A/N: I'm glad everyone liked my last chapter. In this one, creepy things start happening to Santana. Are they real, or is she just crazy? Lol Let's Roll!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean

Chapter 10: Altered

Voices, people moving around me. At first, I couldn't make them out. They were all around me, whispering. As my mind cleared, though, I began to understand.

"How long has it been since she was shot?"

"Not long, about two hours."

"Can you-

"I don't know. It's too early to tell. But these wounds, they should have killed her."

"We'll take her back to Port Royal with us, but Mr. Sparrow will have to be chained."

"You can't Commodore! He saved our lives. He's done nothing wrong!"

"Quiet. Don't yell in here. Take it outside."

Another person entered, "Can you help her? It's my fault she was shot."

"Patience, it seemed she survived the worst of it. I have to stop the bleeding, but there is a good chance."

"Thank God."

I must have been in the Commodore's vessel. They were taking us back. I felt sheets underneath me, so I was lying in a bed. I tried to open my eyes. The sudden brightness caused me to whip my hand over my face.

"She's awake." I heard Elizabeth exclaim.

"Santana, can you hear me."

"Jack? What's happening?" I asked in a cracked voice.

"Are you all right?" Another man asked.

"Yes. I can't breathe that well." I choked out.

"Barbossa shot you in the chest. I'm so sorry, Santana, I should have done something."

"It's okay Jack. It's not your fault." I replied.

Slowly, I began to move my hand away from my face, and opened my eyes. I was so startled at what I saw; I fell off of the bed. Everything was whitewashed; the people around me were sketched in light blue. All around me, it seemed as if I were looking into that harsh light I remembered in my dream. I could make out Jack, Elizabeth, Commodore Norrington, Will, and a man I had never seen before. They all were tinted a light blue color.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"You need to rest." The man said, I guessed he was the doctor.

"Santana, your eyes." Will said horrified, "They're all white!"

"I don't know what's happening." I said, "I still can see, but it's… altered."

"You can still see?" The doctor asked amazed.

"Yes, it's all white, I can see everything around me though. It's hard to describe."

Jack helped me back on the bed. They all had questioning looks on their faces. The doctor examined me.

"I can't explain it." The doctor stated.

"I don't know, I remember being somewhere, after I was shot." I said confused, "In a dream…" I described the dream I hadexperinced when I blacked out. They all listened, not knowing what I would say next. I told them about the door, the shadow, and my father.

"I think it was death trying to take me." I said at last, "And when my father saved me, he said that if I spent too much time in that world, then things could happen to my body. Could that explain it? Is that why I see differently?"

"I don't know." Jack said and took my hand, "But we will get through this."

Felling tired; I went to sleep shortly after. I felt the waves rock the ship, they nauseated me and I broke into a cold sweat. No one was in the room, it was late at night. Even though only a small wax candle lit the room, I could see it all as if it were day. My vision remained the same.

I suddenly felt uneasy, like there was a dark presence near. I had a bad feeling,as ifsomething terrible were approaching. What if my father was right and death was really going to stalk me until it finally claimed my life? I looked at the floor and a black shadow flashed in between the floor boards. What was that? I thought. Did I imagine it or was it real?

Then I saw it again. The darkness seeped out of the floor, walls, and sealing. It was such darkness; it reminded me of blood, or death that had tried to pull me in through the door. Slowly, it dripped through the cracks, massing in the center of my room.

A droplet of the shadow fell onto my hand and it seared my skin, I yelped in pain, but was too afraid to move fearing it would strike if I bolted for the door, or called for help. The shadow was growing, getting larger. Soon it would fill the whole room and kill me. It spilled onto the bed, causing the sheets to blacken and curl. It was coming closer.

Two red eyes emerged in the goo and peered out at me. They held a tremendous evil within them, but no intelligence, just hatred. Now it was inches away from my body and I broke out of mytrance and screamed for help. The door burst open and in came Will and Jack, looking panicked. As fast as the shadow had come, it disappeared and I was left panting and shivering.

"Oy, what is it Santana? Are you all right?" Jack asked coming toward me. He seemed to have been sleeping and I saw shackles binding his hands.

Will also came in looking concerned. "What happened?" He asked.

After I was able to catch my breath, I stuttered, "Something came in here. A shadow. It was…evil. It surrounded me."

"It's okay you were probably dreaming." Will said trying to calm me.

"No." I said angrily, "It was real. It burned me." I showed them the scorch mark on my hand.

"It was the candle luv." Jack said pointing to the spent candle that had overflowed on the table and was dripping, "Nothing but a bad dream."

I felt confused,it seemd so real. I still wasn't convinced that the shadow was gone, "Wait," I said to Jack grabbing his arm, "Could you stay with me for awhile?"

"Of course."

The rest of the night, I slept without incident. Jack stayed in my room by the side of the bed and watched over me. I was thankful he was there. Did I hallucinate that shadow, or was it real? I didn't know.

Early in the morning, we reached Port Royal. Once again, the doctor changed my bandages, and then I was helped off the Dauntless. Elizabeth allowed me to stay with her and her father until I healed. I accepted their offer knowing I had nowhere else to go. In a few days, Jack's execution would be held. I begged Elizabeth to talk her father out of doing it. She tried, but as Jack's time began to shrink, I knew there was nothing to be done. Jack was kept in a prison cell, and not allowed to leave. I couldn't go and see him, because I was not yet strong enough to walk.

Over the next few days, I found myself losing hope. I was destitute, and the feeling seemed to suck my strength from me, my life. If Jack was gone, I thought, how would I continue on with my life? We had met only a few days ago, but suddenly it felt like I couldn't continue on without him.

Something had to be done. I was not going to sit around here and let this happen. At that time, I knew I loved him.

A/N: Santana is confronting her feelings. She is different now because of her experience with death. I don't think I'll write the sequel right away for this, but I will try to write it. R & R. Like always. Soon it will be finished. You know when Frodo gets stabbed by the Narzguls in LOTR. That is kinda how I pictured Santana's vision. It's so hard to describe! Frustration.

TheEvilTrafficCone Out!