Trying to push all her feelings aside, she stopped by Elizabeth just as everyone else slowly stopped what they were doing. A silence settled over the Black Pearl as the first signs of the kraken were seen above deck. Reaching up over the railings, several tentacles could be seen, large enough to easily crush any person caught in their way.
The sight of it was enough to draw Lena's attention as her heart dropped into her stomach. Fear of what was to come, she pulled out her sword, preparing to strike if need be. Not a person in sight wasn't standing ready, waiting for some unknown signal.
Seconds ticked by as they waited.
"Will?" Elizabeth called, glancing towards the lower decks.
From underneath, Lena could faintly hear Will's commands, telling the crew, "steady!"
Lena realized that they were waiting for Will's signal, most likely getting ready to fire on the kraken all at once. While it was a good idea, she had to wonder what the chances of it working would be.
Back and forth, she could hear an exchange below deck between Will and the crew, along with Elizabeth shouting for him from beside her. And finally, she heard the order.
"Fire!"
At once, all the cannons fired, launching the cannonballs into the kraken, sending it slowly retreating back into the water. As the sight finally cleared, the entire crew made their way to the side of the ship, looking over to see that it had truly worked. Cheers echoed around them as the crew celebrated their victory, even if it would only be a brief one.
Beside her, Elizabeth and Will were also looking out in relief, even if didn't last long. "It'll be back. We have to get off this ship," Will said as he pulled Elizabeth away from the railing.
Elizabeth looked around deck then as she noticed the broken wood scattered across the ground. Any boats that had been previously in one piece were now useless. "There's no boats."
Looking around, Lena couldn't help but think back to Jack. She only hoped that he had managed to get off the ship without incident. Perhaps he had just managed to finish lowering the boat and now he could get away while the kraken was recovering. She didn't know for sure, but she had to hope for the best. And hopefully, they would all manage to make it out alive and she could find Jack on the island.
Will wasn't ready to give up as he started putting together a new plan since running wasn't an option. "Pull the grates; get all the gunpowder onto the net in the cargo hold." He turned to Elizabeth then as he handed her a rifle. "Whatever you do, don't miss."
"As soon as you're clear," Elizabeth promised as she took the rifle.
Lena shared a look with Elizabeth as she gripped her sword, knowing this was their only chance. "I'll help make sure you have that clear shot."
The crew moved frantically as they gathered barrels below deck, opening the hold from above and preparing the ropes. While they all moved about, Lena stood with Elizabeth, keeping watch for signs of the kraken's return. It was silent though as nothing stirred below the surface. The kraken gave no sign until it was too late.
Splintered wood filled the air as it burst through the sides of the ship, shaking the ship as he unleashed a relentless attach against any crew within reach. Unable to do anything but listen, Lena prepared for the inevitable attack about to strike the upper decks.
Screams were everywhere as the crew tried desperately to escape the kraken, avoiding its tentacles when possible. Many weren't lucky though, being dragged off the ship and thrown into the water or across the ship.
Running towards one, Lena swung down hard, slicing into the tentacle as it tried to grab at one man who was helping get the ropes secured for the cargo net. The second the tentacle retreated, another sprung forward, lashing out harshly as Lena jumped back, slamming into the mast as she tried to avoid it. It wasn't long before another one showed up, aiming for another person as she did her best to strike it, but the sheer size of it seemed to take no notice of her sword as it wrapped around him and hurled him across deck.
Cringing as she watched his fate, Lena moved back quickly, tripping as she ran into another crew member as they ran from another tentacle. No matter where she looked, there was nowhere to go that was safe.
As she looked at the cargo hold, she was relieved to see the net finally set up, full of barrels as Will appeared by it. Knowing it was almost time, Lena looked around as she found Elizabeth, dealing with her own battles. She ran over to her as she nodded towards the net, letting Elizabeth know it was almost time.
Elizabeth ran over, close enough for Will to hear as he stood on the net as it was hoisted up. "Clear?"
"Higher, higher!" he shouted as they continued pulling it up.
With the need to get it up in the air, both women did their best to continue fighting. Things turned south as the kraken slammed a tentacle into the wheel being used to lift the net, smashing it. Immediately, the net dropped some distance with Will still on it, nearly knocking him from the net.
Lena did her best to keep an eye as he righted himself. And then he began trying to catch its attention. Knowing Elizabeth would be shooting, she trusted her friend to fire when needed. Standing by her, Lena kept watch as she tried to spot any tentacles or attacks that would disrupt Elizabeth as she stood, ready to shoot. But it seemed they weren't able to yet. Glancing towards the net, she saw the problem as she waited for Will to free himself from the net he was tangled in.
