2nd Last Chapter: The Curse (Part 1)
The one way into the island wasn't hard to miss. It was a huge, black opening, littered with old ships, and wrecks, each with an air of disappointment about it. Jack was excited, but he was hiding a deeper fear. Only he knew how to break the curse, and only he had the power to command the ship be turned around. But it was too late for that now - the crew were ready, and they were strong, and there was a chance there was another way to break the curse.
It had been a good thing that neither the cabin boy, nor Ducky, were able to read, as the cabin boy's papers told the true curse, and how it was broken, and both had had the papers in their possession at some point. Jack stood at the bow, leaving Will to steer the ship into the huge cavernous opening, papers in hand. He crumpled them with his left hand, letting his right hand rest on the railing of the ship. He waited until the Pearl was directly inside the island before he let them fall into the water below. "Now no one will know how to break the curse," he said quietly.
The tunnelway wasn't very long, and it turned sharply to reveal a small, natural anchorage. Anchored, where it had been for many years, was the Spanish Rose.
There, on the deck of the ship, at the bow, stood Captain Grey. His right hand was poised as though it were about to stab himself in the neck, only it was missing the knife, and a finger.
Jack was the only one to step on board the Spanish Rose, and it creaked uninvitingly. The gold Captain Grey looked incomplete, without the knife, but there was something else missing. His left hand hung at his side, fist grasping something non-existent. "No," was the first thing Jack could bring himself to say, and even it was in a whisper. "No! What did ye do wi' it, ye old dog!" he said louder. He turned and faced the crew, still standing on the deck of the Pearl, "Take her to land! Find the Hand o' Midas - but don't ye touch it!"
The crew didn't hesitate - they moved the Pearl closer to land, and Will was the first off. He watched as Jack walked over to the gold pirate captain, and paid homage, before placing the knife in it's old position in the captain's right hand. He stayed in silence for a minute, before taking a nearby rope, and swinging off to land near Will.
Neither captain said anything, but each knowing what the other was thinking, they took a different direction each, and followed where the crew was already heading. Jamie and Will Jr were the last to leave the Pearl, as they were trying to convince Isabelle and Louisa to stay on board. "'Tis too dangerous for ye - when those dead men come back t' life, they willnae jus' go for the man who killed 'em!" Jamie was trying to reason with Louisa, who simply looked him in the eye, and retorted, "Aye? An' what o' the men *I've* killed, Jamie? I ain't a stranger t' killin' someone, an' I'd much rather be somewhere that there's a chnce for me t' lose 'em in the crowd, savvy?"
Jamie couldn't think of a reply, and could only watch as the two girls pushed past, take a rope each, and swing to the ground. Jamie and Will didn't take any time to follow, and as soon as they saw the girls split up, they followed one each.
Louisa headed towards the area where the majority of the crew was searching. Jamie followed, but rather half-heartedly. He'd much rather have put her in a place she could dodge, and go unnoticed, than to put her somewhere she'd only prove an easy target to attack.
Isabelle headed away from the crew, towards where a large wooden cross rose above a ridge. On the other side of the ridge there was something made Isabelle stop in shock. Will, who was following her, stopped as well, but for some reason it didn't shock him as much as it shocked her. Below them, in a ditch, were piles of skeletons. They weren't the skeletons that could come to life and try to kill them all - they were the remains of people who'd tried to gain the Hand for themselves, and failed.
Isabelle turned, and saw Will behind her. The pull of the Triangle was stronger than ever, and she knew the more time that passed, the less she'd be able to resist it. She turned back towards the skeletons, fighting the sick feeling that was steadily moving through her system. Armadaeus wrote about this - a valley of the dead - and only by crossing it could she find her way to the cavern that would lead her back to the Triangle.
She pulled the papers from her belt, trying to make heads or tails of the writing. It seemed to be fading, and she tried to smooth it out in her hands to be able to read it better. Will walked up to her, and laid a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, almost overbalancing into the ditch. "What do ye think you're doin'? You'll be safer back at the Pearl, Isabelle!" She stood her ground, "I don't want to be 'safe', Will! What I want... what I want is to go home, back to the Triangle where I belong, savvy?"
Will grabbed both of her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Isabelle, you belong *here*, on the Isle, with the Pearl, with the Dauntless... with me." Isabelle dropped her gaze, and spoke softly, "I'm sorry, Will, but I belong in the Triangle..." She swung her arms up, and out, shaking herself from his grip, and pushing him over the edge of the ditch. He landed heavily, sending dried bones scattering. Isabelle watched him for a minute, fighting to get out of the tangle of rotting clothing, before running along the top of the ridge, in the direction marked on the papers. The Triangle called to her, pulled her back. She was close to home.
