The steadily falling rain soaked through my clothes as a longboat was lowered from Decklan's ship, which I now realized was right next to the raft Jack and I were on. We were pinned between the two ships.
I considered making a break for it and trying to paddle Jack away, but I knew I wouldn't get far before getting shot. I just sat on the raft, shivering and glancing at Jack from time to time to see if he showed any signs of waking up.
As Spraggins approached, I looked up at Decklan's ship, squinting in the dark to make out the name painted on the hull--Scylla.
I recognized the name from Homer's Odyssey, as one of the two sea monsters Odysseus had to sail between. The term "between Scylla and Charybdis" was often used to mean being in a place where you're between two dangers, and moving away from one will cause you to be in danger from the other. I smiled ruefully as I applied this to my own predicament: I could try to swim away, and escape Scylla, or I could go to the Scylla and be safe from Decklan's trigger-happy crew, Charybdis.
When Spraggins arrived in the boat, I stepped on quickly and helped him heave Jack on board. Spraggins let him drop to the floor of the boat heavily, and I shot him a glare.
He just grinned. "Nice to see you...both," he added to Jack's unmoving figure.
"Long time, no see," I muttered, holding the backs of my arms. I glanced up to see Decklan's crew swinging from the Pearl to the Scylla.
When we reached his ship, Decklan lowered a rope ladder to the longboat. Spraggins brandished his pistol and made me climb up first. When I was on deck, my belt was immediately stripped from me by Troy, who took care to make it as painful as possible, scratching my skin and "accidentally" smacking my leg with my sword. I hurried back to the edge of the boat to make sure Jack was okay.
Spraggins had stayed in the boat, holding on to the rope. He shrugged up at Decklan, shaking his head at Jack. I heard Decklan growl and saw him turn furiously.
"Jerry!" he roared, spit and rain flying from his mouth.
"Yessir!"
"Get him."
Jerry quickly descended the ladder. I was surprised it held his weight. I tried to look over the edge, but Troy grabbed my arm and yanked me back. I didn't protest, knowing there was nothing I could do.
Jerry finally climbed up again, this time with Jack flung over his shoulder. When on deck, Jerry dumped Jack to the floor, chuckling.
I made to move to Jack, but Troy grabbed my other arm and pinned it behind me.
Satisfied, Decklan ordered the ladder to be pulled up. I heard splashes as Spraggins rowed to the other side of the ship to return the longboat.
I glanced at the Pearl and saw the crew being tied up to the mast by Decklan's crew. When they were done, the laughing pirates swung back to the Scylla.
Decklan moved toward me, stepping over Jack disdainfully, then turning and kicking him in the ribs as an afterthought. The crew erupted with laughter as Decklan turned to me.
"Not trying to escape this time, Miss Sparrow?" he asked me mockingly, smirking as I blinked the raindrops from my eyes furiously. "I'm impressed. You've shown a surprising amount of control this time. I suppose it's because of your father, is it not?"
I said nothing, but looked away. I felt too defeated to answer, with the Pearl's crew tied up and Jack unconscious before me.
"By the way...nice face paint," Decklan sneered. I was confused for a moment, but then I realized I must have the paint from the cannibals still on my face.
"Take her away," Decklan barked at Troy. "And Jerry, take this idiot down to the brig, too," he continued, giving another swift kick to Jack's ribs. The crew was still laughing as Troy led me below deck to the brig.
I was silent as we walked, my mind numb. Troy said nothing, either, but took care to shove me as much as possible.
Finally, we reached the brig room. I was thrown into the cell forcefully by Troy, who stood back to let Jerry through. I hurried to the other end of the cell as Jerry dumped Jack on the floor again, where he rolled over on his back.
Jerry guffawed as Troy locked up the door. I glared at the two pirates as they left, not wanting them to see my fear.
When they shut the door, I fell to my knees beside Jack.
Man, I wish I took health instead of Theatre this year! I thought, wondering what to do. A barrel just knocked him out, right? So should I just wait for him to wake up or something?
I racked my brain for anything that would help me. After coming up with heaping piles of nothing, I decided to check his breathing and heartbeat, something I saw on TV a lot.
Feeling stupid, I placed a tentative hand on Jack's chest, feeling around for his heart. There was the thump...I sighed in relief.
Why am I getting so worked up about this? I wondered as I sat back. He only got knocked out...right?
I moved his wet hair out of his face, noticing his face was smeared with the paint from the cannibal island. Still feeling like an idiot, I leaned my ear close to his face to feel for his breathing.
This is ridiculous, I thought furiously, hovering above his head. I have no idea what I'm doing...oh, screw it!
I ducked my head to his face, turning my ear to to his mouth and hoping to feel a breath of air stir my hair. All I could hear was my own breathing, my heart pumping in my ears, and every so often a drip of water falling from my hair to the floor.
"Where are we?" Jack asked.
I screamed in shock. I flew back against the wall, eyes wide. I brought a hand to my heaving chest, trying to calm myself down.
"What the--you scared the bejeezus outta me!" I yelled as Jack propped himself up on his elbows, wincing slightly. "God, I thought you were still unconscious..."
I shook my head, still breathing heavily. Jack smirked at my discomfort, looking pleased with himself.
"What were you doing, anyway?" he asked, sitting up and brushing himself off.
