Broken Wings
A Pirates of the Caribbean story by Merrie
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from POTC, but I'd certainly let Captain Jack own me. *drool*
Summary: Captain Jack has lost his ship, his crew, and nearly his life to a horrible new curse. Will this Sparrow be able soar again after his wings have been broken?
Characters: Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Commodore Norrington, and all the wonderful cast of POTC.
Pairings: Will/Elizabeth, Jack/Ana
Author's Note: Hello, my pretties. Thanks sooo much for the reviews!!! You made my day!!! Unfortunately for some, this is another angstful chapter and you're probably not gonna be happy with it either. Remember my line about Jack having to go through hell before he can get to heaven? Welcome to hell.
Rating: This story is rated PG-13 for violence and language.
Chapter 2: Isolation and Insanity
Dead. They were all dead. Everyone, every single one of them. They were dead and they would not be coming back. Ana wasn't coming back. His crew wasn't coming back. Why was he still alive? Shouldn't he be dead too? The captain's supposed to go down with the ship, wasn't that the way it was supposed to work? Although, his ship was most likely still safely afloat in the harbor. It was most likely and not certainly because he couldn't convince any of his crew to stay aboard and guard her while the rest went after the gold. Now of course, all of his crew was dead and he was the only one left to sail the ship.
Jack just sat at the side of Anamaria's slowly cooling body, making no move to leave the cave and head back out to the ship. For all he knew, the earthquake had caused a cave-in and the entrance was blocked. Perhaps he would die with his crew after all.
His face was a portrait of grief. If he had cared to see himself in a mirror just then, he might have been shocked at the person staring back at him. His face was covered in a mixture of blood, dust and dark black lines from where the kohl outlining his eyes had smeared as he had cried. 'I cried. I cried for Ana. I cried for my crew. I never cry. Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow never cries. I cried, oh God I cried. Ana...I cried for you, I'm sorry. You told me not to, I'm sorry. But I cried.' Part of Jack was aware that he was rambling and more than a little worried about that, but the rest of him simply didn't care any more. He was the only one left alive in a roomful of corpses. He was the only one left to mourn, and he had. Reputation be damned. Finally standing up woodenly, he began to slowly move as many rocks off of Anamaria's body as he possibly could. He wouldn't leave her like this. He wouldn't leave any of them here like this. His crew hadn't deserved their deaths, and the most definitely did not deserve to be left in this place to rot. No, he would make sure each and every one of them got a proper burial, even if it killed him in the process.
A rush of nausea at the very thought of having to move the bodies out to the Pearl overtook him and he wretched again on the rocks at his feet. Wiping his mouth with the back of a dirty hand, he turned back to Anamaria's body and continued his work of removing the rocks. Once he had moved enough to pull her body out, he did, not wanting to see her mangled body out from underneath the rubble that had killed her, but unable to turn away. Knowing that the image of her frail body bloodied and broken would haunt him for the rest of his days, he gently picked her up and held her close to his chest. "There now, love. I'll see you home, I promise. And Captain Jack Sparrow always keeps his word."
Her body was surprisingly light in his arms, and he made it back to where he remembered the entrance was with little trouble. He hummed a sullen dirge aloud to push away the silence of the deathly quiet cavern. His humming stopped abruptly however and he nearly dropped Ana in utter shock and dismay at the sight of a wall of fallen rock blocking the entrance in front of him.
***
Commodore Norrington enjoyed life in Port Royal. He was relatively happy and didn't have much to complain about. Many a lesser man might have been bitter about loosing what was to be their fiancé to the local blacksmith, but Norrington knew that Elizabeth and Will loved each other, he had seen it in their eyes, and he knew that young Turner would take care of her. If he didn't..well, Will had better just take care of her.
He thought back to the events that had passed in the last few months. He had kept his word and given Sparrow and his crew a day's head start before taking after them again. He hadn't been fortunate enough to catch him yet, and secretly, Norrington no longer knew what to do with Sparrow once he had caught him anymore.
