A/N: Ummm…. Yeah. So I feel really bad about this, I don't even know if there's a point in apologizing for the wait on this one… things were distracting, exams and school work and school trips and what not, and I kinda forgot about this story… which I feel bad about. I am really really really really reallyreallyreally sorry about that guys… haha.

But here it is, chapter 7, and if you don't hate me… then I hope you like it….

Also, I know it's been so long that POTC 3 actually came out before I got a chance to update… but this story is still not DMC or AWE compatible… just as a reminderrr…

–AC23

Disclaimer: Over the last few months I've come to realize that I own nothing but the clothes on my back, and Jack Sparrow….
Haha I wish…

xxx

For the Sake of Rum
Chapter 7: The Top Of The Mountain

xxx

When Jack had successfully strapped the commodore to Will's mule, and instructed Will and Elizabeth to load up the crates with as much rope and other supplies as they could fit (without removing any of the rum itself of course), he lead the way out the back door of the shop and into the woods beyond, pushing a heavy cart in front of him. Will followed pushing the other identical cart, and then Elizabeth came last, tugging on the lead of the stubborn old donkey.

Slowly they made their way along the edge of the woods were the foliage wasn't as thick but where there was still enough cover to remain unseen by the people of Port Royal. After what seemed like forever (but was really 10 minutes), they came to an empty stretch of beach. Jack stopped the little procession and quickly took the donkey out of Elizabeth's hands. Then motioning for them to stay where they were, he dragged the tired old beast out of the trees and down the beach, stopping every few feet to check that nobody else was present but himself, Norrington, the grunting donkey, and a few seagulls. Finally, coming to a large patch of sea grass he stopped and let the poor animal eat.

"That a girl." He grinned, giving the preoccupied donkey a small pat on the head.

Norrington had just begun to grumble quietly in his sleep, when Jack returned to the safety of the woods, leaving both commodore and donkey on the beach. "Well, that takes care of one problem." He said casually, taking hold of his cart again and moving forward. Elizabeth ran up and stood in his way before he could make any progress.

"Wait." She glanced back at the beach, "We can't just, leave him there… can we?" she said uncomfortably.

"Ya know Liz, I think yer right. We should definitely take the man who is obsessed wit 'unting me across the seven seas, and seein' us all swing limp from the noose, along wit us ta our secret hideaway in the woods. Which, might I add, is where we are plannin' ta 'ide from said pompous wig-wearing lunatic for the next couple a' days. Tha's just a brilliant idea! Don' you agree William?" Jack said sarcastically.

Will blinked at him. 'Does he actually want me to answer that?' he wondered.

"Now you're just being ridiculous." Elizabeth huffed.

"And you're just noticing this about him… now?" Will looked at his wife with his eyebrows raised and an expression of mock bewilderment upon his face.

"Hey! That hurts…" Jack whined indignantly at him.

"I just think you could have done something a bit more… humane." Elizabeth continued, ignoring Will's question. "I mean, how would you like being chained to a donkey Jack?"

"Oh I'm so sarry 'Lizabeth! Next time I'll be sure ta drag a nice soft bed out 'ere ta tie 'im ter instead!" He countered. Both Turners were silent. They stared at him with varying degrees of shock, amusement, and repulsion. Jack's eyes widened.

"Oh. Ye think…. Uh. Yeah. I dinnit' mean it loike that! I was referrin' ta keeping 'im comfy. Ya know? …"

Will began pushing his cart again and Elizabeth got out of Jack's way and fell into step alongside Will.

"Sure you were Jack…." Will teased, fighting back a smile. Elizabeth giggled and Jack's face went a bit red before regaining his composure and quickly trying to catch up with his own cart.

"You 'society' types! Yer always jumpin ter conclusions!" Jack made an attempt at changing the conversation, "I remember this one time, I was-"

"Shhh!" Will hushed him straining to listen to something.

"Hey!" Jack pouted at him, "Ye didn't even let me get ta the good part!"

"No, listen!" Will said distractedly. Once they were all quiet they could hear a voice, coming from the direction of the beach, yelling its head off.

Elizabeth whispered in a panic, "It's him!"

Jack stared in the direction of the noise, eyes narrowed; he uttered one 3-syllable word that sent shivers through everyone's spine.

