I sprinted to the shore where the sopping wet crew of the Dying Gull were gradually marching back to dry land.
"Saint's mercy," Gibbs grumbled under his breath in exasperation. "Alright lads!" he cried out. "Let's get her beached! The sooner we can get her ashore the quicker we can all dry out!"
Taken by the excitement of it all, I began to walk with them back into the ocean to begin to push the vessel onto a nearby dry dock, when I stopped dead in my tracks, the toes of my boots mere inches away from the water's edge.
"Um, Gibbs?" I cried out, but he was already preoccupied, loosening ropes and directing the scurrying men. I couldn't do anything from the shore, and I most certainly couldn't touch the water, so I was left awkwardly hovering with no directive.
All of a sudden, another sopping individual emerged from the water and struggled to land. Uncle Jack.
Jack, breathless, pushed aside his twisted, drenched hair and squinted the chaos that was going on amidst his sideways ship.
"No, no! I'm fine! Never mind me!" he called out bitterly to the men, who didn't even turn their heads in his direction. He turned away, continuing to march up onto the shore. As he passed me, I heard him mumble, "Don't mind me! Only yer captain, what does that bloody matter?"
My heart raced, and my mind was a blur. I didn't quite know what to say, as my thoughts were spinning with fifteen years worth of stories and memories from my mother about this man. So much was riding on my meeting him. This was it. I had only one chance to make a good impression. I swallowed my apprehension and turned to follow him up the beach. He had found a shaded area beneath a palm tree and had collapsed there, his hat pushed forward so that he covered his eyes. Suddenly, his hand went to a flask on his highly ornamented belt. Unscrewing the cap, he went to pour the contents into his mouth, but only a few drops emerged. "Bloody hell. Why is the dum always rone?" he sloppily slurred.
I once again felt apprehension wash through me."C…Captain Sparrow?" my voice squeaked.
He moved his hat slightly, regarding me with one eye.
"My name is Anna. Anna James. And I—"
"Nope!" he exclaimed, replacing the hat.
I furrowed my brow, utterly confused. "…Captain Sparrow?" I asked softly."I come here to—"
He cut me off sitting straight up, which proved to be far too quick, as he had to take a moment to regain his balance. He adjusted the hat back to the top of his head and looked up at me, saying, "Listen lass, I know you've probably been dreamin' of this moment your whole life, but I'm not what you're looking for." My heart dropped as these words left his gold and ruby-toothed mouth; they echoed my own fears. I had been waiting to meet my famous uncle for my entire life. What if this version of him, as Gibbs had suggested, was not the man I was looking for? His voice was alarmingly slurred, indicating just how inebriated he was. Mother always told me how fond of rum he was, but even from her descriptions, I would have never anticipated him being this drunk. He leaned closer towards me as he continued lazily, "Let's get one thing straight: I never met her! And if I did meet her, then certainly nothing happened! …but if something did happen, how certain can you be that that something didn't happen to some other bloke as well? Hmm? What proof do ya have?"
I was frozen in place, completely baffled by his strange logic and not at all comprehending what he was suggesting. "Um…" I hummed. Finally, my mouth blurted inarticulately, "Can I join your crew?"
He squinted at me. "Huh?"
"I am an orphan from Shipwreck Island," I lied, kneeling down at his side. "I have sailed here to find you! Your legend is known throughout the entire ocean! Please, I implore you. Let me sail under your colors."
I was taken aback at how similar he and my mother looked. When looking in his eyes, I could clearly see my mother reflected there. For a moment, there was genuine connection, until…
"Fine! Sure! Why not? Clearly, there are openings." He flopped back down onto the sand, arms outstretched. "Go see Gibbs and help with the dry dock-thingie." He paused, then clarified, "Oh. Gibbs is the one with the beard and the—"
"I know who Gibbs is," I snapped, the disappointment only continuing to well up. I turned to begrudgingly leave him there and obey his command, but something was keeping me tied there. That something was Grandfather. This was not a good time to tell him…but then again, when was a good time?
"Sir?" I asked.
"Whaaaaaaaaat?" he groaned.
"There's…there's something you should know. About me."
"Anna?" said Gibbs from behind me. He had noticed me approaching Jack and had left the others for a moment to see how I was faring. His gaze was intent and concerned as he said, "Ah, I see you've met Anna, Captain."
Jack huffed, realizing that his moment of rest had been fully interrupted, and struggled to his feet. Brushing himself off, he mumbled, "Aye, n' her demeanor is increasingly concerning. Please tell me she's not related to me."
My heart plummeted into my stomach. How did he suspect? Gibbs and I exchanged a panicked look.
"Uh oh," Jack said, narrowing his eyes. "I really don't like that look. Gibbs, who is she?"
"Uh…a nobody!" he stammered in response. When I glared at him, he quickly corrected, "Um I mean, she's…an orphan…"
"'From Shipwreck,' aye, she told me that much." he then flounced to Gibbs's side, where I heard him mutter to him, "But 'orphan' in what sense? Methinks I kept a few…familiar friends on Shipwreck when last I was there and given her age…"
Suddenly, I understood his meaning. "Oh! You think I'm…oh goodness, no. No I'm not suggesting you're my…father," I could barely get the word out, it was so awkward.
Jack looked relieved as he clapped a hand on Gibbs's shoulder. "Ah. Right. Good then, was beginning to worry. In my experience, whenever there's a small human around, that's never good news." He then took a deep breath, commanding, "Right then. You two have officially met. Gibbs, Anna, Anna, Gibbs. Now step-to, shoo shoo!"
"Wait!" I exclaimed. "Sir, I need to tell you something very important."
Gibbs knew immediately what I was referring to, and carefully warned, "I don't think now's the best—"
"Edward Teague!" I cried. Jack's head spun to face me. "You know him, yes?"
