Chapter Five
Consequences
With a sudden movement, Jack quickly elbowed his captor in the stomach, whirled around and brought his forehead to bear against the other man's. They both groaned and reeled backward after the hit. Jack recovered first and pulled one hand from his bounds, whipping it forward to grab the pistol his former captor's belt. He brought the handle down upon the man's head and he fell backwards in unconsciousness.
Jack cocked the pistol, turned about, and pointed it right at Malcolm's head. "I'm afraid that I can't let you do that." Malcolm's blade stopped at the flesh of Chris' throat. The decks of all four ships were silent except for the sound of Jack's boots clicking against the deck as he walked forward. His crew pulled themselves from their captors and worked on their bounds as Jack came to halt just a few feet from Malcolm. No one dared to breathe.
Jack put the pistol to the side of Malcolm' head. "Let her go." He said, his finger on the trigger. Malcolm did nothing. Jack's finger tightened on the trigger. "If you don't let her go right now, you may be able to cut her throat and she may survive, but I'm pretty sure you won't survive a bullet to the head!" He snapped. Slowly, Malcolm lowered his arm and released Chris' hair. She snatched the dagger from Malcolm's hand and slapped the man across the face. Her face was nothing but a mask of anger as she now held Malcolm's own dagger to his throat.
"Well, well, well, Sparrow." Malcolm said in a hushed voice. "You've found yourself in a bit of a situation here." A slow grin spread across his face, despite a pistol being held at his temple and a blade at his throat. "Don't you know how many men I have left in those other ships? And your boat is taking on water." He nodded. "Shoot him."
A gunshot rang through the air and Jack's pistol clattered to the deck. A spot of blood bloomed on his breast and he fell backward. "Jack!" Chris slashed at Malcolm haphazardly. The blade sliced his face and he let out a cry and fell backwards. Chris fell to her knees at Jack's side, the dagger clattering to the deck. She placed a hand on either side of his face. "Jack! Oh Jack, please…"
Will crawled forward, his hands still bound. "Chris, cut my bonds!" He bade. Chris snatched the dagger from where it fell and sliced the bonds of Will cleanly. She stuck the dagger into the deck before turning her attention back to Jack. Will brought his hands forward just as Malcolm stood; clutching his bloodied face, and drew his sword. Will grabbed the dagger from where it was stuck and weakly deflected a blow from the sword. He struggled to his feet and brandished the dagger at Malcolm as he heard commotion behind him. Ali stood alone and confused as crewmembers of the Black Pearl loosed themselves and grabbed their weapons from the piles they had been thrown in and with battle cries they began fighting against Malcolm's men, determined to drive the enemies from the Pearl. In all the commotion, no one noticed when one of Malcolm's men snatched Ali from the deck, hoisted her over his shoulder, and swung across to one of the other ships.
Will picked up a dropped sword from one of Malcolm's men as he retreated from Malcolm's slashes. He pulled his arm back and hurled the dagger at Malcolm, but it landed with the handle, not the blade. Malcolm let out a short chuckle, his face still bleeding from Chris' slash. "I'm going to enjoy killing you almost as much as I'm going to enjoy killing that bitch." He growled before lunging wildly at Will. Will parried the blow and continued stepping backwards as Malcolm slashed and hacked at him.
Chris held onto Jack in the ensuing chaos. She bent over Jack as a pirate was driven towards the two. The pirate stumbled over Chris' hunched form and hit the deck, hard. Chris knew she needed to get Jack to some sort of cover. She thrust her hands under his arms and drug him to the cover of the stairs leading to the wheel. She looked down and saw that Jack's eyes were fluttering. "No! Jack, stay with me!" She slapped him across the face and he groaned. The bullet was high on his chest. Chris hoped that it didn't pierce his lung. There was only one way to find out. She ripped Jack's shirt open and wiped the excess blood away with her hand. A round spot on Jack's chest immediately darkened and Chris knew where the bullet had entered. She sucked in a breath and stuck her fingers into the wound.
"Ahh! Ahh, bloody –!"That certainly made Jack awake and alert. He tried to shove his quartermaster off as her fingers dove deeper into the wound. Her fingertips hit something solid, and pinching her thumb and forefinger together, Chris plucked the bullet from Jack's chest and let it hit the deck. It rolled away and Chris' fingers dove in once more. "It's out, Chris, it's out!" Jack cried. Chris ignored him and felt that, no; the bullet did not pass through his rib cage or his lungs. She breathed a sigh of relief and bundled Jack's now ruined shirt and pressed it against the wound in an attempt to stem the bleeding.
Will and Malcolm had made it up to the bridge of the ship. Malcolm had entirely ignored the slash across his cheek, or perhaps he used it to fuel his swings. He slashed with even more ferocity as the blood dribbled down his face. He didn't even move to wipe it away as he advanced towards Will. Will could tell that the lord was tiring as the two circled each other with the wheel in the center. Will made his move too early in a jab that missed Malcolm but stuck in the wheel's base. He quickly pulled it out and ducked as Malcolm's blade sliced the air where his head had just been. Malcolm growled. "Hadn't had a challenge like this for a long time. I'll enjoy running you through." And with that he lunged for Will's abdomen.
Back beneath the stairs, Jack was breathing hard, despite the absence of lead in his body. "Oh Hell, Chris, why didn't you give me some rum?" He asked as she propped him up against the wooden door to his cabin.
"Does it look like I can give you rum?!" She asked as she heard a cry from the bridge above. Jack was taken care of for now; she needed to help get Malcolm's sorry louts off of the Pearl. "I'll be back, Jack." She said, squeezing his hand. She stood and crossed to a fallen pirate, taking the sword from his body. It was no rapier, but it would do. Chris mounted the stairs to the bridge and beheld a sight she did not expect.
Will was clutching his side and Malcolm's blade was bloody. "Time to die!" Malcolm cackled, raising his sword to stab Will through the heart. Chris bolted, her sword swinging through the air as she ran, and the two collided. They fell to the deck, Malcolm's sword skidding from his hands and over the side of the Pearl. He raised a fist and socked Chris in the face. Her head snapped backward and he swiped her sword. He stood but on reflection, he grabbed the dazed Chris by the hair and began dragging her towards the staircase. "Back to the ships! Back to the ships!" His words rang out loud and clear as Chris clawed at his hand, trying to crane her head so that she might get a chance to bite him. Her efforts went unheeded and he threw her down the stairs. She hit the deck hard and thought she could get away, but he was right behind her. Malcolm grabbed her by the back of the shirt and hauled her over one of the planks and onto his ship.
Jack watched this slumped against his cabin door. He couldn't just sit there and let this happen. "NO! Chris!" He pulled himself to his feet with a groan, his bundled up shirt falling from his chest and blood streaming from the wound. He pulled a pistol off the same man Chris had taken the sword from and aimed at Malcolm as he kicked the plank from the gap between the two ships. Jack's hand trembled and he fired. Instead of hitting Malcolm, it ended the life of one of his crewmembers. Jack pulled the trigger again, but of course the shot fired had been the only shot. "Chris!" Malcolm's men were fast. Almost as though by divine providence, the grappling hooks had been cut and the planks fell away as all three ships left the Black Pearl. Will hobbled down from the bridge and he and Jack watched as Malcolm sailed away, leaving the Black Pearl sinking, and all aboard worse for the wear.