A/N:I do not own the ring or any reference to anything I don't own. I hate the ring so I'm glad I don't own it. Humph!
Chapter 15 Guilt and Dreams
The stars twinkled brightly in the sky as the Heaven cut through the ocean. There were no clouds in the sky and the boat seemed eerily peaceful.
Jack was standing on the deck watching the waves crash upon the hull of the ship. He felt the steady sway and he couldn't help but think.
I should have trusted her…them. If I didn't lock her…them… up she…they… wouldn't have escaped and gotten kidnapped by the filthy, slimy, mangy cur of a man. Jack felt the familiar anger bubble up inside of him once again.
"You shouldn't dwell. It's not healthy."
"And ye'd know wouldn't ye?"
Will chuckled and walked up beside Jack and looked at the stars.
"The stars are beautiful aren't they?"
Not as beautiful as her.
"Aye boy, that they are."
Will sensed the sorrow in his friends voice and decided to work with it.
"We'll stop in a port, get our ship repaired, get ammunition, supplies, and head for Tortuga."
Jack nodded his head and seemed slightly uninterested.
"Aye."
Will paused and tried to understand what he was going through. A girl, hardly a woman, had greatly caught Jacks attention, sunk underneath his skin and seeped into his heart. Only to be ripped away leaving a gaping wound and a void.
It was almost exactly as he felt.
But Jack dealt with loss much differently that Will. Jack bottled it up inside and let it grow and grow until it finally died of starvation or hibernated. It was extremely unhealthy for someone like him.
"Jack—"
"No boy." Jack shook his head and walked away slowly. "We'll port in the nearest island. Spend as little time there as possible, and then leave for Tortuga."
Will watched as his captain left to his room, leaving him on the deck alone while the cold air swirled around him. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought of her and what was happening to her at that moment.
He impulsively looked up and saw the waning moon. There was only half of the moon glowing in the sky, and he sighed deeply.
That's exactly how I feel right now.
MEANWHILE…
She waited in the dark room for her friend to wake up. She was sprawled on the floor and the back of her neck was slightly red.
Her eyes wandered over the room again looking for a way put. There was only one door to her right and that was locked with two armed guards right outside. One bed was in the corner farthest from her on her left near the small circular window on the wall to her left. The first thing she did when she woke up a while ago was to look outside the window. There was no way to reach the lifeboats that were directly above them. She turned her head more and remembered that they took out the dresser that used to be where she was sitting.
I would usually do something heroic with no help whatsoever…but I need two brains to figure this shit out.
She looked over to her friend and noticed she was so still. It looked like she was barely breathing.
I hope she'll be ok. She better not die on me. For Jack's sake.
MEANWHILE…
"He's been in his cabin all day. We've almost arrived at the Port." Anamaria paused for a second and gave Gibbs a thoughtful look.
"Aye. Tis not like 'im a'tall."
"No. It's not."
Anamaria smiled as Will walked up behind Gibbs who jerked towards him. He finally calmed down when he saw it was only Will.
"Is he going ashore?"
Will shook his head. "No. He asked you and I to go. Gibbs is to remain on the ship and watch over things."
"Aye."
Anamaria watched Will walk away and turned to Gibbs.
"It's plaguing him too."
Gibbs coughed and took a swig from his flask and looked towards the piece of land they were headed for.
"Aye."
MEANWHILE…
"What are ye plannin' ta do with the girls?" Barbossa grinned expecting a vulgar answer matching his own filthy thoughts.
Lily kept a straight face but her eyes burned with anger.
"One is an innocent whose blood must not be shed at all costs," she paused and saw the strange quizzical look on his face and continued, "But one can bleed till your full to bursting."
Barbossa evil grin was all she could stand before she felt nauseous.
"Oh, and Barbossa," she paused and looked back at him, "Who is the kindest sailor among your crew?"
Barbossa stood a bit stunned at the question. Who was his kindest sailor? Did he have one? Suddenly he remembered one of his own.
"Aye. The young one called Jason. He's the ship's physician."