"Uh...checking your breathing," I said lamely. I realized how stupid it sounded out loud.
Jack's smirk returned. "Right."
"Oh, shut up," I snapped. "I saved your life; you could be a little more grateful."
Jack looked around the room. "How do you figure?" he asked.
The door slammed open. Spraggins and Troy stood in the doorway, looking murderous.
"What the hell's going on!" Troy roared, walking up to the cell and slamming his hands against the bars.
Jack was staring at Spraggins. "That's funny. He looks just like that drunken innkeeper," he said to me.
I rolled my eyes. "He is the innkeeper, Jack. I told you that."
Jack frowned at Spraggins. "Oh, yeah!" he said finally, a smile spreading across his face.
"Sorry, guys, I guess that knock in the head disoriented him a bit," I said, grinning at the two angry pirates.
"Who are you?" Jack asked, frowning at me this time.
We both burst out laughing. Our little joke wasn't appreciated by Troy, however. He whipped out his pistol, cocked it, and pointed it at me.
"If I hear another word out of you," he growled as I held back a hiccup, "I swear I will send you down to see old Hob."
I waited until the two men were out of the door before calling, "I guess I'll see you in hell, then!"
I smirked as Troy's attempts to turn back and shoot me were hindered by Spraggins, who held him back.
When the door shut, I chuckled to myself. "It feels good to be obnoxious," I said to Jack, smiling.
"Maybe to you," Jack said, moving a hand tenderly to the back of his head. "But all this yelling is killing me."
"Oh...sorry," I said, watching him scoot to the corner of the cell.
"So, you never did tell me where we are," he said, leaning back with a small wince. "Ow, my ribs..."
"Yeah, Decklan kicked you when you were unconscious," I said helpfully. "Here, let me see..."
I scooted closer to him, motioning him to lift his shirt. He did, frowning at me dubiously.
"Ooh," I gasped as I saw the beginnings of a nasty bruise on his side.
"That bad?" he asked, cringing as he shifted to give me a better look.
"Yeah, that's gonna leave a mark," I said sympathetically. I grinned up at him. "But hey, what doesn't kill ya only makes ya stronger, huh?"
I tucked my hair behind my ear and peered at the mark, trying to see how big the bruise would be.
"Love, if that were true, I'd be--did they hurt you?"
"Huh?" I said distractedly. I had been preoccupied with inspecting Jack's bruise.
"Your neck." He brushed a stray strand of hair out of the way to touch the burn there.
"Oh, no, that was my fault, actually. Troy was hanging on my belt, so I unbuckled it to get him off me, and it cut into my neck," I explained, remembering the night I had escaped from this very cell.
Jack's fingers lingered there, tickling me a bit. "Hanging on you?" he repeated, dropping his arm.
"Yeah...I was climbing up the mast to get away...boy, was that a dumb idea," I muttered, dropping his shirt and leaning against the wall next to him. "Anyway, your concern is noted. Thanks, Cap'n."
Grinning, I gave him a mock salute.
"Don't mention it," Jack said, sounding pleased with himself. "Speaking of concern, how's the bruise?"
"All I know is, that sucker's gonna leave a big mark on your side," I said, pointing to his ribs. "But don't worry. I bet it'll look cool."
"Thank you, bruise expert," Jack said sarcastically, brushing his ribs with his fingers experimentally.
"Hey, I've had a lot of experience," I said, smiling. "Trust me, you can't be as clumsy as I am without knowing a few things about bruises."
"Right. I'll keep that in mind next time you get me into another life-or-death situation," Jack smirked.
"Shut up! I just saved your life!" I said, punching him in the arm. "Show me a little respect, man!"
Jack chuckled at my weak punch. We were both exhausted from the long day. He gave me a little punch of his own on my arm. I laughed weakly and punched him back. Jack gave a small laugh and punched me back, too.
"I give up," I said exhaustedly, throwing my hands up in the air a little.
"Of course you do," Jack panted.
I didn't have the energy to respond. I just smiled and closed my eyes, but Jack wasn't letting me drift off just yet.
"What happened after I got knocked out, anyway?" he asked, frowning.
"Uh..." I opened my eyes, blinking in the bright light of the lanterns. "You fell out of the hole you made, so I jumped out too, and you had sunk underwater, so I dove under and hauled you up onto the raft, and by that time Decklan's crew had defeated your crew, so he was all like 'Give up or we'll kill your crew!' and I was like, 'Don't be hatin', just don't hurt anyone,' and he was like, 'Whoo-hoo, I've got the Sparrows!' and then they brought us on the ship and you got kicked a couple of times and now we're here."
Jack pondered this. "Thanks for not letting me drown," he said, patting my arm.
"Don't mention it," I said, smiling faintly. "Can I go to sleep now?"
"Yeah, sleep'd be nice now."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
I crawled to the other side of the cell and collapsed on a pile of hay. I heard Jack do the same on the opposite side of the cell.
As I lay there, exhausted, I reviewed the night's events in my head, listening to the rain pattering on the deck above. My thoughts turned to my saving Jack's life.
It's funny, I thought wearily. I thought I would be thrilled to be so close to him...touching his chest and his face...but now I don't really care...I mean, I care, it's just that it doesn't mean anything...I think of him as a friend...
