On Morrow’s Shores

“Englishman, take an accomplice with you to set foot inland, make sure you come back by noon.”

“Yes, Captain!”

The morning waves roll softly over the beach. The quiet sky stares down at a beached ship and its crew who are slowly waking.

“Nate, won’t you help out an old pal and come with me,” yells the Englishman.

“Uh...I’ll be up in a sec’ then.” Nate groans. 

The beach is tattered with footprints and worn down by the blinding sun. When the crew is finally up and about the shores, it’s suddenly filled with boisterous activity. Engel finishes moving the last of his crates down the ship and sits down upon one with a deep, laboring sigh. Seeing the Captain strolling about, he quickly calls out to him.

“Hey Cap’, come rest by my crates, you’ve done a full day’s work already at only daybreak.” 

“Ah well, the Captain is intrinsic to his crew.” 

“Just as a body of water is intrinsic to a ship, but, well, look at us, a bunch of stranded it’s not like we’re going anywhere soon, so take it easy.”

He sighs, “Our attitude is what cost us our trip to Yulana, if only I was more vigilant…”

“Oh enough with the negativity, I’d say we’re lucky our ship didn’t get completely overwhelmed by the storm.”

“I wonder if we’ll ever get out of this mess.”

“Say, maybe this is God trying to tell us something, to get off the sea perhaps.”

“Now why would you think that?”

“Well I got a theory, maybe this was a sort of way for us to get out of harm’s end.”

“We’re sure as heck stuck way up in harm’s end, how is the shipwreck any good for us?”

“There’s possibly a greater danger roaming these waters. Now there’s an old saying among us seafarers: ‘when misfortune strikes, free are you from old Morrow’s eyes.’”

“Now what’s that supposed to mean?”

Upon hearing Captain’s response, Engel smirks, “Ah, I see you’ve never heard the legend of the sadistic Captain Morrow. Words around here is that Captain Morrow roams these seas. Any ships caught in his sight will be devastated and pillaged.”

“Sounds like your typical pirate.”

“Not at all, no one escapes him after he gets his eyes on you. Legend has it that wherever his ship goes, hundreds of ravenous sharks follow and circle the ship at all times. They wait for a sorry soul to try to escape by jumping in the water, then they charge at you and it’s all over.”

“What a bunch of malarkey,” Captain says.

“That’s not even the worst part. Truth be told, you’ll be lucky if you jumped out and died right then. He cauterizes every surface of his prisoners’ skin as a way of marking them as his bounties. He smiles as they suffer, the screams would entice him to burn their flesh more intensely. Then he works them to their doom, forcing them to do unimaginably horrendous tasks, cutting out pieces of flesh from the crewmates to feed to the sharks and whatnot, while they’re still alive!”.

“You sure know how to cheer people up, that makes me feel a lot better about being stuck on this island with a madman sailing about.”

“But in the end they’re just myths, or at least nobody survived Morrow’s torture to tell if he’s truly real or not.”

“Captain! There’s still no sign of Nate and the Englishman, it’s a quarter past noon.” A sailor suddenly interrupts their conversation.

“Alright, let’s clear up the chatter, something must be wrong. I better go check on them.” The Captain cries out.

“I’ll come with you,” Engel says, “there’s not much for me to do around here anyways, this boredom is killing me.”

“But you better quit your crazy talk along the way,” Captain chuckles, “we’ll bring a few bottles of water and food for the road, it shouldn’t take long.” 

“I’ll get to packing right away.” Engel replies.
“Oh and also,” Captain pauses and lifts his head to look at the open sea, his eyes upholding a perplexed stare, before continuing, “bring some ropes for the trip, in case those poor fellows fell in a hole of some sort and can’t get out.” The woodlands past the beach are uncharted territory. The forest is a heavy green and obscured by masses of plants and groves. The scarce light that manages to creep through is scattered into thin spots of yellow beams. The two men wander into the unknown. 

“Where could those two men have gone?” The Captain sighs.

“Without any sort of clue as to where we are or where we’re going, we’ll just be walking around aimlessly. It won’t be long before we’re lost in this maze of a jungle.” Engel suggests as he shakes off a rather persistent group of vines stuck to his sleeves in disgust.

“Don’t worry, we’ll leave marks on the trees so we can retrace our steps. A simple cut on the bark will do the trick.” Captain picks up a small rock with jagged edges and briskly swipes at a nearby tree, leaving a wide gash on its skin. He looks back at Engel with a prideful smile, which Engel returns with a reluctant nod of approval. As they maneuver through the thick forest, they exchange more banter and replace dull rocks with new ones. 

The crew by the ship is still busy going about their day. The waves clash more vibrantly by the crystalline dunes as noon passes by. Wilcox and Monsieur Jacques strike up a conversation as they near their break.

“Have you’ve gotten the last of the crates down, Wilcox?” 

“This’ll be the last haul, Monsieur.” 

“Well it’s awfully sunny now, wonder where the Cap’ is.” Wilcox says, squinting his eyes.

