Chapter 18

"They escaped," repeated Blackbeard in a chillingly plain tone. His sword was clutched in his right hand in a death-grip.

"Y-y-yes Cap'n," the guard stuttered. "We found all five men dead. One shot, and the other four stabbed."

"You don't think the Turner woman did all that by herself?" a nearby henchman asked.

"Of course not," Blackbeard waved off the question. "Mr. Turner obviously escaped his captors and saved his wife before retreating elsewhere."

"But where are they going? We have the treasure."

"But their ship is still tied to the shore," Blackbeard growled. "I surmise that they'll be going there to get properly armed for an attempt at a rescue mission. They are coming back for the crew, no doubt." Blackbeard paused a moment. "In that case, establish a perimeter. I want guards stationed outside the gate at all times."

"Of course." Blackbeard's first mate turned to give his men the orders.

"Wait," Blackbeard called out. He swirled around to see his men staring at him obediently. "There's something more important at the moment."

Without warning, Blackbeard whipped out a small palm-sized bomb, lit the fuse, and tossed it at his cronies' feet. Upon instinct, his men scurried away in fear just as the tiny mechanism exploded violently. Some men stumbled to the ground from the force of the blast.

"That's a reminder for you to stay on your toes," Blackbeard grunted. "You never know when someone will attack."

"Aye," every pirate mumbled at different times.

Blackbeard eyed his men with both anger and confusion. "Well what are you still doing here? You have your orders, get to it!"

The henchmen obliged without hesitation as they scurried out of the dimly lit area, not wanting to endure another one of Blackbeard's sadistic tests.

Will woke with a jolt. Upon opening his eyes, he noticed that Elizabeth was no longer curled comfortably in his arms; on the contrary, she was currently strapping on every necessary weapon for their planned overtaking of the Bermudan Prison. Will quickly rubbed the sleep from his eyes and got to his feet.

"I see you're ready."

Elizabeth turned to face him, tossing him a loaded rifle; he caught it. "What's the plan?" she asked.

Will took the time to put the rifle's leather strap over his shoulder before answering. "We go to the outskirts of the prison and decisively take down any patrolling guards. Then, we find a way to break in and free the prisoners."

"All of them?"

"Yes. Even though the rest of the prisoners may be pirates, they're still innocent people and none of them deserve a fate such as the one they face here."

"But how are we going to get all of them off the island?"

"I'm sure Blackbeard keeps all of the ships that they haven't destroyed in a secret location somewhere. We find that place and make sure each of the ships cross the threshold successfully."

Elizabeth nodded.

"I only hope we're not too late in saving the crew, though. There's no telling if Blackbeard's killed any of them out of anger."

"Then we'd best hurry."

For the next few moments, Will and Elizabeth finished preparing for their harrowing task looming ahead of them. When they were both finished, Will turned to face his wife.

"Elizabeth...," he began, "if...if anything should...just...I love you. Know that."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding and tenderly took his hand. "I've known for many years. I love you too."

"Let's just promise to watch each other's backs as best we can," said Will.

"Agreed."

Will and Elizabeth gazed deep into each other's eyes before pulling the other into a deep, loving kiss that lasted for a whole minute. After that, they embraced each other tightly.

"I just remembered," Elizabeth spoke up, "Blackbeard sentenced Jack to execution!"

"When?"

"In one week, but I'm positive that he'll move it up to now when we make our move."

Will contemplated those words for a moment. "Wait, don't you remember? He told us that Tia Dalma granted him immortality when we rescued him from the Kraken two years ago."

Elizabeth's eyes widened as she recalled that fact. "That's right," she breathed. "But...if Blackbeard discovers that, what's to stop him from simply killing another crew member?"

"You're right. We need to make haste. Let's go."

With that, Will and Elizabeth departed from the Pearl, racing back towards the volcano that housed the Bermudan Prison.

