Blood on a Haven

Paul Ashworth scanned the forest with his musket at the ready. He had been hunting and fishing for years and knew the arts and tricks to it. He stood silent and still for a few minutes before carefully walking to a second position.

  He turned his head as he heard the rustling of the bushes on his left. He lifted his musket and aimed at the bushes before slowly moving forward.

  "Nice and slowly," George whispered beside Paul as he lifted his own musket.

  As the moved closer Paul began to see the animal causing the rustling. He saw through the gaps between the plants and leaves.

  The animal was facing away from Paul and did not realise him until it was too late.

  Crack!!

  Paul fired his musket at point blank range. The musket ball struck the pig in the neck and caused it to drop immediately, dead. Blood spilt out of the bullet wound.

  Paul grabbed the animal by the legs and showed it to a delighted George.

  "Good show!" George said with a smile.

  Blam!

  George and Paul ducked as the sound was followed by many more, Paul clutched his musket with both of his hands, he had never heard such a terrifying sound before but George seemed to understand what was going on and he did not look happy about it.

  "What is that!" Paul asked as he reached into his ammunition pouch.

  "Cannons," George said. His eyes were wide with fear and anger.

  "Let's go!" He says as he runs back towards the village with a frightened and confused Paul.

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  As the reached closer and closer to the village the sound grew louder and was followed by the screams and shouts of the villagers and musket fire.

  George ran at full speed and did not stop even when thorns and branches struck him. Paul followed the middle-aged man but found him to be too fast for the seventeen-year-old.

  As they passed through the final few trees of the forest and made their way to the village, George stopped and looked in fear and anger at the cause of the explosions.

  Three ships had pulled up to the village were firing onto the village and sending in pirates to take any loot and to kill anyone who resisted but there was something about the ships that sent shivers down George's spine. The ships were covered in red vines and had cannons with three barrels that bore strange and demonic paintings.

  "God," George swore as Paul finally got out of the forest.

  "What in the name of.....Wait for me!" Paul exclaimed as he chased his master who decided it was to run again.

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  "Captain, he is not here." A pirate told Blackwell Reeve as he scanned the village for the man he came for.

  "Then find him!" Blackwell shouted in annoyance under the pleasing sound of a continuous bombardment.

  "Yes, captain." The pirate replied as he rushed to prepare another search party.

  "Captain!" A second pirate called out for his leader, "we have captured a group for the sacrifice."

  "Very well, prepare the altar," Blackwell said as he turned to look at the sacrifice.

  Among them, sitting next to a barrel of lime water, was a woman comforting her crying baby.

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    "Who are these people?" Paul asked as he shot down one of the invaders.

  "Pirates," George said as he drew his knife and slashed off the head from a pirate.

  "Where are we going?" Paul asked again as he drew his own knife and discarded his musket.

  "My house!" George explained as his beautiful seaside house was now a group of destroyed wooden planks. George realised that now he was able to clearly face the three pirate vessels.

  The vessels were manned by either normal humans and men and women who had strange mutations on their bodies like a spiky back or scales for skin.

  "Cursed Pirates," George said to no one in particular.

  "What?!" Paul asked for the third time.

  "Pirates who made a pact with a Demon of the seas for anything they desire, strength, lust or power," George said as he pointed his knife to the pirates.

"George!" A deep and unsettling voice said.

  George turned his head to the middle and largest vessel. He turned to find a familiar face but now he had grey skin and spikes protruding from his suit.

  "Blackwell!" George exclaimed as he faced his old lieutenant.

  "Nice place you have!" The cursed pirate captain said as George saw men and women being dragged to an altar on the middle of the ship and among them was another familiar face.

  "Sophia! Audrey!" George called out. Sophia turned to look at her husband and heaved a sigh of relief but her eyes turned into those of a scared young child when a knife was placed next to her neck.

  "Your lady I suppose," Blackwell said as he pulled the knife closer to Sophia's neck," pity she knew you."

  The next moment Sophia's head rolled onto the deck with her eyes still wide with shock.

  "No! You bastard!" George exclaimed as Blackwell takes a pistol from his belt and aims it at the head of little Audrey as she tugged her mother's hand.

  "No! No!" George calls out again but Blackwell didn't care and pulled the trigger.

  "Master watch out!" Paul calls out to George as he sees the triple barrel cannons of Blackwell's ships turned towards George.

  And fired.

  Explosions and cannon balls crash into the sand all around George but he stood there grieving about his wife and child.

  "Master!" Paul calls out once more as the three ships turn around and sail away from the island.