Disclaimer: I do not own POTC or any of the characters in the story up until now.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: It was 12:20 am and I decided that I was going to make myself write another chapter before I went to bed. Actually, I think this may have been the wisest decision for this chapter, since it's about Jack. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I think it worked out better to write it when I was tired than if I were fully awake and thinking clearly. Hopefully everything makes sense; I tried to stay in character very much with Jack, and so things may seem a little random. Let me know what you think and I'll try to update again soon!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Why is the rum always gone?" No one was around to hear the softly spoken question, and so no one answered. The asker was content to let the question go unanswered for a moment as he stared blankly of into the distance. Abruptly he said, "Oh! That's why!" and then stood and made his way unsteadily up the beach, mumbling something about "really bad eggs."
The sun was high in the sky, the sand was white and warm, and water was clear blue. There was hardly a cloud to be spotted, and the nearby palm trees offered just enough shade if one was thinking about relaxing for a nap. It was the perfect weather to be on a beach in the Caribbean. It was absolutely gorgeous weather for lying on the beach basking in the sun, or taking a dip in the ocean. Unfortunately, it was slightly less positive, though much more exciting, circumstances that brought the man to the island.
Curiosity. No, no that's not what had caused Jack Sparrow to end up in this place. Not directly, anyhow. It was really the fault of one Elizabeth Swann, who had tricked him and left him behind for dead. But really, it could be traced back to curiosity. If Jack hadn't been plagued with curiosity, he never would have kissed Elizabeth and then she never would have managed to chain him to the Pearl and then he never would have ended up here, on this godforsaken spit of land.
Again.
Oh yes, again. Jack grimaced and looked around him as he carefully counted his steps. This was not the first time he had been marooned on this particular island. No, it was not even the second time. It was…
"The third bloody time I have been marooned on this island all by me onesome!"
Jack enjoyed shouting his complaints at the top of his lungs…for absolutely no one to hear. He continued to mumble under his breath to himself as he also continued to count his steps. Finally he found was he was looking for. He bent down, brushed some sand away, grabbed a trap door handle, and pulled. Ah, here was the one positive thing about being on this island. He went down the steps and emerged seconds later with two bottles of rum clasped in his hands. He scrunched up his nose as he recalled the last time he had been on this island, and wasn't sure whether or not he was grateful that Elizabeth Swann was not present this time.
At least if she wasn't there that meant he had his rum!
With a smile, Jack returned to his spot on the beach and happily drank his rum. To be sure, it was lonely, but that only meant that he didn't have to share the rum. He sighed and leaned back on his elbows. The sun was just beginning to set and it was a spectacular sight. He sat and watched the sunset, drinking his rum, as he recalled the events of the past several days.
- - - - -
Well, of course this particular adventure all started when Miss Swann had kissed him. Of course, he had thought that was going in a completely different direction than it had actually gone, and it went without saying that he was disappointed about this particular turn of events. Jack had found himself trapped on the Black Pearl out at sea with a monster coming after him and no way of escape. When the time came, he put on his hat and a brave face and charged the monster.
As his luck would have it, the Kraken had a good many teeth and very bad breath. That, however, was the least of his worries. He didn't have any rum! This was the scariest thought of all and it spurred Jack into action. No sooner had he stepped into the Kraken's mouth than he jumped back out. I want my jar of dirt, he thought to himself at the time and recalled with remorse how it had shattered. Ah, well, the next best thing!
Jack scanned the deck and found what he was looking for. He rolled the cannon over toward the Kraken, trying to ignore the fact that the sea monster was doing a number on his ship, and loaded several cannonballs into it. He propped it against a wooden beam so that it would stay put, and then lit the fuse and plugged his ears. A moment later, the Kraken was shooting away from the ship with a very sore mouth, and the current from the Kraken's long tentacles swept the Black Pearl at a startling speed toward the nearby island that everyone else had been so desperate to reach. They were now no longer in sight, but Jack didn't have time to think about it before he fell headfirst into a barrel and rolled up and down the wildly pitching deck until the Pearl came to an abrupt and skidding halt.
When he finally managed to extricate himself from the barrel and ropes that had tangled around him, Jack surveyed his surroundings. They had improved from a few moments ago. The ship was beached now, which meant it was out of the Kraken's reach. The only bad thing was that the ship was in such bad shape that it could not be sailed until serious repairs were made. Except, Jack couldn't go out to sea while he had the telltale black spot on his hand anyway, so maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
It had taken Jack only seconds to realize that this was the same island that he remembered so well. It was the smell of rum that gave it away – or maybe the sight of the still-charred palm trees from Elizabeth's bonfire from the last time he had vacationed on this spot.
His mouth twitching, Jack had immediately decided that a bit of rum would do him some good and had immediately set of in search of some.
- - - - -
That had been five days ago. Jack had since eaten all the food he could find from the Pearl and made a serious dent in the amount of rum available to him on the island for the time being. He contemplated his dilemma as he continued to sip rum and sing about "really bad eggs." Really, he had to get off the island. He needed to get off of this island and get to a larger piece of land that had more food – and more rum – before the monster could find him and catch him. Jack gulped some more rum down and ran through his list of ideas as he counted off the fingers of one hand. It didn't take long since he had four fingers and a thumb more than he needed.
Oh dear, another bottle of rum was almost gone.
Why was the rum always gone?
"Well, then," Jack Sparrow said resolutely as he stood shakily. "Must find a couple of sea turtles, mate, before we really get in trouble." He pondered for a moment what would happen if he ran out of rum. It was the most unpleasant thought as of yet, and he immediately pushed it aside and walked down to the water's edge.
Curiosity had gotten him into this mess. Somehow, someway he would get out of it and get back.
