I blinked the sleep from my bleary eyes as I attempted to sit up. The moment I did, an insistent pounding began in my head making me groan and shut my eyes as tight as possible in the hopes that a lack of light would help.
I could have sworn that I didn't go out drinking last night, yet the throbbing in my temples was making me believe otherwise. How could I have been so stupid? I hadn't drunk this much in at least six months and was enjoying the hangover free life.
Deep breaths bounced around the room as I tried to remember everything from the night before. I suppose it must have been a good night since I couldn't remember much. That was at least one thing I'd learnt from university. Clearly I still hadn't learnt my lesson to keep it under control though. I'd forgotten how increasingly frustrating it was not being able to remember anything.
No matter how hard I tried, the last thing I could remember was saying goodnight to Amy and snuggling down on my soft mattress and silky sheets.
That thought made me pause.
Moving one hand from my face, I felt the bed that I had apparently spent the night on, knowing somehow that it wasn't my own.
I hoped that I was wrong. I would place my hand down, feel smooth silky sheets – my favourite pastel blue set – and I could breathe normally again, lay back down and try to sleep off the awful headache.
Of course, I had no such luck, my gut instinct was right. Coarse fabric rubbed under my palm reaffirming my fears. The bed underneath me was hard and lumpy, nothing like the memory foam I was used to.
The sudden fear that gripped my chest allowed a flood of information that my dulled senses had picked up on to flow, tripling the almost overwhelming pain that was in hammering away at my head.
A constant buzz of insects accompanied my laboured breathing. Birds singing to one another added a melody while the rustling of leaves created an extra layer to all of the noise.
Beads of sweat dribbled down my back, how had I not noticed the sweltering heat and humidity before? Now that I had noticed the warmth I had an almost uncontrollable urge for a much needed cold shower. I'd always hated being sweaty, so much so that I never did any strenuous exercise. It was just a gross feeling.
A stale scent permeated the room. Although not entirely unpleasant – I'd smelt far worse in my first year university accommodation – it was another indication that I wasn't in my room and succeeded in escalating my growing urgency.
For somebody supposedly extremely observant, I was very slow this morning – if it even was morning, for all I knew, I could have slept right through until the afternoon which happened surprisingly often.
Knowing that I'd have to find out what had happened sooner rather than later – I'd always felt it was better not to prolong the inevitable – I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.
It was worse than I could have imagined.
I definitely wasn't in my room, and almost certainly not in England any more. The weather was just too humid and warm. A dilapidated wooden hut with a chilling view of what looked like a jungle greeted me. I was pretty sure I would have heard of a jungle in the middle of England.
My breathing quickened involuntarily as the realisation that I'd messed up in my drunken haze more than I ever had before. I'd heard of people booking a flight and waking up in another country before on a bender but I never thought I'd be one of them. How had I managed to leave England? My passport was expired and I hadn't received my new one yet.
Everywhere I looked there was something new and more horrific that I noticed. Glass jars filled with whole toenails, rotting frogs, eyeballs of every colour and size were hung from the splintered rafters. Mummified remains strung around broken beams and glared in the harsh sunlight. Bones were strewn haphazardly across the uneven floor, yellowing from age. I had no idea if they were human or not, but the size indicated that they probably weren't.
What the hell had I gotten myself into? How had I wound up in this disgusting place? Where could I get a decent cup of tea from?
A hissing from the far side of the room quickly got my attention. Snapping my head up from the bones on the floor, I looked upon my worst fear; a snake. Not just any snake, a colossal yellow snake, slithering sluggishly around the tree – was I in a tree house - in the corner of the room.
It pushed me over the edge. There were many things that I could withstand and I thought that I was holding myself together reasonably well to say that I'd woken up who knows where, but snakes I just couldn't cope with.
My breathing was close to hyperventilation as a scream bubbled up my throat and burst from my trembling lips. I had well and truly embraced hysteria and there was no turning back as long as that snake was in the vicinity of me.
The scream grew louder and longer. All sorts of irrational thoughts raced through my pounding head, making it ache even more. What if I didn't go out drinking last night with Amy? What if someone broke into our house and drugged me? What if I'd been kidnapped? It made sense. If I'd been drugged it would explain my lack of memory and why I didn't recognise where I was. It'd explain why the conditions were so dire. The quicker the thoughts raced through my head, the more they made sense. Drugged. I must have been drugged. The closest jungle that I could think of was in Africa, there was no way I could have made it that far away from home without waking up if I'd only been black out drunk.
