Dino-Pirates of the Apocalypse

A human skull floated idly along the water's surface past us.

"Don't drink that!" I hissed at Kethe, leaning down to cup up water with both hands for a drink.

"Why not?" she asked calmly. My thirty year old little sister was autistic, and viewed the world a little differently than most people. "That skull looks old, it shouldn't affect the water."

"I know, but still, it just creeps me out!" I replied, watching with a disgusted face as she drank, the skull continuing to float past us inside the small cave we were hiding in, somewhere along the eastern coast of Arkansas. The funny thing is...fifteen years ago, nobody would have imagined Arkansas with a coastline.

In fact, fifteen years ago nobody would have believed anything about the apocalypse. It wasn't how anyone had imagined it would happen. Admittedly, nobody exactly understands how or what happened.

Archaeologists had found some ancient artifact covered in runes and were holding a press conference to discuss this finding. On live television, the runes started glowing, and hundreds of portals each about the size of a house opened up across the globe for a matter of minutes.

But those precious minutes were enough for the indescribable to happen. Through some portals, a torrent of dinosaurs and meteors came hurtling out. Through the portals over water, full sized pirate ships were released onto the ocean with a splash.

Nobody knows if these portals were open to different time periods, alternate dimensions, or some other theory. There was no time for scientists to debate and study what had happened. Before anyone could blink an eye, the dinosaurs and pirates began viciously fighting anyone within sight.

Since this was televised, most people watching the international show thought it just a world class prank. But within hours, the escapees from the portals had reached most major cities and chaos erupted. That was 15 years ago...

Humanity was not equipped to handle such abrupt bedlam. War raged in an unorganized manner for a few years, but the pirates ended up victorious; not through superiority of arms, but for sheer willpower and desire for wanton violence. A short while later, they had even dominated some of the dinosaurs.

Now the world is controlled (if complete anarchy can be considered control) by pirates riding atop dinosaurs. Some smaller ones make a suitably savage replacement for horses while on land. But as is custom, pirates still prefer the seas. The meteors and war destroyed much of the world's landmass, giving plenty of room for the pirates to explore their new watery domain.

There are times when I still can hardly believe what is happening. If things miraculously returned to normal, and someone found a diary with today's events written down, they would disregard it as poorly written fiction and toss it in the trash.

But then I look over at Kethe drinking her water, squatting down in a cave, and remember that it is all too real. When confronted with reality, your senses will compel you to believe what your mind cannot.

We have been hiding here for a few months now, only going out long enough to search for food. The small cave appears to have been caused by a crater from one of the original meteors from the portal incident. The ground is charred and solid as rock, but gives plenty of space for us to hide.

Hiding is the only way to survive anymore, for if the pirates find you they will either feed you to their mounts for sport, or use you for other types of pleasure. The first option is the most merciful.

The only benefit to the world today is that most water is safe to drink. The meteors caused freshwater and sea water to mix, so desalinized water is edible most places. You just have to be on the lookout for what is on top of the water. Or beneath.

"Finish your drink, Kethe. Then we need some sleep," I whispered.

Our parents had died in a car accident when we were young, so I have always watched over Kethe closely. Being autistic, she has been a challenge sometimes, but has a heart of gold, and I would do anything for her.

Even when I married Jax, he agreed to let her live in our guest room. Eventually he came to think of her as a little sister, too.

"And make sure you stay quiet, we don't want to wake up that spiky monster outside," I added.

"It's called a stegosaurus, and it has the brain the size of a walnut," Kethe stated casually.

"Who cares how big its brain is, when it has teeth the size of my head?" I asked, incredulously.

"They are herbivores, it wouldn't eat you." She had always been good at remembering random facts, and took a special interest in dinosaurs. I had never learned much about dinosaurs (there was never a need to), but her knowledge did come in handy these days. She had saved our lives dozens of times before, simply by knowing which dinosaurs were carnivores and which ones weren't.

She finished drinking and we settled down in the bedrolls we had scavenged and kept with us the last few years. They were far from the memory foam mattress I used to have, but it was better than sleeping on the cold ground directly.

