It looked like a large, green whirlpool- right in front of the ship. Everything was bathed in its emerald glow. But although it looked and was acting like a whirlpool, thrashing and swirling- the ship was not pulled into it. The ship seemed perched on the edge, not unlike the last steps of an ill-fated man made to walk the plank. Perhaps even more unnerving than this and the green light was the silence that filled the air. The ocean was strangely silent and no birds were in the sky. All revolved around this anomaly.
'We're going in there- aren't we Joshamee?' Catherine asked wearily.
Gibbs nodded and tried to fake a smile. Most of the crew were still staring at the 'light'. They all looked scared, including Will and Elizabeth. Catherine's face was blank and expressionless as usual but even her eyes had darkened. Only Barbossa looked confident. He smiled at them all- a cold, gloating smile- it was obvious what they had been arguing about was now immaterial.
'Somebody get me some rum,' He ordered triumphantly.
Everyone was unresponsive. They were all still intoxicated by the 'light'. Catherine sighed and excused herself. Maybe she could steal a swig of rum if she went and got Barbossa a bottle. But by the time she had made her way across half of the deck there was suddenly a very bright flash of green light. She was temporarily blinded and stunned. Finally her vision cleared and to her surprise the ship was no longer moving. She looked up and saw what appeared to be the roof of a cave. The ship was not in water, it was embedded in sand.
After the expected confusion everyone managed the leave the boat. On closer inspection they realised they were actually in a very large cave with nothing but sand and crabs for what seemed miles; except for a large black boat in the middle of what looked like a small lake. Barbossa recognised it immediately- He'd know his ship anywhere- even in the depths of purgatory. He smiled to himself and told Gibbs, Will, Elizabeth, Catherine and Cotton to follow him. The rest of the crew were told to mind the ship.
There was a stony silence between them as they made their way to the pearl. Barbossa strode ahead, eager to see his ship once more. His monkey was moving erratically on his shoulder: it looked scared. Elizabeth tried to make light conversation with Will but failed miserably. Suddenly they were all aware of a quiet humming coming from some unseen location. It was to the tune of the song 'A pirate's life for me.' They stopped and stared at other.
'Dead men tell no tales.' Squawked Cotton's parrot suddenly and it flew to what appeared to be just another patch of sand.
'Is that what I think it is?' Elizabeth asked timidly.
She broke into a run and the rest soon followed. There was a hole in the sand, a large hole with steep sides almost at a vertical drop. A figure was slumped against the side of the hole humming the tune they had heard less than a minute ago. It was Jack. Most of his face was concealed by his hat but there was no mistaking it was him. A bottle was beside him, empty and laying on the floor. He looked at them and smiled.
'Hello love.' He said to Elizabeth and winked at her. She turned away and felt her cheeks blush.
'We've come to save you Jack.' Barbossa smirked.
'I'll not be saved by the likes of you!' Jack responded angrily. He folded his arms like a disobedient child.
'The Pearl's here.' Gibbs told Jack solemnly.
'What, pray tell, would be the point? What would I get out of it?' Jack asked.
'Your ship.' Offered Will heatedly.
'And who shall be captain of said vessel?' Enquired Barbossa.
'Me. Captain Jack Sparrow.'
'And what about me? I'm the only one who can get you out of this place.'
'First mate.' Jack said after a moment of thought. 'But I get more rum.'
'Agreed.'
He got onto his knees and put his hand into the hole. Slowly he managed to pull Jack out. Gibbs patted Jack on the back and handed him a bottle. He smiled and took a swig. He winked at Elizabeth again and turned his attention on Will. He leaned in close to Will and started to talk.
'I for one am glad you decided to put our-'He slurred.
'I didn't do this for you.' Will spat. 'The Black Pearl is the only ship capable of catching up with the Dutchman.'
Jack pretended to look offended and shook his head.
'I feel so used.' He grinned.
Suddenly Barbossa looked very troubled. He frowned and looked behind himself.
'Where's Catherine?' He asked.
She had seemingly disappeared from the group.
Catherine sat beside the water. Jack was in good hands. It'd be very easy to get him out of the hole. There was no need for her. So she'd decided to go see the pearl instead. On the shore of the lake where the pearl was floating there was a longboat. It had, at first, looked very suspicious but there were no holes to be found. She had contemplated rowing to the Pearl but she didn't want to go alone. There was something about this place which was unnerving. She shuddered and stared into the water. There was nothing but a inky darkness; this water was deep, very deep. She didn't want to think about any creatures that might live under there: creatures possibly more frightening than the Kraken.
