Ragetti stood protectively between Tia Dalma and Rachel. He was confused. Was what Barbossa had meant true? Would Calypso be able to free herself with the help of Rachel, or rather the amulet? Ragetti saw Jack nodding and trying to tell Pintel something.

Tia Dalma seemed distracted by Jack for a moment.

Rachel was standing by a fireplace in which no fire was blazing. Her eyes fell on a poker leaning in a holder on the wall. Rachel reached for it and tried to pull it out. The poker resisted and she pulled harder.

Jack backed away and the moment the poker came free with a jerk, and it broke free from its holder with too much momentum, he ducked in fright.

Tia Dalma, who had been watching Rachel with a smile, was not as quick as he was. She was hit on the head by the poker that swung in a radius around Rachel.

Jack winced as Tia Dalma hit the floor dazed, then looked at Rachel in horror, who was staring at Tia Dalma. No, she hadn't meant to incapacitate the witch – Jack decided from her frenetic breathing and mouth agape in astonishment.

"The determination came at just the right time. Actually thought Pintel was doing the poker thing … let's get out of here. I haven't the slightest desire to linger here any longer," Jack said.

He stepped over Tia Dalma.

"What do we do with her and Barbossa? He's probably still waiting outside," Pintel wanted to know.

"We'll do the same with him as we did with her," Jack replied, pointing to Tia Dalma. "I don't know about you, but I have a dull feeling that we are being lied to on all sides here."

He took the poker from Rachel's hand, opened the door and gave the puzzled looking Barbossa a blow as well.

In retrospect, Jack thought his escape attempt was pretty stupid. Yep, he had to admit that. Because Barbossa hadn't come to the hut alone, of course. No, he had members of his crew with him. There were six rough-looking lads. When they saw what Jack had done to their captain, they immediately surrounded him and his companions.

A woman was standing in the background. Jack had to look twice when he noticed her. There was something familiar about her. Her hair was black, and her hands were tied behind her back with a rope. She had the same beautiful complexion as Tia Dalma.

He had never seen someone who could radiate so much anger just by standing around. The woman glared at her guards.

Jack's mind was racing, but he couldn't make sense of this absurd situation. He thought about how they were going to get out of here.

Pintel and Ragetti had drawn their sabres and kept Barbossa's crew at bay.

Rachel was just struggling to keep her composure. The pirates too vividly recalled the memory of the island where Jack had killed one of them. Driven by fear, she looked at each of the men until she too spotted the strange woman.

Their eyes met and Rachel felt as if she were looking at an old acquaintance. A pleasant feeling came over her that she could not explain. It was as if she had found something she had never missed before. But now that it was there, it was of great significance to her.

Jack beamed all over his face, which Rachel found very inappropriate.

"Gents! Forgive this about your captain. I had unfortunately mistaken Hector for someone else. Listen to me, I don't want any trouble. We could never take you on. So why don't you let us go? Give my regards to your captain."

But the men made no effort to get out of the way. They were generally not the smartest, but experienced fighters.

Pintel saw Barbossa move slightly out of the corner of his eye. He would soon be on his feet again.

"Why don't we just give them the wench and get out of here?" he suggested.

As if he were really considering it, Jack tilted his head once to each side and looked up.

"An option I will save for an emergency," he said, stepping towards one of the men and beginning to fence with him.

Pintel sighed inwardly, but then kept his captain company together with Ragetti. They pushed the six men further and further back.

Rachel had sneaked up to the stranger and helped her free herself from the rope. The woman nodded her thanks to Rachel and looked at her with a fierce determination. Like a cat, she stalked past the fighting men to Barbossa. She stole his sword and joined Jack, Pintel and Ragetti in their battle. Rachel was amazed. The woman could fight.

"Rachel! Rope!" shouted Jack.

She still held the piece in her hands with which the strange woman had been tied up. Crumpled up, she threw it to Jack.

The three had rounded up the attackers and now they were having a dance. Rachel couldn't describe it any other way. The rope flew around in the air a few times, and finally the six men were disarmed and bound together.

Panting heavily, the three who had been fighting allowed themselves a short break. But Jack wanted to get back to the Black Pearl as quickly as possible.

"Off you go," Jack urged the others to move a little more.

Rachel was the only one not to move, looking distraught at the pirates bound together.

Jack suppressed a remark and took her by the hand to pull her along.

"Dear, not now … not now," he said placatingly.

Together they ran in the direction of their dinghy. Rachel suddenly braced herself against Jack and pointed to the unknown woman she was so drawn to. "We'll take her with us."

Jack stared at Rachel and let go of her. The stranger was definitely too … she looked like someone with a lot of potential for trouble. Something wild and impetuous emanated from her. However, the firm and rarely noticeable determination in Rachel's voice was not lost on him.

Jack nodded curtly to the strange woman, then ran off, closely followed by the others. Jack had never felt so completely uninformed in his life. He hoped that everything would be cleared up quickly. His suspicions made no sense, he didn't want to share them with anyone yet.

They ran as fast as their feet could carry them. But the strange woman fell further and further behind. She had just received a wound on her leg during the short fight and slowly all strength disappeared from it.

Rachel looked around worriedly at her.

"Wait for her!" she shouted to the others and started to run to the woman who had stayed behind.

Pintel and Ragetti were ahead and already bringing the dinghy into the water. Jack impatiently grabbed Rachel's arm and dragged her along. Barbossa's men were catching up.

"Forget it. We will not turn back because of her and run the risk of being captured. Now be a good lass and come to the boat," he said, and this time the way he spoke brooked no argument.

Rachel squirmed in his grip anyway, the stranger had fallen down and didn't seem to want to get up again, as if she had given up.

Jack sent an annoyed look to the sky and loosened his grip on Rachel a little. She was incredibly stubborn. Then he got some unexpected help in changing her mind. A shot flew through the plants somewhere beside them.

Jack ducked and Rachel flinched. Barbossa and his men came rushing towards them. The strange woman looked at Rachel.

"Get lost," she said, and the two words were enough to demonstrate a certain temperament, one of the sort that automatically attracted Jack.

Now he hesitated too, but as soon as he saw Barbossa aiming at him, Jack grimaced and he started running again. Rachel didn't need any more pressure.

They reached the dinghy and Ragetti and Pintel paddled straight off, quickly out of the jungle and into the open sea. A bell sounded and Jack was the first to spot his beloved Pearl. They were carried on deck by the rest of the crew.

Gibbs hurried to his captain. "Jack, what's the hurry?"

But Jack was already busy ordering a new course. This excursion had not really brought him any further. He needed answers to the countless questions that were haunting his mind.

And he worried that he required more men on his ship. Barbossa was after him. While he would have trouble tracking the Black Pearl because his ship was slower and had yet to cast off, Jack was sure he would have to increase in personnel.

The lead … it made no sense that Barbossa had arrived here so soon after them.

As for Tia Dalma, he could only make assumptions about what she would do next.

"Jack, tell me we're not in trouble," Gibbs said, handing the coat to his captain.

Jack just gave him a quick glance, then looked at his special compass. The compass showed him what he most desired. His newly set course was based on it.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have time for that now. We're in really serious trouble, in case you haven't noticed. Where is Rachel?" he asked, looking around the deck.

Gibbs sighed. Jack contradicted himself, that was never good.