Small waves crashed against the tender while Robertson and Jibb rowed the four of them to shore. Archer sat in the front, telescope out, looking at what awaited them while Grog sat in the back, double checking their supplies.

“It seems like the shore is mostly safe,” Archer said, his eye still looking through the scope.

“So we still row, Captain!?” Robertson asked.

“Of course you do!” Archer responded.

“Are they going to be alright?” Grog asked.

“Who? The ones on the ship?” Archer asked.

“Yeah,” Grog answered.

“They should be fine,” Archer said confidently.

The conversations stopped, and the silence hit once again with the only sound coming from the ocean. They were all worried about their destination, though none showed it.

“Heave ho,” Robertson started, breaking the silence and Jibb followed as they both used their bodies fully, breaking through the waves and arriving on shore not long after. With a splash, Archer got off first and immediately went to a large rock that sat on the shore of the island while Grog quickly grabbed the bags and followed as Robertson and Jibb hopped off and dragged the tender onto shore.

“What is this?” Grog asked while Robertson and Jibb quickly ran over to catch up.

The rock in front of them had a simple carving of an arrow that pointed down. “Dig,” Archer said in response as Jibb and Robertson, both panting with hands on their knees, looked up with raised eyebrows, exhausted.

“Can’t we take a break before-” Jibb asked in between heavy breathing.

“We’ll rest after this,” Archer said and in response, although begrudgingly, Jibb and Robertson dug while Grog joined after resting the bags behind them.

“So what are we digging for, Captain?” Robertson asked.

“The key to figure out where the hell we go from here,” Archer responded in a lighter tone than before.

“What if there’s nothing?” Jibb asked.

“Then we’ll run around like headless chickens.” Archer smacked the back of Jibbs head. “Don’t worry about it and keep digging.”

“I think I see something,” Grog said after a few more minutes of digging. Archer, in response, peeked over and with wide eyes, quickly grabbed the small chest hidden away and opened it.

“This is it,” Archer said, his voice giving away his excitement.

“It’s just a piece of paper, Captain?” Grog asked in a confused tone.

“It’s not just a single piece of paper but…” Archer spread the papers apart. “Two pieces of paper!”

The three of them looked at each other, equally puzzled, until Robertson connected the dots. “Is this the same guy as the notebook we found?” He asked.

“Correct, and he shall lead us the way.” Archer tossed the small empty chest back into the hole. “It’s break time, boys. You’ve got a few hours while I work out where to go next.” Finding a smaller rock nearby, Archer sat down, took out the notebook and began reading the new pages he found while the other three set up a small camp and ate food. The island was set up in a way that their starting point on the shore was undisturbed, which allowed them to relax before going any deeper.

…..

Welcome to an island filled with skeletons that move and attack you.

I want you to experience the whole and see everything that it has to offer. It’s not a lot, and there is treasure hidden away, but what’s the point of coming here without actually looking around, eh?

I just wanted to say that the final note you find on this island will have some of your answers you were looking for. The other page is a crudely drawn map with an X on where to go next.

Be careful, the skeletons might not have any guns, but they’re relentless.

Also, enjoy the island! I can’t say I figured out how animated skeletons are walking about and acting like a crew of their own, but it’s fascinating beyond belief.

…..

Archer read through the note and sighed. He was hoping for more information to go off of, but based on what he had read about Augusta and his own experience of hunting down and reading the notebook, this wasn’t all too surprising. It also made Archer wonder who this man was. There was a high chance he was a pirate. It would be hard to do these things if he wasn’t. Maybe a mercenary, but there’s no way he could’ve acquired a crew willing to travel to these places. Plus, it was more than just traveling. He had to have done a lot of research. “He’s similar,” Archer said, rubbing his beard.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“What was that, Captain?” Grog called out, hearing a mumble coming from Archer.

“Don’t worry about it,” Archer shouted back, bringing his focus back to the note. “What do I do now?” Archer looked over at the map. Yes, although crudely drawn, it was far better than anything he'd expect from a typical person. “It’s kind of far,” he determined. The island was larger than it looked like, and although Augusta didn’t mention it in his note, it only made sense that the location of the Xs will be in locations on the island where it was safe to stay at because how else would he be able to not only write a note, but have enough time to dig or find a spot to keep it safe. Archer looked up into the sky, and after estimating what time it was, he turned his attention over to the three huddled in a circle, eating. “You guys have an hour!” Archer shouted.

“Only an hour?” Jibb moaned.

“We only have a week, punk. We can’t waste time in one spot for too long!” Archer responded.

“Where are we headed to, Captain?” Grog asked as Robertson turned his attention to Archer.

