The Beginning

Everything was heavy. Her eyelids, her arms, her legs. She felt as if a vise was wrapped around her, squeezing the life out of her. She pushed down the panic because she knew she was dreaming, she often had nightmares of drowning at sea. All she had to do was wake up and it would be over.

She started twitching her fingers and then her toes to slowly wake up her body. Eventually, her eyelids cracked open just enough so she could see. Salt burned her eyes. She raised her hand to her face but couldn’t focus on it. Why was her hand wiggly as if... it was behind a wall of water?

Her eyes shot open and darted side to side. Scream-filled bubbles exploded around her. This wasn’t a dream. She was drowning.

She focused on a small circle of light and kicked as hard as she could. She broke through the surface like a torpedo and gulped air into her lungs. She glanced around and saw nothing but the sun and the ocean. She spun in circles while treading water, racking her brain for information.

She and her best friend, Meredith, had been scuba diving in Jamaica for her 21st birthday. They had always wanted to see the sunken city of Port Royal. They’d been obsessed with Pirates of the Caribbean growing up, and upon learning that the city of Port Royal from the movie had actually sunken into the ocean, they added ‘visit Jamaica’ to their bucket list.

Meredith! Where was Meredith? She frantically looked above and below the water but found no trace of her friend. She found no trace of anyone actually. Hadn’t there been a scuba diving instructor with them?

She squinted her eyes and focused harder as she looked around. She spotted something in the distance but couldn’t make it out. She put a hand over her eyes to reduce the glare as she kept her eyes fixed on the object. She watched as the black blob morphed into the shape of a boat and drew nearer.

She suddenly realized that her head was pounding. She gently touched the top of her head and was shocked to see red as she pulled her hand away. Why on earth was she bleeding?

She was wrenched from her thoughts when she heard shouting. Something landed next to her in the water. “What the f--” she squeaked in surprise as she was lifted out of the water and dropped onto hard ground like a sack of potatoes. “Ouch.” She rubbed her bottom as she looked around. “Thank you s--” she froze.

Dozens of dirty, smelly, men dressed in costume stared back at her. Well, now she was even more confused. Why was everyone dressed like pirates? Maybe this was some sort of skit for tourists coming to see the famous pirate city? Or, was she still dreaming? She pinched her arm and yelped. Okay, so it was a skit.

“What’s your name, miss?” one of the dirtier men asked in a thick British accent.

“Um, Gracie.” She took a deep breath. “What happened? Where is my friend?” she asked.

“There was no one but you, miss. Why’re you dressed so strangely?”

She looked down at her scuba suit and then back to their stained pants cut off at the knees, loose-fitting shirts, and swords in scabbards. “Yeah, I’m the one dressed weird.”

A young boy, maybe around twelve or thirteen, inched closer to her and poked her oxygen tank. “What is this for?”

“Wow, you guys are really going all out, huh?” Gracie rolled her eyes. The boy stared back at her blankly.

A shadow fell over her and she looked up. A man dressed in a long red velvet coat and a hat stood over her. “Weigh anchor, lads. We be at Port Royal.”

Thank god, land. She can get away from these weirdos and find Meredith. As soon as they docked she ran down the gangplank, searching for a familiar face. She glanced behind her back at the boat and her mouth popped open. It was a massive wooden pirate ship straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Man, these people went hard.

A tingle crept up her spine giving her goosebumps. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

She took pride in her intuition. She’d always been able to feel and sense things that others couldn’t. She remembered a specific time when she had begged Meredith not to go on a date with a man that Gracie found creepy and off-putting. Turned out, he was arrested for attempted murder a few weeks later. Gracie trusted her senses whole-heartedly since that moment (as did Meredith).

Remembering to trust herself, Gracie took a deep breath and looked at her surroundings through fresh eyes.

She was standing in the middle of a bustling port with people pushing past her and horses (yes, horses) pulling wagons. She realized there were also a dozen more ships similar to the one she had been on. Everyone was dressed like they were in a late Renaissance painting.

She pictured herself as the head exploding emoji as she looked around with her mouth open.

A distant memory tickled at her brain and she tried to focus on it. Before they went to Port Royal, Meredith had tried to scare Gracie with one of her infamous bull-crap ghost stories.

“Sometimes people who visit Port Royal never come back,” Meredith had said on the plane. Gracie had rolled her eyes.

“No, really. I read about it. They’ve had 11 unexplained disappearances in the past 100 years.”

She felt the bump on her head trying to remember how it happened. They had been scuba diving and looking at the ruins of the city that had sunk in the 1692 earthquake. Gracie had turned to show Meredith something shiny in the water and smashed her head into a rock. After that, everything was fuzzy. She remembered rushing water, a bright flash of light, and then waking up to drowning.

