Sorry it took so long. I just hope you all enjoy this!

CHAPTER 14: Isla dela Muerta

Living in the humiliation of having a useless scallywag for a father and a whore for a mother seemed to be the greatest pain he had ever encountered since childhood. Yet now, as he lay down in this cold and long-abandoned cave, when what was left of his life was starting to drift away, he realized that his childhood fears were nothing but a speck of sand in a shore. Hunger, thirst and helplessness: these brought about the intense pain he was feeling at that moment. The famous Isla dela Muerta is indeed a rich but barren island. The land, rich with so much fortune that no man alive could ever call his own, is also a land so barren and fruitless that will send a marooned man to his death in no time.

With what was left of his strength, he was able to drag himself into the treasure cave and hide himself behind a huge pile of gold, just in case he would be visited by unwanted guests. He seemed to be hibernating there without food and water for three or four days, he had already lost count.

Sometimes, he would pass out entirely and be surprised and thankful to be able to wake up again. The whole day, he would merely lie down on the rough surface, too weak to get up and see if the Black Pearl had finally arrived. Lying there on his back, his frightful and unpleasant childhood memories would slowly come back to him.

There he was, walking along the dark Tortugan alleys on his way back home. It was his first day as errand boy. Unfortunately, night fell and he got lost on his way home. He wandered along the narrow alleys, filled with nasty sights of heavily drunken men. He took a turn; this time, he found a deserted alley. The silence slowly crept down his spine, sending him shivering nervously. He started to gather up speed and went as fast as his short legs could carry him. He was nearing the end, as he could already hear the sounds of life.

Out of nowhere, a strong and hairy arm grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth. He tried to scream for help, but the tight grip on his mouth could have knocked the breath out of him. He struggled to break free. At last, he found a space and instinctively, he bit his captor's hand. The attacker howled in pain, but didn't loosen his grip on him. Instead, the man rained punches all over his body.

Everything around him seemed to be dimming slightly when all of a sudden, he heard a gun shot, followed by a loud thud. He opened his eyes and saw his attacker sprawled on the floor. Then there he saw him. He was a young man, probably ten years his senior. He couldn't remember what happened afterwards. One thing was for sure though: he would have died that night if Jack Sparrow hadn't come to his rescue.

-----

Indistinct voices brought him back to reality. Slowly, he peered at the opening of the cave, but he could only make out blurred figures of people entering. Then he recognized the voice; the same voice he heard that night many years ago. He opened his mouth, but his throat was so dry no voice came out. He tried to lift his arm to catch his attention. In despair, his limp arm knocked over a brass jar that fell on his head.

Intense pain seared into his head and his vision blackened. Still he could vaguely hear the commotion around him.

"Good heavens, there's a man here!" The woman's voice rang all around the cave.

"Well stop gaping and help me lift him up, Lynne! I have only one available arm!" Another woman's voice, but this one was a lot tougher and angrier.

"Jack, isn't that Ray's boy?" This was a man's voice, but definitely not Jack Sparrow's.

"Bloody hell, it is Ray's lad! Joshua! Joshua!"

At this, Joshua Andersen opened his eyes and to his delight, finally saw the man he was waiting all along. His voice came back to him and he muttered slowly.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, Tom Smith is on your tail."

Then the last of his strength left as he fell into a deep and seemingly endless slumber.

-----

Jack paced around outside one of the cabin rooms on his ship. Will leaned against the wall opposite the room, and watched Jack pace around silently.

Unexpectedly, the door opened. Lynne was the first to come out, closely followed by Anamaria. Jack stopped pacing and walked directly towards Lynne.

"How is he?"

"He's still unconscious. He must have been there in that island without food and water for days."

"It sounds impossible." Will answered.

Lynne merely shrugged.

"Ms. Andrews, if the boy wakes up, please tell me at once."

"Thank you, Anamaria." Lynne said thoughtfully.

The three watched as Anamaria walked away from them and disappeared into the stairs leading up on deck.

Then Jack spoke up. "Where's Alicia?"

"She's inside. Come on." Lynne ushered them inside.

Alicia sat beside the bed where Joshua lay. She looked somber as she held the boy's hand in hers. Jack stood beside her and laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Ye alright, luv?"