On the outskirts of the prison, two guards dutifully patrolled back and forth outside the entrance, rifles slung across their shoulders and swords clenched in between their free fingers. Both pairs of beady eyes penetrated the lush surroundings of the forest, trying to locate any warning of a surprise attack; they currently saw none.

Suddenly, one of the pirates stepped on the center of the twig, causing the piece of bark to snap. The noise caused the plunderer to slightly jump in surprise, jerking his rifle out readily in front of him. After having realized that it was nothing, the marauder exhaled in a low whistle and smirked to himself, shrugging the sensation off. As he continued to make his rounds circling the prison's perimeter, something unexpected happened.

A shot rang out, piercing the dead silence, and a sharp pain in the pirate's side accompanied it. Moaning, the outlaw allowed his hand to shakily touch the area of the wound, and when he brought it back up, the flesh of his hand was stained blood-red. Before he knew it, the looter slumped to the ground.

The other guard immediately noticed this and made an attempt to fire back a shot in the direction the original had come from, but he was too late. A split-second later, two bullets had lodged themselves deep into the brute's chest, causing a pool of blood to form on his front. An expression of pure anger was etched on his face as the pirate fell into the mixture of grass and sand.

For the next few seconds, all was quiet, except for the distant sound of the ocean being carried all the way from the shoreline. Finally, two figures emerged from a thick gathering of small bushes. Will and Elizabeth scanned the area for signs of any more opposition and thankfully found none. They took the time to reload their heavy weapons with more gunpowder before inconspicuously making their way over to the huge iron gate that blocked the entrance.

Will quickly summed up his options, taking every possibility into consideration. His eyes surveyed the inside of the prison just beyond the gate and they fell on the huge lever on the left side. Thinking fast, Will pulled out a piece of strong rope. He then examined the size of each square-shaped hole the gate formed and looked back at the rope draped over his palms. Coming to a decision, Will efficiently formed a loop with the end of the rope and carefully brought it through the nearest gap with a tight grip around it. He then took careful aim and tossed it towards the handle of the lever with just the right amount of force.

As planned, the loop closed around the lever; Will smiled to himself. He then turned to face Elizabeth, holding out some of the rope.

"Help me tug," he said.

Elizabeth took the rope without a word and grasped it tightly.

"Ready," Will breathed, "one...two...three."

On the count of three, Will and Elizabeth pulled the rope with all their might. They visibly strained under the amount of work it took, sweat starting to form on their brows. Finally, after countless minutes of tugging, the lever inside slowly moved forward until a dull click sounded. Job complete, Will hastily pulled the rope back towards him while the iron gate slowly lifted up. Once the gate had been fully raised, Will and Elizabeth looked at each other.

"This is it," said Will.

"And here goes nothing," Elizabeth replied.

They dashed forward, halting on either side of the entrance. They glanced at each other and nodded. Will and Elizabeth raised their rifles to eye level and cocked them while peering carefully around the stone walls. Seeing no signs of anymore guards, Will and Elizabeth darted inside, rifles raised in front of them.

The couple cautiously scanned the area for trouble as they slowly moved forward through the main entrance space. Prisoners looked up curiously from inside their cells, desperately hoping that Will and Elizabeth had come to save them. They rushed up to the iron bars and followed the duo's gradual progress; Will and Elizabeth silently motioned for them to keep quiet. But just then, a voice called out their names.

"Mr. Turner? Mrs. Turner?"

Will and Elizabeth shot confused looks to their right. In the cell they were scrutinizing, a weary looking man gazed back at them through iron bars.

"Who are you?" Elizabeth questioned in a whisper.

"Admiral Nathaniel Wilkins," replied Wilkins. "Your father sent me and my crew to come rescue you."

"Rescue us?"

"Yes. You were last seen in Port Royal fleeing in the presence of a known pirate named Jack Sparrow."

"Captain," Will and Elizabeth corrected in unison. "Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Of course," Wilkins rolled his eyes. "But the fact of the matter is, he kidnapped you and we've come to take you back home."

