The Cursed Sapphire

• Sophie Wirth, Grade 8, Isis District State High School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

Waves thundered against the splintering wood planks, sending possessions to the bottom of Davey Jones’s Locker – never to be seen again. The taste of salty water flooded my mouth, as I trudged my way over to the mast with the help of the crew. I could’ve just given up, and sunk to the darkest depths of the ocean, but no, I was complicated, my crew was the closest family I had. That was until, my mind darkened and everything turned red…
I felt strange, I had an overwhelming desire to murder every living thing on this forbidden planet. I did my best to snap out of the trance, but it didn’t matter, the harder I tried, the more powerful it became. My dusty, black beard smelled of alcohol and dried blood, confusion drowned me, but soon it all became clear. My eyes locked on a peculiar, yet beautiful object, its edges gleaming into my eye sockets. The blue reflecting off the oceans horizon that was no longer visible. A strike of lightning pulled me out of my gaze, as well as the terrified shriek of my brother – Jimmy, the only person still standing I shared blood with. He had his own thoughts though, he despised me, looked down to me, because he was treasuring someone else – his fiancé, Jayda.
“Abandon ship!” Jimmy screamed at the top of his lungs, before lunging into the big blue. I stormed through the crew, my gun in hand. I wasn’t prepared to live without my family – my real family.
“Stop!” Jayda exclaimed through the deafening rain, “You don’t have to do this.”
She was wrong, I did. I remembered the glistening surface of the cursed sapphire, the memory of its beauty. Before I had a chance to pull the trigger, a spluttering, coughing dark figure emerged from the roaring waves. It was Jimmy. He had survived. He ran up to me and stole my gun and pointed it at me. Loaded and ready to go.
I quickly pulled a spare pistol from my belt and killed the crew. Jimmy shot to the side of me and sent the sapphire shattering down to the sea bed. I was free from this evil curse, but it was already too late. The bullet went straight through Jimmy’s heart and into Jayda’s head, sending blood vessels to burst everywhere. The storm cleared, but it was still raining blood. I was crushed as I glanced at my old crew, fountains of blood shooting from their lifeless bodies. My heart broken. My purpose lost. I shakily retrieved the gun, one bullet left, and one more problem to solve. I slammed my eyes shut and in an instant, my life was taken and my heart to lie with my family forever. Our blood gushing into one another’s and our organs spilling out of our skin. At last, I was free. Finally, I was home.