Ocean Crystals
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The ocean was the most important place for a sailor. It held more than ninety percent of the planet’s water, which kept all living things alive. Yet, even with such a large percentage, it was not always easy to find. Sometimes sailors could be lucky and see one on their voyage, but more often they had to go out into open seas in order to search for it.
In the middle of a clear blue day off the coast of the United States, two ships stood side-by-side on the waves. One, called the Atlantic Trader, belonged to Captain Thomas Jagger. The other ship was named after its captain: The Golden Hind, and she belonged to Captain Sir Francis Drake.
The men on both ships wore dark uniforms that were different from each other, as well as from the rest of the navy ships in service during the time period. For the crew on the Golden Hind, white coats would be worn under their uniform jackets.
Their coats would have golden embroidery on the shoulders. On the Atlantic Trader’s crew, their coats would be a shade lighter than those on the Golden Hind. The captains of both ships also dressed differently than others. Both ships’ captains had bright red sashes across their chests.
These reds were not only meant to show the world they were captains—but they also indicated to everyone what ship they were on. A black belt with golden buckles completed the outfit on both of these captains.
The two ships were close enough together that people on the beach could easily hear their conversations. “Well, you don’t need me to tell you how important this voyage is,” said the captain of the Atlantic Trader. “The king has given us permission to look for Ocean Crystals.” The captain paused before continuing with his sentence. “You must know why we’re looking for them by now.”
Captain Drake looked over to his second officer, who responded to the question, “Yes, sir. We’ve already been told about the mission.” He continued speaking, “We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning at dawn.”
“Excellent!” Captain Jagger exclaimed.
Drake spoke next. “What if we found something?”
“Then, I guess you’d have to come back here with your findings,” said Jagger. “If there’s something wrong, then it can’t hurt for me to take a quick trip.”
“But what if there isn’t anything wrong?” asked Drake.
Jagger laughed and looked out at the horizon. “I suppose I’ll let someone else handle it if there’s nothing there.” Jagger looked at his second officer again. “What do you say, Henry? You’ve worked with me long enough to know that I’m just trying to be cautious. If it doesn’t seem right to me, I want to get away as quickly as possible.”
Henry, or Mr. Henry, had served under Captain Jagger for years. He knew that when the captain said he wanted to be careful, he meant that he did not wish to stay where he wasn’t needed. He nodded, and Jagger continued, “As for the supplies we’ll need, I’ve brought everything we should need for our journey.”
Jagger pointed to a large stack of supplies and containers. “That includes a few things that might be worth quite a bit of money.”
Henry nodded and turned toward the deck on the Atlantic Trader. There were several men walking around, carrying items that were similar to what Captain Jagger had mentioned. As he made his way down the stairs, the captain saw him.
“Good afternoon, my good man!” Jagger shouted over to the man who was standing near a barrel full of fish.
“Ahoy there, Cap’n,” replied a man wearing a bright green coat with golden buttons. When Henry reached the end of the stairwell, he walked up to Jagger. “What brings you down here today?” he asked. “Is something going wrong?”
Jagger smiled and shook his head. “No, no! No problems at all! I’m just making sure everything is in order before we leave on our mission.” Jagger gestured toward the barrel and nodded to himself. “Now, let’s see if we can convince one of these fine gentlemen to bring us some fresh fish.”
As Henry approached one of the sailors, Jagger leaned in closer. “Tell me,” he whispered, “have any of you noticed anything strange happening lately?”
When the sailor looked over to Jagger, he frowned and answered, “No, Cap’n. Not unless you count the odd storm that came through yesterday. It really shook up the waters for a while.”
“Oh, yes, yes,” said Jagger, nodding and smiling. “I heard about that storm. I remember thinking it was strange to see so many clouds in one area.” He looked out to sea. “Did the captain of that ship happen to mention anything else to you?”
“Well… not to me specifically,” answered the sailor. “I’m sure he talked to his men.”
Captain Jagger grinned. “That’s what I like to hear, lad! Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll be getting back to work before the sun comes up.”
After Captain Jagger left, Henry stood alone on the deck of the ship. He thought to himself that he could never understand why Captain Jagger would lie to him. He was always so cautious and careful, so it surprised him that he’d lied.
As Captain Jagger walked back down the ramp onto the beach, a tall figure appeared from behind a group of trees. As they came face-to-face, the stranger put his hand on the captain’s shoulder and whispered, “You didn’t know?”
