Hi!
Ok, well I know this is long. Too long. So, the answer is longer chapters! Very sorry if it's starting to drag, but I keep getting ideas, and find it impossible to write short stories.
Anyhow, here we go.
Chapter Thirty – Going Wrong
Elizabeth sat in the cabin. She felt strangely alone for someone who was in the company of two other bodies. But they were just that: silent corpses.
Jack's breathing was almost inaudible. She knew not what to do with him, and prayed that some miracle might occur to help him.
As for the coiled figure, still in place under the desk...Elizabeth could not look that way without a shiver. Death lay thick upon the air, not in smell, but essence.
Will was surprised at how resourceful a gang of drunken pirates were. Although individually they weren't particularly bright, altogether their intelligence seemed to pool, and they acted as a mass of people. When the guard strolled down to grimace at them, a bony fist shot out of the cell he had his back to, rendering him senseless. It was the work of a moment to drag him to the bars, remove his keys, and stumble out into the gangway.
"Wa' we do naow then?"
A skinny, grizzled and evil looking man pushed to the front of the mob. In the confined space, pirates jostled and elbowed one another.
"Righ'! We storm 'em lads! There's a lot o' us, an' not sa many o' them, simple, eh?"
A loud, rowdy cheer cracked Will's eardrums as he was brought forward to the stairs in the ensuing stampede. He moved his feet and legs without thinking. Somehow, everyone else surged past him in the narrow stairwell, thirsting for blood and tattered Navy uniforms.
What had started as a good day, turned without much warning into a calamity. The deck, a well-ordered space filled with uniformed, and busy Navy Soldiers, was suddenly a hell of steel, fists, feet and confused men in red coats.
Gillette, pretty good with a sword, took his weapon straight to the ragged foe. They were unarmed, but a kick in the small of the back, then a punch to the head as he fell, made him rather useless in the defence of his ship.
Will would never quite know how they'd won. They just did, and that was all he could decipher from the chaos of the deck for a good few minutes. He himself was a swordsman, not good at dirty fighting, and therefore fair game for a lucky officer, as Will had no sword. The pirates simply engulfed the Navy, suffocating the men, who were used to fair duels of manly honour. Will doubted if half the pirates could even spell the word 'honour'.
"The ship be ours, gendle men!"
"To de Black Pearl!"
Once again, the stampede. This time, they leapt, swung and hurled themselves onto the waiting deck of the 'Pearl'. It was only then, that Will remembered Jack and Elizabeth. The girl, cowering helplessly over the unconscious form of Captain Sparrow, and the dead bodies of Commodore Norrington and Loua Raven, lain out like some macabre rugs on the floor.
In due course, the blacksmith swung across. The pirates scattered over the ship, yelling and waving stolen sabres and guns. Will hastened down to the brig. He found Mr Cotton, and his parrot. The man kicked the body of the Commodore unsurely. It didn't stir. The two men exchanged glances.
"Squawwk! Davy Jones's locker, awwwk!"
Will scanned the room, but it was devoid of anything resembling a feisty lady of noble birth, or a scatterbrained pirate captain. He ran up on deck, just in time to see a large pirate, wrench open the door to the Captain's quarters. A shrill shriek told him just where Elizabeth Swann was hiding.
"Ahh, 'ere be a pretty lass!"
Elizabeth was withdrawn from the room by her arm, wriggling fiercely. She saw Will, hovering at the back.
"Will! Stop them!"
Will stepped forward, and pulled Elizabeth from the larger man's grasp.
"She's a friend!"
He looked at her, turning his back on the pirates momentarily.
"Elizabeth, where's Jack?"
"In there. He needs a doctor, or something Will!"
Will turned abruptly back to his pirate comrades.
"Listen! Anybody here a doctor? Anyone?"
Murmurs drifted on the breeze. A youngish, worried looking pirate wandered forward.
"I bin ships doctor afore. Why?"
"Captain Sparrow's been stabbed in the shoulder, and..."
"Ah, nuff said. Stabs are easy enough."
"How can stabs be easy?"
The pirate snorted. He shook his head at Will.
"Huh, I'll worry when he gets really 'urt."
The man went into the cabin. He re-appeared mere seconds later, and shoved the limp form of Milla onto the deck. Elizabeth jumped and raised a hand over her face.
"I'm not doctorin' wiv corpses all over the place. Any more I should know about, gel?"
Elizabeth shook her head. The pirate doctor slammed the door shut.
"Did you kill her, Elizabeth?"
Will stared at the meek woman in front of him, who in turn seemed transfixed by the pile of cloth and human limbs on the deck.
"Yes."
Elizabeth seemed disinclined to say any more, so Will left her to herself. The pirates had mostly returned to the Naval ship, except those of Jack's original crew. All seven of them.
It was only now that Will saw a ship in the distance. It flew a naval flag. He could just make out the name;
'The Swordfish'.
It was sailing away. Elizabeth had obviously spotted it too. She looked horrified.
"Elizabeth, where'd that ship come from?"
"It was the one I captained to get here...And now they're sailing back to Port Royal. They'll tell my father!"
Her face turned ashen again. The person they wouldn't tell would be her father. If they did, they'd have to dig him up first...
"Oh God Will, it's all gone so wrong! The Navy will hang the crew they've captured, then come out after me, catch everyone else, and it'll all by my fault!"
Will couldn't think of a way to contradict her. He put a reassuring arm round her shoulders. He hoped Jack would wake up soon. People were going to die, people he would count as friends. The only possible variables on this was who, and how many. The pirates seemed to be heading off after 'The Swordfish' in their new vessel. But for Will there was a feeling of empty victory in the air. So, they had won back the 'Pearl'. But what of it if they were soon to be hanging by their necks in a few weeks time?
