Chapter 8

I am roused from my bed in my cabin close to dawn by a loud shout from one of the crewmembers. However, any drowsiness quickly fades away when I hear what is being called.

"Land ho!"

There is an immediate scurry of activity from all around. I jump up and rush out onto deck, eager to get my first glimpse of Isla Del Espejos.

Staring out over the rail of the ship, at first I see nothing. However, squinting out at the horizon I eventually make out a grey smudge, barely discernable from the sky and ocean surrounding it. It seems to dip in and out of existence, and if I stare too hard for too long it disappears completely.

I am so engrossed in staring at the island that I do not hear Jack come up behind me.

"Beautiful…"

I start slightly but then when I realise it is only Sparrow I turn, narrowing my eyes at him, only to find his eyes staring straight at me.

"What?..." I ask suspiciously.

Jack smiles slyly, and then turns to stare innocently at the island, motioning towards it with one hand.

"I was merely commenting on the view, Sierra… No need for all the mistrust…"

I am not entirely convinced by this reply, but let it pass, noticing something interesting about the island ahead.

"Why does it seem to shimmer so much? It looks like a heat wave… But at the same time, it seems to be so many colours, which is not like a heat wave at all…"

Jack smiles, although this time without the slyness.

"That's all because of the material the island has formed from… Wait until we get closer, and then you'll see."

He nods knowledgably, satisfied with his own response, and then looks upwards.

"In the meantime, I think there's a bit more wind to be coaxed out of these sails. Mr Gibbs!"

He saunters off in search of the other man, leaving me staring out across the ocean at the ever-nearing island.

As we slowly near Isla Del Espejos, I begin to see what Jack was talking about.

The 'material'- as the Captain called it- that the island is made from is so distinctive that as soon as we are close enough to see the island properly, I recognize it instantly.

The shimmering that I had seen previously is being caused by the sun reflecting from the iridescent surface, like a light reflects from a mirror. This makes the island dip in and out of existence, much like a mirage. However, this is no mirage- the island is as real as the wood I am standing on.

Now I understand why the island is named 'the island of mirrors', and also why Jack knew that it could be only this island where Falcon's treasure was hidden. In fact, I am surprised that an island as distinctive as this has not become much more well-known.

At first glance the island had simply looked like a large dark mass sticking out from the water, but now we are closer I can see that there are cliffs, hills and flat plains, all made from the same, strange, mirror-like material. The affect is completely surreal, like something from a storybook that I would have read as a young child.

I reach into one of my pockets, drawing out my locket- these days I don't seem to wear it, but I still keep it on my person at all times. Flipping the catch, I open it up and stare at the rock that my father has placed there, many years ago.

The colours never seem to stay the same, but constantly waver and swirl, mixing together to form new colours that appear and are gone again in the same instant. This is completely mesmerising, and I can only imagine how strange it is going to be to step onto an island made from this material.

However, as always when I become lost in thought, I am quickly shaken out of it by Sparrow to appear- he always seems to choose these moments.

"Sierra… Could I have a word with you in my cabin, please?"

I nod, and follow him towards the stern of the ship, through the door and into the Captain's cabin. There, I settle down into one of the chairs surrounding his table as though I am totally at home.

"Yes, Sparrow?"

I have started to find it amusing to deliberately miss off the 'Captain' from his name, as it seems to agitate him almost more than anything else- except, of course, when he has finished his rum, and cannot find another bottle. Hiding said bottles works particularly well in this case if you really want to rattle him, I have discovered.

Jack looks at me with a slightly tested, but controlled expression on his face- he has already sussed put my game with his title, but even though he knows I am doing it deliberately it still seems to wind him up him slightly.

"I just thought I had better fill you in on what is going to happen when we reach the Island, in about… half and hour… from now. Just so you're ready when the time comes."

I tilt my head at this, interested- he has kept this plan of his from me for so long now, even with my consistent pestering, that I had almost started to expect I would never hear it.

Jack lilts over to the window at the very back of his cabin, and looks out. He starts speaking to me, without turning back around.

