Authors note: We would like to take this time to apologies for the delay in posting the next installment of our little story. Life has taken quite a few interesting and frantic turns for the both of us which resulted in our delay. We would like to express our deep felt sorries at this as well as our thanks for all the support and comments we have received. Hopefully, life willing the next installments should arrive soon. We hope you understand. And thank you all for your time and appreciation. Also please note this chapter is much more graphic then those in the past. If you are squeamish or uncomfortable with strong and violent imagery we advise caution in reading this chapter. Other, Please enjoy.
Disclaimer : We do not claim, claim to own or hold any rights to Pirates of the Caribbean, the characters therein, or anything else affiliated. Those are the sole property of Disney, and Disney corporations. We are making no profit from this story. It is simply a piece of fiction for entertainment purposes only. Random names, places, and non-cannon characters as well as the plot and story itself however are our own and we would ask you please do not take them.
Summary : There are many powers at work in the world. Many things that can tip the delicate balance and plunge the world into chaos.For a Pirate such annoyances are never considered.But when the balance is broken and the world teeters on the brink, what is a Pirate to do? The winds and tides have changed. Jack & Will find themselves thrown into an olympic sized adventure that threatens the lives of every man at sea. They are left with little choice. Save a soul. Change a future. Or watch the world crumble.
"Child of the Storm"
Chapter Four "Bloody Horizon"
Smoke clung to the air. Biting lungs and stealing breath.
Lulling heavy eyes to droop and wane in the dullness of the thick, misty morn.
The moon had all but set, yet the tavern still rang with a wash and riot of patrons, sounds, smells, and all forms of pirate life.
Women in short gowns exposing too much leg and barely hiding any breast skirted the busy hall, peddling flesh and a night, or day as the case may be, of passion and booze. More then one of the vibrant vixens having pocketed what lively hood their male customers carried as the pirates and seedy sailors slept off the after affects of too much indulgence.
More then one of the unfortunate, or careless however one chose to look at it, men left without a shilling to his name called the Black Pearl home, and Hawk could do little more then tsk at their foolishness.
While a mass of his crewmates drank and fornicated the night away, Jonathan 'Hawk eye' Morgan spent the evening simply relaxing: enjoy conversations with some surprisingly interesting folk and passing time with a hand of Tortuga hold 'em or two. He had been fortunate enough to immerse himself in a cluster of sailors who were more then willing to spend the hours spinning tales, and exchanging tidbits of useful information over tankards of ever flowing grog and a game of cards. He was a keen lad, always had been. And while he was human, and now and again felt the urges and animal nature all men suffered he had a much sharper control of the lusts and desires then most; perhaps due to his long forgotten formal young lord upbringing.
As the darkness gave way to dawn the patrons about the table the young pirate circled seemed the only semi sober beings in the whole of the establishment.
"I swear on me modda's grave. This wench was a tall as any man on me crew an' twice as mad… She killed ten men 'for we even realized we was under attack!" A dark haired man with a shaggy beard and one good eye exclaimed, waving a hand in astounding exaggeration as the other still clung to his grog despite his seeming disinterest in consuming it. "If not for the-" He motioned obscenely to his chest forming the shape of a female breast atop his own. "I woulda sworn she was a bloke!" He laughed rather loudly enjoying the look of disbelief and surprise on the other men's faces.
A salty haired man next to the current story teller shook his head, running dirty fingers through his scruffy beard in an unconscious reaction of contemplation throwing two gold bits into a an already large poker pot.. "Raise, two.. I never met amazony women in the Spanish main… Though my previous cap'n swears he saw sometin similar in the Africa's.. Odd warrior women with bones through there lips an' ears. Down right crazy if ye ask me." He mumbled, flashing a mouth missing one too many teeth as he spoke with an obvious air of disdain, glancing at his hand of cards before nodding sure of his bet.
Hawk shook his head, lowering his hand "Fold," and turned from the conversation catching bits from another, much more interesting, to his right.
"The Mary?"
"Aye."
"Yer sure?"
"I swear it was. Red sails what were wet with the blood of those the Cap'n killed… The crew slaughtered the entire town. Royal navy couldn' even chase em off!"