I drifted off to sleep, my thoughts swimming with my friends here and in the future.
I was awakened by Jack rolling over onto my feet. I grunted and pulled them out from under him. I heard him groan as my boots struck his ribs and sighed.
"Sorry," I mumbled into my pile of hay, turning over onto my other side.
I heard Jack grumbling on the other side of the room.
"You know, you really shouldn't mumble, because I can't understand a thing you're saying," I said automatically.
"I said, 'No harm done. You just fractured my ribs," Jack said, lifting his head up to look at me. "And since when did you care about mumbling?"
"Uh...never mind," I said groggily, sitting up. "Have a good sleep?" I asked, stretching and yawning.
"Sure, except for the hard wood under me and the wet clothes on me," Jack said, sitting up too.
"Not to mention the smell of wet straw," I said, wrinkling my nose. "Speaking of which, are straw and hay the same thing?"
Jack was spared answering this by the front door slamming open. We turned to see Troy and Spraggins stride into the room with plates of food and cups.
"Whoa, deja vu," I muttered as Troy unlocked the door and threw my food at me. "Dude! Someone didn't get his beauty sleep last night!"
Troy glared at me but said nothing. Next to us, Jack was accepting his food in a more peaceful manner.
"So, you're not really the innkeeper, right?" he asked Spraggins, taking his plate and cup. When Spraggins rolled his eyes and shook his head, Jack said, "Good. So you won't mind the lantern I broke there."
The two men left, looking disgruntled, and Jack and I began to eat.
"You lived on this for two weeks?" Jack asked me incredulously, picking up the stale bread.
I nodded, swallowing with difficulty. "At least the water wasn't as dirty as the water at the inn," I remarked.
Jack peered into his cup and grimaced. "I need rum," he said desperately.
"Will he have any?" I asked, referring to Decklan.
Jack shrugged, looking stricken. I rolled my eyes and chugged the rest of my water. Then, I positioned myself on my knees in front of the bars, preparing to run the cup along them to produce that horrible clanking noise.
Before I could commence with my plan, the front door flew open again.
It was Decklan. I dropped the cup and sat down next to Jack innocently as Decklan bent to his knees to speak with us more easily.
"Ah, good to see you're awake, Jack," he said mockingly.
Jack gave him a fake smile. "Good to see you're still captain, Decklan. I thought for sure your crew would have turned on you by now."
Decklan's face turned to an ugly scowl. "I hardly think they'd wise up to me, Sparrow. None of them know what I'm planning to do with them."
I glanced at Jack quizzically, but he only gave a slight shake of the head. Decklan noticed this and turned to me.
"And the great Monica Sparrow...I'm surprised you haven't tried to escape yet," he said, smirking.
"Well, the day is young," I said cheerfully. "You never know; I may break out again and finish you off this time."
Jack laid a placating hand on my arm.
Decklan noticed this and looked amused. "I see. Not so bold this time, with Daddy watching over you."
"No, I'm just tired," I said, grinning.
"Uh-huh." Decklan stood up. "You two will be kept here until Davy Jones comes for you, Jack," he informed us. "We know it's not long until your debt is to be paid. Until then, Mr. and Miss Sparrow." With a final sarcastic smile, he turned and left, shutting the door calmly behind him.
"What's he planning to do with the crew?" I asked Jack immediately.
"He wants to sell them to Davy Jones," Jack said, staring at the door Decklan had just exited from. "He's trying to buy his own life by paying with the lives of his crew...and ours."
Jack sighed and shook his head. "So, how do we get out of here?"
I stared at him. "How the hell would I know?"
"Well, you've been in here once before. How'd you escape last time?"
I huffed impatiently. "I already told you, I used the handcuffs they put on me to pin Decklan to the cell. I doubt they'd fall for that one again," I said darkly.
"Right...I remember. And you used a nail to unlock the irons?" he asked thoughtfully.
"You wanna try to unlock the cell door?" I asked knowingly. "That might work...you'd just have to get one of the nails out, first."
"And that will be no easy task, now will it?" Jack muttered. "Do you have any other plans?"
I shook my head. "How long do we have until Jones comes for you?"
He shrugged. "I have no idea."
We sighed in unison. "Then we'll have to try the nail idea, I guess," I said sullenly.
"Yeah...but for now, let's see if they've got any rum."
I grinned and picked up my cup. "Okay, but this'll probably hurt your head," I warned. I scooted up to the bars and began running my cup along them.
Jack clapped his hands over his ears as the clanking filled the room.
"Are you crazy?" he shouted angrily. "How can you stand this!"
"Aw, come on, it's not that bad," I said loudly, looking back over my shoulder at him. "It's just your head. Either that, or you're getting old!"
I grinned at his furious expression. He kept his hands on his head, however, and I continued running the cup along the bars, ignoring the noise grating painfully on my ears.
"Besides, this always works!" I shouted, looking over my shoulder again and grinning. Jack had his eyes shut, but he cracked an eye open to glare at me. Then, both his eyes widened in alarm.
I whirled around to see Troy standing in the room, unlocking the door to the brig.
I dropped the cup to the ground and scrambled next to Jack.
"Um, do you have any rum?" I asked shyly as he flung the door open.
Troy seized the collar of my shirt and lifted me up. Terrified, I stood up, finding it better to comply at the moment.
