Chapter Six
Ana stood back and watched the bonfire light up the beach. Her fellow shipmates reclined on the sand, drinking rum and talking loudly while Mr Gibbs seemed to be in the process of trying to teach Cotton's Parrot a randy sailor song.
The sand felt cool and soft under her bare feet, and for a moment, Ana Maria simply allowed herself to take a deep breath and relax. The night was amazing, the cool breeze caressed her skin, and the stars glittered like diamonds in the sky with the crescent moon sitting on the horizon offering only a hint of its glow.
On a night like this, she could forget her past, ignore the future, and simply appreciate the now. Right now, she felt happy and she lifted the bottle of rum back up to her lips in a desperate effort to hold onto that feeling.
Too late.
Through the darkness, her eyes sought out the object of her distraction. Jack stood off to the side staring at Will and Elizabeth. The couple sat together with their arms wrapped around each other, the very picture of youthful devotion and love.
Through the darkness, her eyes sought out the object of her distraction. Jack stood off to the side staring at Will and Elizabeth. Ana recognised that look on his face, he was brooding, and Jack brooding was never a good thing. In an action of supreme self-sacrifice, Ana Maria bit the bullet and placed her own well being on the line for the safety of the entire Caribbean. She stepped up, and attempted to divert him with clever conversation.
"So." She said.
"So." He said.
"Lovely night." She said.
He smiled. "And soon to get even better." The gold teeth in his mouth reflected the light from her lantern.
"What are you thinking?"
The intent gaze wandered back towards Will and Elizabeth. "I'm contemplating how to finish the story."
"Tell them the truth Jack."
That advice didn't appear to sit well with the Pirate standing in front of her. "And when has the truth ever done any good?"
"You can't hide from it forever."
He looked down at the sand. "There is a difference between hiding and putting what's past behind you. Moving on. We could have a fine discussion on what it means to move on, luv."
"It is our past that builds us into what we are today."
"But if the foundation is rotten, it's best to rip it out and start over."
Ana Maria got the distinct feeling he wasn't just speaking about himself. "I'm not the one who carried a bullet for ten years meant for one person."
"No, you only wasted the same measure of time wed a man with the integrity of a weevil." Jack shot back. "We could play this game all night. I spent a long time creating who I am today."
"And how would you lose that by being honest with a couple of friends who genuinely care about who you really are?"
He seemed to contemplate the idea for a moment. "We're here tonight for a reason, I think it'd be best if I saw to that instead."
It was a dismissal. Jack left Ana Maria standing alone and sauntered up to the young couple sitting by the fire, and so she followed him and stood only a couple feet away as he interjected himself into their quiet conversation.
"I didn't finish the story about the bay." He began.
The two looked at each other in silent communication then turned to Jack. Will asked the question they both needed an answer to, and his voice came across hesitant showing how much he feared the answer. "Did you kill those people Jack?"
"Come, I have something to show you." He stood up awkwardly and waited for them to follow. "I still need to pay my respects."
"To who?"
"The ghosts. It's the right thing to do, of course. Especially seeing as I already promised them a share of the rum." Jack grabbed two full bottles from the stash. "I'd hate to disappoint."
Ana Maria stepped closer and handed Will a lantern to light their way along the trek. This might be Jack's show, but she would be damned if she'd stand aside and let it play out without her. "Tell them where you're taking them, or we aren't going anywhere."
He smiled and gracelessly turned to face her. "Of course, luv. Down this path and a little to the east we should find what remains of the frame of an old shack. And behind that, we'll find two stones."
"Graves." Will guessed. "So you did kill them."
"Right." Jack answered.
"Wrong." Ana Maria corrected. "Jack didn't kill them."
"None the less, I was there." The Pirate stated cryptically. He led them up the beach and over the low dunes to where they wound the remains of an old sign post. Jack walked past it without another glance, but Will and Elizabeth paused to take a closer look. She didn't see this the night before while she sat stranded on the beach, but then she didn't see much of anything last night.
The post stood maybe three feet off the ground, the flat board nailed to it looked weathered, and old, they could see what was once an inscription in the wood, now faded and barely visible due to time and weather. It marked the beginning of a path over grown with tall weeds and grass. Will and Elizabeth found it hard to discern where the trail began and ended on the sides or where it turned to, but Jack followed it through the darkness ahead as though it were clean and well marked. It didn't escape either of them that Jack was more than a little familiar with the terrain.
They didn't walk far. "They built the cabin further inland in hopes of protecting the structure from storms." Jack called back once he stopped. They now stood just outside the remains of a wood structure. "Come around this way, but step careful."
He led them in front of two large rocks. "Here we are." He placed the rum down on the ground, one beside each.
What were their names?" Will asked.
"I don't remember."
"If their names are so unimportant then why do you even come here?" There was a hard edge of disapproval to the Blacksmith's voice.
"I didn't say unimportant, I said I don't recall. It was a long time ago. I can tell you how they died though. That I do remember."
He sat down on one of the stones and picked up the bottle he'd just placed on the ground, opened it, and took a long drink. "I'm sure they won't mind sharing." He made himself comfortable before continuing. "These fishermen, whose names I don't recall, died on their knees. One bullet to the head each. I've seen it done properly a few times and with skill, the killer can avoid making a mess. But there was nothing proper about this slaying."
Ana Maria resisted the urge to offer him comfort, knowing it wouldn't be welcome. She kept her senses tuned to the surrounding area, intent on picking up even the slightest hint of an intruder. Jack's eyes were focused in the same way, searching for a sign of his old friend.
"What did you do?"
Jack turned to Elizabeth, and without a hint of emotion answered her question. "Nothing. I watched along with the others, and share the same guilt as the others. "
Ana couldn't sit quietly any longer. "Tell them the year your story took place in."
"That's not what we're here for." Now back on his feet and pacing back and forth, Jack couldn't seem to sit still any longer.
Ana would not let him of the hook so easily. "You started this Jack, you better finish it. How long ago did this happen? Tell them."
He sighed impatiently. "I haven't exactly kept track, but I'm guessing it was about twenty five years ago."
It didn't take long for Elizabeth to do the math in her head. "That would make you barely ten years old at the time. What kind of smugglers carry children around with them?"
"They don't." Ana stated. "Families have children."
It took some time for Elizabeth and Will to assimilate the new information. So Jack didn't belong to the smugglers who killed the family, he belonged to the family that got killed. "That's horrible. Why didn't you just tell us that, rather than leading us to believe you were involved in their deaths?"
"Because I was involved."
"But you were only a child!" Elizabeth reached out a hand to place it against Jack's arm. "It wasn't you're fault."
He shrugged off her hand and moved away. "You weren't there. In any case, this isn't about me. This is about Bootstrap."
My note: Hi! Just a couple things, thanks muchly to my amazing beta-reader who has suffered these last few days listening to me whine and complain about how annoying this chapter was to write. None of the characters wanted to cooperate, but finally after much rum and coaxing they agreed to get along for just a little while longer.