Captain Jagger stopped walking and shook his head. “Know what?” he asked.
The man looked over at Jagger’s crewmen, who were still loading supplies onto a wagon, but was now moving their attention toward a boat. He spoke slowly, as though to make sure that the captain understood exactly what he was saying.
“This is what’s going on. Your crew is being taken to another ship; a small vessel headed to an unknown destination. Once aboard the vessel, they will be killed by pirates, along with everyone else who has been working on the Trader. And you are next.”
“How do you know this?” asked Jagger.
“We were sent to find out what was going on,” explained the man, his voice growing more serious. “We weren’t able to get much information, but there has definitely been some unusual activity going on. We believe that your crew and everyone else on the ship may have something to do with it.”
“How can you be sure?” asked Jagger, turning toward the man. “Why would they be doing such a thing? This must be a mistake!”
Before the man could answer, the sound of a cannon shot rang out. It echoed throughout the village and sounded as though it was coming from somewhere nearby. The man and Captain Jagger spun around and looked out toward the ocean. They watched as a pirate ship sailed into view, its cannons pointed directly at the shore.
A moment later, Henry and his fellow sailors stepped off of the Trader onto the beach.
“Quickly,” said the man, “get to the other side of the beach!”
As Captain Jagger ran toward his men, he glanced at the stranger in disbelief and shouted, “Why are you helping me? Why did you even say anything to me?”
The man shook his head and pointed toward the Trader. “It’s best that you don’t ask questions right now.” He looked at Jagger as if to emphasize the last word. “I need you to listen carefully. You must get away from here.”
Jagger nodded and began shouting orders at his men. As they quickly loaded cargo onto the wagons and set sail again, he turned back toward the man and asked, “Where are you taking me?”
“I am sorry,” replied the man, “but I cannot tell you that.”
“Please, please,” begged Jagger, “tell me where we’re going!”
As the man continued to look at Jagger, the captain began to notice a strange light in his eyes. Jagger looked down toward the sand and noticed the man standing in front of him was dressed entirely in black and was covered completely except for his face.
His clothes had holes cut out of them to expose his chest and arms, and even his legs were slightly bare. A single tear rolled down each cheek, and the man held his chin with his index finger and thumb. It was the strangest thing Jagger had ever seen—and yet somehow familiar.
Just then, a cannonball exploded nearby, blasting debris everywhere. As the dust cleared, Jagger saw several pirate ships on fire as they sailed away from shore. He turned back toward the mysterious man, who was still standing motionless in front of him.
“You’re helping me escape, aren’t you?” asked Jagger, looking straight into those unsettling eyes.
The man’s tears fell freely, almost as if they were pouring out of him uncontrollably. After a short pause, he finally responded, “Yes.”
***
Henry sat alone in an empty classroom, staring at a blank chalkboard. The day had started out well enough but had quickly gone awry. After finishing his chores, he ran across a small group of boys who were playing a game of hide-and-seek, which caused a brief scuffle.
When Henry tried to apologize, one of the other boys pulled him down and pinned him to the ground, while laughing hysterically. Henry stood up and pushed the boy away, only to receive a slap in the face. He then ran home and locked himself inside his room.
He wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt so angry or upset—or why he couldn’t stop thinking about the events from earlier in the morning. Henry knew that something strange was happening to him, and he didn’t know how to deal with it.
All of the anger and sadness seemed to build up within him, and he felt like he might burst at any moment. His mother had never known how to deal with Henry, nor had his father. She would try her best to help him, but he always ended up running away from home.
Now he found himself hiding in an old abandoned schoolhouse, unable to think clearly or move without a heavy burden weighing down on his shoulders.
He closed his eyes and focused on trying to remember anything that had happened today, hoping that it might give him some clue as to what he should do. But nothing came to mind. In fact, everything from the previous evening felt as if it had all been a dream. Henry thought that perhaps he’d fallen asleep during history class and had just now awoken.
But when he opened his eyes again, there was still no sign of any of the other students or teachers from his normal school. Instead, he found himself sitting in a classroom made entirely out of stone walls—not wood as he was accustomed to seeing in the rest of the town.
There was a single door at the far end, but it appeared to be locked. It reminded him of a church he’d visited once upon a time with his parents, though he hadn’t seen many churches since moving away from Boston.
The End