Chapter 14

In the corridors of the Serpent, there is complete and utter mayhem. Crewmembers are running everywhere, through every possible door or passageway, yelling and screaming- some, it appears, in pain due to blood seeping from wounds on their heads, arms or legs.

Some men give me a strange glanceas I hurry past them, or though whether it is because of the way I am dressed and the flushed look I feel I must have on my face, or whether it is due to the fact that I am heading in the opposite direction to the one most other people seem to be going in, I cannot tell. And, at this moment, nor do I care.

The passages below decks are convoluted and confusing- many joining with others and some simply coming to a dead end. How so many different routes could be contained in a comparatively small ship such as this one, I have no idea, but they certainly confuse me more than once- several times I end up walking into a wall where I expect there to be a means of passage but in fact there is not, and a few times I walk into rooms containing the oddest arrays of trinkets and baubles.

One time I make this blunder, however, the result is quite interesting.

The room, which is not the biggest I have ever seen to start with, seems to be made all the more small by the presence of a large black chest, missing a lid, in the middle of it. It could only be Falcon's- although, I do wonder how on earth this ship is still afloat with a huge lump of rock such as that in it…

The man standing in front of it turns around sharply, alerted by the tap of my heeled shoes as I walk into the room. He looks around nervously, a sheen of sweat appearing across his forehead as he sees me.

I smile bitterly, placing my hands on my hips.

"Well well, Chalmes… Fancy finding you here…"

He smiles unconvincingly, attempting to disguise his bulging pockets by twisting to where he thinks they are not in my line of vision. Unfortunately for him, I am already quite aware of what he was up to.

"Your share of the treasure, have you got there?" Walking over towards him, I reach out and tap one of his pockets, which clinks ominously. "Or perhaps, a bit more as well?" Chalmes swallows.

"Now, Sierra…"

I interrupt.

"How do you think Serpiente would feel if he knew you were taking what was rightfully his? From what I've gathered, he's not the nicest of men to get on the wrong side of… Perhaps I should call him down?" I move back towards the door, as if to shout to Serpiente.

"No!" Chalmes looks panicked.

"Give me one good reason, Chalmes. Honestly, it's not as though you are in my best books at the moment, seeing as how you've effectively sold me to some crazy pirate who doesn't seem to like me very much…"

For a moment, Chalmes looks apologetic and sad.

"Believe me, Sierra… I did not intend it to turn out this way. When I first met Serpiente to go over the… ah… arrangements, he seemed very pleasant- considering his line of work…" He trails off.

"You mean, his chosen career path as a pirate? You know, if there's one thing you taught me that I will keep believing is that men who follow that calling are all lying and conniving bastards. I thought I had found one who was different…" An image of gold teeth flashing from a playful smile crosses my mind, but I force it back "…But, I was proved wrong. You should have followed your own words of wisdom, Chalmes. Perhaps then we wouldn't be in this situation."

Right on cue, the ship gives another almighty lurch, although not as big as the first one as I still manage to retain my balance. Chalmes, however, still staggers sideways, looking shocked and afraid.

I remember my original goal- to find the top deck.

"I will be back to deal with you later- that's if we all survive what's going on. In the meantime, you can stay here with the only friend you really seem to about." I glance round at the money and other trinkets piled high. Then, I stride out of the door and start to close it.

However, I am surprised when I find it cannot shut all the way- looking down, I see Chalmes' foot obstructing the way. Looking back up, I find myself staring into the eyes of a doomed man.

Chalmes immediately drops his gaze when he sees me staring. Then, with as much composure as he can muster, he tells me one final statement.

"I always loved your mother, Sierra, more than you could ever imagine. And I loved you as well, even though I knew you were not my daughter. I looked after you as my own. I am sorry for the way things have turned out, truly I am. I can only hope you have better in the future."

Then, he removes his foot from the doorway, leaving me to lock him in. Puzzled as to him last statement, I slowly turn the key in the lock, and then pocket it for safe-keeping so I will be able to unlock it again when the time of danger has passed.

Taking one final glance at the now firmly-closed door, I turn on my heel and resume my search.

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If I had thought that there was chaos beforehand, it is nothing compared to the pandemonium now, after that second rocking.

Battling through the men rushing around- there seems to be far too many than what would be needed to crew this ship, and they only serve as a hindrance and an obstacle- I finally find the steps to the main deck. Emerging into the open air, I survey the scene around me.

It is still night-time, or heading towards early morning, and so the scene is only made more confusing by the lack of light. However, I can still make out the complete devastation across the decks, as ropes have been deserted and scattered, barrels have rolled all over the place… The list is never-ending.

