The trip back to the Black Pearl was downright uneventful, ignoring the fact that my knee continued to throb slightly in pain and I felt like I was as taut as a violin string. It was all I could to hide my tension from Jack. So far as he was concerned, things were going well. He was right, they were going well, but I knew that big trouble was coming.
Will's body was lifted onto the deck of the Pearl where he soon regained consciousness under Elizabeth's watchful and caring eye. It was very similar to the first time they met. I didn't bother paying much attention to them. The crew scrambled to bring the longboat in and sail the ship away from the island. I followed Jack across the deck, his jar of dirt held tightly in his hands. Gibbs rushed up.
"Where's the commodore?" he asked.
"Fell behind," Jack answered simply, referring to the Pirate's Code. I recalled the rule, or guideline, was 'any man who falls behind is left behind.'
Gibbs paused, as if in a moment of sadness. "My prayers be with him," he muttered softly. Then he perked up, never having been very fond of Norrington anyway. "Best not wallow in our grief!"
Gibbs followed Jack and I up the steps to the helm, where Cotton was at the wheel. "The bright side is you're back, and made it off free and clear," Gibbs said to Jack.
Jack's first mate spoke too soon. Behind us, there was an explosion of water as the monstrous hull of the Flying Dutchman bust fourth from beneath the surface of the sea and instantly, the Pearl's crew reacted with great fear. Even I jumped slightly, my eyes wide. The great grey ship settled alongside the Pearl, still draining water off her deck. Davy Jones scowled at us from across the gap between the two ships. His crew growled and snarled, ready for a fight. Gibbs crossed himself. "Lord on high, deliver us," he prayed nervously.
I gulped and looked to Jack. He showed only a slight trace of fear before putting on an air of absolute confidence. He pushed Gibbs aside with a smile. "I'll handle this, mate." He walked up to where he knew Davy Jones would be able to see him and raised the jar of dirt in the air above his head with both hands. "Oi, fishface!" Jack hollered. He started to walk sideways, keeping his eyes on Davy Jones. "Lose something? Eh? Scungilli!"
Jack's moment was interrupted as he took a step too far to his right and tumbled head over heels down the stairs. I put my hand over my mouth to hide my nervous laughter and drifted down to his side to make sure he was okay. All of his crew winced and a soft chorus of "ooh's" filled the air.
Not even that would burst Jack Sparrow's bubble at the moment. He raised the jar into the air so it showed above the railing to show that it was unbroken a mere instant later. "Got it!" he shouted. Jack got to his feet. "Come to negotiate, eh, have you, you slimy git?" he taunted Davy Jones. He motioned to the jar as he continued to strut across his deck. "Look what I've got! I got a jar of dirt, I got a jar of dirt!" Jack sang in a mocking tone. Will and Elizabeth shared a look, agreeing that Jack was more than slightly off his nut. I snickered quietly. "And guess what's inside it!" Jack once again gloated, raising the jar over his head in triumph.
Jones turned back to his crew. "Enough," he growled. A moment later, the cannon ports opened up on the side of the Flying Dutchman facing us. A chill went down my spine as the moment of humour evaporated. Jack's face fell. "Hard to starboard," he said simply; a command that sounded more like a mildly surprised comment.
Elizabeth put sufficient urgency into repeating the command. "Hard to starboard!" she screamed as the crew leapt into action.
"Brace up the foreyard!" Will shouted.
At the helm, Gibbs spun the wheel as hard and as fast as he could, turning the Black Pearl away. It was, in fact, a poor move strategically, because the Dutchman's cannons would be able to do more damage to the ship if they hit her lengthways from stern to stem. It was too late for me to argue this point with Jack, though. He knew that the Black Pearl was fast, and he hoped she could outrun the Dutchman.
Davy Jones ordered his crew to give chase and send the Pearl to the depths. I couldn't help but give a small whimper of fear when I heard the Dutchman's cannon fire. Just as I feared, the cannonballs ripped through the back of the Pearl, tearing huge holes in the walls of Jack's cabin.