Suddenly she saw something sparkling in the small shallow part of the lake. It was only shallow for about 20 inches and then there seemed to be a very deep sheer drop. There was a ring in the water- a silver ring with a very large stone in the middle. It was half-buried in the sand the water covered but Catherine could tell it was expensive. She put her hand into the water and picked up the ring. A hand came from the lake and grabbed her wrist. She froze.
Her whole body tensed up but she did not scream. Making any noise when fear struck you was not a good idea. Keeping silent was a skill she had learnt, a skill which had helped her immensely in her job. That's how she had managed to get away from Jack's hole. Her heart was beating very fast but she kept her breathing steady. She looked at the hand, it was wrinkled and frail- it seemed as if it was making a great effort to keep its grip on her arm. She couldn't see where the rest of the body was, if there was one.
Well there was only one way to find out. She tried to push her fears out of her mind and grabbed the arm with her free hand. Digging her feet into the sand she started to pull the arm out of the water. Her teeth were clenched in concentration and she closed her eyes. Something gave way and she fell backwards onto the sand. She swore profusely and started to brush herself down. She heard a gasping sound coming from in front of her. There was a man laid face down on the sand. He appeared to be gasping for air. His clothes were of the finest cut, but not as fine as Beckett's had been. He had slightly balding, grey, wispy hair.
She looked at him with interest as he pulled himself up. He was older than her for sure and didn't look like the pirate type. More like a nobleman. But his face had a kind quality to it and he had no visible weapons. No threat would be posed by him. But there was a haunted look in his eyes. He looked oddly familiar. Suddenly they made eye contact- he looked confused- as if he was half-way between relief and fear.
'You saved my life…' He said finally and almost unwillingly.
'Too late for that.' Catherine smiled falsely. 'But if you would be so kind to tell me your name, I may be able to help you escape.'
His expression darkened. He swallowed and wiped a bead of sweat of his forehead.
'Weatherby Swann- Governor Weatherby Swann.' He answered.
'Swann?' She bit her lip and smiled again, but this time her smile was real. 'You wouldn't happen to have a daughter by any chance? Who goes by the name Elizabeth?'
'You know where Elizabeth is?'
Catherine turned round and was mildly surprised to see the group were no longer crowded round were Jack was- they were heading towards her.
'She's coming over here right now. I bet she'll be glad to see you.'
'Lord Beckett promised she would not be harmed…' He said with a hint of anger.
'You work for Beckett?'
'I had to… For Elizabeth… And after he had used me I was killed- by an assassin.'
They both went silent and Catherine studied his face for a while. The words he had said were ringing in her ears. Oh bugger. That's why he looked familiar- not family resemblance- she had killed him. She remembered doing it, she'd snuck into his home and shot him in the back with a pistol (With a sheet wrapped round it to use as a silencer, of course.) while he had been eating dinner. It'd been a very clean and quick kill. She hadn't realised who he was. This was going to be very hard to explain.
'Father!' Elizabeth suddenly shouted from behind Catherine. She ran to him and embraced him. They started to talk and Catherine stood up. Barbossa was not going to be happy.
'My ship!' Jack cried happily walking towards the longboat, quickly followed by everyone else. Suddenly he realised what had just happened and frowned at Catherine.
'Really Catherine, I didn't know you liked older men. My first mate is on the market you know.'
'Shut up.' She snapped.
'You could at least act glad to see me, my dear.'
Catherine made a non-committal noise. Jack shrugged and turned to Barbossa and Gibbs. He started to talk to them and was using very large hand motions.
'I thought you and Jack were friends.' Will piped up suddenly.
Catherine raised an eyebrow.
'We are- there just one thing about Jack you must always remember.'
'What's that?'
'He's an idiot.'
A/N This chapter took me longer than expected but it's finally done. I still may need to edit it though. And I'm not entirely happy about Jack's lines. They're not very Jack-ish. I decided to put Governor Swann in the story because I can envision many scenes including him. The next chapter probably won't centre on Catherine too much either. Also I've been told I'm being too paranoid on the Mary Sue front so I'll stop mentioning it. Please review- constructive criticism is always welcome.