Turning to face the three pirates sitting to his direct left Hawk's brows knit slightly in curiosity, leaning closer to hear more of the conversation. "The Mary?.. The Bloody Mary?" He asked, sliding a shilling to the pirate next to him as he received somewhat apprehensive and mistrusting looks. At the bit of offered shine the cold air disappeared and the filthy man leaned closer, speaking in hushed terms.
"Aye, Mad Jack's ship. They blew the port to pieces. Didn' leave no survivors" He whispered, pulling his tankard of rum closer as he pocketed the shilling, eyes darting about as if afraid said infamous Pirate captain would spring from the very woodwork and slit his throat for daring to speak his name. "Which port?" Another graying sea dog asked, yet Hawks eyes remained trained on the main pirate speaking. "Port Royal… They say Mad Jack even killed the Govn'a 'imself. Cut out his tongue cause he wouldn't tell him what 'e wanted ta know. Then gutted 'im atop 'is own brats grave."
"Do you know what they were looking for?" The blond plait haired lookout spoke, shifting in his seat, folding his arms one over the other as he leaned closer.
"Now, I don' think tha's any of yer business boy." A suddenly booming and charmingly malicious voice spoke behind the huddled group of gossiping buccaneers, startling the cluster of patrons. Hawk all but jumped from his seat hands falling to the twin pistols crossed upon his back, tucked in his sash on instinct; taken off guard by the sudden appearance.
A gasp of shock and near awe broke about the table at who in fact had just spoken.
"M.. Mad Jack.." The scruffy pirate Jeebs breathed before suddenly doubling over, receiving a bullet to the face from the
sudden new comer.
Captain Mad Jack Bonney stood proud and dark, smoke curling about his head like an entity of evil, a somewhat less then amused look across his neatly groomed face as the body slumped to the floor; crimson fluids mixing with pink and gray brain matter, decorating the filthy floorboards in a gruesome display of violence.
The hush that had fallen upon the tavern at the sudden appearance crumbled with the single bullet shot.
Windows shattered and doors flew from there hinges. Flames licked at the walls and burst through the floorboards in an all consuming explosion of fury and fear as if the earth herself had rend in two spewing the very flames of Hell beneath the wooded ground. Men, woman, and all manor of beings ran and fought in a flurry of motion scrambling to make it to blocked exits as an acidic smoke tinged with the stench of stinkpots filled the room.
Men, pirates, presumably Mad Jack's crew stood guarding the windows and doors dousing any man or woman who dared to try and clamor passed with liquor or lamp fuel setting several terrified patrons ablaze as others were simply shot or run through; slaughtered like caged animals.
The screams were deafening. The ferocity of pain and anguish alone was nearly enough to make one sick, yet coupled with the rancid stench of burning flesh, hair and rotting meat it was all but unbearable. Hawk yanked the bandanna about his throat up over his mouth, gagging as the flames grew at an alarming rate, hungrily devouring the wood, booze, and oxygen of the once boisterous tavern.
His eyes stung and watered as he ducked and practically crawled to the nearest window choking and coughing as he moved quite literally through a wall of pain and fire; screaming as the burning creature licked and scorched his clothing and flesh alike. A wash of lantern fluid thrown at an unfortunate man to his right splashed across his own ankles and feet setting them instantly alight, and he screamed in pain yet sanity and adrenaline kept him from stopping to douse the flame knowing full well any moment wasted could mean his life.
He passed several bodies as he stumbled and crawled. Several men dead and others dying. Some he even recognized.
Yet, he could spare no hand to help lest he risk loosing his own existence as well. Quelling the vomit threatening to rise up his throat at the charred forms and macabre circus surrounding him, each painful step, fighting the urge to black out took what little strength he had.
The soles of his boots had all but melted by the time he made it to the outer wall his slacks little more then blackened and bloodied underclothes. Every move killed him, each breath, each simple flex of a muscle sending hot rivers of agony through his body, as he struggled spying a singularly guarded window close by. Coughing he pulled out a red hot gun surprised it and its twin had yet to simply explode against his back and without a thought shot the man standing upon the other side of the opening.
Whether he be friend or foe.
