Fathoms Below: Captain Jack Sparrow

Chapter 45: A familiar face

It had been days since Lily had disappeared and Jack had fallen into somewhat of a drunken stupor, his heartbreak at finding her gone too much for the pirate to bare.

He knew she wouldn't have deceived him and he knew she wouldn't have taken the ship for her own means, or that of her pal Barbossa. No, his Lily would never. He hoped.

Jack had finally managed to commandeer a small dingy off the dock of Tortuga and had rowed and rowed so far into the horizon he could hardly fathom it.

At first, his compass lead him in a strong northeast direction, and Jack had been hopeful that he'd manage to retrieve at least one of his treasures. The issue with this plan, was that he couldn't put his finger on which of the two loves he'd lost, he desired more to retrieve, the Pearl or his Lily.

He followed his compass until it lead him out to open sea, then everything changed. Suddenly his compass pointed nowhere and wouldn't land on any fixed point, continuously spinning as if it were taunting him. He'd tried countless times, each time more desperate than the last, but the outcome remained the same.

He tried to focus on Lily, then the Pearl, in hopes that one of them might give him a clue, but it was pointless. Only when Jack's desire to return to Port finally gave him a heading did he realise that it wasn't the compass that was broken, it was that neither Lily or the pearl could be found.

Jack's heart broke all over again on that little boat in the middle of the open ocean. He thought back to the pain he'd endured in the locker being taken away from her for so long, and that was before she was his girl. Now, his wife had been ripped away from him just days after their wedding and he had been helpless, he hadn't fought for her or even been there for her when she'd disappeared. Jack turned to his bottle of rum and drank, then drank more as he tried his hardest to forget about the pain, crying and floating in the middle of the ocean with no real direction except the next Port.

—-
I gasped, straining for breath as I turned on my side and coughed up water from my chest, the salty liquid burning my lungs and my throat as I heaved. I continued coughing up all the liquid whilst fighting for more air, my eyes staying tightly shut as I slowly felt my lungs clear.

Once I'd calmed myself down, I opened my eyes and once again squinted at the blinding light surrounding me. How long had I been sleeping? Why was I soaked?

Thoughts of the ship and the previous night flashed back to me and I could instantly feel my stomach drop as I realised that it wasn't just a dream.

"Ah she's awake, finally," a soft voice called out to me from behind, a very familiar voice. I sat up and turned, my eyes widening in amazement as I peered at the man stood before me, smiling with soft eyes.

"Will?" I gasped, jumping to my feet and throwing myself into his waiting arms.
"Will! It's you, it's really you!"

I leapt into his arms and he instinctively reached around me to hold me firmly in his grasp. My eyes welled with tears at seeing my old friend after so long, so happy to finally see a familiar face.

Through my tear filled eyes, I could see the familiar sight of the Flying Dutchman around me, over Will's shoulder, although it looked different to how it had before, less living creatures making up the majority of the ship.

I pulled away slightly, smiling through my tears as I looked over his familiar features. My hands landed in his bandana fixed hair, not unlike Jack's and I could help but touch the longer, curled strands, grateful that he was here with me.
"What?-" I began to say, smiling, until my mind caught up with my mouth and my smile quickly faded. I could see his scarred chest from the opening in his dark shirt and it dawned on me then, the reality of my situation.