Chapter 30 - Monsters

"And I says that we be lost!"
Pintel glared at Cotton as if daring the parrot on his shoulder to comment, as it had every other time they had had this discussion, which had been roughly every watch for the last two days. This time it simply squawked and flew up to perch on the yardarm, itself a comment that brought an even more pugnacious frown to the sailor's face.
"Lost." he repeated.
"Well we're still at sea." Murtog offered.
Raggtti smirked as Pintel rolled his eyes,
"O'course we're still at sea, haven't found anywhere not ta be at sea at!" He spoke between clenched teeth, "and we're not like to find anywheres in these here doldrums."

"Well whose idea was it to head for Tortuga anyway?" Mullroy chipped in.
"We has to go somewheres." Pintel growled, "can't just go sailin' in circles. Bound to meet the navy if we does."
"Not sailin' anywheres now." Raggetti mused.
"I knows that!"
"No use us tryin' to go anywhere without a navigator it seems." Marty said, "best we look for land as soon as the wind picks up, skirt the coast until we sees where we are. Unless we can stir Barbossa."
"Can't, we tried it. He just lies as if he's dead." Raggetti shrugged, "Breathin' though. Not dead yet."
"No more use than if dead I'm thinkin'." Pintel added glumly.
"Could throw him over the side," Raggetti suggested with a sly smile, "offer him to Calypso, maybe she'd see her way to blowin' us to Tortuga then."
"Na, if she wants him she would have took him by now." Marty replied, then shrugged, "seems ta me tat she want him here."
"That's as might be but he be little use to us, an' none of us can read a map." Pintel growled.

"But there are rocks near the shore, aren't there?" that was Murtogg, "we might run aground."
"Aye," Raggetti nodded, "and I don't think I want's to be a visiting Mr Turner yet awhile."
"Well you might be visiting him anyways if we don't head for shore," Pintel snapped. "Water almost gone and the rations be getting thin."
"Caan't fix that at Tortuga neither, nor elwheres. Nat got any coin for supplies." Marty frowned. "Capt'n Jack would have found a way, sweet talked someone into provisioning us, but that don't seem like without him."
"Then what happens to us?" Murtogg asked nervously.
Marty shrugged,
"Could try and find a settlement somewhere, take wat we need at knife point. Nothin' else for it. Tis tat or starve."
"Might be best if the navy do finds us, at least they'll feed us until they hang us." Raggetti added, then ducked his head as Pintel glared at him.
"Barbossa might have gold somewheres, must have, if not then how did he expect to do the necessary when the hold be empty? Captain's job to provide the necessary for crew and ship. Must be a stash somewheres. I says we search ever bit of this here ship until we finds it."
"Aye," Marty nodded agreement, "We've naught else to do tat's fa certain while tere's no wind."
With that they dispersed to begin the search.

In the shelter of the shadow of the scuttlebutt a pair of crabs exchanged looks then sidled towards the nearest rope and began to climb.

***

Mr Gibbs sat in the shade of the little group of trees and wondered how his brace of captains were doing.

Easing his back into a more comfortable position he took another swig of water and though longingly of rum; but there were no rum of course, for Jack had agreed with Captain Cavendish that it would not be wise to bring it. Not given the heat and the need for him to stay awake. No way of knowin' what they might face down there and it would not do for him to doze when they might have need of him Jack had said. He'd agreed willingly enough for he did not want to let them down. So for now it was water and wakefulness, and plenty of yearning thoughts for the rum that awaited him when this business was done.

He was glad he had been left above ground, the thought of going down those tunnels fair scared the wits from him; even Jack had seemed a mite paler than usual as he had begun the climb. No sayin' what was churning in Jack's head at the moment though, for all he seemed to have himself well in hand. But that was Jack all over, play the fool at every chance in port but never a truer captain when matters required, aye and his father's son too when it really needed. Jack would do just fine, and the lady would watch his back as well as any.

Even so he wished that this matter was settled and they were back on the ship and weighing anchor, for this place was strange and it made him more than a little uneasy. But he trusted the captains and would wager that if anyone could find this fountain it would be them. Jack and Captain Elanor seemed to have reached an understanding of sorts again, the earlier threats seemingly forgotten by the both of them, though he doubted that either of them ever forgot much at all. But Jack seemed content enough and the lady not looking to make waves. So peace reigned, for the moment, and there was none of the shouting and hard words that had accompanied Jack's sailing with Barbossa, nor even the tension and impatience that had sometimes marked his doins' with Will or Miss Elizabeth.

