Chapter 11: What the...?

The Isle was a bit of a surprise to Isabelle. From the sea, it looked like a flat piece of land, with a few clumps of big trees here and there so people couldn't see in, but it wasn't like that at all.

What she'd thought were big clumps of trees were in fact hills and caves, with trees on the top. Behind these hills was the village, and inside the caves were the stockpiles of each ship in the fleet. The name of each ship was marked at the entrance to each cave, and the entire place was rigged with traps and snares to stop strangers from entering the caves. Louisa knew every trap, and how to get around them - it was a matter of safety, and also because her father had shown her.

He and Will Jr. were usually the ones to build each snare, and tell the captain of the ship how to get through. It was then up to the captain to change the snare to suit himself, but most didn't bother to. Besides, none of the other's had the same metalworking skills as did Bootstrap.

Louisa stepped over the snare, showing Isabelle the way, and climbed through the opening into the last cave. The front of this cave had two markings on it - the first was a cannon, with a boot, the symbol for the Dauntless, and Bootstrap, and the second had the image of an oyster concealing a pearl, and a sword - the symbol decided upon for the Black Pearl, and Jack.

Isabelle paused, and pointed at the images. "Why is there a symbol for the Pearl here?" she asked, and Louisa looked out from inside the cave, "That's from when my father was your father's first mate. They had the Dauntless, but couldn't sail it straight away because the navy were still out looking for it, so they combined efforts, and decided to make a double holding. That was before you guys... disappeared. This is the biggest cave - it goes almost all over the island underground, and it leads into all the other caves, even if the opening is only the size of a window!"

Louisa ducked back inside the cave, and Isabelle followed, somewhat hesitantly - dark places had never appealed to her. It wasn't that she was afraid of the dark - she had never had a chance to be scared of it - she was afraid of what was in it. Life inside the triangle had taught her that the dark could hold all sorts of... interesting... things.

Inside the cave wasn't as dark as the opening suggested though. Partly due to the fact that along one wall of the cave, a row of torches were lit. Louisa stood near another opening, holding one of the torches. "My mother's down here. She always comes down when Da leaves - she says it makes him feel closer to her. I know the part where she goes, so we can stay away from there. She's usually upset, and I don't want to bother her...."

Nodding in agreement, Isabelle followed Louisa through the opening, bypassing the second opening where the torches continued to line the walls. Louisa explained as she walked, "There's only torches heading towards mother's area - Da put them in when mother confessed to coming down here - it was so she could see where to go." Isabelle didn't say anything, just followed her friend, trying not to be nervous of the dark, and what it concealed.

After walking for what felt like hours, they appeared to be trapped by a solid rock wall. Isabelle sighed in dismay, "Ye mean that we've come all this way an' we can't get through to what ye wanted to show me?" Louisa shook her head, laughing. "No, just hold on for a minute..." she felt over the wall, until she found what she was looking for. "Here it is... stand back," she said, and pulled down on the small catch. The wall rumbled, and finally swung open. Isabelle gasped - no one could have been prepared for what was inside.

*****

Jack never once said where he was sailing. As far as Will Jr. could tell, they were going back to the Isle, but he wasn't going to attempt to ask Jack for bearings again - he'd almost lost his head when he'd done that several hours beforehand. Leaning on the edge of the crow's nest, Will sighed, and looked down at the men scurrying over the deck. A small noise brought his attention to the fact that someone was climbing the rigging.

Several seconds later, Jamie appeared. Will shook his head and looked away. "C'mon Nine-cat! Ye cannae stay up 'ere forever!" Jamie swung himself over the edge and knelt down, leaning against the side. Will looked back at his friend, "Why not? Someone needs t' be up 'ere to watch out for ships, and land, don't they?" Jamie thought about it for a minute, and grinned, "Aye, that they do. But it doesnae say that it must be you, does it?"

Will shook his head in disbelief. "With me up 'ere, Da can't lose his head. And I can stay away from *your* father - he almost took my head *off*!" Jamie laughed, "Aye, well, when he was mutinied it was after he'd given up the bearings to Barbossa, his first mate. He's pretty jumpy when someone stands behind him an' says 'what's the bearings o' where we going?' An' wouldn't you be?"

Will nodded, "Aye, I guess I would be.... But, t' tell the truth, it's *my* Da who scares me." Jamie looked up, "Aye?" Will nodded, "Aye. I always knew he didn't hesitate t' kill a man, but he didn't even flinch when he pulled the trigger... he always used to, ye know. An' now he doesn't... he's a real pirate, an' I never noticed...."

