Chapter 10:
Blake sat, her arms crossed, her lips pursed and her body tense with clear annoyance. She was surrounded by bone, yellow, dirty, and knotted together with ropes to form a round cage. One of her legs hung down through the gaps in the bottom of the cage as it was hanging down a hole between two cliffs. Mist shrouded the ground from below her as the top of her cage was tied to a rope, slung across the sheer drop. She was alone in her cage, but not far beside her was another. This one held Gibbs, Marty, Cotton and a few other members of the Black Pearl. Their cage too was made out of human bone. Beside them was a third cage, holding more of the crew, a grand total of perhaps fifteen of them in all.
The crew had watched as many of their members were burned alive, their skin roasted, before they were eaten by the tribe of Pelegostos cannibals. When the bones had been stripped of all their skin, tendons and muscles, they had been used to form the cages that held them now.
It hadn't been a pretty sight.
Jack was still sitting on his throne as the Pelegostos planned to eat him as well, planning on freeing the god from within.
They could tell when something was happening at the village, it became noisy, instruments sounded or chants from the tribe members. Everyone looked up as they heard this followed by a shout, a shout that was clearly in english.
"What was that?" Gibbs whispered.
Everyone was quiet as the chanting got louder before the tribe all appeared on the edge of the cliff. They had someone with them, someone wearing white and clearly not part of the tribe.
Gibbs and his cage members all gasped as his cage began to be reeled in towards the pelegostos. They all looked fearful as Blake got to her feet, watching.
The cage was brought by a handful of the tribesmen to the cliff before they all began to fiddle with the cage. After a moment, their spears pointing inwards at the captives, they added the extra to it. Resealing the cage they then began to lower it back down carefully and slowly. The two remaining cages watched before Blake looked surprised.
"Will!" the boy turned and saw her. He was wearing a white shirt with a blue vest over the top and baggy blue breeches. His hair was tied up away from his face and he looked older. He looked better looked after then the last time Blake had seen him. It wasn't that surprising she guessed, Blake hadn't seem him in quite some time. The last she had seen of him, he'd been standing high above her on a fort as she made her escape from Port Royal with Jack.
Will Turner was the only son of Bootstrap Bill Turner, who's blood had been needed to break the curse on Barbossa, his crew and the Pearl which he'd stolen from Jack. He and Will's childhood crush had been roped into it when Bill had send a piece of the required treasure off to his son.
Jack and Will had first met Blake when they'd fished her out of the ocean, on the quest to save Elizabeth who had been taken by Barbossa.
"Blake!" He gasped. "You have no idea how good it is to see you." He confessed.
"I'd like to say the same except that you've been added to our predicament." She reminded him. "What are you doing here?"
"I came looking for Jack?"
"Why?"
"Elizabeth is in danger, I need his compass to set her free."
"The compass?" Blake asked, "Wait? How is she in danger?"
"We were arrested for helping Jack and you escape last time." Will confessed. "They bargained with me because they want you, and Jack's compass."
"Me?" She asked confused before her expression contorted. "Someone's seeking me out, personally?"
"Sort of, he had a warrant for us all. Elizabeth faces the gallows without that compass." He confessed.
Blake glanced away from him and towards the cliff. She reached for her right shoulder where there was the only scar she'd never healed from, a brand. Someone wanted her…
Everyone turned as drums began to echo through the sky, coming from beyond their canyon and towards the village. The crew all shared a look, worried.
"Why are you guys here?" Will asked as he turned from the direction of the drums towards Gibbs.
"Jack beached the ship and we all got kidnapped by the Pelegostos. He was put on the throne before he locked us all here." Blake admitted, being the one to answer. She looked down the ravine in which they were dangling into.
"But why would he do this to us? If Jack is the chief…?" Will questioned.
"Aye, the Pelegostos made Jack their chief. But he only remains chief as long as he acts like a chief." Gibbs explained.
"So he had no choice. He's a captive then as much as the rest of us." Will realised.
