63Chapter Twenty
The Attack
It remained a dangerous game, waiting upon every swell for the Dutchman to be upon them. Will and Captain Smith had been since recovered by the passing ship, the Edinburgh Trader, and thankful they were that this honest vessel did not expect any ill of them, that they could board without much more than a mildly suspicious "Strange thing to come upon a longboat so far out in open waters..." from the newly introduced Captain Bellamy. From his tone though one could immediately tell that he was a fine and fair sort of man with the right amount of sense and flexibility to remain a good officer in outlandish situations. Smith was busy admiring the lack of algae and barnacles callusing every surface on the ghost ship.
Will played the part of concerned escapee and advised forcefully of the Captain, "Just put as many leagues behind us as you can. As fast as you can."
Bellamy, honest and unsuspecting of such grave circumstances from longboat bound castaways, asked "And what are we running from?" The two fidgeted in silence before Will noticed…
"That dress" he said, half-mesmerized, "where did you get it?" He took the familiar fabric in his hands and pulled it to his face, as if the very smell of his betrothed could bring them closer.
"It was found aboard the ship" Bellamy replied. With a mite of condescension over his crew, he continued, "The crew thought it was a spirit bringing some omen of ill fate."
Will roped Bellamy into the fault with his quick response, "That's foolish."
"Ah, yes," the bald sailor behind the Captain conceded. "Exceedingly foolish."
The sailor with curls and a proud tricorn elaborated, "It brought good fortune. The spirit told us 'pull in at Tortuga,' and we made a nice bit of profit there." The fellow crewman exchanged a genial remembrance of that profitable day, as the gears turned in Will's mind.
"Tortuga?" Smith asked, surprised that such a respectable vessel would dare frequent such a notorious port.
"Off the books, of course," Bellamy clarified.
"I imagine some of your crew may have jumped ship there," Will calculated. But, Bellamy was confused.
"Why do you ask?"
Before Will could answer, a sailor came from abovedecks with a message. "Captain, a ship's been spotted," he said, fear in his voice.
"Colors?" Bellamy inquired.
"She isn't flying any." The man was veritably shaking.
"Pirates!" Bellamy assumed.
Smith turned to Will with the knowledge that Jones was upon them. The only words Will offered to the men of the Edinburgh were devoid of all hope. "Or worse."
Will and Captain Smith made their way to the crow's nest, hoping for a glimpse of the closeness of their demise. Unfortunately, they didn't need to be high up to see that the Dutchman was gaining, and fast. "I've doomed us all," Will admitted with guilt.
"Why," Smith replied darkly. "I suppose that dress was an omen of ill fate after all."
The sudden jolt of the ship's stop threw Will from his perch, and surprised all aboard. Smith took care in helping Will return to the mainyard boom. His fall did not lessen his guilt or his determination.
The men on the deck were running like chickens without their heads, without guidance or sense. The Captain attempted to give orders to free the rudder, but unfortunately, it was not a reef that they were caught on. The first inkling of the danger they were given was in the death of Captain Bellamy, as he was grabbed by the beast, and pulled out into the open water, screaming for his life, and was then mercilessly whipped under to his certain immediate death.
The crew, if not insane with panic before, grew evermore loud and uncontrolled. The tricorned sailor, no longer prim, ran about with Elizabeth's wedding dress, offering it whatever it wanted to appease its Kraken-calling master. But, the slimy tentacles of the Kraken slid their way up the sides of the ship it looked to devour, as tenderly as one would look up and down a deer in the sights of a crossbow. It was only by reminding Will of his fiancée that Smith could keep that noble boy from plunging into the action down below. It was devastating to watch, but more devastating to be thrown into it. The foremast was toppled by the Kraken's force, suddenly. Smith was fortunate enough to catch a hanging rope, but Will was caught sliding down the sail, when the thought entered his mind that his father's knife could slow him down enough to keep him from falling completely.
Both braced themselves against the remaining parts of the ship and witnessed the grueling end of the Edinburgh Trader. More and more casualties fell to the beast, and for Will it was, painfully, all taken on as his fault. Akin to everything associated with Davy Jones, the stories paid the horror no justice. And the sight of the Kraken attack was more horrific and precise than it is tasteful to think about. It was only with pure chance that the mainmast was toppled over the sea rather than into the broad, opened mouth of the Kraken. Smith and Will were thankful to be thrown into the clear, Caribbean waters, and with a glimpse of the massive body of the Kraken, the two swam upwards to the surface, and groped for driftwood, clinging for dear life.
One more myth true, thought Smith, as the crème colored wedding gown floated through the wreckage. Will's eyes never caught sight of this memento, as the Dutchman's shadow past over the survivors…
Author's Note: Hey, I came through! This is great. We're getting dangerously close to the infamous three-way sword fight! (My favorite scene ever!) Meeting up with Lizzie, Jack and Norrington should be fun, rightttt? Hey, we'll see. Thanks for reading!
-Piratess-Bell