Though women and the sea didn't sit well with him he had to admit that the lady captain was a grand sailor and as at home with the sea and her ship as any man he'd ever sailed with. For a moment he wondered what Calypso made of her, then decided it was probably better not to know; he'd never fathomed the doin's between women, was hard enough to comprehend their doin's with Jack.

He'd not expected Jack's even temper to survive the lack of port and company, but despite that and the loss of the Pearl, and for all the dark tunnels and weird places that awaited them below, Jack was as calm and easy and he had ever known him. Him being willin' to leave the rum behind was as clear a sign that were back to his old self as you'd get. Rum was Jack's preferred escape and a companion of solitary hours, but it was not his master, at least not when he was hisself; that he was so easy about forgoin' it told its own tale. Some of that was down to the death of Beckett to be sure, that seemed to have settled Jack in a way he had not realised at the time. Something in that last battle between him and Jones had changed things too. Jack was himself again, back to the man he had known before the debt to Jones fell due and the trip to that bloody Turkish prison.

A shiver ran through him as he recalled the sense of dread that had stolen over him as they were goin there, and the horror when he realised that Jack had returned to the Pearl in a coffin. One with an occupant too. Portent if there ever was one he'd told himself. others had seen it the same and it had taken all the skills he'd learned over the years to hold back the fears of the crew. Jack hadn't helped of course for he had not been quite himself after that side trip, drinking more rum than usual when at sea and more frequently, sleeping little and having disturbed dreams when he did lay down. They hadn't thought much of it at the time, for Jack was known by all to be both fey and strange, but there had been something different, 'twere as if some part of him had known what were comin' even before the Kracken was mentioned.

Of course they had not known about Jones beast then and those of them who had seen the inside of a prison for themselves, and that was a fair few of them, thought it only the shadow of the noose passing over him. That Turkish hole had a terrible name, a place where men died and none of them easily, not surpring that the captain had been a little odder than usual when he returned. But Jack'd taken to the rum hard then, as if it were the only way he could see past the shadows of that place to the day. Never seen him so drunk or for so long as during the weeks they sought the key. Will's coming hadn't helped, even though he had played a fair part in getting them off that damned island.

Jack had had his back against the wall even then, sittin' on that throne while watching and waiting for is own fire to be built and unable to save his crew. Having to sit there as they were feasted upon would have been a festering sore on his soul. Were a captain's duty to see to the safety of his crew and he had not been able to do it, few would understand what that would mean for Jack who took his title and his role a mite more seriously than some might expect. Still did, for he had heard him muttering about it in restless dreams here on this very sand. Had been the worst time for Will to come making demands, particularly when it was the compass he wanted, the one thing that might prove Jack's salvation, and that of the Pearl. Jack had complicated things further by not telling the lad about Jones o'course; though what change that would have made was hard to see, William cared far more for Miss Elizabeth than for any of them and Jack knew it. He'd not have weighted Jack's life in the balance at all. Still with them both being caught in Beckett's toils the lad had little choice in the matter, no more than Jack did. But if Jack had known about Beckett earlier then maybe he would have been able to do something to change things, for he knew Beckett of old and had daily reminders of the nature of the man.

Sending Will to the Dutchman had cost Jack dear, and he'd drunk steadily after that, particularly when Miss Elizabeth was aboard; were as if she were a constant reminder of his betrayal, though were hard to see what else he could have done. He knew that Beckett would do nothing without the heart, but knew too what would befall them all if the bastard got it. They were all playin' a high stakes game and Will had seemed set enough on taking whatever risks it took; but it had not gone easy with Jack when he had failed to persuade Jones to free the lad who had saved him from the noose.

Teague now, he would not have given the matter another thought, no more would Barbossa, but Jack was not his father and while he would do what it took he would prefer no casualties if he could manage it. Was he himself not livin' proof of it? Had not Jack come and snatched him from another prison and the shadow of the rope when he could have left him to rot, as the navy already had? Had Jack not risked himself to free a man who he knew little of but who needed his help, just as he had with Miss Elizabeth? The legend of Jack Sparrow was as much about not being a pirate as it was about being a thief, as much about those strange flashes of goodness as it was about the cleverness and the ships stolen.

