Disclaimer: By now, you should all know that I don't own POTC.
Chapter 10: Capture...Again
"We have to hide," Jack insisted. Natie shook her head stubbornly.
"First of all, where? Second, it won't do us any good. We have no way off this island. If they take us prisoner, we'll be off this godforsaken isle."
"But we found their treasure; they can't take us with them. If we're reclaimed by the Pearl, we could tell them where this," he paused, "horde, is. Those pirates would best leave us here."
"For us to signal another ship? Sure, we can't get off ourselves, but if we create another bonfire, someone would notice," Natie scoffed.
"It looks like they have a dilemma on what to do with us. We're a threat to their treasure, no matter what they do to us."
"Not exactly. There is always the option of us taking the secret to the grave." Natie gave a sigh. "Our best bet, offer to work for them."
"Won't they recognize us as the escaped prisoners?" Jack saw her eyes light up. She started muttering to herself, and dashed back into the cave.
"Here!" she called, throwing some pieces of clothe at him. "We disguise ourselves. Our ship sunk, and we washed ashore. And we were on a pirate ship called…" Natie paused, thinking hard. "I think there was a pirate ship called Prosperity that went down recently. Remember that name."
Jack was too dumbstruck to answer. He was far too busy trying to figure out how to wear the clothing he had been given. What looked like pants turned out to be a jacket and the actual pants only went down to his shins. He turned to see Natie pulling a wool cap over her head, hiding her hair. It also pushed out her ears, making her look like a younger boy.
Once he was done dressing, Natie scooped up some of the grim from the walls of the makeshift cave, and smeared it on his face.
"Hey!" he spluttered, wiping his face, trying to get the stuff off.
"Pirates don't always bathe. You have to look ruffed up," Natie explained calmly, even though she grimaced when she put the stuff on her own face. "Now let's get up, so they can't tell that we were down here."
Back into the blinding sun, Jack began scanning the sea for any sign of the Burning Death. It wasn't hard to spot the black wood hull. Where it was the master of stealth at night, it was no threat during the day. It took him a bit longer to notice the dingy approaching the isle.
"Quick, start waving your arms and yelling," Natie hissed from the corner of her mouth.
"Why?" he asked, following suite.
"Because any castaway is overjoyed when rescue comes. This seems natural. HEY! OVER HERE!" she called, trying to keep her voice low. Jack started calling out as well. In a frighteningly short amount of time, the pirates were upon them.
"What are ye doing on me island?" one of the bigger pirates asked. He was wearing more clothing than the others, including a big hat in lieu of a bandana. This had to be the captain.
"We were on board the Prosperity when a monster of a storm hit. We was landed here," Natie said, her voice deep. Jack was appalled by her bad language. "Been waiting some few days for rescue or summat."
"Really? Were ye now?" the captain asked. He looked closely at both of them, studying them as a vulture studies its next victim.
"Aye, and for passage off this rock we offer service to the lot of ye," Natie growled.
"Good enough," the captain sighed. "I be Captain Cadoom. Take orders from me, and ye'll be fine. Disobey, and I'll see to ye meeting the gallows. We clear?"
"Aye!" Natie responded. Cadoom looked at Jack closely.
"You speak boy?" Jack was very nervous, and decided to use it to his advantage.
"Aye, uh, sir. I speak." On speak, he allowed his voice to crack and rise in tone. Hopefully, the captain would think he was embarrassed about his voice and leave him alone. All the pirates started laughing at him.
"He's a youngin' alright. One day he'll make a strong man," one of the pirates said.
"Now, now Tyke, gentlemen. Let's not laugh at our newest comrade," Caddom let out a hearty laugh himself. "Just a boy doing his growing. Although thin one, his voice be plenty deep, but in size he's small. What're your names, boys?"
"You know I'm Roy," one of the pirates spoke up. The others ignored him, and Jack made a mental note to remember that this pirate was known as a dumb one. It could come in handy.
"I be Pip," Natie said, and then she pointed at Jack. "He ne'r had a name, so we just call him Jack."
"Why Jack?" Cadoom asked, a bit of anger entering his voice.
"It's the common name for sailors or summat. So, we just called him a jack, and then it became Jack."
The captain gave them a suspicious look, but dismissed it. He motioned to the crew around him, and they took Jack and 'Pip' to the dingy. "Bind their hands!" he called. As Jack started to object, he added, "And gag them."
He walked over to them. "Sorry, but we don't want any of ye taking what don't rightfully belong to ye. We're bringing in our latest collection, and I don't want any taking of it, understand? Once you earn my trust, you can have a few trinkets."
Jack looked at Natie as the captain walked away. This was looking pretty hopeless. He could only hope that he could get back to the Pearl and his parents before having to prove himself to Cadoom.
