"How are you?" Will tore his eyes away from the scarlet splotches staining
his shirt to look up at Hannah standing over him. He twisted the rag in his
hands as he looked away. The answer to that question was a largely
complicated one that he wasn't sure how to answer, but he knew well enough
she was probably only asking about the wound in his side.
"I'm fine." He answered quietly and quietly undid the buttons on his shirt. The fabric had matted itself in the wound and as he tugged it came loose with a good amount of pain. Without saying a word, Hannah knelt down and took the rag from his fingers and pulled back his shirt, exposing the bloody wound. Carefully she started wiping at the excess blood with gentle hands. He watched her, the thought of how much she reminded him of Elizabeth entering his mind not for the first time. She glanced up at him, poised to speak, but the words seemed to die on her lips as she caught him looking at her. There was a moment of tense silence between them before she finally remembered what she was going to say.
"It's not quite as bad as it looks. The stitches from your last injury were torn, which made it look worse. Whatever you got in the way of, it didn't hit anything vital in your side." She said quietly, pressing the rag against his stomach. She picked up his hand and placed it on the rag. "Just hold tightly to that and it should keep it from bleeding too heavily."
"Thank you." He said, giving her a small smile. She returned it with a nod and got to her feet, walking across the cell to where Nina was sitting with her arms curled around her knees, staring at the floor ahead of her. Hannah slid down to the ground next to her, running a hand through her light hair. Her gaze lingered on Will for a moment and then traveled to Jack.
"Are we ever going to get out of here?" She asked softly. "There's one island left and we're in a cell beneath the deck that looks like it hasn't seen usage in centuries." Her hand rubbed the goose bumps appearing on her skin as she gazed around. In the corner opposite them, Jack was sprawled against the wall, having more or less of a staring contest with the skeleton that sat across from him in nearly the same manner. As she looked at him, she was struck by the thought that he didn't seem to be dwelling on the botched rescue attempt, but planning a way to get them out. There was a thoughtful expression on his face and once in a while he would make a small grunt or mutter something to himself.
After a while, Will moved over to Jack's side and the two men spoke quietly. Neither one glanced in the direction of Nina or Hannah, which bothered Nina. She hugged her knees tighter, thinking of ways she could harm Jack if any harm came to her. A few scenarios even included coming back from the grave if that was what it took. Hannah chewed on her thumbnail, her thoughts very similar to Nina's.
Finally Jack stood up, standing perfectly still and closing his eyes. "We've stopped." He said and everyone looked his way. "They'll be attackin' the island now, which means it's time." He opened his eyes and turned towards Will, giving him a discrete nod. Will raised his chin slightly and looked towards the door.
"This is all your fault, Jack! I never should've helped you escape from that jail! I could've found Elizabeth on my own but I was stupid enough to trust you! What did I expect from a pirate?" The blacksmith's voice raised considerably in volume and there was a disgruntled tone in his voice, but the amused smirk on his face contradicted what he was saying.
"Oh." Nina said quietly, getting the gist of the plan and getting to her feet. Hannah followed her, keeping her eyes on the two men. Unlike Nina, she wasn't sure what was happening yet and decided it best to stick next to someone who did. Nina gave her a gentle push in the direction of the shadowy corner of the cell and she went.
Jack stood across from Will, facing him with an amused smirk of his own. "You trust me of your own stupidity, lad. I'm sorry you were too dense to realize that. Maybe next time you should try thinking before jumping into situations such as that, eh? Maybe you'll live longer." With that said, he glanced towards the door. Nothing happened, but he knew the guards were still out there. Will shot him a look that seemed to ask 'what now?' Jack held up a finger and crossed over to the skeleton. With a few firm tugs and more than a few uttered curses, he pulled loose the skeleton's tibia and fibula bones. The connective tissue was well rotted, allowing him to pull the bones apart. Even the bones themselves were in a state of decay and on the brittle side. Jack tossed on of the bones to Will and he caught it, a confused expression on his face.
"What say you we settle this?" Jack said, holding out the bone like it was a sword. "Of course, it won't be a proper duel to the death, being with blunt objects and all."
"So be it." Will responded in a loud voice. "Let us settle this once and for all so I can make up for mistakes past." Meanwhile Nina and Hannah had taken their cues from Jack and were tugging at the skeleton's remaining arms and legs, hoping to find a loose bone. All the while, Nina explained what she thought the plan was to Hannah. The skeleton made a series of clacking noises as they tugged, until finally the arm separated from the shoulder, sending Nina flying onto her butt. She held up the bone in victory and Hannah helped her to her feet.
