A Hundred Souls…Three Days
After Jack had assured Will that the destroyed ship in front of him was truly the Flying Dutchman, Will stated, "She doesn't look like much," shrugging his shoulders.
Jack walked up to him by the railing. "Neither do you." Will turned his head sharply to Jack. "Don't underestimate her," Jack added quietly.
Tom and Amanda were both staring out at the ship. She didn't know what his thoughts could be, but had no idea how a ship that broken could hold the key to Jack's dreams.
"So, what's your plan, then?" Jack asked Will.
Will looked out at the ship. "I row over, search the ship until I find your bloody key."
"And if there are crewmen?"
Will paused before speaking. "I cut down anyone in my path." And with that, he brushed by Amanda to the rowboat leaning against the side of the Pearl.
Jack nodded his head in agreement. "I like it. Simple, easy to remember." He too followed after Will to help him into the rowboat.
Amanda still stared out at the ship, something uneasy rising up inside her.
"What's the matter, Margaret?"
She looked up and saw that Tom was staring down at her, concern filling his eyes.
Quickly, Amanda looked back out at the water and shook her head. "Nothing—nothing, I feel fine."
They both didn't speak for a minute. "You don't have to lie to me," Tom said quietly.
Amanda took a deep breath and then looked back up into his rain-soaked face. "I have a bad feeling about this ship. I have a hunch that Will is in danger."
"Danger?" Tom asked bewildered. "What could possibly be on that ship that could harm him?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't a clue; but there is something about this key that makes me uneasy. There is no possible way that Jack is the only man in all of the seven seas that wants that key." Amanda looked back out at the Dutchman and saw that Will was already beginning to row towards it. "Something's dangerous about Jack's mission," she finished quietly.
All of a sudden, Amanda noticed that all the men on the ship were dousing the lamps. She and Tom looked about, completely lost at this new set of orders. She looked up at Jack and saw that he was staring ahead at Will, a very set look on his face.
In a matter of seconds, the Black Pearl was immersed in pitch black, and the entire crew looked completely invisible to the opposite ship. Amanda had a feeling that this was part of Jack's plan.
She left Tom where he was standing and keenly approached Jack. His eyes darted slightly towards her direction and then he looked back out where Will was still rowing.
"Why do you want to be invisible to the Flying Dutchman?" she asked, close to Jack's ear so only he could hear.
"Go back to your post, Margaret," Jack ordered.
"I don't have one—as you well know."
At that, he turned to her, anger etching the corners of his eyes. "What do you want?"
"I want to know your plan. If you want that key so badly, why aren't you the one to go out there and get it?"
At that, Gibbs turned to us in interest. As if Jack could feel his gaze, still looking at me he said, "Please leave us, Gibbs."
Gibbs still looked curious as he walked away from the railing and over to where Tom was still standing.
Jack then exhaled slowly. "I'm trying to keep my patience here, Margaret, but you have a way—"
"I have a way of reading your eyes, Jack, and you know that I can do it as well as you can pirate."
Jack shook his head and looked back out at the water.
Amanda pressed herself closer to him, yet he still chose to ignore her. "Are we in danger?" she asked quietly.
He still stared ahead.
"Better yet, is Will in danger out on that ship?"
Jack slowly turned his head to Amanda, his eyes emotionless. "You know, Margie, you've always had a way of hypothesizing on certain matters, but this time…" He looked ahead, and she chose to look with him. Will was now on board, and his boat was floating on the sea beside the shipwreck. "You're going to have to witness the events that I have no way of predicting."
All of a sudden, there was a deafening crash out in the sea ahead of us. Amanda cried out and jumped back in response. It was as if it was a nightmare. It couldn't be real. Beside the Flying Dutchman, there rose another ship, breaking out of the water. The waves curled around the ship's front and bounded off of it as it broke the surface. She stared at it in shock, her mouth agape. The large ship was soon floating on the sea, the water of it being submerged still pouring from those little air spaces that every ship has.
At once, the crew began whispering and hissing at this sudden appearance. All of the expressions were the same as Amanda's, except Jack's. She slowly turned her head to him and saw that he was biting his lip, a grim look on his face.