Troy slammed me against the bars, pinning my shoulders, then backhanded me forcefully.
My face was smacked to the side, and I felt a trickle of blood run down my face where one of his rings had scraped my skin. I was about to turn back to spit in Troy's face, but I didn't have to.
Jack had barreled into Troy's legs, knocking him sideways into the other side of the cell. His face hit the bars with a sickening smack, and he slid down the rest of the way.
Unfortunately, he hadn't let go of me when he fell. I was crushed under him, my head at an uncomfortable angle between him and the bars.
I started to punch, kick, and scratch at him before I realized that he was unconscious. I stopped spazzing out and lay limp, panting heavily. Jack seized the back of Troy's jacket and lifted him off of me, throwing him unceremoniously to the floor.
"Are you alright?" he asked, panting, leaning over me.
"Yeah, think so," I said, sitting up with difficulty. I pushed Troy's legs off me and rolled my head around on my neck.
"Here." Jack took my face and wiped the blood away with a rag around his hand. Then, I recognized it as the cloth from my shirt.
"Why do you still wear that?" I asked, nodding to his hand.
He shrugged. "Just never thought about taking it off," he said.
I smiled. "Something to remember me by, huh?" I asked mischievously.
"Oh, shut up," Jack muttered, but I saw a small smile.
Once his breathing was steady, Jack asked, "So what do we do about him?"
"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "I suppose we always could--"
Jack and I realized it at the same time. Our wide eyes met at the same moment and turned to the brig door.
It was sitting wide open.
I let out a little squeal of excitement, clapping my hands together. Grinning, Jack put a hand over my mouth and put a finger to my lips.
"Shh! If someone comes down here, we're dead," he whispered.
I nodded and calmed down, but I was still excited. Then my face fell.
"Jack, how are we going to face his whole crew without any weapons?" I asked, crestfallen.
Jack sighed and considered. "I think we should explore down here," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe we'll find some weapons, but for now, we can take his," he said, nodding towards Troy.
"And we can probably hide down here, too," I said, nodding. "There's a whole bunch of stuff stored down here."
"Then we have a plan," said Jack, grinning. "Get his weapons."
I took off Troy's belt and found a sword, two knives, and a pistol. Jack took the pistol and made sure it was loaded and functional, and I took the sword. We could see no use for the knives at the moment, but we hid them in piles of hay in the cell.
"Ready?" Jack asked, standing up and extending a hand.
"Ready," I said, taking his hand and a deep breath.
We stepped out of the brig room.
Jack peered around the left corner, and I glanced around on the right. Finding no one there, we continued.
We started to explore. Although there was a lot of stuff stored below deck, we could find no weapons.
"They must have a bloody armory," Jack said quietly. "They think they're so sophisticated..."
"Now what?" I whispered.
I could tell from his expression that he had no idea.
Worried, I glanced around, sure that we would be caught.
I was right.
Troy came out of the brig room, rubbing his head and looking absolutely furious.
I tugged on Jack's sleeve, who was looking in the other direction, and pointed desperately. Jack looked, alarmed, but Troy had already seen us.
We raced away, but at that moment, Spraggins came thumping down the stairs, blocking our way.
"What the--" He looked surprised, but didn't miss a beat. He drew his pistol and pointed it between Jack's eyes.
"Drop the gun," he growled.
Neither of us moved. Suddenly, Troy was behind me. He grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind my back.
I gasped in pain and shock. Jack heard me and whipped around.
"Alright," he said softly. He dropped Troy's gun, and Spraggins dove to retrieve it.
Defeated, Jack didn't object when Spraggins ordered him to turn around and walk back to the brig. I followed his lead, trying desperately to break free of Troy's hold.
Geez, it's like the death grip, I thought, tears springing to my eyes as he gave my arm another painful twist.
Once in the brig, Jack and I were shoved into the cell and the door was slammed behind us. Spraggins stayed, his pistol trained on Jack, while Troy took his own pistol from Spraggins and ran out of the room.
To get Decklan, I thought, a feeling of dread creeping over me.
"You know, you were a great innkeeper," Jack said to Spraggins, smiling weakly.
Spraggins said nothing and kept his pistol pointed at Jack.
Soon Troy returned with Decklan, whose expression was unreadable. Troy stayed back, his pistol pointed at me. Spraggins joined him at the back of the room.
Decklan, however, moved up to the cell, his eyes burning.
"Tell me what happened," he said softly, but there was no mistaking the fury in his voice.
I glanced at Jack worriedly, but he kept his eyes on Decklan.
"That guy attacked my daughter," he said calmly, pointing at Troy. Troy shot him an evil look, but didn't move his pistol from me.
Decklan turned to Troy. "Is that true?" he asked in a dangerously low voice.
Troy looked at his captain and shook his head slowly.
"What!" I said indignantly.
"I don't know how they got out, Captain," Troy said, glaring at me. "Sparrow's lying."
"That's not true!" I said heatedly. "Troy left--what are you doing?"
Decklan had begun to unlock the cell door. When it was unlocked, swung the door open and seized Jack.
"What're you--stop!" I exclaimed.
Jack looked alarmed, but he made no move to stop himself from getting yanked out of the cell by Decklan.
Troy moved out of the way and went closer to the cell, keeping his pistol close to me. Spraggins left the room at a nod from Decklan.
