Chapter 25
The Island of Echoes
It started with a map. It always did.
Jake Sparrow was lounging on the deck of the Black Pearl, balancing a rum bottle on his knee while flipping through a weathered old journal he'd stolen from a ship two days ago. The journal was full of madness—half-finished poems, drawings of sea monsters with suspiciously feminine features, and one map.
A curious map.
Jake tilted his head. "Hmm. This could either lead to unimaginable treasure… or to a very angry mermaid with commitment issues."
Elias leaned over his shoulder, squinting at the faded lines. "Or both."
Jake grinned. "Oh, I do hope so."
The island on the map was unnamed. Just a jagged ink stain with words written in shaky script: "Where voices speak twice and gold is guarded by none."
"That sounds cursed," Raina muttered, walking up with a plate of stolen fruit.
"Everything worth chasing is cursed," Jake said, chewing on a slice of mango. "That's half the fun."
"You said that about the haunted ship," Raina reminded him.
"And look how well that turned out!" Jake beamed.
"We were cursed for three days, turned into shadows, and almost eaten by ghosts," Elias said, deadpan.
Jake waved a hand. "Minor inconvenience."
That evening, they set sail toward the coordinates scratched into the edge of the map. The wind was with them, the stars were bright, and for once, there wasn't a single navy ship in sight.
Which, of course, meant trouble was close.
By morning, the island was in view—small, surrounded by jagged rocks, and covered in mist. The kind of place you instinctively knew didn't want visitors.
Elias stared at it. "Looks friendly."
Jake nodded, arms crossed. "Probably crawling with death traps. Let's go."
Raina sighed. "Of course."
They lowered a rowboat and paddled toward shore, Jake humming a sea shanty off-key while Elias sharpened his sword with far too much enthusiasm.
The moment their feet touched the beach, the air changed. It felt heavy, thick with something old. No birds, no wind, just silence.
Then—
"Welcome… welcome… welcome…"
The island echoed.
Jake blinked. "Well that's not ominous at all."
Raina drew her knife. "Did the island just speak?"
"Technically," Elias said, pointing at a rock, "it echoed me."
Jake stepped forward, testing the sound. "Rum."
"Rum… rum… rum…"
He grinned. "I like this place."
They followed the path inland. The jungle was dense, filled with strange trees and glittering stones embedded in their roots. Every word they spoke came back twice, sometimes warped, sometimes in a whisper.
After an hour of hiking, they reached a clearing.
And in the center was a pile of gold.
No traps. No monsters. Just treasure. Piled high, glittering in the sunlight like a dream.
Jake froze. "This is either a gift from the gods… or bait."
Elias looked around. "Probably both."
Raina was already reaching for a necklace. "We're pirates. We don't not take gold."
Jake nodded, slowly walking toward the treasure. "True. But maybe let's—"
The ground shook.
Too late.
From the trees, creatures emerged—not men, not beasts. They were like shadows made solid, with glowing blue eyes and blades of bone.
Jake raised his sword. "And there it is."
Elias grinned and rolled his neck. "Been a whole day since something tried to kill me. I was getting bored."
The creatures attacked.
Elias met them head-on, his black sword cutting through shadows like light. Jake ducked, spun, kicked one creature into a tree, and sliced another's leg off. It dissolved into mist.
Raina moved quick and deadly, throwing blades into glowing eyes, dodging claws, using the treasure as cover.
But more kept coming.
"Alright, time to leave!" Jake shouted, parrying a swipe. "No treasure's worth this much dramatic flair!"
Elias beheaded another, then looked at Jake. "You say that every time."
"And I mean it every time!"
They began retreating, cutting a path through the monsters. As they reached the edge of the clearing, Jake spotted something—an old stone altar with carvings.
He paused, touched the symbols, and his eyes widened.
"It's a warning," he muttered. "This island doesn't guard treasure. It guards… voices."
"What?" Elias asked, holding off two attackers.
Jake yanked a dagger from the altar, and the shadows froze.
All at once, they stopped, turned to mist, and vanished.
Silence returned.
Jake stood panting, holding the dagger. It was black, with a single blue gem in the hilt.
He looked at Elias and Raina. "Okay. I might've just stolen the voice of an ancient god or something."
Raina groaned. "Of course you did."
They didn't stay to find out more. They took what gold they could carry, fled the jungle, and rowed back to the Black Pearl.
By nightfall, they were sailing again, faster than ever, the cursed island fading behind them.
Elias sat on a crate, holding a coin he'd taken.
Jake leaned beside him. "So. That was fun."
"You stole a dagger that may or may not kill us all in our sleep."
Jake nodded. "Exactly. Adventure."
Raina crossed her arms. "You're both insane."
Elias smiled. "That's why we're alive."
Jake raised his cup of rum. "To insanity."
They clinked drinks as the sea stretched ahead.
A new day, a new curse, and another wild tale for the three most reckless pirates to ever sail the sea.
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