You forget One Very Important Thing Mate – (17)
Authors note: I've come to find that listening to the POTC soundtrack(s) whilst reading or writing Pirate stories is a great help. Once again this is another short chapter; but to be frank I prefer shorter chapters because I'm more inclined to update sooner. Thanks to all my reviewers!
Jack stood at the helm, his eyes closed, he was in deep thought. His mind raced with memories.
Barbossa…Ashley…Will…Elizabeth…Ashley
Over and over again there played a little sequence in his head, Ashley, being married, tied down, with no freedom. The guilt he was feeling was more than he could bare, but he couldn't dwell on it. It did him no good, and he tried to change his thought pattern; lest the despair bring him down with it.
He opened his eyes and stared out at the sea, there was something in the water..a small fishing boat that certainly didn't belong there.
"BRING HER ABOUT!" Jack yelled, Gibbs immediately repeated it to the crew.
"What is it?" They called out.
"Look!" Jack exclaimed, pointing as he peered over the edge of the Pearl, his gaze fixed on the boat. He didn't know why it interested him so much. It was in flames, and half submerged in the water; sinking ever so slowly.
"What do you think happened?" Gibbs appeared at his side.
"I don't know," There was a long silence. "SAIL ON!"
"SAIL ON!" Gibbs repeated. The crew went back to their work, half of them completely oblivious as to why the ship had stopped in the first place.
Jack Sparrow however, remained looking at the water and a book that floated upon its surface. His eyes strained to see the title.
"The Unwelcome Stranger," He said aloud, a finger on his chin in contemplation.
After about five minutes, he was certain that he couldn't recall why the name seemed so familiar; and shoved it to the back of his complex mind. Checking his compass, he took over the helm again, seeing that the needle was not quite leading them to Port Royal-- but to somewhere much closer to home.
"Captain! Captain Black sir! There's a ship about a league behind us!"
The oaf who was my second in command bustled into my cabin, breathing heavily as if he had just run a mile to get to me. I glared at him with disgusted; downing a glass of port and lazily wiping my mouth with my sleeve.
"What colors are they flying, Hobbs?" I inquired.
"Pirate flag sir, and black sails too…you don't think it's the Bl-"
"The Black Pearl," I walked over to the side of the ship and stared behind us, twas true. The Pearl was gaining, and fast.
"We going' to do that speck o' honest pirating now, Cap'n?" Gibbs called out to Jack from a few paces away.
"Aye mate, who knows, maybe they've got some rum.." Jack said thoughtfully, he'd been low on rum for a long time. And hell..one little raid wasn't going to make much of a difference in their journey now was it?
Ashley was lying on the damp floor of her cell; bandanna pulled over her eyes to block out the sunlight that streamed in through a small hole in the ships side. She'd been trying to sleep; but in the past few minutes everything had gone crazy upstairs. There was a lot of banging and shouting, and it only made her angrier than she had previously been.
"OI! KEEP IT DOWN UP THERE WILL YE? SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYIN' TA SLEEP!" She shouted loudly, sitting up and rearranging her bandanna so that she was no longer blinded. She listened to the commotion with curiosity, until a familiar whistling sound forced itself into her brain and told her to get out of there. Ashley shot up, dashing to the opposite corner of the cell as a cannon ball blasted through the side of the ship; making a large whole where her head had previously been. She screamed a little in fear, and then mentally slapped herself. Clearly she'd spent too much time with Elizabeth.
"LORD! ARE YE TRYIN' TA KILL ME?" Ashley shouted again, hands on hips.
The noise continued for what seemed like 10 minutes or so; until it all stopped and silence slithered its way back into the world. Ashley's ears pricked as she tried to hear what was going on; but the only sound that came was that of muffled voices. Soon, she gave up and looked through the hole that had been previously blown into the ship. She couldn't see much outside; as the ocean kept spraying up through the hole. Yet she did recognize the ship opposite.
"MISS ASHLEY!" Her name was called out by the all-too-recognizable Gibbs; who ran down the stairs into the brig panting and puffing.
"Oh. Its you lot, is it?" She crossed her arms; I wondered why there was so much sloppiness going on up there.
"What are ye doing 'ere?…you should be in Port Royal!" Gibbs said, choosing to ignore her comment as a fit of passing temper, and pointing his pistol at the lock of the cell. Ashley stood back; the lock was blasted into pieces, hereby meaning that she could finally get out of the jail.
"I escaped!" Ashley told him, grabbing her effects that had been brought into the room with her. Unfortunately they'd never been given to her; only taken away. Obviously Captain Black hadn't wanted her to fight; perhaps he'd heard of Jack's skills and feared that Ashley would take after him?
"How?" Gibbs raised his eyebrows.
"Sea Turtles,"