Hello everyone! I have some free time right now, so I'm going to right another chapter.

This chapter, like the last is dedicated to:

Alenor Peredhel

For reviewing and helping me. Thank you.

(p.s. maybe he is. You'll have to see. Bwa ha ha)

Also to thomthom830. Sorry but I can't dedicate it to you twice (not in a row at least).

Since I have no other people to mention, here is the next chapter.

Insert usual disclaimer here.

RUN AWAY

Chapter 3

Soon the Black Pearl had stopped in Port Andreas. Jack left the crew to their own devices, getting a few, including James, to help him gather supplies. Of course this included quite a few barrels of rum, along with some food and rope. After everything was loaded on the ship, Jack wandered off to the nearest bar, and sat down with Gibbs.

"Have you gotten any information out of James?" the older man asked.

"Got him to tell me some. Apparently he's from Cartagena. Ran away after his father killed his mother and sister." He replied, taking a drink of rum.

"He's a good boy, but something about him is just…." He took a swig. "weird." Jack nodded in agreement. There was something James hadn't told him, he knew it, but he had no intention of asking him.

James went and sat on the beach a little way from town. He was never one to drink, but supposed he would have to get used to it. The fresh water supply probably wouldn't last long. He dipped his feet in the cold water. They had gotten dirty from the deck. It was easier to work without his boots, so he left them under the bed with his bag. The deck, no matter how many times he cleaned it, was always dirty. His hands were also dirty and blistered from the wooden mop. He washed them gingerly, trying to cause as little pain as possible.

He smirked when he noticed his reflection in the water. The dirt on his face made him look just like any other crew member. Everything was working out perfectly. He would get off at the next port, and start his new life. Maybe if everything went well he would stay a little longer, but he had to be careful. If he stayed to long, his secret might come out, and that wouldn't be good.

He walked back to the ship, deserted except for one sleeping watchman. Slipping into the galley, he grabbed an apple before going to the sleeping quarters. He slipped his bag out quietly, even though he was alone, and began to rummage through the clothes until pulled out a little bag. Dumping the contents on the floor carefully, he counted the coins, putting them back in the bag one by one. 20. None were missing. They were his life savings, and they would help him start anew.

James buried the little bag under the clothes and reached his hand further down. Finding what he was looking for, he hopped on his hammock and turned on the lantern he had brought down earlier. He took a bite of his apple and opened the cover of the book, tracing the gold letters on the front. Tales from Anderson It had been his favorite book since he was a child, and had kept in good condition.

The book was one of the few things he took with him when he left. He had pulled out clothes, his money, and his hat and stuffed them in the bag. Just as he was leaving, he remembered the book. There was no way he would leave it behind.

He flipped through the pages and stopped at the tinder box. That was his favorite story. His mother had read it to him almost every night when he was younger.

James loved tale of the handsome soldier who meets the magic witch, and then falls in love with the beautiful lady. He uses the tinder box and three gigantic dogs to save her. They get married and lived happily ever after.

That's what his life was until his mother died. Everything went downhill after that. He had changed, and everyone knew it. He sighed. No use bringing up the past. What's done is done. It'll never change.

Soon his eyes grew heavy and he had trouble keeping them open. He put the book gently back in his bag, turned out the lantern and let sleep claim him.

I know it's short, but at least I wrote something. R+R! -Chicaga