Hundreds of years ago, during the great golden age of piracy, there lived a seventeen year old boy named Don Whodon, who had dreams of becoming a legendary sailor like his grandfather, Coral Coozal; who was one of the most legendary pirates in the world at the time. For years, Don had worked as a humble cooper on his fathers ship without any form of compensation; his father always told him that he was getting paid in the form of experience. Him and his father never got along, for his father used to share the same dream as him, and although his father became a relatively successful sailor, he wasn’t as half as rich or famous as his father, Coozal. This made him resentful, and it led him to becoming an avid drinker who constantly yelled at Don for the most minute mistakes. They’d often get into arguments but one night, when Don was at the local pub with his father and his crew, things got a little out of hand when his father announced their plans for the future.

“Attention gentlemen, I have something I need to tell you. On Monday, we will embark on an expedition to the Americas.”, The men all cheered whilst he grabbed his bottle of rum and raised it to the sky, “On a journey for wealth, fame, and riches!” The men all took swigs from their bottles and embraced each other in joy. Don on the other hand was not so thrilled to hear about this development.

“But father, a trip to the Americas would take ages, and I need to stay here so I can pick up where my grandfather left off.”

“Oh, ye little fool! This expedition will make me crew millions, and we need you as our cooper! Besides, it’s what ye mother would have wanted if she were still here.”

“But–”

“–listen here boy. The only way you could change our plans would be by catching one of them legendary megalodons!” 

All the men in the room erupted in laughter and one of the men shouted, “You’d have better odds trying to catch the ghost of Davy Jones!”

Don’s father continued to say, “Now, let’s have a toast! To brighter futures, and good health in the Americas!” The men all cheered once again and prepared to party all night. 

Don felt extremely embarrassed and slighted by the comment his father had made about him, but it also gave him an idea. A completely reckless and ridiculous idea that might cost him his life.

He mumbled to himself, “Well, if that’s what it takes. Then I’ll do it.” Unfortunately no one heard this remark, which meant that no one could have seen what was coming next.

The men partied and drank all night until passing out in one group slumber. This is when Don decided to act. He snuck onto his father’s ship, and set sail towards the Mariana Trench, the supposed home of the fabled megalodons.

During Don’s departure the temperature became fiercely cold, and the clouds began coming together and turning grey; it was clear to him it was going to be a stormy night, but this didn’t scare him at all. He was too far out to turn back and he knew that if he couldn’t make a fortune quickly, he’d have to join his father’s crew on their expedition to the Americas. It was now or never, so he had no choice but to embrace the elements and continue onwards.

As the night progressed, the rain started to appear,and along with it did thunder and lightning. The storm was unlike anything Don had ever experienced before. The waves went as high as his sails, and the rain stinged his skin as it poured down onto him. At this point, he wasn’t sure if he was going to survive, but after a few hours, he finally reached the Mariana Trench. 

Unfortunately for him, he made it there right as the storm was at its peak. His ship began falling apart as boards from it were flying off with the winds and in the waves. He began to panic as he didn’t know what to do, and that’s when things got even worse. From the corner of his eye, he saw a fin appear from the water. All the confidence he had when he departed had abandoned him, he was terrified and there was no one around to help him. In a moment of sheer panic, he threw his anchor into the water knowing full well it wouldn’t work, and he headed towards the captain’s quarters. But whilst he was heading to the door, he saw a great white megalodon spew out of the water with the anchor in its mouth. He screamed at the top of his lungs, and ran into the room towards his father’s chest where he kept his lucky harpoon gun. As he attempted to open the box, he fell to the floor, for the great big beast had dashed into the side of his ship. 

Water began pouring in from many of the different holes in walls and the gun fell out of the box and became lost in the water. He began wattling his way through the waves in attempts to find and grab the harpoon gun when the beast’s jaws grabbed the side of the boat. He fell again, this time into the water that was quickly filling up the room. He paddled his way to the top of the waves only to see that the ship had begun to snap in half. The room began to tilt sideways as he and the ship were being slowly submerged into the sea. The boat was sinking and so was Don, but as he was slipping down the wall he saw the harpoon gun get caught on the side of the door. He let himself fall through the door and he was able to grab the gun as he fell into the water with the rest of the ship’s dismantled parts. He was terrified as he was rapidly flushed into the water, he knew that the beast would come for him at any second. Luckily for him though, the beast’s vision was obscured with all the wood and waves and rain, it couldn’t manage to locate Don. He began to swim over to a piece of bark and he stood on top of it. At the same time, the beast bursted out of the water and into the air. He looked at his gun and saw that it had two harpoons; one loaded already and another shackled to the bottom. Whilst the beast was in the air, Don aimed his weapon at it and squeezed the trigger. The harpoon pierced the beast right in it’s left fin which caused the beast to roar with anger. The beast fell into the water and the color of the sea began to turn red. For a moment, Don believed that he might have killed the beast, but a few seconds later, the beast emerged from the water right underneath Don, and it swallowed him into its mouth. The beast’s teeth got a hold of his right arm and grousemly tore it off. He screamed the loudest yell he had ever made and began to experience an immense amount of pain. But since the beast was unable to chew all of his body, he spat him into the air in hopes that he could get a better bite. Whilst flying through the air with only one arm left, he took aim with the harpoon gun towards the beast, and shot directly into its mouth. The harpoon hit the beast directly into its heart causing it to scream the most horrid noise that Don had ever heard in his entire life. Blood began spewing out of the creature’s mouth as Don landed in the water. Luckily for him, the beast’s carcass was able to float on the waves, and Don was able to take refuge in the beast’s mouth; from all the sheer pain and exhaustion he was feeling, he passed out. 

A few hours passed before he awoke and he found himself lying on a bed inside of a pirate ship. He attempted to move, but he was far too weak. He shouted and screamed for help, and after a few seconds of yelling, the door in front of him bursted open, and his father appeared.

“Don! Oh thank heavens you’re alright. How could you be so stupid?”

Apparently shortly after Don departed, his father and crew had boarded another ship and headed after him. They got there just in the nick of time to find him lying between the beast’s jaws.

“We secured the megalodon, my boy! We’re all going to head home right now and when we get back, we’ll be able to sell it’s flesh for millions of dollars! We’ll be filthy rich, and we won’t have to head to the Americas! You’re gonna be celebrated as a hero my boy! Your mother and grandfather would be so proud!”

Don and his father headed home where they were able to become rich and famous. They made millions of dollars and were celebrated throughout the seas. Don became a sailing legend just like his grandfather, and he and his father finally got on good terms. His father apologized to him for all the years of abuse, and he vowed to never drink again. Don’s tale shows that no matter how badly the odds are stacked against you, you always have a chance to win if you give it your all.