There was no doubt of catching him of course; it was simply that some part of Norrington didn't believe in hanging him any longer. Perhaps he had been too quick to judge in the past. Perhaps Sparrow was right that not a single action was enough to condemn a man. Didn't the church even say to forgive and forget? Now, he hadn't always been the best of Catholics, but he continued to believe, or at least he thought he continued to believe in the church's principles of right and wrong. He lived and would die by his moral code of honor, no matter what the consequences. Death before dishonor, and all that rubbish. He knew there were many who would not agree with his choices, but that didn't matter. He kept his word when he gave it, and always would. Many had criticized him for letting Sparrow out of his grasp when he was surely caught, but the people who mattered to him, Elizabeth and even young Turner, understood his reasons and respected him for them. So the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow still sailed the seas. Even though Norrington didn't know what he would do with him once he caught him, he knew that the pirate's time was ending. The British Royal Navy had been hanging more pirates than ever and Norrington knew that sooner or later there simply wouldn't be any pirates left to catch. A part of Norrington rebelled at that notion, assuring him that there would always be someone to go after, always someone to give his life and duty meaning as Sparrow inevitably had.
Norrington chuckled to himself at what the pirate would think if he ever found out he had given a naval commodore a new outlook on life. 'He most likely wouldn't act surprised. That man would take credit for making the sun rise in the morning if he thought he could get away with it.' At that thought, the Commodore laughed aloud and went on with his day.
***
Will couldn't help but smile as he listened to his fiancé sing. She had a lovely voice, but didn't like to do it in front of others, so it was a rare treat for him to be able to catch her at it when she thought no one was around to hear her. Will smiled even further as he caught the words of her song. "Yo, ho, ho, a pirate's life for me." He had laughed aloud to hear that she had taught that song to Jack and that he promised he would teach it to his crew and sing it all the time. There was something indescribably hilarious in the image of a ship full of hardened pirates bursting into song at any spare moment. Unfortunately, the thought brought a chuckle from him, and Elizabeth turned around and saw him standing there, the song falling from her lips.
"William Turner! How dare you just stand around like that and not even let me know you're here! You almost scared the life out of me!" Elizabeth yelled at him, slightly angry that she had been surprised so easily.
"I'm sorry, my love, but I just wanted to hear you sing. You have a lovely voice. I wish you would sing for me more often. Even if it is that song."
Elizabeth blushed prettily at being caught, but smiled at him. "But it's such a wonderful song, Will. Everyone thinks so, even Jack, and he's a real pirate so his opinion should count for something."
"Oh I fully agree that it's a wonderful song. Just don't let your father catch you singing it, that's all. I don't think he's quite comfortable with the notion of pirates in everyday life, just yet."
Elizabeth laughed aloud at that. "Of course you're right, Will. He wouldn't take too kindly to my choice of song at all. But he isn't here now so I shall do what I like. And I like that song."
"I know you do. By all means, continue singing it. I love to hear you sing. I always have; ever since that day I heard the most beautiful voice in the world quietly singing that song out to sea before you found and rescued me."
"I had no idea you had heard me." Elizabeth said, not really surprised that he was able to remember that day as well as he did. She remembered it quite accurately as well. She remembered the handsome young boy who she was assured was a pirate look up to her as if she were the only being all the world.
"Of course I did. I thought I was imagining things or had died and gone to heaven at first, because surely only an angel could sound as sweet." Will said, kissing her gently on the lips.
After a long moment, Elizabeth pulled away from her fiancé and looked in directly in the eyes. "You, William Turner, are an incurable romantic, and I love you for it." Elizabeth said with a laugh.
"What can I say?" Will said with a shrug. "You bring out the best in me. I could imagine no other woman as my wife. I love you, Miss Elizabeth Swann."
"And I you, Mr. William Turner." Anything else she might have said was lost as William pulled her close for another breathtaking kiss.
