AN (8/17) -Right, then, I'm sorry for the boring chapters as of late that my mind has been churning out. This sequel is a lot more on the boring side than its predecessor. And I'm apologizing for that. I realize many of you enjoy swashbuckling immensely. I do myself. But, for some odd reason, I've been churning out a bunch of psychological stuff. And I'll apologize again.
Chapter 8: Abogado De Diablo
"Cap'n Sparra?" a rather clueless voice said near Jack's ear in the galley. Most of the crew were busy eating their dinner, and it was rather noisy in the crowded room. Especially on the table directly across from where Jack was sitting. Robert, Kaman, and Vicktor appeared to be getting into a fight over what the meat they'd been served exactly was. Kaman insisted it was beef, Robert thought it was pork, and Vicktor thought it was goat. Vicktor had always been a bit of an oddity, and Jack really hoped that he wasn't right. Something about eating goats seemed to disturb Jack. When Jack didn't respond, the voice seemed much more urgent as he said, "Captain Sparra!" and put his arm on Jack's shoulder.
Jack turned to look at the person who had invaded his private space (while he enjoyed invading other people's space, he didn't like it when others did it to him when he was unaware of their presence) glaring slightly. "Wha' is it, Ragetti?" he asked with a slightly exasperated tone, setting the biscuit known as hard tack that he'd been eating down on the table.
Ragetti blinked, a vacant expression in his eyes as he tried to remember exactly why he'd come to talk to Jack anyway. He sighed softly, sudden recollection coming to his blue eyes like the sun coming out after a particularly harsh rainstorm. "Cap'n Sparra! There's a ship on the 'orizon!" he said proudly, bowing slightly as if proud to be the bearer of this news.
"An' tha' should interest me how?" Jack easily questioned, arching one of his eyebrows slightly as he surveyed the rather odd man with stringy blonde hair that appeared to have never been washed.
"Pintel thinks tis a merchant," Ragetti replied after another long pause. Talking to him was usually almost like talking to a brick. At least with the brick, there was a reason why it didn't give an intelligent answer to questions. Jack personally thought Ragetti'd had fallen down quite often as a child.
Jack frowned slightly, not trusting Pintel's judgment either. Pintel might have been more intelligent than Ragetti, but it was not by much. Sighing, he stood up after pushing his chair out from the rickety table. "Well, show me the ship then." Jack's voice bordered on amused and annoyed as Ragetti nodded and tromped out of the galley. Jack swiftly followed, though it seemed he was rather bored all at the same time. If there was one thing Jack was good at, it was being at two different extremes.
Ragetti stopped rather abruptly when he spotted his friend Pintel. The dirty pirate was only four inches taller than Pintel, but he seemed much more because of Pintel's weight. Not that Pintel was particularly rotund, but Ragetti had the appearance of a scarecrow next to him, making Ragetti seem much taller and thinner than he actually was. "Show the Cap'n, 'Enry," he said proudly as Jack nearly ran into him.
Pintel nodded, angrily eyeing Ragetti as he saw Jack straighten out and act as though he hadn't nearly been clumsy. "Righ'. Cap'n Sparra, look 'ere." Pintel started pointing out at the horizon to the west. It didn't seem to bother him that the sun was shining directly in his eyes, and Jack had to squint to see the faint outline of a ship. It was probably too far away for them to catch, and Jack couldn't tell from this distance if it was another pirate ship, a merchant ship, or even if it was a Naval ship. Unless it went directly towards the Pearl, he'd probably never find out what it was.
"'Enry found it, Cap'n. Lookin' straight a' the sun because 'e thought 'e saw a ghost." Ragetti nervously laughed, clearly indicating that he was terrified of anything that might be deemed unnatural.
Jack glanced back over at Ragetti, blinking a few times as he tried to get used to not seeing the sun. Truth be told, Pintel had probably just been trying to scare Ragetti. Either that, or get the man to look directly at the sun. "Well, tis too far away t' tell exactly wha' it is yet," Jack announced, much to both Ragetti and Pintel's dismay as lights danced around in front of Jack's vision. "If it starts comin' closer, I wan' ye t' inform me again. Bu' wait until ye can tell wha' sort of ship it is, savvy?"