In her distraction, a tentacle raced through the captain's cabin, latching onto Elizabeth's ankle and yanking her down to the ground. By the time Lena could spin around, panic flaring as she spotted her friend, she was already free. Pintel and Ragetti stood nearby with an axe embedded into the ground.
Knowing her friend was safe, she rounded back towards the deck, spotting one of the crew picking up the rifle to shoot the barrels. He didn't have a chance to fire before a tentacle wrapped around him and sent him flying along with the rifle. Scrambling to follow where the rifle fell, Lena watched as it landed at the top of the stairs. She raced after it, knowing she was closest as she took the stairs two at a time only to be knocked over as the ship was knocked into by the kraken.
Cursing to herself, she pushed herself up and finished climbing the stairs. Just as she grabbed the rifle, it was snatched from her hands. She screamed as she scrambled to get it back, only to freeze as she realized who now held the rifle.
Rifle in hand, Jack stood tall as he aimed at the barrels. Waiting for that final moment, waiting to see if it would work, Lena tensed as she leaned against Jack, still kneeling as she waited. Just as the barrels began to fall from the net, now clear of Will, he fired the shot. The first barrel exploded, triggering a string of explosions as all the barrels went off, greatly damaging the kraken as he let go of its hold, shrinking back into the water as its tentacles burned.
A strange quiet settled over the ship as the remainder of the crew looked around, stepping out from wherever they had taken cover. Debris littered the deck of the Pearl along with pieces of the kraken, still burning where it laid. All Lena could do was look down from her spot on the ground as she slid down further, sitting on the deck. Letting her mind rest for the first time in ages, the adrenaline quickly left, leaving her feeling warn. But she knew she couldn't stop yet, even if she wanted to stay in that spot.
Suddenly, the sight of the deck was blocked as she stared into familiar brown eyes. Jack was crouched in front of her, getting her attention as he signaled towards the bottom of the stairs. Regardless of what she needed to do, all she could feel at that moment was her chest tightening as a warmth spread through her, eyes watering as she had time to truly process that he was in front of her. Without a second thought, she pushed forward, wrapping her arms around him tightly as she let out a sob.
Jack chuckled as he squeezed her back before he pulled her up, a sober look taking over as he walked down the steps.
On deck, Marty asked, "did we kill it?"
"No. We just made it angry. We're not out of this yet," Gibbs said before he looked at Jack. "Captain, orders!"
Jack looked solemnly around as he answered. "Abandon ship. Into the long boat."
The shock was clear on Gibbs face as he said, "Jack, the Pearl."
"She's only a ship, mate," Jack finished as Lena placed a hand on his arm. Despite his words, she knew that wasn't how he truly felt. It was more than a ship. It was a home to him. His freedom.
"He's right, we have to head for land," Elizabeth said in agreement.
While the statement was true, it didn't change how uncomfortable the idea was for multiple reasons.
"It's a lot of open water," Pintel said as he looked towards the island and the ocean in between them.
Ragetti echoed the though, saying "it's a lot of water."
"We'll have to try it," Will said, pushing the idea. "We can get away as it takes down the Pearl."
"Abandon ship. Abandon ship or abandon hope," Gibbs said finally as they all reached a silent agreement, knowing they'd have to risk it.
As everyone began moving towards the boat and gathering supplies, Lena stayed by Jack's side. "I'm sorry, Jack," she said, knowing he had already lost the ship before, multiple times in fact, but this one would be more permanent. She couldn't begin to imagine how he felt.
Jack didn't reply as his eyes lingered on the ship. Following his eyes, she couldn't help but wonder if he was taking in all the destruction as it was now or thinking back on times when the ship had been grand. "I'll see you in the boat," she said finally as she slid her hand down his arm, pausing to squeeze his hand before she let go.
"I won't be long," Jack said as he looked at her, his thoughts unclear to her as he leaned down, kissing her briefly before he let her walk away.
Sighing as she walked towards the others, she climbed down the ladder, a few supplies in hand as she went down. Marty and Cotton already stood at the bottom as items were handed down to them. Picking up where they left on, Lena worked on organizing them, leaving as much space for people as they could make. With so much destroyed on the ship, it wasn't long before they had most of the useful items placed.
