The Devil's Bounty: Lost and Found

(CW: Blood, Murder, Language, and Crude humor.)

Todd wrapped his Avenger blanket around his slender waist and snuggled closer to his father, Adam Meltzer. The crackling fireplace bathed them in a warmth that only winter could bring. Two mugs of hot chocolate sat before them on a black coffee table—steam lofting in the air. The tiny marshmallows fizzled away like snowflakes melting in spring’s first rays of light. Only milky cream was left to kiss the brim of those ceramic cups.

It was Todd’s favorite drink before bed. He jumped off the couch and drank deeply.

“Not too fast,” Adam warned with a delicate smile. “You’re gonna get a tummy ache.”

Todd put the mug down and wiped the milk chocolate mustache away from his upper lip with his Batman pajama sleeve. “It’s so good!”

“I know it is,” Adam laughed, patting the couch. “Now, get up here and tell me what you thought about Captain Blackheart’s story.”

“He was ruthless!” Todd said, bouncing to his father’s side. “The way he killed all those people for betraying him and stealing his gold. He must have been a great pirate!”

“Oh, he was a very evil man. Perhaps I shouldn’t have told you. It might give you nightmares.”

“Dad…I’m eight years old. I’m practically nine, and that makes me a big boy. I think I can handle a spooky pirate story.”

“You’re growing up so fast, but I’m afraid it’s not just a simple story. It really did happen a very long time ago.”

“Wait, you mean it’s a true story?” Todd said with his mouth wide open.

“It sure is.”

“I should’ve known!”

“Well,” Adam said, lifting his brow, “how do you think I know the story in the first place?”

“I know…” Todd said, dragging out the word like a lonely violin note. “From your work at the museum.”

“That’s right. We see some pretty cool stuff from all over the world, and every single item has a story to tell.”

Todd glanced at his hot chocolate mug and was eager for another taste, but a thought passed through his mind. “How did you find out about Blackheart’s story, though?”

“Well…” Adam said, reaching into his pocket. “Because of this!”

In the soft glow of the orange fire, a small circular gold coin glimmered like a diamond. Todd’s eyes grew as big as the moon.

“Is that…?”

“Yes, it is. A gold coin from Captain Blackheart’s treasure.”

“No way, let me see it!” Todd yelled, grabbing the coin.

It felt smooth and cold. The gold was as fresh as the day it was forged. A skull resting on two crossbones was imprinted on the front and back, so there was no mistaking who it belonged to. Captain Blackheart himself.

Todd gave the coin back to his father and asked, “I know Blackheart murdered all those people for his treasure, but they had already spent it all. Did he ever find all of it?”

Adam took a deep breath. “It’s hard to say for sure, really. We only have a few historical documents about what happened that day. Most of them were burned in the fire. We do know that his gold was spent to build the Port Reef of Sanguine, so these gold coins were separated more than once. It took some time, but we believe we finally found them all. As we speak, the coins are sitting pretty in an antique pirate’s chest at the museum. We are preparing a grand exhibition to showcase them. I brought this coin home to show you how magnificent they are!”

“And you’re not scared that Blackheart will come for them like he did back then?”

“Oh, no,” Adam giggled. “The story is true, but like all good horror tales, I think Blackheart’s ghost coming back for revenge may have been a slight exaggeration. No…I believe the port was burned down by some negligent villager, and the real story became lost in time.”

As soon as those words were uttered, a cold chill engulfed the room, and the sound of a single footstep followed by a thunderous thud echoed through the hallway just behind Adam and Todd. Their hearts skipped a beat as their minds tried to figure out what was going on. An unnerving, raspy voice gave them the answer.

“Aye…to be sure that’s what happened, but can ye be certain, har, har?”

Adam sprang to his feet while Todd buried himself in his blanket. Standing behind the couch was the legendary Captain Blackheart himself. He was dressed in black, and his tricorne hat with the emblem of a skull resting on two crossbones matched the symbol on the gold coin perfectly.

The captain slammed his pegged leg down and smirked as Adam flinched backward. “For what seems like several lifetimes, I’ve sailed on me ship, the Black Death, in search for what is mine, and here be a small piece of it… Har har! Where might I be so humble to ask is the rest of it?”

“Uh….” Adam mumbled, having a hard time finding the words.

“Ah, me suppose the cats got ye tongue, as they say!”

In one swift motion, Captain Blackheart pulled out a sharp rusty dagger from his belt, grabbed Adam’s face, pulled out his tongue, and held it there with his skeletal fingers. The flickering firelight showcased his hideous skeleton face.