Alicia nodded. "It's not me, but the boy. How cruel of anyone to leave the boy on a deserted island. I feel so sad for him."

"I still can't believe why Ray would let him out of his sight. He was so protective of him." Will said.

"He most probably was captured by pirates and who left him there after robbing him. Bloody pirates." Lynne said before smiling apologetically at Jack and Will.

"I don't think so. He had a bag of gold tied to his belt when we rescued him." Jack pointed out.

"You're all wrong." Alicia said suddenly. "He was waiting for us at the island because he had something to tell us." Alicia looked at Jack. "Particularly you."

Jack snapped his fingers. "You're right luv! He told me something about Tom Smith on our tail before he completely went out cold. The good lad!"

Alicia nodded. "He risked his life just to warn us. You must be really good friends with his father."

"Actually, Ray and I are merely, in a nice way, trading partners. On the other hand, Joshua and I are…" Jack's voice broke off. "I always treated him like a brother." He finished.

Alicia stood up and laid a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder. "You don't have to say it if you don't want to."

Jack smiled. "It's alright. You ought to know anyway." He sat down on a wooden stool and motioned the others to do the same. Then he continued.

"I saved Joshua's life once. He was almost killed by a pirate who seemed to have some grudge on old Ray. Since then, he would always come to me when he needed help. After that incident, Ray secluded his son from the outside world in a desperate act to protect him. Only person he could trust to approach Joshua was me."

Jack shifted in his seat and cleared his throat before he continued. "I used to tell him stories about my adventures on sea. For a long time he was the only person who wasn't afraid of me and always treated me like his brother. Joshua longed to join me in my adventures. Soon though, there were more things to handle on the Black Pearl and most of the time, I was out at sea. We haven't had a good talk for years; it surprised me now that he is still willing to risk his life to save me."

Will, Alicia and Lynne listened quietly and sympathetically as Jack narrated his story. This was a friendship so true that not time nor distance could break the bond between them. Alicia was the first to speak.

"Well Jack, I'm happy for Joshua. He certainly found a good role model to look up to."

Jack smiled. "Thanks luv."

"Cheer up Jack. Joshua will be alright." Lynne said.

"I know but I feel so sorry to have neglected him for so long."

"Well he risked his life for yours and now you saved him, you two are even then." Will pointed out matter-of-factly.

"I guess you're right." Jack stood up and soon he was back to his old cheerful self. "We'll just have to wait till he recovers, then he can fulfill his dreams. Just look out for my brother alright?"

"Don't worry Jack, we will." Alicia said while both Lynne and Will nodded in approval.

Jack looked at their faces cheerfully and clapped his hands together. "It's settled then! We should visit dela Muerta at once."

-----

"Are you out of your mind?" Anamaria growled at Jack.

Jack simply looked on as Mr. Cotton and Will lowered the boats, completely ignoring Anamaria's deadly stare.

"Has the rum finally gotten into your head? Or could it be that you couldn't sleep tonight because you hadn't set your eyes on your treasure? Because if that's the case, I don't really care!"

"Now, now, Ana. It's not very late. The sun hasn't set yet." Gibbs quickly responded when he saw that Anamaria was boiling when she saw Jack's indifferent reaction.

"Doesn't he care how tired we are?"

"Now listen. I am the captain here. What I order, you carry out. Unless of course you want to get off this ship for good." Jack's sudden reply took Anamaria and Gibbs by surprise.

Without any choice, Anamaria scowled and stomped away to help the others lower the boats.

Alicia slowly walked towards Jack and said. "Maybe Ana's right, Jack. We can always wait till tomorrow. Why the rush?"

Jack took Alicia's hand in his and said softly. "Let's say I have a feeling the treasure can't wait until tomorrow morning, luv."

"What do you mean?"

"I see danger, luv. So close now that I can smell it." Then Jack started sniffing around like a dog that made Alicia giggle. "I can smell it. Trust Captain Jack Sparrow for his sense of smell."

Alicia giggled again. "Alright then. Whatever you say, Captain." She rested her head on Jack's chest.

Jack laid his arm around Alicia and whispered softly. "How's your arm?"

"A lot better, thank you." Alicia replied sweetly.