Jack looked back to the door. "I think we're going to have to suffer some pain to make them think this is real." He said quietly to Will. The younger man nodded and was about to respond when Jack's fist slammed across his face, knocking him backwards. For a few brief moments, he stood with his hand on his jaw, shocked that the pirate had done that. He had thought Jack meant that they were going to take a few swipes at each other with the makeshift swords, not this. With a real look of anger on his face, he balled up his fist and swung. Jack fell against the cell bars, eyes narrowing dangerously.
"I can play this game too!" Will growled. A moment later it had turned into a full blown fight, words and insults flying. When Nina realized that it wasn't a ruse, her voice joined in, shouting for them to stop. The resulting melee prompted the two pirates left behind as guards to come investigate just what was going on in the cell. Once they realized that two of the prisoners were hell bent on ending each others lives, they started to panic, knowing the captain wanted the prisoners alive. The first one fumbled with the keys, trying to find the right one for the lock as Jack kneed Will in the stomach and pushed him against the wall. Nina jumped on his back, arms wrapped around his neck and shouting for him to stop before someone was seriously hurt. Will got to his feet and lunged for Jack again, but Hannah grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling backwards.
The key slid in the lock and the pirate opened the cell. They both hurried in to stop the fight and were more than a little surprised when the four didn't even acknowledge their presence.
"'ey! No fightin' in the..." The pirate that reached for Jack suddenly had acquired Nina, her arms around his neck and pulling tightly. He pulled at her arms, but the angry woman didn't plan to let go anytime soon. Jack turned from Will and grabbed the pirate's arms, nodding towards the bars. A moment later, the pirate was cursing, his head shoved between the bars of the cell and unable to get out. Will and Hannah had teamed up on the second pirate. A few minutes later, Hannah had tied him to the bars with the skeleton's rags while Will held him down. Jack picked the keys up off the floor as Will confiscated all the weapons he could find on the two pirates. Once they were all out of the cell, Jack locked it and threw the keys across the room into a corner out of reach from the cell.
"That hurt." Will gave Jack a hurt look, rubbing his jaw. With an air of indignation, Jack pointed at his jaw
"And this didn't? You hit hard, William."
"I meant you kneeing me in the side."
"I said we had to make it look real, didn't I?" Will didn't respond, rubbing his jaw with a look that reminded Nina of a chastised teenager. She stepped between the two. There would be time for mending wounded egos later but time was limited at the moment and something had to be done.
"So what are we doing?" She asked, grabbing them by the shirts and tugging them out the door into the companion way. With a quick tug, Jack pulled his shirt loose from her and smoothed it as if she had wrinkled the worn fabric. She let go of Will and crossed her arms. "Well?"
"William and I go after the captain, you two head over to the cabin where the souls are kept in case something else needs to be done, aye?" Jack said.
"I asked what we were doing, not for you to boss me around." Nina growled, standing toe to toe with him. "In other words, you don't tell me what to do. You suggest." Jack stared calmly back at her, a smirk on his face.
"Fine. I'm suggestin' you head over to the cabin where the souls are and stay there."
"And if I decide I want to stick with you? Then what?"
"Then you can do that."
Nina balled up her fists. "Fine, you know what? I'll go to the cabin where the souls are and wait in case something else needs to be done." She said, lifting her chin up as if she had decided to do it on her own.
"That's a good plan, lass." He responded. She gave him the evil eye and turned on her heel, walking down the companionway. Hannah hurried to catch up with her. After they were well out of hearing range, Nina cursed.
"That man is so...so..." She seemed to be struggling to find the right word.
"Infuriating? I don't know. He reminds me a lot of Mike." Hannah said hesitantly.
"Hot!" Nina buried her face in her hands for a moment after the outburst. "Usually it's me making him hot, but now that he's not himself but his ancestor and it would be very wrong to do...things...with him, he's the one making me hot." She groaned. "We need to finish this now." Hannah hid her mouth behind her hand, an amused smile on her face. Nina saw through it anyway. "It's not funny." She said.
"It is in a way." Hannah said. "I've been having the same thoughts about the blacksmith." She started laughing, feeling like she had lost what little was left of her sanity. Nina stared at her for a moment, wondering if she'd lost her mind, but a moment later she let a small chuckle escape. It escalated into full blown laughter until both women sat on the floor, holding their stomachs and laughing.
Nina was the first to regain control and got to her feet. "I think we really need to end this now." She said, helping Hannah to her feet. "Before we end up in the loony bin." Hannah wiped her eyes, nodding and giggling from time to time as they walked. After a search of the lower deck, Nina led her up the ladder and out onto the topside deck. They both became very quiet, looking around for anyone who had been left behind while the others had gone out on the raiding party.
