Chapter 10: The Pirate Called Dawg

Morgan stood by herself on the bow of her ship. She stared into the horizon, but wasn't really seeing anything. She heard the calls of her new crew behind her, shouting happily to one another, glad to be underway.

She frowned and looked at the sun.

"Damn it all to Davy Jones' Locker!" She snarled.

"What is it, lass?"

"We're not going to make the deadline."

The deadline loomed in her mind. The thought of what would happen to her parents if they missed another one haunted her. She shivered in the setting sun. Sin stood quietly behind her, letting her vent silently.

Uneven footsteps approached. She turned. "Jack."

"So, you ready, darling?"

"Aye." She sighed dejectedly. Jack patted her on the shoulder.

"No worries, love, we'll find them." Jack, Morgan, and Sin climbed into the small rowing boat and Morgan turned to address Twig.

"Any sign of the RN, ring the bell and sail like hell; we'll find you guys later."

"Aye, Cap'n." Morgan nodded and they were lowered into the gentle sea.

Sin took up the oars and rowed to the rocky face of Tortuga. The boat bottomed out on a small alcove of beach. They climbed from the boat and headed into the dense forest. Morgan took point, with Jack covering her left flank, and Sin covering the right.

She stalked silently and kept a sharp eye out. As they proceeded deeper, the smell of rotten fish invaded their nostrils.

"God, I hate that smell…"Morgan muttered.

"Do ye smell what lays under it though, lass? Bodies…rotting bodies."

Morgan nodded grimly. She had smelled those too, but she wanted to block the fact that those could be her parent's bodies out of her mind.

"What in the name of hell is that…thing?" Jack hissed in her ear, pointing to a body nailed to a tree.

From the waist up, it was a human, its skin was a little green, but not from death, it had been the natural color. Long black hair hung limply around its face.

But then they saw the lower half. Where there should have been legs, there was a fin. A single, strong fin. The smell of rotting humans and fish poured from it.

Morgan covered her nose.

"It is, was, Maryia's mate," she whispered. They stepped close and Jack pointed out another letter. Morgan peeled it off and scanned it quickly.

"It's signed…"

"By who, love?"

"The Pirate Called Dawg."

They looked at each other. "I ain't never heard of a "Dawg" before," Jack said.

Morgan's face clouded with anger and she tore the letter in half.

"Who in the hell does this 'Dawg' think he is? What right does he have to take my life away!"

Morgan spun away from the two men, who quickly shared a worried glance. "Morgan-"

She shoved Jack's hand away. "Leave me alone!" And she took off into the forest.

"MORGAN!" Sin bellowed after her. Jack touched the black man's arm.

"Stay here, try to alert one of the ships, I'll get her back."

Morgan shot through the brush. Branches scratched her face and the fingers of trees tore at her hair. She had dropped the letter somewhere, but she didn't really care. She didn't care about much.

She came to a cliff and stopped. She tore the Pearl from her neck.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" she screamed at it, tears of anger and frustration streaming down her face.

"MORGAN!"

She cocked her arm back to throw it to the depths when a pair of arms grabbed her from behind and flung her on the ground.

"Ompf!"

She looked up at Jack, who had her pinned down.

"If you did that, love, it would be very, very, bad." She glared at him.

"I want nothing to do with it anymore."

"Love, I know. But if you got rid of it, well…I'm not really sure what would happen, but let's say we don't really want to know either."

"Let me up, Jack."

"Do ye promise not to get rid of it?"

"Aye," she muttered wearily. He sat back on his heels and she scurried out from under him. She leaned against a tree and watched him wearily. He pulled the two pieces of the letter out and held them together.

"It says…'Captain Morgan Sparrow Turner, I regret to inform you that once again, you have failed. I will give you one month to gather clues, then we will talk again. Signed, The Pirate Called Dawg.'"

He looked at her.

"You've gotten better."

"Sometimes I try, love."

Morgan stood. "I'm sorry you had to chase me."

"No problem love, I enjoy a good hunt."

She arched an eyebrow at him and shook her head.

"We should head back." Jack nodded and stood next to her. They walked back to Sin in silence.

Sin was leaning against a tree, staring into the sunset. Jack and Morgan joined him quietly and watched the fiery colors arch across the sky.

Morgan sighed.

"I guess we should head back then."

"Aye," Sin said, his eyes locked on the horizon. They walked to the boat and were preparing to get in when a bell sounded from the ships.

"The Royal Navy!" Morgan snarled.

"Always a step ahead of us," Jack added grimly.

Sin pointed at the boat that dropped from the Dauntless II. "We got company."

Morgan shoved the Pearl back down her shirt. She spun. "Quick! Back into the forest. We'll hide there!"

"What about the boat?"

"LEAVE IT!"

The three of them took off towards the forest. As soon as they hit the tree line, the slowed slightly. Morgan suddenly stopped.

"What is it, love?" Jack hissed at her.

"You two keep going, I'll catch up with you later." She grabbed onto the lowest tree branch and swung into the trees. Jack nodded and he and Sin took off.

Morgan waited.

Jake stepped out onto the island. A small rowing boat was next to a tree. He knelt down next to it.

"Odd…I could swear this is from the Majestic…"

He stood.

"Where are they? She said they would be here!" He snapped.

"She said they would be here!" Morgan froze as Jake said that. Someone told them that they were going to be on this island? Her face contorted. The only people who knew that were her and Jack's crew…

A mutiny. She stayed as still as possible and resisted the urge to throw a coconut at Jake's head.

Jake fumed, throwing insults at his crew. They climbed back into the boat and set off again. She waited until they became a black spot on the horizon before dropping to the ground.

"All right guys, come out."

Jack and Sin walked out.

"What'd he say, lass?"

Morgan shook her head. "Later, we have to get back to the ships."

Jack arched an eyebrow. She was hiding something, playing things close to the vest. Morgan smiled mysteriously at him and continued to the beach.

They climbed into the boat and Sin began to row. Morgan stayed silent as she stared at the now nearly dark sky.

Jack pulled a lantern out of the boat bottom and lit it. He held it up. Soon, in the distance, was an answering lantern.

The Pearl glided to them. Ropes were lowered and the boat was hauled up. Morgan clamored out and looked around.

"We have one month."

"And then what?" Gibbs asked.

"And then we wait." She looked skyward. "And then we wait."