Show Me the Horizon
Chapter 6
Annamaria cleared the underbrush they'd used to hide the small boat, and shoved it into the water. She rowed toward the ship standing silently in the cove. As she drew near, a rope ladder was dropped over the side, and a head appeared over the rail. "Where be Jack?" hissed Mr. Gibbs.
Annamaria hoisted herself over the rail. Two sailors went down the ladder to secure the boat. "He's been kidnapped." She dropped to the deck and sat against the rail to catch her breath.
Gibbs dropped down beside her and took her shoulders. "He wasn't arrested again, was he?"
Annamaria shook her head. "No. Commodore Norrington recognized him, but only wanted information on whoever sacked those towns west of here with no survivors. We were ambushed on the way back to town. A man took Jack at gunpoint, stole our horse and cart, and forced him to drive off. I hid in the bushes, but couldn't follow fast enough to see where they went. The man said he'd be taking Jack to the Banshee. Without the horse it took me twice as long to get back here as it should have."
Gibbs sat back. "The Banshee? Why on earth would they have taken him?"
Annamaria shook her head. "I have no idea. No idea."
--
The entire crew of the Black Pearl met in the Captain's cabin. Gibbs explained the situation to them. "The question is now what should we do? Has anyone heard which way the Banshee was headed?"
One sailor spoke up. "We're faster than the Banshee, but we don't have as much firepower as she does. She could blow us to matchsticks!"
Another sailor spoke. "She's also got a larger crew. Even if we get close enough to board her, we'll be outnumbered."
The first sailor spoke again. "We can intimidate the merchant ships into surrendering. We're not going to be able to intimidate a privateer."
Annamaria spoke. "We can't do nothing. We need Captain Sparrow. We've had extraordinary luck since he's been our Captain. We must rescue him!"
Gibbs spoke again. "I'm in command until the Captain returns. I say we go after the Banshee. Any man who hasn't the stomach for this venture can return to shore."
Cotton's parrot piped up. "When do we sail, when do we sail?"
"Aye," said Gibbs. "Weigh anchor and set the sails!"
--
Jack sat on the beach and started pulling off his soaked boots. Gwen came up to him and knelt before him, starting to help him pull them off. "I'm sorry, Captain Sparrow."
Jack shrugged, and unbuttoned his vest, shaking some of the water out of it. "Not your fault, luv. If you want to blame anyone, blame LeSerre." He shook his head. "And they call me crazy." He got up and draped his vest over a piece of driftwood. Looking back at Gwen he said, "I'm assuming he killed your father, aye?"
Gwen closed her eyes. A tear trickled down her cheek. "Yes."
"I'm sorry, lass. I met your father near a year ago. He was a good man."
Gwen wiped her eyes and forced a laugh. "He told me you'd taken his ship."
Jack smiled. "Aye, I did. One of the first we took after I regained the Pearl last year. Turned out his cargo was almost entirely sugarcane. Nothing really worth stealing! So I sat down and had a drink with him while me men checked the ship out. What stories that man could tell! I nearly took him captive just so I could spend more time talking to him!"
Gwen laughed again. "He told me so. He said he'd rarely met a man he more enjoyed talking to, and that he'd offered to put up no resistance should he meet the Black Pearl again."
Jack laughed too. "And I said that while I'd be delighted to meet him again, I'd not take a penny from him."
Gwen smiled. "Just a bottle or two of rum." Her smile wavered and tears began to well up again. She turned away and covered her face. "I'm sorry, I don't usually cry like this."
Jack took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "No need to apologize to me, luv. It's been a hell of a day." She collapsed against his chest and sobbed. At first he looked startled, then he stroked her back. "There, luv."