"Jack?" she said, trying to get his attention.
"Hmmm?" He still stared straight at this ghostly ship.
"What is that?" Amanda asked slowly.
"Thaaaaat—would be the Flying Dutchman I believe."
"The Flying Dutchman?"
Jack nodded. "Aye."
"But you told me…"
Out of nowhere, Jack turned towards her, his face inches from Amanda's. "I know what I told you, Margaret, but I myself am oblivious to the set motions at this time. I have some things to figure out, so if you would be so kind…" He looked down at his arm.
Without realizing it, out of reflex, Amanda had grabbed Jack's arm when the ship appeared out of nowhere. The whole while they were talking, she had not taken her hand off of his wet arm.
As if it were now poisonous, her hand shot off of him, and she held it against her chest. "Sorry," Amanda said quietly.
Jack gave her a sarcastic smile and then walked past to where Gibbs and many other crew members were standing, talking quickly and loudly.
Amanda still stood in my spot, holding her hand against her chest. So many thoughts were swimming in her mind, and she could not grab hold of any of them. This new ship, Will being in danger, that key, and of course, what Jack was thinking. All of these things were vital for her to understand, yet she had no idea how to answer any of them.
She then decided to walk towards the center of the ship where the rest of the crew was. Daniel was waiting for her, hopping anxiously on the balls of his feet. "Did you see that?" he hissed at Amanda, pointing out at the ship. "That was so intense." He waited for her response, yet she didn't give one. She was staring into space, looking for confirmations. "What's wrong?" Daniel asked quietly.
Slowly, she turned her head back at the ship. "I feel like we're in danger." Daniel gazed at his friend thoughtfully. "I feel like something bad is going to happen."
"What could possibly happen?"
"Mr. Dudley?" Jack suddenly cried out.
Amanda looked a few feet ahead and saw that Tom responded to Jack's cry.
"Please get me my eye—thingy—see—thing," Jack stuttered, his arms flying around.
Tom's eyes squinted. "Sir?"
"You know," Jack said impatiently. "My telescope thingy." And with that he made the motion of looking far out into sea.
"Ah, I understand, Cap'n." And with that, Tom crossed the deck to where most of the navigational objects were lying. He quickly picked up one of Jack's favorite instruments and then ran back to him where he was waiting peevishly.
"Thank you," he said, swiping it out of Tom's hands. He then put his eye to it, staring at to where Will was very likely in danger.
"He's probably looking for Will," Daniel guessed.
Amanda nodded in agreement. "He wants to see if he's still alive."
Daniel turned to her. "He's still alive, Amanda. Don't worry."
She looked back at Jack who kept taking his "eye—thingy—see—thing" down from his eye and then right back up again. He looked bewildered to what was happening on the ship. All the crew members surrounding him were staring with puzzled expressions.
Jack once more put the instrument to his eye and stared out in distance. As he was looking, the eye that was squeezed tight suddenly shot open in shock. Daniel and Amanda both noticed.
"What the--?" Amanda began to say.
But then, a man, if you could call it that, appeared out of thin air, right in front of Jack's telescope. Everyone gasped in shock. Amanda's limbs immediately became numb.
Daniel and she both backed up, away from this bewitched man, but then slimy arms intertwined around Amanda's waist and a sword was held up against her throat. She screamed out in horror and then realized that Daniel was also in the same position as her; in fact, the whole crew was being held up against all of our wills.
Jack looked around at his captured crew and these inhuman men that held the crew tight and then looked back up at the man in front of him. "Oh," he merely said.
Amanda stared in shock at the "man" in front of Jack. It was as if he were half human and half octopus. The most normal thing about him was his face, which is not saying much. He had two eyes, a fairly large nose, but then right below his chin was a beard of tentacles. It was as if they had a mind of their own. They moved every so often and made a slippery noise each time they changed position.
Below that, he was wearing the same attire as Jack, but once the fabric of his shorts ended, on one leg a giant claw was sitting against the deck. Amanda gasped at the horror of this man's appearance. It was as if he had crawled out of the water…and in a way, he and all of his crew had.
Amanda chose to look at the alien crew, but then the octopus man spoke, and she needed to know what he was saying. Her eyes locked on him in interest.