There was one pirate walking along the deck, looking out over the rail towards the island with a wistful expression on his face. A low whistle caught his attention and he looked over to see Nina standing there with a playful expression on her face. She looked at him coyly and beckoned him with a finger, her other hand behind her back. He glanced around and after ascertaining that no one else was around to interrupt his fun, he made his way over to her. "Where did ye come from...?" Nina brought the poker out from behind her back and swung it as hard as possible, slamming it into his head. Balance lost, the pirate fell overboard, screaming. Hannah appeared beside her, looking over the railing.
"Let's get out of here before he climbs back up here." She said, tugging Nina's arm. "I think the cabin is this way." Nina followed after her, the two women running quietly along the deck. Her heart beat quickly with the excitement of the moment. She had never been the type to let an adventure pass and this was no exception. She lived for the moment. The only thing she wished she could change was that it would be Mike that would be here by her side, and after it was all over he would take her to bed. Hannah, on the other hand, couldn't wait for the adventure to be over. While she enjoyed excitement in her life, she didn't thrive on it like her husband, especially with the lives of those she loved at stake.
Nina grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open, yanking Hannah in with her. All attention turned towards the door and whispers broke out as for the second time that night, mortal souls had entered their domain. Something would happen this night, they could feel it.
"Hannah! Nina!" Danny slowly got to his feet, the wounds on his stomach pulling painfully as he moved. Emma woke up as she was moved to Ben's arms and yawned, rubbing her eyes. The moment she spotted her mother and grandmother, her eyes brightened and she squirmed out of Ben's grasp.
Hannah felt the tears come to her eyes as she rushed towards him, never happier in her life to see two people. But as she tried to lunge into his arms, she found herself falling right through him and onto the deck. Danny stood where he was, looking down at himself and then down at her. Emma stopped as she watched the scene.
"What happened?" She asked, looking up at her father. Hannah rolled over onto her back, looking up at him as well. He shook his head sadly.
"We're not like Mommy right now." He knew it was going to be difficult to explain to her and tried to do his best. "We're not solid because of those nasty pirates." Emma sat down and curled up. She had wanted to be in her mother's arms, to know that everything was going to be ok and that what was happening was just a nightmare. Hannah crawled over to her, sitting close to her and reaching out. Her hand wavered just a short distance from her daughter's dark curls.
"It's ok, sweetheart. Mommy's here and soon everything will be just fine." She said soothingly.
Ben got to his feet, coming to stand beside Danny. Nina came over, standing in front of them. "Jack and Will are going to try and take out the captain." She said quietly. Her eyes focused on Ben and her mouth opened. "What...how..."
"The boating accident wasn't so much of a boating accident." Ben said, rubbing the back of his neck. Hannah glanced up at him.
"Boating accident?"
"Dad, I'd like you to meet my wife Hannah. Hannah, this is my father, Ben Turner." He said quietly. Hannah could do nothing but nod in greeting, shocked at meeting her husband's dead father. There wasn't much that could be said in the situation. Of course, most people believed the supernatural didn't exist, so there wasn't as if there was etiquette to follow.
"You look good, Nina." Ben said after the introductions had been made. "Still with Mike?" He smiled slightly. "More important, is he still getting you into trouble?" She chuckled, shaking her head.
"You know him." She responded and her smile faded. "I'm just hoping he makes it through this alive." She said quietly. Danny made a motion as if to put a hand on her shoulder and thought better of it, seeing as how it would've gone right through her.
"Don't worry. I think Jack and Will won't let us down."
--------------------
Harper pushed open the door of the captain's quarters, allowing the quartermaster to brush by him with the large bag of plunder from the island. It was a useless gesture but he still did it all the time. Once in a while he would find something that would amuse him for a while before the novelty had worn off and he was bored again. James upended the bag on the table, pawing greedily through the trinkets and picking up a few here and there, rambling on about what he could do with each one. Harper, however, stayed standing by the doorway. Something didn't seem quite right in the room. He held up a finger to silence the other pirate, listening.
On the other side of the room, there was a small creak from the cupboard. He put a finger on his lips, motioning for James to be silent and crept across the room. Not entirely stupid, Harper pulled his pistol out of his sash and reached for the door. In one quick motion, he yanked it open and narrowly avoided the coat rack toppling onto his head. He shook his head and turned to share the laugh with his quartermaster, only to find him being held captive by Jack Sparrow. The pirate gave the annoyed pirate a little shake and pinched his cheek.
