Third Chapter – Unnecessary Death
My little list of reviews has hit double figures! Thanks to all the lovely people that helped it get there.
I don't know if you'd consider this chapter "gory", but as you've probably noticed in the chapter title that someone's going to die! Do tell me if you consider it too explicit for the rating. I don't think it is, but…………..
So, a third chapter coming right up… P
x
Billy Hadley was going to have fun tonight, a new merchant ship had come into the harbor this evening and the crew had been sent off on errands or shore leave. Either way there was plenty of impressionable young lads running around with their pockets full of gold.
Just waiting to be robbed…
A grin twisted his scrawny features and he hurried down the lane way, ignoring groups but focusing on the single people. He caught sight of a young, thin, sickly-looking lad dashing after another group of three, perhaps for protection.
A predatory smirk flashed across his face; target spotted. He pretended to stumble and fell over the lad, clamping a hand over the target's mouth in the process. Luckily for him the lane way was nearly deserted except for the group of the three still walking along, unaware that one of their companions was being robbed.
The lad squealed and writhed under him while Billy dug out his long dagger from his jacket pocket. The lad stilled at the sight of the wicked knife, his too big amber eyes widening in fear.
"Your money?" demanded Billy, who was by this time really enjoying himself. The lad moved his arms as Billy lifted his weight from them and fumbled around his waist presumably for his money pouch.
Dreams of young whores and lots of rum filled Billy's greedy mind and distracted his attention from the boy.
Then he heard a noise that froze his heart. The sharp snick of a pistol being cocked.
"Get off me." Said the boy in a distinctly feminine voice.
Obediently, Billy stood and the 'boy' before him scrambled to his feet.
In his fear Billy noticed the strangest things. He could not understand how he ever could have taken the young woman before him to be a lad. Though all these thoughts were irrelevant he could see the slight curves that were nearly hidden by the rough sailor's clothes.
Everything was irrelevant except the barrel of the pistol, the steady hand and cold eyes above it. The girl hesitated for a moment and he seized his chance. He was in the process of lunging at her with his dagger when he stumbled.
He thought he had stumbled because in the rush of energy he hadn't heard the pistol shot. But then he saw the bright blood blooming like some obscene rose on his shirt. Ignoring the dull pain on his breastbone he looked back at the girl in disbelief, but her amber eyes were hard and yet innocently beautiful in the fading light.
His dying eyes made the colours swirl in dizzying patterns, but her face stood out as a pale golden blur, lit by the street lanterns. He sank to the cold ground still leaking out lifeblood onto the cobblestones. Faint cries from far away made him aware that someone had noticed that he was dying in a cold god-forsaken alleyway somewhere in Singapore.
With his eyesight fading he could barely see the figure of the girl, but he could hear her. He heard her quiet footsteps on the cobblestones and heard them slightly squelching through the widening pool of dark blood.
He heard her quick intake of breath that was almost a sob as she looked back towards his pathetic figure. That was the last thing before death swooped down like a falling raven's feather and blotted his consciousness from the world forever.
x-x-x
The sharp snap of a pistol-shot drew the authorities like honey draws flies. Will, who had whipped around when he heard the shot, saw the men swarming at the mouth of the alleyway. He looked back towards Elizabeth who was still standing over the prone figure, not noticing the men running right for her.
"Elizabeth, RUN." He yelled over the sound of the men's boots clattering over the cobblestones. She glanced up, saw the men, and caught on quickly. Soon enough the four of them were running full pelt down the narrow alley with the men hot on their heels.
Barbossa took the lead, as he seemed to know the streets of Singapore well. He ducked into an open doorway and hissed at the three behind him to follow.
Tia Dalma did so without the slightest question as to where he was leading him. She swept up her skirts and stepped over the threshold, quickly disappearing into the darkness of the house. Will and Elizabeth who weren't as trusting, both hesitated at the dark doorway.
Elizabeth heard the sound of running footsteps drawing nearer and grabbed Will's arm, her amber eyes widening with fear. She pulled him through the doorway and they continued though the house, following the swish of Tia's skirts on the rough floor.
The house was deserted and they came out through a back door into another alleyway. This street was narrow and lined with tall houses. The pace slowed, but all four were still wary.
Will couldn't help but notice that despite the run Elizabeth was deathly pale.
"What happened back there?' He asked her quietly, wondering whether he actually wanted to know the answer.
She refused to look at him, but instead fixed her gaze on the pistol she still held in her hand. Her knuckles were white around her tight grip on the cold metal. Slowly her hand reluctantly let go and it clattered loudly on the cobblestones.
Slightly startled, Will almost went to pick it up, but stopped as she continued walking.
The thunder of Elizabeth's heartbeat seemed so loud that she though that the whole world must've been able to hear it. Will still walked beside her, casting concerned glances her way. Glances that she pretended not to notice.