***
Jack sat in front of the blocked entryway, the only entryway he knew of, gently rocking Anamaria's body on his lap. "There now, love. It'll be alright. Captain Jack'll figure a way out of this one. Isn't that right, mates?" He shouted over his shoulder to the bodies of his dead crew. There was no answer, but Jack merely nodded and went on. "See, they've still got faith in me. They may be dead, but at least someone still believes in me. You know what, stay here Ana. I think I'm going to go check on them. See how they're doing." He gently laid Anamaria's body down at his feet and stood. The moment he became upright however, the room tilted alarmingly to the left and he fell back to his knees. Nausea shot though him again, and he would have thrown up on the rocks beneath him had there been anything left in his stomach to come.
"Bloody hell, maybe I won't go check on the crew after all, love. It seems ol' Jack's head isn't quite set on right. He cautiously raised a slightly trembling hand to gently probe the back of his head, and winced as his fingers came in contact with wherever the blood had been coming from earlier. He winced as he felt numerous blood-matted and stiffened clumps of his hair crackle underneath his fingertips.
He had kept his word to Ana and left his scarf off, and would continue to do so for the rest of his days, but a part of him knew that if he had put it back on it might go to some use at stopping or at least slowing the bleeding. He had left the bloodied scrap of cloth wrapped gently around one of Anamaria's tiny hands, the ends lying unmoving on her still form. He had put it there, and there it would remain. He would bleed to death before breaking his word and re-wrapping his hair. Wouldn't he? A part of him wasn't so sure. A part of him was worried at all the blood emanating from whatever wound he had acquired in the last few god-awful hours. That part of him was screaming at the rest of him to do something, anything to stop the bleeding and to get out of this tomb, for that was what it was now, a tomb, at once!
"No, we mustn't, we cannot leave without them. Without all of them. We're not leaving them here to rot, and that's final." Jack had always seemingly teetered on the brink of insanity, and he knew it. No one could have remained completely sane had they seen the horrors he had, had they experienced the horrors he had, and he now felt his balance on that edge was faltering. "Talking to yourself and your *dead* crew isn't helping matters either, mate." But of course there wasn't anyone else to talk to. He was in a room filled with people, yet he more alone than he ever had been on that godforsaken island. He hadn't told Elizabeth all the details of his first little adventure on the island, nor would he if she asked, but before he had discovered the rum runners cache of supplies and felt the assurance that they would return for it and rescue him in the process, he had almost considered using the pistol and single bullet Barbossa had given him before forcing him off the plank. Almost. 'You've got a room full of guns this time, Jack. Take your pick.' A voice whispered. Jack shut his eyes and mind at it, shaking his head forcefully. The movement sent a wave of painful fire through his skull, but he paid it no mind. Now was not the time to go insane. "Just get out, get Ana and the crew out, and you can freak out and do whatever you like, mate." Jack said aloud to himself.
Climbing slowly to his feet, Jack waited until the inevitable nausea and weakness from what was most likely blood loss passed, and started walking toward the main room of the cavern. Stepping cautiously to avoid the numerous bodies of his friends and crew, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the opposite side of the cave. 'There had to be another way of here, no god could possibly be that cruel.' He reassured himself. 'Wasn't your entire crew killed at once, Jack? Wouldn't you consider that a bit cruel?' Jack wanted to push this voice away, but he found he couldn't. Oh God, were the deaths of his crew retribution for trying to take the treasure? Was this the curse that Ana had worried about before she died?
"Why me?" Jack shouted. "Why did I survive? Why wasn't I killed with my crew? It was my idea to come here. It was my idea to take the gold, damn it, why didn't you take me?" If whatever being had caused the curse, for that was surely what this must be, was listening it gave no answer to his cries.