Jack squinted, crossing his arms. "I might."
"Your father?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Maybe so."
I could feel my heart pulsating in my ears as I said gravely, "He died."
Jack's expression changed from defensive to utterly stunned, and his arms fell to his side. "How?" he asked earnestly.
I couldn't tell him it was the Dutchman who had done it. I just couldn't. So I lied, "'Shipwreck' stayed true to her name. His injuries were too great, and he died on land."
His gaze drifted downward, and for a moment he left us, memories of the past clearly taking hold of him. I held back tears as I whispered, "I'm so sorry."
He shook himself back to reality. "Oh erm," he stuttered, eyes still distant and sorrowful, "Right. Well, Gibbs, if I'm not needed…" His voice trailed as he began to wander up towards the town to be on his own.
"Er…actually, Captain, now that you mention it…" Gibbs called after him.
"Good lad! You've got this!" he called, not even looking back.
Hesitantly, I dared look over at a glaring Gibbs. "Well done," he spat.
"I had to tell him," I protested sadly. "If not now, when?"
He sighed. "I guess there's never a good time to tell a man that their parent has passed."
We both looked after where my uncle was walking away from us. "Will he be alright?" I asked.
"Oh aye," Gibbs reassured me. "It's Jack. He always bounces back. He's just had a…complicated relationship with Teague, as I'm sure you're well aware from what you saw between him and your mother."
As ever, he was right. All I knew is that this was not the way in which I wanted to meet my uncle, and time was running ever shorter to convince him to help me find Henry, find the diary, and save my father.
Without anything else to do, it was time to take my place among the crew.
"Gents, meet Anna," Gibbs announced to them, all panting and sweating after heaving the Gull onto the dry dock. "Anna is the newest to join our crew."
My eyes wandered over the men. Including Scrum and Gibbs, I counted six. "Where are the others?" I asked.
"We's all we've got," Scrum reported. "Lost a few along the way."
"What…like…killed?" I asked in horror.
"Lord, no!" a bearded man with a soft voice exclaimed. "They simply all quit."
"Times really are tough, are they?" I asked Gibbs through gritted teeth.
Gibbs grunted in acknowledgement, then introduced me to them all— Cremble, Pike, Bollard, and Marty. Marty was particularly a moment of awe for me, as upon shaking his hand, I knew that this must have been the man my mother had sailed with back in the days of the Pearl. Though I was monstrously excited, I knew I couldn't reveal how I knew of him. So, silently, I followed them into work, first tearing loose damaged boards in the keel and hull and finding new wood to replace it.
Sunset neared, and when it did, we all were stopped by Jack's in the distance. "OI! You lot festering, sweltering knaves. …and, lady, as it were. Dinner! Tavern! Come come!" So exhausted were we that none of us refused this offer without a second thought, and though we all eagerly joined him to walk back to the town, I stayed back away from the rest. Jack seemed cheerier, though I felt as though he was pushing his true feelings aside and was rather more drunk than before. In the tavern, I sat at the opposite end of our table and falsely answered idle questions from Marty, Scrum, and Cremble regarding who I was and how I came to be there. Both the food and company were warm and inviting, though I was still uneasy.
The night proceeded, and I quickly got lost in the merriment, especially watching as all the men dwindled into various levels of intoxication. Scrum somehow produced a mandolin from somewhere, and he and Bollard began to lead the rest of the occupants in a rowdy song. Marty had passed out somewhere beneath the table, and Gibbs and Pike were engaged in an arm wrestle. I looked on idly until I felt someone appear next to me. My uncle had pulled up and flopped into a chair casually next to me, and I quickly averted my gaze to my empty plate.
"So…something's really not making much of any sense to me, so explain me an explanation," he slurred, his hand pointing precariously close to my face. I held my breath as he proceeded with, "How d'you know about Teague, then?"
"What?" I asked.
"What happened to him. How'dja know?"
I gulped. "I…was an orphan on Shipwreck and he took me in. He would always tell me stories about his famous…" I stopped myself before saying children and instead quickly corrected, "…son." He squinted at me, still looking unconvinced, so I proceeded, "Before he died he told me to find you. I didn't have anyone left on the island, so, I found my way here. First I met Gibbs, and then…you."
He raised his eyebrows slightly and cocked his head to the side. "And what is it you want from me precisely? What's there to gain by shipping my crew?" When I just raised an eyebrow at this, he quickly corrected, "By crewing my ship? Shut it."
I actually chuckled at this. No description of my uncle by my grandfather or mother was lacking in describing Jack's sense of humor, and even though he very obviously was not the Jack they ever knew, I began to warm to this version. To this uncle of mine. And as such, I wondered if now was the time to begin presenting my plans for our time together. "Actually," I answered, "I know of a great treasure. It lies beneath the ocean. There's a map, and it leads to a—"
"Gonna stop ya right there, lass," Jack said, silencing me with a wave of his hand. "I've been across the world hundreds of times, dealing in all sorts of treasures both large and small. First thing's first…we need a ship."
I narrowed my eyes. "Don't we…have a ship?"
"A ship that floats is preferable," he said. "So we begin by refurbishing the old gal, savvy? Then we make our plans and scurry on out of here."
I took a deep breath. Yes, this was right. Plus, perhaps this refurbishment would delay us enough, thus giving Henry enough time to find his way back to Shipwreck and meet up with us. There, we could tell them all the truth together, and hopefully convince Jack to help us save our fathers that way. I nodded in response. "Aye, that sounds just fine by me."
He winked, raising his freshest bottle of rum in a salute. "It's nice to have you aboard, Anna," he said before waltzing off to intervene in a soon-to-be fistfight between Gibbs and Pike.
Watching him go, I muttered, "It's nice to meet you...Uncle."
