In the morning, Kat awoke in the cell. It was the worst night's sleep she had ever had. She kept thinking about what was going to happen to her; a prisoner on her mother's ship. She knew one thing for sure – she was nothing like her mother. She had got mixed up in the world of piracy and she didn't like it one bit. Suddenly she felt something warm and soft on her hand. She looked down and let out a high pitched scream. It was a rat. She leapt up, wringing her hand until it dropped off and scuttled away. Kat shuddered. She hadn't been entirely truthful with Jack when she told him that rats didn't bother her. Jack. She wondered where he was now. Was he waking up next to that whore? Or was he sailing out there somewhere, looking for her? Kat slowly walked up to the door of the cell and grasped the wooden frame tightly. It would probably be the first one. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the bars.
Then the sounds of pistol shots, cannon fire and ferocious yells travelled down to the brig. Kat raised her head and listened intently to the footsteps pounding on the deck above her head. Were they under attack? She didn't think she would be able to cope with more pirates. At least she was locked up below deck where they couldn't get to her. Just as she thought that, the ship suddenly lurched violently, throwing her across the cell. The keys to her cell that Finch had left on the table slid down its surface as the table tipped forward. They landed on the ground not far from her cell door. Then a cannon fire suddenly blasted through the side of the Lagoon and into the brig. It hit the cell adjacent to Kat's, blowing a hole through the bottom of the door. Then a larger explosion followed it, widening the hole in the side of the ship. As the ship was lifted on the waves, water began to leak through, covering the floor of the brig.
Kat felt her heart leap in fear. The ship could sink and she was locked in here. Her eyes fell determinedly on the fallen keys and she sank down to the ground, stretching an arm through the bars to reach them. They were just a bit too far away. Kat gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath. She strained to reach them again but with no success. The water was now creeping around her cell and spreading throughout the brig. Eventually they reached the spot where the keys lay. As the water gradually rose, the keys were lifted up and floated an inch forward. It was just enough for Kat to grab them. She had a pain in her shoulder from stretching her arm for so long and the water was almost up to her ankles now. Kat quickly unlocked the door and opened it. She sloshed through the water in her boots and grabbed a sword from the corner of the brig. Shouts and pistol shots were still echoing noisily from the deck. Kat tightened her grip on the handle of the cutlass. She was going to need it.
The first thing Kat did when she got up on deck was look across at the opposing ship. It was the Black Pearl. She couldn't believe it – they had tracked her down! Jack had come to save her after all. Not that she needed rescuing, of course. No, she'd get off this ship all on her own. She ran forward to the side of the ship, ready to swing across to the Black Pearl. A pirate ran in front of her, blocking her way. Infuriated, Kat raised her blade to meet his and there was a clash of metal.
On the Black Pearl, Jack had caught sight of Kat on the deck of the Lagoon. She was fighting a pirate but soon another would come up and she wouldn't be able to fight them all on her own. He knew she'd be angry with him for trying to protect her, but he couldn't just stay and watch. The Lagoon was slightly tilted and not quite level with the Black Pearl. If Jack didn't know better, he would say it was sinking. He leapt up onto the side of his ship with a rope ready in his hand. He saw Kat punch the guy she was fighting in the face but he wasn't tiring and swiped at her with his cutlass again. Jack swung across to the Lagoon, but he didn't land on the deck straight away. He sailed behind the pirate fighting Kat and saw her mouth drop open as she saw him. Jack grinned at her expression and as he swung back and knocked her opponent into the sea. Then as he swung forward, he let go off the rope and landed on the deck opposite Kat. She didn't look too happy to see him.
"What did you do that for? I was handling him fine!"
"Thank you, Jack. Ye're welcome!" Jack said sarcastically.
"This ship is about to sink, I've got no time to stand here bantering with you." Kat said haughtily and turned away from him. She had only said it because she couldn't think of a clever enough retort.
By now Blackmore's crew had realised that the ship was sinking and most of them were trying to swing across to the Black Pearl to safety. Jack's crew knew that they couldn't risk being taken over by them so they had started to sail away as quickly as possible. Finch was one of the ones who managed to get onto the deck of the Pearl. He was soon shot over the side by Anamaria. Gibbs and the rest were frantically trying to stop the pirates swinging from their sinking ship to the Black Pearl. Jack had followed Kat and suggested that he showed her some better fighting techniques. Kat had typically taken it the wrong way and another argument had started, causing neither of them to notice that the Black Pearl was sailing away.
By the time they had noticed, there were hardly any pirates left on the Lagoon. Most of them had tried to swing onto the Black Pearl and were now almost dead in the water. Jack was staring at the Black Pearl retreating into the distance with a strange expression on his face. He swayed on the spot, his eyes unblinking. Kat looked at him sadly, feeling her own heart sinking with despair.
"Jack, they've gone. There's nothing we can do." Kat looked around desperately as the deck sank more and more to sea level. Then she spotted land in the distance. It was an island, but it would be better than giving up and drowning. She looked at Jack, but he had already seen what she was looking at. His eyes were wide in horror and one corner of his mouth twitched.
"NO!" he shouted suddenly, making Katrina jump slightly. "I'm not going back there!"
Kat knew she didn't have time to question what he meant. She looked at his determined face furiously. "Well I'm going! Do what you want, Sparrow. I'm not going to stay here and drown with you!"
She turned and marched away. Jack followed her. "Did I say I wanted to drown? Ye wouldn't last five minutes on that island without me."
Did he think that she couldn't fend for herself? She had spent nearly her whole life fending for herself! Kat she knew she had deeply insulted him by implying that he was a coward, but now he had made her really angry. As they were near the side, she shoved Jack hard and he fell over the side and into the sea.
"WOOOAAAAHHHH!"
She heard the splash as he hit the water and then jumped in afterwards. The water was surprisingly warm as she plunged into it. Kat gasped for air as she reached the surface. She looked at Jack as they treaded water. His bandana was soaking and drops of water were running down his face. Kat's hair was plastered to her face and she spluttered as she choked up sea water.
"Ye're not really supposed to drink that, luv." Jack teased with a smile.
"Shut up!" Kat coughed, not sharing his amusement.
"I take it ye haven't had much experience at sea, then?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, if ye did then ye'd have the sense to close yer mouth before ye went under." He grinned again as she scowled at him. "Can ye swim?"
"It's been years, but I think I'll manage." Katrina answered a little confusedly. What would he do if she said that she couldn't?
Jack started to swim away and before she followed him, Kat took one last look back as her mother's ship was claimed by the sea.
Sorry it took so long to update, the document manager was giving me grief. Thanks so much to those who have reviewed up to now and thanks for sticking with me. :)