Blackheart pressed the rusty blade on Adam’s tongue and warned, “I be askin’ ye one more time…. Where be my treasure?”

With tears rolling down his cheek, Adam mumbled the best he could. “In…the…museum…of…fine…arts.”

“Finally, the truth at long last!”

Adam tried to pull his tongue away from Blackheart’s cold grasp, but the rusty blade bit deeply and severed the connection. A gargled scream filled the room before the evil pirate captain grew tired of the moans and ripped Adam’s head completely off. Thick blood erupted from the rugged stump, and his body fell like a dead tree rolling down a hill.

Captain Blackheart kneeled and removed his gold coin from Adam’s lifeless body. A cold, wicked grin filled his hollow face.

Meanwhile, Todd shivered beneath his blanket, hoping the evil pirate would leave him alone, but like all things in this world, nothing is ever that easy.

Blackheart grabbed Todd’s blanket and yanked it off with devious intentions. As Todd lifted his head, he saw a stream of hot chocolate flowing towards his face like a waterfall. The steamy liquid immediately turned the boy’s face red, and boils soon followed. A terrifying scream filled the house.

“That’s a delicious drink, ain’t it me lad, har, har!”

When the last drop of hot chocolate was served, Blackheart smashed the mug into Todd’s burned face and threw him into the fireplace. As his body burned, so too did the house. Blackheart left the blazing inferno staring at his gold coin that was now his at long last.

The night was young like a virgin on prom night, and Captain Blackheart was thirsty for more death. His journey to find his lost treasure was nearing its end. After countless trips around the world, his unfinished business was at hand.

Blackheart took to the air like a soaring parrot and boarded his ship, the Black Death, which hovered above the city streets of Boston. It was a ghostly apparition if ever there was one. The seas could no longer contain the evil purge that was at hand, and the ship could venture on land and water.

The ghostly captain was welcomed by his angry crew of skeletons dressed from skull to toe in their pirate outfits. Curly-Moe, who was aptly named because of his orange curly hair that had no purpose being there in the first place, was Blackheart’s first mate. “What be da news, Captain?”

Blackheart held the gold coin aloft and said, “Take heed, boys, a new destination is at hand. Raise the sails and make way for da Museum of Fine Arts, har har!”

“You heard da captain,” Curly-Moe shouted. “Let us be on our way, men!”

“Yes…” Blackheart rumbled. “Me treasure, be callin’ me name, har, har! Time to collect me bounty.”

As the Black Death glided on an invisible river towards the museum, a parade of police and military vehicles followed close below. They held their fire for fear of harming innocent bystanders.

“Like bees to honey they come seeking me blood…” Blackheart mumbled to himself. He grasped the ship’s wheel and clenched his rotten teeth. “Hear this, you scallywags…har har! Ready the cannon balls and get ready to drop them on me orders!”

He watched his ghostly crew gather the necessary ammunition, which included heavy iron balls and big wooden barrels filled with black explosive powder.

Blackheart kept a close eye on the flashing blue lights beneath them and chuckled. “Har, har! There’s only one way to kill piranhas in the deep blue…. FIRE when ready, you heathens!”

It rained fire that night. Huge explosions and fireballs lit up the streets of Boston like the Fourth of July. The police and military fired back, but their bullets and rockets just passed through the pirate ship like it wasn’t there at all. It wasn’t long before a river of blood formed along the roads below.

The air of freedom was sweet indeed.

There was nothing to stop the Black Death from reaching its destination, and with the museum in sight, Blackheart flashed a devilish grin.

“This is it!” Blackheart screamed. “Full speed ahead to me, gold, boys!”

The skeleton crew tied the sails tight and pumped the oars faster in the galley. The ship was like a wrecking ball when it crashed into the pillars of the museum. The front of the building was completely destroyed. When the dust settled, Blackheart glided down from the Black Death and marched toward the back exhibits like a rat searching for cheese.

Soon, the musky scent led him to his prize. In a large oval room surrounded by makeshift pirate ships and mannequin pretenders, was his treasure. It was sitting in a wooden chest behind a glass display box.

“Aye…at long last, me eyes can’t believe it!”

As he lifted the glass lid, a deep voice echoed through the chamber.

“That doesn’t belong to you anymore, pirate!”

Blackheart’s cold eyes searched the dark room to no avail. “Who be brave enough or stupid enough to speak to me that way?”

A tall, slender man stepped out from the shadows, dressed in a fancy black suit. “My name is Lewis Feckleman, and as I said, that bounty doesn’t belong to you anymore.”

