Next chappie is here. Please read and review. Some notes on the bottom of the page. If you haven't already re-read the last chapter, then please do so for I have changed it. Enjoy
Some of Tempest's men hauled Gemma towards their ship and he stayed right there. Johnny left the bushes and went the back way to the beach. He saw them climb aboard from the rowboat and then a few coming back to shore for their captain. Quickly he sprinted towards his secret hideout where a homemade boat was stored. The moon was not but a sliver in the sky, much to Johnny's advantage. He slipped the boat out into the ocean water and began rowing in stealth mode to the ship, praying not to be seen.
Johnny slithered throughout the ship's corridors looking for a suitable place to hide for the time being. A few barrels knocked over behind him and he quickly darted towards the nearest door. Bad idea. When Johnny shut the door behind him and looked to the only piece of furniture in the room, a bed, a man was lying on, knife sticking up from his chest. Taking a step closer, he hesitantly looked at the man's obvious lifeless form and winced from the goriness of it. Johnny looked at the man's uniform and realized that this was the actual captain of this vessel. Definitely feeling a little uneasy, he backed away from the corpse and peered out the door checking for any of the crew.
When he found no one outside, he crept down towards the brig where he assumed they put Gemma. He was right. As he stepped down the last step, he saw her lying on the grubby floor, blood seeping from her shirt and hair sprawled around her angelic face. No one even bothered to bandage her up! Without thinking, he ripped the bottom half of his shirt and slipped through the bars. He just barely made it through, having been skinny
from his loss of appetite on the island. Johnny bent over grabbing Gemma's waist and wrapped the cloth around her stomach as best he could with his little strength. She moaned a bit and shifted in his bony arms calling out a name.
"Jack…" she croaked.
"Im here Gemma."
"Johnny."
Gemma opened her eyes and looked up at the little boy who was trying so hard to be brave and did so well at it. Johnny squeezed her hand, and she did it back to him. Noises could be heard from above deck and Johnny scampered back out of the cell and into the darkest corner he could find down there Being small, he was easily hidden from the oaf of a man walking down the stairs at that very moment. Keys dangled from the burly man's side, sword crusted with blood. He sat down on a crate across from where Gemma lay and took out a flask from his pocket.
Gemma rolled onto her back, hands grabbing at her stomach. Whimpers escaped her dry lips and she licked them for any sort of water. She tried to sit up, but fell back down feeling light headed.
"Ye best not sit up little one. Tis not good for yer current health. I would offer yer some water, but we aint got any. Only some whiskey. Ye want any?"
Her head bobbed up and down in response to his question as she could hardly make out any words her throat was so dry. The man stepped forward opening the lock with the rusty keys. Careful not to get hurt, he handed over the flask to Gemma's trembling hand.
"Me names Henri."
After swallowing a few gulps, she gave the flask back to Henri and looked him in the eye.
"Nice to meet you Henri. My name is Gemma Doyle." She said lightly, still not being able to move much from her current injury.
"I know who ye are. We all do. Tempest told us that we be stopping at this here island to get a key. 'Cordin to Jack Sparra', we would fine ye 'ere. Only, us pirates thought ye to be dead. Unless me eyes are foolin me, it seems I be seein ya in the flesh."
"Captain Sparrow told you willingly that you could find a key, being me, on this spit of land?"
"Naw, I never said willingly. Tempest got him, he did. In fact, we gots 'im locked up in the caves."
"What!" she more yelled than asked unbelievingly.
'How could they have caught Jack? And why would he have told them I was the key? What was that fool thinking? I wonder if he's alright. God, I don't know what I'd do if he were hurt. This is all my fault.'
Henri nodded his head then left her in the cell alone, walking out of the brig and onto the deck above. Gemma shifted her eyes to Johnny's hiding place and motioned for him to come out. He did and scurried over to the bars. Gemma stuck out her hand, and in return Johnny grasped it intertwining his little fingers into her slender ones.
"Thanks for patching me up kid. Couldn't have done it without ya."
A single tear dripped from the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away with the tip of her finger.
"No need to be crying, sure nothing bad will happen" he commented and Gemma sighed.
"Theres no need for you to be getting hurt as well, you hear me? So go and hide yourself in that same corner until I tell you to come back out again, savvy?" she said, feeling proud for using her love's favorite saying.
Henri walked back down the steps with Tempest behind him. The two walked over to the cell and Henri opened it once again. In one swift movement, he swooped her up off the grungy floor and into his muscular arms. Gemma, a bit surprised at first, looked into the corner giving Johnny a look saying not to follow.
"Don't be carryin her. She got two legs, let her do the walkin." Tempest growled.
"But Sir, the lass is injured and in no condition to be walkin anywhere, 'speciallys to yer cabin up on the top deck."
"Shut yer trap and set the girl down now Burrows."
Henri did as told and set Gemma down with ease. At first she could stand without troubles, but after a few seconds she collapsed into his arms. He lifted her up again and held her hand for help. Gemma looked up at him and smiled for his graciousness. Together her and Henri finally made it to Tempest's quarters and she made her way to the bed, making herself a tad bit more comfortable without permission. Henri strolled over to an empty chair and sat down while Tempest continued standing.
"Let it be known lass, that Jack Sparrow is dead."
"You're lying!"