Bereft, Jack slowly stood once more, refusing to give into the nausea that was threatening to cripple him, and made his way through the cavern. Having finally reached the opposite wall after what seemed like hours, Jack made his way along its length, looking for another way to get out of the godforsaken place. 'With the crew and Ana, mustn't forget about them,' a voice sternly reminded him. At one time, he might have been worried at all the voices he had been hearing clear as day in the last hour. At one time, his crew and Ana were alive and well there was no need for any of this. 'That time is past. So what if you're hearing voices, Jack? It's better than the silence.'
Jack had never liked silence. He had never liked being alone and isolated either, but Barbossa hadn't bothered to ask him before forcing him on the bloody island. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he seemed to talk so much. People were always telling him he talked too much. As long as he kept talking, he wouldn't have to deal with the silence. Of course, talking too much didn't do any good if there was no one around to answer. As these thoughts went through his mind, he kept along the wall, searching fruitlessly for an exit that he had started to dread he would not find.
'Oh, why don't you just lie down and die already? Your entire crew is dead, your lover is dead, who knows? Maybe you're dead already and you just don't know it yet. Maybe this is hell.'
"Shut yer gob!" Jack yelled aloud to the voice. "I made a promise and I'm damn well gonna keep it! I don't know where ye've come from, ye bleedin' nuisance, but go away! I'm not going to listen to you anymore!"
'If that's the way you want it, fine. But you may wish you had listened to me in the future.' Before Jack could begin to ponder what this new and dreadful voice had meant by that, a violent shudder went through him, and he collapsed to the ground, dead to the world.
TBC
A/N: The End! ..just kidding! Don't kill me! This ending was rather mean of me, wasn't it? Hmm...oh well. I'm not going to lie to you, these are the best kind to write. *evil grin*. This chapter was really hard to write 'cause Jack kept going 'write about me! They want to know what happens to me!' and the rest of the cast was just like, 'well what about us? Are you going to write about us at all?' This was the result. Anyway, I'm starting to hear my own voices....hmm, they seem to be emanating from my POTC poster above my bed, how about that? So I think I'll stop yammering and get working on the next chapter. Until then, please send me your reviews!!!
A Pirates of the Caribbean story by Merrie
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from POTC, but I'd certainly let Captain Jack own me. *drool*
Summary: Captain Jack has lost his ship, his crew, and nearly his life to a horrible new curse. Will this Sparrow be able soar again after his wings have been broken?
Characters: Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Commodore Norrington, and all the wonderful cast of POTC.
Pairings: Will/Elizabeth, Jack/Ana
Author's Note: Hello, my pretties. Thanks sooo much for the reviews!!! You made my day!!! Unfortunately for some, this is another angstful chapter and you're probably not gonna be happy with it either. Remember my line about Jack having to go through hell before he can get to heaven? Welcome to hell.
Rating: This story is rated PG-13 for violence and language.
Chapter 2: Isolation and Insanity
Dead. They were all dead. Everyone, every single one of them. They were dead and they would not be coming back. Ana wasn't coming back. His crew wasn't coming back. Why was he still alive? Shouldn't he be dead too? The captain's supposed to go down with the ship, wasn't that the way it was supposed to work? Although, his ship was most likely still safely afloat in the harbor. It was most likely and not certainly because he couldn't convince any of his crew to stay aboard and guard her while the rest went after the gold. Now of course, all of his crew was dead and he was the only one left to sail the ship.
Jack just sat at the side of Anamaria's slowly cooling body, making no move to leave the cave and head back out to the ship. For all he knew, the earthquake had caused a cave-in and the entrance was blocked. Perhaps he would die with his crew after all.