"The boats are ready, Captain." Gibbs said as he walked towards the pair.

Jack nodded and turned to Alicia. "We'll go together with Will and Lynne on the last boat alright? I want to make sure my men brought everything we need."

Finally, Jack, Will, Alicia and Lynne entered the last boat. Will rowed while Jack sat still, his eyes wearing the expression of longingness as he stared into the cave.

As the boat hit shore, Jack jumped down first then turned around to help the ladies as Will tied the boat to a huge rock. Excitedly, Alicia pulled Lynne and quickly ran towards the cave opening.

Surrounding them were huge piles of gold and jewelries. There were treasure chests piled so high filled with jewels and rare gems of all sorts. Finally, Alicia and Lynne were able to feast their eyes on the famous treasure of Isla dela Muerta.

"I've never seen so much treasure in my whole life."

"Feel free to explore, bonnie lasses."

Alicia walked towards a pile of treasure, attracted by an ancient statue made of pure gold. Lynne walked further ahead. The pirates were already loading heaps of gold into boxes they brought with them. It will take a long time filling them up, Alicia thought. There are so many boxes to fill.

Lynne climbed towards the stone chest containing the medallions. Will shouted from behind her.

"Lynne. Whatever you do, don't touch the medallions."

"Aye."

Lynne circled around the stone chest. As she did so, she slipped and fell headfirst to the bottom.

"Aww… my head."

She rubbed her head when her hands touched something that didn't feel like gold.

Lynne found herself lying on top of a pile of women's things. There were corsets, dresses, fans and books, quite inappropriate to be found in a treasure cave. She bent down and reached for one of the books. It looked old and dusty. She blew off the dust and turned to the first page. There, on the first page, a name was written in a beautiful handwriting.

"Elizabeth Swann." She read.

"Oi! You alright there?"

Lynne raised her head. It was Will. Without waiting for her reply, Will slid down from the top and landed right beside Lynne.

"Are you alright?" He scrutinized Lynne's face.

"Can you explain this?" Lynne showed him the page of the book where the name was written.

Will looked intently at the page and looked at the things around him. Lynne faced him and was obviously waiting for an answer.

"I left them here after she died. I had no use of them anyway." He sighed.

"But still, you should have kept some of them to remember her of." Lynne said as she started to pick up more books and tucked them under her shoulder.

Will watched her and asked. "What are you doing?"

"Taking them back to the ship and keeping them for you."

"I don't want them." Will retorted and looked away.

Lynne sighed and laid her hand on Will's shoulder. "I know how you feel Will, but these things shouldn't make you feel sad but instead remind you of the wonderful times in your past."

"I refuse to remember the past." Will answered. He looked at Lynne's compassionate and concerned face that suddenly, he took her hand and said: "I choose to face a brighter and better future."

Lynne was taken back at Will's sudden action that she blushed heavily. Will seemed to have realized what he had done as he dropped Lynne's hand and looked away embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what I was doing."

"It's… nothing." Lynne said hesitantly. Then she started to put the books back on the floor, but Will stopped her.

"They're yours now. You can take them."

Lynne looked hesitant but Will started picking up the books again and held them before him. "Come on. I'll take these back to your room for you."

-----

The sky was very dark when they returned to the Black Pearl. All of them were very tired, even Jack. With a wave of his hand, Jack dismissed his crew. Even Lynne felt so tired that she returned to their room ahead of Alicia. Jack slopped down on a nearby bench beside Alicia. Will followed suit and sat down right beside him.

"So what be our plan, Jack?" Will asked.

Jack shrugged. "Now that we know Tom Smith is still on our tail, might as well sail across the Caribbean."

"You mean we wander around?" Alicia asked.

"That's what pirates do."

Everyone was quiet until Alicia's yawn broke the silence. Jack stood up and stretched his arms.

"Have enough rest, luv. We'll be leaving early tomorrow."

Alicia nodded and went below deck. Soon, Will stood up and dragged himself below deck as well. Jack leaned back on the bench and stared at the dotted sky. He sat there for a while. After a few minutes, he stood up so suddenly that the bench almost fell over. He stretched again and yawned loudly.

"I need some rest." He said to himself and went down to his own quarters.

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