Hours had passed. The sun was rising, the early morning sky an orange-purple color. Jack hadn't slept at all. He was tired, but his body and mind wouldn't allow him to sleep. He'd been haunted by memories of the worst of the battle. Currently, Will was rowing and there was still not even the slightest trace of a tiny island in sight.
The pirate captain undid the leather straps that held the wooden leg to the stub of his thigh, pulling the fake leg away from it. He placed it beside him on the floor of the longboat. He figured that since they were on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean that he might as well try to heal while he could; Who knew what lie ahead of them once they reached land.
Jack decided to be the first to break the long silence. "So, tell me, William, what happened to the Black Pearl?"
"The Pearl escaped." Will responded, not stopping the rowing to look at him. "I think the four of us were the only ones caught."
"So all o' the other survivors are on the Pearl then." He nodded to himself. Then he added, with a slight smirk,"How many Navy ships were left?"
"Three." The Dutchman's former captain told him. "The mermaids took care of the rest of them."
"We were close to defeating them then, eh?" Jack wanted to know for sure.
"Close, but not close enough." Will confirmed. "Hardly any of us made it out."
"At least we know that we had a slight chance, mate." He replied thoughtfully. "Maybe if we can regroup an' replenish our numbers we can try again."
"Do you really think that it's a good idea, Jack?" The other man stopped rowing and whipped around to nearly glare at him. "Out of everyone, you should know that it's unlikely."
"Out of everyone, I am goin' to keep tryin' next time the British attack us." The pirate captain responded in a low, serious tone. "Better to try an' fail than not to try at all."
"You keep telling yourself that, Jack. Let's see where it gets you." Will sighed, turning away to resume rowing. "You're going to get yourself killed."
"Will, mate, this battle proved that we actually have the slightest chance at gettin' through this. And I'm goin' to use it to our advantage, the way it should be used." Jack said, with as much determination as ever. Then he sighed, almost sadly. "Like I said, we might as well try. We've not got much left to lose, an' they're goin' to wipe us out eventually. They're not goin' to give up, so why should we? We should go down strong an' not like cowards; runnin' away battle after battle, loss after loss."
"Sometimes running away is the right choice." The Dutchman's former captain murmured thoughtfully, his voice soft.
"Fine. Ye run an' be the last of all pirates left, mate. When ye finally decide ye need help fightin' them, remember I said this." Jack snorted, rolling his eyes as he remembered that Barbossa had once told him something just like that when they'd seen the Kraken's corpse.
"Oh, I will." Will assured him steadily.
"That's jus' delayin' the inevitable, y'know, mate." He reminded him.
They gradually fell silent, thinking over the past and future of what was to happen to piracy. Jack knew that the both of them had great points. Running away was necessary, but then again, one could never outrun the world. He'd finally had to accept that when Barbossa had decided to summon together the Brethren Court. Now it was Will's turn to discover the truth. He'd learn, in time, that a person can't ever outrun even their worst fears.
The rowing began to slow down as Will grew exhausted and eventually he stopped for a break.
"Want me to, mate?" Jack held out his hands for the oars.
The man nodded, handing them to him. "Please." He grumbled, wiping sweat from his brow. Then he asked,"How close are we to the nearest land?"
"Not a bloody clue exactly where we are." He admitted in reply. "We could be days away."
"We won't last long out here without food or water, Jack." The Dutchman's former captain pointed out.
"That's the only thing I'm worried about besides sharks, mate, trust me." The injured pirate captain responded, eyeing a dark shape that moved past the boat.
Will saw it too, tensing. "Well, there's one."
"Aye…" Jack nodded. "Ye still have that sword? Stab the shark when it tries to attack- if it does."
"I have it." The other man assured him.
"Good." He began rowing.
Not long later, the boat jerked and there was a crunching sound. Jack turned to see the shark trying to make a meal out of it. He pulled the oars aboard, using one of them to confuse the creature for as long as he could. Will struggled to pull himself out from in between two of the benches.
"The sword!" Jack held out his hand.
The Dutchman's captain tossed it to him, handle first. He caught it and swiftly swung it, stabbing it into the shark, about where it's gills were located. Blood began to leak down it and he swung again, this time chopping off the top fin. Then he plunged the blade into the top of the creature's head and it finally let go, sinking deep into the ocean, leaving the water stained red.
