Chapter 18

A one eyed pirate takes a step forward, now standing overtop of the sea. The plank beneath his feet is all that stops him from plunging into the cold ocean water below. He wants to turn around, but Sticky holds a sword pointed at his back.

He tries to buy some time. “WAIT! JUST WAIT!”

Old Greybeard, the captain of the Greybeard Pirates laughs as he watches Sticky and the rest of the crew toy with the poor man.

Sticky extends his sword forward, poking One Eye’s back, forcing him to take another step closer to the edge.

The rest of the pirates are becoming bored “GET ON WITH IT,” one calls out. “FEED HIM TO THE FISHES,” yells another.

As One Eye looks at the water, he sees sharks starting to gather.

Sticky notices them too. “SHARK FOOD! ONE EYE’S GONNA BE SHARK FOOD,” he yells, wobbling.

Nowhere left to walk, One Eye tries to explain, “It wasn’t me, I swear! I don’t know what happened to the last of the rum! I didn’t take it!”

Captain Greybeard asks in his loud, deep voice, “THEN WHY IS THE RUM GONE?”

“I don’t know! I fell asleep and when I woke up, it was all gone!”

Sticky hollers, “LIAR,” then stumbles over. As he starts to stand up, Greybeard walks over to him.

“I’m not lying!” One Eye declares.

Greybeard grabs the sword from Sticky’s hands. “I know,” he says, stabbing the sword into Sticky’s leg.

The rest of the crew goes silent as Sticky’s body falls onto the deck. Wailing, he clutches his leg, trying to stop the bleeding. Greybeard stabs him in the other leg, then in the arm, then the other arm. 

Sticky screams, no longer able to move.

Greybeard looks over at One Eye, “Throw him in the sea.”

One Eye, unsure as to what just happened, rushes back onto the ship, lifts Sticky over the railing, and drops his body into the sea. He watches as the blood attracts the nearby sharks. A single cry of “HELP” can be heard, then the sound of the waves take over as the sea beneath the ship turns red.

Greybeard laughs, handing Sticky’s sword to One Eye. “Sorry bout that. Had to use you to find out who really stole the rum.” His expression hardens, “Pirates who steal rum from other pirates are scum.” He walks off to the captain’s quarters, humming to himself, “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.”