His face was a portrait of grief. If he had cared to see himself in a mirror just then, he might have been shocked at the person staring back at him. His face was covered in a mixture of blood, dust and dark black lines from where the kohl outlining his eyes had smeared as he had cried. 'I cried. I cried for Ana. I cried for my crew. I never cry. Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow never cries. I cried, oh God I cried. Ana...I cried for you, I'm sorry. You told me not to, I'm sorry. But I cried.' Part of Jack was aware that he was rambling and more than a little worried about that, but the rest of him simply didn't care any more. He was the only one left alive in a roomful of corpses. He was the only one left to mourn, and he had. Reputation be damned. Finally standing up woodenly, he began to slowly move as many rocks off of Anamaria's body as he possibly could. He wouldn't leave her like this. He wouldn't leave any of them here like this. His crew hadn't deserved their deaths, and the most definitely did not deserve to be left in this place to rot. No, he would make sure each and every one of them got a proper burial, even if it killed him in the process.
A rush of nausea at the very thought of having to move the bodies out to the Pearl overtook him and he wretched again on the rocks at his feet. Wiping his mouth with the back of a dirty hand, he turned back to Anamaria's body and continued his work of removing the rocks. Once he had moved enough to pull her body out, he did, not wanting to see her mangled body out from underneath the rubble that had killed her, but unable to turn away. Knowing that the image of her frail body bloodied and broken would haunt him for the rest of his days, he gently picked her up and held her close to his chest. "There now, love. I'll see you home, I promise. And Captain Jack Sparrow always keeps his word."
Her body was surprisingly light in his arms, and he made it back to where he remembered the entrance was with little trouble. He hummed a sullen dirge aloud to push away the silence of the deathly quiet cavern. His humming stopped abruptly however and he nearly dropped Ana in utter shock and dismay at the sight of a wall of fallen rock blocking the entrance in front of him.
***
Commodore Norrington enjoyed life in Port Royal. He was relatively happy and didn't have much to complain about. Many a lesser man might have been bitter about loosing what was to be their fiancé to the local blacksmith, but Norrington knew that Elizabeth and Will loved each other, he had seen it in their eyes, and he knew that young Turner would take care of her. If he didn't..well, Will had better just take care of her.
He thought back to the events that had passed in the last few months. He had kept his word and given Sparrow and his crew a day's head start before taking after them again. He hadn't been fortunate enough to catch him yet, and secretly, Norrington no longer knew what to do with Sparrow once he had caught him anymore.
There was no doubt of catching him of course; it was simply that some part of Norrington didn't believe in hanging him any longer. Perhaps he had been too quick to judge in the past. Perhaps Sparrow was right that not a single action was enough to condemn a man. Didn't the church even say to forgive and forget? Now, he hadn't always been the best of Catholics, but he continued to believe, or at least he thought he continued to believe in the church's principles of right and wrong. He lived and would die by his moral code of honor, no matter what the consequences. Death before dishonor, and all that rubbish. He knew there were many who would not agree with his choices, but that didn't matter. He kept his word when he gave it, and always would. Many had criticized him for letting Sparrow out of his grasp when he was surely caught, but the people who mattered to him, Elizabeth and even young Turner, understood his reasons and respected him for them. So the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow still sailed the seas. Even though Norrington didn't know what he would do with him once he caught him, he knew that the pirate's time was ending. The British Royal Navy had been hanging more pirates than ever and Norrington knew that sooner or later there simply wouldn't be any pirates left to catch. A part of Norrington rebelled at that notion, assuring him that there would always be someone to go after, always someone to give his life and duty meaning as Sparrow inevitably had.
Norrington chuckled to himself at what the pirate would think if he ever found out he had given a naval commodore a new outlook on life. 'He most likely wouldn't act surprised. That man would take credit for making the sun rise in the morning if he thought he could get away with it.' At that thought, the Commodore laughed aloud and went on with his day.
***
Will couldn't help but smile as he listened to his fiancé sing. She had a lovely voice, but didn't like to do it in front of others, so it was a rare treat for him to be able to catch her at it when she thought no one was around to hear her. Will smiled even further as he caught the words of her song. "Yo, ho, ho, a pirate's life for me." He had laughed aloud to hear that she had taught that song to Jack and that he promised he would teach it to his crew and sing it all the time. There was something indescribably hilarious in the image of a ship full of hardened pirates bursting into song at any spare moment. Unfortunately, the thought brought a chuckle from him, and Elizabeth turned around and saw him standing there, the song falling from her lips.