Jack sighed in relief, wiping the metal blade clean and passing it back to Will, who'd just gotten out from in between the benches. He took it, sheathing it in the baldric. The injured pirate captain pulled back from where the shark had been and examined the damage the shark had done.
"Is it bad?" Will asked.
"No, but it wouldn't have been this bad if ye'd not gotten stuck." He answered after a moment, grabbing the oars again to start rowing.
"Sorry…"
"Don't worry about it, mate."
Angelica and Elizabeth had woken up when the beast attacked and were just now comprehending what had happened.
"A shark?" Angelica guessed.
"Aye, but it's been taken care of." Jack assured her.
"Where is it?" Elizabeth asked, clearly not knowing it was dead.
"Spendin' the rest o' it's days at the bottom of the sea." He smirked.
"It's dead, don't worry." Will clarified, shooting the other man a quizzical look.
The man settled down in between two of the benches again, sighing. Elizabeth relaxed, murmuring a few things to him and he responded back quietly. Angelica watched Jack as he rowed the boat.
*X*
A few nights later, they were all really hungry. Jack's ribs were showing through his skin and it was hard for him to muster up energy, though he forced himself to keep switching off the rowing with Will. But just because he was low on energy didn't mean he could sleep. Oh, he was tired, but the nightmares- the memories- were against him. He'd not gotten even a minute of sleep since he'd woken up aboard that British vessel. Even worse, the others had seemed to notice and kept telling him to get some rest. Will even tried to spend a whole day rowing to spare him the energy, but he'd taken the oars from him and done some of it himself. And all of the sympathetic glances made him more determined to help out. He didn't need to look weak in front of them.
The moon was high in the dark sky when Jack switched off with Will, handing the younger man the oars. He settled down in the back of the longboat, next to Angelica. He laid back as he looked up at the night sky. He'd given up on trying to sleep the day before. Now he was just trying to conserve as much energy as possible. She rested her head on his bruised right shoulder and he pulled her against him.
"When was the last time you even tried sleeping?" She asked him quietly.
"Yesterday or the day before." He responded.
"And the last time you actually slept?"
"Does passin' out after the battle count?"
"No, Jack." She responded.
"Then before the battle, on the way to Whitecap Bay." He told her.
"That was almost a week ago." Angelica pulled away and turned to look him in the eyes.
Jack nodded. "Aye."
"I'm not going anywhere until you get some rest." She told him firmly.
"Where would ye go anyway?" He pointed out, a lazy tone to his voice. "We're in the middle of nowhere, love."
"Exactly." She gave a small smirk, laying down with her head on his shoulder again. "Sleep, mi amor."
"If only it were that easy." He wrapped an arm around her.
All fell silent except for the quiet, soothing sound of the water. Jack found himself actually dozing off. It was a light doze, but better than nothing.
A body, his father, lying beside him, dying.
"I'm sorry, Jackie." The man murmured hoarsely.
"I'm not." He responded coldly.
His eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly. The waves were rough and rain poured down on them. A wave underneath shook the boat them, tipping it. Thunder roared after a flash of lit the dark night sky.
"Look out!" Will shouted over the noise.
The boat spilled them out and they were dumped into the cold water. The surface was over the injured captain's head and he found himself unable to swim up towards it. Where's my wooden leg? I need it to swim! Jack realized, twisting around in the water desperately.
He spotted it, reaching out and snatching it. The water pulled him further down as he struggled to get the leather straps around the stub of his leg. His lungs burned and he clenched his jaw even tighter.
*X*
"Angelica! Elizabeth!" Will shouted as loud as he could.
He spotted two figures in the distance holding a piece of driftwood. They sharply glanced in his direction. He heard Elizabeth scream his name. He looked around, realizing that Jack was nowhere in sight. Where is he?
"Where's Jack?" Angelica called back.
"Stay there!" He called to them, taking a deep breath and diving underwater.
He spotted a figure with an inhuman leg struggling towards the surface. Out of the corner of his eye, there was more movement- headed in the direction of said figure. The new shape moved much quicker and more smoothly through the water, fins and a tail cutting through it easily. It was a shark.