"Norrington."

(Dun, dun, DUHN!.. hehe –AC23)

"He must've woken up! What do we do!?" Will cried, eye twitching in fear.

"There's only one thing to do…" Jack replied solemnly. They stood waiting to hear what Jack would say next. He looked them all in the eye in turn, and then he looked up the hill through the dense foliage. "We go up there, and hope he doesn't find us." Jack then proceeded to continue pushing his way through the underbrush. Will and Elizabeth just stood there mouths agape.

"That's your plan!?" Elizabeth shrieked as loudly as she dared.

Jack glanced over his shoulder at them, "No. Tha's just the first half. I'll explain tha rest when we reach the top."

So the Turner's resigned themselves to their tasks, and the trio continued to make their way through the forest. Elizabeth leading the way with Will's sword, cutting a path through the more difficult plants, Jack close behind giving her directions, and William bringing up the rear and keeping an eye out for Norrington and his men, who he feared might be slinking around every turn or ready to pounce out from behind each tree.

Twenty minutes later, they could no longer hear Norrington's cries from the beach. Although they were unsure about whether or not that was a good thing, it did help to quicken their pace, and so not ten minutes after that, they reached their destination.

"Well," Jack said setting his cart down and clapping his hands together, "Here we are!"

Will also discarded his cart and stretched his arms. Elizabeth looked around herself at the empty clearing. To her it looked just like any other clearing she'd seen on the way.

"Where is here?" She asked. "And what makes this spot so 'special'?"

"Hmm?" Jack replied distractedly and stopped digging through the items piled in his cart. (this consisted of the rum crates, some coils of rope, some food, 2 hatchets, and a large bunch of swords.) "Oh, we're on tha far side o' the island. There's an unused cove just o'er tha cliff there." He pointed in the direction of a thick clump of trees on the far side of the clearing.

"I see." Elizabeth replied, "But still… why this place?"

"Ah, all in good time Lizzy!" Jack taunted. "We've got some work ta do first, then I'll explain it all to ye both."

The next hour was spent creating a shelter in the clearing. Elizabeth found a large space between a clump of trees, and the group set forth making a roof and two walls around it, from thick palm fronds and sticks cut using the hatchets. When the shelter was finished, they all stood back and admired their work.

"Well, it doesn't look too good…" Will said eyeing the structure uncertainly.

"No, it doesn't." agreed Elizabeth. She turned to address Jack, "Do you think it's weatherproof?"

Jack stood looking straight up at the clear blue sky. "Hopefully, we won't have to find out." Will nodded thoughtfully and Jack looked back from his examination of the slowly darkening heavens. "Sun's settin' though." He stated matter of factly; he then walked over to the carts and began searching for something inside one of them. "Elizabeth, ye'd best start makin' a fire. Will," He glanced up while slinging a coil of rope onto his shoulder and sticking one of the hatchets in his belt, "Yer with me."

Will shot a wary look at the hatchet. "Where exactly are we going?"

Jack grinned, "Huntin' o' course!" Will was satisfied with that answer, but apparently his wife was not. He'd not taken more than a step towards the pirate when Elizabeth stopped him.

"Wait!" she called shifting nervously, " Why do I have to stay here?"

Jack's grin disappeared, and he frowned. "Don' tell me yer scared o' the dark woman!"

"I most certainly am not!" she cried indignantly before replying in her original anxious tone, "Just, I don't want to be here alone if Norrington shows up…"

Jack looked from Will, to Elizabeth's pleading face, then back to Will… etc. Finally Will spoke up.

"Well, Elizabeth could go with you Jack…" He turned to Elizabeth, "You could go hunting with him," Then he turned his gaze back to Jack's, "I honestly don't mind staying here."

Sparrow pretended to think about that offer, but honestly, he was afraid of what Elizabeth might do to him if he refused her wishes. And anyway, it wouldn't make his plan any more difficult.

"Ye can start a fire, Whelp?" Jack asked with one hand stroking the beaded double braids in his beard.

