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This one was a little shorter than I prefer but I wanted to get this out before moving on. Enjoy!


Chapter 2

Things had gone terribly wrong. Land was supposed to be safe. It was the sea they needed to worry about, yet they weren't trapped at sea. No. Instead, they were trapped by a cannibalistic tribe set on killing them all. Nothing like being eaten for dinner.

If Lena could say one thing for certain, it was that she had no intention of ever listening to Jack's ideas when he was in a panic ever again. This was not where she wanted to end up. And to top it all off, she couldn't even complain to Jack about it. He was too busy playing chief and creating the plans for his own funeral.

When they had first been captured, Jack, as usual, tried to talk his way out of the situation and he had certainly impressed the tribespeople in some way. They now believed him to be a god, and they intended to free him by having a grand feast where he would be set free in the form of death.

Needless to say, she was not happy. And to top it all off, she could only sit and worry as she watched the crew disappear one by one. None of them ever returned. It wasn't until days later that she learned why.

Lena and the crew were brought to a large cliff where two large cages sat, ready to be their holding cell for the rest of their time stuck on this island. Eying them as they were ushered inside by force, she felt sick to her stomach as she took in the numerous bones that created the cage. All bones that were far to big to be local animals.

Before long, she was pushed into the cage, keeping company with Gibbs, Cotton and Marty. It was when another figure joined that she was truly surprised. Will Turner appeared, surrounded by numerous tribespeople as they untied him just to trap him along with the rest of the crew.

With the cages hanging over in the open air, precariously strung up by vines, they had settled into their new space, sharing between them everything that had happened. Despite Will coming to find Jack, it seemed his luck was as poor as theirs.

"Why would he do this to us? If Jack is the chief," Will began to ask before Gibbs cut him off.

"Aye. The Pelegostos have made Jack their chief. But he only remains chief as long as he acts like a chief."

Lena leaned around him from her spot on the side, looking at Will. "Believe me, it's not a role you would want."

Nodding, Will said, "so he had no choice. He's a captive there as much as the rest of us."

"Worse, as it turns out," Gibbs explained. "You see, the Pelegostos believe that Jack is a god in human form. And they intend to do him the honor of releasing him from his fleshy prison." To drive home his point, Cotton reached for Gibbs' hand and bit it. "They'll roast him and eat him."

"Where's the rest of the Crew?"

Lena's face went pale with the question as Gibbs answered. "These cages we're in weren't built 'till after we got here. The feast is about to begin. Jack's life will end when the drums stop."

Will nodded thoughtfully. "Well, we can't just sit here and wait then, can we?"

"Have a plan then?" Lena asked.


In the cages, hanging between the two cliff sides, the remaining members of the crew worked together, forcing the cage into a swing. Back and forth, the momentum grew until they finally were within reach of the cliffside. But even when they were close, it was never enough. And when it finally was, there wasn't enough to grab. The motion finally helped them reach their goal as they managed to grab onto the vines strong enough to hold them.

"Put your legs through! Start the climb!" Gibbs shouted as soon as they had a grasp.

Following his orders, Lena silently worked to help them climb, focusing on breathing and not being deadweight. While she was certainly more fit than a year ago, she couldn't say she had too much practice when it came to climbing straight up a cliff face. She would feel this the next day.

Encouraging the crew as they climbed, Will shouted, "come on men, it'll take all of us to crew the Black Pearl!"

"Actually, you wouldn't need everyone. About six would do," a pirate from the other cage corrected. A silence fell between the group them, exchanging looks as the realization fell upon them. Both groups would not be needed and if one fell behind, so be it.

With a look towards Gibbs, Will yelled, "Hurry!" and the race began.

"Heave!" Marty shouted. "Is that all you've got?"

"Don't make this race worse," Lena panted quietly, glaring at him as things only got more strenuous.

"Stop, stop. Stop!" Will whispers, drawing attention to the person walking across the bridge just in view. As Lena's cage stopped moving, the other crew were slower to follow. Their pause didn't last long however as they motioned to keep moving and continued their climb.

The pirates continued to ignore Will's calls to stop. But that's when everything took a turn. When the instigating pirate in the cage found himself holding a snake instead of a vine, he yelled, "Snake!" Screaming, he caused the others to let go, losing their hold as well.

Watching in horror, Lena followed the cage's descent before the force of the fall snapped its rope, plummeting them to their death. They were not the only one to notice however. The tribesman, now aware, ran off, making it truly a race for their lives.

"Move!" Will shouted as they all moved with more urgency, not wasting a moment until they finally reached the top.

As they struggled to break the cage, it was hard to ignore the sound of the cannibals racing towards them. It seemed a daunting task with the constant drumming in the background now heard overtop of the yelling.

"Pull it loose," Will continued, "find a rock!"

Their troubles weren't over, however. Before they managed to find their freedom, the tribe was on them, giving them no more time to work. On the move, everyone stood up again, just as Will shouted, "roll the cage!"

And roll they did, into seemingly impossible situations as they rolled up a tree before crashing down to the ground. All around, the crew and Will seemed to be shouting as they went. And through it all, Lena tried her best to ignore how crazy this situation seemed, wanting to just be done with all the running.

