Innocence Was Bliss

5: Savvy?

Jack awoke in the gallows. Lazily, he put his hat over his face and closed his eyes.

Then began the incessant whistling of the prisoners next to him. There was a dog there with the keys to their jail cells.

"Come here, boy," the prisoners would say, over and over to try and get the dog to walk over. One even offered him a bone. But the dog only stared at them blankly with his pitch black eyes.

Eventually, Jack tired and calmly said, "You can keep doing that forever. The dog is never going to move.

They turned to him. "Oh, excuse us if we haven't resigned ourselves to the gallows just yet."

They resumed their attempts and continued until night fell upon them. There was the sound of cannons being fired and Jack instantly perked up saying,

"I know those guns." Jack jumped onto his poor excuse of a bed to look out the barred window. He looked down out into the harbor, wherein he spotted beautiful black sails. "It's the Pearl."

The other prisoners, who didn't have a view stepped closer. "The Black Pearl?" They pushed up their faces against the bars. "Ive heard stories. She's been preying on ships and settlements for near ten years. Never leaves any survivors."

"No survivors?" Jack says, turning to them. "Then where do the stories come from, I wonder."

The prisoner frowned and then shrugged.

There was screaming that could be heard all the way from where Jack stood. There were fires bright and strong enough to warm his cold skin.

Jack watched and saw a cannon flying his way. He ducked away as it hit the wall. Opening a way for the prisoners in the cell next to him to escape.

"My sympathies friend," said one of those prisoners. "you've no manner of luck at all." The hole in the wall had been made right next to Jacks cell. It blew away some part of his wall, just enough for him to have a good view of the prisoners making their escape.

He watched them cackle and crawl away from their gloomy cells. Perhaps it was because of this, or perhaps he had always intended to, Jack took the bone that had been left behind and tried to bait the dog with it. He held it out and whistled at it.

"Come on doggy!" He'd said, trying to sound cheery. The dog turned to face him. "It's just you and me now. Its you and ol' Jack, Come on. Come on." The dog stepped forwards. "That's a good boy. Good boy. Come and get the bone." The dog picked up a steady walk towards Jack, the keys in his mouth jingling. "That's a good boy. Come one. Bit closer. Bit closer. That's it. That's it, doggy. Come on, you filthy, slimy, mangy cur."

There was a bang and the dog whined, running a way.

"No, no, no!" Jack called out. "I didn't mean it! I didn't... ugh."

There was a gunshot and men shouting. An officer was thown down the stairs and Jack looked up. followed by him, were two men, pirates, of course.

"This ain't the armory," one of them said.

The other had seen Jack. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here, Twigg." He approached the cell. "Captain Jack Sparrow." He spat at Jacks feet, causing Jack to take on an offended look.

The first man, Twigg, continued, "Last time I saw you, you were all alone on a godforsaken island, shrinking into the distance." Laughing , he added, "His fortunes aren't improved much."

"Worry about your own fortunes, gentlemen," Jack retorted. "The deepest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers."

The second man growled and reached out to grab Jack's neck. As he did so, The moonlight outside had landed on his skin, revealing the bone underneath. It was dry, yellow bone. No flesh, no tendons, and no blood.