Fathoms Below: Captain Jack Sparrow

Chapter 3: Not what you seem.

We made our way to the docks following the captains instructions, pausing under the stone bridge for a moment as the Captain peered out first, formulating a plan.

"We're going to steal a ship?" Will asked a little bewildered, following the captains intense gaze, "that ship?" He gestured towards the vast navy ship that sat proudly in the water at the docks.

"We're going to commandeer that ship," the Captain corrected, pointing towards the large ship. "It's a nautical term."

"So how do we get to the Dauntless?" I asked, wanting to move on from their pointless back and forth. I saw the captain's eyes roam over the overturned dingys over on the sand, prompting me to quickly add, "surely we'll be seen in the longboats."

"Correct love," he states, placing his hand on my shoulder which I quickly attempt to shrug off, "but we'll only be seen if they know what they're looking at," he added cryptically.
"I'll go first, then you love, then turner." He motioned with his head for us to move and get under the boat and we attempted to get into formation to do just that.

"Wait," Will shot out, earning an exasperated look from the pirate and confusion from myself as we paused, turning to him to hear his objection.
"Lillian, you must return to your uncle, stay here where it's safe," he states, looking me in the eye. I instinctively frown and open my mouth to speak out but the pirate cuts in first. "Way I see it mate, she has a choice, just as much as you."
"Yes but," Will argues before he feels my hand on his shoulder, effectively silencing him.
"My uncle believes me to be missing with Elizabeth, yes?" I ask, to which Will replies by gently nodding, his eyes still questioning.
"So if I was to disappear, then it wouldn't make an awful difference to which pirate I travelled with would it?" I glanced over at the pirate who shot me a brief smirk before I turned to face Will again. He looked reluctant but my pressing glance did not relent. "I'm with you."
My glance shot back to the pirate, who seemed to acknowledge my words and smirked, setting off ahead.

Will followed a few moments behind me, crawling under the boat so that I was effectively sandwiched between the two men. We paused a moment, hearing the rush of people running past us. From the significant jingling of their attire and the synchronised footsteps, it was clear that it was the navy fleet. We paused for a moment, entirely hidden by the boat and waited for them to pass before we moved again. Captain Sparrow then signalled for us to walk and soon enough we were deep in the water, closing in on the dauntless, a pocket of air trapped under the boat so that we could walk all the way underwater. It was a struggle to hold the boat down as it desperately tried to rise to the surface, but we carried it with all our strength and managed to manoeuvre it surprisingly well with just the three of us.

"This is either madness, or brilliance," Will stated as we walked.

"Yes, remarkable how often those two traits coincide," Jack agreed with little more than a tilt of his head in acknowledgment, his tone seeming to show that he really did believe that. I let out a little laugh at that which seemed to attract Jack's eye as he smirked, turning his head further to look at me.

I let out another laugh as I noticed Will's predicament of stepping into a lobster trap that was now attached to his foot as he walked, adding to the absurdity of the situation.

"Hold your breath and hold on to the boat, it'll flip," Jack said, quickly relaying his plans to us as we approached the Dauntless. We did just as he said and managed to flip the boat over onto the surface so that we were now sat inside it rather than under it, now on top of the water.

Jack began to climb onto the boat, using the balconies as leverage so that he could ascend to the deck. Will followed despite his argument to go last, until I reminded him that I was still wearing a now sopping dress. I paused for a moment, kicking my feet into the anchor chain, using it as a leverage and continued to climb. Once we got to the top, Jack jumped over first, followed by Will and then myself, aided by Jack who held out his hand for me, pulling me over the edge and onto the deck.