"I don't think he likes being close to other people. Just givin' him an affectionate gesture and he gets all huffy about it." He shook his head. "Pity actually. Makes me miss my own crew. They were the best crew in the entire ocean, if I do say so myself. Actually, I do say so."
Harper glared at him. "Speak your part, Sparrow, so I can get rid of you properly." He pushed the gun back into his sash and flexed his fingers. "You can go join the others."
"He'll be joining no one." The voice came from behind him. "Except maybe you with the devil." He turned to find himself staring straight into the eyes of a very angry blacksmith and a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he found the blade of a pocket knife he had gotten off one of his victims sticking out of his chest. Will let go, taking a step back. Jack shoved the quartermaster away and walked over to stand by Will's side, looking down on their dying enemy. He had been the Achilles' Heel of the entire curse. He was cursed to watch his men suffer; he himself was not destined to suffer as they had, only through watching the suffering. It was how Jack came to the conclusion that if they killed the captain, the crew would follow.
Harper dropped to his knees, grabbing the knife and pulling it out. Dark blood seeped into the front of his shirt and dripped onto the floor. With an expression of shock on his face, he stared up at them. "I'm not supposed to die. I'm immortal."
Jack sneered at him. "You're not immortal, mate, just deluded." There was a look of deep contempt on his face. "Mess with one man and you might succeed. Mess with a family and you better be ready to pay." Harper's mouth worked, but no sound came out.
Suddenly a bright flash came from the center of his chest and he screamed in agony. Jack and Will were knocked off their feet and hit the decks, shielding their eyes from the resulting light. Slowly his flesh began to grow paper thin and wither. His eyes disappeared from the sockets and his teeth rotted away. Hair grew long and grey and rotted away as did the skin, leaving a screaming skeleton with its jaw opened widely. Abruptly the screaming stopped as the skeleton disintegrated into a pile of dust on the floor.
Nina slapped her hands over her ears at the shriek. It chilled her to the bone, almost as if it were borne from a demon of hell. Unwillingly her cry joined in with the wailing, as well as some of the spirits. The overall effect was chillingly demonic. Outside on the decks, the pirates fell to the decks, rotting into nothing.
Then it was over. Nina opened her eyes, her breathing heavy. The cries had stopped and as she watched, the souls began to fade. At first she thought something had gone wrong, that they had failed, but that was only until she saw their expressions. They were expressions of joy as they reached forward to the unknown, being called home by family members that had gone on before them.
Danny watched the scene around him for a moment before turning back to his father. Tears welled up in his eyes as he put his arms around Ben and hugged him tightly, wishing that he could come back with them and live the life he had been cheated. Ben ruffled his son's hair softly, an accepting look on his face. "It's my time." He whispered to Danny. "And you know this isn't good-bye. You'll see me later, when your time is up."
Danny reluctantly pulled himself from his father's grasp, nodding. "Yeah, I know that. So I guess I'll see you later." He wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled sadly. "You better be there to greet me, old man." Ben chuckled and nodded.
"I will." He glanced over to Hannah. "Nice to meet you, my dear. If we'd had more time to talk, I'm sure I could tell you a few embarrassing stories to make up for the ones that I didn't get to tell you while you were dating." Hannah laughed.
"It was nice to meet you as well." She said. Ben's gaze went to Nina.
"Take care of yourself. And thank you to you and Mike." He glanced at Danny once more. "I couldn't have picked two better people to entrust with my son." With that said, he slowly faded out. Danny reached up to his neck and found that the small silver thread that had bound him there was gone.
"Mommy!" Emma cried out from beside him before her form slowly faded out.
"Looks like it's my turn." Danny said, feeling everything grow hazier. For a moment, everything was white and then he found himself staring up at the ceiling, lying on his back.
"Ow..." Mike rolled over and managed to sit up. "I feel like I've been run over by a horse." He groaned, rubbing his head. The complaints stopped when he caught sight of his surroundings. "Ok, this might be a stupid question, but how did we get here?" Danny laughed and quickly regretted it, hands flying to his stomach as fiery pain spread.
Suddenly the ceiling flickered. "That can't be good." He muttered before hearing a long, loud groan. As he watched, the ship decayed as if time had been fast forwarded. He got to his feet, Mike following after him. They rushed out on deck, running into Nina and Hannah. "We have to..."
Then there was no ship. Danny felt a moment of weightlessness before they went crashing into the water below. The slap of the water sent pain through his side again and he let out a scream of agony, only for the water to rush into his lungs and choke him. Everything became disorienting and he struggled to find his way to the surface.
