The Dreaded Captain of the Stormy Seas(ON HOLD)

Chapter Two: Peace at Last

I had never wished so much for the land, to feel the sweet brown soils of home under my feet as I drunkenly watch the vast infinite blue sky above get filled with dashes of white.
My daydream, however, was quickly shattered. The rain lashed down in silver sheets, accompanied by a salty wind that galed about me as I surveyed the wild sea from the bow of the 'Rocky Dolly,' I could feel an eerie sense of Déjà vu as we encroached upon the maelstrom. At some points during the venture towards the whirlpool I was sure the ship would capsize from the relentless waves that crashed into the sides of the vessel, but, the 'Rocky Dolly' pushed onward, a pleasant surprise. 'Stay strong Dolly...' I ran my fingers along the hand railing, 'We're almost there now.' I whispered to her.

"Quarter-mile ahead now boys!" I spat out, my heart pounding in my chest so loudly it could have been mistaken for the repetitive beats of a drum...duh-duhn, duh-duhn. I looked onward, I wasn't sure if I should feel calm or if I should piss myself in fear and start screeching 'We're doomed!' whilst running around on the main deck like a chicken set loose. It isn't as if Edward was exactly known for being truthful, and I couldn't help but doubt my sanity for trusting him. As far as my emerald eyes could see, the circular death-pool twisted and turned the water into a funnel so vast it was impossible to dictate just how large the maelstrom was. I shuddered, I could feel a tinge of fear growing in my belly- 'Was it a mistake to trust Edward? Possibly, but, what does it matter? We have no choice in whether we go in the maelstrom, why not enter with some hope?' My breaths grew more rapid and uncontrolled with every passing moment; we were nearly there now.

I braced myself and turned to the crew to tell them to do the same to only be thoroughly confused. Had I gone mad? Almost half of the men were gathered on the main deck hollering a, so joyfully it nearly made me forget we were headed straight into a whirlpool. I nervously laughed, were they so drunk they didn't realize the risk of us dying, or had they just stopped caring? At this point it didn't matter, the whirlpool was dead ahead, and the men were too busy drinking the reserves of our Grog and chanting their songs to notice my confused glare. I turned back around, grasping the hand railing for dear life with my free hand. The 'Rocky Dolly' was in for a beating, and so were the men on board her. "Shiver me timbers...God let Edwards stories prove correct..." I muttered under my breath, my left hand clenched around the smooth sapphire as my right desperately clutched at the hand railing.

"Hold on men!" Skipper roared from the quarter-deck, My eyes widened, a swift jerk starboard bow sent me into a panic, the 'Rocky Dolly' now set off in its new direction like a thunderbolt in the sky. I stumbled, my right hand's sweaty grip loosening on the hand railing as the ship took its first descent down into the abyss. The rain still pelted the deck like hail as we arrived at the belt of surf that always surrounds the whirlpool. The first door of many so to say that led towards Davy Jones' Locker. Hours went by, we went deeper and deeper, and as we went deeper the men's song slowly faded away into the chaos of the storm. Round n' round we went in the circuit of the maelstrom, the 'Rocky Dolly's' speed ever increasing as the vortex enclosed upon us.
However, contrary to most of my crew's beliefs, we did not sink but skimmed along the water like an air bubble at speeds so fast it felt like we were flying. Soon we were so deep inside the whirlpool that even I couldn't see the horizon anymore, my view blocked by a vast wall of seawater. Now it felt like my heart would explode, I desperately searched through my memories, exploring every inch, every crevice for a story, an answer, an anything that would get us out of this situation...then I heard it, a most horrid sound.

'...They call me hanging Johnnie,'