"Lift it high like a lady's skirt," Gibbs encouraged, trying to find the best way to run. Though the comment earned him a glare and a solid growl from Lena, as if they couldn't have possible found a better comparison.

"This is not like lifting a skirt, I've got news for you," she grumped but continued to run along with them, trying not to trip or lose her footing as they went.

As they continued, with all their distractions, it was too late to do anything when they found themselves falling, splashing into a body of water below them. By some matter of luck, the cage broke as it hit the water, letting them finally spread out.

"This way," Gibbs called as they all swam for cover, hoping to stay out of the path of the arrows raining down on them as everyone in the tribe tried to take them down. Finally, under cover, they remained hidden, waiting until things fell silent around them.

It felt like ages of waiting before they moved again, careful to stay out of sight in case anyone still lurked nearby. Running toward the beach, a breath of relief could be heard as the Black Pearl came into view. It seemed they weren't the only people with an eye on the Pearl. Two pirates stood by the ship, ones she recognized from her dealings a year ago when facing Barbossa's crew.

"Excellent! Our work's half done!" Gibbs shouted as he ran up beside the two pirates, pulling the lines as he readied the ship.

"We done it for you! Knew you'd be coming back for it," the younger, smaller one said as he stepped aside some.

Though she knew she needed to help, Lena's eyes drifted towards the rest of the island, scanning over the land. Jack was still on the island somewhere and she didn't have a clue where he could be or what situation he was in.

"Make ready to sail, boys!" Gibbs shouted, drawing her attention to the other crew members, scrambling to get the ship moving with the incoming tide.

"What about Jack? I won't leave without him," Will stated as he stood his ground.

And just as he said it, Jack appeared, rounding the corner of the island as he yelled. And he was not alone. Following behind him was the entire tribe, hot on his heels as he raced towards the ship.

Lena's eyes widened as she quickly raced to help, climbing up the ship. Jack would be fine once he got near the ship. None of them would be fine however if the ship couldn't go anywhere once the tribe got to them.

Helping with Gibbs' orders, Lena helped remove the lines, sagging a bit as she saw Jack off the corner of her eye, standing along the netting as he climbed up. But he paused, turning as he said "Alas, my children, this is the day you shall always remember as the day that you almost," cut off by a wave, Lena stared, trying not to laugh as he finished his line with far less enthusiasm, "Captain Jack Sparrow."

Getting situated on deck, Gibbs looked to Jack. "Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea."

"Yes to the first, yes to the second," Jack said, continuing, "but only as so far as we keep to the shallows as much as possible."

"Now, that seems a bit contradictory, Captain," Gibbs commented, though Lena had an idea why.

"I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills, Master Gibbs. Now, where is that monkey? I want to shoot something." At Jack's words, Gibbs took that as his cue and went to the wheel, leaving Jack, Will, and Lena on their own.

"Jack," Will called, getting a noncommitted response from said man. "Elizabeth is in danger."

Instantly, that caught Lena's attention as she focused on him. "What do you mean in danger? What kind of danger?"

Ignoring her words, Jack spoke over her, walking away as he did. "Have you considered keeping a more watchful eye on her. Maybe just lock her up somewhere?"

"Jack," she chided, smacking his arm. "That's not funny!"

Will didn't let up as he followed them. "She is locked up in a prison, bound to hang for helping you."

"There comes a time when one must take responsibility for one's mistakes," Jack replied, uncaring.

Lena tried her best not to punch Jack for the comment, a lot of thoughts in her mind at his nonchalant reaction to her friend's life being at risk.

Will seemed to react for both of them as he grabbed a sword from one of the crew and pointed it at Jack's throat. "I need that compass of yours, Jack. I must trade it for her freedom."

Stepping up to the side of Will's sword, as close as she could to getting between them, she glared at each of them. "Would both of you stop this. Not every problem requires a threat."

"Mr. Gibbs?" Jack called as he moved the sword away.

"Captain?" he replied as he walked back over.

"We have a need to travel upriver," Jack told Gibbs.

"By need, do you, mean a trifling need, fleeting, as in, say, a passing fancy?" Gibbs asked, somehow sounding reluctant to whatever Jack was hinting towards.

"No, a resolute and unyielding need," Jack replied.

Lena looked between Jack and Gibbs, confused about what that meant. Seeing that Will was still focused solely on Jack, she turned to get answers from Gibbs. "What does he mean by upriver?"

"Ah, I take it Jack's never mentioned Tia Dalma to you before?" he questioned, though she could tell he knew what her answer would be. After all, if Gibbs hadn't said it, it was unlike Jack brought it up freely either.

Shaking her head, she glanced towards Jack and Will, catching just snippets of their conversation. "No, what does visiting Tia Dalma mean?"

"Well, there is a lot unknown about her, but she practices voodoo and it's hard to say just how much she knows, but knows much she does." Gibbs explained, continuing as she kept his attention on him. "I've met her in the past, with Jack. There's a history there. She's the one that got him that compass. But things aren't as they appear around her. If Jack feels the need to see her, you can trust that things are more complicated than we know."

"That does not make me feel comfortable about this trip," Lena confessed as she took in what he said.

"Aye, any sane man would be uncomfortable. A strange one she is. You'll see soon enough."

"I suppose I will," she agreed, wondering just what they were heading into.