Ok, well I know this is long. Too long. So, the answer is longer chapters! Very sorry if it's starting to drag, but I keep getting ideas, and find it impossible to write short stories.
Anyhow, here we go.
Chapter Thirty – Going Wrong
Elizabeth sat in the cabin. She felt strangely alone for someone who was in the company of two other bodies. But they were just that: silent corpses.
Jack's breathing was almost inaudible. She knew not what to do with him, and prayed that some miracle might occur to help him.
As for the coiled figure, still in place under the desk...Elizabeth could not look that way without a shiver. Death lay thick upon the air, not in smell, but essence.
Will was surprised at how resourceful a gang of drunken pirates were. Although individually they weren't particularly bright, altogether their intelligence seemed to pool, and they acted as a mass of people. When the guard strolled down to grimace at them, a bony fist shot out of the cell he had his back to, rendering him senseless. It was the work of a moment to drag him to the bars, remove his keys, and stumble out into the gangway.
"Wa' we do naow then?"
A skinny, grizzled and evil looking man pushed to the front of the mob. In the confined space, pirates jostled and elbowed one another.
"Righ'! We storm 'em lads! There's a lot o' us, an' not sa many o' them, simple, eh?"
A loud, rowdy cheer cracked Will's eardrums as he was brought forward to the stairs in the ensuing stampede. He moved his feet and legs without thinking. Somehow, everyone else surged past him in the narrow stairwell, thirsting for blood and tattered Navy uniforms.
What had started as a good day, turned without much warning into a calamity. The deck, a well-ordered space filled with uniformed, and busy Navy Soldiers, was suddenly a hell of steel, fists, feet and confused men in red coats.
Gillette, pretty good with a sword, took his weapon straight to the ragged foe. They were unarmed, but a kick in the small of the back, then a punch to the head as he fell, made him rather useless in the defence of his ship.
Will would never quite know how they'd won. They just did, and that was all he could decipher from the chaos of the deck for a good few minutes. He himself was a swordsman, not good at dirty fighting, and therefore fair game for a lucky officer, as Will had no sword. The pirates simply engulfed the Navy, suffocating the men, who were used to fair duels of manly honour. Will doubted if half the pirates could even spell the word 'honour'.
"The ship be ours, gendle men!"
"To de Black Pearl!"
Once again, the stampede. This time, they leapt, swung and hurled themselves onto the waiting deck of the 'Pearl'. It was only then, that Will remembered Jack and Elizabeth. The girl, cowering helplessly over the unconscious form of Captain Sparrow, and the dead bodies of Commodore Norrington and Loua Raven, lain out like some macabre rugs on the floor.
In due course, the blacksmith swung across. The pirates scattered over the ship, yelling and waving stolen sabres and guns. Will hastened down to the brig. He found Mr Cotton, and his parrot. The man kicked the body of the Commodore unsurely. It didn't stir. The two men exchanged glances.
"Squawwk! Davy Jones's locker, awwwk!"
Will scanned the room, but it was devoid of anything resembling a feisty lady of noble birth, or a scatterbrained pirate captain. He ran up on deck, just in time to see a large pirate, wrench open the door to the Captain's quarters. A shrill shriek told him just where Elizabeth Swann was hiding.
"Ahh, 'ere be a pretty lass!"
Elizabeth was withdrawn from the room by her arm, wriggling fiercely. She saw Will, hovering at the back.
"Will! Stop them!"
Will stepped forward, and pulled Elizabeth from the larger man's grasp.
"She's a friend!"
He looked at her, turning his back on the pirates momentarily.
"Elizabeth, where's Jack?"
"In there. He needs a doctor, or something Will!"
Will turned abruptly back to his pirate comrades.
"Listen! Anybody here a doctor? Anyone?"
Murmurs drifted on the breeze. A youngish, worried looking pirate wandered forward.
"I bin ships doctor afore. Why?"
"Captain Sparrow's been stabbed in the shoulder, and..."
"Ah, nuff said. Stabs are easy enough."
"How can stabs be easy?"
The pirate snorted. He shook his head at Will.
"Huh, I'll worry when he gets really 'urt."
The man went into the cabin. He re-appeared mere seconds later, and shoved the limp form of Milla onto the deck. Elizabeth jumped and raised a hand over her face.
"I'm not doctorin' wiv corpses all over the place. Any more I should know about, gel?"
Elizabeth shook her head. The pirate doctor slammed the door shut.
"Did you kill her, Elizabeth?"
Will stared at the meek woman in front of him, who in turn seemed transfixed by the pile of cloth and human limbs on the deck.
"Yes."
Elizabeth seemed disinclined to say any more, so Will left her to herself. The pirates had mostly returned to the Naval ship, except those of Jack's original crew. All seven of them.
It was only now that Will saw a ship in the distance. It flew a naval flag. He could just make out the name;
'The Swordfish'.
It was sailing away. Elizabeth had obviously spotted it too. She looked horrified.
"Elizabeth, where'd that ship come from?"
"It was the one I captained to get here...And now they're sailing back to Port Royal. They'll tell my father!"
Her face turned ashen again. The person they wouldn't tell would be her father. If they did, they'd have to dig him up first...
"Oh God Will, it's all gone so wrong! The Navy will hang the crew they've captured, then come out after me, catch everyone else, and it'll all by my fault!"
Will couldn't think of a way to contradict her. He put a reassuring arm round her shoulders. He hoped Jack would wake up soon. People were going to die, people he would count as friends. The only possible variables on this was who, and how many. The pirates seemed to be heading off after 'The Swordfish' in their new vessel. But for Will there was a feeling of empty victory in the air. So, they had won back the 'Pearl'. But what of it if they were soon to be hanging by their necks in a few weeks time?