Chapter Six Four Days Later... “Land ho!” Pearl called from the crow’s nest. “Ha!” Jack yelled triumphantly. “At last! Put down anchor!” He heard a giant sploosh as the anchor smacked the surface and rumbled to its sandy depths. “Man the life boats!” he ordered. “We’re going ashore!” Pearl gripped the rope and slid down it, hitting the deck with a light thud before dashing over to her father. Over the days she had learned to accept Sam's death. "Get yer'self in a boat, Pearl," Jack said, pushing her forward. Pearl leapt over the side of the Black Pearl and grabbed a rope, swinging down. Will followed her, then her mother and her father. "To Land!" Jack cried, pointing his finger forward. Sally turned back to those left, saying, “keep an eye on those scurvy captives of ours. I want to still have a ship when I get back.” There were cries of “aye!”, and the rowboats set off. Two other boats rowed alongside theirs as they neared the shore. Will and Pearl worked the oars while Jack and Sally surveyed the land with keen eyes. “Jack, when ye heard about this treasure…” Sally began uneasily. “You were given some idea of where to find it, right?” “Vaguely,” he said, not even trying to defend himself. “Just trust me. When have I steered you wrong before?” She shook her head, millions of instances popping into her mind. But she was too kind to voice them. Their boat struck land and slid up the sand. Sally and Jack jumped out, their boots slapping against the shallow water as they trudged through the muck toward the dry land. Pearl and Will soon followed, pulling the boat further away from the water and securing it to a nearby branch. “Which way?” Sally asked, squinting under the sun. The beach ended abruptly in a line of thick trees. “There should be a marker…” he muttered. “Wait,” Sally said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “The others.” Jack turned to them as they exited their boats and trudged toward them. “Four of ye stay,” Jack said. “Watch the boats, keep an eye out for any strange happenings or peoples, savvy?” They agreed heartily, and four were chosen to stay, while six others accompanied them toward the tree line. “Marker… marker…” Jack mused, eyeing each tree carefully. “Ah!” He pointed to a carving engraved into the bark of a trunk and smiled to himself. “There.” Sally pushed her face in for a closer look and scowled. The carving was that of an “x”. “X marks the spot,” Jack said happily. Pearl frowned. "This was far to easy..." she muttered as she looked around, then started laughing. Her father and mother looked at her oddly. "What’s got ye lass?" Jack said, and Pearl pointed to two trees down from the one they were standing at. "If X marks the spot, how come there’s an X on that tree as well? And the two after it," Pearl said. Her father looked dumbfounded at all the trees in a line that had Xs on them. "I don't know..." he said, scratching his head. "Maybe it’s a trail?" Will suggested. "The treasure is at the end?" Sally nodded. "Maybe." "Only one way to find out," Pearl said as she started forward towards following the path. "Aye, I guess we could see," Jack said, following her. Pearl turned and looked over her shoulder and grinned, "You knoAHHH!" she screamed as the ground gave way beneath her, and she went tumbling into a pit. She hit the rocky bottom hard, her head striking something hard and knocking her out as hot blood oozed from the side of it. “Pearl!” Will cried, dashing to the gaping hole in the ground. “Will! Steady on!” Sally called. With a bit more caution, but much anxiety, Sally jogged to the edge of the trap and looked down. “Pearl! Can you hear me!?” There was no answer. “Do you think…?” one of the crew asked, looking toward them warily. “Pearl!” Jack called. “Speak, lass!” “I’m going down there,” Will said with finality. “Ye’ll need a rope,” Sally said at once. She turned her head in all directions, grasping a vine when she noticed it. She pulled it from its tangled perch on a tree branch and tossed the end to Will, who gripped it and moved to maneuver his way down the pit. Jack moved behind Sally and helped her hold the vine securely. The weight of Will’s body left the vine, and they heard nothing for some time. “Will!” Sally called. “Is she all right?” “She’s hurt but alive!” he called back. “Tie her to the vine!” Sally called. “We’ll haul her up!” He did as she was told, and, with the crew’s help, Pearl was quickly aboveground again. As the crewmembers tossed the vine back down for Will, Sally fell to her daughter’s side. “Pearl,” she soothed, smoothing a hand over the side of her head where there was no blood. “Wake up, dear.” It was fifteen long minutes before Pearl stirred. She groaned and brought a hand up to the spot on her head that was bleeding as she slowly opened her eyes. She brought her hand down, and it was covered in blood, and she sighed. She looked to her right and saw her mother and father sitting next to her, both with relieved looks on their faces. She felt someone touch her shoulder and looked to see Will smiling at her. "Did I take a bad step?" she asked, sitting up. "You could say that," Jack said and pointed to the hole in the ground. Pearl looked at it and laughed, then winced. "It feels like a cannonball hit my head." She frowned. "I guess I should look where I'm goin next time, huh?" Sally laughed and hugged her daughter. "That might help keep ye from fallin into holes." Pearl stood up, a little shaky at first but was steadied by Will. Her mother ripped up a few pieces of cloth and tied them around Pearl’s head. "Alright, so on we go? Just watch your step incase they have anymore of these things..." They followed the trail of Xs, stepping with care. Pearl seemed dizzy from the blow to her head, and she stumbled, but Will steadied her. “Are we there yet?” she asked tiredly. “We’re getting close,” Sally said. At length, they came to a dark tunnel that lead underground. “Should we go in?” Sally asked her husband warily. “Aye,” he said. “It’s this way, alright.” She sighed and took a step forward and was yanked back just as a spear slammed from the seemingly flat rock. She stood wide-eyed, Jack holding her and looking just as horrified. Pearl gawked at the spear. "Um.. someone does not want us get to it I guess," Pearl said. Jack grabbed a torch from one of the crewmembers and lit it. "Dad... be careful," Pear said as her father stepped forward, staring at the ground to be sure nothing was going to shoot up at them again. “It seems clear,” he said. “Seems,” Sally said, putting a hand on his arm. “But I have cat-like grace,” he said. “Nothing can harm me.” “You also have an ego from here to the Antarctic,” she said. “Watch yer step.” “Pearl,” Will intoned, his silky voice full of wonder. “Look at this.” The young woman turned to him. “What is it?” “Runes,” he said. “I think it’s… French?” Pearl nodded slowly as she looked over the letters. “Latin.” “You read Latin?” Will asked with awe. Pearl shrugged. “A little. My mother taught me some things here and there.” “What’s it say?” “It’s too dusty.” Pearl reached out and swiped at the stone. As her hand touched it, the wall swung open and something from behind knocked them forward. Their cries of surprise were muffled at the wall closed again.
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