Chapter 13-A Terrible Accident
The Black Pearl had already made its way into the ocean. Jack stood at the helm staring out at the blue sea. The sky was overcast and it was raining lightly. Jack's mood was about the same as the weather. He felt uneasy about Diego being on the ship. He just couldn't wait to catch him in the act of something so it would give him reason to throw him overboard.
Will was on deck busy fixing some chainplates that had come loose. Diego was watching him intently and as soon as Will was finished, he made his way to the chainplates and made some modifications of his own. He worked quickly and left to go to the mess hall with the other crew. He went to the far side of the table and sat with the pirates he had been talking to the day before. They were curious to know what Diego had up his sleeve. Sal came in and plopped a plate of food down in front of him before going back to the kitchen.
"So what are ye goin' to do 'bout Sparrow?"
Diego looked down at his food. "Patience gentlemen. I have my own way of doing things and they must be done slowly. One wrong move and we'll all be walking the plank. I may need you in the next couple of days. I do have your full cooperation right?" He looked the three of them in the eye.
"Aye." Came their replies.
"Good. I would hate to think that any of you would betray me." He started eating his food now quietly.
The others returned to their own plate of food. They were thinking about what this man could be capable of. They could see the hatred in him and were too scared to even ask what it stemmed from. Nonetheless, they were in it now and they knew that they couldn't go back.
Later on that day, the winds were picking up. Jack was still at the wheel. He hadn't left his post all day. He did finally decide to go have dinner with Romi. She herself had been cooped up in the cabin all day still feeling sick. He called to the nearest crew member.
"John, come over and take the wheel." The young pirate did as he was told. He must have been somewhere in his mid-twenties but had sailed with Jack for 2 years now. He took his post and Jack went to his cabin.
He walked in and Romi was sitting up in her bed knitting again. She looked up at him when he opened the door. "'Ello luv. Still feelin' sick?" He closed the door behind him.
"Not as much as I was earlier. I do still feel quite tired."
"Why don't ye come wit' me and have some dinner?" Romi looked up at him and saw that his eyes looked tired. She smiled at him. "Of course I will." She set down her knitting and stood up. She put her arm through Jack's and together they left the cabin. When they arrived at the mess hall it was completely empty. They sat down and Sal automatically came out with 2 plates as if he knew they were going to be there tonight. He set them down and walked back to the kitchen. Jack and Romi sat there eating and talking like they usually do. Romi was not eating very much since she still felt nauseous, but enjoyed Jack's company nonetheless. There was a sudden loud noise like something crashed against the ship's deck. Jack stood quickly and ran out onto the deck. He looked to the helm and saw that the headsail had crashed down. Jack came closer to inspect and saw that under the sail, John had been crushed to death. His eyes widened in disbelief. He heard the crew running up to the deck till they all surrounded the area. Diego was among them, his eyes narrowed. There were gasps coming from everyone when they saw the body. Romi came up to the deck and clasped her hand around her mouth. The sight was gruesome.
Diego came up next to her and offered her a handkerchief, which she took quickly and covered her eyes that were starting to tear. Romi felt nauseated again. She ran to the railing and threw her head over. Jack was still in shock, but he ordered some of the crew to help him lift the sail off John. Will was standing by and he had left to get a blanket to cover up John's body.
Diego went over to Romi and began rubbing her back. "Poor guy. I can't believe something like this happened to him. Are you going to be ok Romi?"
Romi was holding her hair off to the side and was breathing in short spurts. "Yes I'll be fine, it was just a terrible thing to see. John was a very nice man."
Jack gave a sigh before speaking. "Will, weren't you fixin' these earlier today?"
Will furrowed his eyebrows. "Aye Jack I was. I tightened them actually because they were a bit loose."
"Well look at how loose they are now mate."
Will bent down and inspected them. "I don't understand? I made sure they were on tight Jack, I swear."
"I'm not blamin' ye Will, I just don't understand how they could have come off like that." He looked back over to the helm. "To think that could've been me in his place."
Will looked back over to the helm as well. "I am deeply sorry Jack. Perhaps I should have checked them better. I can't help but feel this was my fault.""Nay Will. This wasn't ye're fault. It could have happened to anyone. Now let's get this fixed. We'll be able to continue sailing without the head sail in place but considerably slower. Damn mission. So many things 'ave been goin' wrong since we started.""I agree. But with the help of the crew we'll get this sail back up in no time. At least the ship's wheel wasn't hit."Jack stood up and looked around for Romi. He saw her at the railing still bent over and Diego was rubbing her back. Jack could feel the blood boil in his veins. He marched right over to where they were and without even looking at Diego, picked up Romi and made off with her in his arms."Jack what are you doing?" She looked at him quizzically as she placed her arms around his neck."I just want to be alone wit' ye that's all luv." He tried his best to smile without showing his teeth since he had them clenched so hard, he thought for sure he was going to break them off.Romi put her head on his shoulder. She knew he was upset about what happened to John. She didn't think though, that this had anything to do with Diego. Jack walked quickly to their room and shut the door.Diego stood there watching them leave. He knew Jack was jealous of him. And it made him even happier to think he made him mad just now. That accident was supposed to be for him, he thought. But no matter. He will have other opportunities to get Jack. He smiled mischievously and walked off to help the crew fix the damage. Will had been watching Diego and saw how he had been staring at Jack and Romi. Will decided that he needed to keep a watch on Diego. Obviously there was more to this man than meets the eye.AS USUAL READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!