo enhanced speed of the skeleton ships, Fort Charles, the Navy fort on Port Royal, was soon only a mile ahead of them. It was a perfect night for an invasion. It was foggy with a full overcast. It had even begun to rain, and once the skeleton ships came into port, chances are that it would become a full on thunderstorm.
Billy turned toward the skeleton sailor of the ship that he was on. In life, the ship was a naval vessel named The Conqueror. When it had been raised, it was renamed Death Omen. The ship was the most powerful ship in the undead fleet, second to The Harkaway.
“Turn the ship so that the starboard broadside is facing Fort Charles,” Billy said coolly. “The fog should cover us up. Chances are that they will think that our ship is just an incoming thunderstorm, with the lightning around our ship. By the time they realize who we are, the fort will already be under fire.”
“Yes Captain Fireskull,” the skeleton replied.
Billy thundered some orders, yelling to the skeletons to get to their battle stations. They obeyed, as Billy predicted. Never did a skeleton exist that disobeyed its master. After a few minutes, the Death Omen was in place, five other ships with their broadsides facing Fort Charles. The guns were loaded.
“Wait for the fog to clear,” Billy ordered. “I want them to see us before we fire. So that they will have that last moment of fear before they are destroyed.”
They waited a minute, and then they got what they wanted. A sea breeze blew in, blowing away the fog. The fort became plainly visible.
“FIRE!!!” Billy commanded, yelling it so loud that the whole ship could hear. A second passed, and then the cannons fired. Spectral fury cannonballs flew toward the fort at high speeds. They flew above the water, and finally hit their target. The cannonballs, being charged with the darkest voodoo, took out huge areas of the fort. Billy watched as more cannonballs slammed into the fort. Stone flew outward, as did the bodies of men. Soon, the walls of the fort were destroyed, and the ships open fired on the interior. Everything was going according to plan. Fort Charles was almost destroyed, and they had barely been able to fire a cannon in defense.
More cannonballs flew, smashing the fort apart. Billy watched as the fort, once so majestic, was torn to shreds. After just a few more minutes, the fort was reduced to nothing more than a few stone walls, an interior that was ruined, and burning training grounds.
“Good job,” Billy said. “Now lets move in for the attack on the island. There will be almost nobody left defending the island now. Port Royal will have been conquered by sunrise.”
The ship was sailed closer to the ruin of Fort Charles, and a plank was dropped. Skeletons crossed it into the fort. From there, they would exit it and enter the island, beginning the raid. A few Navy soldiers still lived, but they were killed quickly and mercilessly. The skeletons all waited in a group for their leader. Billy walked up to the front of them. He drew his two Grave Reapers, and spoke.
“Alright you boneheads! Let’s get this done fast! I want this island razed by sunrise! Follow me! Once we get into the town, disperse. Leave nobody alive. Kill Navy, pirates, and if a civilian gets in your way, murder them as well!”
The skeletons all gave a heart “Aye, aye!” and then they moved. Billy jogged with his two swords drawn, skeletons following him close behind. They soon reached the ruined gates of the fort. They had to climb over a pile of rubble to get over the once tall and majestic gates, but it was now destroyed.
Finally, they arrived on the outside of the fort. They were right next to the dock. Skeleton ships had anchored in the dock, and were open firing on the buildings. What was once a wharf had been reduced to splinters. Skeletons walked out of the sea, onto the beach. Several Navy soldiers stood guard, but they were outnumbered significantly. They were killed quickly.
“Find your own targets troops! Destroy them all!” Billy thundered. With that, he ran across from the ruins of the gates, and into the town.
The town was in complete chaos. Innocent people ran screaming, trying to hide, only to be slaughtered by skeletons. A building exploded from a cannonball impact. A group of Navy soldiers fought for their lives in a losing battle with skeletons. Men, women, and children were murdered ruthlessly by the undead. Children ran screaming for their mothers, but Billy took no notice. On the other side of the town’s plaza was a bridge that lead to the other side of the town. The bridge was being assaulted by skeletons, but they were being beaten back. Billy ran over to it, cutting down several Navy soldiers along the way. When he was able to get a good look, he saw that there was a group of five people, all wielding swords, that was holding off the skeletons. They were master sword fighters, and even though they were significantly outnumbered, they stood strong.
Billy couldn’t help but admire them for that, but they had to die anyway. He charged them, jumping over a group of skeletons. He spun in the air on his side, bringing his two Grave Reapers down onto one man. He man cried out in pan, and went down. Another man beside him gasped in shock, only to have Billy run him through the stomach.
Pirates, Billy thought to himself. Two of the remaining three men attacked Billy from two sides. Billy was able to block them both, one with each Grave Reaper. He grunted with the effort. The two were incredibly strong. Billy gave one last heave of effort, and pushed them both aside. One went flying into the group of skeletons. He screamed as the undead closed in upon him, and was silenced. The other went tumbling down the stairs on the bridge, and landed belly up at the base. Billy did a leap in the air, and brought both of his blades into the man on his way down.
