The Queen Part 3/3
The Queen part 3
Author: immortal_jedi aka jedipati
Characters: Will, Captain Jones, Crew of the Dutchman, OFC bad guy
Rating: PG-13 for suspense and frightening images
Warnings: This is a horror story. It was originally supposed to be out before Halloween. Also, I’m fairly certain it’s AU.
Summary: The rescue party is coming, but is it too late?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill was only prevented from diving off the side of the ship and following the creatures as they carried away his son because Quittance and Greenbeard grabbed him and held him back.
The last of the creatures fled, and Bill collapsed against the two holding him. “Will,” he whispered.
Captain Jones leaned on the rail and watched the creatures go. The only indication of his feelings was the angry writhing of his tentacles.
“Down!” he ordered, louder then was strictly necessary. Once they were underwater, he turned to Maccus. “Get us as close to the island as possible.”
He snarled. “That queen dared attack my ship, and stole what is mine! We attack at dawn!”
He looked at Bill. “I trust, Mr. Turner, that I can count on you to retrieve the boy?”
Bill blinked and focused on him. “Aye, Captain,” he said. “Though depending on what condition Will is in, I may need help.”
“I’ll help,” Quittance said.
“Good,” Jones said.
“Maccus, you’re in charge. I canna go, so I expect you to keep the crew in line.”
It was a long wait, especially for Bootstrap, before the sea around them lightened with sunrise. “Whatever you find there, I want ta know,” Jones said.
~~~~~~~~~
Bill and Quittance skirted the main fight and headed deeper into the fortress they’d attacked. Cap was leading the way, apparently following some trail to Will.
“Are ye sure this is th’ right way?” Quittance asked.
Cap scolded him with a yowl and ended his complaint with a snort of disgust.
Bill shook his head. “No. But what else can we do? We have to find him, and quickly, before the queen does… whatever it is she does… to him.”
“You really care about the lad, don’t you?”
“He’s my son. And I’ve not been there for him. I don’t want t’ be reunited with him, only to lose him t’ this queen.” Bill sighed. “Better t’ have not seen him again, if that happens.”
Cap stopped in front of a door. It was locked, and they couldn’t pass through it, but Bill solved that problem by simply ramming into it and breaking it down.
Cap was the first through the door, and the first to react to the scene they found.
The changed cat yowled and flung himself onto the queen’s head.
The queen jumped up and away from Will. Will could only move his head, and he tilted it back, startled. Bill recognized the look on Will’s face. It was hope, threadbare and tattered, in the midst of overwhelming fear and resignation.
Bill had seen that look on countless sailors over the past nine years, but he’d never wanted to see it from his own son.
Bill brought his sword down on one of the ropes holding Will down, taking advantage of the queen’s distraction.
Will looked like he wasn’t sure he believed that he was being rescued, but he responded quickly enough. He reached out and grabbed the queen’s leg and pulled her down just as the queen threw Cap away.
The queen landed hard on her back, and Quittance kept her there by the simple method of threatening to cut off her head if she moved.
Bill finished freeing his son. After a moment, Will stood up, pressing his hand against his throat.
“What are you going to do to her?” His voice rasped slightly as he asked.
Quittance shrugged. “Captain said we could do what we want to her,” he said.
“Good,” Will responded. “Can we get out of here now?” His voice was improving as he spoke, and by the last word, it was normal.
Bill grabbed Will’s arm and pulled his hand away to get a look at Will’s throat.
Will’s throat was cut in two places. It looked almost like… Bill glanced down at the queen, then back up at Will. “She bit me,” Will confirmed. “I’m not sure why.”
“We have to get you back to the Dutchman, now,” Bill said.
Will frowned. “Um…”
“We don’t know much about how she makes her servants, except that they were mortal men once,” Bill said. “And…”
Will nodded. “I understand,” he said. That fear reappeared in his gaze. “But will the cure be as bad as the disease?”
