I would like to take this opportunity to thank my editor Jynx for her input and insights.
Please don't hesitate to comment and offer constructive criticism on this my second story. It has been several years since my first entry into the literary world. I hope you enjoy my work.
Pirate's Revenge
Chapter 1
I was tired, so very tired, but to stop was to die. He didn't tell me how far I had to go. He told me to go, so I went. My arms and legs were getting so heavy I could barely lift them. I rolled over on to my back and just floated there, to rest and catch my breath. I must have passed out from exhaustion because when I came to, I realized the sun was going to set soon. I had been in the water for several hours swimming to save my life. That's when I felt the first jolt.
The pain was severe. I looked around and got scared. I was surrounded by floating brown round masses encased in transparent goo. Being a fisherman, I knew what they were immediatelyβ cannonball jellyfish. This common type of jellyfish was not poisonous, but a single sting was extremely painful. I rolled over and started swimming as fast as I could. Every stroke resulted in more stings, not just one but so many and so fast I couldn't count them. Every sting caused me to twitch, which generated more stings. I picked up my head to find an exit, but all I saw was a rolling mass of goo. Beyond the mass a couple of dorsal fins circled slowly; bull sharks, I thought.
My father taught me that sharks on the surface were merely curious. They attack from below when they look for food. So, I looked in the water below me and found a thick layer of goo. I was boxed in by these jellies, like an open casket, with only one place to go. And I wasn't ready for my final resting place. I had too much justice to dispense. I rolled onto my back and just floated with the current as if I was another jelly. The stinging nearly stopped if I didn't move. The pain though, didn't stop. I just couldn't hurt anymore. Every fiber was in agony. The only thing I was grateful for was the pants I wore. At least that part of me was covered and the few stings went up the legs or through the material.
I woke up feeling as though my skin was very tight and could barely move. I could barely see. The jellies and sharks were gone. There, ahead of me, was a mountain, probably a volcano, highlighted by the rising sun. I started swimming with a renewed vigor. Well, maybe not vigor, but the best I could manage. I couldn't see anything by the time I crawled onto the beach. I just collapsed right there.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
"Blind, hurt, and exhausted. I can barely move," I whispered through swollen cracked lips.