Finally he lost to the darkness, letting it overtake him.
"I'm fine." He answered quietly and quietly undid the buttons on his shirt. The fabric had matted itself in the wound and as he tugged it came loose with a good amount of pain. Without saying a word, Hannah knelt down and took the rag from his fingers and pulled back his shirt, exposing the bloody wound. Carefully she started wiping at the excess blood with gentle hands. He watched her, the thought of how much she reminded him of Elizabeth entering his mind not for the first time. She glanced up at him, poised to speak, but the words seemed to die on her lips as she caught him looking at her. There was a moment of tense silence between them before she finally remembered what she was going to say.
"It's not quite as bad as it looks. The stitches from your last injury were torn, which made it look worse. Whatever you got in the way of, it didn't hit anything vital in your side." She said quietly, pressing the rag against his stomach. She picked up his hand and placed it on the rag. "Just hold tightly to that and it should keep it from bleeding too heavily."
"Thank you." He said, giving her a small smile. She returned it with a nod and got to her feet, walking across the cell to where Nina was sitting with her arms curled around her knees, staring at the floor ahead of her. Hannah slid down to the ground next to her, running a hand through her light hair. Her gaze lingered on Will for a moment and then traveled to Jack.
"Are we ever going to get out of here?" She asked softly. "There's one island left and we're in a cell beneath the deck that looks like it hasn't seen usage in centuries." Her hand rubbed the goose bumps appearing on her skin as she gazed around. In the corner opposite them, Jack was sprawled against the wall, having more or less of a staring contest with the skeleton that sat across from him in nearly the same manner. As she looked at him, she was struck by the thought that he didn't seem to be dwelling on the botched rescue attempt, but planning a way to get them out. There was a thoughtful expression on his face and once in a while he would make a small grunt or mutter something to himself.
After a while, Will moved over to Jack's side and the two men spoke quietly. Neither one glanced in the direction of Nina or Hannah, which bothered Nina. She hugged her knees tighter, thinking of ways she could harm Jack if any harm came to her. A few scenarios even included coming back from the grave if that was what it took. Hannah chewed on her thumbnail, her thoughts very similar to Nina's.
Finally Jack stood up, standing perfectly still and closing his eyes. "We've stopped." He said and everyone looked his way. "They'll be attackin' the island now, which means it's time." He opened his eyes and turned towards Will, giving him a discrete nod. Will raised his chin slightly and looked towards the door.
"This is all your fault, Jack! I never should've helped you escape from that jail! I could've found Elizabeth on my own but I was stupid enough to trust you! What did I expect from a pirate?" The blacksmith's voice raised considerably in volume and there was a disgruntled tone in his voice, but the amused smirk on his face contradicted what he was saying.
"Oh." Nina said quietly, getting the gist of the plan and getting to her feet. Hannah followed her, keeping her eyes on the two men. Unlike Nina, she wasn't sure what was happening yet and decided it best to stick next to someone who did. Nina gave her a gentle push in the direction of the shadowy corner of the cell and she went.
Jack stood across from Will, facing him with an amused smirk of his own. "You trust me of your own stupidity, lad. I'm sorry you were too dense to realize that. Maybe next time you should try thinking before jumping into situations such as that, eh? Maybe you'll live longer." With that said, he glanced towards the door. Nothing happened, but he knew the guards were still out there. Will shot him a look that seemed to ask 'what now?' Jack held up a finger and crossed over to the skeleton. With a few firm tugs and more than a few uttered curses, he pulled loose the skeleton's tibia and fibula bones. The connective tissue was well rotted, allowing him to pull the bones apart. Even the bones themselves were in a state of decay and on the brittle side. Jack tossed on of the bones to Will and he caught it, a confused expression on his face.
"What say you we settle this?" Jack said, holding out the bone like it was a sword. "Of course, it won't be a proper duel to the death, being with blunt objects and all."
"So be it." Will responded in a loud voice. "Let us settle this once and for all so I can make up for mistakes past." Meanwhile Nina and Hannah had taken their cues from Jack and were tugging at the skeleton's remaining arms and legs, hoping to find a loose bone. All the while, Nina explained what she thought the plan was to Hannah. The skeleton made a series of clacking noises as they tugged, until finally the arm separated from the shoulder, sending Nina flying onto her butt. She held up the bone in victory and Hannah helped her to her feet.