There was an extremely tense silence as Troy shut the brig door, leaving me in the cell, staring desperately at Decklan and Jack, my hands laced through the iron bars.
Finally, Spraggins returned--but he wasn't alone. He had brought Jerry with him.
Jack looked up at him dubiously.
"You again?" he said disbelievingly.
Jerry just chuckled and cracked his knuckles.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Fine. Just get on with it," he said with a small sigh.
Jerry grinned and punched Jack in the stomach.
I gasped and winced as Jack doubled over. I glanced at Decklan in shock, and saw that he was watching Jack sputter with amusement.
When Jack stood up again, Jerry slugged him hard in the face.
Jack's head spun to one side. Spraggins laughed openly, and I saw Decklan smirk as Jack touched a hand to his face gingerly.
Jerry punched him again, this time on the other side of the face. Jack turned around completely and slammed against the cell bars, right next to where I was standing inside the cell.
My eyes widened as I saw a trickle of blood run from his nose as he looked at me. I glanced up at the rest of his face, and I was surprised to see that he looked bored. He even gave me a little smile.
I tried to smile too, and I wiped the blood from his face with a finger.
"Thanks, love," he said softly, smirking as Jerry yanked him back again.
This time, Jack was knocked to the ground as Jerry pounded him. By now, I could take no more. If Troy shot me, so be it.
"Stop it!" I screamed, watching Jack roll a bit on his back.
I saw Decklan glance at me, but he ignored my cry. Jerry picked Jack up by his shirt collar and slugged him again in the mouth, knocking him to his knees. Jerry seized Jack's shirt again and pulled his fist back, preparing another punch.
"Stop it!" I screamed again, terrified. "Please, just stop!"
Jerry glanced at Decklan, who nodded. Jerry let go of Jack's shirt, letting him slump to the ground. I knelt as he fell back and leaned against the bars of the cell.
We glanced up at Decklan, who was standing over us now. He smirked down at the damage his henchman had done to Jack.
"Maybe that will teach you to behave," he said softly, motioning to Spraggins to unlock the brig door. "If not, we can always beat up your daughter..."
Spraggins opened the door and Jack crawled into the brig, just making it past the door before Spraggins slammed it.
The four pirates left without another word. I went to Jack, who had leaned exhaustedly against the back wall.
"Are you okay?" I asked softly. "Oh, what a dumb question. You just got beat up by the Hulk."
"Hulk?" Jack asked, frowning at me.
"Never mind," I said quickly. "Do you have anything to clean the blood with?"
Jack shook his head. "You?"
"No...sorry," I said, wishing I could be more help.
He shrugged. "No worries. It'll stop eventually, and then I'll clean it up."
I smiled and shook my head. "Whatever. Don't try to pretend it didn't hurt."
"Good!" he said, and brought a hand to his stomach. "That hurt like hell..."
I grinned and wiped a trickle of blood from his lip. "I could tell," I said, examining the cut Jerry had left. "Have you been beaten up by him before?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah. I've had a run-in with him before. I'm surprised I didn't recognize him in Tortuga."
"Maybe you were too drunk," I suggested.
Jack frowned at me. "Probably."
I smiled and leaned back against the wall, too. "Sorry I didn't say anything sooner," I said apologetically.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I told them to stop, and they did. I didn't expect that," I explained.
"I doubt they would have stopped any sooner, whether you had said anything or not," Jack said thoughtfully. "Besides, you had a gun to your head. I didn't expect you to say anything."
I chuckled and looked at my hands. "It's funny...I never thought I would be afraid of having a gun pointed at me. I always figured, 'Well, if they're bothering to threaten me, they could have killed me by now, so they probably won't.' And now, I'm being threatened every day, scared for my life, you know, and now I was more worried about you than I was me."
Jack was busy watching me pick at my fingernails and didn't answer. Finally, he asked, "How long have you been here?"
Startled, I frowned at my fingernails. "Um...hang on..."
I thought hard, counting the days on my fingers. Finally, I had my answer.
"27 days," I said softly, staring ahead of me. "I've been here for 27 days."
"Has it been that long?" Jack mused thoughtfully.
I nodded mutely.
27 days...I can't believe I haven't seen my family in 27 days... I thought dazedly.
I felt my eyes sting with tears and I looked down quickly at my hands. Jack must have noticed this, because he sighed and sat up.
"Well! It's been a trying day," he said, wiping blood from his nose. "I just got beaten up before midday. I'm going to try to get some sleep, how about you?"
I nodded, looking away so he wouldn't see my tears. I was feeling guilty for not thinking about my family in so long.
We crawled to our opposite sides of the cell, Jack groaning a little. We both laid down and were silent.
Although it was in the morning, I felt as if I had been up all night at some party. I wanted to fall asleep quickly, anyway, so I wouldn't have to think about whether or not I would ever see my family again.
Fortunately, my wish was granted: I fell asleep within minutes.
When I woke up, it was still light out. Confused, I glanced over and saw Jack sitting up, his shirt raised. I watched as he tenderly touched his ribs, where a blue bruise was starting to spread.
"Told ya," I said, sitting up and grinning.
Jack jumped and dropped his shirt.
"Didn't see you there," he muttered, looking away.
"What, forgot you were sharing a cell with me?" I teased, yawning.