“People are getting antsy about it, sure enough, but can’t let it be a distraction now.” Jacques responds.

“But I got some other news for ya, I was strolling about the beach down the road, roughly one mile down, and I saw quite a sight.”

“Well, what was it?”

“I’ll show you, just come with me, we’re both done with our work anyways.”

The two men walked along the beach, around the island to another part where it was blocked from view by a small protrusion of rocks. 

“Shocking, isn’t it, another beached ship. And you know what’s even crazier, I’ve inspected the interiors, not a single soul or sign of a crew there.” Wilcox says.

“Yes, that is quite strange, they must’ve all gone inland.”

“Possibly, but if they’re all so confident about heading in, that means the forests might contain something that sparked their interest.”

“A whole reservoir of potential.”

“Yes, yes indeed.” Wilcox nods as he musters an enigmatic smile. 

Deeper inside the forest, the claustrophobic environment filled with flora had become a familiar sight for the two men, but in the distance, Engel spots a humanoid silhouette, delicately waving with the branches nearby from the breeze. The soft rustling of the leaves is abruptly replaced by utter cries of disbelief. 

“Holy mackerel! Is that someone hanging from the tree?” Engel cries out.

“That would not be a far fetched idea, I’m afraid.” The Captain approaches the suspended corpse and studies its features. Both of them are flustered with both the terror of seeing a dead body and the relief that it was not the crewmates that they were looking for.

“This is outrageous! Who could’ve done this?” Engel exclaims shakily.

“There’s not a single scratch on the body, clearly they were not in a fight of some sort, it was either a clean ambush or some other devious mishap,” The Captain circles the body in an investigative manner, “anyhow, we must tread carefully from now on, a terribly evil inhabitant may be residing on this island.” The two walks off with renewed solemnity, seldom would they converse with each other. The tree lines cast a heavy shade upon the brows of the two men, whose eyes reflected a great deal of cautiousness and a burden to maintain their calmness. 

“Captain! There’s another one here.” Engel yells out, pointing to yet another figure hanging from a tree.

“Unbelievable, the crime continues.”

“I have a bad feeling about this place.” Engel whispers as he walks away, maintaining a few meters distance from the hanging body. The two continue their exploration, unaware that many hours have passed. Along their way they discover dozens more corpses, all dangling lifelessly from branches and nooses. The crippling sight makes the two grimace and falter. 

“This is madness, what kind of devilish entity could’ve done this!” The Captain proclaims.

“We should get out of here, I don’t like the looks of this place at all.” Engel suggests, being both drained of spirit and water.

“Don’t need to tell me twice, we’ll head back and come back with more arms and supplies, the other men need to know about this.” As they retreat from the scene, an ominous, thick fog creeps in slowly from all sides, obscuring their sight. 

“My goodness, where did this fog come from?” Engel is bewildered.

“Such humid environment, it would not be uncommon to see condensations like this.” The Captain says confidently. 

“It’s white as snow in here, how will we be able to see our marks and walk back?”

“Don’t worry, I have a rough idea of what trees I’ve cut, we’ll move carefully and check the surrounding area.” As night approaches and the embers of the sun lose its vigor, the men are still not able to spot a single scratch on a tree, nor are they able to find the hanging bodies. “Impossible, do my senses deceive me? Why have we not discovered a single sign of artificial damage on any of these trees!” The Captain cries.

“Well, it’s clear as day we’re lost in these forests.” Engel sighs.

“Hpmh, not so clear are our marks, especially when night’s at our knees, and this dang fog doesn’t seem to be loosening whatsoever. This is outrageous!”

“My mouth is dry as a desert, soon we’ll be deep in the pangs of thirst if we don’t find our way back.”

“We’ll have to rest here for the night, rather than wasting our time to just wander even farther from our path.” The Captain squats down before patting down the dirt to create a flat area to rest.

“I say we wait until the fog dies off and manage a light, then we can push out and search for our marks. Our crew will also be able to spot us.”

“Oh, why go through all the trouble to do that when we can use this time to regain some strength. With no food or water left, we won’t have much strength by daybreak if we keep up like this. We’ll be able to use the light of day tomorrow to guide us back, no need for us to craft our own.” The Captain yawns as he lies down, putting his hand on his head and staring at the vacuous oblivion that is the darkness above. Despite the ordeals he had gone through, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction and tranquility being here in the great wilds and away from all the troubles.

“I’m sorry, do you not sense the urgency that is needed right now? We are stuck in a forest filled with the dead and we are out of luck. We need to get back to our crew immediately or else we’ll suffer the same fate as them!” 

“I would love to be able to get back to our ship this instant, but you see that is not plausible right now, no matter how urgent you feel,” he says with a taunting manner.

“We will find a way! There’s no telling what evil spirits lurk in the shadows here. I want out of here!” Engel yells and thrusts his fist into a nearby tree in a fit of exasperation, the whites of his teeths flashing in the dark and his veins are on the brink of bursting.

