CHAPTER XIV

Soon they were headed out of the narrow river mouth and waves began splashing against the hull. Everyone seemed to take a deep breath from relief, although the eerie atmosphere from the mangrove forest was still in the air... and on everyone's mind. Ever since Jack, Mr Gibbs, Elizabeth and Will had come back aboard the Pearl they had been acting rather strange and reserved – and the crew had definitely noticed, but didn't dare to ask questions. By the railing Will and Elizabeth were standing, gazing out on the dark forest line which became smaller and smaller on the blue horizon. By the wheel were Mr Gibbs and Jack. No one was talking or chatting anymore, instead there was a grave silence on deck AND below. Will turned his head to look at Jack and noticed how pale Mr Gibbs was looking... and even the tanned Jack had turned a little shade paler than usual. Will turned his head back to Elizabeth and squeezed her hand gently as if to say everything would be fine – even though he doubted it himself. Elizabeth forced a smile and placed her elbows on the railing, resting her head in her slender hands. Will could tell how much this whole situation troubled her... and especially the insecurity as to what was to happen next. Hell, they didn't even know the Pearl's destination – only that they were headed south. Will swallowed and involuntarily his hands turned into fists as everything flashed inside his mind again...

"Where do you think we are headed?", Elizabeth suddenly said lowly and directed her light brown eyes from the horizon to Will, who almost jumped as she broke his chain of thought. The tension in Will's body and muscles started to fade a little as he gained eye contact with her. He still couldn't believe that she was married... and married to Norrington. That night in the blacksmith where it all started had been the start of a downward spiral for Will... the only comfort he felt right now was the warm and concerned look from his beloved Elizabeth and the thought of piercing Davy Jones' heart. If he would succeed.

"I... don't know. But I think we are going for the heart", Will said and looked back at Jack and Mr Gibbs again. Jack was looking intensively at his compass, pointing his finger in the air for Mr Gibbs to try to follow. Will still couldn't shake off Tia Dalma's words – 'in time maybe he will tell you'... Will's entire being was longing to solve this puzzle, which he somehow seemed to be a part of. Something wasn't right. Something just wasn't right. Why had Jack lied when he was asked what he had traded? What DID he trade?? And why wouldn't he tell anyone about it, even Mr Gibbs? All of these questions were stirring up both Elizabeth's and Will's minds and without actually knowing it they were thinking the same thing: Jack had to be confronted.

"Let's ask him", Elizabeth suddenly said and forced another re-assuring smile as she nodded for Will to approach the wheel. He swallowed and then nodded... they HAD to find out where they were headed... along with their other questions. Even though Will still didn't like being too close to Jack. As they walked up to the wheel Mr Gibbs immediately sensed what was in the air and withdrew a few steps to the side to let them have a talk. Jack didn't even look up from his compass, it was like he hadn't even noticed them coming.

"Jack?", Will asked and looked at him as he corrected his hat – which by the way was sitting just fine. For a few seconds there was a tense silence... and finally Jack looked up from the compass and looked them up and down. He made a grimace as if they smelled really bad and then looked back at the compass as he turned the wheel slightly.

"Jack!", Elizabeth's light voice said and this time Jack again was a few seconds to look up from his precious compass. It was like he was far away in thoughts. Looking at them with his dark, kohl-rimmed eyes he cleared his throat and gestured for them to talk.

"Umm... Jack, where are we headed?", Will asked as he looked around to see if he could spot any land – and surprisingly enough there was a tiny spit of land ahead of the ship. Jack sighed lightly:

"We're headed for Isla De Tabeza... At least I think that's what the bloody thing's called", Jack said lowly as he pulled out and old, half-burnt map and put his dirty index finger on it for them to see. However he was pointing at a vast area of open sea. Both Elizabeth and Will frowned:

"But... Jack, there is only water there", Elizabeth said and looked at the Captain suspiciously. However Jack revealed a silver tooth in the first grin they had seen since they had left Tia Dalma. Jack then pointed ahead of him:

"Does that look like water to ye?", he asked as they both followed the invisible line of his pointing finger... to the little spit of land ahead of them.