--
The morning sun had just peeked over the horizon when Jack's eyes blinked open. Gwen continued to sleep, her head pillowed on Jack's shoulder, the sun catching the highlights in her reddish brown hair. Jack eyed her speculatively, and reached cautiously to finger the lace on her bodice. She stirred slightly, and he snatched his hand away. The movement woke her completely, and for a moment she looked uncomprehendingly up into Jack's face. As memory returned, she sat up abruptly and moved away. "I'm so sorry, Captain Sparrow! I had no idea I was being so forward. Please forgive me."
"Think nothing of it, luv," said Jack, reaching for her again.
She got quickly to her feet, without noticing. "I wonder what sort of food we were given?"
Jack grimaced and got up. "Nothing worth eating, probably." He moved in on Gwen again as she tried to pry open the top of one of the boxes they'd be left. When the box gave way, she caught him the stomach with her elbow. "Ooof!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Captain! I didn't know you were there."
"Apparently," Jack wheezed.
Gwen pulled a small sack of hard biscuits out of the box. She handed one to Jack and tried to bit another. It's difficult. "How do you eat these things?" she said in exasperation.
Jack chewed carefully and swallowed. "What do you think happened to my teeth?"
"Captain, what do you think we should do?" asked Gwen
"First off," said Jack, "after spending the night in my arms, you really ought to call me 'Jack' rather than 'Captain'."
Gwen blushed. "All right, Jack."
"Second," he continued, "we should figure out what we've got here." He started to examine a wineskin, which appears to have water in it. "Any rum there?"
"Doesn't seem to be." said Gwen. "These inedible biscuits, the water and your things." She gestures to his sword, hat and coat.
"Just as well," grumbled Jack, picking up the power and shot and starting to load his pistol. "That was the mistake I made last time." He squinted around at the beach and the trees. "At least it's a different island this time."
"Oh, look!" cried Gwen. "A ship!" She started running down the beach. "Hello! Over here!"
Jack took a quick look at the ship and his eyes widened. "No, no!" he shouted as he ran down the beach and grabbed Gwen's arm. "Come on!" he said, pulling her toward the trees.
"What are you doing!" shrieked Gwen.
"It's a Spanish ship!" shouted Jack, grabbing her arm again. "Hide!" They ran to the tree line and crouched in the underbrush. The Spanish ship cruised slowly along the coastline. "Hope they didn't see us," muttered Jack.
"What would happen if they did?" asked Gwen.
"They probably would figure the truth - that there was a marooned pirate here, or possibly someone who survived a shipwreck. In either case it would be worth it to them to stop and pick us up. They'd figure they could get some information from us about pirate movements or other shipping. Possibly information about the British Fleet too," said Jack, keeping his eye on the Spaniard.
"There isn't anything I could tell them," said Gwen in confusion.
Jack looked at her. "You think they'd care? After they were done with you, you'd either be dead or sold to a brothel in Havana. Besides, I could tell them enough for both of us." He looked back to the ship. "After which, I WOULD be dead."
The ship cruised past and out of sight. Jack heaved a sigh of relief. "We can't stay here. If we're in Spanish waters, which we seem to be, we can't afford to be seen."
"Where do you think we are?"
"Judging from the time it took us to get here after LeSerre picked me up in Jamaica, probably off the coast of Cuba or possibly Hispaniola. Hispaniola would be better, as it isn't as well populated. It's also possible that LeSerre, who is even more of a twisted bastard than I'd thought, decided that it would bee amusing to drop us right on mainland Cuba." Jack headed out the trees down toward the supplies. "We need to take what we can carry and be off."
"Where should we go?" asked Gwen as she hurried after him.
Jack squinted at the sun. "East." He put on his coat and hat, slung his sword baldric over his shoulder and stuffed the pistol into his belt. "Here." He shoved a large wineskin at Gwen. He put a similar one over his own shoulder and picked up a sack of biscuits. "Let's go, Miss Tracy."
Gwen slung the wineskin over her shoulder and picked up a second sack of biscuits. "Since I spent the night in your arms, you really ought to call me 'Gwen', rather than 'Miss Tracy'."
Jack grinned, flashing his gold teeth. "Aye, I'll do that."
