Barbossa's Daughter

Chapter 28

The sun had risen again and began to set, but they were still in the afterlife as their reserves went dry, lacking in food, water and rum.

"If we cannot escape these doldrums before night, I fear we will sail on trackless seas," Tia Dalma said as she studied the closing gap between the sun and the horizon line. "Doomed to roam the reach between worlds. Forever."

"With no water, forever looks to be arriving a mite too soon," Mr Gibbs said.

"Why doesn't he do something?" Will asked as he walked over to where Cora was staring out at the distance. It took her a second to realise that he was talking about her father.

"He did say that coming back was the hardest part," she reasoned.

"But there be no sense to it," Mr Gibbs pointed out.

"And the green flash happens at sunset, not sunrise," Will added.

"Maybe it's sunset in the real world where people claim to see it, we are currently between worlds are we not?" Cora said.

"Aye, Miss Cora has a point. And the map said, 'over the edge'," Gibbs said.

"But that was to enter the afterlife," Cora informed him.

"To enter, you had to sail over the edge of the world," Will finished.

"Ah, it's driving me over the blooming edge!" Gibbs exclaimed. "Sunrises don't set."

"Then what the bloody hell else could it mean?" Cora asked as her hand flailed in the air, but no one had an answer.

"What's that?!" asked Jack as he jumped to his feet and ran to the portside and the three of them ran to his side. "What is that? I don't know. What do you think?"

"Where?" Gibbs asked as Tai Heung joined them.

"There."

"Is he talking to himself?" Will asked Cora as they followed Jack and ran to the other side of the ship.

"Probably the lack of rum."

Then once again, they arrived at the starboard side and waited for Jack to explain what he saw, but he didn't as he ran back to the port side as more people began to join them. Again and again, he did this and again and again they followed him. Even catatonic Elizabeth came to join them as the ship began to rock from side to side as their movements grew quicker.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked but her only answer was Jack running to the other side of the ship.

"What is he doing?" Will asked.

"I think he's figured it out. Uncle Jack may be mad, but there usually be a method to his madness."

"Is there one where we understand what is happening?"

"Not likely!"

"He's rocking the ship," Pintel said as the motions became bigger, and Cora watched her father study the map and the circles that Jack had moved.

Up is down. To rise up to the real world, they had to face down.

Sunrise sets. Sunset was sundown. And if up was down, to rise with the sunrise as the sun set, they needed to be upside down.

"We're rocking the ship!" Mr Gibbs exclaimed.

"Aye, he's onto it!" Barbossa announced as he rushed for the stairs that lead below deck. "Time it with the swell!" and he rushed below as he began barking orders and the men began to scramble.

Again and again, they ran as the rocking got worse and the ship began to tilt as her father returned and joined them in the running. And then it became a race. To make it to the other side of the ship before it tilted, and you fell.