For who, to dumb Forgetfullness a prey,
This pleasing anxious being e'er resigned
Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day
Nor cast one longing ling'ring look behind?
Immortal
Chapter Two: November 17, 1743
November 17, 1743 1:52 a.m.
"Ten years you carry that pistol and now you waste yer shot."
"He didn't waste it."
Will's hand stung and bled but dark satisfaction eclipsed the pain. Grimly, he released the coins. They clanged upon joining the others in the stone chest. Will smiled at Barbossa's confused, horrified face. The man had done so much evil, and was now getting what he deserved…… However, the captain's pistol was still pointed at Elizabeth. Suddenly, Barbossa's blank stare melted into a malicious sneer and his pistol swung towards Will. Stupidly, Will watched the pistol crack. Simultaneously, Jack lunged at Barbossa, knocking him to the rocky floor. The shot went wide. Yet, not wide enough. The bullet, meant to pierce Will's heart, pierced an awkward part of his chest. At first the youth didn't realize he had been shot, then warm, bubbling blood flowed from his vessels and searing pain ripped his body. Far away, he heard Elizabeth's cry. She caught him as he fell.
"Will…"
Will stared into her eyes, as though they were a last tie to earth. What would happen to Elizabeth if he died? If the Commodore had lost, Elizabeth would be alone with Jack, prisoners to a demented and rancorous horde of pirates. These thoughts passed as sensations through Will's mind. They were over in a heartbeat.
"I…can'….leave you," Will protested, chocking. The blood in his mouth trapped the air.
Elizabeth held him, her eyes anxious and defiant. She said something but Will couldn't hear it. There must be a way to stop the bleeding…to stop the dying. The idea hit him with a flood of adrenaline.
"Elizabe...,"
"Its all right. I've got you," she said as she held him.
"Help… me… take a coin."
She gaped, horrified.
Distantly there was a scuffling sound. Will ignored it.
"Won't…won't leave…you," he tried to speak more connectedly, "Help me."
He begged her, afraid. He felt his mind slipping and his world fading at the edges. Elizabeth's white blouse was doused with warm blood. She dragged him up and pulled him to the chest. The golden medallions rose beneath them and glinted like reptilian scales. Elizabeth guided Will's hand. Together, they took a coin. Like someone had flicked a switch, their perceptions changed. Inside them, a light got snuffed out.
From the corner of his eye, Will saw Jack held down by three large pirates. Pirates who had returned from the fight.
"What did ye do?" Jack demanded of Will in a tone Will had never heard him use.
Barbossa glowered up at them, his face a mixture of bitterness and disgust.
Elizabeth clutched at Will. Something was very, very wrong.