Chocking and half blind he climbed atop a teetering barrel, scrambling haphazardly through the portal, crying out in sheer pain as his beaten body slammed into the cold moist earth below. He could scarcely think through the haze of agony, having only enough peace of mind to roll through the mud staunching what biting flames still clung to his clothing.
Voices, raised and angered barely registered in his hazy mind, eyes clenched as he fought the pain and weakness threatening to spill him into oblivion.
Foot falls heavy and frantic neared, and he could not control his voice as a hand landed upon his reddened and aching shoulder crying out in pain and surprise.
Blinking stinging and pain drunk orbs, he squinted as he heard a familiar voice.
Dark chocolate skin, framed by shiny black locks met his glance.
He knew that face..
"A..A..A-An..na" Hawk eye managed to rasp, his vision clearing enough to realize his surroundings. "Come on. We gotta move.." Annamaria ordered grabbing his arm, not caring as he moaned in pain and slung it over her thin shoulders all but hauling his light weight to his unsteady feet. Thank the powers he was one of the smallest Pirates aboard the Pearl. Excluding Marty of course.
"The.. The others?.."
"Forget em.. They're dead. Or soon to be…"
As the obsidian skinned woman drug him away from the city ablaze and towards the old abandoned pier the Pearl had chosen as an inconspicuous harbor, his weak head hung eyes glancing back at the growing inferno that had been the Admiral's daughter. A pang stirred in his heart at those he knew and lost in that single building.
His eyes wavered and watered, feeling his stomach turn, sickened and somewhat frightened as he spotted a figure of blood and gold; the form of Mad Jack, still perched in the dead center of the blaze, untouched by the fire like a lone god…
No…
He was no God..
He was a devil.
The sun was just barely peeking over the soft white capped waves of the ocean, light glittering off the crystalline waters like a large impossibly faceted jewel glinting in a tempting display. Early dawn cries of the gulls filled the still crisp ocean air in the soft song of morning and bay. The sky was painted in bright pinks, oranges and reds. The colors bleeding into one another like a painters' pallet left in the rain, streaking and swirling to create new colors as the sun rose and clouds dotted the natural canvas.
The Black Pearl had nearly been deserted the night before. Neigh all hands hurrying ashore to the sordid despot port that was Nassau; eager for food, drink and companions of the fairer sex. The few unfurled sails flapped softly in the breeze and the rigging and shrouds swayed and snapped as they oft did, wood creaking in the familiar dance of ship and sea as the large galley rocked with the morning tide oblivious to the turmoil's unfolding a mere two miles inland.
Jack sat slumped, perched in his navigations desk chair, booted feet crossed and propped upon the table. His arms laid sprawled over the sides of the chair, hat tipped to cover slumbering kohl smeared eyes, blocking the obnoxious sun. The bottle of rum from the previous night was emptied and on its side atop the table cluttered with several other odds and ends objects including his infamous compass. The room was still and quiet as both he and Will slept on in the first peaceful night either had seen in weeks. The only sound, a soft strange snore erupting from the pirate captain every now and again, followed by muddled drunken muttering. The night had not lasted very long for either pirate. Both men exhausted and comfortable in one another's company, allowing for a brief meal and quick welcomed visit from the sandman.
"…. Touch 'um.. an' I'll shoo' ye….." Jack stirred with a snort then settled again loosing another soft snore, his makeshift bed creaking with the movement.
The silence of morning was disturbed by a shout and foot steps peeling across the deck somewhere beyond the large quarter doors.
The boots thundered their way towards the captain's cabin.
And the bifold doors slammed open.
"Cap'n!!!"
"Parley!" Jack exclaimed in high pitched surprise eyes shooting wide as the loud noises startled him awake. The chair he rested precariously upon tipped and shot backwards, sending the pirate flailing and tumbling heels over head onto the hard plank floor of his cabin with another cry. Landing head first, Jack grumbled, half drunk still and aggravated by the disturbance. "Bugger..." Crawling sluggishly to his knee's he swayed back, tilting dangerously as he blinked trying to focus clouded eyes upon the man in his doorway making several odd faces in the process. Will blinked dumbly himself, a hand raising wearily to rub at blurry eyes as he too was startled from slumber.
