Sea Bound Soul

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

DAY WE MET

We pull him onto the boat, water escaping his clothes and making the deck wet and slick. They set him down on the wood as I try to get a look.

But I hear Mr. Gibbs, a rounded man with large sideburns and always carries a flask of rum, and works for the captain, muttering a curse. I look over to where he stands, on the edge for ship, holding the ropes, looking out over the edge.

The smoke fills the air around us and the other men all rush over to where he is. I try to move through the crowd and when I do I see two halves of a ship, sinking and burning, a bright orange flames. A ship wreck? Or perhaps not...

Pieces of the vessel float on the waves, still set ablaze, raising grey mist into he air.

"What happened here?" my father asks.

"It's the powder magazine," Lieutenant James Norrington says young though he is. Only about six years older than I. He inherited his position from his deceased father. "Merchant vessels run heavily armed."

"A lot of good it did them," Gibbs says sarcastically. "Everyone's thinkin' it, I'm just sayin' it... Pirates."

My father scoffs but I do not. "There's no proof of that. It was probably an accident," he says.

As they speak I walk to the boy lying on the deck.

"Rouse the captain immediately," Norrington says. He walks towards the captain's deck. "Heave to and take in sail. Launch the boats."

The crew walk about and do as he says. Some of the men pick up the kid, about my age it seems, as I stand by my father. "Elizabeth I want you to accompany the boy," he says. "He'll be in your charge. Take care of him."

I nod and walk to where they set him, on a large crate on top of a blanket. I approach the boy as he lies still, his eyes closed and mouth open. But I touch his cold cheek, wondering if he is even alive.

But just then he gasps, eyes flashing open and grabbing my hand.

I flinch and breathe. "It's alright. You're safe. My name's Elizabeth Swann."

The boy hesitates. "Will Turner," he chokes.

"I'm watching over you, Will."

He tries to breathe but lays his head back down, shutting his eyes without control.

That's when I notice a strange gold chain around Will's neck. I pull of it gently to reveal the golden circular pirate medallion from under his shirt, the skull in the center surrounded by elaborate designs. "You're a pirate..." I breathe.

"Has he said anything?" Lieutenant Norrington asks.

But when he speaks I gasp, whirling around and holding the necklace behind my back. "His name's William Turner. That's all I found out." I cannot tell them that he is a pirate. No way. Pirates are all condemned to death no matter what they have done. That frightens me. So I take the necklace, hiding it from them, to not let them know...

Norrington frowns and nods. "Take him below."

They obey and I frown, walking to the back of the ship, a vacant area... I observe the worn piece of gold in my hands when they are not looking, holding it up over the water's edge, a misty backdrop. Thats when I notice something in the distance, a flash of black. I lower the medallion and squint... The mist clears to see a ship with torn black sails, a flag of a skull and crossbones flapping in the wind, the large boat heading out from the scene. But the overall appearance of the vessel frightens me and I shut my eyes.