"Firstly, we are going to do nothing until Serpiente's ship has caught up with us- he's dropped behind these last few days and we need him closer for any of this to work. Before he drops anchor, however, we're going to sneak onto the Island, find the treasure, and…"

I start as the ship lists to one side slightly, then rights itself. Jack breaks off outlining his plan to concentrate on staying upright, and his head whips round, his expression uneasy. Without a word to me, he strides over to the door and then outside. I scramble up and hurry to follow.

"Mr Gibbs!" Jack looks around for the first mate. The man soon scuttles over to him, looking distressed.

"What's going on?"

The other man looks even more worried by this simple question.

"We're not entirely sure Captain… There's something in the water though and it's kicking up a powerful fight…" He motions over to the side of the ship, then adds, speaking so low I can hardly catch what he says:

"I told you she was bad luck…"

Jack looks back over his shoulder in my direction, and rolls his eyes. Clearly he doesn't take Gibbs' superstitions seriously, but even so, I feel slightly uneasy that Gibbs still doesn't seem to have accepted me.

Then the ship gives another lurch, and the Captain turns back to the far more serious matter at hand.

"So, what have you seen, Gibbs?"

"Take a look for yourself, Captain…" By now they have reach the side of the ship and Jack stares down into then water below.

To both mine and the rest of the crew's amazement and confusion, he starts to laugh. I hurry over to the rails to see what could possibly be so funny.

Looking down, I see that the water seems to have completely changed into a mass of writhing silver, which turns over itself seemingly in an effort to escape from the surface and climb up the edge of the ship. The extra weight of this, coupled with the turbulence this effort is causing to the surrounding water, is what is making the Pearl rock so violently. To me this looks like a fairly serious problem, but Jack looks unperturbed. I stare at him questionably, and perhaps he catches this look from the corner of his eye because he soon starts to speak, although it doesn't seem to be directly aimed at me but more to the crew in general.

"Mirror fish." Jack takes one final look over the rail and then turns away, looking pleased.

"Crew, let out the nets!"

"Captain?" Gibbs still looks lost, casting another nervous glance over the side of the ship.

"Mirror fish, Gibbs. They're exclusive to the waters near this Island… Harmless enough, although they do tend to be rather inquisitive. Hence the reason they're currently trying to climb their way up the side of my ship. Give them some time- they're soon realise we are of no interest to them. While we're waiting, however, I suggest we roll out the nets… I've heard mirror fish make a fine meal."

"Oh…" Gibbs looks as though he finally understands.

"Right, now we've reached an accord on that front… Crew! The nets! Move it!" Jack starts waving his arms around in an official manner, and there is a sudden flurry of movement as the crew rush to do their Captain's bidding.

By noon, the nets are full of the wriggling fish, and any left in the water have lost interest and swum off, leaving us free to continue. Soon, we drop anchor in the bay.

The hot Caribbean sun dips over the horizon, giving way to a cool evening. Delicious smells drift up from the cabin, making my mouth water and my stomach rumble. From the scent, it seems what Jack said was right- these mirror fish will make a fine meal indeed.

However, it seems that I will never get to taste this dish- Jack comes to find me shortly before the bell for dinner rings.

"Sierra?" He strolls into my cabin to find me resting on my bed, reading a book I found somewhere on the ship.

I sit up, placing the book on the floor next to my bed, and turn to face him.

"Yes? Is dinner ready so soon?"

Jack looks at me, with one of his half-smiles.

"I'm afraid that you're going to have to go without your hot meal tonight, luv… We've got something more important issues to attend to. Grab anything you need- we're going ashore."

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ilovejacksparrow121- Oooh! New reviewer- yay! Welcome aboard! And thank you very much- you favourites? Aww... shucks. ;)

Wolf.At.Heart- You're back! Ciao! And good to know you're still enjoying it! Just one thing though- the 'park' thing was really good? Looks clueless. What part was that? (Notice how well I know my own story... I have such a rubbish memory!!!)

Chocolat Pirate- Well then, I'll try not to keep you waiting for too long! And excuse me- your writing is not a pile of dirt! As you may have read in the review I left for one of your stories! Lol.