painting, panic, pirate, paralyzed

Pirate Jack who simply wants treasure so he can afford nice paint. Perhaps some poison and perhaps some panic. Paralyzed maybe? Probs not on this story. I just want a painting pirate Jack. It sounds fun.

Jack is sailing on his ship with his small crew. They are on the hunt for treasure. Jack had run out of paint a few days ago and his canvas supply was starting to run low as well. They needed to find this treasure soon if he wanted to get back to painting.

He climbs down from the crow's nest and just as he reaches the bottom, he hears "land ahead!" He smiles and runs toward the front of the ship with his telescope in hand. He stands tall and looks through it. Just up ahead a few miles, he sees some green poking out of the horizon. His crew has already begun to steer them toward the island.

They were just as anxious to get to the treasure as he was. It's been awhile since they have found anyway and he wanted to make sure they could get paid as well.

It takes them a few hours to reach the land and when they do, it is nearly dark. They anchor the ship down for the night and decide to explore in the morning. It was unfamiliar land and they didn't want to get lost.

The next day, they all go to the island and begin to explore in small groups. They keep their eyes peeled for any signs of treasure. Pretty soon, Jack hears the whistle. His group walks over to where the whistle was heard and they see the opening to a large cave. They wait for the other group to reach them and they all go in.

They wander deeper and deeper into the cave until they can't see anymore. The did not see anything yet that stuck out, but they plan to go back with a torch so they will be able to see more when they are that deep in the cave again. They exit and notice it is only about midday. They quickly build a fire, and one of the crewmates wander off to find a good stick for a torch. Soon they have a proper fire and the crewmate comes back with some sticks. They light half of them, and leave the other half by the fire in case they need them again. The go back into the cave and wander much deeper than the first time.

The cave becomes smaller and narrower, and soon they are all almost crawling to get through. But they keep moving forward. Soon, the cave widens again, and they can stand up. They look around in wonder.

They see a large area. Inside, it has a large pool of water that glows. Jack kneels down and runs his fingers through the water. The water creates a glowing trail following the path of his fingers. He stands back up and looks around in wonder. He doesn't know what to do with this discovery, but he knows he will always remember this cave.

Suddenly, one of his crewmates jumps in with a big splash. This causes the water to glow where the ripples are. Soon, the other members of the crew are jumping in and having fun with each other. Jack smiles and sits on the ledge to dip his feet in. He is satisfied to watch his crew play around and he enjoys watching the glow surround his feet as he kicks them back and forth. However, when of the crew grabs him, pulls him in, and dunks him under water all in one smooth motion.

Jack immediately begins to panic and tries to swim up but he can't. He is panicking too much. Soon, he stops moving entirely and just lets his body fall, sinking lower into the water.

He is harshly grabbed and yanked out of the water, back onto land. He hit the ground, hard, which caused him to start coughing which brought up the water he accidently swallowed. As soon as the water is out of his system, he curls up on his side in the fetal position with his head hidden. He is shaking.

The crew doesn't know what to do. Should they comfort him? Should they leave him alone? Should they take him back to the ship? One crewmate decides the best course of action would be to comfort him. He kneels down beside and whispers words. The words mean nothing and aren't necessarily comforting words but hearing his crew mate's voice causes him to uncurl a little bit.

Taking this to be good, other members of the crew begin to say things as well. Soon Jack is still curled but in much looser way and his head wasn't as hidden. He gets up and says, "I'm going back to the ship. Don't worry about me. I'm fine. You can keep exploring." and he exits the cave.

The crew all look at each other and decide they are going back to the ship as well. They felt Jack should not be left alone. They follow him but he is unaware. They notice that he is walking more stiff than his usual loose limbed way. Before they know it, they are back at the ship. They can't see Jack from where they are and assume he is already on the ship.

They all board the ship and look for where Jack usually hangs out. First, they look in the crow's nest but he isn't there. They check the front of the ship but he isn't there either. They decide to check his room to see if he is there, and they find a closed door. They become even more worried than they already were. Jack always left the door open so they could talk to him. They had never seen the door closed before.

They knew this was bad. Jack was always so happy and cheerful, they didn't know how to react or approach this Jack. They had a quick whispered conversation about what they should do. Finally, they decided that one of them should knock on the door and ask if wanted to talk. They decided only one person should be there and the others will leave. The person they decided should be the person to talk to him was the second hand woman. She became the second hand for a reason. They all leave her alone in the hallway.

She gently knocks on the door and asks, "Jack? Can I come in?" She listens for a response, and right before she knocks again, she hears a quiet, "Yah."

She opens the door and Jack is sitting in the corner of the room, with his knees pulled up to his chin, arms wrapped around his legs. She could barely see him he was so hidden and tucked in the corner. She walked over to his corner and sat in front of him. She didn't say anything. She knew he would talk when he was ready.

After a seemingly long time, he began speaking, "I don't know how to swim. Kinda ironic for being a pirate and living on a ship. But I never learned. I almost drowned when I was young. I was about 10 years old and it was the winter. We lived near a pond at the time, and it froze over. I wanted to go skating on it and so I did. I didn't know the ice was thin. It broke. Luckily, my dad was there and he was able to rescue me. But it traumatized me. I still don't know how to swim, and being in deep water terrifies me. That's why I panicked earlier today. I wasn't expecting it, and it reminded me of the time I nearly drowned."

"Thanks for telling me, Jack. Do you feel better now?" He nodded. While he was speaking, his legs lowered to the floor and he appeared much more relaxed than when she first entered. "Are you ready to face the rest of the crew?" He nodded once more. "Do you want me to tell them, or do you want to tell?"

"I'll tell them." She smiled, knowing this meant Jack was alright. She stood up and held out her hand to help Jack up.

Together they began to walk out the door but before they did, Jack said, "Thank you," and gave her a hug. They continued out the door and to join the rest of the crew.

A/N: Look everyone! A new chapter! So soon! I hope you enjoyed it! Q is also written and it just needs edited. I don't know when it will be ready to post but hopefully soon. I don't believe I have anything else to add so. Please don't forget to review. It makes me happy and encourages me to write this instead of my other projects. But I hope you enjoyed it! Also, make sure you read O as well. I uploaded it a dady or two ago so.

Read, review, and enjoy!