Bill sighed and grabbed his arm. “Worry about that later,” he said. “At least you’ll have a choice.”
“True,” Will conceded. Cap jumped onto his shoulder, and Will glanced at the cat.
“Quittance,” Bill said, “remember that we need to get back to the ship.”
Quittance sighed. “Lad, what do you want to do with her?”
Will blinked. “You’re asking me?”
“You’re the one she’s after,” Quittance said.
Will shrugged. “Quite frankly, I never want to see her again. Do what you want.” He turned and headed for the door.
Bill shrugged at Quittance and followed his son.
Will didn’t break stride when Quittance brought his sword down. The loud thud as it hit the floor left no doubt as to what happened. Bill glanced at Will, who was rubbing his throat again. Cap batted at Will’s hand, and Will dropped it.
“You are definitely a cat,” Will said.
Bill smirked. “Will, we’d better get you a weapon. We’ll have to go through the fighting before we can find a place to get back to the ship.”
Will grimaced. “I suppose you’re going to drag me though the walls to the ship.”
Quittance caught up. “Quickest way to get out of here, lad,” he said.
Will sighed. Before he could say anything else, they heard fighting. Bill took the lead and they headed into the main part of the fortress. They didn’t see any weapons Will could use, but Will just shrugged. “I just want to get out of here,” he said.
Will stopped dead as he took in the scene. Bill grinned. “We’re winning,” he said.
“But… they fought a lot better on the Dutchman,” Quittance said.
Cap snorted. Will smiled faintly. “Let me guess- the way out is straight through the fight?”
“Of course,” Bill said. “Stay close.”
Will nodded, his eyes narrowing. “Now!” Bill ordered. He rushed out into the fight, Will on his heals.
Surprisingly, they weren’t targeted by the creatures. As a matter of fact, the creatures appeared to be completely disoriented. Apparently, they were only fighting because they didn’t know what else to do.
The few times they were threatened by the creatures, Bill easily handled them, though Cap decided to help with the last. When the cat was done, it looked like the creature had been attacked by a dozen dinner knives.
Finally, Bill halted before the wooden door.
“Maccus, we’ve got him!” Quittance shouted just before Bill grabbed Will’s arm. Will braced himself as his father pulled him through the door.
Will stumbled as they went through the door and onto the deck of the Dutchman. He swallowed once, hard.
Around them, a good portion of the crew was returning to the ship.
“What did ye do?” Maccus asked almost as soon as they were all on board. “Two minutes before you came back, all the creatures started fighting weird.”
Bill frowned. “That was about the time that Quittance beheaded the queen.”
“Enough chatter, get the ship moving, I want us to be out of here before they regroup,” the Captain called out. “Loose topgallants! Full Canvas!”
Will had recovered enough that he wasn’t obviously fighting nausea any longer, so Bill let go of him. Will took a deep breath and straightened up.
“If I never have to do that again, it will be too soon,” Will said quietly to Bill.
Bill chuckled. “If you do have t’ do it again, you’ll be crew, and it won’t bother you. But I hope you don’t have t’,” he responded, just as quiet.
The Dutchman was already in position to get away, and they were sailing away before any of the creatures could chase them.
Cap rubbed against Will’s cheek before jumping down and winding around his ankles. The Captain headed toward them. “Did anything happen, Mr. Turner- the younger Mr. Turner?
Will sighed. “She was in the middle of some sort of ceremony when my father and…”
“Quittance,” Bill supplied.
“Quittance interrupted her. She… bit me.” Will rubbed his throat again. He sighed. “She kept saying I would be her consort, or some such.”
“Let me see,” the Captain ordered.
Will obliged, tilting his head back so the Captain could get a good look.
The Captain used his more or less human hand to lift Will’s chin further as he studied the small bite marks. “I do na think anything will come o’ it.”
Will relaxed; a sudden exhale and slight slump of his shoulders betrayed a tension that no one had even noticed until it was gone.
