Caribbean Crusades

Chapter 5

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Hi! I decided to update early cause I got so many nice reviews. So here you go…

PED-Sarah – Heh heh. I'm making ye wait cause I'm evil…mwahaha…

StoryTellerJS – Ahh! Killer vacuums! Where! *ducks and looks around cautiously*

Queen Flare – Thankee mate.

Righto, onto the story…

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We loaded ourselves and the supplies on board the Interceptor and set sail, Jack standing proudly at the helm, consulting his compass every so often to make sure we stayed on track. He was being very cautious with that compass. Whenever someone looked at him while he was consulting it, he's quickly slip it into his pocket. I wondered what that was about.

The rest of the crew set to work. The ones that had jobs to do did those jobs, while the rest played cards up on deck.

Never having had to do anything but run around, doing what I liked, on a ship, I decided that I'd learn as much as I could, so I hung around members of the crew, learning what I could by watching them and bugging them for the rest. I learned a lot off Anamaria. She was surprisingly patient when it came to teaching me, and she taught me a lot in a short time.

She had been a little clipped when Jack had asked her to teach me the ropes. But I guess, being the only two females aboard, even though she swore that she was just one of the guys, we kind of bonded.

I borrowed a long piece of rope and sat at the bow of the ship and practised the knots that Anamaria had taught me. I'd decided that I loved the feeling of being aboard a ship, and the smell of salt air, and the spray of the water cooling you down from the hot Caribbean sun.

I heard the call from the guy up in the crows' nest. "Storm, ho!"

I looked up at the sky and saw the ominous black clouds in the distance, rolling in ahead of us.

"All hands on deck!" I heard Jack yell. I suppose that meant me as well. I made my way back around to where the rest of the crew was assembling.

Jack started giving orders to everyone, letting them know exactly what they were to do. "Right, you all know what to do." Jack said. "So go and do it."

The crew all took off in different directions to do their various jobs.

"Sam." Jack called me over to him. "Stay up here, luv. And hold on tight once we get into the stormy waters."

We'd soon sailed right into the storm and the ship was suddenly lurching around, like it had a mind of its own. It was pouring with rain, and the wind was blowing so hard that the rain was almost horizontal. Every now and then, a bolt of lightning would come twisting out of the clouds, accompanied with a deafening roll of thunder. I can now see what Jack meant by 'hold on tight'. After sliding around for a bit, I grabbed a bit of rope and tied myself to the rail, quite pleased with my solution.

I watched Jack as he stood at the wheel, legs spread wide for balance, wearing a self-satisfied grin on his face. He consulted his compass, then snapped it shut, sliding it into his pocket.

"We should drop canvas, sir." Gibbs yelled at Jack, over the booming noise of the storm.

"She can hold a bit longer." Jack yelled back.

"What's in your head that's put you in such a fine mood, Captain?" Gibbs asked.

Jack smiled wider. "We're catching up."

The storm was soon over and we were nearing our destination. I was sitting cross-legged on deck with Will and Gibbs, feeling very uncomfortable in my sopping wet clothes. Most of the crew were doing damage control, fixing broken ropes and repairing ripped sails. Jack hadn't budged from his position at the helm. He checked the compass every few minutes, keeping the ship on course, and according to Gibbs, we were making great time.

Cotton's parrot was perched on the main mast squawking nonsense. "Dead men tell no tales." It squawked.

I looked over the side of the boat and could see the lonely wreckages of many ships in the waters below us, and a lone hammerhead shark patrolling his domain.

"Puts a chill in the bones how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage." Gibbs said to no one in particular.

Will watched Jack as he snapped his compass shut and slip it into his pocket again. "How is it that Jack came by that compass?" he asked.

"Not a lot known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That was before I met him. Back when he was Captain of the Black Pearl." Gibbs explained.

"What? He failed to mention that."

"Well, he plays things close to the vest now. And a hard-learned lesson it was. See three days out on the venture the first mate comes to him and says everything's an equal share as should be the location of the treasure, too. So, Jack gives up the bearings. That night there was a mutiny. They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die but not before he'd gone mad with the heat."

"Ah. So that's the reason for the…" Will imitated Jack by putting his hands out and swaying around a bit.

I laughed, he does a good impression.

"Reason's got nothing to do with it." Gibbs said, seriously. "Now Will, when a man is marooned he is a given a pistol with a single shot." He made a pistol shape with his hand. "Well it won't do much good hunting or to be rescued. But after three weeks of starvin' belly and thirst that pistol starts to look real friendly." Gibbs pointed his fingers at his head. "But Jack made it off the island and he still has that one shot. Oh, but he won't use it though, save for one man. His mutinous first mate."

Ah, so that explains his obsession with that pistol and his comment in the blacksmiths. And why he's so cautious with that compass.

