Pirates of the Caribbean: At the Edge of the World

Rock & Roll On The Black Pearl!

The next day, Maggie found the crew laying around on the deck. The heat in the Land of the Dead had increased rapidly and the Pearl's water supply was low... much too low.

"No water..." Pintel said, looking at his empty canteen. "Why is all but the rum gone?"

"Rum's gone too" Mr. Gibbs confirmed grimly.

Maggie sighed and went to see her father who was seated near the helm, trying to make head's or tail's of the ancient Chinese charts the gang had acquired in Singapore. They were supposed to tell the reader how to get to the Land of the Dead and back. But the charts were written in what seemed to be riddles and gibberish.

"Anything yet, Daddy?" Maggie asked her father.

"It's still complicated, Luv" Jack answered, placing her on his lap. "Do you know anything about this? First it says Sunrise sets, Flash of green and now it's saying Up is down?"

"They might be connected some how" Maggie suggested.

"What do you mean by that?" Jack asked her.

"Sunrise's don't set, they go up" Maggie said "But if a sunrise did set it would have to go down. Then it would become a sunset."

"But how does that help us get back to our world?" Jack asked.

"I don't know!" Maggie shugged "You're supposed to be the smart one! Figure it out!"

"I've been trying, but--" Jack paused "What'd you mean 'supposed to be'?"

Maggie snickered.

Jack smirked "You are an evil little person!"

"Am I as bad as you were at my age?" Maggie asked.

"Don't flatter yourself, Luv!" Jack scoffed.

Maggie giggled and ran off to play on the main deck.

Jack rolled his eyes and continued to study the charts. But even he couldn't understand the riddled instructions.

"Up is down?" Jack repeated "Well, that's just maddeningly unhelpful. Why are these things never clear?"

"Clear as mud, Jacky!" Came a tiny familiar voice.

Jack jumped "What? Eh?"

Suddenly a tiny version of Captain Jack was hanging off one his dreadlocks on his left shoulder.

"Stab the heart!" The Tiny Jack told him.

"Don't stab the heart, Daddy!" Came another tiny and even more familiar voice.

"Come again?" Jack asked.

Now a tiny Maggie has joined in on the conversation, emerging from the jungle of large dreadlocks to stand on Jack's right shoulder.

"The Dutchman must have a Captain!" She cautiously reminded him.

"Well, that's even more than less than unhelpful!" Jack told her, deep in thought of both options.

"Sail the sea for eternity!" Tiny Jack reminded him of the rewards of being the captain of the Dutchman.

"I love the sea" Jack smiled at the thought of living forever and sailing the sea's for eternity.

"What about port?" Tiny Maggie asked him.

"I prefer rum, rum's good!" Jack told her.

"I mean making port!" Tiny Maggie explained "Because if you do stab the heart we only get to make port once every ten years! That means no rum or salty wenches for ten whole years!"