Chapter 8: The Kraken

Chapter 8: The Kraken

Later that night, Bootstrap was on guard when he saw the sails of another ship, the Edinburgh Trader. He pointed to the ship.

“Now you can escape,” he said to Will.

“Yes,” Will replied. “But first I want to get the key.”

He moved toward the captain’s room and quietly went inside. Jones was asleep. Will took a step closer. Pushing away Jones’s beard, he reached for the key. Quickly, he pulled it off its chain. Will left the room and ran back to Bootstrap.

“Is the ship still there?” he asked.

His eyes searched the ocean for the Edinburgh Trader.

“Yes,” Bootstrap said. “I’ve prepared a rowing boat for you, but you must hurry.”

Will was very sad to leave his father. “Come with me,” he said, as he climbed over the side of the Dutchman.

“I’m part of the ship now, Will. I can’t leave. Take this,”

Bootstrap said. He gave Will a black knife from his belt. “I always wanted to give this to you…”

Will smiled. “I’ll free you from this prison. I promise you.”

Will jumped into the boat and disappeared on the dark water.

The next morning, a large sailor arrived to take Bootstrap’s place. The old pirate was asleep and the sailor kicked him hard.

“Move, before the captain sees you.”

Suddenly, the sailor saw the white sails of the Edinburgh Trader.

“Quickly!” he shouted. “There’s a ship near us!”

Davy Jones came out and looked at the ocean.

“Who guarded the ship last night?” he asked angrily.

The sailors pushed Bootstrap forward.

“Didn’t you notice that ship?” the captain said.

“Sorry, Captain, I fell asleep. It won’t happen again,” Bootstrap promised.

“Bring his son to me,” Jones ordered.

“He’s not on the ship, sir,” a sailor said. “And one of the rowing boats is missing.”

Jones immediately understood. He looked at Bootstrap and the pirate’s face went pale with fear. Jones thought for a minute and then pulled the chain from under his shirt. The key was gone.

“Only one person could plan to steal my key! Jack Sparrow!” he shouted. “Captain Jack Sparrow!”

In the captain’s room of the Edinburgh Trader, Will was trying to get warm.

“It’s strange to find a rowing boat in the middle of the ocean,” Captain Bellamy said.

“Just sail the ship away quickly,” Will replied. “You have to hurry.”

A sailor suddenly ran into the room. “Captain! We’ve seen a ship!”

“What color are her sails?” Bellamy asked.

“She’s not using her sails, sir,” the sailor replied.

“Pirates!” Bellamy said.

Will ran out of the room and climbed the mast.

“It’s the Dutchman!” he shouted. “We’re all going to die!”

The Edinburgh Trader stopped moving.

“What happened?” one of the sailors asked.

“We’ve hit something!” another sailor answered.

Captain Bellamy looked into the ocean, but could see nothing.

“Move the ship’s wheel left, then right, then left again!” he ordered.

The sailors followed his orders without success, then turned back to their captain.

“What can we do now?” one of them asked.

But Bellamy wasn’t there.

The sailors looked out toward the ocean. A large monster was holding the captain in its hand! It lifted Bellamy high into the air, and then pulled him down into the water.

“KRAKEN!” the sailors shouted.

The Kraken killed the captain, then came back for the ship. It broke the ship into two pieces and pulled it down into the ocean.

A few minutes later, six men were on their knees on the Flying Dutchman.

“Where is the son?” Jones asked, looking closely at the line of sailors. “And where is the key?”

“We can’t find them,” Maccus answered. “Maybe the ocean took him.”

“I am the ocean!” Jones shouted angrily. “Throw these men off the ship.”

His men threw the sailors from the Edinburgh Trader into the water.

“The chest isn’t safe,” Jones said. “Bootstrap’s son has the key and he’s working with Jack Sparrow. We’re going to Isla Cruces.”

“He won’t find the chest,” a sailor said.

“He knew about the key, didn’t he?” Jones shouted. “He mustn’t find the heart. I must reach Isla Cruces before Will-or Jack-arrives!”

Below the Dutchman, holding onto the side of the ship, Will heard Jones’s words.

“Now I know where the chest is hidden,” he said to himself. “The Dutchman will take me there… and the key is in my pocket!”

Jack was going toward the same island on the Black Pearl. His Compass, in Elizabeth’s hand, was now working again. But Elizabeth didn’t seem to be very happy.

“Elizabeth, are you OK?” Jack asked. “I understand women. I know that something is troubling you.”

“I wanted to be married by now,” Elizabeth said sadly.

“I wanted to he married by now.

She moved away, but Jack followed her.

“You know, I’m a ship’s captain. I can marry you here and now.”

“No, thank you,” Elizabeth said. She wanted to marry Will, not Jack.

“Why not?” he asked her, smiling. “You know that you and I are very similar.”

“I’m more honest than you,” Elizabeth said. “And I know the difference between right and wrong. And I’m cleaner.”

Jack looked at himself. “That’s not important!” he said quickly. “You’ll soon be like me.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes,” Jack said. “You want to be free and selfish. You want to know what that’s like. One day,” he said, looking into her eyes, “you’ll be exactly like me.”

Elizabeth looked at him coldly. “You and I are similar,” she agreed. “So one day you’ll be like me. You’ll do the right thing. You’ll be brave, and then you’ll discover a very important fact.”

Jack looked at her questioningly.

“You’ll discover that you are a good man!” Elizabeth told him, finally.

“I’ve never done anything good,” Jack said.

“I believe that you will. Do you know why? You’re going to want to be good.”

Jack opened his mouth to answer her. A sailor’s voice stopped him.

“Land!”

Jack ran to the side of the ship. He could see the small island of Isla Cruces, far across the ocean. He looked down into the water.

“The island is too far from here,” he said, afraid. “I want my bottle of earth.”