Chapter 6
Annamaria cleared the underbrush they'd used to hide the small boat, and shoved it into the water. She rowed toward the ship standing silently in the cove. As she drew near, a rope ladder was dropped over the side, and a head appeared over the rail. "Where be Jack?" hissed Mr. Gibbs.
Annamaria hoisted herself over the rail. Two sailors went down the ladder to secure the boat. "He's been kidnapped." She dropped to the deck and sat against the rail to catch her breath.
Gibbs dropped down beside her and took her shoulders. "He wasn't arrested again, was he?"
Annamaria shook her head. "No. Commodore Norrington recognized him, but only wanted information on whoever sacked those towns west of here with no survivors. We were ambushed on the way back to town. A man took Jack at gunpoint, stole our horse and cart, and forced him to drive off. I hid in the bushes, but couldn't follow fast enough to see where they went. The man said he'd be taking Jack to the Banshee. Without the horse it took me twice as long to get back here as it should have."
Gibbs sat back. "The Banshee? Why on earth would they have taken him?"
Annamaria shook her head. "I have no idea. No idea."
--
The entire crew of the Black Pearl met in the Captain's cabin. Gibbs explained the situation to them. "The question is now what should we do? Has anyone heard which way the Banshee was headed?"
One sailor spoke up. "We're faster than the Banshee, but we don't have as much firepower as she does. She could blow us to matchsticks!"
Another sailor spoke. "She's also got a larger crew. Even if we get close enough to board her, we'll be outnumbered."
The first sailor spoke again. "We can intimidate the merchant ships into surrendering. We're not going to be able to intimidate a privateer."
Annamaria spoke. "We can't do nothing. We need Captain Sparrow. We've had extraordinary luck since he's been our Captain. We must rescue him!"
Gibbs spoke again. "I'm in command until the Captain returns. I say we go after the Banshee. Any man who hasn't the stomach for this venture can return to shore."
Cotton's parrot piped up. "When do we sail, when do we sail?"
"Aye," said Gibbs. "Weigh anchor and set the sails!"
--
Jack sat on the beach and started pulling off his soaked boots. Gwen came up to him and knelt before him, starting to help him pull them off. "I'm sorry, Captain Sparrow."
Jack shrugged, and unbuttoned his vest, shaking some of the water out of it. "Not your fault, luv. If you want to blame anyone, blame LeSerre." He shook his head. "And they call me crazy." He got up and draped his vest over a piece of driftwood. Looking back at Gwen he said, "I'm assuming he killed your father, aye?"
Gwen closed her eyes. A tear trickled down her cheek. "Yes."
"I'm sorry, lass. I met your father near a year ago. He was a good man."
Gwen wiped her eyes and forced a laugh. "He told me you'd taken his ship."
Jack smiled. "Aye, I did. One of the first we took after I regained the Pearl last year. Turned out his cargo was almost entirely sugarcane. Nothing really worth stealing! So I sat down and had a drink with him while me men checked the ship out. What stories that man could tell! I nearly took him captive just so I could spend more time talking to him!"
Gwen laughed again. "He told me so. He said he'd rarely met a man he more enjoyed talking to, and that he'd offered to put up no resistance should he meet the Black Pearl again."
Jack laughed too. "And I said that while I'd be delighted to meet him again, I'd not take a penny from him."
Gwen smiled. "Just a bottle or two of rum." Her smile wavered and tears began to well up again. She turned away and covered her face. "I'm sorry, I don't usually cry like this."
Jack took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "No need to apologize to me, luv. It's been a hell of a day." She collapsed against his chest and sobbed. At first he looked startled, then he stroked her back. "There, luv."