He smiled to himself, and the man who had made that legend was back, even if he had misplaced the Pearl again. Aye, and more. Jack would never be like most men, and he was as crazy and unpredictable as ever he had been, but there was also a sense of storms successfully weathered and passed over that hadn't been there before.

Gibbs wiped his brow and raised the water bottle again, the heat haze was setting the sea a shimmer and rippling the outline of the ship beyond the reef. The temperature was rising and he spared a thought to wonder how hot it was in the world below him, Jack was surely mad in risking so much for something that might not exist, but that was the legendary Captain Sparrow for you, as much adventurer as pirate when given the choice. Captain Elanor now, she didn't seem to find him either crazy or mad, or even unpredictable, it seemed, and she had taken up this weird quest with a will, for all the danger it might bring. Maybe Polly were right and that she was cut from the same cloth as Jack, one that had a strange weft and a twisty and complicated weave. Not an entirely comfortable thought when he recalled some of the scrapes that Jack had got into in his time, if that were true then there could be no way of knowing what the pair of them together might manage.

But it were clear that there was something about the lady captain that seemed to make things easier for Jack. Maybe it lay in her understanding of a man's need for rum, or something like, and a great boon that be it were true! Maybe it was just that she took him for what he was and made nothing of it, nor expected anything unusual because of it. Maybe it was that something he couldn't put his finger on, that whatever it was that told him that she might have seen her own storms and would hold her judgement on others tossed by fates winds until she was given reason not to. Maybe Polly was right and was no more than her own certainty in who she be herself, a sureness that allowed Jack the same.

Certainly she was more peaceful than Miss Elizabeth, more ...knowin' and contained too, and there was an air of rightful command about the woman that the girl had lacked, even when she was at her most hoity. The lady captain now, she might be from beyond the edges of the map but there was no uncertainty about her at all. There was something in the very tone of her voice that made a man take notice and, if needed, obey. Somethin' about her that eased a man's doubts and told him to trust to her for all her womanly looks. A hint of steel perhaps, aye that was it! Like a blade all bright and shiny and happy to just sit at the hip when things were calm but a true and dangerous friend when things got wild.

Just like Jack now he came to think of it, that underlying sharpness and the sense that she saw more than you did and would always be one step ahead; the feelin' that even when she was at her most innocent seeming there was a watchfulness behind her eyes. There was an aura of danger about her that you couldn't quite put your finger on, just like Jack that was too. Whatever the reason Jack seemed to have found a good measure of accord with Captain Cavendish, perhaps more than was wise. But that was Jack for you, as savvy as it came in most things but as trusting as a babe in some others, not even been eaten alive seemed to have changed that.

Gibbs smiled to himself as he remebered how he had found the pair of them propped up against the mast when he woke early that morning, arm to arm, head against head, wrapped in blankets and still sleeping. It occurred to him then to wonder whether the lady and her ship were the rocks that Jack would finally founder on, or if she really was the sun after the storm. If she proved to be the rocks then he was sure it would be by no choice of hers. He had a lot of respect for Polly's judgement and she liked the lady captain,
"She's a true lady that one and a good woman too." Polly had said, "You make sure you remember that Joshamee Gibbs, what ever happens. Jack Sparrow will take no harm from her, not if it is of her choosin'. Though she might shake him up a bit for she'll stand no nonsense I'll be bound."
"She's a sharp tongue Pol, and none of the winsomeness of Miss Elizabeth."
Polly had wagged a warning finger at him,
" That's as may be. Bein' a good woman don't mean that she will always be kind or forgivin'. Nor always nice I'm thinkin'. But then which of us be so? Other that the blessed saints? We all have our needs and wants, and our demons too. Not given to man or woman to be always kind, nor always givin,' not unless we be fools or hypocrites. Her be a captain too, and of a fine ship by what you say, and no needy girl neither, a commander of men perhaps, you say, where she hails from. Be not right to expect her to be all soft words and dewy looks. She'll not let him have things all his own way, but 'twill do him good to sail with an equal for a while, for he is too canny by half and has too many things go his way as a result."

