Chapter 3
What If You Woke Up Tomorrow And The World Had Ended?
Miranda had lead Jack down to her mansion, obviously followed by his first mate, and the others. She had promised to let Jack stay there overnight as long as he would leave in the morning.
"But what if I never come round?..." Jack said, eyeing her.
"Then I'll haul you out by your doo rag, mate!"
Miranda motioned to his bandanna, and Jack patted it down onto his forehead.
When they entered through the big oak doors, Miranda surprisingly seized Jack's hand and led him down the nearest hallway to a small door. The room was quite dark and boring, with only one single oil lamp burning on the bedside table. Jack glanced at her and she glanced back.
"You room, Captain Sparrow…"
He bowed slightly and strolled in to take a look around more. Miranda came in guiltily and sat on his bed. She took the pile of sheets sitting there and tossed them at the back of his head. Jack turned on his heel and ripped his pistol out of his belt to point at her.
"Where's your rum?"
Miranda put her palm over the end of the gun and got up. She walked over to a small cabinet above a writing desk and opened it to reveal several bottles there.
"Enough?"
Jack lowered his weapon.
"Perfect"
Miranda nodded and stepped back into the hallway.
"Oh, but there's one single drawback…" She turned around, leant in and slammed the door behind her.
She locked the door and flipped the key into her pocket. Jack banged on the door, the handle rattling violently.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOIN'?! DON'T YOU ABANDON ME HERE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! MIRANDA!? LUV!?...... GOVERNOR MIRANDA!? WHY!? WHAT…WHAT…WHAT IF I NEED TO GO TO THE LOO!?"
"FIGURE IT OUT! YOU ARE A PIRATE! YOU DO IT EVERY OTHER OCCASION, I DON'T SEE THIS BEING ANY DIFFERENT!"
"NO, NO! YOU LET ME OUT! BE A LOVELY GOVERNOR AND LET ME GO DAMN IT!"
"BY THE WAY IF YOU DIDN'T HAPPEN TO REALISE… THIS IS FOR DITCHING ME HERE SEVEN YEARS AGO!"
Miranda stormed off, and Jack continued to bash on the door.
There was a long, deadly silence, as Jack stopped what he was doing. He listened carefully, hopefully finding that Miranda hadn't left him for good. There was no sound, no hint that she was there. Jack turned, made his way to the back wall, turned back and ran at the door. With all his might he slammed the locked door with his shoulder. Unsuccessfully, he hit it violently and stumbled backwards, landing flat on his back. He groaned in pain and lifted his head to look at the door which had not budged an inch. He groaned again and dropped his head slowly. Jack lifted himself to his feet, massaging his shoulder that had made contact with the door.
He examined the room once more and his eyes darted over the copper wooden desk at the side. He sat in the chair and leant down to rummage through the three drawers there. The top drawer contained small pieces of tanned paper and an ink quill. He thought for a second or two and seized a piece of paper and the quill. He slammed the drawer shut and leaned on the table to write. He put pen to paper and paused. He flicked the pen and sighed.
"I don' know how to bloody spell!" He whispered to himself.
Instead he wrote the only word that came to mind, 'SJS'. He grinned at his snail trail letters and got up onto his feet. He kneeled down before the door, and slid the paper underneath, the wind sucking it out of his hand.
He sat up and began to knock on the door.
"Save Jack's Soul! Save Jack's Soul!" He bellowed, attempting to sound eerie.
There was no noise, no answer. He jumped up angrily and pressed his face to the door.
"THIS IS NOT AMUSING, MIRANDA! LUV, YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR! IF YOU DON'T LET ME OUT…" He stopped and looked around, "…THERE'S PRETTY MUCH NAUGHT I CAN DO ABOUT IT!"
Jack growled and ripped his captain's hat off his head along with his jacket and tossed them angrily at the far wall.
He scratched his chin and went over eagerly to the liquor cabinet. The front flew open and he snatched two bottles, one in each hand. He threw himself onto the bed and stared up at the dark ceiling, pulling the cork out of his first bottle.
"May as well make myself cosy…" He said, gulping down half the bottle in one taking. "Can't waste it…"
He took another swig and he fell backwards, his head hitting the wall with a very loud 'Thump'.