"Jack didn't kidnap us," Will snapped. "We voluntarily agreed to accompany him on a quest."

"And look where you ended up." Wilkins gestured with his hands around the cave. "How are you sure that Sparrow isn't in fact working with the pirates who control this prison?"

"We know Jack too well," said Elizabeth. "He couldn't possibly betray us like that."

"With all due respect, Mrs. Turner," Wilkins persisted, "have you forgotten how he tricked your husband onto the Flying Dutchman two years ago?"

Immediately, Elizabeth's eyes darkened.

Wilkins smiled. "I thought so. Now, just find a way to release me and my men, and we can all return to Port Royal safe and sound."

Will and Elizabeth were quiet a long moment. Finally, Elizabeth spoke up.

"No. We have to save Jack and the crew first."

"Mrs. Turner, please don't waste your time on Sparrow."

Just then, a guard rounded a nearby corner and spied the intruders with shock. He made to draw his pistol, but Will had already fired his rifle. As the guard's body fell to the floor, Elizabeth raced forward and removed the keys from the belt tied around his waist. She then dashed over to the cell containing the Pearl crew and unlocked the steel gate. Gibbs and Marty raced out.

"Where did they take Jack?" Will questioned.

"A solitary confinement cell," Gibbs answered. "Down that hall." He pointed to a dimly lit corridor to their left. Will nodded and motioned for them to follow.

"We'll be back," said Elizabeth as she closed the cell door once again. She then rushed off after her comrades.

"Mr. Turner, Mrs. Turner! Come back!" Wilkins' cries went unheard.

As the foursome slowly made their way down the corridor leading to the solitary confinement cells, Elizabeth kept looking over her shoulder to see if they were being followed. Finally, narrow doors presented themselves along the walls. Will immediately began to slide back each of the wooden slits that provided views into the cells until at last he found Jack's. Elizabeth handed Will the keys and he unlocked the door.

As Jack looked up to see who was standing in the open doorway, a slight grin formed on his roguish face.

"It's about time," he said. "I've been waiting for you a whole day."

"Well sorry for formulating a strategy before just blazing in here with our weapons drawn!" Elizabeth fired back.

"Which is precisely what you're doing at the moment," smiled Jack as he joined his rescuers. "So, are we going after the treasure?"

"Do you know where it is?" Will asked.

"Of course. A secret room down the hall. You'll need a..."

Will dangled the keys in front of him.

"Oh. Then, well done, mate!"

As Will and Jack retreated back out into the corridor, a pirate of Blackbeard's suddenly came down the corridor and spied the group; his eyes widened.

"INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!"

Jack raced forward and punched the brute squarely in the face. The guard fell back against the wall, his nose gushing blood.

"Oh, shut it!"

A dull thud came from the entrance to the corridor and Jack looked up to see Blackbeard and a few of his men running at full-pace towards the Pearl members. Will leapt forward and assisted Jack in carrying the guard into the room at the end of the corridor, shutting the door just as Blackbeard and his men reached it.

Inside the room, Will looked around and saw the treasure chest lying on a small stone pedestal located in the center of the small space. He nudged Jack, who turned around and grinned.

"What'd I tell you?"

Suddenly, the locked door slightly burst forward but remained intact. The roar of Blackbeard's rough voice soon filtered into the room.

"We know you came back for your friends, Mr. and Mrs. Turner. So just surrender now and we'll let you all walk free."

Will scoffed at the offer. "You're lying through your rotten teeth, you heartless demon."

A small pause followed.

"Alright, listen. If you don't come out of there by the count of ten, we're blasting down the door one way or the other. One..."

"Not so fast, Eddie." Jack stepped closer to the door. "We may be willing to compromise."

"Are you, now?" Blackbeard sounded amused.

"Yes. We have a proposition for you."

Will and Elizabeth both gave Jack a confused expression. "We do?" Will asked.

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"I have no idea."

Will and Elizabeth gave each other an uncomfortable expression.