"She's on us! She's on us!" I heard Pintel cry. That meant that the Dutchman was close on our tail, and I knew that Jones was soon going to deploy his triple guns. The roar of cannon fire thundered in the air. One cannonball smashed one of the lanterns on the helm, narrowly missing Gibbs. Together, Jack and I ran up the stairs to the quarterdeck. Still clutching the jar of dirt, Jack took the wheel from Gibbs and gave it a swift turn. Under his guidance, the Black Pearl gave a heave to the side and dodged more cannonballs. The crew strained to make sure every stitch of canvas caught the wind. I looked up anxiously at the black sails. They were all as tight as a drum skin. I saw Pintel kiss and pat the railing of the ship, urging her onwards. I knew that the Pearl had a reputation as the fastest ship in the Caribbean, and she didn't disappoint. We were soon out of reach of the Dutchman's cannons.
Gibbs and Elizabeth looked back at the perusing ship. "She's falling behind!" Elizabeth shouted.
"Aye," Gibbs agreed with no small amount of relief. "We've got her!"
Will joined them. "We're the faster?"
Gibbs gave a nod, his attention still on the Dutchman. "Against the wind, the Dutchman beats us. That's how she takes her prey." He glanced back at Will. "But with the wind…"
"We rob her advantage," Will concluded.
"Aye," Gibbs confirmed. He and Elizabeth moved away from the edge, but I noticed Will still staring at the Dutchman. I bit my lip, knowing what he was thinking. A plan was beginning to form about how he could possibly save his father from Davy Jones.
Marty, hanging in the rigging, pointed at the Flying Dutchman. "They're giving up!" he shouted gleefully. The crew broke into a cheer, but I just worried at my lip harder. Jones had more than one way of taking a ship down, after all, and I knew he wasn't beyond using more violent matters. Jack smiled from his place on the quarterdeck, the jar of dirt still cradled in his arms. Will came up to him. "My father is on that ship," he reminded Jack. "If we can outrun her, we can take her. We should turn and fight."
I let out a small sigh. Jack turned to Will. "Why fight when you can negotiate?" He placed the jar of dirt on the railing. "All one needs is the proper leverage." Jack tapped his fingers lightly on the lid of the jar, looking smug.
Suddenly, the ship gave a mighty lurch and halted as if she had abruptly come to the end of her leash. Everyone stumbled, including me. I winced as pain once again shot through my wounded knee. Jack watched in horror as his precious jar of dirt fell to the deck below, smashing on the wood. Jack rushed down and started to dig through the sand. I winced, hoping he wouldn't cut himself on a piece of glass. "Careful, Jack. Don't cut yourself," I warned him.
Jack paid me no heed as he searched desperately for the heart of Davy Jones in the sand and dirt. "Where is it? Where is the thump-thump?"
I drifted down to his side, shaking my head slowly. "It's gone. I'm sorry." The look he gave me as I said this was almost as painful as what was going through my knee at the moment; he knew the rules. He knew I had knowledge of events yet to come, and those that had already passed… it didn't take long for him to figure out I'd known the heart was gone for a while, now.
Meanwhile, the crew were trying to figure out why we had just stopped. "We must have hit a reef," someone called. Elizabeth went to the side and peered down at the seething blue water.
Will's insides went as cold, as mine already were. We both knew what the real cause was. "No, it's not a reef!" Will called. He grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her towards the middle of the ship. "Get away from the rail!" The urgency in his voice and the rough way he handled her alarmed the young woman. The rest of the crew could also tell something was seriously wrong.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked him, her voice filled with dread.
"The Kraken," he answered. He already sounded hopeless, as though he knew the battle was already lost. He'd seen what the Kraken could do, already.
At the word, Jack looked up in horror. Will began to shout orders, putting his prior experience of Kraken attack to good use as he told the crew how to defend the ship. Jack wasn't listening to him. Instead, I watched with a frown as he hastily made his way towards a longboat.