*****
Jack was the one to find the Hand. It was placed so it was the hand of a statue, on a small area of upraised ground. At the base was the skeleton of a monkey, and Jack laughed, "So that's how it got back to here." Before he touched the hand, though, he caught the crew's attention, and yelled for them to make ready. For a minute, Jack didn't touch it, and the crew stood on the defensive, waiting for whatever it was that was going to happen. Jack picked up the Hand by the wooden base. Nothing happened. Some of the men went as far to lower their weapons.
Jack made as though to say something at the same time the caverns exploded with activity. The ditches filled with the bones of the men who'd tried and failed erupted into walls of fire, sending dried bones flying. From these fiery pits walked the decaying skeletons, armed to the teeth.
Jack and Will didn't move. They looked at one another, faces blank, while the crew ran into the approaching skeletons, swords drawn. At the same time, Jack and Will grinned, and jumped from the raised area, joining the crew in the fight.
Moments before the first swords clashed, Jack wondered if he'd made a mistake by not telling anyone the conditions of the only known way to break the curse. There *has* to be another way, he though, blocking a particularly violent blow from a skeleton that seemed somewhat familiar. Blinking twice, he realised the skeleton was, in fact, Barbossa. "Thought ye'd be rid o' me forever, did ye Jack?" Barbossa asked, continuing his frenzied attack. Jack couldn't help but back away, unable to take the offensive. "Aye, in actual fact, I did!" he replied, turning on the spot in time to decapitate a skeleton intent of taking a piece out of Jamie, and returning to his own duel, now on the offensive.
*****
Meanwhile, Will Jr had only just managed to pull himself out of the ditch of bones, when it exploded into fire behind him. He covered his head and headed towards the top of the ridge and the direction Isabelle had taken. Hearing a strange clicking sound behind him, he turned in time to duck as a skeleton took a swing at his head. Pulling out his sword, he swung it with all the force he could muster, catching the skeleton's spine.
The sword sliced cleanly through the bone, so there were two parts lying on the ground. More of the clicking noises came from the direction of the fire, and ten to fifteen more skeletons appeared, at the same time the first one pulled itself back together. Will waited until it was standing before kicking it into the hoards that were steadily approaching, knocking them back down into the ditch, before he ran back up to the top and along the ridge towards Isabelle.
The one way into the island wasn't hard to miss. It was a huge, black opening, littered with old ships, and wrecks, each with an air of disappointment about it. Jack was excited, but he was hiding a deeper fear. Only he knew how to break the curse, and only he had the power to command the ship be turned around. But it was too late for that now - the crew were ready, and they were strong, and there was a chance there was another way to break the curse.
It had been a good thing that neither the cabin boy, nor Ducky, were able to read, as the cabin boy's papers told the true curse, and how it was broken, and both had had the papers in their possession at some point. Jack stood at the bow, leaving Will to steer the ship into the huge cavernous opening, papers in hand. He crumpled them with his left hand, letting his right hand rest on the railing of the ship. He waited until the Pearl was directly inside the island before he let them fall into the water below. "Now no one will know how to break the curse," he said quietly.
The tunnelway wasn't very long, and it turned sharply to reveal a small, natural anchorage. Anchored, where it had been for many years, was the Spanish Rose.
There, on the deck of the ship, at the bow, stood Captain Grey. His right hand was poised as though it were about to stab himself in the neck, only it was missing the knife, and a finger.
Jack was the only one to step on board the Spanish Rose, and it creaked uninvitingly. The gold Captain Grey looked incomplete, without the knife, but there was something else missing. His left hand hung at his side, fist grasping something non-existent. "No," was the first thing Jack could bring himself to say, and even it was in a whisper. "No! What did ye do wi' it, ye old dog!" he said louder. He turned and faced the crew, still standing on the deck of the Pearl, "Take her to land! Find the Hand o' Midas - but don't ye touch it!"
The crew didn't hesitate - they moved the Pearl closer to land, and Will was the first off. He watched as Jack walked over to the gold pirate captain, and paid homage, before placing the knife in it's old position in the captain's right hand. He stayed in silence for a minute, before taking a nearby rope, and swinging off to land near Will.
Neither captain said anything, but each knowing what the other was thinking, they took a different direction each, and followed where the crew was already heading. Jamie and Will Jr were the last to leave the Pearl, as they were trying to convince Isabelle and Louisa to stay on board. "'Tis too dangerous for ye - when those dead men come back t' life, they willnae jus' go for the man who killed 'em!" Jamie was trying to reason with Louisa, who simply looked him in the eye, and retorted, "Aye? An' what o' the men *I've* killed, Jamie? I ain't a stranger t' killin' someone, an' I'd much rather be somewhere that there's a chnce for me t' lose 'em in the crowd, savvy?"