Lily smirked, "Tell him to meet me in my cabin. He's under my command now."
She turned on her heel and left Barbossa pondering for a while.
So, I wonder who the lucky girl is to be my…toy.
MEANWHILE…
The empty bottle fell from his hand and hit the floor. The loud clank hurt his already throbbing head.
Slowly he slipped in and out of consciousness. The singular candle cast strange flickering shadows on the wall and for an instant he swore he saw her face.
His heart fell and he looked around for another bottle to drown his woes in. Slowly he sat upright and he couldn't keep it up. He fell back down and slept.
DREAM…
He was standing in a dark room. No walls, no windows, no doors, and no one else.
Hello?
He waited for an answer. Quietly the blackness brightened.
Jack!
Who's that?
His head jerked around and he saw a dim light.
Jack…
Such a pretty voice…
Jennifer!
Suddenly he was floating in water. It was warm, and he felt his lungs accept the water willingly. In the blackness he saw a figure floating. It was curled up and seemed to be sleeping. The figure was glowing and the only thing it was wearing was a long white robe. He started swimming towards the figure furiously. His arms felt like they were on fire while his legs felt as if they were made of lead. As he got closer he realized the figure was Jennifer.
He reached out and grabbed her arm. She made no response and he clutched her close to him. He looked down at her and she looked so peaceful. Why wasn't she moving?
He began to panic and shook her vigorously. She still didn't move.
Even though he was underwater he felt warm tears well up in his eyes and roll down his checks. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.
As he pulled away her eyes shot open and she looked around. Her eyes met his and she reached out to him.
This time his tears were tears of joy.
She clutched onto him and he was stunned for a moment. Finally he held onto her and she started sobbing into his chest.
Jack.
He looked down at her and she met his gaze.
I'm so glad your safe.
Jack—I'm scared. Barbossa is a vampire. He can kill us easily. But not before torturing us.
If he touches you—
He's a vampire. He can live forever. But sunlight can kill him. And silver.
Jack's mind soaked up all this information. It should have confused the hell out of him, but it didn't.
Where are you headed?
Your guess was right.
Tortuga?
She nodded her head and held onto him.
I don't want to die Jack.
You won't luv. I promise you won't.
Jack…
Yes?
I love you.
END DREAM…Jack's eyes snapped open and he jolted upright.
"Jennifer!" His eyes darted around and he was alone in his cabin. Anger bubbled up inside him as he remembered what she had said. "He will pay."
Jack stood up and felt strangely balanced. His thoughts were crystal clear, even though he had drunk several bottles of rum. He walked over to his dresser and opened a small drawer near the top. His eyes steadily worked over the contents until a small smile crossed his lips. He carefully pulled out a small box and opened it. Inside lay many small silver balls that gleamed in the candlelight. An idea entered his mind and he couldn't help but chuckle. Gradually he loaded his pistols with the silver balls and began to plan his idea.
MEANWHILE…
Cindy was getting worried. Jennifer looked like she wasn't breathing, and if she was it was so faint that her chest wasn't moving. It had been like that for some time and Cindy thought it was best for her friend to sleep and gain her strength. But now…she wasn't so sure.
She crawled over to her friend and grabbed her wrist. She felt for a pulse and found it was horribly faint.
"Oh my god." She felt the coldness of her friend's hand and she panicked. She tapped her friend's cheek and waited. When she didn't respond she thought bitterly, 'She died from getting hit upside the head. Weak. Wait, that guy looked like he was taking steroids, so maybe he gave her a concussion…or worse…he could have fractured her skull…and then…oh my god.
Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to run her hands through her hair.
"No, no, no." She felt a surge of anger and her hands curled up into fists. She hit her friend's chest with her fist and started sobbing.
Jennifer's eyes shot open and her breathing went from almost non-existent to as if she was just out running. Cindy was dumbstruck.
"Thank god you're alive!" Cindy pulled Jennifer into a tight embrace and continued rambling. "I thought you were dead and, and, I thought he had cracked your skull, and I passed out from being bitch slapped and I was, I was just so scared."