“Ye must not know he ye be talking to.”

“Oh, I do,” Lewis said. “My benefactor said you might show up.”

“Benefactor? Who might that be?”

“Well, let’s just say he has a way of finding things, and when he found all the gold, he tried to sell it to me for more than it was worth. He’s a bumbling moron, but his plan was genius, I must say. I gladly agreed to pay his price and set up this exhibition.”

“Foolish idea,” Blackheart thundered.

Suddenly, the evil captain vanished in a puff of green smoke and reappeared behind Lewis. He grabbed his head and twisted it off like a loose screw. Thick warm blood painted the marbled floor.

“Ah… I wouldn’t have done that if I were you, mate.”

Blackheart cocked his head at the new voice and saw a skeletal pirate step into the light. He wore a dirty pirate hat, and colorful beads decorated his long-braided hair. He had a small goatee despite all the missing flesh and a charming yet foolish demeanor.

“Who might ye be?”

“Me? Oh, come on now…. Surely, you’ve heard of me?”

Blackheart shook his head. “Without a name, me be amiss as to who you are!”

The mysterious skeletal pirate flashed a smile and showed off his gold tooth. “Well,” he said, spreading his palms outward. “Let me enlighten you. My name is Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?”

“Who?”

Sparrow drew his neck back and gasped. “Why, I’m only the greatest pirate who ever lived.”

“You look dead to me,” Blackheart smirked.

“Am I?” he said looking down at his bare rib cage. “Hmm…That would explain a lot actually. Aye, well, tis a long story to be sure and perhaps I would tell you, but I’m afraid you killed that silly buffoon before he could pay me what was rightfully mine.”

“That be my gold behind ye. How did ye find it all before me?”

Jack reached into his vest and pulled out a broken compass. It spun three times before he put it back. “Opps…wrong item, mate.” He reached into the other side and pulled out a dirty glass container. “Oh…heh heh, that’s me jar of dirt.”

“Jar of dirt?”

“Yes…. Me got a jar of dirt, me got a jar of dirt… so back off and get your own, mate!”

“You’re a snooty bastard, aren’t you?” Blackheart roared.

“Snoot!”

“What?”

Jack swirled his arms up and repeated, “Snoot, snoot, snooty, snoot!”

Blackheart was growing tired of this game. His bounty was just in arm’s reach. “Explain this foolishness!”

“I didn’t say it, you did…. Savvy?”

“Errr… get out of my way, you stupid buffoon!” Blackheart pushed Jack out of the way and lunged for his treasure.

A sharp, shiny blade blocked his grasp.

“Not so fast, mate. I stole that gold fair and square, so you can go snoot off somewhere. It’s mine.”

Blackheart stepped back and unsheathed his sword. It was rusty, but sharp, nonetheless. “Argh… you be wantin’ a duel, then ye shall have it!”

Without warning, Jack threw his jar of dirt in Blackheart’s face, grabbed the treasure, and ran away like a thief in the night. He got as far as the Black Death and halted in place. There, Blackheart’s skeleton crew was marching toward the back.

“Don’t mind me, fellas,” Jack said with a smirk. “I’m in need of a fine vessel such as this, and I don’t mind if I do…. Savvy?”

His words were ignored, but Jack was used to that. He boarded the ship and grabbed the wheel. With a slight turn, the Black Death tore through the rest of the building…..

Meanwhile, the skeleton crew caught up with Blackheart, who was brushing the dirt from his bones.

“Well,” asked Curly-Moe. “Where be the treasure?”

Blackheart snarled and yelled, “You idiots, that buffoon ran off with it!”

The crew looked at each other and grabbed Blackheart. “We are tired of roaming these lands and seas for you,” Curly-Moe said. “You promised us peace if we helped you find your treasure, but still, we are at a standstill. Enough is enough….captain.”

Curly-Moe gave the crew a nod, and without warning, they tore Blackheart’s body limb from limb.

“No, you scallywags! This is mutiny! Not again…. Not again…!”

Just before the skeleton crew removed Blackheart’s skull from his spinal cord, he glanced upward and saw Jack Sparrow steering his ship.

Jack waved a hearty goodbye and shouted, “See, mate, I told you I was the greatest captain there ever was. You shall never forget your meeting with Captain Jack Sparrow…. Savvy?”

Blackheart snarled as his cold eyes went dark. The skeleton crew disappeared and found peace at long last.

Captain Blackheart was left to the darkness that birthed him back to life.

As in life…the same in death.