I scrambled backwards on the bed until my bed hit the wall. I needed to put as much distance between myself and that damned snake so that I could try and think a bit more clearly. The solid wood helped to ground me, offering a small piece of security that nobody was able to sneak up behind. How would I have been drugged and who would have done it? I'll admit this part of my theory that didn't make any sense, but I'd get there if I could stop thinking about that awful snake winding itself tighter to the tree.
The beaded curtains on the other side of the small room – next to the snake tree – were suddenly flung back with a loud clatter, pinging against the wall. My body started shaking with terror as I realised how stupid I had been. In my snake induced hysteria, I had alerted my captor.
A tall woman was stood inside the doorway watching me with sharp eyes. Multiple black dots followed the lines of her golden cheekbones – a new make-up trend perhaps – that disappeared behind matted deep brown dreadlocks that hung wildly. On second thoughts, maybe it wasn't a make-trend. What a bizarre thought to have at a time like that.
All the noise from outside the shack had ceased upon the stranger entering.
Slowly, the woman smiled, revealing yellowing and gold teeth – had she not heard of toothpaste? Her presence was made more sinister by the sudden silence.
The pain in my head was starting to dull and with my attention focused on the woman and not the snake it helped me to think more clearly.
I was still working overdrive to overrule the flight or fight reflex that had kicked in. I didn't have any fighting experience thanks to my aversion to sweat. Why couldn't I have just got over myself and taken those self-defence classes with Amy last year? As for flight, I couldn't find another way out of the room that involved avoiding the snake. The door way was blocked by my kidnapper and with the tree being right next to the window, there was no way I was risking that. The snake might have decided he liked the look of me and fancied a snack. If I was going to die, I was not going to go being eaten by a snake. No thank you. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.
My muscles twitched as they tried to force me to flee. I ignored them and wrapped my hands tightly around my legs, hugging them close to my chest, eyes narrowed on the form in the doorway. My best option was to sit and wait for an opportunity to escape without risk of death to present itself.
"It be no use," the woman spoke, cutting through the silence, her voice rough and deep. I furrowed my eyebrows, annoyed that the woman had known what I had been debating internally. I guess my posture had maybe been a bit of a give-away as well as my muscles still twitching sporadically without my consent.
Her smile widened at my reaction. "There be nowhere to go, except right back here, unless you want to be lost in the bayou. If that be the case, the animals will make your death quick."
My already widened eyes grew even larger, if that was even possible. Bayou. Not good. That meant more killer animals like alligators and even more damn snakes. The chances of my escaping were dwindling before me. Stupid fear, ruling my decisions.
She wasn't lying. I'd always had a talent of being able to read people and tell when they weren't being truthful with me. Also, I just knew that all sorts of deadly creatures lived in the bayou, so that helped.
Summoning my courage, I tried to speak. It took me a few tries but I finally found my voice. I blamed the snake for my temporary voice loss.
"Where have you brought me? What am I doing here? How did I get here? Who are you?" Once I started it was difficult to stop. The questions flew fast in my Yorkshire accent. I'd be surprised if she'd understood at least one word of what I'd said.
At least I wasn't in any immediate danger. I hoped. Surely something other than the woman just standing in the doorway analysing me would have happened. And analysing she blatantly was. Her eyes kept track of every twitch – damned fight/flight response – and every darting glance to tree.
Because of this, I didn't relax my tense body and kept myself pressed as far into the wall as I could.
"A touch a destiny follows you, Arabella Fenn."
How does she know my name? A chill seeped down my spine. This was not good.
"How do you know my name?" Desperation seeped into my tone. I needed to know just how much this woman knew about me. I needed to find a way home.
Someone must be looking for me by now. Amy at the very least would know that I'm gone and without a note or text saying where I was, she'd be worried. She's always been like that – the mum of the friendship.
"I brought you here, t'is your destiny."
"Yes, so you said," I snapped. Anger finally making itself known. "Now tell me why." Wincing I belatedly realised that perhaps snapping at my kidnapper wasn't the wisest thing to do if I wanted to get out of here unharmed.
Almost unbelievably, the woman smiled even wider and leaned casually against the door frame. The skirts on her dressed ruffled together as she moved. It was only then that I took notice of what she was actually wearing, a dingy and extremely grubby period dress. Multiple hues of brown, orange and beige blended together in tatters. The pattern long lost from overuse. If I'd had to guess, I'd have said that the top part was corseted at the back. How could she wear so much and not overheat? Better yet, why would she wear something that definitely wasn't the style of the 21st century? Maybe she was into cosplay. She definitely looked at home amongst the chaos in every square inch of this place. Even so, I felt rather underdressed in my pyjama shorts and strappy top.