"Barbossa." Will said.

"Aye." Gibbs said.

" How did Jack get off the island?" Will asked.

"Well, I'll tell you. He waded out into the shallows and there he waited three days and three nights till all manner of sea creatures came and acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, harnessed them together and made a raft."

"He roped a couple of sea turtles?" Will said, disbelieving.

"Aye, sea turtles." Gibbs repeated.

I tried hard not to laugh out loud. He really believed that ridiculous story.

"What did he use for rope?" Will asked.

Gibbs didn't know the answer to that one. He opened and shut his mouth a couple of times, making him look like a fish. A shadow in the shape of Jack fell over us.

"Human hair." Jack cut in. "From my back." Eeew. He yelled to the crew "Let go of the anchor!" He started to walk to the dinghy. "Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore."

I stepped in line behind them. So what if I didn't get an invitation. I was going anyway.

Will turned around and spotted me following. "Sam, stay here." He instructed.

"I want to come." I protested.

"The lad's right. You should stay here." Jack said.

I let out an indignated moan. Now they were both against me.

"It's for your own good. You don't want to come face to face with Barbossa's men. They're not very nice." Jack explained.

"I can take care of myself." I insisted.

"What if the worst should happen?" Gibbs interrupted, putting an end to the argument.

"Keep to the code." Jack answered.

"Aye, the code."

I watched as the crew lowered Jack and Will into the water and they rowed off.

I sat on the railing with my legs dangling off the side of the ship for a while, watching the dinghy disappear into the caves before getting a brainwave. There was nothing keeping me here. I'm sure the crew wouldn't notice if I suddenly disappeared.

Looking around to make sure no one was looking, I dived into the water and swam towards the cave with strong strokes, trying not to think about the hammerhead shark I'd seen earlier.

I reached the caves after a while, and pulled myself out of the water, creating a little waterfall as the water poured off my clothes. I flicked my hair over my shoulder and tied a piece of white material around my head like a bandanna to keep my hair out of my eyes. I couldn't see Jack or Will anywhere around here, but that didn't mean anything. They were probably further in the cave.

I heard a gunshot, startling me. Going down one of the nearby passageways, lined with gold coins, I soon came across Jack, lying motionless on the ground.

"Jack!" I remembered the gunshot. I knelt down next to him, feeling for blood. That was when he came to.

"Can't keep your mitts off me, can you?" he said, grinning.

"You mean you didn't get shot?" I asked.

"No. Bloody Turner whacked me across the 'ead with a bloody oar! I swear, if people are gonna keep hittin' me over the head with stuff, I'm just gonna hafta give 'em a taste of their own medicine."

"You'll hit them back?"

"…Yeah…somethin' like that." Jack said.

I helped Jack up and we made our way further down the tunnel. It was only just wide enough for one person to go through at a time, so I followed behind Jack. This was not a problem until suddenly, Jack stopped, and I smacked straight into the back of him. I looked past him to see what was wrong, and I saw that we'd ran into some of Barbossa's motley crew. Deciding that they hadn't seen me, I turned to go back down the tunnel, but some more of the crew had come down the other way. We were surrounded. We were forced out of the tunnel and into the cave.

"You. You're supposed to be dead!" one of them exclaimed, pointing at Jack.

"Am I not?" Jack said, looking down at himself. "Hmmm."

Dozens of pistols were suddenly pointed at us.

"Puhluley," Jack said. The crew looked at him like he was mad. He continued. "Puhlulehvoos, parleli, parsmi, pasley, parle, parle."

I caught on to what he was trying to say. "Parley?" I offered.

"Parley! That's the one, thanks, luv. Parley! Parley!" he exclaimed, satisfied.

"Parley? Down to the depths whatever muttonhead thought up parley." One of the pirates growled.

Jack, never one to pass up a smart comment said, "That would be the French."

Jack and I were herded into the middle of the cave, where we were given the pleasure of meeting Barbossa. And I tell you, it's a pleasure I'd like to forgo, the next time I'm given the chance.

"How the blazes did you get off that island?" Barbossa asked Jack.

"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate…I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack said, modest 'til the end, eh?"

"Ah, well, I won't be making that mistake again. Gents, you all remember Captain Jack Sparrow? Kill him…and his lass too." Barbossa commanded. Pistols were pointed at us from all angles, from all the pirates present in the cave. Not good.

"The girl's blood didn't work, did it?" Jack said smugly.

"Hold your fire!" Barbossa commanded. The pirates groaned and reluctantly put down their pistols. "You know whose blood we need." Barbossa realised.

"I know whose blood ye need." Jack repeated, still smug.

"Take 'em to the Pearl!" Barbossa commanded.

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Next chapter will be up soon…watch out for it!

The monkeys are listening…