"...Jack?... Kursar?.. What's going on?" the younger pirate mumbled, more asleep then his captain at present, and yet somehow more in control of his facilities.
"Cap'n, I... Can I speak with ye? Tis urgent." The short man spoke, nervous eyes large yet shaded as he looked between his two sleepy superiors, wise enough not to set foot into the captains chambers but looking very much like he wanted to high tail it as far away from whatever he had been running from as possible. "What is it?" Jack grumbled slowly staggering to his feet swaying and bumping into the table with a strange noise, knocking the empty bottle in the process. The glass rolled and slipped from the pedestal shattering soundly, causing the disoriented captain and the frightened crewman to jump. "We need to speak with ye... alone... We got a problem." Kursor added nervously, his wide eyes darting from his captain to the first mate, a jittery half ashamed half terrified look in his eyes before he quickly looked away.
As if to punctuate his point a pain filled scream reached the cabin, rattling off the walls like nails down wood. Hurried feet scurried across deck and a familiar female voice barked out angry and rushed orders accentuated by the calls of the ships surgeon, as the sky grew dark with plumes of black death reaching like fingers for the rising red sun.
Will was growing more and more alarmed the more he woke as he watched the two interact; the tidbits of commotion from the main deck he managed to understand sending off major warnings in his fuzzy mind. Unable to really participate in the current goings on seeing as he could scarcely move himself, he felt sickeningly out of control.
It worried him. The older man's seeming nervous fear, the sounds of toil and terror as well as Kursars' need to speak to the captain in private did not sit well. Usually such matters of worrying were shared betwixt the both of them.
Not just one. It bode ill. And he did not like it one bit.
"Speak then and be done with it. I still got half a day's sleep in me.." the drunkard pirate mumbled, waving his hand almost dismissively at the skittish man before bracing it on the table his legs wobbling beneath him. He didn't seem too intent upon waking fully, a lazy yawn breaking his features. Either he did not hear the bustle in his still rather drunken state or he simply did not care. Both being a likely reality. "In private Cap'n...?" Gibbs spoke up suddenly appearing behind Kursar causing the younger man to jump, hands smudged with stains of red and charcoal. Jack raised an eyebrow at the request and appearance, his gaze swaying towards his wounded first mate. "I guess yer not privy to the party mate." He mumbled with a strange half shrugged gesture before swaggering towards the door, swerving a bit more then usual. He pushed passed the two waiting pirates, then the doors swung closed before the wounded youth could utter his dismay at the decision.
A deep frown marred Will's features as the doors sealed him from the worrisome conversation, and strange flurry of noises and actions. He did not like being in the dark; nor left out of matters of importance concerning the ship which he had come to call his home. If something was so bad it terrified both Gibbs and Kursar, it bode ill. If that something also in someway concerned Jack that was even worse. But what could be so bad that he could not be told? Every conclusion his muddled mind came up with was impossible. He for the life of him could not grasp what was so wrong. And he was severely curious to find out what the answers to his questions were.
Shifting William carefully pushed off the borrowed blankets, eyes never once leaving the door. That was his destination. Now all he had to do, was just make it there. Simple. Right?
Weakly he collected himself noting the spotted pains in his body yet deftly ignoring them. Carefully the dark haired man edged his legs over the side of the bed teeth grit as the movements strained his delicately stitched side. Vaguely he had wondered why Jack had not simply ordered the wound cauterized. Perhaps he had been too weak to survive the painful procedure.. Though, Will had detected a strange inclination from the captain never to cauterize one of his many scrapes over the years. He never found out why. Perhaps it was just his twisted sense of humor. Shrugging off the thoughts his hands gripped the bed clothes, taking in a deep breath before literally heaving himself upright.
A gasp escaped as he wavered upon the edge of the mattress, eyes watering and blurring in pain, the waves of burning in his side, head and arm nearly enough to knock him to the floor. Vertigo hit. Sweat peppered his flesh and his stomach churned with sickness, panting breaths escaping as his paled skin turned flushed and sallow with the strain of injury.
He had not felt so sick the night before. Why was it worse now?