Jack looked back to the door. "I think we're going to have to suffer some pain to make them think this is real." He said quietly to Will. The younger man nodded and was about to respond when Jack's fist slammed across his face, knocking him backwards. For a few brief moments, he stood with his hand on his jaw, shocked that the pirate had done that. He had thought Jack meant that they were going to take a few swipes at each other with the makeshift swords, not this. With a real look of anger on his face, he balled up his fist and swung. Jack fell against the cell bars, eyes narrowing dangerously.
"I can play this game too!" Will growled. A moment later it had turned into a full blown fight, words and insults flying. When Nina realized that it wasn't a ruse, her voice joined in, shouting for them to stop. The resulting melee prompted the two pirates left behind as guards to come investigate just what was going on in the cell. Once they realized that two of the prisoners were hell bent on ending each others lives, they started to panic, knowing the captain wanted the prisoners alive. The first one fumbled with the keys, trying to find the right one for the lock as Jack kneed Will in the stomach and pushed him against the wall. Nina jumped on his back, arms wrapped around his neck and shouting for him to stop before someone was seriously hurt. Will got to his feet and lunged for Jack again, but Hannah grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling backwards.
The key slid in the lock and the pirate opened the cell. They both hurried in to stop the fight and were more than a little surprised when the four didn't even acknowledge their presence.
"'ey! No fightin' in the..." The pirate that reached for Jack suddenly had acquired Nina, her arms around his neck and pulling tightly. He pulled at her arms, but the angry woman didn't plan to let go anytime soon. Jack turned from Will and grabbed the pirate's arms, nodding towards the bars. A moment later, the pirate was cursing, his head shoved between the bars of the cell and unable to get out. Will and Hannah had teamed up on the second pirate. A few minutes later, Hannah had tied him to the bars with the skeleton's rags while Will held him down. Jack picked the keys up off the floor as Will confiscated all the weapons he could find on the two pirates. Once they were all out of the cell, Jack locked it and threw the keys across the room into a corner out of reach from the cell.
"That hurt." Will gave Jack a hurt look, rubbing his jaw. With an air of indignation, Jack pointed at his jaw
"And this didn't? You hit hard, William."
"I meant you kneeing me in the side."
"I said we had to make it look real, didn't I?" Will didn't respond, rubbing his jaw with a look that reminded Nina of a chastised teenager. She stepped between the two. There would be time for mending wounded egos later but time was limited at the moment and something had to be done.
"So what are we doing?" She asked, grabbing them by the shirts and tugging them out the door into the companion way. With a quick tug, Jack pulled his shirt loose from her and smoothed it as if she had wrinkled the worn fabric. She let go of Will and crossed her arms. "Well?"
"William and I go after the captain, you two head over to the cabin where the souls are kept in case something else needs to be done, aye?" Jack said.
"I asked what we were doing, not for you to boss me around." Nina growled, standing toe to toe with him. "In other words, you don't tell me what to do. You suggest." Jack stared calmly back at her, a smirk on his face.
"Fine. I'm suggestin' you head over to the cabin where the souls are and stay there."
"And if I decide I want to stick with you? Then what?"
"Then you can do that."
Nina balled up her fists. "Fine, you know what? I'll go to the cabin where the souls are and wait in case something else needs to be done." She said, lifting her chin up as if she had decided to do it on her own.
"That's a good plan, lass." He responded. She gave him the evil eye and turned on her heel, walking down the companionway. Hannah hurried to catch up with her. After they were well out of hearing range, Nina cursed.
"That man is so...so..." She seemed to be struggling to find the right word.
"Infuriating? I don't know. He reminds me a lot of Mike." Hannah said hesitantly.
"Hot!" Nina buried her face in her hands for a moment after the outburst. "Usually it's me making him hot, but now that he's not himself but his ancestor and it would be very wrong to do...things...with him, he's the one making me hot." She groaned. "We need to finish this now." Hannah hid her mouth behind her hand, an amused smile on her face. Nina saw through it anyway. "It's not funny." She said.
"It is in a way." Hannah said. "I've been having the same thoughts about the blacksmith." She started laughing, feeling like she had lost what little was left of her sanity. Nina stared at her for a moment, wondering if she'd lost her mind, but a moment later she let a small chuckle escape. It escalated into full blown laughter until both women sat on the floor, holding their stomachs and laughing.
Nina was the first to regain control and got to her feet. "I think we really need to end this now." She said, helping Hannah to her feet. "Before we end up in the loony bin." Hannah wiped her eyes, nodding and giggling from time to time as they walked. After a search of the lower deck, Nina led her up the ladder and out onto the topside deck. They both became very quiet, looking around for anyone who had been left behind while the others had gone out on the raiding party.