--
The morning sun had just peeked over the horizon when Jack's eyes blinked open. Gwen continued to sleep, her head pillowed on Jack's shoulder, the sun catching the highlights in her reddish brown hair. Jack eyed her speculatively, and reached cautiously to finger the lace on her bodice. She stirred slightly, and he snatched his hand away. The movement woke her completely, and for a moment she looked uncomprehendingly up into Jack's face. As memory returned, she sat up abruptly and moved away. "I'm so sorry, Captain Sparrow! I had no idea I was being so forward. Please forgive me."
"Think nothing of it, luv," said Jack, reaching for her again.
She got quickly to her feet, without noticing. "I wonder what sort of food we were given?"
Jack grimaced and got up. "Nothing worth eating, probably." He moved in on Gwen again as she tried to pry open the top of one of the boxes they'd be left. When the box gave way, she caught him the stomach with her elbow. "Ooof!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Captain! I didn't know you were there."
"Apparently," Jack wheezed.
Gwen pulled a small sack of hard biscuits out of the box. She handed one to Jack and tried to bit another. It's difficult. "How do you eat these things?" she said in exasperation.
Jack chewed carefully and swallowed. "What do you think happened to my teeth?"
"Captain, what do you think we should do?" asked Gwen
"First off," said Jack, "after spending the night in my arms, you really ought to call me 'Jack' rather than 'Captain'."
Gwen blushed. "All right, Jack."
"Second," he continued, "we should figure out what we've got here." He started to examine a wineskin, which appears to have water in it. "Any rum there?"
"Doesn't seem to be." said Gwen. "These inedible biscuits, the water and your things." She gestures to his sword, hat and coat.
"Just as well," grumbled Jack, picking up the power and shot and starting to load his pistol. "That was the mistake I made last time." He squinted around at the beach and the trees. "At least it's a different island this time."
"Oh, look!" cried Gwen. "A ship!" She started running down the beach. "Hello! Over here!"
Jack took a quick look at the ship and his eyes widened. "No, no!" he shouted as he ran down the beach and grabbed Gwen's arm. "Come on!" he said, pulling her toward the trees.
"What are you doing!" shrieked Gwen.
"It's a Spanish ship!" shouted Jack, grabbing her arm again. "Hide!" They ran to the tree line and crouched in the underbrush. The Spanish ship cruised slowly along the coastline. "Hope they didn't see us," muttered Jack.
"What would happen if they did?" asked Gwen.
"They probably would figure the truth - that there was a marooned pirate here, or possibly someone who survived a shipwreck. In either case it would be worth it to them to stop and pick us up. They'd figure they could get some information from us about pirate movements or other shipping. Possibly information about the British Fleet too," said Jack, keeping his eye on the Spaniard.
"There isn't anything I could tell them," said Gwen in confusion.
Jack looked at her. "You think they'd care? After they were done with you, you'd either be dead or sold to a brothel in Havana. Besides, I could tell them enough for both of us." He looked back to the ship. "After which, I WOULD be dead."
The ship cruised past and out of sight. Jack heaved a sigh of relief. "We can't stay here. If we're in Spanish waters, which we seem to be, we can't afford to be seen."
"Where do you think we are?"
"Judging from the time it took us to get here after LeSerre picked me up in Jamaica, probably off the coast of Cuba or possibly Hispaniola. Hispaniola would be better, as it isn't as well populated. It's also possible that LeSerre, who is even more of a twisted bastard than I'd thought, decided that it would bee amusing to drop us right on mainland Cuba." Jack headed out the trees down toward the supplies. "We need to take what we can carry and be off."
"Where should we go?" asked Gwen as she hurried after him.
Jack squinted at the sun. "East." He put on his coat and hat, slung his sword baldric over his shoulder and stuffed the pistol into his belt. "Here." He shoved a large wineskin at Gwen. He put a similar one over his own shoulder and picked up a sack of biscuits. "Let's go, Miss Tracy."
Gwen slung the wineskin over her shoulder and picked up a second sack of biscuits. "Since I spent the night in your arms, you really ought to call me 'Gwen', rather than 'Miss Tracy'."
Jack grinned, flashing his gold teeth. "Aye, I'll do that."