Swallowing hard he pushed away what distractions he could, settling to simply bite his lip and hang on. Counting to steady himself Will prepared to heave himself to his feet, breathing hard, eyes trained on the door; unwavering.
So consumed was he with his internal struggle he failed to detect the familiar sound of a high pitched keening wail or catch the scent of burning and rotting flesh sifting through the open window. Without warning the wall directly next to his head literally exploded throwing him rather viciously to the floor in a shower of shrapnel, burning air and embers.
The room titled, and all went black.
Jack had sobered shockingly fast as the heavy news was delivered to him.
A half disgusted, half nervous look flitted across his face as he seemed to almost hope what he heard was not true. "Yer sure?" He questioned, a hopeful awkward grin crossing his face with a sway and wave of his hand before faltering and falling with a swallow and apprehensive appearance. As if to answer the question for the queer captain a cry of pain gurgled across deck echoed by the angered and flustered shouts of several men. The huddled group turned to spy the charred and bloodied form of Hawkeye and a handful of other injured pirates slowly being packed below deck. Aye.. definitely his handy work…
"Aye cap'n. There's no mistake." Gibbs spoke in hushed tones. He seemed just as frightened if not more so then the other two men, a hand instinctively clutching his flask of rum as if all the problems of this world could be washed away with a simple swig of the strong drink. "Well then. That makes things a little more...problematic.. Don't it?" Sparrow replied, his dark eccentric eyes fixed in a general no where direction as he seemed lost in a drunken shocked stupor.
"Scurry!!! All hands on deck! Weigh anchor! Move!" He suddenly shouted, disheveled and unsteady, making a swift beeline for the helm. "Cap'n!" Gibbs eyes widened and he jumped as the man called out orders, hurrying up the sterncastle stairs hot on his heels. "There're still men ashore!"
"They're dead." Jack countered, swiftly snatching his compass he could not remember retrieving and flicked it open. "Lower canvas! Full spread of sheets! Prepare to sail!"
"A- Aye!"
The crew that remained aboard, and alive, quickly assembled, scurrying to their respective duties. The Pearl lurched as Jack threw the wheel, hauling the boat hard to larboard as the anchor raised just enough to free her from the bonds of the sea floor, his mind racing behind cocoa eyes.
Within moments the large black sails were loosed and full catching and riding a swift Eastward wind, the scent of something foul trailing in the morning mists behind her.
"We stocked powder and shells aye?" Jack asked over his shoulder as almost an after thought, a startling look upon his face as he met Gibbs' eyes. "Aye..?" The older salt seemed apprehensive in his reply, nervousness building as he wondered what his captain was up to.
"Good."
"Captain?... You can't possibly mean to...?"
Sparrow did not reply, but the look he gave the elder man spoke volumes. "Ye can't be serious?… We can out run her easily!" Gibbs shuddered and uncorked his flask, gulping down half its contents in one swig. "Can't I?" Jack slurred, a frightening look of madness and seriousness crossing the pirates unique features, which in turn led Gibbs to swallow another burning mouthful of rum.
"Heaven help us." the scruffy salt muttered, eyes training on the horizon as the ship cut through the water like a blade.
"Heaven's nothing to do with it."
Fire exploded across the deck and through the ships hull like a drum beat of war as a looming black vessel emerged from the dark smoke and rancid mists skirting the waters behind the fleeing Pearl. Red sails parted the mushroom of dark clouds like life's tonic from a wound, seeming dripping and wet with fresh blood as they swelled and bloated catching the wind and propelling the hundred gun galleon towards the smaller by half ship. Muzzles flashed as two double barreled forward cannons exploded, expelling another round of deadly projectiles one slamming into an unfortunate pirate from behind slicing him literally in two with the sheer force before sending the morbid remains overboard.
The contents of the ship seemed stunned for a mere moment by the ferocious and sudden attack.
"Prepare for battle!! Load all muskets, cannons at the ready!!!" Jack barked out with a voice that cut sharply through the terror startling men into action, not even pausing his rush to glance at the ship he had been dreading meeting for years. Hurling the wheel left to avoid a sudden swell he adjusted the course, letting Gibbs take command of the armament duties.