“Four down, one to go…” Billy muttered. He ran back up the stairs, onto the main part of the bridge. By now, the thunderstorm had set in, and it was beginning to rain heavily. When Billy reached the top, he saw that the man had succeeded in beating off this wave of skeletons.
“You’re a powerful one,” Billy said to the man.
“My mates call me Roger Swordshot,” the man said. “I got that name, because me sword is as fast as a gun shot. As you will soon learn you scum!”
The two clashed swords. Billy held his two Grave Reapers parallel to each other, trying to overpower this foe. Roger was much stronger than his friends were. Roger gave a little more effort, and Billy went flying backward. He leaped back up, and then began hurling attacks at him, so fast that Roger barely had time to block them. Billy was able to get a lucky hit in, and gave the man a slash on his arm. He grunted in pain, but barely flinched.
Roger dashed to the side, and began hurtling attacks on Billy. It was Billy’s turn to go defensive now. Even though Roger was his enemy, Billy had to give the man some credit. He really knew how to use a sword.
Unfortunately, all battles have to end, Billy thought to himself with a small smile.
Roger was getting tired now, and Billy used that as an opportunity. After one of his cleaves, Billy ducked down and head butted the man hard in the ribs. Roger grunted in pain, and then, as he was stepping back, Billy gave him two slashes across the chest, forming an X. Roger cried out in pain, hands covering his wounded torso.
“You were a good opponent,” Billy said. “But all battles must end.”
Billy did a spinning kick in the air, and sent Roger stumbling backward. He flipped off the edge of the stone bridge, and into the murky water below.
Billy grinned, and watched as the next wave of skeletons approached the bridge. Billy ran back to where he had come from. He went around another bend, and saw another battle scene. He slowed down to a walk, and began walking. He walked past a stack of barrels, and froze. He could have sworn that he had heard someone crying.
He turned around and kicked a barrel aside, and froze. Behind the barrel, was a woman, somewhere in her twenties, clinging to her bawling baby. Her baby was wrapped in a dirt stained blanket, and she was in a torn dress. She screamed and began to sob as well.
“Please!” she cried. “Take me! Take me! Just don’t hurt my child! My only love!”
Billy hadn’t notice, but he had one of his blades pointed directly at her. He breathed and looked the woman in her eyes. Her eyes were stained red from tears, and her baby was screaming horribly now.
“Take me instead! Just let my child be!” she cried. “I beg of you!”
Billy thought about what he was doing. Is this what he had become? A merciless killer? Someone who could take a mother away from a young baby? Could he really be so inhumane and cruel? Billy thought he may have shed a tear, but couldn’t have been certain. It may have easily have been sweat.
He lowered his sword, and spoke. “Find a place to hide. These skeletons are ruthless, and will kill anyone they see. Get inside, lock yourself in a closet, just stay out of sight.”
“God bless you! Thank you so much!” the woman said, sobbing, and then ran off, into an alleyway.
Billy thought about what he had just done.
I was about to take an innocent mother’s life away, he thought to himself in horror. Is this what I have become? Will she even be safe? By the end of this invasion she could easily be dead…
Billy shook his head. He couldn’t think this way if he was going to do this. He lifted his swords, and went charging into the battle to assist the skeletons. Not that they needed it. They would win anyway.
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More fighting. Billy cut, slashed, stabbed, flipped, and ran for over an hour. Even though Fort Charles had been destroyed, along with most of the Navy soldiers in it, there were still a significant amount in other parts of the town. Billy watched as buildings were hit by cannonballs, toppling to the ground, on top of skeletons, Navy, and even civilians. Billy tried to ignore it as best he could, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about exactly what he was doing. And about the woman and her baby. Had she been killed? Had she fled? Was she trapped in a collapsed house?
Billy pushed the thought aside. What was happening to him? He was loyal to Jolly Roger.
Am I? he thought. No! Of course I am! Jolly will win in the end anyway. Fighting for him can bring back my parents. I will have a cause again! This will all work out in the end…
Billy ducked a Navy soldier’s sword slash, countering by stabbing the soldier with both of his swords. The soldier crumpled to the floor. Billy examined his surroundings once again. It was another large plaza. Around him were buildings, and ruins of buildings that had been destroyed by cannons. The standing ones were in bad shape, with bricks falling off, some of them even burning. Port Royal was going to be a ruin soon, and Jolly Roger would rule it. He would rebuild the island, and rule it with an iron fist. Or bone fist. Whichever it was. After that, he would conquer the rest of the islands in no time.
The plaza was a war scene. A few Navy soldiers still stood, but were being taken down fast. The plaza was almost secure. After that, they would move to the east side of the city, and assist the troops there. Billy charged into a group of Navy soldiers, who looked like mere cadets, and cut them down in a few slashes. He sheathed his swords, and picked up one of their bayonets. He stood on top of a box, aiming the gun toward another Navy soldier, one who looked like a captain. Then, Billy dropped the gun.
Standing in the middle of a group of skeletons, was the mother and her child. She must have been spotted while she tried to hide, and had been chased out here. Billy could see tears streaming down her face as she held her screaming baby close to her, watching helplessly as the undead closed in on her.
