FICTION | FANTASY | HORROR | MASH-UP
On the Blossoming Bess
A flash fiction
This story was born from Prompt #33 by Jonathon Sawyer. The first shanty is a real one, often open to improvisation, called ‘Haul Away Joe’; the second is my own, and should fit the same tune.
CW: horror, torture, reference to execution.
On the Blossoming Bess
Haul, haul away. We’ll haul…
The sound of the sailors’ shanty echoed from above as Kit crept through the hold. He knew he wasn’t supposed to be there, not after midnight — but what the devil, he was hungry.
And besides, he couldn’t remember why that rule existed. What was he even doing on such a tight ship as this?
So, while his crew worked to raise the sails, he allowed their song to mask his movements, slow though these were. The hold itself grew darker, the further he went — he didn’t want to crash into anything, get caught…
He needn’t have worried.
In the corner, a sack was glowing, red as a fire’s embers. Opening it, Kit pulled out an apple: rich scarlet, perfectly round, and scented sweetly. He took a bite.
At once, a cold wind blew through him; he dropped the apple in surprise. It rolled behind him and, turning, Kit found that the roof of the hold — the gun deck and above — had disappeared. He was all exposed to the starry sky.
Even worse, the ship’s supplies were gone — substituted for black leaves — dead leaves. In that same cold wind, these scattered across the deck, collecting into deep, dark piles, and —
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
There was a pause. No sight accompanied the noise —
The leaves exploded around Kit — thrice — in three fountains of St Elmo’s fire. Each was as red as his apple — as hot as the wind was cold — brightness blurred Kit’s vision.
Were there faces in the fires? He thought so, but they did not speak. Instead, their mouths fell open, releasing waves of wailing that scoured straight through Kit’s soul.
He jammed his hands over his ears — wailed his own wail, willing — screaming — for the pain to STOP —
Kit panted as he lay on the hard surface, all curled up into a ball. Now, how to unfurl, to stretch…?
He didn’t know how long it took. He ached like something decayed — to move his legs, he had to grab them with his hands…. but when at last Kit managed to stand, he found himself above deck, not below.
He was on the forecastle. Staggering to the railing, he found — praise Davy Jones — his crew where he’d left them, on the main deck. Their shanty saw a new call and response:
Christoph Hogg was a salty dog. Twas hanged in Traitors’ Harbour — No grave could be; The sea took he.
‘From the rocks,’ Kit whispered, without thinking about what he was saying. ‘From the rocks...’
Before the law caught up with him, he sailed to hidden islands — All, all alone, With his coins of gold.
‘And the spot,’ he said, dropping his gaze towards his hand. ‘And the spot.’
Now, as we man his good ship Bess, she’ll take us to our treasure — Where we can share A portion fair.
‘On the X that marks the SPOT,’ he called.
His last word rang out across the ship — he remembered! He remembered why he was there: to guide his pirate crew to their rightful treasure, not serving some fruit-and-furnishings merchant who always sailed the same route and enforced boring rules after midnight.
Kit — Christoph — cackled for joy. Oh, how better — it was, it was the better thing — to be a pirate captain!
Prompts Used and Points Gained
Main Theme (2 points)
#1: Your protagonist is a ghost!
Can they effect (affect?) the world around them? Maybe they're haunting someone/something.
Point Tally: 2
Constraints (1 point each; use 4)
A scary creature says "Om-nom-nom!" (which isn't scary at all!)
A red apple *
Three witches *
The sound of crunching leaves *
Wailing (Or whaling, if you prefer) *
An animated skeleton
Point Tally: 4
Hardcore Constraints (2 points)
Take revenge on someone!
OR
Curse someone with something incredibly mundane!
Point Tally: 0
Literary Device (5 points)
Illustrate a fable within your story!
Point Tally: 0
Kraken Lore Mega Bonus (10 points!)
"Everything's better with PIRATES!"
Explain why with a short sea shanty in your story!
Point Tally: 10
Bonus (1 point)
Add a section that tallies up your points at the end of the story.
Point Tally: 1End Total: 17
R C Hammond — fancy a new challenge (fiction writing)? Here’s your invite to try a future mash-up of your choice…
Copyright © E.A. Colquitt 2023