Author's Note: Warning, tis another CLIFFHANGER!!!  Bwahahahaha…. And yes, this time the chapter really IS a short one! I wrote this all yesterday when I was home sick with the flu, and I didn't really pay any attention to it until today when I read it (I had forgotten I'd even written another chapter, my flu drugs were making me kinda drowsy) I decided not to change anything. But why didn't I add more, you ask? Because I'm evil and I happen to like cliff hangers. They add suspense. Plus I'm lazy, and Wil seems to have taken the day off. So, meh. ENJOY!!

Jeyke: Never heard of corner gas? Gasp! I'm not really all that surprised, as I mentioned most people haven't. It's really quite a shame, cus it ROCKS! You really thought the whole fish thing was funny? Woo! That's so awesome… Brilliant? *blush* Thanks so much…. I'll have another chapter pretty soon after this one… Hopefully… Thanks for the review!

~Kris

Chapter 13

Water. Water everywhere; grey and churning, frothy white caps appearing amid the chaotic waves. Depthless, colorless, ageless. Pounding against the ship's hull, splashing up onto the deck. Droplets every once and a while hitting Mia's face, cold droplets that felt like ice. It didn't matter; it was only water. Water that surrounded everything, water that could pull you down to its depths with one small wave, water that could send a ship crashing against the shore like a piece of driftwood, send it splintered into a thousand tiny pieces, never to be seen again. Water that could swallow you up like a great empty oblivion and it still wouldn't matter. It was only water.

 The wind was cold, blowing the small droplets of ocean water across Mia's face, freezing her features into the cold expressionless mask she wore. Surely too cold for the Caribbean. But now that she thought about it, she had no clue as to whether they were still in the Caribbean or not. She didn't know where they were going, nor did she care. The wind blew her messy auburn hair aimlessly, fanning it out behind her like the great slithering snakes Medusa adorned. It still didn't matter. The sun was hidden by the masses of clouds, nothing more than a faint light amid the endless grey. None of it mattered. Not the wind, not the weather, not the clouds. And definitely not the water.

 Her small hands gripped the rail so tightly her knuckles showed white, but she didn't notice. Her eyes stayed locked on the scene before her, the waves as the bow of the ship cut through them, as if there was an actual destination for them, as if this journey held some amount of meaning. The worn figurehead jutted out from the bow, the wood from the mermaid's hands and tail slowly showing signs of rotting away. The face had once been beautiful, before the sea had took its toll on it. She considered climbing down onto it, resting her head against the mermaid's flowing wooden hair as the ocean sprayed her with the endless water, as the wind blew at her so violently that there seemed no possible way she could tear away from the figurehead and fall into the ocean's depths. Maybe it'd be peaceful down there. But then again, death was supposedly peaceful too.

 "Mia?" she hadn't heard the footsteps slowly approaching her, she barely felt the hand on her shoulder. A large, rough hand; a blacksmith's hand. She didn't need to turn around to know the expression on Will's face, the tone in his voice said it all. But sympathy wouldn't be able to help her. If anything, she felt worse knowing he felt sorry for her.

 "Are you alright?" Yet again, Will's voice was full of sympathy, worry ebbing its way into his words. Mia couldn't seem to stop herself from turning around and peering over her shoulder, to study him as he stood there, awkward as if he didn't have the slightest clue as to what to do or say. His large brown eyes were full of sympathy, tint flecks of light reflected amongst the colors, a tiny ring of black tracing around his irises. She didn't reply, only continued to study him, a voice way in the back of her head trying to fathom why he even cared. And really, why did he? He owed her nothing; he really shouldn't even have anything to do with her. But then why did he seem to insist on it?

 "You've been crying, haven't you?" Will said finally. Mia reached up and lightly touched her hand to her cheek. He was right, warm moisture coated her skin. She hadn't even realised it.

 "I… I didn't know." Was all Mia managed to say.

 Will came and leaned against the rail beside her, looking out at the water passively. Mia had no doubt that he didn't see the horror of it, the misery reflected in the waves. All he saw was the ocean, the pathway their ship was taking, a mere tool for them to use.

