Clara was able to take one long breath before she slipped under the water. The salt stung her eyes as she opened them and began to tug again at the ropes binding her wrists, frustrated that the barrels hadn't begun to float to the surface but had, instead, continued sinking with the ship. And she let out a small yelp through the gag when a thick arm wrapped around her waist, turning to find Barnibus nodding slowly at her before he shifted forward and used a dagger to saw through restraints.

They rose slowly to the surface, her ears popping painfully, and when they broke the surface, she choked, coughing against the gag in her mouth and trying to get air in through her nostrils as Barnibus began to swim. She hung against him, hands still tied together, acutely aware of how much danger she was in, and then suddenly he stopped.

"What?" She mumbled

"Sand dune," he replied quietly, "Catching my breath – you're small, but you're still a weight, darling."

She tried to look down into the water, assuming his feet could touch the floor since hers were still floating beneath her, and then she jerked as his hand touched her face, snapping away just as quickly. Clara glared, but he gestured at her gag and then slowly pulled it free and she took a long breath and coughed out the remaining water, spitting the salt as best she could from her mouth.

"Untie me, I can swim," she explained and, to her surprise, he lifted the dagger and began to cut away at the ropes at her wrists until he could release her and she floated a few feet from him, turning in the water to find the island she knew looked closer than it was. "Why did you untie me?"

The question made the other man laugh as he glanced around and replied, "Sharks."

Clara's legs went still, arms wading gently at her sides as she peered around and repeated, "Sharks?"

"Only fair I untie you – at least give you a fighting chance."

Nodding slowly, she glanced around, "Where are the rest of the crew?"

"Ones who didn't get taken down with the ship are either making their way to that island or…" he trailed.

"Sharks," she said knowingly before looking back to the island. "So… race you?"

He chuckled and then shrugged. "Go on, Mrs. Jones."

And slowly, they began to swim.

"You do realize we're probably not the first to come looking for this treasure," Killian told them both bluntly, cutting through another thick patch of palm fronds. "Chances are, even if there were something to find, someone else would have found it by now."

But Ron laughed as Rufus replied, "This treasure? Someone brings this home they wouldn't stop telling everyone about it – we'd be searching for men to kill instead of an island to ransack."

Acknowledging the truth in the statement with a simple, "Aye," Killian glanced back at them and suggested, "Suppose you stop aiming your weapons at me and we agree to split the loot?"

"What are you bargaining with, Jones?" Rufus spat on a laugh.

Turning and grinning, he sighed, "You know the woman isn't my wife; simply another bargain, so using her as leverage wouldn't work in the long run. How about we make an actual deal here? A tracker's fee; ten percent?"

Rufus and Ron exchanged a glance and then Rufus stepped forward, snapping the map out of Killian's hands, "How far?"

"Not far," Killian said lowly.

"More specific."

Pointing, he allowed, "Just over that hill."

Rufus laughed, "The woman wasn't a bargaining tool, Killian – she was excess baggage we're glad to be rid of; the real bargain is your life… you do prefer parting at the end of this journey still breathing, don't you?"

He clenched his jaw and asked quietly, "Glad to be rid of?"

"Not your wife?" Rufus spat, and Killian understood he'd read the anger in the question he'd asked. Knew there no real way to disguise the rage in his eyes at the thought of Clara floating lifelessly in the water and he turned away. "Just lead us to the treasure, mate – we'll be out of your hair soon enough."

With a small smirk, he lifted his head and nodded, then moved to continue walking and as soon as he felt their momentum shift in his direction, he turned quickly and gripped the gun in Rufus's hand and twisted it away. The shot rang out and Ron grunted as it clipped his side and Killian used the panic to punch the man in his grasp in the face and take off into the trees towards the beach.

"You idiot!" Ron shouted, hand gripping his side as Rufus straightened, fingers rubbing at his jaw before he moved to follow, "Where ya goin' – treasure's over the hill."

Taking a step forward, Rufus slapped Ron hard across the face and point, "And the long boat is on the beach!"

Clara was panting by the time she collapsed on the sand, forehead pressing into the warm substance gladly and she could hear the large man at her side sloshing to a stop as well. Despite the exhaustion, she picked up her head and counted the eight others who had made it before them, now rushing towards them from where they'd been looking into the jungle.

Her hands were immediately seized and Clara shouted out when they twisted one arm behind her back as they lifted her to stand, but she heard Barnibus call out weakly, "Leave her be."

Dropping back onto the ground with a grunt, Clara crawled away, listening to the laughter behind her with a burning in her chest. She had just reached the grass when she heard the stomping crashing her way and she pulled herself up to stand just as Killian came bursting out of the jungle and collided with her roughly, taking them both into the dry sand with a shared humph.

"You're alive," he breathed and she opened her eyes to see the smile that spread brightly on his face just before he crushed his lips to hers and for just one moment she released a breath and gripped at the red vest at his chest, thankful for the familiar face.

Then she felt the nudge of a boot at her shoulder and heard Barnibus call down, "Lovely reunion, really…"

And before he could finish the sentence, Rufus and Ron came stumbling out of the jungle, guns raised, and pointed them at the nine men standing with their guns leveled at them. Killian shifted atop Clara, glancing from one set of men to the other and he sighed down at her, "It'd be romantic, were it not for impending death."