He shrugged. "I didn't think you'd wake up for a while."
"What time is it, anyway?"
"I don't know...you slept through the whole day yesterday, and it just started getting light out," Jack said.
"I slept through the whole day?" I repeated. "Why am I not surprised?"
"You did have a long day," Jack said, picking up a piece of straw and twisting it.
"At least I didn't get beat up," I remarked.
He shrugged again. "It wasn't that bad," he said nonchalantly.
I grinned. "Whatever you say, Jack," I said, stretching. "So, what's on the to-do list today?" I asked. "The nail thing?"
Jack took a deep breath and shook his head. "I don't think so. They'll have a heavier guard now, since we knocked out one of Decklan's best men."
I thought for a minute. "Then I think we should be obnoxious," I said seriously.
"What?"
"Well, do you have a better idea?" I asked dubiously. "Come on, if we're gonna stay here, let's make their lives hell!"
"That's ridiculous," Jack said. "Last time it got you marooned."
"Hey, we've both been marooned, and we've both got off fine," I said earnestly.
"Well, we can't be sure--"
"Exactly!" I exclaimed. "We can't be sure we can't get off an island, but we can be sure that we'll be toast if we're on this ship when Davy Jones comes looking for you!"
Jack sighed and thought for a moment.
"Come on," I said, grinning. "It'll be fun!"
"Fine. But I did have another idea..." Jack said.
"Lay it on me," I said.
"Well...I was thinking, you are the only girl on this ship..."
He trailed off, smiling as if he had just said something terribly clever. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped open as I realized what he meant.
I balled my hand into a fist and punched him in the face.
"Ow!" we said in unison. Jack rotated his jaw in pain and I shook my hand angrily.
"You know, most women slap me," he remarked darkly.
"You little--you think you can just--I'm not gonna--" I stammered furiously. "God!" I yelled, hugging my hand to myself.
"Ha...ha," Jack said, rubbing his jaw. "You've never punched anyone in your life, have you?"
"No," I said resentfully. "And if my hand didn't hurt so damn much, I'd do it again!"
"I'm sorry, alright?" Jack said defensively. "I thought you were desperate to get out of here! I never even said what I had in mind--"
"You better get it out of your mind, you jackass!"
"I'm sorry, okay?" Jack said sincerely. "I just want to get out of here!"
"Fine. Fine!" I said, crossing my arms in front of me. "Ya bloody pirate," I grumbled.
"Yeah, what'd you expect?" Jack asked.
"Whatever. Just don't ever mention that sort of thing to me again," I growled.
He put up his hands in defense. "Done."
"Good."
"Good!"
I was still angry with him, but I wanted to do something to get my mind off of what he had been thinking of. "Alright...they'll come down here to bring breakfast soon..." I began, sitting cross-legged and picking up a wad of straw to play with. "What can we do?"
"I don't know. You're the expert," Jack said.
"You're right! It's not like you come up with any great ideas, anyway," I retorted.
Jack was about to reply when the door opened.
"Ah, breakfast!" I said automatically as Spraggins walked in, closely followed by Troy. "What's on the menu today?"
"Rum?" Jack asked hopefully.
"Pizza?" I asked, grinning.
The two pirates ignored us and left.
"What's pizza?" Jack asked through a large bite of stale bread.
"Just a type of food," I said, remembering the taste dreamily. "Believe me, it's way better than this crap."
"Bet it's not better than rum," Jack said gloomily, glancing into his cup.
The rest of the day passed without incident, unless you count Troy blowing up at me yet again when I told him I thought I saw a rat in his hair. I felt bad when night fell, disappointed that I hadn't made much of a blow in the lives of the crew of the Scylla.
That night, Jack and I sat in silence after our dishes were taken away. We had run out of things to talk about as the day had passed, and now we were reduced to sitting quietly and staring around the room as we awaited our fate, waiting for the next meal or the time for sleep to claim us.
The next day, Jack and I were woken by the jingling of keys as Spraggins unlocked the door.
I looked up in confusion, squinting in the dull light that filtered into the room from outside.
"Oh, look, Dad, room service," I yawned.
We sat up to see Spraggins and Troy standing outside the brig.
"The captain would like a word," Spraggins said, smiling and revealing his missing teeth.
I glanced at Jack, who was eyeing the two pirates suspiciously. After a moment, he stood up and walked out of the brig. I followed quickly.
On deck, it was an overcast morning. The ship was filled with fog, and the sky was a dull gray, with no clouds distinguishable. I tried to look out to sea to see where we were, but the fog was so thick that I could barely see anything.
Spraggins and Troy led us to Decklan's cabin. When we walked inside, we saw Decklan sitting comfortably in a chair at the head of the table.
Spraggins led Jack and I to chairs next to each other at the table, and he and Troy at opposite us. I stared at Decklan, wondering what he wanted.
"How are you enjoying your stay?" he asked mockingly.
"Well, the service is great, but the food sucks," I said automatically.
Decklan smiled at my cheek. "I'm glad to hear you enjoy the service," he said in mock pleasure.
"Yeah, too bad the waiters aren't much to look at!" I cracked.
Troy looked murderous, but Spraggins just rolled his eyes. He had gotten used to my insults over the past day.
"What do you want, Decklan?" Jack asked, sounding bored.