Bill sighed in relief.
The Captain looked around and noticed that most of the crew was watching them. He let go of Will and whirled around. “Back ta work!” he snarled. “All of ye!”
The crew scattered. Bill clapped Will on the shoulder and headed toward the fo’c’s’le.
Cap just sat down on Will’s foot.
The Captain glanced down at the cat before returning his attention to Will.
Will watched him carefully.
Captain Jones could almost see the thoughts going through Will’s head. They’d shared a common enemy, but now that the crisis was over, the lad was reminded that he was a prisoner here.
Captain Jones sighed. “Have Maccus assign ye a task, Turner.”
Will nodded once and shook Cap off his foot. He headed toward the wheel, and then to whatever task Maccus assigned him.
Cap jumped onto the Captain’s shoulder and meowed. He sounded somewhat annoyed.
Captain Jones sighed. “I’d better be right. Though it won’t matter tomorrow night.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
The sunny morning had turned into a dreary, wet afternoon and night.
Will was below deck, hiding from the rain and watching a few members of the crew playing some sort of dice game.
Several members of the crew were watching him closely, so he simply watched the game.
He shifted slightly. His back still hurt if he moved wrong, but it was healing.
He continued to watch the game.
Only when he was sure that none of the crewmen were actually watching him, after that minor disaster of a game with Jones, he smirked.
The End
… Or is it?
The “or is it” ending is a very popular horror ending, where you are shown that the monster may not be dead. Or in this case… may have taken over. Did it? Or is Will just happy that he knows where the key is?
I’ll let you decide. And, could you tell me what you decided?
Just so you know, the rotting creatures were zombies- taking traits from both traditional Vodoun Zombies, and the zombies in The Zombie Survival Guide. The bat creatures were vampires. The queen was another type of vampire, more powerful then her servants. Obviously, I mixed vampire myths there, too.
And, as always, thank you for the beta, arquenniel. You’re awesome.
Author: immortal_jedi aka jedipati
Characters: Will, Captain Jones, Crew of the Dutchman, OFC bad guy
Rating: PG-13 for suspense and frightening images
Warnings: This is a horror story. It was originally supposed to be out before Halloween. Also, I’m fairly certain it’s AU.
Summary: The rescue party is coming, but is it too late?
~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill was only prevented from diving off the side of the ship and following the creatures as they carried away his son because Quittance and Greenbeard grabbed him and held him back.
The last of the creatures fled, and Bill collapsed against the two holding him. “Will,” he whispered.
Captain Jones leaned on the rail and watched the creatures go. The only indication of his feelings was the angry writhing of his tentacles.
“Down!” he ordered, louder then was strictly necessary. Once they were underwater, he turned to Maccus. “Get us as close to the island as possible.”
He snarled. “That queen dared attack my ship, and stole what is mine! We attack at dawn!”
He looked at Bill. “I trust, Mr. Turner, that I can count on you to retrieve the boy?”
Bill blinked and focused on him. “Aye, Captain,” he said. “Though depending on what condition Will is in, I may need help.”
“I’ll help,” Quittance said.
“Good,” Jones said.
“Maccus, you’re in charge. I canna go, so I expect you to keep the crew in line.”
It was a long wait, especially for Bootstrap, before the sea around them lightened with sunrise. “Whatever you find there, I want ta know,” Jones said.
~~~~~~~~~
Bill and Quittance skirted the main fight and headed deeper into the fortress they’d attacked. Cap was leading the way, apparently following some trail to Will.
“Are ye sure this is th’ right way?” Quittance asked.
Cap scolded him with a yowl and ended his complaint with a snort of disgust.
Bill shook his head. “No. But what else can we do? We have to find him, and quickly, before the queen does… whatever it is she does… to him.”
“You really care about the lad, don’t you?”