"Prepare to cast off! No time to lose!" Gibbs shouted as he moved to towards the ladder, trying to move past Will he was just ahead of him. "C'mon, Will, step to it."
Soon, almost everyone was settled into their seats. The only ones they needed now were Jack and Elizabeth. Lena glanced towards the ladder, waiting for them to appear. Elizabeth finally climbed down, sitting down by Will without a word.
"Where's Jack?" Will asked her as he glanced back at the ship.
"He elected to stay behind to give us a chance," Elizabeth said shortly, causing Lena to look at her as if she couldn't understand her words.
"What?" Lena muttered as she looked back towards the ship. "No..." Jack wasn't going to stay back. Surely he would change his mind any second now if that were the case.
It seemed that everyone was hesitant to move, looking between Elizabeth and the ship.
"Go!" Elizabeth shouted, finally getting a reaction as they finally started to cast off.
"No!" Lena shouted as she lunged out of her seat, frantically reaching for the ladder. She couldn't leave him. She already told him! She wouldn't let him die!
At once, both Will and Gibbs grabbed her, keeping her seated despite her struggles. And the boat continued moving further away as Pintel and Ragetti continued rowing.
"I'm not letting him stay behind!" She cried, pulling against the men. "Please, let me go!"
"Lena, stop it!" Will shouted, receiving no follow through from her, just more struggling. "Caroline! He chose to do this!"
"I don't care!" Lena shouted, nearly hyperventilating as her emotions got the better of her. She had barely gotten through their goodbye earlier. But this was so much worse. It didn't make sense. "Jack is still on there! I promised! I have to do something!"
"He's doin' this for you, Lena," Gibbs snapped at her, finally getting her to look at him. Shaking her head in denial, she ignored the heavy feeling it left in her head. "He might be stayin' behind for all of us, but it's always been you he was looking out for."
"Then he should be here," she said as her voice cracked, slowly feeling like her world was crumbling. "If he's so set on protecting me then why isn't he here?"
Despite her words, Lena ceased struggling, watching in despair as she realized she was too far to do anything. As she sat there, she vaguely noticed them letting her go, but she paid it little mind.
Of course staying behind would protect them. She knew what was really going on. It wouldn't have stopped until it had Jack. But what happened to finding another way? This didn't solve the problem, it just gave in to it.
Eyes forward, all she could see was the Pearl as the kraken resurfaced. Agonizingly slow, the ship was wrapped tight in its hold, squeezing the last moments of life from it. Her heart was beating just as quickly as the breaths coming out of her mouth as she watched in silence. Unable to look away, she followed each movement. With a solid hold, it was ready to take down the ship. As it seemed to wait there, wrapped around the Pearl, Lena felt like she couldn't breathe.
She knew what would happen. No doubt. But somewhere in her heart, she desperately clung to the hope that a miracle would happen.
But it didn't.
In a matter of seconds, the Pearl was ripped through the ocean waves, pulled under as it disappeared piece by piece, vanishing beneath the waters. As the last signs of the ship and kraken disappeared, all that was left was a chilling silence, as if nothing had happened at all if it weren't for the overwhelming emotions on the boat. The silence almost made Lena believe that she couldn't feel anything.
But, the world finally caught up to her as she sat there. The Black Pearl was gone. And that meant he was gone. Jack was gone. Collapsing forward, she curled in on herself as the first sob came, followed by another. Barely breathing, she pressed a hand to her mouth trying to stifle the noise, unable to quiet the tears as they shook her whole body.
Blocking out the world, she stayed hunched over. She didn't care to know what would happen next. She didn't want to know. Because she knew she couldn't. She could look and risk seeing another picture that would haunt her. It was just an open ocean that should have been that way.
Lena's Journal - May XX, 1729
With my old journal lost, I decided to get a new one while we stopped for supplies. I don't know why. I don't want (scratched out words)
I feel like there is too much to cover. The last several days have just been too overwhelming.
We're going to see Tia Dalma. I suppose that's as good a place to start as any. There's nowhere else to go.
I just don't know what to do. Find a new crew to join? Start a new life in a new town? Is that what people do in these instances? Just find the next thing to focus on?
The darkness surrounding them seemed heavy despite the numerous lights that helped illuminate the area as the boat drifted up river. All the inhabitants stood nearby, candles lit, almost as if they were making a solemn tribute. As if they knew what the world had just lost.