"Well, first of all, that girl of yours needs to learn some manners," Decklan remarked with a sarcastic smile. "You'd better teach her to respect her betters."
"She already does respect me," Jack said earnestly.
I grinned at him as Decklan chuckled. "How amusing..." he murmured.
"Dude, you should've seen that coming," I said, holding back a laugh.
Suddenly the ship shook. The pirates looked alarmed, and Jack looked around dubiously.
"Cannon fire!" Troy shouted, standing up and knocking his chair back in the process.
Sure enough, we heard a dull whiz and an explosion as another cannon slammed into the hull.
"Get out there, you idiots!" Decklan roared at his crew members.
They ran out the door without hesitation. Then, Decklan turned to Jack and me.
"As for you two--"
There was another explosion, and the ship was pitched sideways. Jack and I fell backwards in our chairs, and Decklan fell to the side.
"Run!" Jack yelled, standing up.
I leapt up from my tipped-over chair and scrambled after him. I heard Decklan's furious yells as we exited his cabin.
Outside, we were greeted by battle. I stared in shock for a while before realizing that Decklan's crew was fighting the crew of the Pearl!
"Come on, we've got to get to the Pearl," Jack yelled in my ear as the cannon fire and gunshots continued. Grabbing my arm, he ran to the side of the ship that the Pearl was on.
Without warning, another explosion knocked me off my feet. Jack whirled around to help, but he was soon knocked down, too. We realized that the Scylla was completely off balance--and that its port side, the side that the Pearl had been firing on, was beginning to sink.
We slid down the deck, and I was forcefully reminded of Titanic. I hoped I wouldn't have to tell Jack that I would never let him go.
Jack grabbed a rope that was attached to one of the sails, but I kept sliding, watching in horror as the sea kept coming nearer and nearer...
My nails scrabbled on the deck, trying to find a hold. Finally, I found a loose board in the deck and grabbed it.
I saw Jack slide out of nowhere and felt him grab me around the waist. I let go of the board and let myself be carried along.
The ride didn't last long--we soon hit the water.
I felt myself being pulled down below with the force of the current the Scylla was making as it sank. Luckily, Jack still held on to the rope, and he hauled me up many times.
"How do we get on the Pearl?" I asked desperately, grabbing onto the rope for support.
"I was hoping you'd have an idea," Jack yelled, dodging a falling bucket.
"Well, we can't climb up it...but we can climb up the Scylla," I said, a thought brewing in my mind.
"I think I know what you're thinking!" Jack said, looking pleased.
We started up the slope of the deck, keeping out of the way of the crew members who were sliding past us. We wouldn't have made it without the help of that rope.
Finally, we reached the highest part of the ship--the starboard side.
"Ready?" Jack asked.
"Ready," I replied, grabbing the rope.
He kicked off and we swung through the air.
"Whooooaaaa!" Jack yelled as we passed through a cloud of smoke.
I just outright screamed, sure I would fall and break my legs.
When we were over the deck of the Pearl, we dropped, slamming into the deck heavily.
Jack jumped up, looking around, and then stopped when he spotted Mr. Gibbs firing across the deck.
"Jack!" he said happily. "It seems our plan worked after all!"
"How did you escape?" I asked him incredulously, speaking loudly over the cannon fire and whiz of bullets.
"Marty was able to slip under the ropes and set us free," Gibbs said proudly, reloading his pistol. After that, we came looking for you. It was easy enough, but we almost lost ya in the storm," he explained.
Jack clapped him on the back. "Thank you, mate," he said sincerely. "I don't know what would have happened if you lot hadn't come along."
"You'll need to get some weapons," Gibbs said.
"Alright, let's go," I said, running to the trapdoor.
Jack and I descended the steps quickly and made for the "armory", where I picked up a sword and Jack picked up a sword and a pistol. I found myself wishing I had learned to shoot, but shoved a pistol in the front of my pants as an afterthought.
We ran up on deck again, only to see that some of the fight had moved to our ship. Some of Decklan's crew had managed to get on the Pearl.
Jack and I immediately started fighting. Jack tucked the pistol into his belt and began sword fighting with Spraggins, while I took on Troy.
I could see the fury in his eyes as we circled, his hatred for me about to boil over. I lunged, not wanting to give him the chance to let his rage take over.
Even though I hadn't had much experience, I still kept Troy at a distance, as we were both dodging bullets and trying to see through the smoke. When a particularly think cloud enveloped us, I swung blindly and finally felt my blade hit something soft.
When the cloud passed, I saw Troy holding his shoulder, where a bright red blossom had begun to form. I didn't wait for him to look up at me--I ran.
Well, I tried to run. I ran smack into someone else.
This someone grabbed my arm tightly, forcing my to drop my sword. Then, he grabbed the pistol and pressed the end against my head.
"SPARROW!" my assailant roared, and I realized with dread that it was Decklan.
"Will you ever leave me alone?" I yelled, trying to break loose, but he twisted my arm towards him, making me cry out in pain.
I heard the gunshots slow and looked around. In the clearing smoke, I saw confused pirates looking around to see what Decklan's thunderous yelling had been about.
Then, through the smoke, I saw Jack's figure walking towards us slowly. When he emerged from the smoke, Decklan pushed me down to my knees and put my pistol to the back of my head, keeping one hand tightly on my shoulder.
