Chapter Two:

The moonlight glowed eerily through the barred windows, effusively lighting up the dark prison. The hallway was still relatively dark, the torches blown out long ago by the death of a candlewick. The only lights were of glowing eyes and moonlight.

There were no rotting skeletons in sight. The curse was lifted after all, and they could feel again, taste again and even drink again. Yet the surprise of the skeletons and their sudden disappearance was still odd for some of the pirates locked away.

Ragetti gazed at his outstretched hand, turning it a few angles and peering up at it with a half closed eye. The lack of bones, rotting flesh and tattered clothing was awkward for the simple man to say the least.

The cold was unnatural for the Caribbean, yet the damp and unclean cells justified it to the very end. The lanky pirate turned upon his side and curled up, his knees to his chest, and buried his face betwixt his caps. Shivers racked his body and he felt goose bumps raise upon his skin.

A week ago he wouldn't have experienced this. Instead, he would be a bloody skeleton, rotting away, with no sense of taste or touch. He still would be starving, yet it wouldn't be a worry. Now that he had to eat, his hunger was, in a sense, real. A few tears escaped the corners of his left eye, and he bit his bottom lip to choke the sob about to escape back down. The wooden eye that filled his right socket absorbed the moisture, as it always had done.

After sniffing loudly, he hushed himself for a moment for fear of waking up another or making those who were still awake angry with him. Yet he failed to stifle the cough that tore up his throat and caused him to gasp between hacks. Wheezing a bit after his fit, he jolted and whirled around into a sitting position as a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Relax, mate, s'just me," Pintel quietly assured the pirate, who grinned slightly relieved, wiping the streaks of wetness on his left cheek with the back of hi jacket's sleeve.

Pintel shook his head in a way that Ragetti couldn't decipher as pity or frustration, and got up. He strode over and stood upon the ledge of the back-wall in the cell. His hands gripped the bars in the window tightly and he looked back at Ragetti.

"Look."

Curiously, Ragetti got up and strode behind the older pirate, perching upon his toes to see through the window at gaze at the town. He was lucky enough to be tall enough to see without aid.

"I don't see nothin'," Ragetti answered innocently.

"No, on the water, not the town, idiot."

"Oh…"

Ragetti strained his one eye to concentrate on the town of Port Royale. Lights from lanterns and candles were lit up and numerous buildings and estates. Some ships had candles on their decks lit up, and the moonlight stole away most of the left over darkness. Out in the harbour, a ship had been docked and was unloading.

The ship they came from was a Dutch Flute, and its sails were being furled. The distant shouts of the captain's voice was only distinguishable, as he seemed to be yelling orders to direct the cargo going on and off.

"They dropin' provisions t'er the fort?" Ragetti asked, wheezing slightly and backing up a few paces as he started coughing again. Pintel grunted in response that didn't specify a sure answer.

Both of them looked back at the sound of metal clinking upon metal. The mangy hound with keys usually in it's mouth was pushing something along the ground with his nose, and it was being continuously being shoved into the horizontal strip of metal bar on their cell.

Pintel blinked and shared a quizzical look with his comrade, who shrugged and approached the beast. The dog looked up and bared its teeth threateningly. It proceeded to pick whatever was on the ground up between its teeth. It was the set of keys to the cells.

Both pirates tensed visibly. Pintel hissed at Ragetti to grab them. The pirate looked back at the other and tilted his head to the side. Turning his gaze to the canine, Ragetti smiled and made a clicking sound with his teeth, holding his hand out as though there was something in it.

"Here boy, come on. There's a good doggy. Come on, see wot ol' Rags has…"

The dog tilted its own head and proceeded to wag its tail foolishly, trying to stick its head through the bars. After ten long minutes of coaxing and trying, the dog managed to get its skull between a square of bars.

And then it realized it was stuck. In a moment of panic, the dog dropped the keys from its grip and started to whimper, growl and moan in despair, trying desperately to pull its head back from where it was stuck.

Ragetti trotted forward, grabbed up the keys and jingled them playfully at Pintel, who growled muttered something offensive under his breath. The pirate merely grinned at his friend and inserted a key in the lock.

A few minutes later and a few more keys and turns, the dog was still stuck, but the lock was unlocked.

"Quietly now, Ragetti," Pintel cautioned, as the door was swung slowly open, creaking every inch of the way.

"What are you doing?!" a demand came from the cell across theirs, where a few pirates were awake. A pirate by the name of Twigg, who looked very stressed and almost sorrowed as though he had lost somebody dear to him, growled out at them, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"We're escapin', wot's it look like?" Ragetti said childishly, taking the keys out of the lock as he and Pintel slipped out of their cage. He closed the door absently with a slightly loud clang and winced, tucking his neck down a bit.

"Going to give me the keys so we can get out?" Twigg asked, almost carefully as though scared of the answer.

Pintel snorted, his eyes flickering dangerously as he gnashed his teeth together in a horrible sneer. "After all you did to me an' Rags?"

Pintel snickered under his breath as he grabbed Ragetti by the sleeve of his coat and tugged him towards the stairs where their freedom was awaiting them. Pintel passed by a rack on the wall. There were only two riffles, probably used by the guards in an emergency, and about five flintlock pistols, all conveniently loaded. The elder pirate grabbed the pistols, thrust three in his belt and tossed the last two back to his comrade. He gazed at the riffles, tempted to bring them along, but changed his mind and deciding they'd be to inconvenient to carry.

He disappeared from few for a moment u the staircase. A sharp cry was heard followed by a loud bellow of a gun going off. Silence took over for a moment and the loud clatter of a sword on stone echoed out. "Hustle up, Rag-head!"

Ragetti bit his bottom lip, and started to follow up the stairs, yet he paused. The keys were held limply in his hand and his fingers closed around them tightly enough so that his knuckles turned white. Like his last remnant of assured freedom was about to be thrown away, he brought keys to his chest and took a large breath.

Twigg was looking down when the keys landed noisily beside his leg. He stared at them for a moment before looking up at Ragetti, who had his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning his forehead against the cell bars, a slightly concerned look on his face.

"I forgive y'eh," he said quietly, and slowly turned around, stalking after Pintel.

~*~*~*~

edited the chapter to work out with the plot. Noticed a few mistakes. Anyways, Swimmign Above the Sharks is still going on, so if I don't update this for a while, go off and read that's tory. ; P

Thanks for the reviews.

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