“No!!!” Billy screamed. He jumped off the boxes, drawing his two swords. He ran through the crowd, slashing Navy and undead alike. He didn’t care who he killed now, so long as he could save the mother. A Navy soldier locked swords with him, but he overpowered him and sliced his throat. Tears streamed down Billy’s face as he ran through the crowd, trying to save the woman. He got into a little opening in the crowd, and saw the woman on her knees, baby held to her chest. She had her head ducked down.
“No! Stop!” Billy cried out, but the sound of a cannon smashing into a building drowned his voice out. He began to run to her, but it was too late. The undead closed in on her, and Billy heard a scream of pain, which was silenced. Billy stopped, and stared in disbelief. The undead moved aside, leaving the woman’s body. Billy ran over to her. She had been stabbed through the stomach, and blood was pouring on her dress. Tears still clung to her stone cold face, and her eyes stared out endlessly. Billy knelt down, and closed the eyes, a tear streaming down his face. The baby was nowhere to be seen.
I’ve failed, Billy thought to himself, tears sliding down his face. I’ve let an innocent women and her child die, because I couldn’t save her…
“WHAT HAVE I BECOME?!” Billy screamed into the air. He grabbed his swords and ran. Ran to who knows where. He just had to get away from this horrible scene. The sound of her scream had forever been burned into his mind, and the look in her eyes when he had pointed his sword at her. Billy cried as he ran. He ran down a dirt path, through some trees, and then onto stone pavement. A few Navy soldiers tried to stop him, but Billy cut them down in a rage, leaving nobody, not even skeletons, alive after he crossed their paths. Billy ran up the path on a hill, to the ruins of a mansion, and sat with his back to a tree.
Billy sat for what seemed like hours, his face in his hands as he sobbed. Soon, he had no tears left to cry, and he sat shaking. In the background, he could hear the sound of the battle. Swords clashing, guns and cannons firing, buildings exploding. It was probably about two hours before sunrise by now. Soon, all this would be quiet, and the town would be left a ruin. Innocent lives would be taken away.
“What am I doing?” Billy asked himself out loud. “Who am I? What am I becoming?”
“Your William,” a voice said. “My son”
Billy looked up in alarm to where the voice came from. Billy stood, but left his swords. Something inside him told him he wouldn’t need them. He walked forward, toward the mansion. It was then that he recognized the place. It was his home. Where he had grown up. But it had been destroyed by something. Perhaps by one of Jolly’s invasions that he had done a long time ago. Billy walked into the house, and walked down a hall. Billy imagined it when he was young. The walls were covered with a lavish wall paper, with little candles hanging on the sides. Billy would have shed a tear, but he had already cried them out. He made a turn, and came into what was once his room as a baby. His crib had been wrecked, but it was still there. Inside of it, was a little stuffed animal that he had used to play with. His mother had made it for him when he was first born. It was a little dog, that looked a lot like Smelly.
I wonder what even happened to the poor dog, Billy thought. He held the dog for a little bit more, and put it down. He would leave it here. He would come back for it later. He turned around, and gave a little scream of fright. Standing in front of him where two bluish, misty figures. Ghosts. Billy examined them, and then his eyes widened.
“Mother…? Father…?” he asked.
His mother, nodded. “Yes William, it is us.”
“But…? How?” Billy wondered.
“When I died on The Eagle ten years ago, I stayed on this Earth. I didn’t want to leave yet,” his father said. “I had a feeling that it was the right choice. And it was. I was able to speak with you one last time. Before we move on.”
“I’m… I’m so confused,” Billy said, head down. “I… I don’t know what to do anymore. Can you help me? Please?”
“William,” his mother said. “I know that your having a hard time. But, I cannot guide your path. I know you will make the right choice in the end. I have faith in you.”
“Please!” Billy cried out. “I need guidance! You’re my parents! Help me for God’s sake!”
“William, this is your decision to make,” his father said. “I know that you will make the right one in the end. You’re a good person, and I am proud to be your father, no matter what happens.”
“No!” Billy yelled. “Don’t leave me!”
“We love you son!” his father said. “Never forget that!”
“You will make the right decision in the end. I know it,” his mother finished. Then, the two ghosts faded off into nothingness.
Billy dropped to his knees. He felt like a young child again. Lost, helpless, without a path. He sat on the floor for ten minutes, thinking everything through. He stood.
I… I don’t know the right choice, he thought. He knew that standing with Jolly Roger was the choice that would get him far, but was it the right one?
“Of course it is…” Billy muttered. “I will become powerful, strong, and mighty. Davy doesn’t care about me anymore. I’ll kill him. And sink The Shadow King. And then I will become the strongest pirate to sail the seas!”
Billy said that, but didn’t know if he meant it. He shook his head, knowing that what he was doing was right. He walked outside. The sun was beginning to rise, and the sound of battle had stopped. In the harbor, skeleton ships floated, and buildings were in ruin. The invasion was victorious.
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Intense chapter eh? By the way guys, Roger, AKA SEAKING, is not dead. He will likely appear briefly in one of my next chapters. Please! Comments. That was one of the hardest chapters to write...
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