“Trust me, I share your frustration, but we must rest, Engel!”

“God, this is outrageous! Why must you be so stubborn!” Engel throws his empty flask in the dirt and kicks it into the distance. He shuffles around and sifts through his hair like a  madman. “Aha, yes… yes of course, I see what’s going on here. You’re… you’re trying to keep us here, you’re trying to stop me from getting back!”
“Now why in lord’s name would I do that?”

“If you were the culprit behind these unspeakable acts,” he pauses, color draining out of his face, “if you were the murderer!”

“Oh now, you’re just completely out of your mind, why would I do this?”

“Now, now, this–I–you–of course, oh of course–the fumes! Oh god, the fumes! You did this, you’ve somehow lost your head because of this strange mist, and now… now you’re going on a bloody rampage, massacring your men! I’m out of here right now!” Engel spits out in delirium. With this, his face adopts a new shade of discoloration, as if his tirade had diminished his vigor even more, making him look like he has been on the island for months. The scratches and bruises on his clothes seem more defined by his craze. His eyes and fingers twitch abnormally as he stomps back and forth.

“Stop this madness! Do not defy me, I am your captain! You listen to me, stay put! How do I know that this is not your bloody, manipulative mind trick, how do I know you’re not the murderer! You are playing with me, aren’t you! You disgust me, you…” the Captain coughs intensely, his throat grasping for air. Engel drops to the floor and clings to his empty stomach, groaning in thirst. 

“Water,” he coughs, “I need water, Captain, did you steal my flask? Why would you do that? That's my flask, mine!”

“Uh, shut your trap, I didn’t take nothing, you scum.” 

Engel stretches his neck and examines a nearby tree. He gently caresses the bark and stares at it intently. “Ah, here it is, it’s a mark, don’t you see Captain, a slight laceration, we are not lost after all, make no mistake! The scratch of wisdom, it will scare off the fumes, the fumes! I see scratch marks everywhere, on those trees, and those over there, it’s everywhere,” he picks up a jagged rock on the ground and slowly carves into his finger, “and there’s even one on my hand.” the Captain disregards him. Engel starts to laugh hysterically as the Captain fades away to sleep.

A startling sound in the sky awakens the two. The Captain lifts his eyelids sliver by sliver and slowly lifts himself from the ground, his eyes are almost lifeless and indifferent to his bodily gestures. Now his once glistening coat was but a fading memory of a prouder past, and his boxed beard was a shriveled mess. 

“It’s still dark as coal, I can’t see a thing,” the Captain says. Suddenly, the blaring sound trembles across the forest again.

Engel tenses up and looks in the direction of the noise in vivid horror, “What is that?”

“Could it be, of course, it has to, it must be–Captain Morrow,” the Captain gasps.

“Dear god, this can’t be happening, I don’t want to be taken away.”

“He has finally come for us, oh sweet lord. All these years…” With widened eyes, the Captain lifts his head and tears up. “I never thought I would die at the hands of a crazed madman.”

“A monster! He will torture us to our demise.”

Stroking his beard, the Captain shifts his gaze towards Engel, his face brightens with a smile, “Huh,” he chuckles with delight, an abrupt retreat from his worries.

“What is it?” Engel asks.

“I have an idea, yes… an idea.”

“Well, spill it.”

“Huh, old Morrow can’t catch us with our wits. We have just the tool for salvation,” the Captain holds up the ropes with both hands and kneels down, he looks at it with admiration and awe. 

“Yes, we have been spared by the Father.”

“We shall tie this upon a tree and wrap ourselves in its glory.”

“A clever escape, I’ve never heard of a better plan, truly transcending the minds of the average”

“Well then, we must hurry,” the Captain sprints to a tree and ties a noose on a branch, “come now, you shall be first.” 

As Engel puts his head inside, he looks at the Captain in hesitation, “Wait, what about the rest of the crew, we can’t just leave them here. They will suffer.”

“Shhh, everything will be alright.”

“But… but… Captain Morrow will come for them, we need to go back to warn them, maybe there’s even a chance we can escape off the island before he arrives.”

“No, no, no…” the Captain repeats the word and shakes his head.

“What about–”

“Shhh now,” the Captain interrupts him and puts his index finger on his lips. He looks intently at him, and then lets go of Engel, watching as he tumbles down and struggles, “everything will be alright, everything will be alright…” Humming a soft tune, the Captain walks away and climbs up a tree with his ropes.

“Steady now, these are my life savings,” Wilcox yells at the newly arrived sailors on the beach as they load their crates up on the sailors’ ship, which overshadows the wreckage with its angelic presence.

“Alright, we’re leaving, everyone get in line!” Jacques yells.

“Wait, what about Engel and our Captain, they’re still not back yet,” Wilcox says.

“You guys wait here then,“ Jacques points to Wilcox and says, “Wilcox, come with me, let’s go find them.”

“Fine with me, let’s head out.”

“Oh and one more thing,” Jacques pauses and gazes at the forest, “bring a pair of ropes.”