 "Isn't it amazing?" He said, his eyes still thoughtfully looking out before them.

 "What?" Mia replied, straining to see what he was looking at. She saw nothing.

 "The water." He motioned out before them, a quick flick of the hand that Mia found strangely familiar. It took her a moment to realise that it was Jack who had always gestured like that.

 "I don't think it's all that great." Mia replied, her voice becoming slightly hoarse.

 "Not just the water, but…" Will trailed off, searching for words. "The horizon. It's all you can see, just how the ocean stretches on for eternity… It gives you the sense that anything can happen, doesn't it?"

 Mia gave a slight grunt of acknowledgment. "Anything like death and destruction." She replied.

 "I wouldn't say so." Will said. "We've turned around."

 "What do you mean?" Mia asked, tearing her eyes away from the water and looking straight at him.

 "We've turned around." Will repeated. "We're headed back in the direction we came, its closer to where the crew voted on going."

 "So you mean…." Mia replied, trying desperately to hide the hope that had crept its way into her voice. Her stomach gave an excited little lurch, her eyes widening with excitement. No, don't get excited, it's not true… it can't be true…

 Will faced her, still leaning on the rail, smiling. Smiling. He wouldn't be smiling unless….

 "We're going back. We're going to find them."

 ***

  The cell was filled with the heavy semi-darkness of dusk. Night was falling quicker than Jack had expected. It slightly annoyed him to know that being locked away for so long had taken away his sense of time. For god's sake, he knew whether it was noon or dusk on a desert island, but he had no clue what was going on in a leaky old cell. Classic.

 Kris shifted slightly in her sleep, reminding Jack that he wasn't alone in this hell-hole. He peered down at her, admiring how peaceful she looked as she slept, how her hair fell around her shoulders and framed her face, how long and dark her eyelashes appeared in the fading light. She seemed almost fragile, her lips parted slightly and delicately, her tanned skin almost seeming to glow amid the grey. He didn't understand why women were constantly powdering up their faces to look paler; personally he had seen nothing more beautiful than a tanned face. But then again, he wouldn't have minded Kris if she was pale, either.

 He dully noticed that their cell was totally dark now, so dark in fact that it was barely possible to see your hand in front of your face. But when Jeremy came down the steps, his footsteps clunking down the stairs, the dim light from his candle was vaguely welcomed by Jack.  

 At first, he and Jack had merely glared at one another, neither uttering a single word. Jeremy was contented to let his brother knew he hated him without making any actual effort of saying it, and Jack simply because he didn't want to wake Kris.

 "It doesn't look like you're having all that hard a time in there." Jeremy said finally, motioning towards Kris who was still sleeping beside, or more so on, Jack. She slept so peacefully, you'd think one wouldn't have the heart to wake her up…

 "Oh yes, it's just a bloody bundle of fun being locked in this bloody brig." Jack replied, and was about to say more, but Kris moving slightly in her sleep stopped him.

 "Do I detect a hint of bitterness?" Jeremy replied, in an almost boyish tone. One would have thought they were merely two brothers taunting one another, except for the invisible electricity flowing between them, the energy that seemed to arise every time their eyes locked. Obviously, they couldn't stand one another.

 "I wonder." Jack replied, this time loudly enough to jar Kris from whatever dreams she had been having. She sat up, her eyes slightly squinted as she looked around tiredly, and she was almost about to say something when she noticed Jeremy. Immediately the tired look left her, and she took on the normal alertness of any well seasoned pirate. She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to say something-

 It all happened so fast, the transition from peacefulness to chaos. No sooner had Kris opened her mouth when a gunshot rang out, shattering the mask of silence that had been coating the room. Jeremy screamed out in pain, Jack had 'protectively' pushed Kris to the ground and sprung up, and a loud coughing sounded from the darkness. Once the slight haze of gunpowder had settled, they could see Jeremy slumped against the ground, clutching his rapidly bleeding leg as he groaned in pain.

 "What the hell…" Kris whispered, furrowing her brow as she stood up. But all of her questions were answered when Katrina stepped out of the darkness, a smoking pistol in her hand.