"No... But how...?", Will started, but was interrupted by Jack:

"It's not on the map, mate... That's why he stored it there, savvy?", he said and lifted an index finger to his lips and shushed them teasingly. Will's eyes immediately shot wide open:

"You mean the heart?", he asked and looked at Jack, who nodded. A smile spread on Will's face... even though he had quite an ambivalent perception of Jack, he was quite sure that the man was actually telling the truth right now. And a stone seemed to fall from his heart.

"When will we be there?", Will asked eagerly and Elizabeth was just standing there, watching the conversation like a game of ping pong. Jack raised his arm into the air with a kind of spastic movement:

"Twenty minutes approximately... Now bugger off", he added with a little smile and waved at them to go back to the railing where Mr Swann was standing, looking rather lost. However Elizabeth's curiosity hadn't been satisfied:

"Jack... What did you tr....", she started, but immediately Jack shushed her:

"Ye'll know soon enough", he just said and looked at the compass again. However Elizabeth wasn't about to tolerate this secretive beating-around-the-bush talk.

"Don't you shush me, Captain Sparrow!", she said sarcastically and at the same time ignored Will's hand which was trying to find hers to calm her down. Jack seemed quite unaffected.

"You cannot keep us in the dark!", Elizabeth said frustrated and pierced Jack with her gaze. Calm Jack looked up:

"Yes I can and yes I will... Be gone!", Jack said in still calm voice, but Will immediately detected that he was absolutely serious. And as Captain of the Pearl he could turn the ship around at any time he saw fit – and that just couldn't happen. Besides Jack wasn't exactly well-known for keeping promises.

"Jack...!", Elizabeth began, but this time Will grabbed her hand and pulled her with him back to the railing, even though she almost started to fight him in frustration.

"What are you doing?!", Elizabeth almost yelled and pulled her hand away from Will as her eyes blazed with irritation. Will looked at her:

"Please, Elizabeth... Not now... There must be a reason why he won't tell us...", Will said and watched how she looked like she was fighting back tears:

"It is not fair, Will...!", she said and suddenly hugged him tight. Right away Will froze from the unexpected touch – but soon recognized her scent and her gentle touch and he hugged her back. For a moment they just stood there by the railing, hugging each other, as the fresh sea winds ruffled their hair. Will knew instinctively that Elizabeth's sudden emotional eruption really wasn't about what Jack had traded and all of the secrecy... but about what the two of them had been through, especially Will. And it touched him deeply how much she cared. If only she knew how much he cared about her...

"Throw out the anchor!!", Jack's voice suddenly yelled and both Will and Elizabeth jumped and broke the embrace. Looking around they discovered that the little spit of land had grown impressively big without them even noticing. How long had they been hugging? Will, didn't know but he savoured any split second of it. However there was about a mile to shore, which puzzled Will a bit – but when he looked down the answer was clear. Reefs. And lots of them. They would have to row to shore unless they wanted to sink the Pearl. Elizabeth looked at Jack, who was just standing there, kind of frozen, by the wheel... His kohl-rimmed eyes seemed to stare at something a thousand miles away. And it gave Elizabeth the chills.

"Lower the boats!", Jack then yelled as if he had snapped out of his trance-like state.

"AYE!", was the simultaneous answer from the crew and quickly two small vessels were hoisted into the gentle waves of the Caribbean sea. It was a warm day with absolutely no clouds or harsh winds – only thing to be seen on the crystal blue sky was the blazing sun. And a couple of sea gulls, in the air and in the water, feasting on the small sea creatures in the floating sea weed. Mr Gibbs was on his way into one of the boats as commanded by Jack, lowering himself down the side of the Pearl. Will and Elizabeth were on their way to follow him over the railing when they noticed that Jack hadn't moved an inch from the wheel. Elizabeth looked at Will and frowned. None of them had ever seen Jack act like this before...