"T'is as I thought, you be strong enough for the task."
"Oh come on, I've listened to enough politicians to know when somebody is deliberately not answering a question." I added an eye roll for an extra affect. I tried to put up a front that screamed 'I'm really sassy and don't take any rubbish' to hide my raging fear and curiosity. When in an uncomfortable position, I usually resorted to some form of sarcasm regardless of the consequences. In reality I think I just looked constipated. Lovely.
"It's my destiny to be here or whatever, but are you actually going to tell me why you brought me here or keep me playing twenty guesses. Obviously the choice is your; however I'd like to know where I stand." I glanced down. "Well, sit."
My false bravado was offset by the quietening of my voice towards the end of my statement. So much for hiding my fear, I was definitely going to be made to regret being rude.
A bark of laughter erupted from the strange woman whilst her eyes appraised me head to toe once more. Raising my chin, I stared sharply back, trying in vain to mask my turbulent emotions.
"Work needs to be done on your mannerism, but this be good. It will work, just like I thought." Pushing off from where she was leaning leisurely against the wall, she stepped towards the bed, only halting when a muscle jumped once again in my arm, betraying me.
"I am Tia Dalma, Arabella Fenn. You have been brought here by me. I need you to do something important."
Tia Dalma. Tia Dalma. Where had I heard that name before? It coursed through my mind as I tried unsuccessfully to remember – that was happening a lot today so it seemed. Putting the familiarity to the back of my mind where I could obsess over it later, I tried to focus on the more important things, like the fact that I finally had some information to work with. That had to be a good thing. If she wanted to talk – albeit limitedly – then maybe my death wouldn't be as imminent as I thought. Why did she bring me to this shack though? What was this 'something important' that she wanted me to do? How did she know my name? And the biggest question of all, where the hell am I?
I tried to work through the information that I had methodically. I'd been kidnapped. I was most likely drugged. I did't know where in the world I was - most likely somewhere in Africa. My kidnapper was a woman. She was called Tia Dalma. There was a giant snake hindering my escape. Chances of survival were very poor. And this was a bad idea. My breathing became harsh pants as I psyched myself out again.
"Something important you say," I tried to forget about my oncoming panic attack by forcing myself to speak. "care to enlighten me as what exactly?" I didn't expect a direct answer. So far I'd been given the run around, why would this have been any different?
"I need you to find out how to free Calypso." Her amusement had vanished and she answered me so seriously that I was shocked. Gone was the leisurely smiling persona. In its place were a stern expression and a woman who meant business. She had a goal and would do anything to achieve it. I was familiar with the type. And then her words registered with my slow brain. Calypso, I knew that name too. A burning to figure out what was happening overcame me. Something was dancing just out of my reach, something important. If I could just remember what it was and then I'd know what to do next. My gut was shouting at me that everything relied on that bit of unreachable knowledge.
"What is going on? Are you going to hurt me? Tell me where I am and why I recognise your name." I was becoming more and more frustrated.
"You know my name, Arabella because in some way you know me. Same way you be knowing of a Captain Jack Sparrow."
The name threw me sideways. Of course. Now it all made sense.
Laughter spurted uncontrollably from my lips. My relief fuelled its intensity. It was all a joke! Amy had set this prank up and revenge for covering everything in her room in wrapping paper over Christmas. This Tia Dalma was just an actress helping her out. I couldn't stop laughing, my sides were hurting so bad. To think, I thought I'd be drugged! What a stupid notion.
"Oh man, seriously, that was good! You really had me going there. Pretending to be from a movie, I love it! You can break character now, and tell me where Amy is. She's the one that put you up to this right?" I couldn't say any more, tears were streaming down my face. The woman allegedly called 'Tia Dalma' just stared, waiting for me to get myself under control.
My emotions had been torn severely in every possible direction and now I had no control. Be they tears of laughter, happiness, relief, I had no idea. I was just happy that I hadn't been kidnapped. Then I remembered the snake.
"Don't tell me that thing's real." I pointed to it still wrapped around the tree. If it was I was going to be so angry with Amy. How dare she use my fear against me like that? It was a step too far.
The actress looked at the snake and then back at me, clearly thinking my question was stupid.
"Have you finished?"