I watched Kethe as her eyes closed and her breaths slowed and grew deeper. I spent my last minutes before sleep thinking of Jax. Clean shaven with cropped auburn hair, he had been a military man through and through. An accident had left him with a deep scar on his left cheek, but it just made him more ruggedly handsome. I missed him dearly.

It had been the three of us for the first decade of this piratical reptilian apocalypse. But one day five years ago there was a skirmish between a band of refugees we had been hiding with. The commotion attracted some pirates, and pandemonium broke out. We all started to run, but the locket from my neck broke free and fell to the ground.

Had it been anything else, I would have left it. But this locket was the first gift Jax had ever given me, and meant more to me than all the world. It was shaped like a golden heart, with a small red diamond on the front, with a picture inside that we had taken on our very first date. Without thinking, I turned around to go back for the locket on the ground, but Jax pushed me aside and said to keep running. He said he would get it and catch up. I never saw him again.

The tears flowed freely down my face. I look out for Kethe the best I can, but I have no qualms about showing my fear to her. I am not a heroine, devoid of emotion, carefully planning out what to do next and how to survive.

Twenty minutes later, I quietly cried myself to sleep, dreaming of better days, but knowing full well they would never come.

A loud splash and a thud woke me with a start the next morning.

I opened my eyes to see Kethe, hands bound and mouth gagged, being tossed on the ground by three pirates.

"Wakey wakey, little girly," the tallest one cooed, and they all grinned as one. "Take her too," he commanded, and soon I was bound in the same manner, my efforts to fight back having been rather insignificant.

"We'll take em both back an' await the capn's orders." Without further ado, we were both thrown over a shoulder and carried out of the cave, to where two more pirates and a pack of dinosaurs were waiting. "Hoist em up, lads!" the one in charge yelled, and we were both lifted into the air and secured onto the backs of the beasts.

We set forward for about half an hour, each riding upon a separate Deinonychus. I only knew what they were since we had seen them before, and Kethe taught me a bit about them. They were about the size of a small horse, and were what most people would incorrectly refer to as a velociraptor (Hollywood having the blame for that, since those were only about the size of a turkey). Apparently these meat eaters were a favorite mount of pirates.

Farther up the coast we saw a ship anchored next to the land, with a ramp leading up to the starboard side. Within minutes (these beasts were remarkably agile) we reached the ramp and heard the sounds of a dozen more pirates cussing and drinking. Still bound and gagged, we were yanked roughly from our seats and shoved toward the center of the deck.

"Yaharr! Brought ye somethin' fresh Cap'n!" the tall pirate who had captured us called out, to nobody in particular it seemed. "Make chumbucket out of 'em?"

The other pirates hooted. I looked at Kethe who was understandably silent, but whose eyes were as wide as could be. I turned to see what she was staring at.

"Let me see them," the captain ordered, swaggering toward us. He appeared to be the dirtiest one yet, his long coat and sashes torn in multiple places, modern handguns hanging from numerous belts. As he stepped closer, I could make out more details.

He had long reddish-brownish locks hanging out from under his hat. His auburn beard fell halfway to his waist in three crusted braids, but an unmistakable scar prevented the hair from growing properly on his left cheek.

He had countless chains and trinkets as decorations, no doubt prizes from the other people he had captured. But the one that caught my eye was a golden heart shaped locket with a small red diamond in front. It hung around his neck.

When he saw me up close, his eyes grew wide and his conceited gate ended precipitously.

My heart began to beat so fast I thought it would pound out of my chest. The resemblance was uncanny, but it couldn't be him. Could it?

"All right, Cap?" the one who had kidnapped us asked. "You wan' me to feed the sharks with em?"

The captain gained his composure quickly, and replied with a gleam in his eye. "That won't be necessary. I think I'll have a little fun with these two," he yelled as he grabbed our arms. The others all smiled voraciously, then laughed and went about their business.

For the first time in years, a spark of hope had been kindled in my mind. But another part of me cried out that there was no way this could be the same man. For either it actually was a different person, or the person he had once been was completely changed.

Kethe and I exchanged a quick glance, both unsure of what to expect. The captain continued to lead us by the arms toward his cabin, either for a chance of salvation or a most unpleasant fate. We wouldn't have to wait long to find out which.