The stench of old rotting flesh reached his nose in a tell tale sign of an old enemy and a dark look flashed behind his kohl eyes; lost memories and pain panging in the remains of his heart.
"Prepare to return fire. Send her all we got! Grape shot and Langrage!!!!" Jack screamed louder then he could remember ever screaming before planting his boots firm and hard against the half rotten planks below lowering his right hand several pegs down the helm. Gibbs eyes widened as he realized what the crazed Pirate intended to do. "Jack!" Lurching, Sparrow suddenly threw the wheel as hard as he could, spinning the thing with such force it rattled and creaked threatening to brake loose of its shelter as the Pearl vigorously dove into the sea rearing back to the left like an animal ready to strike.
Men slid across deck nearly thrown overboard as the vessel turned, as if possessed, sharply aligning to a T with the ship approaching fast from behind.
"FIRE!!!"
A mere second after the bellow rang across the waters the air exploded with fire and ash once more. Large projectiles of lead and iron sang through the biting air, splintering through wood and flesh, wounding the Bloody Mary in a fierce retaliation. "Reload!" Annamaria barked from below decks shoving a too slow pirate aside and out of her way, snatching a small barrel of powder from its perch and made way for the closest gun ramming a powder pack down the canons throat.
Without a beat the Mary's twin fore guns hissed and shot to life again sending another round tearing through the hull of the Pearl, bulldozing through one of her aft guns rendering the cannon useless and taking down a few men in the process.
"Return fire!!!" Jack cried out, switching his hold as fast as he placed it preparing to once again lurch the proud vessel in a new direction. The order was echoed below decks, and another round blew from the port holes like beasts hungry for carnage; shots of all shapes and sizes zinging across the open ocean with deadly force and accuracy.
Jack struggled with the helm muscling her right again as deep cocoa orbs glanced heavenward, a queer look in his eyes. "A bit ofa storm'd be nice bout now!" He seemed to call out to no one in particular.
As if spurred by the little Sparrows call, the waters grew rough and angry whilst the two vessels battled as titans upon the sea, a trail of debris and unfortunates trailing in their wake. The sky grew dark with ash and soot from guns and the burning isle in the distance, the peaceful shades of morn replaced by the macabre crimson of death and storm. As the pirate galleons raced one after the other the sea grew angry and swelled with retribution, tossing and battering what wood lay left unmarked by the enemies' fire.
The hiss of electricity bit the air and curled mustaches, a flash and boom of thunder and lights rolling through the skies. The clouds clustered and split, spilling a sudden torrent of rain upon the miniature war below.
"Thank ye." Jack spoke returning his gaze once more to the darkening horizon, manhandling the helm hard to port, sending the pearl all but flying over a sudden deep swell her bow practically crashing down into the waves as she teetered and tottered in the throws of the storm.
A figure dressed in blood and gold stood idly next the helm of the proud black ship, eyes trained upon the fleeing vessel before them; an amused smirk quirking the corner of his lips in a queer manner.
"Sir, alter heading and roll out the 50's?" the current helmsman asked, struggling to maintain a firm grip upon the wheel as it shook and vibrated with the motions of the ocean as she roared. Water and shivers of chaos splashed across deck as cannon fire tore through the port railing sending one man into the rat lines, decapitating him with a gurgled scream and another into the mizzenmast; the sickening snap signaling instant death and a broken spine.
"No, keep on her tail. Return fire." Mad Jack replied with an extremely out of place calm, his voice barely audible over the din of storm and battle. "Aye sir! Return fire!!!" the Bo'sun called, pulling the winch on a poop deck cannon securing it with a trained looping across a belaying pin; locked and loaded should the crazy captain change his mind. The twin massive fore cannons jerked and bucked as another round of huge projectiles fired and hurdled after the Black Pearl, one barely missing snapping her aft mast in two.
The sky darkened and the air fizzled and crackled; an ill omen of bad seas by all accounts.
"Run out the oars. Keep on her!" Mad Jack ordered, examining the heavy black haze above as the rain began to pummel his vessel; eyes narrowing skeptically before returning to their prey up ahead.