The voice that came from him was unexpected. He had a slight tenor voice, and it seemed that he was down with a slight head cold. All the same, Amanda felt chills rise up her arms as this unknown man stared at Jack with more hatred in his eyes than she had ever seen before.
"You have a debt to pay," he hissed at Jack. He stepped closer and closer to him, his claw thudding against the wooden planks of the ship. "You've been Captain of the Black Pearl for thirteen years. That was our agreement."
Jack was soon pushed up against one of the captured crewmen. He still stared at the menacing man in front of him, his eyes wide. He began to cringe as the tentacles of the man came upon him. "Technically, I was only captain for two years, then I was viciously mutinied upon."
"Then you were a poor captain, but a captain nonetheless," he finished cruelly. "Have you not introduced yourself all these years," he circled behind Jack, holding his arms up to his own crew members, "as Captain Jack Sparrow!"
His men laughed gruffly, showing admiration to their captain.
Jack's face twitched slightly and then he turned around to face octopus man. "You have my payment: one soul to serve on your ship." He pointed over his shoulder. "And he's already…"
"One soul is not equal to another," he interrupted.
"Aha!" Jack said triumphantly. "So, we've established my proposal is sound in principle. Now we're just hagging over price."
The man looked at Jack, completely bewildered. "Price?"
At that, Jack drew close to him, his face completely serious. "Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?"
Amanda stared at Jack, completely shocked. She could not believe that Jack was willing to risk Will's life just to save his own. There was nothing she could say or do, however, as the man was still holding the cold blade against her throat.
The man bit his lip in concentration, and then a cold smile spread across his lips. He leant toward Jack saying, "One hundred souls…three days."
Jack held up his hands. "You're a diamond, mate. Send me back the boy. I'll get started right off." Amanda breathed in relief as Jack started walking towards the side of the ship.
A man with a head like a hammerhead shark stood in front of Jack, stopping him from walking any further. Jack shot back in surprise, and the octopus man spoke. "I keep the boy. A good-faith payment. That leaves you only 99 more to go."
Again, his men laughed along with him, and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.
Jack's mouth twitched upward again, and he walked towards the man. "Have you not met Will Turner? He's noble, heroic, a terrific soprano. Worth at least four—maybe three and a half." At this point, a knowing look came over Jack's face, and he leant closer to the creature. "And did I happen to mention—he's in love?"
At once, a change came over the octopus's face. His eyes narrowed and he stared at Jack in interest.
Jack smiled and nodded. "Wiv a girl." He began to circle around the man, still talking casually, but with a knowing smile on his face. "Due to be married. Betrothed." Jack was now at the man's back, and he began talking closely into his ear. "Dividing him from her and her from him would only be half as cruel as actually allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony. Eh?"
For a moment, Amanda thought she saw a different emotion in the man's eyes. What was it? It was not surprise, not regret—it looked like sadness. And once she had thought it, it was perfectly clear that the great, frightening man in front of her had eyes that were filled with mourning.
As quickly as it had started, it finished just as fast. The man turned his head sharply towards Jack and then to all of the crew. "I keep the boy," he announced. "99 souls." His men grinned.
He turned to Jack and looked him in the eye. "But I wonder, Sparrow, can you live with this? Can you condemn an innocent man, a friend, to a lifetime of servitude in your name while you roam free?" He leant towards Jack, curiosity filling his eyes.
Jack looked down in thought for a moment and then looked back up with a smile on his face. "Yep. I'm good with it. Shall we seal it in blood? I mean…ink," he stammered, looking down at the man's tentacles.
The man suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Jack's hand. Jack gasped in surprise as the slimy tentacles swam across Jack's palm. "Three days," he said slowly. He snapped his "hand" out of Jack's reach, and turned towards the railing of the ship.
"Three days," my captor hissed into my ear. He slowly took his blade of my throat and I felt a huge pressure come off my chest. All around me, the rest of the crew were being set free, yet the men that had just kept us hostage had somehow disappeared.
I looked ahead at Jack who was staring at his slime-covered hand. "Eh, Mr. Gibbs?" he called out.
