1Jack and Sariah

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Chapter One--

Disclaimer: I wrote this story with my friend Sarah a long time ago. It was never finished, but it deserves to go on the internet.

Jack ducked just in time as a bullet came whizzing overhead and watched it bury itself in the wall in front of him. He slipped into an alley to his right as the three soldiers started shooting again. He slowly started backing away from the entrance as the soldiers grew closer. He turned and broke into a sprint, still looking back at the opening. A smallish girl crawled out of a hole in the side of an alley with a sword in her hand. Peering back through the hole she smiled and sheathed the long blade in a black leather sheath held across her back. She pulled a dirty red ribbon out of her hair to let her long brownish blond hair spill out onto her shoulders. Jack, not seeing her, plowed right into her. The two had a little trouble untangling themselves, but when they did, they each leapt up and stared at each other. Jack held out his hand sheepishly. "Er, sorry. Didn't see you. Um, I'm Jack. Jack Sparrow."

The girl looked towards the entrance of the alley. Blowing a bit of hair out of her eyes with frustration, she grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him into the hole she had just crawled out of. They both watched as three soldiers tramped by their hiding place. When they finally left, the girl grabbed Jack's hand again and shook it furiously. "Hello Jack. My name is Sariah Sparr-er-ing."

They both crawled out of the tunnel. Jack looked up and down the alley. There was really no way to go. "Where does that tunnel lead to?" He asked Sariah.

"Everywhere. My brother and I dug it so that it would go all over Port Oxbay. One branch of it even leads in and out of the mines in the jungle. Why?"

"Does it lead to the docks?"

"Well, yes but why would we- hey!"

Jack grabbed Sariah and dragged her inside the tunnel, smiling to himself. He liked this strange girl. She seemed smart, strong, skilled, and pretty. Very pretty. He stopped at a three way fork. "Which way?"

Sariah leapt in front of him as well as she could in the cramped little space. "Let me lead." She dashed down the tunnel with Jack close behind her.

In a few minutes they arrived at a large cavern with at least five tunnels branching out of it. She stood up, stretched, and started trying to brush herself off. Jack stood to one side and watched her impatiently. After a little while Sariah walked over to a crate, opened it, and pulled out two bottles of some sort of very old ale. Jack's face lit up as she dusted off a pair of chairs. They sat for a little while to get their breath back, before Jack stood up and said that it was time to get on with it.

Sariah dashed into another tunnel. This tunnel was a bit smaller than the last one, so it was harder to navigate through. It was probably easy for slender little Sariah, but Jack was having a more than a few problems. He was extremely grateful to see the sun in the next big cavern they came into. A few little holes had been hacked into the ceiling to let in a little light. Sariah let him sit underneath one for a little so that he could catch his breath. He almost groaned aloud when she it was time to go, but off they went.

Sariah halted suddenly and turned to Jack. "The dock is just up ahead. Our eyes are going to need to get adjusted to the light before we go out there, so don't dash out there just yet. That would be suicide, we wouldn't be able to see anything. Let's go." They crawled along the tunnel for a while until Jack finally managed to see a little light. The further they went the more light was there.

After what seemed like ages to Jack, they finally reached the end of the tunnel. They crouched by the entrance for a while to let their eyes get adjusted to the light, then they crawled out slowly. Jack spied his ship, the "Black Pearl", and turned to Sariah. "Well miss Sparring, I believe this is where our paths part."

Sariah leapt in front of him, eyes blazing with anger. "What? You think that I led you all this way just to watch you leave? I'm not blind! You're a pirate! A pirate with a ship. You can get me off this rock. Take me with you."

Jack sighed and looked up at the sky. "Very well luv." He turned to her with a devilish gleam in his eyes. "...But first, Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" He watched Sariah's perplexed eyes for a moment. "Miss Sparring?"

Drawing in a deep breath, Sariah nodded. "I do (?)."

"Excellent!" Jack bowed to her and grabbed her hand. "Let's get to the ship."

Sariah found herself walking as fast as she could as Jack strode towards his ship.

"Jack!"

A voice rang out over the docks. Jack turned to see who had called his name. He winced slightly, then quickly turned back and started racing towards the Black Pearl dragging Sariah along with him. Sariah tried to turn to see who was chasing them, but that included turning, and stopping, so she had to keep running alongside Jack as they made a wild dash for his ship. They reached the ship and started clamoring up a soggy rope ladder as the person drew closer. Unfortunately, Sariah reached the ship just after Jack, which meant she had to wait for him to get a little higher on the ladder. She leapt onto the flimsy ladder as soon as she could, but not exactly soon enough. Jack reached down to help her, but the person who had been running after them got to her first. He gave the rope a sharp jerk, which made Sariah lose her hold, and fall directly on top of who ever had been chasing them.