He'd smiled at that,
"Aye, you'd be right enough about that Pol, crazy Jack may be but he wins more often than he loses. Even Will and Miss Elizabeth knew that, they trusted to Jack to make it right in the end, and he didn't fail them."
The smile had died as he remembered the outcome of Jack's one mistake in the matter and he turned away to refill his pot, no one could know of that, not even Polly, Jack had been most determined on that. Polly didn't seem to notice his change of mood, thank heaven, for she was a persistent woman when she got her suspicions up, but she was still fixed on pronouncing on Jack,
"Well he be a pirate lord, not come by that easily, nor held on to easily neither. Learns from his mistakes he does, and that be a rare thing to my mind."
"Didn't learn about Barbossa Pol."
"Aye, well, that's as maybe. But you said that Barbossa had changed since she brought him back, as I recall; perhaps Captain Sparrow had misread how much he had changed? Even so he took precautions I'll be bound?"
"The chart? Oh aye, he knew that Barbossa would not take the Pearl far once he knew that the chart was gone."
"Well then, all's not lost, Your Captain Sparrow will find his ship again when the time be right. In the mean times he'll take no harm of that lady strange thought she be, and she'll take no harm of him I'm thinkin'."

He had nodded at that.
"Aye Jack'll not harm her even if he could, and anyways her ghost guards her close. Never seen Jack harm those who are content to let him be. Travels light does Jack, even in the matters of scores and reckonin'."
Polly had pursed her lips in thought,
"I'd guess she be similar. But from what you say Jack Sparrow be a powerful adversary for all of that if he goes agin' you and I'd reckon that she would be no less. Stay out of the line of fire if they come to arguing would be my advice to you."
That had given him pause for thought, for what did he know of her when it came down to it? But Jack seemed to trust her for all her strangeness, as much as Jack ever trusted anyone that was, and for himself he could not complain of her, nor even of her ghost. While he didn't understand some of their more quicksilver conversations, nor wanted to, it appeared that a mite of teasin' was as far as she went. Jack had likened her once to the commodore, but he had never met Norrington when he were that, all he could remember of the man was the dirty, rum soaked, self-pitying deck hand. No similarity there at all.

Not for the first time Gibbs wondered how Norrington had met his end, Miss Elizabeth had told them that he had had died, and on the Dutchman, but had been mum on the matter of how. Seems that he had fallen while Jones were still captain and he doubted that the commodore would have deigned to sail with such a captain. The thought of Jones brought a frown and he wondered how William was faring aboard the Dutchman and if he knew of his new wife's fate. Not that it mattered, the Dutchman was gone back where she belonged and it would be ten long year before she returned. With a shake of his head he pushed the thought away and returned to his wondering about the commodore and the lady

He had deserved his fate though, playing into Becket's hand like that, and all for a gold laced coat. Somehow he couldn't see the lady captain falling in that way whatever life flung at her, or maybe she had done her falling long ago and had risen to her present self like that mystical bird Jack had talked about. Maybe the commodore would have done the same had he been granted the chance.

With a sigh he took another swig of water and settled himself more comfortably, easing the sweat soaked shirt from his back and adjusting the sit of his belt. Beyond the reef that strange ship sat serene, riding the swell without effort, with her white sails furled yet still bright against the blue haze of the horizon. An image of Calypso appeared in his mind and for a moment he thought he caught a hint of her voice in the waves as they rolled into the shore. With another surge of longing for rum he banished the idea and went back to wondering what was taking place below.

***

The creature was still watching them but it had wrapped one coil of itself around the boulder that was now showing signs of breaking up, though the creature did not seem to be holding it tightly enough to explain it. The explanation was not long in coming though for as the shards of glass like rock fell away a smaller head was emerging. Perhaps of more concern was the fact that beyond the first creature a second, larger, one had appeared. The newcomer's neck was thicker and longer, and though the eyes were a similar opaque milky tone they were flushed green around the edges.

"I don't believe it!" Jack sounded both fascinated and appalled.
For herself Elanor felt all the horror but none of his fascination.
"Believe it," she breathed, "seems likely that we've been sitting on their most treasured possession. We've intruded into their nursery" She looked at the other black boulders that were rolling out of the ground, "hatching time by the look of it. Bad news."
"Then I'm glad they haven't got teeth!" Jack muttered still staring at the little group in front of them.
"Neither has a boa constrictor, but they are pretty nifty predators all the same." She replied still speaking low and slow.
Jack shifted slightly and turned a look of wide-eyed outrage upon her.
"Thank you for the erudite observation! I was tryin' very hard not to think of that," he hissed.

