“Mullins! Fire now!” yelled James as the ship rocked drastically to one side, almost tipping over completely. Mullins was knocked overboard, and James was sure Smee must have been as well; he couldn’t see him in the crow’s nest that was now dangerously close to going into the water. All the other men were holding on to the rigging for dear life, so James quickly untethered himself from the mast, pulled a knife out of his boot, and plunged it into the deck of the ship. He used it to crawl inch by inch to the cannon, which was at the pinnacle of the ship, now tipped entirely on its side. James wasn’t sure he had the strength to climb the length of the ship at such a steep angle, but he used all of his will, telling himself his story wasn’t over, this wasn’t how it was going to end. He hadn’t yet found Never Land.

James finally made his way to the cannon, which was already loaded, but he couldn’t light the fuse. “Blasted tinderbox is wet!” he yelled, trying to ignite it again and again. The ship was still on its side, and he could see the men were struggling to keep hold of the ropes that were tethered to the Kraken’s tentacle. He heard the calls of the desperate men screaming his name from every direction. Then he saw Blackbeard at the other end of the ship, holding on for dear life as he fought against the giant tentacles that were wrapped around his leg and neck. James had never seen him look so scared.

“James!” he yelled, and threw something at James with his free hand.

“Captain, no!” screamed James. He would never forget the look of pure terror on Blackbeard’s face as he was pulled underwater.

James glanced at the item, and, amid the chaos, realized it was a strange tinderbox of sorts. Without thinking twice, he quickly lit the fuse and positioned the cannon.

“Fire!” he yelled. The force blew the tentacle wrapped around the ship in half. It released its grip, and with that the ship rocketed in the other direction, rocking violently back and forth before righting itself in its proper position.

James rushed to where he had seen Blackbeard last, and without hesitation, dived off the ship. He opened his eyes in the murky water and saw the Kraken slithering away from the ship, dragging its damaged tentacle behind it. The water was clouded with so much blood that James couldn’t see well, but could just make out the dark form of Blackbeard floating lifeless like a ghost, his coat billowing around him.