Up near the helm, I can hear Serpiente yelling commands as he tries to keep some control, but it is in vain- all the crew seem far more concerned about saving their own skins.

The ship rocks again, as though the water is playing with us. I hear more yells erupt from around me as men stagger into objects, or, in some cases, end up sprawled on the deck. I myself only just manage to remain upright by grabbing hold of the railing around the edge of the ship.

Looking down at the water, I see a strange occurrence, highlighted by the moon's light- even though the water around the ship is choppy, with waves running high, the water further away is as smooth as glass. Also, a strong wind seems to be building up, whipping the sails and blowing my hair across my face, although it does not seem to be affecting the clouds in the sky above, which remain motionless. Somehow, the freak weather only seems to concern the area immediately around us, but how that is possible I have no idea.

Then, something catches my attention from underneath the water. I prepare to back away from the side, remembering old tales of the creatures that lurk in the depths, capable of dragging and entire ship down to the crushing depths.

However, I am held where I stand by the way what I am seeing jogs something in my memory- somewhere, and quite recently, I have seen this before…

The blue glow that first caught my attention seems to intensify as the orb grows in size. Then it comes to me- the blue glow is the same as the one that I had seen on Isla Del Espejos, at the bottom of the underground lake. Fascinated, I forget all thoughts on sea creatures and instead stare at the ball of light as it emerges from the water and comes to hover at my head level.

Vaguely, I hear all movement behind me cease as the crew notice the light and turn to join me in staring at it. Even Serpiente's voice dies out as he follows the direction of everyone's gaze.

The ball starts to expand even more, the speed at which it does so increasing until soon it stretches above our heads- perhaps not as big as the ship, but it seems that way. The surrounding sea is illuminated by the eerie glow it produces.

Then, from in the orb, a darker mass seems to grow and take on shape, until it holds the features of a man's face- they are only vague, but even so they cause me to take a sharp intake of breath as I recognise them from the figure of the man in my locket.

Falcon's face appears to look down, scanning the crowd on deck. His eyes come to rest on me, and he smiles- although not without a hint of sadness, I notice. I too feel a pang of sorrow as I stare into the kind and understanding eyes of my father- a man who I really know nothing about, but share a stronger bond with than any friend or lover.

Then, as I hear footsteps behind me, the path of Falcon's gaze changes, as does the expression on his face. Instead of the friendly smile that was there before, what has taken its place is a complete look of fury. I look behind me to see who may have caused such a change in expression.

I might have guessed it to be Paul Serpiente. He stands a few paces behind me now, looking up towards the ball of light with a mixed expression on his face- partly anger, matching that of Falcon's, and partly fear. I watch the battle raging in his eyes, and interestingly, it seems that the alarm wins out as he begins to back away towards the steps leading to lower deck, as though to be out of sight is to be out of mind. However, he never gets that far.

Falcon watches Serpiente retreating, as though weighing up his options for what he could do next. Then, just before the man reaches what he appears to think would be safety, Falcon seems to make up his mind.

Closing his eyes, he looks to be composing himself.

Then, as they flash open again, the water around the ship begins to grow even choppier, lapping up the sides and rocking us violently. As I am almost flung off my feet, I realise I cannot stand here for much longer and must take shelter- I run towards the relative safety of underneath the flight of steps that leads up towards the helm, where I am away from the wind and the spray of the sea but can also watch the events unfolding in front of me.

However, as the first waves crash onto the deck, sweeping a few crewmembers over with it, I realise that I do not wish to observe what is about to happen. Shutting my eyes, I also block my ears so I cannot hear the screams of the terrified men.

I do not know how long I sit like this for, with my head buried in my hands. However, soon the rocking motion seems to calm, and whatever noise I could hear diminishes. I dare to open my eyes to view what I assume will be tranquillity again.

Oddly, I am mistaken.

The scene before me looks like some badly acted theatre piece, where the actors are wildly over-exaggerating in their roles to try and compensate for their incapability. Men are stumbling all over the deck, in complete disarray, and although I can barely feel the slightest rocking motion they are acting as though we are caught in a huge hurricane. Their mouths are open but no sound comes out, making them look rather like fish out of water as they desperately gasp for air. Curious as to what is going on, I climb out from my hiding spot and walk to the middle of the deck.

Looking out over the sea, I see huge, foam-crested waves racing towards the side of the ship- when they make contact I see crewmembers flying in all directions as they lose their balance from the impact, but I myself cannot feel the effect- I know it should be there, but it simply… is not. The deck still rocks beneath my feet, but it is in no way as bad as the feeling I should be getting- and the feeling that, seemingly, every other crewmember is experiencing.

