Phantomverse Stories

Captain Phantom Part 3

Mist cloaked everything in its soft, dewy embrace. The ship, the crew, the pirates, and the sea itself. I was surrounded by dove gray, breathing in its heavy dampness. My lungs struggled to take in the dense air, and in my attempt to slow my racing heart, the air and the tight ropes around my chest weren't helping.

Moments before I could see Captain Masters laboring at the wheel, Mad Maddison at his side, but now not even his grunts of effort could be heard. The mist muffled everything except my labored breathing, and my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

It wasn't night, but it wasn't day either. The odd in between, a blank gray slate. No one was asleep, but in the silence they weren't quite awake either. I closed my eyes, and concentrated on breathing. I couldn't think about Uncle Nat and his bleeding wound belowdecks, or Miss Martinez and the stench of death on her breath. Or Captain Masters, whom I no longer knew was friend or foe. I sat like that for a indiscriminate amount of time.

--

A rough hand slapped my face none too gently, and while I groaned, waking up, the ropes around me loosened, and finally fell off. I inhaled deeply, my lungs finally able to expand to their full capacity. I'd grown used to the ropes around them, but the feeling of freedom was glorious as if heaven sent it into my chest. Breathing normally is the best feeling in the world. Next best is finally peeing after holding it for a long time, but that's besides the point. It felt great!

Until I was grabbed yet again, and my moment was spoiled. The mist had thinned a little, and glancing quickly to the left I saw what looked like a dark mass of land, but it was hard to tell for sure. The pirates, noticing my curiosity, twisted my rebellious head back straight ahead with sharp jerk, and I yelped at the shock of the motion.

I was dragged up the stairs to the prow of The Banshee, and both Maddison and Captain Masters still stood there. Perhaps they'd never even left that spot since I'd seen them last.

Mad Maddison's lustrous red hair floated about her in the almost extinct breeze, and her hat's blue feather floated erect. She turned away from Captain Masters and bent toward me, hands on her knees, using the sickly sweet voice I'd grown to fear.

"Do you have a guess as to where we are, sweetie?" She gestured to the pirates holding me captive. "Let him have a look around. He won't go anywhere." I hated to admit it, but she was right. If I made any move to escape now I'd be as good as shark bait. The deck was literally crawling with her crew of scum.

"Go on!" She still had the sweet tone. I didn't want it to change to a dangerous one. So I obeyed, and tilted on my heel, slowly taking in my surroundings. Mist still covered most of what immediately encompassed the ship, but from what I could perceive, land amassed on all sides. An inlet of some sort. Like a miniature gulf.

I recited my observations to Mad Maddison, who nodded. Her expression was of pleasant surprise.

"Good!" She complimented. "This," she said, waving her arms around her, indicating the grandeur of the inlet. "This is Rift Key." Pacing on the deck, her voice betrayed, frighteningly, her building excitement. Her boots thunked rhythmically on the deck, and with each pound it seemed to convey the impending doom. The mist seemed to take on an ethereal weight, and suddenly became hard for me to breathe, as if the ropes around the chest had returned.

"It is said that the division between the worlds of the living and the dead are weakest here," Maddison continued. She closed her eyes and her voice became monotone like she was reciting a chant.

"Twixt day and night, dusk and dawn, Moon and Sun share the sky. Ones loved and feared shall be amongst thee, Only to remain for the hour. Should these beings remain, Tis surely a loss for thee, For to stay would be to burn."

As she chanted the last lines, she gazed right at Captain Masters, an odd look in her eyes, smoldering dangerously.

Throughout the chant, I'd noticed Captain Masters pale and his face grow more and more pinched in pain and fear. Still he refused to look at me, and I could see his struggle. Why me? What about me was causing him discomfort if he looked at me? In a shaky voice, Captain Masters finally spoke.

"Maddie." Internally, I recoiled with shock. He never called her that before. I would have never expected a casual name for this pirate, especially coming from Captain Masters. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and though she flinched a little, she relaxed into her touch, almost as if she'd been longing for it in the way she placed her hand on top of his, with her eyes half-closed.

"You know this is a rune that led to naught. Nothing can bring him back. Don't loose yourself to the madness." He pulled away and cupped her face in his hands. It looked so fragile, now, as if it were no longer the face of a rugged captain of The Banshee, but of a helpless maiden. "Let it go, Maddie. Let's move on together."

Maddison's face twisted in an instant and she ripped away from Masters' tender grasp. I was glad, this intimacy between them was very unnerving. "I can't let it go, Gideon!" She snapped, face reddening. She poked him in the chest, hard, and he stumbled back, out of hurt more than physical weakness. "Don't you see? Right here! Right now! I've done it! I found El Pasaje de la Vida a la Muerta! He can finally return to us!" Desperately she searched his face, searching for any weakness she could exploit, any sign that he at least wanted to agree with her. Captain Masters' voice was pained, his grey eyes betraying the greater tumult of emotion he was struggling to hold back.

"I do miss him." He finally admitted. "Who wouldn't?" His voice and stature hardened like stone. "But not at the cost. Why else do you think the time had a warning at the end? 'To stay would be to burn?!' Don't you realize what that means?!" He yelled. I saw the danger as Maddison smiled: her insane smile that resulted in her name. She laughed manically.

"That's where your wisdom leaves you in its wake, Gideon!" She howled through her laughter. "It is only giving the instructions: to remain, there must be a burning."

"Which means...?" Captain Masters ventured. Her next words sent chills up my spine.

"A sacrifice."