Chapter One: Port Royal

"God, I hate my hair!"

Elaine Thompson yanked another strand of mouse-brown hair out of her face, only to have three more whip themselves right into her eyes.

I should've known this would happen. My hair plus this awful tropical humidity equals the ultimate frizz.

Although she wasn't enthusiastic about how the Jamaican heat and the damp ocean air affected her hair's disposition, she was definitely excited to be here in Port Royal. During the seventeenthcentury, Port Royal was well-known throughout the Caribbean for its success in commerce. However, it was soon dominated by garish exhibitions of wealth and horrid immorality, giving Port Royal the reputation as being the "Wickedest City". In spite of its rich and interesting history, the individuals responsible for the city's ill repute fascinated Elaine the most:

Pirates.

From a very young age, Elaine held romanticized notions of the lives and ways of pirates like Calico Jack, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and the ferocious Blackbeard. She learned later on they were not at all like the glamorous swashbuckling heroes she read about, but this didn't stop her from pursuing her passion. In fact, this new knowledge only made her thirst for more. In every history class throughout high school and even into her college years, she wrote about pirates or anything pirate-related whenever she had the chance. Her teachers never understood why she was so interested in the bloody history of these horrifying and violent people, but she let them wonder. As long as she had her pirates, she was content.

She graduated from college with a major in history and was eager to move on with her life. But like almost every college student, she walked across the stage to receive her diploma wondering what in the world she would do with her new life. The answer came swiftly. One of the guests attending graduation was Gloria Solomon, an historian who worked at a museum in Port Royal. Gloria had only come to watch a friend graduate, but then she overheard one of the history professors talking about a thesis discussing Anne Bonny and Mary Read. She was quick to ask him who wrote it, and found out that Elaine was the author. After ten minutes of searching amongst the enormous crowd, she found Elaine and introduced herself. Elaine was delighted to know there was someone else in the world who shared her obsession with pirates, and they became instant friends.

Gloria explained that she was part of a group of historians and marine archaeologists who hoped to attract tourists to Port Royal by utilizing its historical appeal. Most people held a certain intrigue for the pirates who once called Port Royal their stronghold, and they wanted to take advantage of this popular interest. She asked Elaine if she wanted to be a part of the team. The question was barely out of her mouth before Elaine started hopping in a circle around her wearing a huge grin on her face, her blue eyes wide with excitement.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Gloria laughed.

Two weeks later, Elaine left her home in North Carolina early in the morning with two suitcases and boarded a plane heading south for Jamaica. She had never traveled this far away from home before, so Gloria decided to accompany her to help her feel at ease. A few hours later, the plane landed at the Kingston airport, where Gloria's team waited for the two women to arrive. After a brief introduction, the team's members promised they would see her soon and left. Elaine's luggage was loaded into the back of Gloria's Jeep, and they were soon on their way to Port Royal.

Elaine guessed she must have fallen asleep sometime during the drive, because she hardly remembered anything at all from when they left the airport to when they arrived at the Galleon Inn. She was a little saddened by this, as her work in Port Royal would leave her no free time to explore the rest of Jamaica, but the fact that she was here at all more than made up for it.

Gloria turned onto Lime Street and drove all the way to the end of the sandy dirt road, passing by old rundown houses in desperate need of repair. The roofs were riddled with holes, most of them didn't have running water, and some of the houses looked as if they would collapse at any second. The locals didn't seem to mind, though. They were curious about the newcomers and smiled and waved at them as they drove past, wondering what brought them to their town, long forgotten by time. Elaine admired the townspeople; in spite of their daily hardships, they were always willing to smile and welcome passing strangers to their town. The two women had a similar welcome at their final destination.

The Galleon Inn was a simple two-story whitewashed wooden building with quaint black-shuttered windows. The inn had endured the onslaughts of many hurricanes over the years and acquired many battle scars, as evidenced by the long dark scratches and peeling white paint. The inn's sign, depicting the faded image of a large sailing ship gliding across a sparkling ocean into an orange sunset, hung over the porch as it lightly swayed back and forth in the tropical breeze. Gloria helped Elaine grab her bags out of the Jeep, pulled open the wooden screen door, and carried them inside. Elaine was surprised by the almost total lack of furniture in the inn's parlor. She later found out it was usually too hot to stay inside during the day. The only way to beat the heat around here was to sit outside in the open air. The two women made their way across the hardwood floor, which echoed their every step, and climbed up the two flights of creaky wooden stairs. As they wandered down the blank white hallway, Gloria was quick to point out that there was only one bathroom on this floor, meaning Elaine would have to share it with the other team members. Elaine wasn't too pleased about this, as she was accustomed to having her own bathroom, but she figured she would soon adjust to the new situation. Gloria then handed Elaine her key and led her to the room that would be her new home for the next two months. She waved goodbye and left her to unpack, promising to check on her later. Elaine, exhausted by the long trip, opted to take a nap instead and passed out on the bed.