Reigning in my anger and amusement, I nodded. Finally I let go of my legs and stretched them out with a groan. They'd become extremely stiff whilst curled up tight.
"I not be knowing who this Amy is. What I know is that you are soon to be in shock. Believe what I say, I am Tia Dalma and I have brought you here to help me." With every word she took half a step forward until by the time she had finished speaking she was towering over me. Craning my neck to see her face I replied.
"Come on, you can stop now. I get it. Joke's on me. Just tell me how to - OUCH! What did you do that for?" She pinched me! The crazy lady actually pinched me.
"To stop you from talking. This isn't a joke Arabella."
She sat down beside me. "In your world…"
"Hold up. 'Your world'? What does that even mean?"
She sighed loudly, clearly beginning to lose her patience with me. I suppose I could hear her out. Motioning with my hand for her to continue, she did so.
"In your world, you be knowing myself and Jack from what you call a movie." Her firm tone and stark belief in these words began to get me worried. She believed that she was telling the truth.
"Exactly, a movie, which is how I know that this is joke, you can't be real." Nerves shaking, I looked her in the eye. This woman was either a really good actor or truly believed everything that she was saying. My gut was telling me the latter.
"Yes a movie, a book, a legend. Different versions but all are true. The events that happen are real life, your worlds past, Arabella."
Oh God. She really believed what she was saying.
"If you do not believe me, you go now."
What? That was so abrupt. Grabbing my arm in a vice like grip she pulled me up and out of the room. I struggled and did everything I possibly could to get out of it but to no avail. This 'Tia Dalma' -or whatever her name was - was strong. Really strong. I cringed as we passed by the mammoth snake and stumbled over litter on the floor.
"I be the only one who can help you home, remember that." And with those parting words she pushed me out of the door, onto a wooden porch and slammed the door behind her. I could hear her muttering to herself but it was too hushed for me to make out anything other than the odd word.
I took one look at the bayou – the smell had me wrinkling my nose – before sitting down right where I was stood. If I took even one step out there I was sure to be lost. There was no way I was risking that. My mind began to wander as the situation finally sank in.
My only hope of getting out of here was from the crazy lady who was still muttering to herself inside. This had to be an elaborate prank. It just had to be. Any minute, Amy would jump out from behind the large shrubs and scream 'surprise'!
I waited and waited, but nothing happened. No surprises, just annoying bugs and insects trying to crawl on me. Birds cawed and something ominous moved in the water down below.
What if she was actually telling the truth? What if she really was Tia Dalma and I'm somehow in the past. How would it work? Are there different versions of the past? Is it one continuous loop? Just thinking about it started to make my head ache again. I felt like I had been dumped in a Doctor Who episode only without the dubious security of the Doctor and their sidekicks.
Darkness slowly descended, worsening my mood. In this kind of place, night meant even more creepy creatures.
This just couldn't be happening. I still didn't know how she brought me here. I maintain that she drugged me somehow. Magic just doesn't exist. Time travel doesn't exist. Oh God, I don't know how I'd cope if this was all real.
I was starting to form the opinion that I should just say whatever I can to make Tia Dalma believe that I agree with her whilst trying to figure out how to get home. As much as I hated to admit it, she really was my only hope at this point. I could make it work. I had to make it work. I didn't have a choice, my survival depended on it. I had no idea how to survive in the wild. I wasn't Bear Grylls. There was no way that I'd be caught eating a bug or drinking my own wee. Even the thought of it grossed me out and made me gag.
Never mind all that though, I wouldn't get far without any light. I could barely see the hand in front of my face and that was only from the dim candle light coming from the shack behind me. How did people start a fire in the bayou anyway? It's not as if I had any matches to hand.
The things I would do to get my hands on a cup of tea.
It was time to put my awful acting skills to use. With a mournful sigh – it was going to be a long night – I stood up, strode over to the door and knocked like I had a purpose.
Hinges creaked as it opened lethargically, just enough so that I could see one brown eye peeping through the crack. It was a bit unnerving. One wrong move or word and I'd be left to fend for myself. Using that horrible thought to give me courage, I straightened my shoulders, and stared challengingly into her eye.
"I believe you. What do I have to do?" I lied.
The opened wide and Tia Dalma smiled somewhat menacingly.
"Come in. Much is to be done."
With that I stepped into the battered shack and sealed my fate.
A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction! Hope it you all enjoyed it, and let me know what you think.
Eventually this story is going to follow Curse of the Black Pearl plot. I own my OC and plot until the movie plot beginning and nothing else. Thank you for reading :)