Chapter 5
Authors Note: Thank you to everyone that reviewed! Dawnie-7- thank you SO much! I'm glad that you liked their debate, luckily it wasn't too hard to write it, but keeping the words in order and all… eesh. Lol. Kungfuchick- Jack dying? I don't know yet, I'm not sure. I want to stay spontaneous and all so I don't know if I'm going to let him rest in peace… yet. Lol AhiFlame- oh wow, all those reviews, I can't thank you enough. I'm so glad that you liked the stories though!
"Will? Who's-" Elizabeth stared at the red that was growing on Jack's white shirt. She got control of herself and went to help them into the house, standing in the middle of the lane wasn't the best idea. God forbid Norrington to choose this day as the one he'd stop by on routine check.
"What happened to him!" Will asked as lowered Jack onto one of the couches in the sitting room.
"Not the white one." Jack objected, things had changed from the last time they were here. The Turners had made quite a name for themselves, Jack grinned in irony, Will had been worried that he didn't have enough to offer Elizabeth. To the lace curtains on the windows and the carpeting on the floor they had made ends meet.
Will gave him an exasperated look, Jack was profusely bleeding and he was worried about the furniture! The man would never cease to amaze him. Anamaria pulled out a small dagger and passed it to him. Will stared at it a moment before he realized what he was supposed to do with it.
The blood-stained fabric shredded easily underneath the sharpened blade, Elizabeth refrained from watching not wanting to see the pain in Jack's eyes. At first Will wondered why the bullet hadn't just been removed, who knew how many times Captain Jack had been shot out. On further inspection he realized why, the bullet was lodged too close to the bone.
To make things even more complicated, underneath the lead was bone so trying to pry it out would be nearly impossible. The doctor was on one of the neighboring islands helping to deliver a baby, he wouldn't be back for a few days.
It would be too late for Jack by then, the wound was already swelling and if they waited any longer there would be no chance of retrieving it without infection. Being a blacksmith he didn't know too much about treating injuries aside from burns and sword-cuts, but he understood the severity of blood poisoning.
"Terribly sorry to barge in on you like this, mate." Jack said despite his suddenly paling face and darkening eyes. When he spoke little spurts of blood trailed around the bullet and down his chest.
"Don't talk, at least for now." Will cautioned, "Elizabeth? I need you to fetch the small knife and the toning blade."
Elizabeth nodded and ran to the smithy to get them. The toning blade was an extremely small scalpel that Will used to decorate the blades of his swords, and the small knife had a curved end, he was going to try and get the bullet out himself.
There was no need to boil water or sterilize the utensils, all of that was done already. Will took almost obsessive care over everything he used, only the best for his swords and daggers. At the rate people from Port Royale and other islands bought them they could tell too.
"You know what your doing?" Ana asked worriedly, she trusted Will sure, he had hands used to refining and shaping sword blades so he would be careful, but she still had concerns all the same.
"We'll see, won't we." The words were said off-handedly, yet she saw the uncertainty in his eyes and was reassured by it. Fear gave man extra abilities he wouldn't ordinarily have, operating on a loved one was one of the worst fears he'd have to face.
Elizabeth returned with the two instruments he'd requested and a few others as well. It was well thought out planning on her part, in his haste he had nearly forgotten about them. They would most certainly come in handy eventually, anything he could get would be appreciated.
"Do you have any rum?" Ana requested, the small flask she'd brought with her had only contained maybe three long gulps. She wouldn't let Will start cu-, operating, on him without some kind of anesthesia.
(A/N- I know that anesthesia wasn't available back then, but damn it can you imagine someone cutting into your chest with a sword-forging tool? I'm not that cruel now, or at least not at the moment)
"Rum?" Will repeated with a sideways glance at Elizabeth, "In the cabinet over there. Brand new bottle, never before been open." Ana rummaged through the cabinet, among paperwork and folders there was a large bottle of rum hidden all the way in the back. Apparently something other than sailing had been passed down to Will. Sure it wasn't open, that didn't really mean anything though.
"Drink, Jack. Drink until the world fades away." She uncorked the bottle and held it to his lips. Hopefully it would dull some of the pain, he would feel some of it though because he didn't have the sense to pass out quietly like most men. No, he had to hang on through it all to prove that he could.
He drank nearly a quarter of the bottle before refusing to drink anymore. He trusted Will with his life, if anyone else came at him with a sharpened blade in their hand…
"I can't promise you that this isn't going to hurt…" Will tried at humor before taking the toning knife and edging at the side of the bullet. He tried to ignore the way Jack drew in a ragged breath and took the rum bottle from Ana. If that small movement had hurt him he winced to think of what would happen next.
After five minutes Will had closed his mind off to everything except the task at hand. He learned to ignore Jack's involuntary flinching away from the blade, he didn't dare look at Anamaria to see what she was thinking. Elizabeth handed him what he needed when he asked for it and he limited himself to that.
The damn piece of lead wasn't moving, just when he thought he might be able to get it turned the end would slide back into place and leave him back at the beginning. He wouldn't give up hope, he had never given up on anything in his life and he wasn't about to start now. Knowing that it would hurt him all the less later Will dug viciously into the area above the bullet, turned the curved blade and with both hands used all of his strength to pry it out.
Sweat rolled down his face from the exertion, he took in shallow breath afraid to look down. If it wasn't out after all that, there was only one more thing to do. He'd have to go around it carving a hole into Jack's chest, it was a risk knowing that if he went to far he could puncture the heart. Blood would fill the heart cavity and Jack would slowly strangle to death. Not a pleasing outlook.
Tremendous relief, mind-numbing exultation filled the room, the bullet lay blankly over Jack's stomach. Will picked it up, it was longer than most especially if it had been fired from a pistol. The joy quickly outlasted itself when Will realized why. The end wasn't the same color instead of the dull gray almost black of the rest the tip was white. That only meant one thing.
"Those bloody bastards." Ana whispered, the East India Trading Company had found a new way to get rid of pirate threat in the Caribbean. Poison in their bullets, the end had had some kind of powder inside it and once removed the powder went into the victim's system. Traces of it were around the wound and the slight bit on Will's hand had blistered the skin a mottled red.
"I've heard of this powder." Will said quietly, "No one's survived from it."
Authors Note 2: The blacksmith tools in this chapter are completely made up. I tried to use logic and reasoning to think of what a blacksmith would have in his arson to help a wounded man. I hope you liked it so far! Out of the pan into the fire right? lol