Three days had passed since she her arrival, and she honestly felt she was adjusting to her new surroundings fairly well. Her room was a bit small, but not uncomfortably so. A twin bed lay right beside the window overlooking the ocean, just as Elaine had always wanted.

What she wanted right now, however, was to bring her wild hair under control.

She grabbed her hair into a tight fist and growled at her frustrated reflection in the little mirror on her dresser. After spending half an hour fighting with it, she had made no progress whatsoever.

"Alright then, you asked for it!"

In ten seconds, she quickly twisted her hair into a tight bun at the back of her head and tied it down with a dark blue hair elastic. She stood still, waiting to see if her new strategy worked. A few moments later, she breathed a sigh of relief; no hair had escaped the confines of her bun.

"Hey, Elaine. Having fun?"

She whipped around to find Gloria standing in the doorway smirking at her in amusement.

"Hardly, but I've finally conquered my hair!"

Gloria nodded and chuckled. "That's good. Doc's getting worried; we were supposed to leave for dinner at five-fifteen and it's nearly that now."

Elaine glanced at her watch. "Holy crap, it is!" She started plowing through one of her suitcases looking for her purse. "Tell him I'll be down there in a second!"

Gloria walked into the room and sat down on the bed, watching her friend toss underwear and t-shirts right and left. "Don't worry, take your time. You've got about five minutes." She turned to look out the window. "Wow, I didn't realize you had such a great view of the Sunken City from here!"

In 1692, a deadly earthquake struck Port Royal and created three tidal waves, which eroded the sand to the point where over half the city lay on the ocean floor. It was thereafter called "the Sunken City", and many people at the time thought its destruction was the work of God due to its citizens' sinful ways.

Elaine glanced up from her suitcase. "Oh, you like it now? Just wait until nightfall. When the moonlight hits the water just right, the buildings give off a faint white glow. You can even see into them sometimes, if you look hard enough."

Gloria shook her head. "Incredible. Oh, that reminds me!" she said as she turned back to her friend. "Doc says we think we may have found a new shipwreck. He's going to give us all the details tonight at dinner."

"Really? Fantastic! Ah, here it is!" Elaine yanked out a small dark red leather from the depths of her suitcase. "I was wondering where the little booger was hiding!" She then looked behind her and saw the large pile of shirts, underwear, and shoes waiting to be cleaned up. After staring at the monstrous mess she made, she groaned and let her forehead hit the floor.

Gloria laughed. "Okay then, kiddo, let's go."

Elaine pushed herself up and followed Gloria out into the hall, making sure her door was locked before going down the stairs. She cast one last glance to the window at the end of the hallway and frowned at what she saw outside.

A large patch of thick grayish-black clouds hung like a dark curtain over the horizon. The sea in turn grew murky, and the waves slapped against the shoreline as the winds picked up, churning the sand on the sea-bed and concealing the sunken buildings from view.

Gloria called out her name, but she didn't respond. Instead, she stood at the top of the stairs watching the clouds grow darker and more ominous with each passing moment. A sense of dread passed over her; all thunderstorms were dangerous, but she believed this one in particular would be even more threatening than usual.

"ELAINE!"

Her friend's shrill cry snapped Elaine out of her wandering thoughts. She walked downstairs to the parlor where she found Gloria waiting for her, scowling and tapping her foot impatiently. The stairs let out a loud groan with every step, but the sound fell deaf on her ears. Her thoughts were focused more on the oncoming storm than anything else.

She suddenly stopped on the bottom step and shook her head; why was she acting like such a child? It's only a storm, and this probably happens everyday here in the tropics. I need to get a hold of myself and get used to it!

As she left the Galleon Inn with Gloria, who was scolding her for almost making them late, she took one last look at the storm clouds, now a frightening pitch-black. She felt nervous as she watched them grow in strength and size, but she tried to think positively about it. At least the town would receive some much-needed rain.

But this storm would bring more than rain to Port Royal.