A TOUCH OF DESTINY | Henry Turner

03. Faces From the Past

"THINK CAPTAIN JACK'S WASHED UP, EH?" Jack muttered, mostly to himself. "I've not had a wash in years."

Lyla and her father were walking down an empty street in the pouring rain, both still feeling rather sorry for themselves. Although Jack had eventually accepted Lyla's stolen money, it wasn't enough to stop the hurt he felt when he realised that his crew had abandoned him. They had headed back into the town to try and find a pub to drink in, but so far had had little luck.

"Check the alley down there!" shouted a voice. Lyla looked up and saw the soldiers patrolling the streets. "You two, check the church. The rest of you, with me."

Jack grabbed Lyla by the arm and ushered her towards a fence, which she climbed up and over with ease. Jack tried to follow her example, but after standing atop the fence for a second too long, he let out a quiet, "Bugger," and dropped face-first into the mud.

Lyla giggled as her father got to his feet, retrieving his compass before traipsing towards a pub. Walking inside, Lyla's eyes were instantly drawn to the wanted posters splashed across the walls, most of which depicted her father's face. Some were of her mother, but the reward prices hd been marked down from a hundred pounds to one pound.

Jack walked over to the bar. "May I please have a drink, please?"

"Show me your silver," the barman said.

"Silver?" Jack repeated, fishing in his pockets before he held up his compass. "How about a trade?"

"What? Dad, you can't," Lyla said, catching his arm. "You can't really be that desperate."

Jack shook her off. "Give me the bottle."

As he slammed down the compass on the bar, something strange happened. The ground seemed to start shuddering, causing the entire building and everything inside to rattle about. Lyla grabbed Jack's arm in surprise, unsure what was happening.

Jack held up his hands in surrender, before he made a grab for the compass. The barman was quicker, snatching up the compass and replacing it with a bottle, which Jack grabbed just as quickly. Lyla watched the compass get thrown on a pile of other objects which had presumably been traded for rum, feeling uneasy.

"Dad, are you sure this is a good..." she began.

Jack held up the bottle. "Pirate's life."

He left the bar and Lyla hesitated to follow. She turned to the barman. "I'll give you all the gold in my pocket for that compass."

"Show me," he said.

In response, Lyla fished in her pocket and slammed down a handful of coins. The barman made a grab for them, but she moved her hand quicker, swiping them into her free hand away from the barman's greedy fingers.

"Do we have a deal?" she asked.

The barman huffed before he grabbed the compass and tossed it at Lyla, who dropped the coins down on the bar in order to catch the compass. She left the pub, hearing a gunshot go off and flinching. "What in God's name?"

"Just the man we've been looking for!" the voice of the governor shouted.

"Why? Why am I looked for?" asked Jack.

"Let it be known that the pirate, Jack Sparrow, will be executed at dawn," the governor announced.

Lyla's eyes widened. "No! Dad!"

A hand on her arm dragged her backwards and around the corner before one of the soldiers could see her. A hand clamped down on her mouth and Lyla screamed against it, lashing out at the stranger who decided to manhandle her into an alleyway.