Cove of Shadows ━━ Will Turner

𝐈𝐗 ━━ The Flying Dutchman

AS HIS MUDDY SHOE TOUCHED THE FLOOR OF THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, Will felt good. Soothed. And yet, he had sailed on one of the most feared ships in the Caribbean – in the whole world! But no time did danger or discomfort seem to overwhelm him. Everything was going very well.

Many of the sea plants had stuck to the inner workings of the ship, giving it the appearance of an abandoned ocean liner – but far from it!

Dozens of sailors appeared, looking menacing and aggressive.

They were, as Tia had mentioned, transfigured into a mixture of human and maritime: some had the heads of sharks, others of shells.

Bewildered and lost, he turned his head to see one of the walls of the building, in which was engraved this: Maccus; Jimmy Legs; Hadras; Bill Bootstrap; Koleniko; Angler; Palifico; Penrod; Morey; Greenbeard; Clanker; Ogilvey; Wyvern; Crash; Ratlin; Quittance; Two Head; Old Haddy; Wheelback; Manrey; Urchin; Jelly; Broondjongen; Finnegan; Piper. Foreign names.

All but one. Bill Turner.

Jack had been right.

He was here.

Will didn't know how to react. Searching all his life for the grail, he had finally found it. What was the meaning of his existence now? Finally, it still remained to locate it organically.

"Hey, you! You're nailed to the ground?" asked Maccus, a member of the Flying Dutchman's crew. It had mutated to take on the appearance of marine fauna. 

His head was shaped like that of a hammerhead shark, and its teeth had become as sharp as those of this species.

His left eye was pushed away from his face to lodge at the end of his growth. His back was hunched, and covered in crustacean legs. Finally, his left hand was covered with a crab shell. Maccus was a cruel individual, who seemed to enjoy seeing suffering.

Will didn't say a word, he needed time to consider his end. His heart seemed to have left his chair, his thoughts melting into a combustion of a thousand stars.

Like an ingot, Will had been dangerously shielded by the magnet that had brought him here. He had not chosen it, the chosen one did not move itself! The friction of the atoms would take him – no matter what – to his final destination.

The sailors were menacing, the smell of salt water from their limbs that seemed freshly caught. It was unusual for the victim not to speak; they were often afraid, while the fiercest lost their temper.

"Are you not afraid, freebooter!" Koleniko asked.

Koleniko was the ship's helmsman. After mutating, he had seen his skin become covered with barnacles and other marine particles. 

His body had taken on the characteristics of a porcupine fish, some areas of his skin became covered with needles, such as his right cheek, left shoulder, and top of his skull. He wore a greenish headband, and a cape. His eyes were gray, and his right eye had a vertical pupil, like the eponymous fish.

"No, why should I be afraid?" Will said.

The sailors smiled sillily.

"What are you doing here?" asked a sailor.

"Jack Sparrow sent me to settle his debt," Will stammered.

"Sorry?"

The crew laughed.

In the distance, Will saw a familiar figure. And in a heartbeat, it all made sense. Subconsciously, he had had this strange feeling that he had been following him since his arrival on the ship.