There was one pirate walking along the deck, looking out over the rail towards the island with a wistful expression on his face. A low whistle caught his attention and he looked over to see Nina standing there with a playful expression on her face. She looked at him coyly and beckoned him with a finger, her other hand behind her back. He glanced around and after ascertaining that no one else was around to interrupt his fun, he made his way over to her. "Where did ye come from...?" Nina brought the poker out from behind her back and swung it as hard as possible, slamming it into his head. Balance lost, the pirate fell overboard, screaming. Hannah appeared beside her, looking over the railing.
"Let's get out of here before he climbs back up here." She said, tugging Nina's arm. "I think the cabin is this way." Nina followed after her, the two women running quietly along the deck. Her heart beat quickly with the excitement of the moment. She had never been the type to let an adventure pass and this was no exception. She lived for the moment. The only thing she wished she could change was that it would be Mike that would be here by her side, and after it was all over he would take her to bed. Hannah, on the other hand, couldn't wait for the adventure to be over. While she enjoyed excitement in her life, she didn't thrive on it like her husband, especially with the lives of those she loved at stake.
Nina grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open, yanking Hannah in with her. All attention turned towards the door and whispers broke out as for the second time that night, mortal souls had entered their domain. Something would happen this night, they could feel it.
"Hannah! Nina!" Danny slowly got to his feet, the wounds on his stomach pulling painfully as he moved. Emma woke up as she was moved to Ben's arms and yawned, rubbing her eyes. The moment she spotted her mother and grandmother, her eyes brightened and she squirmed out of Ben's grasp.
Hannah felt the tears come to her eyes as she rushed towards him, never happier in her life to see two people. But as she tried to lunge into his arms, she found herself falling right through him and onto the deck. Danny stood where he was, looking down at himself and then down at her. Emma stopped as she watched the scene.
"What happened?" She asked, looking up at her father. Hannah rolled over onto her back, looking up at him as well. He shook his head sadly.
"We're not like Mommy right now." He knew it was going to be difficult to explain to her and tried to do his best. "We're not solid because of those nasty pirates." Emma sat down and curled up. She had wanted to be in her mother's arms, to know that everything was going to be ok and that what was happening was just a nightmare. Hannah crawled over to her, sitting close to her and reaching out. Her hand wavered just a short distance from her daughter's dark curls.
"It's ok, sweetheart. Mommy's here and soon everything will be just fine." She said soothingly.
Ben got to his feet, coming to stand beside Danny. Nina came over, standing in front of them. "Jack and Will are going to try and take out the captain." She said quietly. Her eyes focused on Ben and her mouth opened. "What...how..."
"The boating accident wasn't so much of a boating accident." Ben said, rubbing the back of his neck. Hannah glanced up at him.
"Boating accident?"
"Dad, I'd like you to meet my wife Hannah. Hannah, this is my father, Ben Turner." He said quietly. Hannah could do nothing but nod in greeting, shocked at meeting her husband's dead father. There wasn't much that could be said in the situation. Of course, most people believed the supernatural didn't exist, so there wasn't as if there was etiquette to follow.
"You look good, Nina." Ben said after the introductions had been made. "Still with Mike?" He smiled slightly. "More important, is he still getting you into trouble?" She chuckled, shaking her head.
"You know him." She responded and her smile faded. "I'm just hoping he makes it through this alive." She said quietly. Danny made a motion as if to put a hand on her shoulder and thought better of it, seeing as how it would've gone right through her.
"Don't worry. I think Jack and Will won't let us down."
--------------------
Harper pushed open the door of the captain's quarters, allowing the quartermaster to brush by him with the large bag of plunder from the island. It was a useless gesture but he still did it all the time. Once in a while he would find something that would amuse him for a while before the novelty had worn off and he was bored again. James upended the bag on the table, pawing greedily through the trinkets and picking up a few here and there, rambling on about what he could do with each one. Harper, however, stayed standing by the doorway. Something didn't seem quite right in the room. He held up a finger to silence the other pirate, listening.
On the other side of the room, there was a small creak from the cupboard. He put a finger on his lips, motioning for James to be silent and crept across the room. Not entirely stupid, Harper pulled his pistol out of his sash and reached for the door. In one quick motion, he yanked it open and narrowly avoided the coat rack toppling onto his head. He shook his head and turned to share the laugh with his quartermaster, only to find him being held captive by Jack Sparrow. The pirate gave the annoyed pirate a little shake and pinched his cheek.