The lower hatches of the immense vessel swung open and a mass of long oars extended into the turbulent waters, sweeping and jerking into waves as men toiled in the bowls of the ship struggling to do as ordered while simultaneously trying not to loose a limb from the massive force exerted against the wooden paddles.
The captain of the frightening vessel stayed strangely numb to the chaos about him, detached and focused upon one thing and one thing only. Dark eyes tinted red and ringed in yellow never left the sight of the battered ship ahead, watching and delighting as every chip of wood fell, as every shiver broke free and every gapping maw tore into the once beautiful vessels frame. It was a macabre and fascinating sight of revenge and torture. He could not help the excitement and pleasure that bubbled in his blackened soul at the pain he knew he was causing. His appetite for utter devastation insatiable.
In his mind he did not see a ship, nor a crew. Only a single person
He saw a body, beautiful and lively. Fresh and young.
Each blow from the guns, each explosion and eruption of fire and iron was like a knife upon that body, tearing, cutting, mutilating what was once so gorgeous and pure. Perverting the treasure of one mans soul, twisting it into a painting of pain and destruction.
Just as his own had been….
Dark eyes smiled through the smoke, vicious and mad as his hunger for pain mounted with the waves. His patience some would say was fleeting, and erratic. So long had he waited… And now his prize was so close at hand.
Yet he knew, he had only begun to scratch the surface of inflicted pain.
Yes… You shall not have it so easy….No… You will watch as all you hold dear crumbles beneath my grasp….. This is only the beginning.
"Cap'n, seems we run a foul of a hurricane!!!" Gibbs called as the rivlets of rain thickened, sheets so wide and dense one could scarcely see his own hand before his face, falling to crush the wooden vessels as if they were mere toys. Jacks eyes squinted as canon fire once more rocked his boat, a langrage shot whistling just past his shoulder, one of its two pronged hooks tearing through the flesh and soaked clothe of his sleeve spraying a shower of red across the helm and deck below his boots. Hissing the captain recoiled if only a little refusing to step down, sparring a glance at the damage to the torn jacket. Bloody hell.. Twice in one week. Lady luck was just not with him this season.
"Return fire! Keep that powder dry!!" Annamaria barked below deck kicking the hulk of a dead pirate aside as she dug through a pile of debris locating another barrels' stock of grape shots. The world inside and out of the wooden ship rocked and nearly turned tospy turvy; a huge gust of punishing wind catching her sails as an enormous swell threw her from the surface and down into a valley between waves. Several lower hatches burst under the sudden pressure and water sprang through the opened port holes washing cargo and sailors about like twigs in a barrel. "Batten down those hatches! Nail 'em shut if need be!!!" The obsidian skinned vixen cried coughing as a large splash of water caught her off guard.
"A little over zealous don' ye think?" Sparrow muttered glancing about the blackened panorama as he struggled to catch his own footing, an odd expression crossing his face as water washed into his eyes streaking kohl down thin cheeks and stung dark orbs.
"Cap'n?!"
"We got no choice but to out sail her!" He replied as the heavy set graying pirate slipped and stumbled his way once more to the strange captains' side. "Cease fire! Secure canons and ready for light running!!" Gibbs called out loudly, translating his captains' words into actions without a thought.
The waves grew as every moment passed; the sea deep and treacherous. Jack could no more see the swells before him, then the stars above. The world was nothing but black and sleet, a howling wind crying in the sailors' ears like a scorned lover as they scurried and struggled against their enemy and the elements.
Scrambling to secure a damp rope about his slim waist whilst keeping a had steadily upon the helm he could not help the shiver as pricks ran up and down his spine and the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
"All hands secure life lines!!!!"
"Mother Mary of God…" Gibbs breathed in disbelief eyes shot wide and trained upon the stern of the ship. A massive wall of water at least several hundreds of feet high rose and grew behind the vessel separating the two sparring ships by an expanse of unsailable seas. Jacks eyes widened at the sight and his hands tightened upon the wooden pegs of the wheel.
"And pray…" He mumbled whipping his head about and plated his feet, form lashed tight against the wheel as the wall began to crash plummeting with terrifying speed towards the tiny pirate ship.
To Be Continued…
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