"Aye?" Gibbs said, walking up next to Jack.
"I-I feel sullied and unusual."
Gibbs shook his head. "And how do you intend to harvest these 99 souls in three days?"
Jack smiled a grim smile. "Fortunately, he was mum as to the condition in which these souls need be."
Gibbs smiled. "Ah. Tortuga!"
Jack slapped his hand against Gibb's chest and began rubbing the slime against his shirt. "Tortuga," he confirmed.
"Amanda."
I looked beside me and sat that Daniel was staring at me with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?"
I nodded fervently. "Of course I'm fine. Why are you asking?"
He shook his head and looked down at his feet. "I thought—that after what Jack said…I don't know…"
"Oh, you mean how he's willing to let a hundred men die for him instead of risking his own butt to serve for whoever that guy was?" I asked quickly.
"Yes."
I sighed. "I can't believe that he did that to Will. After all they've been through together!"
"What did you expect? Jack loves the sea, but not so much that he would be willing to work with Davy Jones for the rest of eternity."
I turned to him in interest. "Davy Jones?"
"Don't you know about him?"
"That was Davy Jones?!"
Daniel nodded, his eyes wide as he stared at me. "One of the crewmen told me about it."
I pulled him over to a barrel to sit on, watching him eagerly as he began to tell me the legend.
"I don't know too much, so don't be disappointed." He took a deep breath. "Davy Jones and his crew all look like that because they have been cursed for eternity. They roam the sea searching for souls to serve upon the Flying Dutchman. Their task is to ferry the dead to the other side…if you catch my drift."
"'Ferry the dead?'"
"You know—if anyone dies at sea, Jones and his men have to bring him to the next part of afterlife."
"Oh, I see. Go on," I urged.
"Well, Davy failed to do as he was asked. He ignored his job to ferry the dead, and he and his men were severely punished."
"That's why they look like that?" I asked grotesquely.
Daniel nodded. "Now, he still chooses to not follow his orders and continues to roam the seas. The reason Jones is so frightening is because of the state of he and his men and the power he has to recruit more men to his service. For each ship that he attacks or brings down, a new set of men come aboard the Flying Dutchman."
I shook my head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. I've always thought Davy Jones was a myth."
Daniel shook his head. "I know…so did I."
"There's one thing I don't get though. How is he so good at bringing down ships? I mean, I understand that he and his men are good fighters, but there is just no way he could bring down all of these ships without a single scratch on his vessel."
A cold look came across Daniel's face, and he leant closer to me. "That's because he has outside help," he said quietly.
I felt a slight set of chills graze my arms. "What do you mean?" I asked slowly.
Daniel looked over his shoulder, yet no one was paying any attention to us. Jack had obviously set course for Tortuga. Daniel leant closer to me, his voice much softer. "There's a legend that Davy Jones and his men are helped by the most feared sea creature in all of the oceans: the Kraken."
I remained staring at Daniel, wonderment filling my eyes. "What is it?"
He put his hands together. "It's some type of octopus-squid thing, and it is large enough to bring down an entire ship. It has the ability to sink a vessel without so much as using all of its power." An ugly smile crossed his face. "It's said that it could suck a face off of a man."
"Ew!" I cried out, flinging back from him.
Daniel quickly nodded. "That's why Jack's got to be afraid, right? Don't you think that's why we ran to Tia Dalma?"
"Tia Dalma's that crazy gypsy lady, right?"
Daniel nodded. "The Kraken has got to be bad if Jack is afraid of it."
My eyes widened in agreement, and another thought crossed my mind. "Wait a minute. Who was the person that gave Jones this job? Who ordered him to ferry the dead?"
"Oh!" Daniel said, leaning towards me again. "That's the second part of the story; I forgot to tell you about it."
We put our heads together again as Daniel continued talking quietly.
"Davy Jones, believe it or not, was in love with the heathen sea goddess, Calypso." I frowned at him. "I don't know who she is either, but she's a big deal. Anyway," he sighed, "Calypso was the one who gave Jones the Flying Dutchman to ferry the souls. Why she did—no one quite knows. When she gave him this task, she swore that after ten years they would meet again, and they would spend one day together before he had to return to his job."