"William Turner! How dare you just stand around like that and not even let me know you're here! You almost scared the life out of me!" Elizabeth yelled at him, slightly angry that she had been surprised so easily.
"I'm sorry, my love, but I just wanted to hear you sing. You have a lovely voice. I wish you would sing for me more often. Even if it is that song."
Elizabeth blushed prettily at being caught, but smiled at him. "But it's such a wonderful song, Will. Everyone thinks so, even Jack, and he's a real pirate so his opinion should count for something."
"Oh I fully agree that it's a wonderful song. Just don't let your father catch you singing it, that's all. I don't think he's quite comfortable with the notion of pirates in everyday life, just yet."
Elizabeth laughed aloud at that. "Of course you're right, Will. He wouldn't take too kindly to my choice of song at all. But he isn't here now so I shall do what I like. And I like that song."
"I know you do. By all means, continue singing it. I love to hear you sing. I always have; ever since that day I heard the most beautiful voice in the world quietly singing that song out to sea before you found and rescued me."
"I had no idea you had heard me." Elizabeth said, not really surprised that he was able to remember that day as well as he did. She remembered it quite accurately as well. She remembered the handsome young boy who she was assured was a pirate look up to her as if she were the only being all the world.
"Of course I did. I thought I was imagining things or had died and gone to heaven at first, because surely only an angel could sound as sweet." Will said, kissing her gently on the lips.
After a long moment, Elizabeth pulled away from her fiancé and looked in directly in the eyes. "You, William Turner, are an incurable romantic, and I love you for it." Elizabeth said with a laugh.
"What can I say?" Will said with a shrug. "You bring out the best in me. I could imagine no other woman as my wife. I love you, Miss Elizabeth Swann."
"And I you, Mr. William Turner." Anything else she might have said was lost as William pulled her close for another breathtaking kiss.
***
Jack sat in front of the blocked entryway, the only entryway he knew of, gently rocking Anamaria's body on his lap. "There now, love. It'll be alright. Captain Jack'll figure a way out of this one. Isn't that right, mates?" He shouted over his shoulder to the bodies of his dead crew. There was no answer, but Jack merely nodded and went on. "See, they've still got faith in me. They may be dead, but at least someone still believes in me. You know what, stay here Ana. I think I'm going to go check on them. See how they're doing." He gently laid Anamaria's body down at his feet and stood. The moment he became upright however, the room tilted alarmingly to the left and he fell back to his knees. Nausea shot though him again, and he would have thrown up on the rocks beneath him had there been anything left in his stomach to come.
"Bloody hell, maybe I won't go check on the crew after all, love. It seems ol' Jack's head isn't quite set on right. He cautiously raised a slightly trembling hand to gently probe the back of his head, and winced as his fingers came in contact with wherever the blood had been coming from earlier. He winced as he felt numerous blood-matted and stiffened clumps of his hair crackle underneath his fingertips.
He had kept his word to Ana and left his scarf off, and would continue to do so for the rest of his days, but a part of him knew that if he had put it back on it might go to some use at stopping or at least slowing the bleeding. He had left the bloodied scrap of cloth wrapped gently around one of Anamaria's tiny hands, the ends lying unmoving on her still form. He had put it there, and there it would remain. He would bleed to death before breaking his word and re-wrapping his hair. Wouldn't he? A part of him wasn't so sure. A part of him was worried at all the blood emanating from whatever wound he had acquired in the last few god-awful hours. That part of him was screaming at the rest of him to do something, anything to stop the bleeding and to get out of this tomb, for that was what it was now, a tomb, at once!