Her sense of dread and suspicion deepened because she knew in her gut that she was now one of the unlucky few who went missing in Port Royal.

She’d read enough sci-fi and watched enough Outlander to know time travel when she saw it. She just never thought she’d experience it because, you know, it’s not real. “Hah!” She barked out a crazy laugh.

Instead of standing around like a deer in the headlights, she needed to be practical. She made a mental list of what she needed to do:

1. Change clothes

2. Find out what year it is

3. Figure out how to get home

She felt a tap on her shoulder and whipped around with her hand up like she was going to karate chop whoever it was. It was the young boy from the ship. “You’re not from around here are you?” he asked.

“How’d you guess?” Gracie chuckled nervously. She still wasn’t sure she wasn’t just hallucinating.

“Here,” he dropped some coins into her palm. “You’ll need this for a change of clothes,” the boy said matter-of-factly.

“How did you kn--” Gracie started.

He gestured towards her attire. “Right.” Gracie nodded.

“Where are you from?” the kid asked as he led her to the nearest clothing shop.

“The future.” Gracie spoke without thinking.

“Okay.” The kid seemed unphased.

“Why didn’t that freak you out?” Gracie was baffled.

“I’ve seen a lot of odd things in Port Royal. I’ve learned to believe just about everything I hear. Plus, you talk funny.”

Gracie briefly wondered what else he’d seen but they’d arrived at the clothing shop and she was desperate to change.

After she paid for her dress she found the kid waiting for her leaned up against the side of the building.

“What’s your name?” She asked him as they started walking aimlessly.

“Edward. Edward Teach.” He smiled at her.

She’d studied Port Royal extensively before arriving because its history was fascinating. There was something about this kid that was familiar but his name didn’t ring a bell.

“What year is it, Edward?”

“1692.”

She stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to face him. “1692,” she repeated. “Are you sure?”

“I think I know what year it is, miss.” He looked offended.

“What’s today’s date?” Gracie grabbed his shoulders to emphasize the importance. “The exact date.”

“7th of June.” He looked a little frightened and took a step back. If he didn’t think she was crazy before, he did now.

“Oh. My. God.” She really, really had to get home.

On June 7th, 1692 just before noon a massive earthquake rocked Port Royal, sinking 2/3rds of the city and killing almost 5,000 people. She wasn’t too keen on living (or dying) through that.

The longer Gracie stood frozen staring into space, the more alarmed Edward looked. “Why? What’s the importance of today’s date? Miss?”

Panic clawed its way up her throat cutting off her air. Her mind was a tornado of a thousand thoughts, she tried to grab hold of just one to ground herself.

She needed to find her way home but seeing Edward’s terrified and confused face made her realize she had to put that plan on the back burner.

“Edward, this will sound completely insane but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?” He nodded slowly.

“We have to get as many people off this island as possible. There will be an earthquake today and Port Royal will sink into the harbor. I know this doesn’t make sense but can I count on your help?” Gracie held his gaze as she took his hands.

He looked down at their connected hands and back up at her. “Yes, I will help you.” As the words left his mouth the ground rumbled. His eyes widened in fear and he squeezed her hand tighter.

Gracie skidded to a stop at the docks an hour later. Her voice was hoarse from screaming warnings at poor unsuspecting passersby but no one had listened.

She found Edward embroiled in an argument with an older man, both their arms flailing about.

“Please, Papa. Just trust me. Please!” Edward was begging. He saw Gracie and waved her over. “Tell him, Gracie.” He stood back with his arms crossed.

“Um, hi.” She gave a little wave to the man who looked at her like she was an apparition. “Whatever Edward told you was the truth. We have to get out of here, our lives depend on it.” The cobblestones beneath their feet shook to emphasize her point. The man jumped up as if his feet had been burned.

“I’m not saying I believe you, but perhaps it is wise to leave land for the time being.” He gestured towards a small fishing boat as the ground rolled again. Gracie scrambled into the boat with a heavy heart and tears in her eyes.

As they rowed away she screamed one more time for everyone to leave but was drowned out by the roar of the earth and the cracking of wood and stone. Edward and his father rowed furiously while they all watched in horror as the shore dipped into the sea. Waves crashed all around them, she could hear wails in the distance. The carnage was too much to bear.

Gracie’s tears streamed down her face as she mourned those she couldn't save. But she thanked God for allowing her to save two souls.

She gazed at Edward with a heavy heart and gasped as a memory exploded to the forefront of her mind. Edward. Edward Teach. How could she have been so stupid? “Blackbeard,” she whispered, reaching out to touch the dark stubble on his chin.

Edward wiped his nose on the back of his hand as he continued to stare at the sunken city. “Blackbeard,” he repeated. “Sounds like the name of a pirate.”