Pintel nodded, looking slightly ashamed that he'd even had Ragetti go and bother Jack. "We jus' thought it migh' be tha' Spanish ship Barbossa was talkin' abou', sir. Mean' no 'arm by it." His rather ratty hair looked, if anything, worse when the sun hit it. Rather than shining, Pintel's hair seemed rather musty and full of vermin.
Ragetti soberly nodded. "Aye. Mean' no 'arm by it. Sorry fer disturbin' ye durin' supper." His mouth twisted into a rather lopsided grin, and Jack wondered if he'd ever tried to impress a girl with that particular smile. If he had, Jack was fairly certain that the girl would've run away screaming.
Jack smiled faintly in return. "Tis no problem. Saved me from 'earin' a discussion as t' wha' exactly the meat is." He chuckled faintly, wandering back down to the galley to finish off the last of his biscuit. When he'd left, Pintel gave Ragetti a resounding whack to the head, telling him off for getting the captain for something so unimportant.
A very sultry voice softly said, "Why, Captain Sparrow, you do have quite a flattering tongue!" A fan fluttered softly as the woman who'd spoken blinked her sapphire eyes a few times, clearly indicating her approval of the situation. Her eyes were symmetric-both curved slightly upwards at the same time and were the same shape, almost like some sort of mutated blue almond.
Jack smiled, putting his hand gently on her milky white one. "Miss Mallett, I do not jest. You truly do wear the most attractive garters I've seen. You have a lot of fashion savvy." He was sitting next to the beauty on a small love seat upholstered in fine green satin, dreamily staring at the fan and imagining how beautiful her face was behind it.
Miss Mallett coquettishly laughed. There was something very odd about the way she was laughing, though. It seemed almost wooden. "Captain Sparrow, you are a tease." She slowly moved her hand from under his, gently touching his shoulder to draw him nearer. She slowly lowered her fan as Jack's lips nearly touched the black object with curious symbols engraved on it in gold.
Jack smiled impatiently, grabbing at her hand and pulling the fan down faster, quickly kissing her. Slowly opening his eyes after feeling a bit of hair stubble against his cheek, Jack nearly swore. What he saw shocked him. Instead of an adorable nose and pouty red lips, Miss Mallett had a crooked nose and rather dry, manly lips. Her eyes suddenly changed as well, and Jack realized he'd just kissed a man by the name of Anthony Ragetti. Ragetti opened his mouth, calling out, "Cap'n Sparra!" with a slightly sultry voice.
Jumping forcefully backward, Jack hit his head on the maple headboard his bed was connected to. Swearing, Jack realized he'd just been asleep. And that Ragetti was knocking on his door, calling out his name. Sticking his tongue out in disgust and feeling like he needed to wash his mouth thoroughly out, Jack slowly got out of his bed, one hand clutching the top of his head as a small bump started to form, the other buttoning his shirt back up. In about three steps, he reached the door and opened it, glaring at the man who'd ruined his dream. "Wha' is it?"
Ragetti blinked, wondering, first of all, why he was standing in front of the captain's quarters. Then he wondered why Jack was holding his head. Then his mind processed the cruel look Jack was giving him, and he felt a bit ashamed for waking him up. That's when he remembered his whole purpose in coming. "Cap'n Sparra, the ship is only a few leagues away. Barbossa said twas the ship 'e was talkin' abou', laden in all manners of swag."
Jack frowned, rubbing at his eyes with his right hand. As his rather tired mind finished processing what Ragetti had said, he suddenly smiled, looking vaguely like Ragetti. "Well, then, get the cannons ready. We've got a pig t' gut."
The battle definitely was not going well. As a shimmery moon danced in the fumes of gunpowder and splinters of wood coming from both ships, Jack realized that they'd made a horrible mistake. This ship, called the Abogado De Diablo, was definitely carrying more guns than it looked capable of holding without sinking.
