Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I went back and fixed the typos (hope I got all of them!). The rotting wood thing...Well, I COULD say that, while Barbossa was captain, he let the ship go a little. But, to be perfectly honest, I was just on an imagery role and didn't really think about it too much. Whoops. You're right, Jack would NEVER allow rotting wood on his precious ship!

Not too much happens yet in this chapter. I haven't written fiction in a while, so I'm taking it slow, trying to keep the quality of the writing up. If people are still interested, I'll keep posting new chapters and the plot should thicken. Again, thanks for the reviews!

CHAPTER 2 – CAPTURED

        Jack jerked awake as the blade pressed against his flesh, not yet drawing blood but coming dangerously close. His eyes followed the tip of the sword to the hand on the hilt and up the arm to the man's face.

Even after all he'd seen in his lifetime, Jack felt a sickening jolt in his stomach at the sight. The hideous face was barely recognizable as being human. The right side had been badly burnt, leaving a mass of melted flesh. What skin hadn't been scorched was covered in pockmarks. A good chunk of his nose was missing, along with half of his left ear. The right ear had been completely severed, or more likely, Jack thought, melted off. The man wore a very cliché eye patch where the left eye should've been. A long scar stretching from the top and bottom of the patch told how that eye had been lost. When he smiled down at him, Jack saw that what teeth were still there had been reduced to yellow lumps of grime.

"Captain Sparrow, I presume?" The man croaked.

Jack nodded ever so slightly, not daring to push that blade into his neck any further.

"You and your little friend are gonna have to come with us."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw another stranger tying Will's hands behind his back while a third held a cocked pistol to his head. Jack looked back at the one-eyed man and attempted a smile. "Whatever you say, mate."

The man chortled. "That's right, Jackie, you and me are gonna become real good mates." The one with the rope came over and lashed Jack's wrists together tightly so he could feel the rough splinters dig into his skin, then grabbed his sword and pistol, along with Will's, and went out onto the deck. Will was led out after him with the pistol pressing into his neck. Finally, the cold blade was drawn back and Jack was yanked to his feet and kicked violently out the open cabin door.

Unable to break his fall, he landed hard on his shoulder and felt streaks of pain shoot through it. "On your feet, you lazy git!" The man with the sword hoisted his unceremoniously back to his feet and shoved him across the Pearl's deck.

        In the moonlight, Jack could see Will being led across a plank onto another ship. He couldn't make out the name, but it was roughly the same size as his ship, though he doubted it could match the Pearl in speed. He could see the mystery ship's crew watching the scene from their deck, and Jack wondered why anyone would send just three men onto an enemy ship. They must've just gotten lucky, he reckoned. They couldn't have known we'd be alone.

Jack and his captor followed Will across the plank and the crew, seeing the infamous captain in bonds, let out a raucous cheer. Fully expecting to be led to this ship's captain, Jack was taken aback when he and Will were shoved into a little hole of a dungeon below deck that stank of brackish water and the remains of previous prisoners.

Will picked himself up off the ground and rested his back against the filthy cell wall. He looked at Jack and spoke for the first time all night.

"Do you have any idea what just happened?"