Disclaimer: I don't own PotC or any characters from that movie.
A/N: Hey everyone. Yes, I'm finally back with another chapter for this story. Kinda lazy with my typing. I started college a while ago and it's not that bad but it keeps me busy. I don't have school today so I'm updating this for you all. Anywho, hope you've enjoyed it so far. I think I have Jack slightly out of character for this chapter for some reason so I'll probably go back later and redo this chapter again.
Chapter 2 - Witness
"Ship, ho!" the pirate shouted from the crow's nest of the Black Pearl.
The sky had been a clear blue all day with not a cloud to be found and the ocean waves had taken this as a sign to nearly stop their happy waves. The Black Pearl was nearly halted except for the occasional breeze that would fill up the dark sails and push it along on that warm Caribbean day.
Captain Jack Sparrow looked through his telescope with interest as they approached the silent ship ahead of them. There were no men to be seen climbing the rigging or steering the approaching ship and Jack definitely didn't like the look of it. He frowned thoughtfully as he noticed that the sails weren't even set to catch the small amount of wind that was to be found that day. It was very strange indeed.
"What do you think, Cap'n?" Gibbs asked as he watched the British ship approach slowly.
Jack Sparrow's experience at sea told him that there was something wrong. It might have meant an attack was being planned but there was no reason for a British ship to attack a ship that was flying no colors. His better judgment told him to steer clear of it but when his scan across the deck fell upon a bloodied human hand hanging over the side of the ship, he changed his mind.
"Get the men ready Gibbs, we're going aboard," he replied, closing his telescope.
Gibbs shouted the orders to the men as Sparrow steadied the course for the Pearl to follow. It would take them quite some time to reach the ship that lay ahead of them, possibly because of the nearly windless day and every second seemed like an eternity to wait.
As they neared the naval ship and pulled up beside her, the smell reached them first. They were shocked to see what lay upon the deck and stared down at the pools of blood spilt out on the darkened wood deck. Bodies lay strewn about ridged and lifeless and the crew was silent as they stared across at the massacre. No one spoke a word as they all stood silently taking in the carnage that lay across the decks. The creaking of the ships and the soft wind in the sails was all that could be heard over the deathly silence that surrounded the crew.
The anchor of the Black Pearl was dropped as Jack made his way over to the dead ship, intent on dropping her anchors as well. The crew began to follow and it cut into the silence of the sea around them. The carnage on this ship was plain enough to see even though some had not even seen it close up and personal.
Jack was doing his best not to pay attention to it there was no way he could avoid it as he stepped over dead bodies to drop the anchor. He knew he would have to look it over but he wasn't sure what kind of fury had sent that ship adrift.
The crew of the Black Pearl boarded the ship in silence, looking over each body with pity and disgusted at the sickly way the sailors had been killed. Arms and legs were nearly detached from some bodies, faces were mutilated, and things had obviously been pilfered. Pirates had definitely had a hand in this.
Captain Sparrow and Annamaria were the first ones to find the mauled body of the crew's only female passenger. Jack winced at the sight of her bruised and limp body before Annamaria quickly stood in front of her before the rest of the crew could see.
"Savage beasts," she seethed out in anger as she looked down at the poor young girl.
"Captain, this one's still alive," Gibbs said as he kneeled over a fatally wounded man.
He was the last member of the ship that White's crew had taken care of. They had lost interest in him when the girl was produced and Tuck had planned to give him one last blow but never did, leaving the man to die a painfully slow death. The fatal wound they had given him in the abdomen was enough to drain his blood from him in a slow, torturous manner while he helplessly stared at the gruesome killing around him. Morgan White's manner of killing was usually quick and painless She drew the line at torture and refused to use it on anyone for reasons that she shared with no one.
"Marty, bring some rum and give Annamaria a blanket," Jack barked to one of his smallest crew members as he made his way over to the wounded man.
The boy's breath was short and quick and he seemed to have more blood surrounding him than that was actually left in him. His stomach oozed with crimson blood and his hands, which lay over the wound were sticky with it. The rest of the men began to toss the dead bodies overboard while Jack knelt down to take a look at the wounded sailor.
"What happened to you, boy?" he asked, noticing that the sailor was still in his teens.
"Pirates attacked..slaughtered the crew..raped..raped the girl," the young man said tears forming in his eyes as Marty returned with a jug of rum.
As Captain Sparrow fed him the liqour, the light haired sailor drank greedily before he dropped his head down onto the deck. His breathing had become heavier from just that movement and he lay there panting, his eyes closed in misery as sweat dripped down his face.
"Who was it that attacked?" Jack inquired, handing the basin back to Marty.
"Pirates," the sailor said, opening his eyes with fear. "They called a man Morgan…..White..," the boy trailed off as he tried catching his breath again.
Jack thought that over for a moment as he frowned. He wished he didn't recognize that name. He knew who that was and although everyone else seemed to think Captain Morgan White was a boy, he knew much different.
He decided to change the subject. "Why is it that you happened to have a girl on board?"
"She..was..the Commodore..Commodore Norrington's ..niece..," he replied in a shaky tone. "It was bad luck," he said looking straight at Jack before taking his last breath.
Jack Sparrow looked him over slowly before closing his eyes to think over the predicament. He didn't like the Commodore but the fact that it was his niece and an innocent victim at that, he knew he had to do something about it.
Sparrow stood up from the dead boy's boy and watched the crew members toss another mangled body of a man over the side of the ship. No one had been allowed by the girl except for Annamaria and Marty who had brought her a blanket to cover up the body. She stood guarding it with arms crossed, watching Jack's men with eyes that were fiery with hate. It wasn't them that she was angry at but the pirates that had killed the blonde she stood over.
As Jack stood watching her, Cotton came by with another member of the Black Pearl and lifted the body of the newly dead soldier to toss it over the side of the ship. The pirates of the Black Pearl did a quick job to search the dead bodies but found very little that was of any interest.
"Annamaria," he said softly as he approached her, knowing that the hate in her eyes wasn't for him. "I want you to take this girl inside and follow me into the Port Royal harbor with this ship," he told her. She didn't seem to understand. Captain Jack's eyes stared down somberly at the body at Annamaria's feet before he continued. "This girl was the Commodore's niece," he told her before walking away.
Finding a body face down on the deck that had not been tossed overboard yet, he dug through the things until he found what he was looking for. A small dagger attached to the dead man's belt. Removing it from the body, Jack headed off towards the Pearl knowing there was work to be done.
