Family Ties Too:
The Annoying Metal Box
Which Contains
The Undead Beating Heart
Of A Squid Man.
Chapter Nine: Traded Souls
Michaela awoke to be pulled to her knees by her brother, who stood accompanied by four other men. Surprisingly, her hat was still on and she assumed her disguise.
"Six men still alive, the rest have moved on," a man with a hammer-head shark for a head said with his teeth showing. A booming step was heard approaching and Michaela stared at the Captain's strange figure and features. Davy Jones positioned himself in front of a quavering sailor and lit his pipe.
"Do you fear death," he asked, "Do you fear the dark abyss?"
"I can offer an escape."
"Don't listen to him," another man snapped. He held a crucifix and was shaking as well.
Davy reached at him with his crab-claw hand and asked darkly, "Do you not fear death?"
"I'll take my chances sir," he replied.
Davy glanced at his crewmen, who carried out the necessary action of killing the man. Michaela buried her face in her brother's shoulder as he turned his head as well.
"Cold blood," another sailor screeched.
"Life is cruel," Davy snarled, "Why should the afterlife be any different!"
"I offer you a choice, join my crew, postpone your final judgment," Jones soliloquized, "Will ye serve?"
The random sailor he picked looked up at the squid-faced man and shakily answered, "I will sir."
Davy smiled, Another useless soul to fix that broken rigging he thought. Reaching the end of the line of sailors, the Captain noted a man accompanied by a young boy, who were not nearly as damaged as the other sailors.
"You two are neither dead nor dying," he snarled, "What is your purpose here?" Will gave Michaela a look not to respond, but she did anyway.
"Jack Sparrow sent us to settle his debt," she answered with an attempted deeper voice.
"What is your purpose here," Davy asked again taken by surprise.
"Jack Sparrow sent us to settle his debt, was I not clear before?"
"Did he now, I'm sorely tempted to accept that offer," the Captain stated.
The BlackPearl
Jack looked through his spyglass and saw the slimy, squid-faced man (or what's left of what was once a man) he made a deal with long ago. Suddenly the face was closer and Jack lowered his looking glass to find Davy in the midst of his very person. Davy's crew materialized once again and withheld Jack's crew.
"Oh," Jack sighed weighing the situation in his mind.
"You have a debt to pay," Davy snarled approaching Jack again, Jack recoiled as his companion continued, "You've been Captain of the Black Pearl for thirteen years."
"Technically, I was only Captain for two years, then I was viciously mutinied upon," Sparrow corrected.
"Then you were a poor Captain, but a Captain nonetheless. Have you not introduced yourself all these years as 'Captain Jack Sparrow'," Davy boast as his crew laughed behind him.
"Yeah, I gave you payment, one soul to serve on your ship is already over there," Jack announced.
"One soul is not equal to another," Davy protest.
"So we've establish my proposal is sound in principle, now we're just haggling over price," Jack said hastily grabbing Jones' hand.
"Price," Davy asked inquisitively.
"Just how many souls do you think my soul's worth?"
"One hundred souls, three days."
"You're a darling, mate," Jack exclaimed, "Send me those two back and I'll be started right away!"
"I keep the boys, a good faith payment," the hammerhead man hissed as he prevented Jack from moving, "That leaves only ninety-eight to go!" The crew cackled at their newfound plan.
Boys? Jack thought, I've been calling the poor lad Michelle lately, it's obviously Michael!
"Have you not met Will and Michael Turner," Jack asked seriously, "They're noble, heroic, terrific sopranos, sang me a great duet once, and the elder, he's due to be married, to a girl, betrothed, the younger best friends with his fiancée's sister."
"Dividing them from each other, amounting to the whole, would be half as cruel as letting them all be together," he continued, "Aye?" Davy remembered a fierce memory, almost the type that will cause you to rip your heart out (pun intended! XP) and snorted.
"I keep the boy, ninety-eight souls-ah, but I wonder, Sparrow," Davy asked, "Can you live with this, can you condemn innocent men friends, to a lifetime of servitude in your name while you roam free?" Jack thought this over and came to a conclusion.
"Yep, I'm good with it, shall we seal it in blood, I mean ink?" Davy grasped Jack's left hand with his tentaclly one and performed some sort of quasi shake.
"Three days," was the last fading thing Jack heard before his ship was rid of the sea-creature ridden beasts. He looked down at his now clearing hand.
"Mr. Gibbs," he asked.
"Aye," his First Mate replied.
"I feel sullied and unusual."
"How do you intend to harvest these ninety-eight souls," Gibbs inquired.
"Fortunately, he was mum as the condition in which these souls need be," Sparrow pointed out.
"Tortuga," Gibbs stated.
"Tortuga," Jack complied wiping his slimy hand on his friend's shirt.