*X*
Jack felt the sharp pain in his good leg before he saw the bloodthirsty creature. His mouth opened in a silent cry of pain. He snapped it shut again as it filled up with water almost immediately. He turned towards the shark, which had bit his leg up to mid-thigh. He twisted, trying to yank free. Another burst of pain and his jaw disobeyed him, opening again to attempt to cry out. Water was sliding down his throat to his lungs now. He felt the remaining air begin to be squeezed away. A dark tint filled the water around him. No. Not like this. This isn't how I die.
He tried prying the shark's jaws open, to tear the fangs away and pull his leg free. But he didn't have the strength to make the slightest impact. The teeth dug in harder and he almost thought he heard a crunch as they made contact with his femur. He gasped in pain, but he didn't at the same time. His body convulsed. No! He yanked on his leg desperately, only resulting in more pain. He convulsed again and he desperately kicked the shark with his peg-leg, though it did nothing. This can't be it. I have to get free!
A hand gripped Jack's shoulder and he managed to turn to see who it was. Will. The man tried to hoist him up towards the surface, but of course it didn't work. The pirate captain grabbed the former captain of the Dutchman and pointed towards the shark. He swam around him to get a better view, eyes widening in surprise. He tried prying the shark's jaws apart, nearly succeeding for a moment, before they clamped shut on the other man's leg again, making him flinch.
Will gestured in a way that meant 'together'. Jack nodded, understanding, as he convulsed again. He got a decent grip on the shark as the other man did too, keeping one hand free. He held up a finger. Then two. He was timing it. A third finger and his hand flew back to the shark. They both pulled down the lower jaw and pushed the upper one as high as they could. Many rows of teeth marks covered the leg, stinging horribly. Still, he managed to yank it from the shark's grasp. He nodded to the other man beside him and pointed up just before convulsing again.
The Dutchman's former captain nodded in understanding and agreement before the two of them released the shark, which snapped at them one last time before swimming off. Jack convulsed again and tried swimming upwards, towards the surface. His body ached and his newly wounded leg couldn't take it. He stopped, glancing down at his leg once again. Will swam up beside him and grabbed him under the arm before motioning towards the surface. After convulsing for the fourth or fifth time, Jack nodded.
With their combined efforts, they reached the surface in no time.
The injured pirate captain coughed as the water finally began to leave his lungs and even the other man gasped in air thankfully. After a minute or so, he was sucking in air as the last traces of water finally left his lungs.
"W-where are the others?" He asked, letting out another cough.
"They're fine." Will responded, wiping his soaking wet long hair from his face.
Jack nodded, not feeling like saying anything else.
*X*
Angelica spotted two figures in the distance, just bobbing out of the water. One of them noticed the boat- which she and Elizabeth had luckily found undamaged by the surf- and waved an arm, shouting.
"Oi! Over here!" It was Jack.
She realized that his voice was hoarse and could barely notice that his skin was paler than usual. Concerned and curious, she redirected the boat towards them with the broken paddle oar. The boat kept trying to drift off to the side, but she used the oar to keep it straight on course. As they got closer, she realized that Will was the only reason that the other man was still above the water line. He was practically holding his head above the water. That couldn't mean anything good. What'd happened now?
*X*
The boat had stopped beside them. Both women seemed worried, looking at them with concern.
"Elizabeth, I'm fine." Will assured his wife with an exasperated sigh, before turning back to the man beside him.
"Ye go up first, mate." Jack offered him.
"No, Jack. If you out of anyone is having problems swimming, then you'll need help getting in the boat." The Dutchman's former captain told him.
The injured pirate captain consented, to the surprise of the other man. He gave a pathetic smirk, before he took Angelica's outstretched hand and used the other to pull himself up the side of the boat. Will supported him from in the water. He did his best to not used his freshly wounded leg as he climbed up the side of the longboat. He reached the top and nearly tripped as he got into the boat.
Angelica pulled him into her arms as soon as she realized that he couldn't do much on his own. It was an embrace of love, joy of seeing him again, and of comfort- as he clearly needed it. His own arms wrapped around her weakly and he rested her chin on his shoulder, breathing in deeply and closing his eyes. For once, he had to appreciate what he had in life. After so much loss, he still had her there. He wasn't alone, not completely.
Will had climbed aboard and grabbed the broken oar, preparing to get them moving again. "You two might want to sit down, it's going to be a rough one through here."