Lena sat on the bench, elbows resting on her knees as she held her head, fingers laced through her hair. Very little was said between the crew as they traveled, though most had also given up on trying to include her when they did speak. She hadn't uttered a sound in hours, either staring out or staring at her journal as she held it in a death grip.
One entry was all that she had managed, unwilling to open herself up to the pain that grew once she started thinking. It was one think to be trapped in her head, but to put her thoughts to paper made everything true. It made everything hurt worse.
Moving nonstop, her thoughts threatened to swallow her whole. Their goodbye on the ship was stuck on repeat, echoing through her head. She could still feel his hands on her as he kissed her. Remembering her confession, she almost wanted to take it back and hate him instead. As if that would make anything easier.
She had told him. She couldn't watch... She didn't want to go through that, yet he made her anyway. Why hadn't he said... something, anything. Even if the thought was dangerous, she always went back to it, as if she could fabricate some feeling of closure by creating a fake one.
Feeling tears building in her eyes, she took a shaky breath and sat up straight. They were almost to Tia Dalma's hut. If she could just ignore the candles until then, she would be alright.
Alright was the most she could ever reach though. Finally inside, everyone stood scattered throughout the hut, quiet with nothing to say. Tia Dalma had candles lit, providing a little bit of light to fight against the night. Despite only a few minutes passing since their arrival, it felt like an eternity to Lena. Sitting in the middle of the room, not far from Elizabeth, she watched as Tia Dalma walked out with a tray of drinks in hand.
She stopped in front of her first, holding out the tray. Lena hesitated for a moment before she slowly grabbed one, holding it tightly, afraid to let it slip from her hands. Once it was in her hands, Tia Dalma turned to Elizabeth, the same offer though Elizabeth seemed more reluctant to grab one.
"Against the cold. And the sorrow," Tia Dalma encouraged, finally getting Elizabeth to take one before she walked on towards Will. "It's a shame. I know you're thinking that with the Pearl, you could've captured the devil? and free your father's soul."
Lena clenched her hands tightly around the cup as she scowled. She knew it wasn't fair to react like that, but why should she worry about Will's problems. His father was still in the same place they left him. Jack wasn't.
"Doesn't matter now. The Pearl's gone," Will said as he threw his knife into the table, "along with its Captain."
"Aye. And already the world seems a bit less bright," Gibbs said from his spot against the wall, walking closer to the group. "He fooled us all, right to the end. But I guess that honest streak finally won out." Raising his cup as a toast, he called out, "To Jack Sparrow!"
As the others began their own toasts to him, Lena couldn't understand it. What was the point of raising a cup for him. He was gone! Drinking wasn't going to turn back time. Having enough, Lena slammed her cup on the table, shoving it towards the side as it toppled over, spilling across the surface. Without looking back at the mess or anyone else, she stood up, interrupting the toasts as she stormed out of the hut.
She couldn't take it anymore as she ran down the stairs, jumping them two at a time until she was at the bottom, right where their boat was tied. But it wasn't enough. Fists clenched, she looked around, glaring at anything that was in sight before she suddenly screamed as she kicked the wooden post to the stairs. One kick followed another until her panting turned into sobs.
Sinking to the steps, she leaned against them as she curled in on herself. Alone for the first time, even if was just with the separation of a wall, she felt like she finally had the chance to calm down and let out what had been building up inside her.
She sat like that for a while before she heard the door creak open. Looking over her shoulder, Lena slouched as she spotted Tia Dalma walking towards her. There was nothing she needed to say to her, though it seemed the opposite could not be said.
"That pain you feel," Tia Dalma said as she sat on the steps just above her, looking out in the same direction as Lena. "It will not last forever."
"How do you know?" Lena muttered, finding the idea hard to believe at the moment.
"Because what was lost can be found," she said simply.
Confused, Lena turned slowly to look at her again. She was almost afraid to ask what she meant. But she didn't have to.
"There is a way to get Jack back... If you are willing."
Lena couldn't say a word at first, unwilling to believe such a thing. She didn't know if she could handle having that sort of hope ripped away from her if she took a chance believing it, only for it to be wrong. "Please don't say such things if it is not true."
A knowing smile appeared on Tia Dalma's face as she leaned forward. "Sail to the end of the earth, and find Jack you will. We even have a captain ready to help with this journey."
Glancing behind Tia Dalma, she caught a glimpse through the cracked door. She could almost feel the hope and promise from inside the hut. If it was something the others believed, she could believe in it to.
Taking a deep breath, Lena stood up and faced her. "What can I do?"