Jamie couldn't think of a reply, and could only watch as the two girls pushed past, take a rope each, and swing to the ground. Jamie and Will didn't take any time to follow, and as soon as they saw the girls split up, they followed one each.
Louisa headed towards the area where the majority of the crew was searching. Jamie followed, but rather half-heartedly. He'd much rather have put her in a place she could dodge, and go unnoticed, than to put her somewhere she'd only prove an easy target to attack.
Isabelle headed away from the crew, towards where a large wooden cross rose above a ridge. On the other side of the ridge there was something made Isabelle stop in shock. Will, who was following her, stopped as well, but for some reason it didn't shock him as much as it shocked her. Below them, in a ditch, were piles of skeletons. They weren't the skeletons that could come to life and try to kill them all - they were the remains of people who'd tried to gain the Hand for themselves, and failed.
Isabelle turned, and saw Will behind her. The pull of the Triangle was stronger than ever, and she knew the more time that passed, the less she'd be able to resist it. She turned back towards the skeletons, fighting the sick feeling that was steadily moving through her system. Armadaeus wrote about this - a valley of the dead - and only by crossing it could she find her way to the cavern that would lead her back to the Triangle.
She pulled the papers from her belt, trying to make heads or tails of the writing. It seemed to be fading, and she tried to smooth it out in her hands to be able to read it better. Will walked up to her, and laid a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, almost overbalancing into the ditch. "What do ye think you're doin'? You'll be safer back at the Pearl, Isabelle!" She stood her ground, "I don't want to be 'safe', Will! What I want... what I want is to go home, back to the Triangle where I belong, savvy?"
Will grabbed both of her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Isabelle, you belong *here*, on the Isle, with the Pearl, with the Dauntless... with me." Isabelle dropped her gaze, and spoke softly, "I'm sorry, Will, but I belong in the Triangle..." She swung her arms up, and out, shaking herself from his grip, and pushing him over the edge of the ditch. He landed heavily, sending dried bones scattering. Isabelle watched him for a minute, fighting to get out of the tangle of rotting clothing, before running along the top of the ridge, in the direction marked on the papers. The Triangle called to her, pulled her back. She was close to home.
*****
Jack was the one to find the Hand. It was placed so it was the hand of a statue, on a small area of upraised ground. At the base was the skeleton of a monkey, and Jack laughed, "So that's how it got back to here." Before he touched the hand, though, he caught the crew's attention, and yelled for them to make ready. For a minute, Jack didn't touch it, and the crew stood on the defensive, waiting for whatever it was that was going to happen. Jack picked up the Hand by the wooden base. Nothing happened. Some of the men went as far to lower their weapons.
Jack made as though to say something at the same time the caverns exploded with activity. The ditches filled with the bones of the men who'd tried and failed erupted into walls of fire, sending dried bones flying. From these fiery pits walked the decaying skeletons, armed to the teeth.
Jack and Will didn't move. They looked at one another, faces blank, while the crew ran into the approaching skeletons, swords drawn. At the same time, Jack and Will grinned, and jumped from the raised area, joining the crew in the fight.
Moments before the first swords clashed, Jack wondered if he'd made a mistake by not telling anyone the conditions of the only known way to break the curse. There *has* to be another way, he though, blocking a particularly violent blow from a skeleton that seemed somewhat familiar. Blinking twice, he realised the skeleton was, in fact, Barbossa. "Thought ye'd be rid o' me forever, did ye Jack?" Barbossa asked, continuing his frenzied attack. Jack couldn't help but back away, unable to take the offensive. "Aye, in actual fact, I did!" he replied, turning on the spot in time to decapitate a skeleton intent of taking a piece out of Jamie, and returning to his own duel, now on the offensive.
*****
Meanwhile, Will Jr had only just managed to pull himself out of the ditch of bones, when it exploded into fire behind him. He covered his head and headed towards the top of the ridge and the direction Isabelle had taken. Hearing a strange clicking sound behind him, he turned in time to duck as a skeleton took a swing at his head. Pulling out his sword, he swung it with all the force he could muster, catching the skeleton's spine.
The sword sliced cleanly through the bone, so there were two parts lying on the ground. More of the clicking noises came from the direction of the fire, and ten to fifteen more skeletons appeared, at the same time the first one pulled itself back together. Will waited until it was standing before kicking it into the hoards that were steadily approaching, knocking them back down into the ditch, before he ran back up to the top and along the ridge towards Isabelle.
