A/N: Gosh...it's been a while. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Deer hunters, beware! I found this chapter pretty amusing to write, because I know just how easy it is to wind up like Jack. Just a quick reply to my reviewers Todd (It is Todd right? I haven't looked in a while) & Captain Jade Sparrow.
Todd: It's great that you're getting a horse. They're a lot of work, but man, they're worth it!
Captain Jade Sparrow: Hey girl...relax...here's another chapter. And yes, I'm coming to the sheriff's rodeo Saturday.
And now, on with the spectacle!!
Chapter 9, Hunting
It was 3:30 in the morning; the night was pitch black with a cool fall breeze blowing. Jack turned over in his bed, dreaming fitfully about the good old days Black Pearl. He was barking orders at the crew; the Interceptor was far behind, trying in vain to catch up; he had just said something that ticked Anamaria off, and she was about to slap him, when... "Wake up, time to go huntin'!" Jade popped into the room and flipped the light on, then began laying out a complete set of camouflage clothing that she had slung over her shoulder. Jade herself was decked from head to toe in Mossy Oak, and she also had on a pair of waterproof snake-guards. Jack raised up on his elbows. "Already?" he asked. Jade rolled her eyes. "Yes, now come on, ye' scoundrel." She left the room. Jack got up and wandered over to the dresser where she had left the clothes. He began to put them on. When he was finished he walked down the hall to the kitchen, yawning slightly. He joined Morgan, Will, and Jade in a quick snack of beef jerky and rum. Ten minutes later, they had grabbed their guns and ammunition, and were driving out to a good spot in the woods along a nearby river. "Now," said Morgan, "don't shoot anything with spots; don't shoot across a road; don't shoot a doe with a fawn by her side..." She went on to rattle off the general rules of hunting. "...and don't shoot a big 16 point buck." "Why not?" Will asked, snuggling up to her and giving her puppy-dog eyes. "Because that sucker is mine! I've been after him for five years." They were now about four miles out in the woods. Jade parked the truck and they all got out. She pointed out two tree-stands. "Will, the one to the north is yours, and the other one is Jack's. Don't leave your stand, and please, don't shoot each other!! Morgan and I will be hunting on the ground." The pirates nodded and walked off to their respective stands. "You know, Will looks kinda good in camou," said Morgan as she watched his retreating form. Jade winked. They fanned out and began stalking the edge of a nearby field.
It was just now getting on around 4:35, and the animals were beginning to wake up. Will took a deep breath as he sat on his stand, gun across his lap. He had never been in as peaceful a place as this, and he suddenly realized that he never wanted to leave. Not even for Elizabeth. In fact, he didn't even love her any more...he loved Morgan. Jack had been right after all. He smiled and settled back across the tree.
(Two hours later)
In the other stand, Jack wasn't feeling quite as happy. He was bored. It was 6:30 and he hadn't seen or heard a thing. 'Damn it' he thought. 'I've had enough of this.' He quietly climbed down out of the stand and began walking stealthily to the west. He had gone a fair ways and was beginning to get impatient again, when he topped an embankment and saw a large river before him, bordered by a sandbar. Jack stepped out onto the sand and gazed around, when something caught his eye. He crouched down to look. Fresh tracks, headed south. They were big, too. He straightened, and began stalking tree to tree in the direction indicated by the tracks. He had barely gone fifteen paces when he saw a large form ahead of him, nibbling on some berries. The wind was blowing in Jack's favor, so the animal couldn't smell him. Jack crept forward a little more, then slowly raised and cocked his gun. He took aim and pulled the trigger. CRACK! The deer jumped and ran a few steps, then keeled over, dead. Jack smiled in triumph and swaggered over to inspect his trophy. It was a ten point buck! 'Not bad,' Jack thought to himself. 'Jade oughta like that!' Flushed with success, he grabbed the antlers and started to haul his kill back to the stand. However, Jack soon found that he had not paid enough attention to exactly where his stand had been, and just as fast as he had realized it, he was lost as a goose. 'Damn,' he muttered under his breath. He wandered for about thirty minutes, all the while dragging his buck behind him. His arms were beginning to ache from holding the gun and the added weight of the deer; he was sweating and hot, and no closer to finding his way out of there than he was beforehand. Finally, he found a new route and began to plod along it. He went about twenty yards, and was passing over a marshy section of land, when he took a step and suddenly sank up to his chest. PLOOSH! SCUELCH! SQUISH! He had unwittingly stumbled right into a quagmire, and was now stuck fast in the mud, his deer still lying on the edge. Jack's temper got the better of him, and he took off his hat and threw it down in the ground. "HOLY SHIT!"