"Ouch! ……Aww well…"
That next morning, although it looked still dark enough to be night in Jack's small room, he awoke to find that he was in a pile on the wooden floor, surrounded by sheets and bottles. He rubbed his face with his palm and groaned.
"Oh no… I did it again …Didn' I, luv?"
He glanced around, searching the sheets for another person. When he found no one his eyes wandered.
"Oh…" He mumbled, looking down into his lap uneasily.
He tried to shake off the thought and scrambled, wobbling to his feet. He jumped over to the door and started banging again.
"MIRANDA! MIRANDA! COME ON! YOU HAVE TO BE THERE NOW! PLEASE!? IT'S GLOOMY IN HERE, AND THERE'S A BIZARRE SMELL!... No…"
He stopped sniffing the air, "…That's me… BUT…BUT…MIRANDA!? I HAVE SOMETHING SOMEWHAT IMPERATIVE TO TELL YOU! I NEVER IMAGINED I'D HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS BUT… BUT… I CARE ABOUT YOU, LUV!"
His hand slipped onto the handle and it clicked open. He pushed it open barely and stuck his head out. He suddenly realised it was daylight and squinted to see. Jack shoved the door all the way out and sneaked down the hallway. Upon entering the vestibule he stood himself in the middle and held his hands to his mouth.
"MIRANDA! I'M RELIEVED THAT YOU SEE IT MY WAY! LUV!? YOU'RE NOT ANNOYED AT ME ARE YOU?!"
There was no one that answered and nobody came out to see. He put his hands on his hips and waited. He tapped his foot and sighed. He could hear nothing. Without thinking, Jack drew his pistol from his belt and shot down the chandelier just above the steps. It fell to the wooden floor with a very loud crash, as the grubby glass shattered and rolled outwards. Jack smiled cheekily and replaced his gun to his belt. He waited once more for attention, but to his surprise no one bothered to stop him or clean it up.
"Didn' care about that chandelier, aye?!" He yelled, looking around for someone to listen.
He stomped his foot and waved his hands about.
"Hey! Hey! I'm Captain Jack Sparrow! I'm going to pillage you now!"
Again once more there was only silence. He stopped to think and scratched his chin.
"Funny. How long was I in that room for?"
He strolled backwards, heading for the doors, and ran around and down the street into town. Skidding to a halt, he reached the buildings and alleyways. It was eerily silent, as all that could be heard were Jack's footprints in the gravel on the ground.
"Gibbs? Mr. Cotton?...Mr. Cotton's Parrot? Anyone?"
He approached one of the taverns and peeked inside. It was empty. There was neither bartender nor anyone at all.
"Uh oh… Something terrible must've happened!" He snapped, the absence of all of his fellow alcoholics finally hitting him.
He stormed disappointedly over to a stool at the bar and plonked himself down. He wiped his forehead and sighed, before leaning over on the bar top. The silence was shocking, and Jack couldn't take it for much longer. He wiped his face with frustration and stomped out of the tavern from his seat.
Running onto the docks in a hurried frenzy, he skidded and fell to his hands and knees at the very edge. He grabbed his chest in terror and struggled to look up. The docks were absolutely empty. Neither ship nor boat was tied up, both down and up the shore.
"No…It can't be…" He began, trying desperately to breathe, "…S'not possible."
He flicked his head from side to side, hoping to find and hull, oar, sail or mast but there was nothing. No one seemed to have docked there for quite a while.
"The…Pearl! What happened?! Where'd they go?! This s'not good! Not good!"
The shore was so serene that for once the water could be heard lapping at the posts of the short docks. Jack grabbed his head, like a pain shot through him and started up the beach on the right side of him.
"Pearl? Gibbs? Miranda? Pearl? Black Pearl, please, this is not a game!" He shouted, sounding awfully annoyed and terrified at the same time.
He stopped in his tracks and ran back the other way, up the other side, yelling the same things as he went. There was still no sign of anyone of any of his acquaintances. He ceased trying to catch attention and made his way back into town.
He fell awkwardly flat onto his back, in the middle of the street, and put his hand to his forehead.
"This is NOT happening… This is NOT happening! Save Jack's Soul! SAVE JACK'S SOUL! SOMEONE, PLEASE, ANYONE!? SAVE JACK'S SOUL, DAMMIT!"