Jamie laughed, "That's all yer worried about? My Da lost the flinch years afore he and your father met... don't worry - it jus' means they're startin' to enjoy their jobs. Nothin' too serious." Will smiled sarcastically. "Thanks, Jamie. That's real helpful." Jamie grinned, "Anytime, mate!"

Standing up again, Jamie swung back over the edge and began his descent back to the deck, Part way down, he looked up and yelled, "If yer plannin' t' stay up there forever, ye can find yer own food! It's time fer dinner!" Will laughed, and after contemplating staying where he was, decided to go down. It was getting dark, and the storm that was approaching was starting to bring big swells over the side of the ship.

Touching down on deck, he found he was alone, and the sun had disappeared completely. The sea seemed to have calmed momentarily, as no waves broke the deck. It was surprisingly very dark, and if he hadn't known the deck, he would have fallen overboard. Before he'd made it to the door, however, someone stepped out in front of him. "Ye cannae go that way, boy. There be trouble in this journey bein' planned, an' ye must take warning!"

Will didn't recognize the voice, and the first thing he thought of was that they had a stowaway, but the only place there'd been a chance for someone to board had been when they'd sunk the passenger ship, and no one had, because the first thing to happen was the ship be searched from top to bottom. The man walked towards him, and he stepped back, involuntarily. The man continued to walk towards him, and Will lost all pretences and walked back definitely.

Finally the man stopped. Will was at the very edge of the ship, and the man was no more than a few feet away. "Look, I don't know who the hell ye are, but get the hell off this ship!" The man didn't say anything, but Will could have sworn he smiled. "Ye will not take heed of my warning? Well, ye aren't the first to make that mistake. This journey will only end in disaster for ye, William Turner. An' fer all the crew onboard - ye must stop this voyage afore it all ends in disaster!"

Will found some of the courage that had disappeared when he'd first faced the man, "I can't stop this if I tried, and ye have no place tellin' me what I can and cannae do!" The man dropped his head. "I thought ye'd say that, Mr. Turner. An' I do pity ye, my boy."

Without warning, he stepped the last few feet forwards, and pushed Will overboard, into the water, which had seemed to return to it's stormy self. He sank under the water, where it was a little more peaceful, he suddenly realised that to get back to the surface of the water, he'd have to *swim*.

He started the swim to the surface, though he felt as though someone had hold of his feet and were trying to pull him back down. After what felt like an age, he broke the surface of the water, trying to take a breath to ease the pain in his chest. Almost at once he was swamped by a wave, and pushed back under. He closed his eyes, trying to clear the salt water from them, and he saw flashes of the man onboard behind his eyes. The voice still rang in his ears, and for the first time, he was actually afraid of the ocean.

Breaking the surface once again, he opened his eyes to see the Pearl close by. He barely had time to glance up, and see the crew standing at the edge, before he was pushed back under again.

The voice rang out again, it seemed to echo under the water, and Will covered his ears with his hands. "This journey will end in disaster for ye, William Turner!" He couldn't take it - he yelled. As loud and as unrestrained as what was possible underwater. It was then he realised that it wasn't such a good idea, being underwater and all, because of the lack of oxygen available.

Kicking for the surface, he found himself face to face with a thick piece of rope. Above the roar of the ocean, he could hear someone yelling, "Grab th' rope, Nine-cat!" Reaching for the rope, another wave sent him under, and it slipped from his grasp.

The man's voice echoed yet again, "It will end in disaster, William Turner, it will end in DEATH!" The last word rung through several times, almost as though shock waves were running through the whole of the ocean. He kicked for the surface, and managed to find the rope floating near his head. He grabbed it with both hands, twisting it around his wrists, not caring that the arrival of a sudden, strong wave could manage to break both his wrists.

The men onboard pulled their end of the rope, and Will rose several feet out of the water, only his legs were still submerged. Looking up, what he saw he guessed could only be a hallucination. The man, the same man from onboard the ship, was walking across the water, heading towards Will, still speaking. "Ye will end up dead, William Turner. No matter what ye do, unless ye stop and go back to where ye came from, ye will end up dead!"

Will couldn't help himself, he yelled, "Shut up! You're nothing! You're not real!" The man didn't say anything, just started to laugh. He was still laughing as the men onboard hauled him onto the deck, and dragged him down to the crew's quarters.

Jamie was the most shaken - he hadn't expected his friend to be washed overboard by a wave that could have been avoided so easily. And now that Will was back onboard, he was still slightly shaken, because of what he was saying. Will tried to get away from the men who held him down on the hammock. Jack and Will Sr. were the two holding him down, though they were saying nothing. Will Jr. continued to yell, "You can't do this! You're not real!"

Finally, he wore himself out, and fainted. Jack looked at his partner, and gave a half-laugh. "Ye know, ye do have remarkable similarities, Will."