Author's Note: Almost over! One or two more chapters after this one, I think. It's 2:00 am, so I apologize for any typos. I hope you all like it! Personal thanks are included at the end.
CHAPTER 14 – Death Becomes You
"I swear, whelp, this is not my fault."
Will opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
"What's the matter, boy? Cat got your tongue? I certainly hope not. I had planned to take that for myself."
Will quickly shut his mouth and clenched his jaw, instinctively protecting his exposed tongue. "You sick bastard!"
"Now, now, there's no need to drag my dear mother into this. I assure you, I am quite legitimate. I have been feeling a bit ill lately, however. Nothing too serious I'm sure. But we're getting slightly off topic. Where was I, now?"
"I believe you were just about to remove this exquisite blade of yours from my neck," Jack answered hopefully.
"Ah, quite right!" Lange shoved Jack roughly into the corner. He toppled onto the heap of bodies that had once been Lange's crew and lay still. From this angle, Will wasn't even certain he was breathing.
"Now, lad, where exactly did you think you were off to?"
"Anywhere you aren't," Will spat back, his anger flaring up against Lange as he watched Jack's motionless form.
"But we've only just begun! It'd be rude to leave now."
"You'll have to forgive me if my manners aren't up to par," Will sneered. "It's been a rough week."
"I'm sure it has. Withholding information can be quite strenuous."
"I wouldn't know. I've never had any information worth withholding – including the location of your bloody diamond!"
Lange rolled his eyes and waved the sword in Will's direction. "So I keep hearing. You certainly know how to stick to a story, I'll give ya that."
"That's rather easy to do when you're telling the truth."
"Is it? I'm afraid I'm a bit naïve in that area. I don't make a habit of telling the truth."
"Obviously."
"But you…you seem like an honest lad. A blacksmith, didn't you say? Hardworking, I'd bet. Probably got a pretty young lass at home waiting for you."
Will snarled. He didn't like this game. His reaction didn't go unnoticed by Lange.
"Ah, you do have a girl." Lange crossed his arms and examined Will. "What will she say when you walk in looking like that? What a mess you are! Just think how upset she'll be! Do you really want to upset the poor lass?"
"Ididn't do this to me. You did, remember?"
"So I did, so I did. But only because you weren't being cooperative." Lange took a step towards Will and looked into his eyes. His voice was kind, remorseful even. "I don't want to hurt you, son. We both know you're an innocent in all this. Wrong place, wrong time, right? Hell, you said you've only known Sparrow a year! I know you didn't take Crystallis – He did. That bastard pirate. He's no friend of yours, mate. You're better than that. You're only hurting yourself by protecting him. Yourself and your lass. She wouldn't want you dying for a bloody thief like him."
Out of the corner of his eye, Will watched Jack slowly reach for something. 'What was he doing? Had Lange seen it? Keep him talking, keep him distracted.' "I wasn't planning on dying."
Lange sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really think you're missing the point here."
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Jack grinded his teeth to keep from screaming as his fragile body was thrown to the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut and commanded himself to keep on breathing. Everything was getting hazy and he could feel himself drifting into darkness.
The whole world seemed to be changing. He was surrounded by a thick, dense fog. The pain was slowly ebbing away and everything was peaceful. 'NO!' his mind screamed. 'Don't go there! If you go there, you won't come back. Ever.'
But his body seemed to disagree. 'Does that matter? Everything's better there. Why should I go back at all?'
'Listen!' his minded argued back. 'Listen to Will! He needs you! He hasn't given up on you, don't give up on him!' Two voices cut through the fog. They were faint, but he knew one was Will.
"Ididn't do this to me. You did, remember?"
"So I did, so I did. But only because you weren't being cooperative."
'Do something, you bloody git! DO SOMETHING!!'
His brain finally got through to the rest of him. Slowly, his eyes opened and fell on the dead pirate in front of him. Blood was pouring steadily out of a hole in his chest, effectively put there by Will. In his hand at his side was a pistol. 'Did he fire?' Jack stared at the pistol and desperately tried to remember the brief encounter. 'Two shots. BAM BAM. Both Will. This gun's still loaded… GRAB IT!'
He inched his arm forward, careful not to draw attention to himself. 'Almost there, almost there!' He was just centimeters for the handle, now, but he couldn't reach any further.
Lange was still talking. "You're only hurting yourself by protecting him." Apparently he hadn't been noticed yet.
Jack grimaced as he slid his body forward just the slightest bit, scraping his bandaged chest against the unconscious pirate beneath him. But he had it!
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"I really think you're missing the point here. There's no reason for you to suffer! You can walk free! Hell, laddie, we'll even give ya a ride home! What d'ya say? Whose it gonna be? Him or you?"
"How 'bout you, Lange?" The gunshot was deafening as it echoed throughout the small room. The expression on Lange's face was one of pure shock. His sword clattered to the ground. Blood seeped through his calloused fingers as they grasped at the hole in his stomach. He looked from his bloody hands to Jack, lying on his side, still aiming the empty pistol. "You…you…" Captain Richard Lange fell to his knees, his life flowing out of him.
Will was the first to snap back to reality. "C'mon!" He grabbed Jack by the arm and yanked him to his feet, heedless of the pirate's many injuries. "Someone will have heard that, we have to go, now!"
Jack pulled his arm away. "He ain't dead yet! I'm not leaving till he's dead."
"He will be, Jack, let's go!"
"NO!" Will was stunned. He'd never seen Jack like this. Jack was fun, sweet, crazy, even, but not murderous. 'Elizabeth had said he'd gotten a little weird when she burned all the rum, but that was…WAIT!'