He removed his hand and stared up into the clouds.
"What did I do to deserve this…? Oh no… Miranda… You didn't… Please, not you luv."
He sat up, brushing the dirt and dust off himself and standing upright.
He turned around, took a deep breath and,
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" He shrieked, the sound echoing around the cliff walls surrounding the town.
He ceased screaming and took a few deep breaths, before opening his mouth and screaming once more. He gazed around after finishing, expecting to see people peering out of their windows, ready to curse and scold him for making so much noise. To his disappointment once more, there was no answer.
He sighed and drooped his head. He wiped his forehead and rubbed his eyes tiredly, looking around himself at the red dirt and gravel street. He began to make his way back up to the mansion, when he stopped and turned to go into the tavern. Something that was glinting in the sunlight, half buried in the dirt caught his eye. He leant down and brushed the dirt away to reveal a silver balled necklace, with three skull and crossbones symbols hanging in the centre, parted by two silver spheres. Jack pulled it out, and shook it off. He examined the skulls carefully, taking them into memory, and pocketed it quickly.
"Mine now." He mumbled, "Take what you can…"
He stepped up into the tavern, and spotted the bottles set up behind the bar, "…GIVE NOTHING BACK!"
Without thinking, he ran over to them and seized one. He yanked the cork out and tipped it into his mouth to find that it was completely empty. He shook the bottle violently, his mouth wide open waiting for the liquid to come out, but it didn't. He snatched up another bottle and another, again only to find them empty. Out of total frustration he pushed all of the bottles set up on the shelves and the bar side to the floor, knowing that they too were empty. Jack grabbed his head in rage, and rummaged through the cupboards and rooms in the entire tavern, still very angry to discover none at all.
He screamed in rage and pulled at his hair.
"Nine thousan', nine hundred and ninety nine thousan' bottles o' rum on the wall… an they're ALL BLOODY EMPTY!!"
He fell very unhappily into a heap on the floor, and shoved his head between his legs.
"This…no' good… This… no' good." He mumbled to himself, before snapping out of it and looking up anxiously.
He wiped his face with his white sleeve and slapped his hand down on the wooden floor boards beside him. He bit his other index finger out of anger and frustration, before waving his hands above him and flopping backwards to the floor.
"This is no use, is what it is!" He cried, twitching his nose and yawning.
He seized the pistol from his belt, lying face up, and pointed it out in front of him, toward the doors and pulled the trigger. The pistol blew a huge cavity in the door and let most of the light from outside to filter in. He twirled the gun in the air, sort of triumphantly and dropped it to the floor beside him. He took a deep outdrawn breath and closed his eyes.
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me 'earties yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot. Drink up me 'earties yo ho. Yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me. We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack. Drink up…" He whispered serenely to himself, when something unexpected stopped him in the middle of his song.
Two men appeared from the shadows in the corner. A large man wielding a noose and a thin man with an individual rope. He stopped singing and listened carefully, hoping that the faint rustling he heard was a sign of others.
He shot up quickly and looked around, not bothering to look behind himself. He scratched his chin and before he realised it, the men jumped him. The first threw the noose over his head, and the second pulled his arms behind his back and tied them together. Jack struggled and leapt to his feet. The man tugged on the noose rope, and Jack froze immediately like a trained dog.
"Well, well. Jack Sparrow! What be wrong? Surprised to see us?" The first man said.
Jack's head remained still as the bulky man stepped forward. His eyes darted to him, and a small, forced smile appeared on his lips.
"You were difficult to miss." He replied sarcastically, and the man drew his pistol, and pointed it at Jack's temple.
"WHY YOU BE DONE BEFORE YOU SAY ANOTHER WORD!"
The thin man waved his hand for him to lower the weapon.
"We not be killin' him yet, Cooper. Capt'n told us to bring 'im in."
Cooper nodded and smiled, replacing the gun to his belt. He shoved Jack toward the door, and the man behind him whipped the rope to his neck for him to move. Jack looked around calmly wondering what was going on.
"WALK! WHEN I FLICK THE DAMMIN ROPE ROUND YOUR NECK IT MEANS WALK!" The thin man bellowed and Jack started forward, not wanting any more trouble.
"What do you think the capt'n will do with this traitor, Reeves?"