"Well," Will replied, quite used to the insulting name by now, "I can try my best…" After a pause, Jack nodded, making the decision final. Will would stay in the clearing, and Elizabeth would come with him. The latter of the two Turners clapped her hands with glee and smiled from ear to ear. Jack, in response, handed her a couple of rags and led the way back into the forest, Elizabeth hurrying to catch up.

"What are the rags for? And the rope?"

"Tha rope is in case we 'ave ta tie up some poor beast, and tha rags…" he paused for a moment, "Tha rags are for cleaning our hands with afterwards." His malicious grin sent shivers down her spine, "No sense in walkin' about covered in entrails." He laughed harshly and continued through the trees.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at the back of Jack's head. Something strange was going on, and she intended to get to the bottom of it. A few minutes passed and Elizabeth decided she'd best clear something up with the pirate while they were there. "Jack, I don't care what you say, we're returning the rum." Jack didn't respond, he just continued walking through the underbrush. Elizabeth huffed indignantly and hurried to follow him, she did not appreciate being ignored.

"Jack!" She cried coming up behind him quickly, "Listen to me! I'm seri-Oof!" She was interrupted as her face collided with Jack's back. He had suddenly chosen to stop walking and now stood frozen stiff to the spot, one finger pointing skywards as he listened to some godforsaken noise that only he could hear. "What? Jack what's going on?" Elizabeth asked anxiously, visions of sword wielding soldiers with bloodthirsty grins and vengeance on their minds flashed through her panicking head. "Jack?"

" 'Ush woman!" He paused again before continuing, "yah 'ear tha?" She shook her head silently. "Tha's our prey, 'eadin right this 'ere direction too." He grinned at her, gold teeth gleaming in the dimly lit forest.

"Where is it? I don't see anything…" She whispered softly, squinting through the trees. Jack pulled her to stand in front of him and pointed into the dense foliage.

"She's right in front o' us. Easy prey…" quickly and without making a sound he drew his pistol out from his belt.

"Jack," Elizabeth said in exasperation, "I still don't see anything…" She turned her head to give him a disapproving look and widened her eyes in fear and disbelief at what she saw.

xxx

Will finished arranging the last of the firewood he'd gathered in a neat pile surrounded by a ring of odd rocks that were scattered around the ground in the clearing. He sighed and sat down heavily beside his work. Pulling two sticks from the fire he began rubbing them together vigorously. Nothing. He tried again, longer this time, but not so much as a spark did he get as a result. Suddenly a far off shriek pierced the air, coming from somewhere in the woods.

'Elizabeth' he thought immediately, all the worst possible things that could have happened to her immediately popped into his head, Will tensed and almost jumped to his feet, intent on searching the woods for his bride… but then he stopped himself. He would only look like a fool running to her each time she made the smallest noise, letting his imagination run away with him… no. Elizabeth could take care of herself, and Jack was a good guy, he wouldn't let anyone hurt her, so as long as she was with Jack, Elizabeth would be safe. Besides, Will had a fire to tend to.

Fifteen minutes later the sun had almost completely set and Will had had nearly enough. He threw his inflammable sticks into the fire pit in front of him with an uncharacteristic exclamation of his frustration, and then threw a small rock he found by his feet in too for good measure.

A spark.

And not just a spark of hope, but a real spark had appeared when the rock hit one of the stones surrounding the pit. Will grinned in relief and picked up the small rock again.

Crack!

The stone sent a shower of sparks flying into the pit, igniting several of the sticks. To will's delight the fire caught and soon he had a blazing bonfire roaring in front of him. Perfect, it was just getting truly dark, and Jack and Elizabeth should be back at any minute.

Crack!

This time it wasn't a rock hitting stone that had caused the sickening noise, no, it was something entirely different and more painful. I was also the last thing Will heard before he collapsed into darkness.

xxx

A/N: okay… I don't know if I liked how this turned out or not, I think the second half was a little more serious than the first for sure… and yes, there is going to be one more chapter. WHICH I plan to come up with AS SOON AS POSSIBLE… no worries…

Anyways, you know the drill, read and review guys… Even though I'm a cruel and unusual person who forgets about her readers… I'd appreciate it…
Besides, reviews remind me I've got writing to do!!!!

Thanks you guysss! Yer tha bestest ever! Hhahahah See yah in the next installment!

-Albino Coconut23 )