“He’s my son. And I’ve not been there for him. I don’t want t’ be reunited with him, only to lose him t’ this queen.” Bill sighed. “Better t’ have not seen him again, if that happens.”
Cap stopped in front of a door. It was locked, and they couldn’t pass through it, but Bill solved that problem by simply ramming into it and breaking it down.
Cap was the first through the door, and the first to react to the scene they found.
The changed cat yowled and flung himself onto the queen’s head.
The queen jumped up and away from Will. Will could only move his head, and he tilted it back, startled. Bill recognized the look on Will’s face. It was hope, threadbare and tattered, in the midst of overwhelming fear and resignation.
Bill had seen that look on countless sailors over the past nine years, but he’d never wanted to see it from his own son.
Bill brought his sword down on one of the ropes holding Will down, taking advantage of the queen’s distraction.
Will looked like he wasn’t sure he believed that he was being rescued, but he responded quickly enough. He reached out and grabbed the queen’s leg and pulled her down just as the queen threw Cap away.
The queen landed hard on her back, and Quittance kept her there by the simple method of threatening to cut off her head if she moved.
Bill finished freeing his son. After a moment, Will stood up, pressing his hand against his throat.
“What are you going to do to her?” His voice rasped slightly as he asked.
Quittance shrugged. “Captain said we could do what we want to her,” he said.
“Good,” Will responded. “Can we get out of here now?” His voice was improving as he spoke, and by the last word, it was normal.
Bill grabbed Will’s arm and pulled his hand away to get a look at Will’s throat.
Will’s throat was cut in two places. It looked almost like… Bill glanced down at the queen, then back up at Will. “She bit me,” Will confirmed. “I’m not sure why.”
“We have to get you back to the Dutchman, now,” Bill said.
Will frowned. “Um…”
“We don’t know much about how she makes her servants, except that they were mortal men once,” Bill said. “And…”
Will nodded. “I understand,” he said. That fear reappeared in his gaze. “But will the cure be as bad as the disease?”
Bill sighed and grabbed his arm. “Worry about that later,” he said. “At least you’ll have a choice.”
“True,” Will conceded. Cap jumped onto his shoulder, and Will glanced at the cat.
“Quittance,” Bill said, “remember that we need to get back to the ship.”
Quittance sighed. “Lad, what do you want to do with her?”
Will blinked. “You’re asking me?”
“You’re the one she’s after,” Quittance said.
Will shrugged. “Quite frankly, I never want to see her again. Do what you want.” He turned and headed for the door.
Bill shrugged at Quittance and followed his son.
Will didn’t break stride when Quittance brought his sword down. The loud thud as it hit the floor left no doubt as to what happened. Bill glanced at Will, who was rubbing his throat again. Cap batted at Will’s hand, and Will dropped it.
“You are definitely a cat,” Will said.
Bill smirked. “Will, we’d better get you a weapon. We’ll have to go through the fighting before we can find a place to get back to the ship.”
Will grimaced. “I suppose you’re going to drag me though the walls to the ship.”
Quittance caught up. “Quickest way to get out of here, lad,” he said.
Will sighed. Before he could say anything else, they heard fighting. Bill took the lead and they headed into the main part of the fortress. They didn’t see any weapons Will could use, but Will just shrugged. “I just want to get out of here,” he said.
Will stopped dead as he took in the scene. Bill grinned. “We’re winning,” he said.
“But… they fought a lot better on the Dutchman,” Quittance said.
Cap snorted. Will smiled faintly. “Let me guess- the way out is straight through the fight?”
“Of course,” Bill said. “Stay close.”
Will nodded, his eyes narrowing. “Now!” Bill ordered. He rushed out into the fight, Will on his heals.
Surprisingly, they weren’t targeted by the creatures. As a matter of fact, the creatures appeared to be completely disoriented. Apparently, they were only fighting because they didn’t know what else to do.
