Swelling Tides- Will Turner x Reader book 2

Chapter 2

Jack's POV:

We still hadn't gone anywhere. Will was leaning against the rail at the back of the ship, his face forlorn and filled with grief. So there the boat floated in front of the caves as Will and I pondered our next move. Once securing the anchors once more, I walked below deck, leaving Will alone with his thoughts. I reached into my pocket, pulling out an old worn piece of cloth. Unfolding it, I stared at the image of the key for what had to be the thousandth time. (Don't ask how he got it, I don't know either) Where could the key actually be? It had to open something magnificent, I was sure.

I shoved the cloth back into my pocket and began to search for rum. It was on nights like this when I wanted more than ever to drink away my sorrows. I found a bottle, cursing under my breath once I realized it was empty. "Time's run out, Jack."

I dropped the bottle, the glass shattering into a million tiny shards on the wooden floor. There was nobody on the ship except me and Will. Right? I held up my lantern, seeing the silhouette of a man sitting down. I approached him cautiously. I recognized him. "Bootstrap? Bill Turner?" I walked closer. He turned his face towards me and it was all I could do not to flinch at his appearance. Barnacles clung to the side of his pale sunken face, his lips colorless. Water trickled out of his mouth and down from his forehead. "You look good, Jack." I stood there, my mouth agape before I said anything. "Is this a dream?"

"No."

"I thought not. If it were, there'd be rum," I grumbled. Bootstrap held out a bottle. I struggled to pry it from his grasp, almost as if the bottle had become a part of him.

"Didn't get the Pearl back?" Bootstrap asked, looking around.

"Almost. I had some help almost getting my ship back, though. Your son. And the love of his life who, sadly, didn't make it. But William is above deck. Would you like to see him?"

"While I would love to, that's not what I'm here for." He looked at the floor before continuing, "He sent me." I studied his eyes for a minute, not quite sure I knew what he was talking about. "Davy Jones."

"Oh, so it's you then." I sat down on a barrel next to him. "He shanghaied you into service, eh?"

"I chose it." I looked away. "I'm sorry for the part I played in the mutiny against you, Jack. I stood up for you. Everything went wrong after that." Bootstrap grabbed a small crab and ate it, crunching loudly. I shuffled away slightly. "They strapped me to a cannon. I ended up on the bottom of the ocean, the weight of the water crushing down on me." I took a big swig of the rum. "Unable to move. Unable to die, Jack. And I though that even the tiniest hope of escaping this fate, I would take it. I would trade anything for it." Bootstrap took the bottle and drank.

"It's funny what one will do to escape their final judgement." But Y/n wasn't like that. She knew her fate and didn't run from it. She was a better person than anyone else I had ever known. I pushed the thought out of my mind, not wanting to think of her in the past tense. I stood up and began to walk, but was cut off by Bootstrap suddenly standing directly in front of me. 

"You made a deal with him too, Jack. He raised the Pearl from the depths for you. Thirteen years you'd been her captain."

I backed away from him. "Technically-"

"Jack. You won't be able to talk yourself out of this. The terms what applied to me apply to you as well. One soul bound to crew one hundred years on his ship."

"Yes, but the Flying Dutchman already has a captain-"

"Then it's the locker for you! Jones's terrible leviathan will find you and drag you back to the depths." I continued to back up as Bootstrap walked towards me. 

"Any idea when Jones might release said terrible beastie?"

"I already told you, Jack. Your time is up." He grabbed my hand, placing his on top. "It comes now, drawn with ravenous hunger to the man what bears the black spot." I lifted my hand to see a giant black circle forming on my skin. I had been marked with death. Bootstrap had disappeared.