"I don't think he likes being close to other people. Just givin' him an affectionate gesture and he gets all huffy about it." He shook his head. "Pity actually. Makes me miss my own crew. They were the best crew in the entire ocean, if I do say so myself. Actually, I do say so."
Harper glared at him. "Speak your part, Sparrow, so I can get rid of you properly." He pushed the gun back into his sash and flexed his fingers. "You can go join the others."
"He'll be joining no one." The voice came from behind him. "Except maybe you with the devil." He turned to find himself staring straight into the eyes of a very angry blacksmith and a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he found the blade of a pocket knife he had gotten off one of his victims sticking out of his chest. Will let go, taking a step back. Jack shoved the quartermaster away and walked over to stand by Will's side, looking down on their dying enemy. He had been the Achilles' Heel of the entire curse. He was cursed to watch his men suffer; he himself was not destined to suffer as they had, only through watching the suffering. It was how Jack came to the conclusion that if they killed the captain, the crew would follow.
Harper dropped to his knees, grabbing the knife and pulling it out. Dark blood seeped into the front of his shirt and dripped onto the floor. With an expression of shock on his face, he stared up at them. "I'm not supposed to die. I'm immortal."
Jack sneered at him. "You're not immortal, mate, just deluded." There was a look of deep contempt on his face. "Mess with one man and you might succeed. Mess with a family and you better be ready to pay." Harper's mouth worked, but no sound came out.
Suddenly a bright flash came from the center of his chest and he screamed in agony. Jack and Will were knocked off their feet and hit the decks, shielding their eyes from the resulting light. Slowly his flesh began to grow paper thin and wither. His eyes disappeared from the sockets and his teeth rotted away. Hair grew long and grey and rotted away as did the skin, leaving a screaming skeleton with its jaw opened widely. Abruptly the screaming stopped as the skeleton disintegrated into a pile of dust on the floor.
Nina slapped her hands over her ears at the shriek. It chilled her to the bone, almost as if it were borne from a demon of hell. Unwillingly her cry joined in with the wailing, as well as some of the spirits. The overall effect was chillingly demonic. Outside on the decks, the pirates fell to the decks, rotting into nothing.
Then it was over. Nina opened her eyes, her breathing heavy. The cries had stopped and as she watched, the souls began to fade. At first she thought something had gone wrong, that they had failed, but that was only until she saw their expressions. They were expressions of joy as they reached forward to the unknown, being called home by family members that had gone on before them.
Danny watched the scene around him for a moment before turning back to his father. Tears welled up in his eyes as he put his arms around Ben and hugged him tightly, wishing that he could come back with them and live the life he had been cheated. Ben ruffled his son's hair softly, an accepting look on his face. "It's my time." He whispered to Danny. "And you know this isn't good-bye. You'll see me later, when your time is up."
Danny reluctantly pulled himself from his father's grasp, nodding. "Yeah, I know that. So I guess I'll see you later." He wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled sadly. "You better be there to greet me, old man." Ben chuckled and nodded.
"I will." He glanced over to Hannah. "Nice to meet you, my dear. If we'd had more time to talk, I'm sure I could tell you a few embarrassing stories to make up for the ones that I didn't get to tell you while you were dating." Hannah laughed.
"It was nice to meet you as well." She said. Ben's gaze went to Nina.
"Take care of yourself. And thank you to you and Mike." He glanced at Danny once more. "I couldn't have picked two better people to entrust with my son." With that said, he slowly faded out. Danny reached up to his neck and found that the small silver thread that had bound him there was gone.
"Mommy!" Emma cried out from beside him before her form slowly faded out.
"Looks like it's my turn." Danny said, feeling everything grow hazier. For a moment, everything was white and then he found himself staring up at the ceiling, lying on his back.
"Ow..." Mike rolled over and managed to sit up. "I feel like I've been run over by a horse." He groaned, rubbing his head. The complaints stopped when he caught sight of his surroundings. "Ok, this might be a stupid question, but how did we get here?" Danny laughed and quickly regretted it, hands flying to his stomach as fiery pain spread.
Suddenly the ceiling flickered. "That can't be good." He muttered before hearing a long, loud groan. As he watched, the ship decayed as if time had been fast forwarded. He got to his feet, Mike following after him. They rushed out on deck, running into Nina and Hannah. "We have to..."
Then there was no ship. Danny felt a moment of weightlessness before they went crashing into the water below. The slap of the water sent pain through his side again and he let out a scream of agony, only for the water to rush into his lungs and choke him. Everything became disorienting and he struggled to find his way to the surface.
Finally he lost to the darkness, letting it overtake him.