"Surrender now, Sparrow," he growled, cocking the pistol.
"That's Captain Sparrow to you, jackass!" I said fiercely, managing to sound braver than I felt.
Decklan chuckled and ran the barrel of my pistol through my hair.
"You're quite a fiery one, aren't you?" he asked, sounding amused. "Untamable as the sea...perhaps Davy Jones will love you, too..."
"No, no, I'm tameable," I said quickly.
"Let her go, Decklan," Jack said calmly. "I don't want to have to beat you in a fight again."
"Oh, a fight won't be necessary," Decklan assured him. "I think you'll be willing to bargain for your daughter's life."
"Yes, please do, if you don't mind," I half-joked to Jack. My chuckle turned into a moan of despair. "Heh heh, oh God, I don't want to die!" I said softly.
"Why don't you shoot me instead?" Jack asked Decklan, as if discussing what color went best with his stupid purple hat.
"What?" I said, alarmed. "Jack, no!"
Decklan considered. "Maybe I will," he said, raising his gun to point at Jack, his hand still horribly tight on my shoulder.
"Monica, run," Jack said just before Decklan pulled the trigger.
I dove to the side of the ship, jumping as far as I could from on my knees. I landed on the side opposite the Scylla, but my trip didn't stop there.
An explosion knocked me over the side of the ship and into the water.
What the-- I thought confusedly as I surfaced. What the hell just happened!
I dove under again as flaming pieces of wood showered the water around me. When I came back up, I saw Jack treading water not too far from I was.
I watched as he climbed onto a large slab of wood, where he turned around and spotted me. He began rowing toward me with his hands.
Spluttering a little in the waves that knocked against the hull of the Pearl, I struggled to swim towards him. It was hard work, as we were both getting knocked off course.
Finally, I grabbed his hand and pushed myself up onto the makeshift raft, coughing up water.
When I took a deep breath, I knew.
I knew I would be going home soon.
I don't know how I knew it, but I did. I looked at Jack, confused.
"What's the matter?" he asked, concerned.
"I'm going home," I said wonderingly. "I know it. I don't know how I know it, but I do."
Jack looked almost crestfallen. "But...but we just killed the bad guy," he said lamely.
"Yeah, about that," I said quickly. "What exactly just happened?"
"The pistol he took from you backfired and exploded," Jack explained, moving over so I could sit down. "I was surprised; I didn't think it would have enough powder to cause an explosion."
"You were surprised?" I asked, grinning. "I thought he was gonna shoot you."
"Nah, I knew what I was doing," Jack said, returning the smile. But then it faded. "So...you're going home?"
I felt a bittersweet feeling growing inside me. "Yes...I want to thank you for saving me all those times, and for letting me stay with you, and tell Mr. Gibbs I'm sorry I snapped at him when he was afraid of me, and I really enjoyed being on the Pearl, and it was really cool being your daughter, and I wish you could come with me, and I don't want to leave, but I want to see my family again..."
"Thank you for helping me with the key," Jack said seriously. But then he looked stricken. "The drawing!" He exclaimed.
He pulled out his compass and handed to me. I focused on finding the key so I could go home, and the arrow pointed due west again.
"Thank you!" Jack said, taking the compass.
"Glad I could help," I said, feeling exhilarated. "And...Jack?"
"Yes?" he asked, clipping the compass back onto his belt.
"I had an awesome time this past month," I said sincerely.
"I had a badass time, too," he said, smiling.
"And...well...I just want to..."
"What?"
I took a deep breath. "I like you."
He looked surprised. "Wow, Monica. These are strong feelings. Are you sure?" he asked seriously.
I nodded excitedly.
"I mean it! Don't say it if you don't mean it!" Jack said warningly.
"I mean it, Jack--I like you!" I exclaimed, tears springing to my eyes.
"Well...I like you too," he said somewhat lamely.
I squealed with delight. "Ooh, Jack, you've made me the happiest girl in the world!" I shouted, flinging my arms around his neck.
At first I felt nothing, but then he placed his hands on my back.
As we hugged, I felt kind of daring. Why not, I thought. I'm about to go home anyway...
I broke the hug and kissed him squarely on the lips.
We stared at each other. My eyes widened when I didn't go back home.
"Uh..." I said stupidly.
"What was that?" he asked, put I noticed a slight grin.
I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant.
"Nothing...just a goodbye kiss," I said, my red face betraying my cool nature.
He smirked at my embarrassment. "You're a lousy kisser," he laughed.
"Hey, I've never kissed anyone in my life before!" I exclaimed, laughing with him. "Man, this is awkward..."
"Oh...in that case..." he trailed off.
He leaned in without warning and kissed me hard.
At first, I was surprised, but then I burst out laughing.
Jack pulled back, looking mollified.
"What?" he asked, as if unsure if I was entirely sane.
"I just kissed Captain Jack Sparrow!" I squealed. "Twice!"
He grinned. "That's something to be proud of?"
"When it's your first kiss, it is," I said, grinning ruefully. "But now, I have to go...don't get into too much trouble without me, okay?"
"Likewise," he replied, suddenly serious. "Goodbye, Monica."
"'Bye, Jack..."
And I was hurled upwards, blinded by the bright light and deafened by the whooshing in my ears.