She shrugged,
"Sorry, but we both know the score."
As she spoke she watched the movements of the creature's eyes, for the moment they seemed to be turned towards them. No saying what was on the cards when they had no way of knowing what the creatures were or their approach to parenting. Maybe as the eggs hatched they would go away satisfied, if that was the right word, that their job was done; then again maybe they would feel the parental need to provide food for the new arrivals. Either way she and Jack were currently in a bad place at the wrong time. Silently they edged closer together, Jack easing his pistol in his sash while she wondered which to strike for first should they make a move this way, but those hides looked tough and she doubted they would be able to do much more than give the creatures pause for thought if they moved towards them.

But as the emerging infant freed itself from the remnants of what they must now assume was an egg of some form the adult's attention seemed to switch. She felt Jack's hand on her arm and turned her head to look at him, he was still watching the creatures carefully,
"Seems to me that this is a very private moment we have intruded into all unwittingly. Would not be polite to impose ourselves any further," he said softly.
"I'm with you on that. But we will not get over their tails without seriously imposing ourselves. They might not appreciate our impoliteness."
"Agreed. I'm thinking that it behoves us to be considerate guests at this joyful moment and take another path away from here," his smile flashed for a moment, " and quickly. Before the realisation of their new responsibility dims the pleasure of it and turns their mind to duty, protective duty."

Elanor nodded slowly,
"I agree wholeheartedly with your masterly assessment of the situation. How fast do you think they can move?"
"Fast enough if a snake is the measure of them." Jack looked at them with narrowed eyes, remembering other times and places, "too fast for comfort."
"I think you are right. So we need to go in the opposite direction to the one they are positioned to move, it will only buy us seconds but it might be enough."
Jack inclined his head slightly, his fingers still tight on her arm
"Aye, but I'd guess that our real hope lies in their unwillingness to leave the hatching. Best go while it is still impeded, you might say."
"We appear to be of the same mind. So we go that way?" she moved her arm slightly in the direction of a patch of thicker vegetation.

The movement brought the two pairs of eyes back to them and the white of them flushed pink.
"Don't like the look of that." Jack muttered just loud enough for her to hear.
"Nor me."
The two heads swayed for a moment then the long necks began to extend forward in their direction. The movement was slow and sinuous but worrying all the same
"Bugger!" Jack swore and shifted his weight to the balls of his feet and released her arm.
Elanor prepared to sprint but the heads were moving faster now and with more decision, the pink flush had become more obviously red.
"I think we are running out of time," she hissed, and then her eyes widened, "Bloody hell!"
The skin below the creature's eyestalks eye had parted to form two thick lips that curved outwards, and from the hole between them a long tongue had appeared, forked at the end and edged with more of the strange scythe lined tubules. As they watched in disbelief the scaly scythes began to flex.

Jack froze and the world seemed to grow dark, the ground tilting beneath him. The sound of the air moving around the creatures became the hiss of the Kraken's digestive juices as they washed into the gaping maw, the light glinting on the sythting spines turned them white like the serried ranks of teeth, the sound of the trees moving was the creak of the jaws as they prepared to close on him. The underground world faded away and he was back there waiting for his death, knowing that he stood on the brink of the locker and was destined for Jones revenge. He braced himself for the pain, feeling the heat in his blood rise, his hearing overtaken by the thud of his own heart. His hand closed around his sword hilt as he struggled to find his footing on the softness of the mouth, feeling the first fire of pain as its belly acid spattered his then he was moving forward.

'No' a voice shouted in his head. 'this is not real. This is done and gone. The creature is dead, killed by Beckett like so many others, there is nothing to settle between us any more. It did what it had to do and I did the same, let it rest at peace. This pain is past, let it go back to darkness where it belongs, I'll have no more of it. Dying will never be like this again.'
With effort he sheathed his sword and stepped back.

Light returned and the creatures were still moving towards them. He looked across to see Elanor give herself a small shake as if awaking from a dream, a bad one judging by the set of her jaw, in the strange sunless light he thought he saw the flash of tears in her eyes but it might have been the mist in his own,
"Elanor," he hissed, "don't much care where we run to but I suggest we do it now."
The last work came out as shout and he grabbed her and pulled her around as he started to sprint away.