"Worse, as it turns out." Gibbs confessed. "See, the Pelegostos believe that Jack is a god in human form, and they intend to do him the honour of releasing him from his fleshy prison." Gibbs explained, Will glanced towards Blake who nodded. Cotton grabbed Gibbs' hand from the cage and bit two of his fingers. Gibbs' ripped his hand from Cotton and gave him an annoyed look.
"They'll roast him an eat him." Gibbs admitted.
"And they chose Jack?" Will asked, looking at Blake, she put a finger to her lips and shook her head slightly.
"Being Captain I guess it looked fitting." Gibbs shrugged as many of the crew members were sitting amongst the cages, their legs hanging down.
"Where's the rest of the crew?" Will wondered.
"These cages we're in," Gibbs said looking at it, "Weren't built till after we got here." He confessed. Will looked at them and removed his hands from the bones.
"The feast is about to begin." Gibbs muttered looking at the edge of the cliff above them. "Jack's life ends when the drums stop."
"Well, we can't just sit here and wait then can we?" Will said and began to think.
"You plan on fighting all those tribals unarmed?" Blake asked.
"The ship still has an armoury, if we can get there, we can get Jack out." Will thought as he was looking up at the ropes that had them strung over the ravine.
"As long as we're quick enough." Blake added.
"Well, we'll get the weapons, and you can save Jack." Will said pointedly at her.
Blake looked at him annoyed. Right, Will and Elizabeth, along with Jack, were the only ones who truely knew what she was. They'd seen her survive bullet wounds and explosions.
"If we can reach the edge of the cliff, we can climb out." Will said.
"And how do you intend to do that?" Blake asked.
Will smirked at her. "We swing."
Blake rose an eyebrow before Will turned to all of those in his cage. He spoke them all, giving them instructions before they all move to one end of the cage and then to the other. They moved backwards and forwards in sync with one another, across the cage. The cage began to swing and they continued to movements, moving back and forth through the cage, to get it swinging from one side of the cliff to the other.
The other cage caught on and began to do the same, until both cages were swinging past Blake in large arcs, crossing between the two sides of the cliff. They reached for the cliff further from the tribe's home, sticking their arms through as their threw their bodies at the cage wall.
Blake sighed at them before she looked over her cage. She was only one and she wouldn't be able to swing as much as the two other's could. She also didn't see the need to. The cages sung past her, all their occupants crying out as they reached for the vines on the cliff when they neared it. They tried again, reaching again, and managed to grab the foliage, but the force of the cage swinging back caused the vines to break and they fell back down. Everyone threw themselves at the cage bars again and reached for the cliff before everyone hung on and the ropes went slack. The two cages clung to the cliffs now. Blake gave them an impressive look.
"Put your legs through! Start to climb!" Gibbs ordered and the cages began to make their way towards the top.
"Come on men! It'll take all of us to crew the Black Pearl!" Will shouted encouragingly.
"Actually, you wouldn't need everyone. Bout six would do." Leech confessed. He suddenly stopped climbing, everyone else doing the same and so did Will's cage. Blake turned towards the cliff where the sound of the drums was supposed to be coming from, only everything was silent.
"Oh, dear." Leech muttered. Will looked at Gibbs who nodded quickly
"Hurry!" Will shouted and they began to move again.
Blake ran her hands across the bones of her cage, feeling them, before she took a hold of one. She took a deep breath and yanked. The bone broke in two under her pressure, splintering and shattering under her hands. The pieces that were tied to the rest held on and dangled towards her, while several shards fell away, disappearing down below her into the dark depths. She grabbed the cage, at more sturdier places, and with a swing, her legs went out of the hole. She rounded herself, pulling her torso out of the cage as well until she was lying on top of a cage.
"God this could actually kill me." She muttered as she looked down at the empty darkness filled with mist. Blake looked up at the rope above her and she grabbed it before pulling herself to her feet.