"Suit yourself, but before I killed him, he shared one bit o' information with his good mate. And that little piece was worth a lot. I now know that ye have the key we need to get to the treasure of Timmy Tew. So, with all do respect milady, I would appreciate if ye would hand it over."
"I do not know what you are talking about Tempest" she hissed. Gemma tried to sit up but drooped back down clenching her side.
"Tis not very wise to anger the captain of this ship lass. Right now, we are on our way to Pirate's Swoon. Ye know where that is?"
Gemma shook her head no.
"About two days away from here. Has caves filled with treasure collected over the years, prisoners, women, and it is my home. Only me crew and I know that it be there. Anyways, thats where we be takin ye. Once we get there, we'll figure sumthin out bout the treasure. Just do us a favor and stay quiet once we put yers back in the brig."
She nodded and made to stand up, immediately helped by Henri. Tempest dismissed them both and they headed below deck towards the brig. Gemma was limping badly and using Henri to put all her weight on. He didn't mind though, seeing as he was twice her size.
"Henri, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure little one, anythin ye want."
"Why are you helping me?"
"Well lass, I don't think its fair what Tempest has planned for ye. That and I'm actually not part o' 'is crew."
"What do you mean?"
"I joined this here ship a couple years back because of a request made by me former captain. Tempest and 'im were enemies, still are in fact, and I was sent to get the inside scoop. But, now that yer here, it seems a miracle that I was placed here in tha first place. Now I can help yous escape. We just have to wait for the opportune moment, savvy?"
"Savvy?" she said with curiosity.
"Your former captain wouldn't happen to be Jack Sparrow would it?"
"The one and only lass."
"That explains a lot. He's not actually dead…is he? He's just being held prisoner right?" he sighed. Gemma's eyes opened wide with fear.
"No'es not dead, but he's barely alive. Tempest's gots him locked up in ther caves. Once we reach port, we can get away, but I'm assumin' ye don't wanna go without Jack, eh?"
"We cant just leave him there! Of course we have to save him! Is any of the crew there?"
"No, they all escaped in the nick o' time. Ye really do love 'im, doncha?"
"Yes, Henri, I believe I do."
By the time the two of them finished their discussion, they had reached Gemma's cell. He helped her in there and she eased herself to the floor with a soft thud. After checking if she needed anything else, he walked out to complete his daily duties. Gemma's eyes darted to Johnny's corner as he crawled out of it. He went into the cell just like before and cuddled in her arms just like her very own child would, and made sure not to touch her wound. Gemma smiled at the action and encircled his tiny body with her arms, but winced as soon as the pain shot through her stomach.
Johnny got up and turned around facing her, looking directly at Gemma. Her long black locks flowed freely about her person and curled at the tips. The fullness of her luscious red lips attracted attention towards her mouth. And the perfectly shaped brows arched over her emerald green jewels for eyes.
"You really are beautiful you know that. My ma, she was never this pretty. On the inside or out. She beat me when I disobeyed her, and always yelled. My body always became tense when I was near her and I trembled in my sleep. My pa, he was a great man. Taught me everything I know, including how to read and write. One night on a drunken rage, my ma murdered my pa and I ran for my life. That's when I got myself a job as a cabin boy on a merchant ship. But then, a storm came and I was washed ashore. When I went out to find the ship, only remains were floating about in the ocean. All I could do was cry. But with you, I feel relaxed and loved. Do you love me Gemma?"
"Yes Johnny I do love you. Just like any mother would."
They both smiled and resumed sitting in their cuddling position. Together they fell asleep, lulled by the rocking of the ship. The only thing they would have to worry about is if someone came down and found Johnny asleep on top of her. What would happen to him then?
Here was the long awaited chapter. Sorry it took SO incredibly long. But, hey, was it worth the wait? More to come very soon, I promise. Its just that I've had tons of homework and sports are being a pain in my ass lately. Please forgive me. Here are my thank yous:
Rachel sparrow, dimonah tralon, cayenne pepper powder, pirate-lib, aerial sparrow, ortain, magicgirl810, and sparrows girl
I would write an individual thank you to each of you, but since I re wrote the last chapter, I will wait for you to review that one considering I think you will have different things to say.
And you all should be thanking my good friend Sparrow'sGirl, because she got me back on track. Couldn't have done it without her.
As for the wonderful anonymous reviewer, if you think all I care about are reviews, you are wrong. I enjoy writing. I do it for the fun, not because of guilt for not updating sooner. If the readers enjoy your hard work put into the story, they will not mind waiting as long as they have to for you to update. Everyone works at a different pace. Almost all of the writers on this site push for their readers to review every chapter. I haven't sen any one else get mad at them for encouraging people. So when I say "come on and lets get 75 reviews", its not because I just want them. First of all, I want to see what people have to say so I can learn to become a better writer. Second, when people say you've done a good job, it really brightens your say no matter if it was bad or not. Some people don't take criticism that well, and I am one of those people. You being my first "flame" was a little shocking at first. I figured it would come sooner or later, but when no one ever wrote anything, I figured my story wasn't that bad. Now, after you said what you said, it makes me wonder how many of my readers are thinking the same thing you were when you reviewed. I appreciate you expressing your feelings, because I am being more open minded and I am now taking my time with each and every chapter to make them pleasing instead of racking my brain for thoughts every day. I will now write when idea come to me naturally, not forcefully.