"No, we mustn't, we cannot leave without them. Without all of them. We're not leaving them here to rot, and that's final." Jack had always seemingly teetered on the brink of insanity, and he knew it. No one could have remained completely sane had they seen the horrors he had, had they experienced the horrors he had, and he now felt his balance on that edge was faltering. "Talking to yourself and your *dead* crew isn't helping matters either, mate." But of course there wasn't anyone else to talk to. He was in a room filled with people, yet he more alone than he ever had been on that godforsaken island. He hadn't told Elizabeth all the details of his first little adventure on the island, nor would he if she asked, but before he had discovered the rum runners cache of supplies and felt the assurance that they would return for it and rescue him in the process, he had almost considered using the pistol and single bullet Barbossa had given him before forcing him off the plank. Almost. 'You've got a room full of guns this time, Jack. Take your pick.' A voice whispered. Jack shut his eyes and mind at it, shaking his head forcefully. The movement sent a wave of painful fire through his skull, but he paid it no mind. Now was not the time to go insane. "Just get out, get Ana and the crew out, and you can freak out and do whatever you like, mate." Jack said aloud to himself.
Climbing slowly to his feet, Jack waited until the inevitable nausea and weakness from what was most likely blood loss passed, and started walking toward the main room of the cavern. Stepping cautiously to avoid the numerous bodies of his friends and crew, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the opposite side of the cave. 'There had to be another way of here, no god could possibly be that cruel.' He reassured himself. 'Wasn't your entire crew killed at once, Jack? Wouldn't you consider that a bit cruel?' Jack wanted to push this voice away, but he found he couldn't. Oh God, were the deaths of his crew retribution for trying to take the treasure? Was this the curse that Ana had worried about before she died?
"Why me?" Jack shouted. "Why did I survive? Why wasn't I killed with my crew? It was my idea to come here. It was my idea to take the gold, damn it, why didn't you take me?" If whatever being had caused the curse, for that was surely what this must be, was listening it gave no answer to his cries.
Bereft, Jack slowly stood once more, refusing to give into the nausea that was threatening to cripple him, and made his way through the cavern. Having finally reached the opposite wall after what seemed like hours, Jack made his way along its length, looking for another way to get out of the godforsaken place. 'With the crew and Ana, mustn't forget about them,' a voice sternly reminded him. At one time, he might have been worried at all the voices he had been hearing clear as day in the last hour. At one time, his crew and Ana were alive and well there was no need for any of this. 'That time is past. So what if you're hearing voices, Jack? It's better than the silence.'
Jack had never liked silence. He had never liked being alone and isolated either, but Barbossa hadn't bothered to ask him before forcing him on the bloody island. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he seemed to talk so much. People were always telling him he talked too much. As long as he kept talking, he wouldn't have to deal with the silence. Of course, talking too much didn't do any good if there was no one around to answer. As these thoughts went through his mind, he kept along the wall, searching fruitlessly for an exit that he had started to dread he would not find.
'Oh, why don't you just lie down and die already? Your entire crew is dead, your lover is dead, who knows? Maybe you're dead already and you just don't know it yet. Maybe this is hell.'
"Shut yer gob!" Jack yelled aloud to the voice. "I made a promise and I'm damn well gonna keep it! I don't know where ye've come from, ye bleedin' nuisance, but go away! I'm not going to listen to you anymore!"
'If that's the way you want it, fine. But you may wish you had listened to me in the future.' Before Jack could begin to ponder what this new and dreadful voice had meant by that, a violent shudder went through him, and he collapsed to the ground, dead to the world.
TBC
A/N: The End! ..just kidding! Don't kill me! This ending was rather mean of me, wasn't it? Hmm...oh well. I'm not going to lie to you, these are the best kind to write. *evil grin*. This chapter was really hard to write 'cause Jack kept going 'write about me! They want to know what happens to me!' and the rest of the cast was just like, 'well what about us? Are you going to write about us at all?' This was the result. Anyway, I'm starting to hear my own voices....hmm, they seem to be emanating from my POTC poster above my bed, how about that? So I think I'll stop yammering and get working on the next chapter. Until then, please send me your reviews!!!