The Devil's Temptress: Dead Man's Chest || Jack Sparrow

XVI. Captain

The smell of burning flesh filling the air as the flames had burnt through the flubber almost until there was nothing left, severed pieces of the creature still in flames and scattered around. Smoke filled the deck as steam rose from the water around the ship.

One by one the men began to stand, once the overwhelming calm and silence settled, and they moved to the railing of the Pearl, glancing over into the deep with worried frowns. They were shaking still with fear, no longer did they cheer in immediate celebration of defeat.

Jack however, remained sullen as he looked down to the floor to the space in front of him and fought to hide a wince. Nicolette was staring ahead, her eyes taking in every detail of the destruction. He could already see the large pools of blood staining her shirt from new injuries and he could see another couple of scratches marking her face from flying debris.

The girl was bruised and bloody and beaten. When he had first stepped back onto the ship and saw the way she had been scrambling for the gun, he had never seen her like that before, so scared and desperate. It was enough to make it very clear that he shouldn't have bloody left.

Jack was taken aback when she suddenly moved her eyes to him with her chest rising and falling at a violently fast pace. Her lips trembled and fought to say something which he never got the chance to hear as she gave up to sigh and shake her head.

A hand was presented to her, jewelled and dirty, still wrapped in bandage and she scoffed before reluctantly taking it and allowing Jack to help her up. As much as Nic wanted to punch his jaw so hard it would distance the gold crowns screwed into it, she was just glad that he had come back. Jack ran away more than he stayed to fight, so for him to turn back when he had almost been home free was a drastic change of persona for him.

"You came back?" She whispered, still breathless, as her feet found the remarkably steady floor.

"Wasn't left with much choice..." Nicolette found herself frowning as she saw the same expression in his eyes as there had been before.

"What-"

"Captain, orders!" Mr Gibbs cut her off as he spotted Jack on the upper deck of the ship and ran to him, followed by the majority of the crew. It took a moment or two for Jack to peel his eyes from Nicolette's doe eyes, but once he did he avoided all of the awaiting glares of the crew and pushed the riffle into Gibbs's chest as he descended the stairs.

"Abandon ship. Into the long boat."

"Jack..." Gibbs called, flabbergasted. "The Pearl." All of the crew watched their Captain in confusion, as did Elizabeth and Will before the couples eyes moved to the woman still standing on the upper deck. They were waiting for her to call Jack out as Gibbs had done or to call Jack out on leaving, but she simply stood there in a daze, rubbing her small hand across a part of the ships railing which had remained undamaged.

"She's only a ship, mate." Jack spoke with his voice laced with several different emotions as he took in the damage done. Men were hanging from the sails, their bodies limp and bloody. It was a matter of luck that she wasn't amongst them.

"He's right, we have to head for land." Elizabeth said when no one else made even the slightest move to leave the wreckage.

"It's a lot of open water." Pintel grimaced as his eyes were barely able to focus on the hazy strip of land on the horizon.

"It's a lot of water." Ragetti agreed and the crew joined in nodding one by one as the Krakens absence slowly started to reassure them that they were okay. But Will was right and they had just made it even more angry and it would be back.

"We'll have to try it." The boy spoke and started walking around the deck, collecting supplies they would need. "We can get away as it takes down the Pearl."