The party was a lively party with a DJ and catering company working triple time to please all the patrons. after a few hours everything calmed down for a bit and I wondered towards the back of the property to where a fire was set up. Some of the more intoxicated party-goers sat (or in many of their cases passed out) around enjoying the calm and trying to sober up a bit. An older well seasoned man sat opposite the fire from me. I could tell from his attire he was one of RedHook’s men. I had seen him earlier enjoying the spirits with the vigor of a man twice his age. That jovial attitude seemed to have ran all out of him at this point.
“Did the wine and spirits sap the energy from your bones old man? What brings such a serious face on a joyful night?” I cautiously asked of him to try to lighten the mood that fogged the fire circle. At first I thought he might not have heard the question. He sat still as ever. His eyes opened and closed slowly when he blinked and even that was less often than a normal man’s. The only sign of life in those eyes that stared into the fire was the dancing reflection of the fire.
“I wouldn’t be so free to use the word of spirits at this time of night boy. You might wake something that was forgotten long time ago.” His words came slow and methodically. I was at first shocked he even spoke. I was having a hard time gathering my thoughts after his sudden break of routine. Lucky for me he continued before I could regain composure. “Don’t just sit there with your mouth wide open. I know your type, always asking questions and wanting to know other people’s business. Frankly I am surprised you have yet to ask what I am talking about. I will tell you, but on one condition. You must not stop me when I start, and I will not retell it ever again. Understood?”
“Yes!” I shocked myself with how quickly I said it. In retrospect I might have agreed a little louder than I should have. Some of the sleepy bodies around us stirred and eyes blinked towards the fire. The entire scene remained void of noise, as if the waking knew to remain quiet. All eyes moved from the fire to the old man, except for one pair. The old man let his eyes lift from the fire and stared directly into mine. A sudden shiver ran up my back as he began his story.
“It happened many years ago. I was just a boy back then. We had a small shack on the beach. Times were easier then and life was good. We lived just outside of the village and I would help my mother tend the garden during the day. Towards evening I would always run to the outskirts of town to see my father come home from fishing. The docks were always full of fishing boats and The large Pirate King’s Fleets. The were large set of docks. We had eight piers in total. My father always came in on the last pier. It was darker that day then normal. It seemed like winter was coming early and the sun ran out of the sky earlier than normal. I was just a boy so I noticed nothing about it. I ran around the corner of the forest and seen a sight that I could not fathom. Not a single pier was there. The docks had disappeared.
“Men and women walked around with shock on their faces. I heard women crying and men cussing. I thought maybe we were attacked. That did not seem right though. If we were attacked there would be rubble. There was just … nothing. I ran back home as fast as I could. That night men went out and searched the beaches. Nothing was found, and my father did not come home. I, like the rest of the village, fell asleep scared and ashamed of my fear that night. What would we do without our fleets? How could we survive with no ships to gather our much needed resources.
“The next morning I awoke to much cheering and celebration. Even from our shack outside the village we could hear the joyous commotion. I ran as quick as I could to see what had happened. I slid around the corner and was in total shock. The docks had reappeared. There was all of the Pirate King’s fleets, and many of the fishermen’s boats as well! I was joyous and happy. All of us villagers ran around hugging each other. My heart never felt so happy, but it was not meant to last. I suddenly noticed something wrong. We used to have eight piers, but now I counted and I could only see seven. At first i thought it must have been a mistake. I miscounted or something. Suddenly though there was a scream. I was not the only one to notice.
“The celebration was muted and a grave air surrounded the docks. The men on the ships had no idea what happened, and they were puzzled at what had happened to them that night. The men who occupied that eighth pier were never heard from again. I never found my father. I would run to the docks every night. and even after the built another pier, he still never came home. They never figured out what happened. It is rumored that the Pirate King angered a evil witch, or maybe the dead from all his many raids came back for revenge. What may have caused it we will never know. It never occurred again for many years. But you wonder why at this time of night we all grow quiet? It is because we don’t know what we will find when we go home. Because you see, just last week while we were at sea and found your man. Our docks disappeared, and that eighth dock was lost and has never been seen again.”
With that he rose from his seat and walked off. I sat there and shuddered. The dead coming back or a witch playing tricks. I was scared of what might lay waiting for me in the darkness outside the fire light. What sort of spooks and ghouls would jump out at me as I wandered back to my home. This feeling started to wear off a bit as I came to realize it was just a story. An old man trying to scare me. And Then I heard the scream
By MrYoop 