"I have an idea!" Will darted around the room, pouring out all the bottles of rum on and around Lange's dying body. For a second, Jack looked like he was about to protest the destruction of the rum, but caught on quick enough. He grabbed the bottles near him and emptied the contents onto the bleeding pirate, even if he did whimper a bit in the process.
"Don't worry, mate. You'll probably bleed to death before you feel the heat. A pity, really."
Will grabbed Jack and pulled him out the door, knocking a torch off the wall on his way out. He half-dragged Jack around the corner and, just as they had predicted, there was the exit.
Will ran as fast as he could, pulling Jack along with him, ignoring the pirate's stumbling. 'Keep moving. Just keep moving.' Out the door, down the steps, down the hill, through the trees. 'Don't stop, run, run!' Through the town, past the pubs, past the whores, to the docks. The docks!
"Ship!" Jack panted. "Com…coman…oh, just get a…bloody boat!" It was late at night, very late, and the docks were nearly deserted. Nearly. Will found a small fishing trawler he could handle, but they would still need a distraction in order to take it. Lucky for them, they had already made one.
"Bloody 'ell! Look at those flames!!" The few sailors who had been loitering on the dock ran into the town to get a better look at the mysterious fire that was illuminating the hill. Now the docks were empty!
"Quick!" Will helped Jack into the boat, untied it, jumped in himself, and set sail. They were free at last.
Jack dropped to the floor and lay on his back, staring up at the stars. "You steer, whelp. I'll navigate."
"Where are we going?"
"Tortuga."
A/N: Well, that's it for Captain Richard Lange! Or is it… I know you all wanted him to have an appropriate death after what he did to Jack and Will, so I hope you're all satisfied. (And not grossed out or anything!) The next chapter will probably be pretty short, so I should have it out soon. See ya there!
THANKS
First things first: The Quote. "You better take care of us, Lord. If you don't, you're gonna have Jack on your hands. Trust me, he's a bit much… even for You." I stole that from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". The original quote is: "You better take care of me Lord, if you don't you're gonna have me on your hands." I know it's not one of his more mainstream movies, so I'm not surprised not many people got it.
OpraNoodlemantra: Love that name! Very 'Deppish'. Congratulations! You win a furry little ball of fluff! I was kinda surprised to see someone get the quote so quickly, but turns out you're one of the only ones who did! That is a great movie, ain't it?
Blue Autumn Sky: Yep, he is a bloody idiot. But that's why we love him. I didn't even think about Mort Rainey, but that's a good connection. I'm definitely gonna have to check out your story now!
Jeshika-chan: Wow! How flattering! Thank you! I know, Cliffies suck and I hate them, too. I'm just that mean. Sorry!
pendragginink: Funny, but you did point out the Johnny line. Just didn't know it. I couldn't give away those kittens even if I wanted to (which I don't, 'cause they're so fluffy and cute!). I'd get seriously bit by their very protective mother. I'm glad you liked Jack accepting Will's help, because I wasn't sure about including that part. And thank you for reviewing this story so faithfully.
Padfoot n' Moony: I promise they'll get home safe and sound. I'm all tortured out. I was starting to depress myself.
ellennar: That's my favorite line, too. Too bad I ripped it from Hunter S. Thompson. Wish I'd come up with it. What can I say? It is a pretty cool hat. And thanks for all your reviews!
Alori Kesi Aldercy: Thanks for taking the time to read all this crap! I never review till the end either.
Merry-2004: Yay for reviews! Thanks for the compliment!
Ila: Yeah, Cliffhangers suck. I'm evil like that. Sorry! I often wish I could slap Jack, too.
Gaze: My longest chapter yet! I wish I could write longer ones but my mind drifts and they start to really suck if they get too long. It cracked me up that so many people mentioned the quote without knowing it was the one I was talking about. But I've done that, too. Hehe, I'd like to see the hat be the death of him in a fic. Not this one, though.
wildthing370: TIM-MAY!! You know you rock! Thanks for the review (even if I did have to beat it out of ya!) Let's get together and do Slurpees! Chao, babe!
Enelya Took: Thanks a bunch for all the reviews and compliments! They are very much appreciated!
Pippin-n-legolas: That was a pretty good guess on the quote. I could see that being in a movie. Maybe it was… You never know. Thanks for the compliment! And, yes, Jack-angst rocks!
JackFan2: You feel that bad for Jack and Will? Mission Accomplished!! I'm glad to see I have them in character, 'cause I'm never really sure of myself. Thanks for all the compliments and for being such a faithful reviewer!
KrazyKid197: Ya know, that does sound an awful lot like a OUATIM quote! I hadn't thought of that when I wrote it. Thanks for the review, though!
JessieRose: I'm glad you loved that line and the way I used it. Just wish I had written it. Oh, well. Thank Hunter S. Thompson for that one! But since you're such a faithful reviewer, take a kitten anyway!
Heldin: Yay! Second person to get the quote right! Congratulations! And you even quoted the original, nice touch! Thanks for taking the time to review!
Beanie2552: Wow! Wasn't expecting a review from you! You're right on one account. Chapter 11 was very forced, but 12 was actually pretty easy 'cause I had a deadline. Work better under pressure, I guess. You know better than anyone that I can't write without being in the evil place. I get my best ideas when I'm supposed to be concentrating on other things. Have your people call my people and we'll do lunch. Burger King?
Atticus Crisps: Thank you so much! That has to be the best review I've ever received. I'm never sure about my writing, so your review was a great confidence builder. And I checked your profile to see if you had any stories I could read and saw that you recommended mine! That was really flattering! Again, thank you so very much!!
And Thanks to everyone who's reviewed my other chapters. I'd like to thank you all personally, but that's a lot of reviews to sift through and I'd rather be writing. Please keep it up!!