The few times they were threatened by the creatures, Bill easily handled them, though Cap decided to help with the last. When the cat was done, it looked like the creature had been attacked by a dozen dinner knives.
Finally, Bill halted before the wooden door.
“Maccus, we’ve got him!” Quittance shouted just before Bill grabbed Will’s arm. Will braced himself as his father pulled him through the door.
Will stumbled as they went through the door and onto the deck of the Dutchman. He swallowed once, hard.
Around them, a good portion of the crew was returning to the ship.
“What did ye do?” Maccus asked almost as soon as they were all on board. “Two minutes before you came back, all the creatures started fighting weird.”
Bill frowned. “That was about the time that Quittance beheaded the queen.”
“Enough chatter, get the ship moving, I want us to be out of here before they regroup,” the Captain called out. “Loose topgallants! Full Canvas!”
Will had recovered enough that he wasn’t obviously fighting nausea any longer, so Bill let go of him. Will took a deep breath and straightened up.
“If I never have to do that again, it will be too soon,” Will said quietly to Bill.
Bill chuckled. “If you do have t’ do it again, you’ll be crew, and it won’t bother you. But I hope you don’t have t’,” he responded, just as quiet.
The Dutchman was already in position to get away, and they were sailing away before any of the creatures could chase them.
Cap rubbed against Will’s cheek before jumping down and winding around his ankles. The Captain headed toward them. “Did anything happen, Mr. Turner- the younger Mr. Turner?
Will sighed. “She was in the middle of some sort of ceremony when my father and…”
“Quittance,” Bill supplied.
“Quittance interrupted her. She… bit me.” Will rubbed his throat again. He sighed. “She kept saying I would be her consort, or some such.”
“Let me see,” the Captain ordered.
Will obliged, tilting his head back so the Captain could get a good look.
The Captain used his more or less human hand to lift Will’s chin further as he studied the small bite marks. “I do na think anything will come o’ it.”
Will relaxed; a sudden exhale and slight slump of his shoulders betrayed a tension that no one had even noticed until it was gone.
Bill sighed in relief.
The Captain looked around and noticed that most of the crew was watching them. He let go of Will and whirled around. “Back ta work!” he snarled. “All of ye!”
The crew scattered. Bill clapped Will on the shoulder and headed toward the fo’c’s’le.
Cap just sat down on Will’s foot.
The Captain glanced down at the cat before returning his attention to Will.
Will watched him carefully.
Captain Jones could almost see the thoughts going through Will’s head. They’d shared a common enemy, but now that the crisis was over, the lad was reminded that he was a prisoner here.
Captain Jones sighed. “Have Maccus assign ye a task, Turner.”
Will nodded once and shook Cap off his foot. He headed toward the wheel, and then to whatever task Maccus assigned him.
Cap jumped onto the Captain’s shoulder and meowed. He sounded somewhat annoyed.
Captain Jones sighed. “I’d better be right. Though it won’t matter tomorrow night.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
The sunny morning had turned into a dreary, wet afternoon and night.
Will was below deck, hiding from the rain and watching a few members of the crew playing some sort of dice game.
Several members of the crew were watching him closely, so he simply watched the game.
He shifted slightly. His back still hurt if he moved wrong, but it was healing.
He continued to watch the game.
Only when he was sure that none of the crewmen were actually watching him, after that minor disaster of a game with Jones, he smirked.
The End
… Or is it?
The “or is it” ending is a very popular horror ending, where you are shown that the monster may not be dead. Or in this case… may have taken over. Did it? Or is Will just happy that he knows where the key is?
I’ll let you decide. And, could you tell me what you decided?
Just so you know, the rotting creatures were zombies- taking traits from both traditional Vodoun Zombies, and the zombies in The Zombie Survival Guide. The bat creatures were vampires. The queen was another type of vampire, more powerful then her servants. Obviously, I mixed vampire myths there, too.
And, as always, thank you for the beta, arquenniel. You’re awesome.