Over my head, I hear the sails creaking and flapping, but in a muffled way, as though they are several miles away and the sound has been distorted. Looking up, I see them flapping in a most violent manner as though they are about to be torn away- in all the chaos the crew of this ship have forgotten to take them in- but the wind that I should be feeling that is causing such large movement in the sails is not there. Instead the hurricane winds instead feel to me as though they are merely gentle breezes, such as those blowing on a summer's day. It is a most disconcerting feeling.

I turn around slowly as I survey the scene before me, and then my eyes fall onto the glowing orb that is still floating in mid-air, my father's face encased in it.

I can see the outline of his lips moving, as he recites something that cannot be heard by human ears. The look in his eyes is one of complete concentration, although I can see fury there as well as his eyes scan the decks and come to rest on Serpiente, who is currently trying to make himself as small and inconspicuous as possible- hiding behind some wooden crates at one end of the deck.

A small smile appears on Falcon's face as he notices the coward, although it does not really look very pleasant- indeed, I would not like to be the one that smile was aimed at.

Then, as I twist back to look at Falcon once again, I see his mouth form one final, definite, word which looks very much like 'Serpiente'. Then he stops and becomes completely motionless, his gaze fixed on the blond pirate as he waits to watch the events coming next.

Behind the ball of blue light something catches my attention, and I shift my view so I can see what it is.

A rushing mound of water has formed, seemingly some miles off- although this gap is closing rapidly as the rise rushes toward the ship. It continues to grow, becoming wider and taller with each passing second until it is larger than the Serpent itself. The atmosphere around us gets even darker and more foreboding as the tidal wave blocks out whatever light was coming from the moon.

Crewmembers pause in their panic, looking upwards as the wave towers over the ship. For a second, time seems to stand still as we hover on the edge of disaster.

Then, everything starts to move again- twice as fast as before, it appears. The wave starts to duck downwards through its own weight, causing crewmen to yell and try and find anywhere to take cover. I join in this time, feeling complete terror- surely my father is not trying to kill us all…? However, taking one final glance up at the figure in the glowing light I see no compassion, as though he has forgotten all about the fact that his daughter is on this ship through being so driven to have his revenge on Serpiente.

There is no time for me to find a place to hide. All I can do is grab hold of the sturdiest thing around- which in this case is the mainmast- and hope, although I feel it will be in vain.

Squeezing my eyes shut I wait for the final blow to come as the wave hits the ship.

Something seems wrong though. I sit waiting, huddled up to the mast, but nothing comes- I feel no crushing force of water, no devastating power hitting me. I dare to peek through one eye to see what an earth is going on, and cannot believe what I am witnessing.

The water is completely still and tranquil, the skies returned to their normal colour. There is not sign whatever that anything had ever happened, least of all a huge tidal have created by the spirit of a long-dead pirate… Except for one thing.

The decks are completely clear, devoid of any life. There is no sight whatsoever of the crew that had once lived and worked on this ship, never mind the captain that had lorded over them.

Standing up, I look around worriedly as I wonder where everyone has gone. The deck is wet as though the wave had indeed hit, but if that were the case surely both I and the ship itself would be smashed to pieces, and would have disappeared like everyone seems to have done.

I catch a blue light out of the corner of my eye, and spinning around, I catch sight of Falcon once again, still hovering in mid-air although he seems to have shrunk back down to his normal size. He is staring at me, completely motionless apart from a small smile that is creeping onto his face. I slowly smile back.

Then, as I watch, he starts to shrink and fade, blending into the skies behind him. I run towards the edge of the deck, desperate to make him stay a bit longer.

"Wait! Father!" The word seems strange on my tongue.

Falcon seems to pause, halfway through fading away.

"What just… happened?!"

Falcon's smile grows, and he shakes his head. Then, he continues to diminish until there is no sign of him left.

Sighing, I turn around to figure out what and earth to do next. However, I soon spin back round when something clatters onto the deck behind me.

My locket lies on the deck, tarnished and scratched but still managing to glint in the watery sunlight that is just managing to appear.

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Second Star to the Left- Updated! ;) Ah well, you've only got...15 days?... Left until you get your DVD! I'm sure you can wait!... No?... Ah well then. Lol.

Captain Uschi- No Jack this chapter- Sorry! But I promise he's in the next (last!) one... I love him to! And then I kinda have a plan for a sequel... Hang on, I said sequel?! NOOOO! I'VE CAUGHT THE DREADED SEQUELITIS!! Lol.

ilovejacksparrow121- You live in England as well then? Coolio! What made it even better was I got my DVD 2 days before the release date because I preordered it from Hehehe.

Chocolat Pirate- Yep, always a cliffhanger, I love them! Lol. And sorry this update wasn't so fast, I don't know WHAT I've been doing!