Elanor wasted no time in wondering what was happening to them, though Jack had looked stricken for a moment, but threw all her effort into running. They felt the air blast as the twin heads moved faster, tongues flickering, and she knew they would never out run whatever it was. Nor could they hide as some part of her mind was telling her in desperation, these creatures would flatten any cover they made it to, and while they couldn't know what their intentions were she had no desire to stick around and find out. Even in curiosity those tongues would flay the flesh from their bones if her guess was correct. Jack seemed to have no more doubt of the danger than she did, and while he was not the most economical or elegant of sprinters he managed to cover a lot of ground very quickly. He had kept hold of her arm and she had the feeling that if she hadn't have been able to keep up with him he would have trailed her along the ground like a matadors coat.

The trees ahead of them were swaying with the creature's movement and there seemed to be a slithering noise in the air, she saw Jack look back for a moment and grimace before spurring them both to an even faster pace. The trees were close now but she hadn't really expected to make them, the hair on the back of her neck was standing up and her heart was pounding but all she could do was focus on where they were going and spur her muscles to even greater efforts.

Then suddenly they were pushing their way through undergrowth, fern like plants slapping their thighs and brilliant flowers catching in their hair. In front of them a tall, broad, tree rose from the ground cover its trunk fluted like the column of an ancient temple. Without a word they both flattened themselves against the far side of the trunk and peered around it to see how close the creatures were behind them. But they were not there and through the haze of leaves and flowers they could just see them curled protectively around the now fully emerged young one. Elanor tilted her head back and looked up towards the brilliant lime green canopy and struggled to catch her breath. It seemed that the danger might be over, for the moment at least.

Jack waited to see how long it would take her to point out it had been his choice to sit there, but to his surprise she didn't seem inclined to mention it. Instead she straightened and ran her sleeve over her eyes then cast another look behind her before leaning heavily against the tree again.
"The attraction of the new born," she gasped, "never understood it myself, let's be grateful they aren't like me."
"Tis different if it's your own they says." Jack smiled at her despite his heaving chest, the hair plastered to his neck and the sweat running into his eyes.
Elanor nodded, still breathless
"So they do. Frequently, where I come from at least. You believe it?"
The smile became a grin and he shook his head setting the beads slapping against the tree trunk.
"Can't say that I do. Seems to me your own is no less noisy and demanding than any other."
Elanor gave a faint laugh,
"I think you might well be right about that. Can't hand them back either."

Jack stared up towards what should be the sky in any sensible world.
"No more you can. Give me a fast ship, the sea and the horizon. I'll leave domesticity to those with talent for it."
"And rum?"
"Most certainly rum, rum is good" he cast her a hopeful look, "speaking of which I don't suppose.."
"No, believe me if I had it would out of that backpack already, even though I don't like the stuff.
"Aye suppose it would." His breathing was coming easier now and he pushed himself away from the tree and stared at her, "want to go back up top?"
"Past them? No thank you, I'd rather not push my luck there." She straightened and eased her pack to a more comfortable position, "time to move on I think, but we mustn't let out guard down again. This is a dangerous place and next time we might not be so lucky. Sooner we get what we came for and get back to the ship the better."
"Agreed."
Elanor looked around them,
"Which way though? What does your compass say?"

Jack pulled the compass from his belt and flipped it open only to watch the needle flicker and hover. A sinking feeling took hold of his belly, he remembered only too well what followed the last time it was so unsure. He pushed the thought away; after all it wasn't spinning, not really. When he looked more closely he could see that it wasn't swinging aimlessly either, more oscillating between two points, both in the general direction of...over there.
"That way, " he told Elanor with a confidence he didn't quite feel.

If she noticed anything amiss she gave no sign, just nodded and gestured him to proceed ahead of her. With one last hurried look backwards he set off though the trees.

***

As they disappeared into the lushness of the burgeoning forest the Lady stepped out from the shadows, smiling slightly as she watched them go. As they faded from view she turned her approving smile, and a benevolent look, at the little family they had left behind. Unbeknown to them the creature's life spans grew in that moment.

Then, satisfied with what she saw, she snapped her fan closed and strolled into the trees