"Jack? Are you coming?", Will asked from the railing and finally Jack seemed to react as he looked at Will shortly, nodding:

"I'm coming...!", he said as he caressed one of the handles on the wheel carefully. He then turned to the side and headed for the railing where Will was standing, walking surprisingly straight compared to what he usually did. He sent Will a smile as he jumped up on the railing and grabbed a hold of a rope. Elizabeth and Will blinked a few times as he then started to lower himself down into the other boat, slumping against the low railing as soon as he let go of the heavy rope. Shrugging insecurely Will and Elizabeth made their way down too... Will chose the company of Mr Gibbs and Elizabeth chose to row along with Jack. Mr Gibbs nodded concerned at Will as they grabbed the ores and started to row towards the white, sandy beach. Elizabeth sat herself down, looking at Jack who was practically lying in the bottom of the boat, resting the back of his head against the railing as he stared dreamily at the sky. Elizabeth studied him a bit... all of her inner alarm bells were ringing, but she couldn't put her finger on why. But something was off. Jack sighed loudly, blowing air into her face and she immediately cringed... but then she froze, surprised. Jack didn't stink from rum. No alcohol at all. Just plain, normal breath. Her eyes grew a little wider and she looked at him:

"Jack, are you sober?", she asked perplexed and looked as Jack turned his head to look at her:

"Uhm...", Jack said and looked speculative as if he was really trying to think. He then clicked his tongue and looked back up at her:

"As sober as a pirate captain reasonably can be without losing said title", Jack said and got up and grabbed the ores. Elizabeth let out a small, surprised gasp:

"I'm proud of you, Jack", she said and smiled. However Jack was already far gone in thoughts again and began to row, following the other boat which was now a little ahead of them. The rest of the crew remained aboard the Pearl to defend her from others and to greet the adventurers when they came back. As they rowed the sun's hot rays were almost searing their skin and making small droplets of sweat run down their faces. The waves were getting bigger as they neared the shallows and whenever a splash of cool sea water hit them they were grateful for it. Elizabeth was looking down into the bright blue sea, studying the reefs through the completely transparent water. It was a beautiful sight. The cheerful screaming from the gulls was welcome – she missed land already. It would be nice to actually have a solid ground under her feet again. As she stared at the motion of the waves and the depth of the water Elizabeth suddenly jumped and let out a gasp, which made Jack burst out a 'what' – and at the exact same time all of the sea gulls took off, screaming loudly, leaving only a few white feathers on the water. The birds disappeared over land and immediately Jack looked for the other boat ahead of him – and Will and Mr Gibbs were staring too, oblivious to why the gulls had acted that way. However Elizabeth stared into the clear water again to confirm, what she thought she had seen... and yes, several big shadows were moving forwards just below them on the underwater sand bed.

"Jack, what is that??", she almost yelled frantically as she pointed at the dark and pretty fast-moving shadows which were now all around them, moving in the same direction but falling behind a little. Jack peered over the railing... then squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He then sat back upright:

"Bugger", he said and looked at the other boat. Will was raising his arms as if to demand an answer, and Jack yelled:

"Better row faster, gentlemen!!"

Elizabeth's heart was pounding wildly in her chest:

"Jack, what is it?! Is it sharks?", she said in a trembling voice. Sharks were very common in these waters and in general all over the Caribbean. Jack looked back at her with an almost sad glance:

"I guess ye could call it that... that is if sharks have two legs", he mumbled as he tore in the ores, gaining speed fast. Elizabeth shook her head in confusion and looked at the other boat, locking eye contact with Will.

"Jack, what is happening??", Mr Gibbs yelled. Jack turned his head:

"Davy Jones! THAT's what's happening!", Jack yelled back as he seemed to pale even more than before. And without saying anything, all four of them knew that they HAD to beat them to the beach. They just had to.