Chapter 15

The iron gate of the Bermudan Prison creaked as it was raised upward. Once it was fully raised, Blackbeard and his men led a group of fresh prisoners who were trembling uncontrollably inside. All of their wrists were bound by rope that appeared to be wrapped around the wrists of the captured sailors so tight, that it wouldn't have come as a surprise to find out that the ropes were cutting into the flesh. After Blackbeard ordered his first mate to take them into the torture chamber, he turned his head and was met with a confusing sight. One of his guards was locked inside Sparrow and the Turners' cell, although there was no trace of the three pirates anywhere; it was as if they had vanished into thin air. Enraged, Blackbeard stormed towards the cell, unlocked it with his key, and stepped inside.

"What the bloody hell happened," he barked.

The guard was clearly dazed from something that had currently transpired. "I...I don't know. The last thing I remember is that Turner woman appearing to be in pain and when I went to help her..."

"Yes?" Blackbeard's temper was nearing the danger level.

"Sparrow must have knocked me unconscious once I stepped foot inside this cell."

Blackbeard's eyes seemed to flare as he switched over to the next cell. "Did any of you know that they were planning something like this?"

"Well, I'm afraid not," James spoke up. "You see, sir, we must have been dozing off when it happened."

Blackbeard stepped dangerously close to James. "And something like that wasn't enough to wake you?"

"Apparently not," James replied with a smug grin.

Blackbeard said nothing, just nodded. He sighed as he glanced around, until suddenly, in one lightning-fast movement, Blackbeard drew his pistol and fired a shot off into James' left arm. As the bullet collided with the flesh, bits of blood sprayed from the fresh wound and James grabbed his arm in pain.

"Rule number one," Blackbeard seethed, "never lie to me. Because as you can see, the consequences are not pretty at all."

Blackbeard left James lying on the stone floor, holding his bleeding arm in agony. Blackbeard returned to the other cell and stood directly in front of the guard.

"You will go out with a few of the other crew members, and none of you will return until you're in possession of both our escaped prisoners and the treasure."

"The treasure, sir?"

"Yes, Sparrow and the Turners have obviously gone after it, so I think it'll save us loads of trouble if we just let the three of them do all the hard work for us."

"Yes, sir."

"And you realize, of course, that if you don't succeed, you'll have used up all of your value to me." Blackbeard raised the barrel of his smoking pistol to eye level.

"I understand, Captain. But may I make one request?"

"And what exactly would that be?"

"Let me and the crew have a little...fun with the wench. You've seen her, she could certainly be of far greater use to us."

The faintest hint of a smirk crossed Blackbeard's face. "And what of her husband?"

The pirate shrugged. "Kill him. That way, he won't be an obstacle when we're enjoying the wench's company."

"Bring me what I want to me, and the woman is all yours."

A malicious expression invaded the guard's face as he ran to collect some men to go after the escaped convicts.

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Meanwhile, Jack, Will and Elizabeth were in the middle of the island, carefully counting paces toward the treasure's location. Anticipation began to build up inside of Jack as he stepped the last few paces until finally, he was standing in the center of the location where the red "X" of the map was drawn. Jack didn't notice this, but the closed eye in the top right corner of the parchment had suddenly opened magically. Jack stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face Will and Elizabeth.

"It appears we're right over the treasure. How fortuitous."

"Let's just dig up the treasure so we can go back to free the crew as soon as possible," said Will.

"Agreed."

Jack then tucked the map safely in his breast pocket before getting a better grip on his shovel, digging it into the layers of sand beneath their feet. Will and Elizabeth quickly followed suit.

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Blackbeard stood before his many stooges, silently sizing them up, weighing his options on getting the treasure. Finally satisfied that these men could get the job done, Blackbeard turned to the leader of the group.

"You have your orders. Do not make your move until you are absolutely certain that the treasure has been dug up from its resting place. After that, re-capture our prisoners, but don't kill them. At least don't kill either Sparrow or Mr. Turner just yet, the woman will serve far greater purposes once she's brought back here."

"Aye, Cap'n." The pirate turned to address his men. "Gents, time for a stroll."

The group of pirates chuckled as they each grabbed necklaces that held blood-red stones, which dangled off each of their necks. They made three swift rubs over their stones with their thumbs, and once they were done, something awe-inspiring transpired.

The bodies of each pirate soon began to writhe and their flesh bubble sickeningly. The sound of cracking bones filled the air as well as cries of pain. Faces were dramatically molded and shifted graphically into horrifying shapes. Each person's set of teeth became fangs and their eyes merely black dots. The crew of Blackbeard had taken their demonic forms, consumed by an insatiable thirst for blood. Blackbeard eyed each creature in delight.

"Go and have some fun," he grunted.

The creatures let out sounds of approval as each one of them took off at an inhuman dash. Jack, Will and Elizabeth were about to have some unexpected guests.

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The shovels were forced once again down into the sand and whatever was scooped up tossed away. The heat of the bright sun was beginning to really bear down upon Jack, Will, and Elizabeth as they continued digging into the ground, wiping the sweat from their foreheads at different times. Slowly becoming frustrated, Elizabeth turned her head to face Jack.

"How much more of this do we have to put up with," she asked him.

"Stop nagging and keep digging. I promise what we'll find will be worth all of this," Jack replied.

"That line's becoming old, and quick," commented Will.

"You know what, I..." Jack's voice trailed off as the tip of his shovel suddenly collided against something hard, causing a sound of hollowness.

The trio looked at each other before digging more furiously around the place where the sound had came from. Within a few minutes, more sand had been cleared away, providing a perfect view of a dark brown chest nestled in the middle of the hole. Immediately, Jack, Will, and Elizabeth tossed their shovels away and placed each of their hands on a proper vantage point.

"Ah, the anticipation," said Jack.

Each one of them heaved, as they strained under the weight of the heavy chest. The trio lifted the chest to ground level, and dumped the chest onto the ground beside them.

Jack wasted no time in picking up his shovel and using it to break the rusted lock on the front. The lock broke, and Will pulled it out of its hole.

"Moment of truth," breathed Jack.

Gracefully, Jack placed his fingers on either side of the lid as Will and Elizabeth came up behind them. Then, carefully, Jack raised the lid with his eyes as big as saucers; Jack, Will and Elizabeth leaned forward to get the best view possible.

The sight that met their eyes was simply jaw-dropping. There, inside the treasure chest, sat mounds of gold, jewels, rubies, coins, and silver; each piece glinted almost heavenly in the bright sunlight. The treasure pieces certainly seemed to have fallen directly from the heavens, each piece appearing to have the personal blessings of a god. If there was any treasure that proved on its own how man could become possessed by greed, this was it.

Jack placed both his hands inside the chest, grabbing as many pieces of treasure that his palms could allow. He then brought them up to eye level while he let the pieces pour back down into the large chest, all the while a goofy grin glued to his face.

Jack glanced up at Will and Elizabeth, both of whom had bewildered expressions plastered on their faces; Will's eyes were huge and Elizabeth's mouth slightly hung open.

"Told you it'd be worth the wait," Jack said to Elizabeth.

"It..." Elizabeth attempted to form a coherent response, "it...it's amazing."

"Yeah, not bad." Jack turned back to face the treasure.

"I can't believe it," breathed Will. "I can't take my eyes off it!"

"Me neither," Jack grinned.

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A few feet away, the group of pirates were hidden inconspicuously behind palm trees and large walls of grass. They smiled scarily as they got a glimpse of the treasure. Now was the time to strike.