Ch. 2

"We'll set sail tonight. We must leave while it is dark or we could get caught." Jack sounded serious; a great contrast from his usual self.

"I don't know if I can do this. I mean Shackleton might come after me." Lilly looked anxiously down at the ground. What was she to do? She longed for adventure, freedom. Now she had a chance to escape and she didn't want to take it.

"Just come with me," Jack said, smiling hopefully at the girl. He paused. A strange look came over his face, but Lilly could not tell if it was sadness or anger.

"Shackleton did you say?"

"Yes. He's the pub owner… terrible man. Dreadful really. He has a son too… friend of mine." Lilly desperately wanted to know how this mysterious man was linked to her mother, her past, but she could not gather the courage to go with him. What would happen? What would it be like out at sea?

Meanwhile

"I am going to find Jack. I'll be back soon." Will reached over to kiss Elizabeth, but she pulled away.

"I've been thinking. What if Jack really is planning something? I'm worried, Will." Elizabeth stared out the window into the darkness of the night. Though she usually thought the fog that engulfed the island was romantic, tonight it seemed gloomy. She felt like something bad was going to happen.

TWO YEARS BEFORE

(Woman is speaking in a rushed, anxious voice)

"Will, take her. Take Lily. Keep her safe." The room was blurry. The woman in front of him seemed so familiar. She handed him the baby and quickly kissed him on the forehead.

"I love you. Now go. Run." The woman gently pushed Will out of the room before two pirates entered and dragged her up to the deck of the ship. Will followed, trying desperately to keep out of site. He held the sleeping baby in his arms, hoping and praying she wouldn't wake up. Then he saw it moving towards him; the heat pressing on his face. The fire was huge and he could hear the sound of the burning ship. All of a sudden a hand gripped his shoulder…

Will awoke in a cold sweat. Elizabeth's hand was on his arm.

"Are you alright?"

Now

"But I can't leave him!" Lily tried desperately to convince Jack to bring Ben, Shackleton's son, along on the voyage.

"It's torture for him. His father works him to the bone."

"It would be too difficult. If we took just you we would be able to get away, but with the two of you we could easily be found out. They'd hang me. They'd hang the crew. I can't risk that."

"You're a pirate. I'm sure you've risked your life before." He looked at her and he could see it in her eyes. She loved that boy, and she wouldn't dare leave him behind.

"Alright, but we have to be careful." A smile came over Lily's face.

"I have an idea. Stay here." She went inside the pub.

"Lily, where have you been? You know father doesn't allow us to leave for that long." Ben had a fresh bruise on his forehead; just another of his father's doings. Lily reached up to touch it, but Ben backed away.

"It's nothing," he said.

"It's not nothing. We have to get out of here. We have to make a life for ourselves. You promised that when I turned eighteen we would marry. You said we would leave; you would find a way. I turned eighteen six months ago, Ben, and I have found us a way out. We leave tonight. Come with me."

"But father-"

"But nothing. Come on." Ben followed her outside where Jack stood waiting. He was sitting on the ground sharpening a knife when they came out.

"So this is Ben. Pleased to meet you." Jack reached out his hand. The boy grabbed it and shook it, but he had a suspicious look on his face.

"What's your name?"

"Captain Smith."

"Nice to meet you, Captain." Just then Ben grasped his head in pain.

"Ben? What's wrong? I told you it wasn't nothing."

"Come on. We have to get you two out of here before we get caught." Jack grabbed both of them by the arms and ran for the dock.

"Jack, you're back!" Elizabeth rushed to the group of people boarding the ship.

"Are you alright?" she asked Ben. "That bruise doesn't look too good. Let me fix that up for you." She sat him down while Will asked Jack some questions.

"Her name is Lily. Her father was Jack Sparrow," Jack said. Will looked at him suspiciously.

"Nice to meet you, Lily." Just then Will remembered a dream he had had just two years before. He remembered the name, the face. Was this the woman in his dream?

To be continued…