A sharp crack to Jack's left made him flinch as a spray of wood went everywhere. A few small splinters hit his face, but he paid no heed to the rather intense pain that brought on. His determination to never surrender or flee was definitely combating with his common sense. If the Pearl stayed here much longer, he wouldn't have a crew anymore. Already a few of his men were laying on the deck, wounded beyond repair. The reason they were beyond repair was because Eric, the surgeon, happened to be one of the one's who'd died instantly as a small grapeshot cannonball hit him in the head. Jack doubted he'd ever get the image of bits of Eric's brain shooting out the back of his head through the exit wound.
Bootstrap appeared at Jack's side, looking rather confused and just a bit pale. He blinked his caramel brown eyes, adjusting his focus on Jack as an ominous breeze blew. "Jack, we need t' get out o' here! This is a ruddy massacre!" His hands were lined with gunpowder and blood, and it was clear he'd been down in the gun deck when a particularly bad barrage of metal hit that region.
Jack numbly nodded, turning the Pearl away from the melee. Fortune seemed to have abandoned the crew of the Pearl, for the wind was contrary to what they needed. The Abogado De Diablo followed the Pearl like a fox preparing to pounce on its prey. In a few minutes, the manpower of the Abogado De Diablo won, and Spaniards started streaming onto the deck of the Black Pearl, cutlasses slashing and pistols firing in order to stun the pirates. Several people fell to the deck with barely enough time to look surprised.
Jack pulled his cutlass out, charging at a few men as Bootstrap did the same. After the initial shock of actually having enemy sailors board the Pearl wore off, the remaining members of the crew began fighting with a very zealous attitude. They all loved the Pearl like a younger sister. The tide soon turned, and the Spaniards started to retreat towards their ship.
Jack, while engaged with a rather handsome youth who didn't happen to be particularly good with a sword and appeared to be around seventeen, was glancing around at his remaining crew. Stout Sam was stealthily holding back a short and skinny man who resembled a nail. Barbossa was diligently striking at a terrified looking balding man. Kaman was holding two swords and fighting three different people at the same time. Pintel was busy loading his gun to shoot someone who'd taken his sword.
When Jack's eyes stopped on Ragetti, he suddenly blanched as he saw a man dig his finger into Ragetti's right eye, making a horrible squelching noise that everyone seemed to hear as Ragetti screamed out in absolute pain. The fighting momentarily stopped as crew mate and enemy alike looked at the blood running down his cheek, everyone but the most crude wincing to a degree. As Ragetti fell to the deck and a shot was heard (for Pintel had shot the man who'd just impaired his friend), the fighting resumed as though it hadn't been paused.
As Jack parried each blow the young man kept sending his way, he really wished he could speak Spanish. The man was probably giving some sort of snappy quip each time Jack nearly got hit by the sword or nearly missed a block. Or, for all Jack knew, he could be completely insane and be addressing Jack as his mother, though he doubted that.
The youth seemed to be getting more sure of himself with each blow. Soon he was showing off, taking his time to block and looking quite happy with himself. This was exactly what Jack was waiting for. During one of the unnecessarily long pauses the man made, Jack quickly thrust his sword into the man's left knee, bringing him to the deck of the Pearl. Jack still had problems killing people, so he'd merely hurt them so they couldn't hurt him. Stepping over the screaming youth who appeared to be only fifteen now that he was crying, Jack went onto his next opponent.
By the early hours of the morning when the great sun finally decided to show its disgustingly cheerful face with hues of blood red, orange, and pink, it seemed that the captains of both ships had made some sort of agreement. After shaking hands with a bald man wearing a rather ugly moustache, Jack ended the whole fight. Both needed what remained of their crew to make it to the next port. After the Spaniards had left, Jack glanced around to survey the damage to his mistress of the sea.