"Somethin' torturous I hope" Reeves laughed back as both men and Jack were taken slowly out and down the gravel road.
Jack cleared his throat and looked over to Cooper.
"So, what's this ship you be takin' me to?" He asked, hoping for an answer.
Cooper eyed him before answering.
"It be The Corsair. Biggest and bestest ship in Tortugan shores."
Jack nodded, understanding but opened his mouth to continue.
"And the captain?"
Reeves motioned for Cooper not to talk and Jack tilted his head.
"So… Better than the Black Pearl is it?"
"The Black Pearl!? The Black Pearl!?" Cooper started, sounding like he was beginning a debate, "That ship, compared to the size and speed of The Corsair be beyond equalness. The only thing is that there really is no difference in construct and rigging. The Black Pearl was the first Corsair, so's meanin' that the Corsair be the Black Pearl's daughter."
"What!? My ship!?" Jack barked, "It was remodelled!?"
Reeves tugged on the rope and Jack's head darted back.
"Never! Your ship was the inspiration for The Great Corsair, but in our books, there be no such ship as The Black Pearl! Our lady, our ship be the queen of the ocean!" Reeves stated, and Jack tried to keep his thoughts and anger to himself.
"The Black Pearl! Ha! How old!" Cooper laughed as Reeves followed.
Jack imitated then quietly as they shoved him harder down the street.
The blazing sun hit Jack's face as himself and his captors strolled down the shoreline. Jack peered around himself, hoping to find a way of escape. He looked up instead and saw it. There at the docks where the Black Pearl was last, was a ship. It was twice the size of the Pearl, dark brown timber, nine black and white sails and people on board the ship were scattered about the shrouds, bow, and crow's nest all over. Jack gulped; Cooper and Reeves rubbed their hands happily before shoving Jack toward it. The ramp slid down and a man stood there, waving his hands at them.
"Jack Sparrow! Finally we got you!" The man yelled.
As they came closer, Jack could see him clearly. He was quite a handsome man, with a short clean shaven beard, scruffy dark brown hair and brown eyes. In fact everything about him suited the ship. He watched on as Cooper and Reeves led him up to the deck. Slapping his hand down on his shoulder, Jack turned to look at him properly, even though he was more interested in the ship's technicalities and glanced around instead.
"I bet you are wondering what the heck is goin' round."
Jack finally looked at him and squinted.
"Well, waking up and discovering that all of the rum had disappeared was a insinuation to something wrong."
The man eyed him. People working on the ship stopped and turned to watch.
"In some respects, you could say that you deserved it."
Jack nodded and smiled sarcastically before snapping out of it.
"So… Captain…?"
"Diego Longjohn… but I'm not the Captain."
Jack's eyes widened. He laughed softly and looked Diego up and down.
"Longjohn?" He chuckled.
"Sparrow?" Diego replied, and Jack cut the smiling and laughing immediately.
Some of the crew members around him began laughing. Diego smiled and looked Jack up and down just like he had done to him beforehand. Jack cleared his throat and ignored the embarrassing part of the conversation.
"If you're not capt'n, then what are you, pirate?"
"First Mate, Sparrow." Diego explained, still emphasizing his name.
"…Well Parley, Mr. Diego!" Jack demanded, "Parley. Parley! Parley! Parley, I demand the act of Parley, savvy?"
Diego just stared at him.
"What did you think you were going to get, Sparrow?"
The door to the stateroom flew open behind him, as many of the crew members rushed over to it. Jack turned to look also and he saw Miranda step out wearing a large captain's hat with a purple feather, and her large black felt overcoat.
Cooper and Reeves scuttled over to her and saluted her.
"We've brought you Jack Sparrow, Captain Sparrow, maam!" Reeves stated, playing nervously with his sleeve.
"Well done!" Miranda replied, "It proved to he a tough capturing, but by the looks of things you seemed to have no problems what so ever."
Jack smiled and came toward her, face to face.
"Miranda! Luv! Make them let me go!"
Miranda brushed his cheek and smirked.
"You called for Parley, didn't you? I'm the Captain, Jack."
She ran her hands down his arms, and over his body. Jack grinned harder and glanced at the others.
"What are you doin', luv?"
"Taking anything you have in your possession, Jack."