She though that if she saw love in his deep brown eyes she might just fall apart.
The image of the dying thief choking on his own blood was playing over and over again in her mind's eye. Wondering why the death of a single worthless man was affecting her so, she realized that she'd never directly killed a real man.
She'd fought undead skeletons and Davy Jones' beast men/creatures, but she'd never stood there, looked a man in the eye and shot him. Shot him dead, so that his heart uselessly pumped dark blood all over the filthy streets… But then there was Jack; she had killed him.
She stumbled and gagged, a sudden vision of Jack looking down at his blood-soaked chest in disbelief searing across her mind. Killed by her own hand as if she'd shot him herself.
Will grabbed her arm and pulled her up to keep her from falling to the ground. They ended up face to face and Elizabeth found herself caught in his eyes. He couldn't have trapped her there better, even if he'd shackled her.
His eyes were clouded, his face grim and she pale and sick looking, but both were snared by the heat and the closeness of the moment.
Without warning, the sound of men in pursuit echoed around the street and Barbossa turned back to them.
"This is no' the time for canoodling, the men are close behind." He yelled back at them, sounding exasperated.
Will glanced back and saw the men appear round the corner not far away. They began to run again, following Barbossa. Elizabeth lost her sense of direction as he led them down one street and down another. Eventually he came to a small house with a blue door, next to a smelly butcher. He knocked on the door, Jack the monkey chattering furiously on his shoulder.
The other three came to the door, Tia Dalma still clutching at her skirts. The door opened, revealing a hard-looking woman who looked to be in her mid-forties.
Elizabeth expected her to demand their names and want to know what they were doing on her doorstep, so she was surprised when the woman only ushered them into the house, her eyes widening with recognition.
No words were spoken while she hurried them up the wooden stairs into the upper levels of the house. The house was small but pretty and definitely not the house of a poor woman. The woman in question darted into one of the rooms and kicked at the bottom left corner of the wall. A wooden panel sprang open, revealing a small alcove.
Sharp black eyes looked from the four of them to the hole and back again. The woman sighed, realizing that it wouldn't fit in everyone and grabbed Elizabeth's arm.
"You two will fit in there. And remember to keep quiet if you value your heads attached to your shoulders." She said sharply, grabbing Will with her other hand and shoving the two into the small cupboard.
Elizabeth barely had time to blink before the woman pushed the panel shut and they were plunged into darkness.
Inside there was a small ledge that maybe one and half people could've sat on, but that was definitely too small for two people. So Elizabeth found herself sprawled in Will's lap and blushed, glad of the dark that hid her expression.
Downstairs a loud knock sounded and Elizabeth's breath quickened, partly from fear and partly from the way she could feel Will's chest rising and falling against her own.
Will wondered vaguely if it was entirely proper to be able to feel the swell of her breast through the thin cotton shirt she wore. This though vanished as quickly as smoke in high wind when she shifted in his lap again. He hoped that Tia Dalma got herself hidden, though he didn't worry so much about Barbossa. He knew that the wily old man could talk himself out of anything.
The sound of the men's footsteps pounded on the stairs and Elizabeth bent her head to Will's shoulder, to muffle the sound of her breathing. At least that's what she told herself, but the truth of it was that his shoulder was warm, strong and comforting against her cheek.
"Captain, I think you'll find that there is no one in this house but me." Called the woman outside in the hall, sounding darkly amused.
The man ignored her and continued to search through the rooms. The pair in the alcove froze, barely daring to breathe as the man passed perilously close to their hiding spot.
For Elizabeth the terrifying ordeal passed quickly in the shelter of Will's arms. As the man's footsteps faded away she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him.
Will could only see the slightest shadow of her face in the light that came in under the door, but he thought she looked slightly strange. She leaned closer and he felt a tingle of excitement trickle down his spine. Their mouths were bare inches apart, a fact that didn't escape his notice.
"Will, if you don't kiss me now, I'm afraid I shall have to kill you.' She said cheekily, and there was a something in her voice that he couldn't place.
He smiled, fully intending to do as she wished. But then he recognized it. The look in her eyes, the way her mouth was slightly parted as she leaned closer to him and the way her hand rested lightly on his arm. He recognized it as the way she'd been with Jack, on the deck of the Pearl, while the rest of them prepared to escape.
He jerked back, the memory coming very clear to his mind.
"What?" She asked, sounding more than a little confused.
"I'm sorry, I can't." He replied choking on memory and the way she'd looked just as beautiful back then.
She frowned in puzzlement and opened her mouth to speak…
Luckily for him, at that moment the wooden panel sprang open again and they both tumbled gracelessly on to the floor.
X
Hmmm, I don't like this chapter much. If you did please encourage me…
I hope you enjoyed and a review wouldn't go astray.