Jennifer regained her breath for a moment and replied, "How unlike you."
They both laughed and they finally spilled out everything that had happened to one another.
"I woke up around an hour and a half ago. You were still and I thought you should rest. I checked out the room. There's two armed men outside the door and the lifeboats that are directly above the window are a good fifteen feet up with no nearby ropes or anything to climb with." She paused and let Jennifer straighten upright and process the information.
"We're trapped."
"Like hydrophobic rats in a tank."
Jennifer chuckled, but quickly ended when she remembered her dream. She crawled over to Cindy and sat facing her.
Jennifer leaned in very closely to Cindy's ear and whispered so softly that only she could possibly hear it.
"Jack is going to follow us to Tortuga."
Cindy pulled away from her and stared at her with wide eyes.
"How do you know?"
Jennifer paused and took a deep breath. In a hushed voice she replied, "We had a shared dream."
Cindy looked at her friend and then began to think.
"Are you positive?"
Jennifer scoffed, "Barbossa is a vampire, that chick is a witch, and now you're doubting my credibility."
Cindy nodded her head, "Point taken."
Jennifer suddenly thought of her knives and felt around her clothes.
"Are you feeling yourself up or something?"
Jennifer chuckled. "Yes, I'm trying to get off while I'm trapped on a vampires boat. I'm looking for my daggers."
"Oh. They took most of mine. They left me with one though." Cindy reached into her right boot and pulled out a curved silver dagger with a simple handle.
Jennifer searched and felt a weight in her sash. She reached in and found Jacks dagger resting there. She held it to her chest and sighed deeply.
"They have a plan for us."
"Yeah. I hope something that would happen in 'The Ring' will happen to us. That would suck so much because you know how much I hate those movies."
Jennifer nodded her head and laughed in her mind while she thought of a plan to escape.
Suddenly Cindy's head jerked towards the door. Footsteps echoed through the room and the door swung open to reveal a tall, slightly muscular young man. His short jet black hair and dark eyes reminded Jennifer of Jack, but this one was much younger, and looked to be Spanish, or maybe native American. But strangely, neither of the girls felt a bad vibe from him.
He walked into the room and the door was closed quickly behind him and he smiled a gently smile. In his left hand was a surgeon's briefcase. Jennifer guessed it had medical tools like a scalpel and maybe a few other tools.
"hello. I'm Jason, the ships physician. I'm just here to give you girls a physical and maybe prescribe a few things."
"Like what," Jennifer's tone was more accusing than questioning, and immediately Jason picked up on it.
"Nothing harmful or and judgment impairing drugs in any way. Just a few things like penicillin or vicodin. Maybe some morphine."
"What?" Jennifer was stunned.
"You're not supposed to have those medications for a few hundred years." Cindy starred at him.
Jason just chuckled. "Lily has provided me with all these things."
Jennifer and Cindy glanced at each to her and Jason was quick to respond.
"Lily is a very powerful woman aboard this vessel."
"Time travel is very hard. Even for an experienced witch." Jennifer commented.
"Not with rage and vengeance on your side."
Jason looked at them with quizzical looks and Cindy chuckled.
"What's the physical for?" Cindy was tired of messing around.
"Just to make sure—"
"Just to make sure we're healthy enough to be blackmail isn't that right?" Jennifer stood up and realized that he was a lot taller than she thought.
"No. that's not—"
"Or is it that you want something to torture us with?" Cindy stood up and was amazed at how she had to look up at him.
"I don't know what I'm looking for!" Cindy and Jennifer fell silent and let him finish. "I was told you check you for anything at all: lacerations, evidence of pregnancy, bruises, anything. I don't know what they'll do with the information."
Jennifer slowly put her dagger away and Cindy followed suit.
"Can we get started?" Jason pleaded quietly. "I'll have to ask you to remove your shirts."
Cindy looked towards Jennifer and they began a silent deliberation. Finally, Jennifer began to untuck her shirt from her pants.