The men were still shouting at one another, encouragingly, they'd turned their climb into a race.
"Come on! Go! Go! Go!" Marty encouraged, his legs and arms were not long enough to help everyone climb. Leech's cage was ahead of Will's and he glanced at the other several times, pulling faster.
"Heave! Come on! Give it all you got!"
Blake was pulling herself up the rope of her cage, using her arms and legs to get to the top of the rope, where she could then move across towards the cliff. In hind sight, swinging was the better idea.
Blake stopped instantly as a tribal member walked above her on one of the bridges. These bridges held no rails and were open on either side. Blake stopped, not wanting her movement to catch the Pelegostos' attention. Will spotted him also and immediately began to shush everyone.
"Wait! Stop!" He whisper shouted. "Stop! Stop!" He waved to the other cage and they halted too, looking around.
They all shushed one another, watching the tribal member as he continued along the bridge without a glance towards them. When he'd passed Blake, walked over the top of her and had his back to her, she started climbing again, quietly. She was glad she was wearing dark colours, it made her less noticeable.
Will watched the tribal boy as Leech looked at those in his cage and held a finger to his lips before pointing to the top. Those in the cage began to climb again.
"What are they doing?" Marty questioned.
Will shook his head. "No! Stop!" Will muttered, waving his hand around as Leech only smirked at them, they were getting a head start. Gibbs ground his teeth irritably before Leech suddenly lost his grin when he grabbed a snake instead of a vine. He looked at it and his face showed pure horror.
"Snake!" he cried. Everyone freaked out, they started shouting and screaming as Leech dropped the snake, but too late.
Blake turned to watch in surprise as the grip on the vines was released. The cage, no longer held up, fell backwards and away from the cliff, falling down towards the depths of the ravine. The pelegostos stopped at the screams from the prisoners, catching sight of the cage as it fell. The cage dropped so fast, and with such force, that the rope holding the cage up, snapped. Blake's grip tightened as the rope she was holding twanged as an after effect while the cage fell. The pirates screamed as they disappeared to the dark abyss. Will and the others watched and bit their lips, gapping at what their fate might be, before the Pelegostos looked up noticed them on the cliff side.
Will stared at him, noticing their position was compromised.
"Move!" Will shouted. Stealth was out of the option now and they continued to climb.
Blake watched as the kid turned and ran, ran from them to inform the rest of the tribe. She continued her climb and finally reached the rope her cage hung off of. She pulled herself up, onto it and paused, taking a break. She glanced at her hands, they weren't red or raw so that was a bonus. She turned back to Will and the others as they were reaching the top of the cliff. Blake looked along the rope she now had to move along and took a breath. Across wasn't as hard as up.
And she started moving, away from the cage, Will, Gibbs and what remained of the Pearl's crew, and back towards the tribe's centre.
She was halfway across when the cage reached the top of the cliff and rolled onto the grass to safety.
"Cut it loose! Find a rock!" Will shouted and they scurried through the grass to do so.
"Blake!" Will shouted across as he saw her, hanging upside down and scurrying across away from them. She stopped and turned to look at him, her ankles locked over the rope and releasing one hand to see past them to him.
"I'll get Jack!" She shouted back. "Get to the ship!" and she continued on her way.
Blake reached the cliff side, grabbed some vines and pulled herself up onto the grass. She paused, taking a breath, before she got to her feet and started running towards where she remembered the village to be. As she did she heard calls and shouts of the villagers heading for Will, Gibbs, Cotton, Marty and the rest.
She ran through the trees, ducking to avoid getting hit by the branches and jumping out of the way of logs or bushes that emerged into her path before she shot straight out and found huts before her. She smirked and moved through them until she found the throne. A fire had been built and had also been lit, it was blazing and burning away.
The roast however was missing. What wasn't missing was some rope on the ground beside the fire.
Jack had gone…
Blake huffed and looked around. Well, he couldn't be far. She hurried through the village, looking around it. She moved behind huts, past bridges…
"You'd think he'd just head back to the beach… clearly not." She grumbled.
