Quitetly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself against the cold, bitter wind. Quickly, he glanced at his master. He had never been out of sight of the captain for more than a few seconds since their first meeting. He had always stayed by his side, like a trusted companion. The Quiggly looked upon his master and was overcome with disgust. The man had an ugly black tattoo that stretched from the side of his neck down his face and around the whole of his lips. It looked like he had taken a pencil and made a series of indents in his flesh. The same shape ran down his neck. He also sported a ring that stretched around his neck and pounded into his flesh. Quiggly cringed and decided to retreat back to the ship. He turned to leave, but, as he did, the captain turned, pointed at Quiggly, and snarled. With a fear-stricken expression, Quiggly turned to run back to the _Albatross_. As he was about to reach the deck, he suddenly felt someone grab his shirt and pull him toward the captain, who was still looking him down. "Do not fail me," the captain said with his face so close to Quiggly's face that he could see the captain's bloody teeth and breath reeking of rotten meat. The fleshy red veins under the captain's blue eyes were swollen from his drunken abuse. The Quiggly turned away and, as he fought to keep himself from vomiting, he felt a sharp sting on his back and cried out as the captain's tattoo inked into the flesh of his shoulder began to sink into his skin, eating a hole right through his shirt. He collapsed to the ground, pulling his shirt with him. It ripped off and fell into the sea as he began to scream. " _Get that dog to his ship!_ " someone yelled from behind the captain. " _Help me, Quiggly!_ " Quiggly screamed as he tried to lift himself out of the water. His screams turned to howls as the water stung his eyes and blinded him, causing him to thrash about and fall back. Quiggly came to the surface as the man in the black hooded cloak jumped over the side of the ship and drew his sword. As he came closer, Quiggly could see his sharp black-stained teeth, as though he had eaten his breakfast from a black box of crayons. "Take him!" the captain shouted as he threw Quiggly over the side of the ship and into the water. "Hey!" the man shouted as he jumped over the side of the ship. He swam toward Quiggly and grabbed hold of him by the back of the shirt with both hands. "Get him over there." The captain pointed toward a ship as Quiggly continued to drown. "I've got him," the man in the hooded cloak said as he lifted Quiggly up into the air. As he did, Quiggly felt the man lash out with his foot and kick him in the face. "Damn you," Quiggly growled as he spit out a tooth that had been knocked from his mouth. "Did you think you could just follow me around for the whole trip and not worry me at all?" "What do you mean?" "Why did you follow me around like that?" Quiggly tried to reach the man's leg to claw his eyes out, but his hand grasped only the sea. He thrashed about, trying to lift his head above the water so he could see the face of his captor. "Is that why you followed me around on the ship?" "Yes, what did you want me to do, let you go?" "No, don't be an idiot." "Now you're being rude." "You're an idiot. You always were." "You should not speak to me in that manner." "Don't you tell me what to do." "I am your master. You do what I say or you can get a beating like the one you just took." "All right, all right, I'm sorry." "Do you not know who I am?" "No, how would I know that?" "It's your duty to know. You must know who I am before you do what I say. Is that clear?" "Yes." "Now do as I say." "Yes, captain," the man said as he walked up the deck toward the captain's room. Quiggly was dragged toward the ship as he began to fight with all his might. The man in the hooded cloak kicked him in the face and chest as he finally brought him to the deck. The man removed his sword and slid it under Quiggly's shirt. "Now, hold still," the man said as he ripped the shirt up and pulled the hood off of Quiggly's head. "You look awful," the man said as he took a moment to examine his new prisoner. "I beg your pardon?" Quiggly said as he held his hands out to the man, but he quickly pushed them away. "You're a man of science," Quiggly said. "Did you say a man of science?" the man said as he tilted his head back and looked at the stars. "Yes." "Good," the man said as he grabbed Quiggly by the neck with his one good hand and chucked him over the side of the ship. Quiggly screamed as he went into the freezing water, but the man laughed. "You must be going deaf," the man said as he stepped toward the railing. "No! You'll drown me! You fool!" Quiggly shouted as he reached for something to grab on to. "You must be going deaf," the man said as he grabbed onto the back of the man he had just thrown into the water. "I'm already drowning him." The man on the deck laughed. "Now the both of you are drowning. How ironic," he said as he looked at the face of the man, which now dripped with sea water, as he drowned. "You still want to go swimming?" he said as he threw the head of the man overboard. Quiggly surfaced, grabbed onto a mast, and held on for dear life. As he looked around, he saw the shape of a ship come over the horizon. "I don't want to go swimming," he screamed as he struggled to stay afloat. "You'll have to swim all the way to China now," the captain laughed as he stepped down from the deck, leaving Quiggly in the water with the floating head. # _chapter_ **TWO** # THOUSAND SWEET CHILDREN # Beside the ocean, a small rowboat bobbed in the water. It looked like a floating log as its thick, black side cut through the water with each wave. It was the only color to the darkening clouds that rolled across the sky as a wind carried a small amount of rain toward the water. "Come on in, my dear!" shouted Captain Edward Turner from the shoreline as he continued to kick a tin can against a rock. "Please, dear... come to Papa. Are you all right?" he yelled out as the boat continued to bob in the water. "Are you hungry?" shouted the captain's cabin mate. "Are you tired?" asked the captain as he swirled the can. Quiggly stared up toward the shoreline, shaking his head no. A wave of exhaustion began to hit him like a ton of bricks. "Are you cold?" "Are you all right, boy?" "Say something," shouted the captain as he took another swipe at the can. The wind stopped blowing and the waves turned still as it approached. A huge wave swirled over the water and hit Quiggly in the face as it fell to the water with a loud splash. The captain turned his head and looked at his friend. "What do you want me to say, sir?" the man yelled as he swirled the can again. "Can you hear that?" Quiggly said as he looked out at the water. The waves were now smaller and began to pull the boat toward the shore. "Sailor's instinct," said the captain's cabin mate, who laughed. "You should use it more often." "What in God's name are you two doing?" shouted the captain. "Do you think I want to come out here and play games with you?" The men waited as a large wave pushed against the side of the boat. As the wind and waves subsided, the boat began to flip over and fall. The sailors climbed into the rowboat as it headed toward the shoreline. "Are you going to make a boat out of it?" said the captain's cabin mate. "I'm just trying to get us to shore." The three men walked toward the small rowboat and reached down into the waters for the little man, who had stopped swimming. "Are you coming?" shouted the captain. "He