Fathoms Below: Captain Jack Sparrow

Chapter 6: Stop blowing holes in my ship!

I sat in the small boat between Jack and Will once again, as Jack rowed us through the caves on the isle, expertly handling the oars through the narrow straight that led us deeper into the cave. I found myself unable to think about anything other than what Jack had said to Mr Gibbs before they left, well that and my close proximity to the captain. Jack's legs were pressed against mine, moving rhythmically as he rowed, distracting me from the task at hand once again.

'Keep to the code' Jack had said to Mr Gibbs before we left.

"What code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?" Will asked, as if reading my thoughts.
"Pirate's code," Jack said without a hint of explanation, as if it was obvious to everyone.

"Anyone that falls behind is left behind," I mumbled, filling in the blanks, trying to keep as quiet as possible as we made our way through the cave.

Jack's head whipped round to meet my gaze, a look of bewilderment in his eyes for a brief moment before it settled into his trademark smirk. He shook his head gently, still smirking and turned away.
"Aye."

"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" Will said from behind me, his tone was dismissive and disparaging.

"You know, for such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one," Jack paused, "sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the fleet, and sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga," Jack said matter-of-factly, knowing it would wind Will up. The same could be said for me.

"And you're completely obsessed with treasure," he directed at Will who was captivated by the gold beneath us in the shallow stream.

The boat slid up onto the shore and we all jumped out, Jack racing ahead to peer up through an opening at the cave.

"That's not true," Will protested, a little too loud for my liking, "I am not obsessed with treasure!"

Jack didn't reply for a moment, transfixed by what he could see through the gap in the rocks, before turning to face Will, "not all treasure is silver and gold, mate," he said cryptically. I felt his eyes wash over me as he said the words but he looked away quickly when we made eye contact.

Both Will and I moved forward to join Jack, his hand instantly resting on my hip to keep me close as we peered over the rocks, horrified by the scene in front of us.
Pirates were gathered all around the cave floor, so many more than I had imagined. The captain stood proudly upon a ledge with Elizabeth beside him looking terrified. It was without a doubt Jack's mutinous first mate Barbossa.

"Gentlemen, the time has come," he declared, "Our salvation is nigh'! Our torment is near at end!" The crew shouted loudly in agreement.

"Elizabeth," Will muttered breathlessly, frozen for a moment before trying to lunge out through the opening. I was thankful for Jack in that moment, quickly grabbing him back, preventing him from blowing our cover. We needed a higher leverage here, to wait for the right moment to attack, otherwise the three of us would be fighting off all the crewmen, which was highly unlikely to go well.

Barbossa's voice rang out as he continued to make his speech, "for ten years we've been tested and tried and each man of you here has proved his mettle a hundred times over and a hundred times again!" The men all cheered again, throwing their arms up in premature victory.
"Suffered I have!" Rang a voice from near him.
"Punished we were! The lot of us, disproportionate to our crimes! Here it is," Barbossa suddenly leapt forward, kicking out his foot and kicked away the stone lid to the chest that sat before Elizabeth, revealing a chest full of golden medallions identical to Elizabeth's.

Running his hands over he gold in the chest, he turned to his men and shouted once more, "The cursed treasure of Cortez himself, every last piece that went astray, we have returned, save for this!" Barbossa reached out, pointing to Elizabeth's medallion that lay around her neck, causing the crowd to surge once more.