She paused as she heard a shout and turned. Well, if it was going to be anyone… and she hurried after it.
Blake came to a stop surprised as she saw Jack standing by a low brick wall, lining the edge of a cliff. There were more huts here but so were two tribal women. In the distance was in fact the beach.
Jack was tied to a pole, clearly the spit for the fire, with the ropes tied many times around his torso to keep him connected to his spit. The two tribal women all had fruits by them and were throwing them at Jack, who was battering them away from his face before one every now and then, one screwed onto his spit. There was fruit all over the place, smashed and broken into pieces from having been thrown. Blake ducked as one came at her face and went over her head.
"Stop it!" Jack shouted. The two women stopped, surprised, mangos and pineapples in their hands as they looked at Jack. He had fruit on either end of the bamboo stick making him look like a fruit skewer. Jack glanced at the two as fruit juice dripped down in front of him.
Jack turned to the low wall, and suddenly ran towards it, with the cliff on the other side of it, screaming. He bent over, the pole heading downwards to the ground before he stuck his pole into the base of the bricks. He suddenly jumped and used the pole to spin over the edge of the cliff. He turned over and over in the air, the pole sticking out with the fruit on either side of him.
Blake moved and instantly grabbed a rope from a pile near by as Jack landed, on his feet, on the other side safely, the edge just behind him.
Jack grinned, and everyone watched him, before the fruit began to fall towards his head and the ones on the back, towards the end. The extra weight caused Jack to wobble before he cried, fell backwards and off of the cliff.
The two tribal women peered down after him and Blake hurried to the edge as well, her mouth open in surprise.
Jack fell down the cliff faces, but the ravine was too narrow and Jack's pole got stuck horizontally between the cliff walls. The rope was yanked on and Jack was released from the pole. Jack went spinning around and around as the rope around him unravelled. He groaned out as he spun before he fell some more and the rope caught around his ankle, the other end tied to the pole.
Jack hung from the pole, upside down, stuck between the cliff walls.
"Anifi." one of the tribal women said as they watched him.
"Aboogie?" the other said.
The pole slipped slightly and Blake gasped. She made a loop in both ends of the rope she had, moved to slip it over one of the roofs of the hut, grabbed the other end tightly as she slipped it over her wrist, before she ran back for the edge of the cliff to jump over it.
Jack's pole slipped some more and he sighed. "Bugger." He muttered.
Blake fell towards the pole, the rope extending as it was wrapped around her wrist, still holding some slack. She reached her other hand forward for the pole that was below her, her goal.
As she got closer, it slipped from the rock walls on both sides and Jack began to fall again.
She grabbed the pole's end as it turned vertical, Jack falling, with her chasing. He turned to look at her, and was screaming up at her. She gasped as she saw a bridge and Jack's back smashed into it. He broke straight through the bridge and continued to fall. He hit another, and another, and two more, followed by two more. The pole got stuck at the first one, but slipped between the slats of the bridge. The fruit was all pushed off and Blake's hand was pushed off with it before she covered her face and smashed through the bridge as well.
Jack continued to scream as Blake followed him, smashing through the bridges herself before she managed to grab the end of the pole again, just as the rope on her wrist strung tight.
Blake cried out as the rope pulled on her arm and her shoulder suddenly and roughly. The force caused it to be pulled from its joint socket as Jack yanked on her other arm, from the other end of the rope.
Jack was hanging not a few meters above the grassy ground. He turned to look up at Blake as she let out a painful groan. She opened an eye, seeing how far from the ground they were before she released the rope and they fell again. Jack landed in a heap on the grass, his pole stabbed point first into the ground by him, and Blake hit the dirt with a painful gasp.
"For christ sake!" She snapped and she reached for her shoulder. One of the bones was out of place. "You owe me!" She snapped at him. She held her breath before there was a click and she shoved her shoulder back into place.