"Wow," I breathed.
Daniel held up his finger. "It gets better."
"Jones kept to his duty, ferrying the dead year after year…until the ten years were up. He was so eager to see his love again, not thinking anything bad could happen. However," Daniel stressed, "Calypso was always a capricious woman, which brought Jones to her in the first place, and she failed to show up because of her nature."
"That's awful!" I cried out.
"Feeling sorry for Davy Jones, Amanda?" Daniel teased.
I smiled, rolling my eyes. "Continue."
"Jones wanted to get back at Calypso in a way she would not expect. So, he turned the Pirate Brethren against her."
"'Pirate Brethren?'"
Daniel sighed impatiently. "It's made up of nine pirate lords from all the different seas, and they all meet together to decide matters."
"Ah."
"Anyway, at the First Brethren Court, Davy Jones taught them how to imprison Calypso, and they at once agreed with him. Calypso would be captured into human bonds, meaning she was no longer goddess but merely an average woman."
"After that…this gets a little gross," Daniel warned.
I waved my hand
absently. "I don't care."
"All right." Daniel
exhaled. "After that, Jones decided to rip out his heart and place
it into a chest. He then proceeded to put that chest into a
larger chest among his many love letters he had written to Calypso. Are you okay?"
I had quite a disgusted look on my face, and it was a lighter shade. "I'm all right; just ignore me."
Daniel slightly laughed. "Anyways, Jones buried the chest on an island, and he walked off, planning to never go back to see the thing that had failed him on the seas: his heart."
"Wow," I whispered after Daniel had finished his story. "You really don't know a lot," I said sarcastically.
Daniel rolled his eyes, laughing. "Well, there are still a lot of things that are unsaid."
"Like what?"
He
started counting off his fingers. "Well…1. Jack obviously is
searching for this chest, but why does he want it? 2. Where is
this chest? 3. Since Calypso is a woman now, where is she and
who could she be? 4. What is the key to controlling the Kraken? See," he said, putting down his fingers, "there's still a lot
to be answered."
Amanda grinned. "I guess you're right." She looked over the railing of the ship and saw that the Flying Dutchman was no longer in sight.
"He'll be fine," Daniel said, seeing the nervous look on Amanda's face. "Will always has a way of getting out of trouble."
"I know that, but this is different," Amanda said, turning back to Daniel. "Davy Jones is a determined man, and I'm sure he's going to do everything so as Will stays on that ship."
"Jack won't abandon him; you'll see."
"I don't know that," Amanda whispered.
"Margaret."
Amanda looked up and saw that Tom Dudley was standing in front of them, looking down with a smile on his face.
"Yes?" Amanda said quite coldly, putting on her English accent.
Tom merely smiled and held up his hand which contained a wet cloth. "I saw that your captor nicked your neck a little bit as he left, and I wanted to clean it up before anything got to it."
Amanda reached up to her neck, and of course, felt a sticky cut against the side of her throat. "Figures," she groaned.
"If I may," Tom said, crouching beside her.
Amanda quickly looked over at Daniel, but he had vanished. She cursed him inwardly for leaving her alone with this man.
"Go ahead," she said hurriedly
Tom smiled a half smile and pressed the cloth up against her neck. Amanda cringed but did not make a sound. "Are you all right?" Tom asked quietly.
"Yes, I'm fine," Amanda answered.
The two of them did not speak, but there was no need. Tom was pressing the cloth gently along her cut, moving strands of her hair back every so often. As his fingers traced along the hollow of her neck, she couldn't help the sudden chills that would spring up along his touch. She kept an impassive look upon her face, but every so often, her heart would pound against her chest as she smiled that crooked smile at her. His breath was against her face, yet it wasn't uncomfortable. Amanda felt quite calm against Tom's touch, and she didn't feel the need to separate herself from him.
All too soon, Tom was done. He stood up from her and smiled again. "Take care of yourself, Margaret."
And with that he walked away, a proud step in his walk.
I hoped you liked this chapter. I know a lot of it was dialogue from the movie, but I had to put a lot of information in this chapter in case some people don't know about Dead Man's Chest that well. Keep reading! It's going to get better and better.