She seized his pistol and his compass, unbuckled his sword belt and handed them to Diego. Jack's head watched back and forth as things were being taken from his pockets and handed to Diego. Lastly, Miranda reached her hand into his pant pocket, much to the delight of Jack, and pulled out the skull necklace.
She examined it carefully as if she had found gold.
"This! This is mine! You stole it!" She demanded, shaking it in his face.
Jack's smile was wiped from his face and he glanced at it dangling from her fingers.
"Honestly, luv! I didn't steal it from you! I found it lyin' in the street…"
Diego sighed and shook his head disappointedly.
"You're still up to your old ways, Sparrow."
Jack watched Miranda as she clasped the necklace around her neck. He then turned to Diego and shook his head.
"..What?" He asked.
"You always think of yourself, don' you?"
"That's not true! How was I meant to know that it was Miranda's?"
"Because YOU GAVE IT TO ME!" Miranda barked, Jack jumped and turned back.
He cocked his head to look at her and think. He glanced at the silver necklace a number of times, then back at Miranda herself.
"No I didn'"
"YES YOU DID! I specifically remember you handing it to me on that night following the drop by at Port Royal!"
Jack looked at Diego and shrugged.
"Who are you gonna believe?"
"My captain," Diego said, "You however are not an honest man, and nigh will be."
Miranda slapped Jack's shoulder violently and she seized him by his sleeve.
"Don't you remember what it signified? You told me that each skull represents the three rules of the Pirate's code," She began, poking the skulls one by one, "The right of Parley; take what you can, give nothing back; and any man who falls behind is left behind."
Still, Jack glared at her and the necklace, completely void of what she was trying to say.
"Terribly sorry, but, I haven' a clue what you're speakin' of."
She shook Jack away with his sleeve, rather annoyed at him behaviour.
"This is precisely the reason why you left me here seven years ago! You drink so much alcohol that it makes you fail to remember anything! Perhaps it will destroy your mind before it destroys you!"
Jack smiled and leant in.
"I doubt it, luv."
"And because you deceived me, even after you guaranteed to watch over me as I trained to be a pirate, because you assumed that it would be alright to leave me sound asleep and you would return later, and because you were so deaf, dumb and blind to overlook me running and screaming just as your ship departed Tortuga from docks that day, I have used the pirate code of my own to reprimand you. Any man who betrays their Governor is left to die."
"And a fine job you did indeed, bearing in mind that here I am standing, listening to you, not dead."
Diego growled and grabbed Jack's shoulder. Jack turned to look and was clout in the side of the face. He fell to the deck, his hands still tied behind his back, flat onto his face.
"Sorry capt'n. His condescendence was too much for me to handle."
Miranda frowned at him and kneeled down over Jack's body. She untied his hands and rolled him over. He was out cold. She reached out and her fingers brushed his forehead, pushing the stray hair away from his face. Nursing the red mark on his right cheek, she rubbed her skull necklace and leant down so her lips were skimming his cheek.
"But… no matter what you do or what you say, it doesn't worry me. The only thing that worries me is what you are going to do to yourself, Jack." She whispered, closing her eyes and kissing him there.
When she finished, she opened her eyes and looked at him. There was a soft smile on Jack's lips. Miranda stood up and nudged Jack's side with her foot.
He opened his eyes slowly and stared at her.
"I knew it." He smiled.
Diego tapped Miranda's arm.
"What he be talkin' about?"
Miranda ignored him and stared at Jack lying on the deck. There was a moment of silence as finally she glanced to Diego.
"Diego. We set sail. Find that island Jack talked about so long ago. He may want to pay a visit."
Jack sat up as Diego saluted his captain quickly, turning and shouting orders to the crowd gathered around him. Miranda stepped up to the ship's wheel ready to take control, and Jack heaved himself up off the deck and waddled to her side.
"So!" He said, rubbing his hands with glee, "We be goin' to Isla De Muerta!?"
Miranda smiled and chuckled.
"No, a sandbar much, much smaller than that dreaded place, but it is close by, I'll give you that."
Jack placed his finger to his lips in thought.
"Closer? Closer? How many times have I visited this island?"
"Oh, I don't know. But I'll tell you this as a clue. I'm still sticking to my code, as a promise I made five years ago."
"Good for you, luv!" Jack smiled, leaning against the railing and taking a deep breath.