“There was a map with a location. I plan to check it out. If I’m correct, that will be the place we rest for the night,” Archer said, folding up the note just enough to fit into the notepad before closing it and tucking it away. He only had the map out now, but that’s all he needed. “Give me something to eat, Robertson,” Archer demanded, and Robertson listened. He quickly scrambled around, taking a piece of bread out and jerky, then ran over and handed them over before running back and forth with drink in hand.

They all ate in silence. Archer was excited. This was his first encounter with the unknown, or in this case, the supernatural. Legends which were only told in stories, while the other three were nervous and questioning why they volunteered to go.

“So, is there really treasure?” Jibb finally asked.

“Based on what Augusta said, there will be at the end,” Archer answered. He knew he didn’t have to answer honestly, but he also knew Jibbs' only interest was gold, so him knowing there was something to look forward to would only encourage him to continue on and not slack off since slacking off could easily get him and the rest of them killed.

“Good, good,” Jibb said with a toothy grin.

“You need to take care of your teeth more,” Archer said with a scrunched face. “You’re already losing some.”

“What good do teeth do for me?” Jibb asked in a joking manner.

“They let you eat meat and talk like a normal human,” Archer answered his question.

Jibb shrugged it off. “I only need money. Money will get me whatever I want.”

“Of course, of course,” Archer rolled his eyes then stood up. “Alright, it’s time to go. Pack it up, boys.”

The three of them shuffled around, cleaning up to their best of their abilities, then followed Archer, who took the lead. They traveled slowly, and whenever one of them spoke up, Archer shushed them quiet. From here on it became dangerous, and for now, Archer had no desire to test the waters with the skeletons. Augusta gave no hints on how to deal with them since it seemed like he wanted whoever found the island to experience them first-hand and figure things out themselves, but Archer had no desire to rush into it.

Eyes darting around, Robertson kept his hand on his cutlass while Jibb kept his sights in front of him and Grog, who was the oldest one of the three, kept the most calm, checking his surroundings and making sure nothing jumped at them.

Archer slowed down before coming to a stop, and the three followed. He turned around, finger against his lips to keep them quiet, then softly spoke. “Two skeletons up ahead, but it seems clear outside of that, so we’ll take care of them.” Robertson gulped, but quickly unsheathed his weapon and the other two quickly followed. “Are you ready?”

The three nodded, and after Archer triple checked, they were in the clear, he silently charged in first with his cutlass drawn. Catching the skeletons off guard, Archer was the first to strike, slashing his blade down against the shoulder.

“What the hell..”

Archer took a step back after his blade connected with the shoulder, yet only caused a scratch. The skeleton who got hit turned its attention towards the crew and within a second, its eye sockets lit up with a sea color blue and its jaw chattered louder and louder and its head tilted while raising its weapon up high.

As if responding to the chattering mouth, the second skeleton responded in the same manner. All four of them quickly brought their hands to their ears in an attempt to block out the sound, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t block the sound. The blue glowing eyes sent a chill down their spines, and the chattering felt as if it directly invaded their brains.

Unable to handle the sound, Jibb reached for his gun, aimed it at the head of the closest skeleton, then shot. The moment the sound of the gunfire rang out, the chattering came to a halt as the shot skeleton fell to the floor, its eye sockets glowing no more. The gunshot sound traveled into the distance and left the remaining three speechless until Archer spoke up.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He yelled at Jibb.

“It was loud!” Jibb responded.

“I should shoot you,” Archer grinded his teeth.

“What else was I supposed to do?” Jibb asked, but before Archer could respond to such a ridiculous question, the sound once again pierced their ears and shortly after, one at a time, other skeletons in the distance followed.

“Follow me.” Archer yelled while charging at the remaining skeleton in front of him. He slashed at the neck, causing it to shatter, and the moment the skull fell to the floor, Archer stabbed it between the eyes then stepped on it, breaking the skull as much as he could. “Now!”

After witnessing the way to destroy the skeletons, the three of them followed suit and as they were running away, dipping into brushes and trying to hide, they all slashed their weapons at the skeletons' necks. Archer continued leading the way. It wasn’t the quickest path, but his goal was to reach the next location as safely as possible.

“Duck,” Archer whispered, and they listened quickly. Archer was doing his best, and each time they found a place to hide temporarily, the skeletons chasing them became thinner.

“What do we do now?” Jibb asked in a whisper, his eyes darting around in fear.

“We’ll be fine if we make it to the location,” Archer responded reassuringly. As much as he wanted to ring Jibb out, he knew it wasn’t the time to do so, but he had some plans when they made it back to the ship.

“Are you sure we’ll be fine there, Captain?” Grog asked.

“Have faith,” Archer answered plainly. “Have faith.” Archer looked around, and when things quieted down a bit more, he signaled them to follow and quietly led them onward until they reached the entrance of a cavern and the destination they were searching for.

“Grog, Light,” Archer demanded.

Grog grabbed the dangling torch, lit it, and led the way, leaving the skeletons to wander around behind them.