There were massive holes all along the sides of the Pearl. Even the mast had managed to catch a few bullets and sword swings. It still proudly stood erect, a beacon to those who'd survived. Out of the thirty-something crew Jack normally kept, there were only a handful left. Kaman, Pintel, Stout Sam, and Barbossa were busy tending to Ragetti's squashed eye. Bootstrap, Daniel, and Matthew were busy checking bodies for life signs. Everyone else was either dead or appeared to be dead on the sullied stained wood of the Pearl. It was really quite a miracle that Jack had reached an accord with the captain of the Abogado De Diablo. They'd been very close to winning the Black Pearl as a second ship.
Jack was numb as he kneeled next to Devon, quickly ascertaining that there was no pulse. He was definitely living impaired. Sighing slightly and trying to ignore the carnage, Jack passed over a Spaniard who was muttering some sort of prayer in his mother tongue, quickly checking on Robert. The fairly cultured pirate looked quite relaxed, and for a minute, Jack thought he'd survived the horrible gash to his neck. It was not so-Robert had died as any man wanted to-with dignity and acceptance on his face. He'd proudly stared death in the face and had won a small concession. Not many pirates could claim in the life after this one that they'd died at peace, for the sea was a very cruel mistress indeed.
Frowning, Jack slowly closed Robert's eyes for him. He weakly stood, suddenly feeling quite nauseous from the sights and smells and sounds that inevitably accompany death and injury. His head seemed detached from his shoulders, and Jack was reminded of the first man he'd killed. Sure, he'd killed one or two more since then, but death still bothered him. He swore rather loudly at the sun, scorning its ever-blissful face and kind disposition. The sun shone on murderers and saints in the same way, having no knowledge of what the trivial insect of man was doing, and that seemed to irk Jack right now. After he'd finished a rather long deluge about how horrible the sun was for even daring to look at his crew, his ship, Jack hastily swaggered to the railing, letting all of last night's dinner loose into the sea to be devoured by all manner of sea creatures. He was not looking forward to the burials-the sharks that often trailed behind ships would have a feeding frenzy.
Hafae a.k.a. Hufflepuffer242-What an odd coincidence...I got your review just as I finished this chapter. And I'm glad that my story got your mind off school, for that's why I write it. Well, not to get your mind of school, but to get my mind off school. Thank you oh so much for leaving a review! I think I'll give you a Kudos bar...and I love your shirt too! Well, not really, but if I could see it, I'm sure I would love it.
DragonHunter200- Well, Barbossa had to be trusted by Jack just a bit. Jack wouldn't have told Barbossa where the island was if he didn't think what Barbossa said was accurate. And thanks! Luck is always nice.
Mrs Capt Jack Sparrows- Thank you for the review! I really appreciate it! You've got to remember that Bootstrap was aboard the Pearl when Jack was marooned, not stuck on the island with him. And I hope you enjoy this rather morbid and violent chapter. I really didn't intend for it to turn out that way...
Rachel Sparrow- It does make more sense, doesn't it? It isn't like Bootstrap wasn't doing it for a reason. And Jack really is better off living back on the sea, he just doesn't realize that. Thanks for being such a faithful reviewer!
Jack- Glad that you liked it, my friend! And I hope you can find it...I like to have critiques or comments on my writing. Helps me improve as a writer and better convey what I mean to. Thanks for the review! Hope you like this chappie. I really let my morbid side come out again.
Daisy- Is this enough action for you? Or do you want some that isn't so morbid? Actually, I had a reason for this chapter...it will all make sense in the end. Or, it should make sense in the end. And the mutiny tis at the end of the book...unless I change my mind and put it in the middle.
sunkist3208- If you updated more often, I'm sure you'd get more reviews. And I like to use the word odd, don't I? It's rather fun. Not to mention I can't spell eerie. Most of the time when I use unique words, tis because I can't remember a word or I can't remember how to spell a word. Hope you like the Ragetti and Pintel you see here...they're fun!
Aliana Archer- Well, everybody in the world has at least some good in them. Or, that's what people say. Perhaps Barbossa is just trying to gain Jack's favor...or, perhaps he really is giving what could be considered fatherly advice. The problem of writing a book chapter by chapter and posting each one online is that I really have no idea where the story is going to go sometimes. Or if it will ever tie into the prologue...thanks for the review!