Jack pulls away, taking in a large breath of air. He can now breath as well as I can.

I look at him in shock and he just laughs at my naivety.

A sudden screech rings through the water, I look up to see the mermaids that block our path had become feral. Their eyes were pale and piercing, their mouths gaping with intimidatingly sharp fangs.

My heart sank as they propel themselves toward us. What can I do?

One of them claws at me, her long nails cutting me across the chest like a sharpened blade. It quickly became obvious that the only options I had were fight... or die.

She attempts to slash me again and I reflexively grab her by her wrists. A horrifying amount of blood floats from my chest and clouds my vision. We spin through the water like a couple of ballroom dancers as I wrestle for my life.

I howl in agony as another comes up from underneath me and shreds my tail fin. I kick her face with all of my force and she sinks to the bottom.

The one I had been wrestling with begins to lose the strength in her hands, her face falling pale. I see more blood float by and notice she had been stabbed through her abdomen. I let go of her wrists and her body sinks also, revealing Jack behind her with a bloodied sword in his hand.

A strong smell crosses my nose, it smells absolutely delectable. Like a well seasoned steak. I look around to find the source of the smell until I realize it was, in fact, Jack that smelt so sweet.

He was covered in gashes on his arms, legs and chest. The blood that pooled around him made my mouth water.

What is wrong with me!?

I put my hand on my face to suffocate the smell but pull away in horror as I realize that I also had fangs.

I am not a monster! I refuse to go feral.

I desperately examine my surroundings, all of the mermaids had fallen into the sand. Some were dead, some still gripping to life.

Next to the carnage I notice a small tunnel. Inside the tunnel is an old looking chest, covered in coral and barnacles. On its front was a crest, it resembled one of the symbols that was engraved onto the cover of the grimoire. This is what we've been searching for.

I look toward Jack and he had already began to swim toward the chest. I grab his arm and motion for him to go to the surface. He shakes his head in disapproval and pulls me toward the cave.

He tries to pry open the lid but it does not budge. He hacks away some of the barnacles to reveal a large and oddly shaped key hole.

He wraps his arms around his chest, he's is still bleeding out. I can tell from his somber expression that pain he feels is overcome by the feeling of disappointment.

I stare at the tears in his chest, running my fingers along the ones on my own. Was this all for nothing?

I notice the dagger that my father had given me still sticks out of Jack's back pocket. The filagree on its handle matching that of the weathered chest.

I reach into his pocket and he shoots me a bewildered look.

I examine the dagger, it was about the side of the key hole. It's worth a shot!

I slide the dagger into the hole, it fits like a glove. It takes a bit of force to turn it as the mechanism had been encrusted with a thick layer of scum. The chests heavy lid releases itself and Jack helps me to lift it.

Inside, atop a nest of kelp, lay a large black oyster. I remove the dagger from the chest and use it to ply open the shell.

I'm in awe. The ring was much more beautiful in person than in the poorly drawn sketches in the grimoire. I turn to Jack and our eyes meet, he had a proud smile on his face. I motion toward the surface again and he nods his head this time.

I lift the oyster out of the chest and suddenly the cave begins to violently tremble.

A tentacle bursts through the bottom of the chest and coils itself around my arm. I pull but I am unable to break loose, the more I fight the firmer its grip gets.

The sand begins to divide and a massive octopus rises from the earth. It thrashes it tentacles in every direction, causing the rock that surrounds us to crumble.

The path leading out of the small cave begins to shrink in size, if any more stone falls we are going to be trapped.

Jack uses his sword to chop off the octopus' tentacle that held my arm. He swims ahead and I follow, but I don't get far.

A tentacle wraps tightly around my waist, another around my neck. I let out an eery mermaid shriek and Jack does a 360. I throw the oyster with my free hand before I am caught in an entanglement of tentacles, pulling me deeper into the cave.

The last thing I see is the look of distress on Jack's face as the path between us is blocked by an avalanche of rock.

The octopus drags me toward it through the sand. It's face an emotionless void. I grit my teeth. This dumb thing will not be the death of me.

I look at my hands, my fingers were webbed and my nails like knives. I dig them into its tentacles and its hold slackens. I tear and claw at its flesh and it flounders in pain.

It finally lets go after swatting me into the cave's wall. A sharp pain shoots up my spine and I roll into the sand.

I land on something hard and I push the sand aside to reveal the sword that Jack had used earlier. The octopus launches itself at me and I do the same. This ends now.

I push myself off of the ground, dodging the octopus' attack and swimming above its head. I grasp the swords handle with both of my hands and with all of my body's strength skewer its brain with the blade.

Its tentacles fall and it twitches a little before sinking into the sand for the last time.

I look at myself, I am covered in a mix of sand, the octopus' blue blood and my own. I sigh in relief, feeling a tinge of pride.

My thoughts are interrupted by what sounds like an explosion. I look up toward the sound and the rock above me falls. I push myself toward the wall of the cave to avoid getting knocked out and the octopus' corpse is completely covered by stone.

Everything becomes bright and I notice that I can see the blinding gold light of the crystals shining above. An escape!

I swim toward the light and break through the surface. I see the crew on the Black Pearl unloading their canons. Jack made it... my heart is full again.

"Need a hand?" Gibb's stands above me.

I take his hands and he pulls me up and out of the water.

"Here, you'll need this!" He passes me the dress and corset I had taken off earlier.

I thank him and pull it over my head as my tail dissipates. He helps me stand and regain my bearings before boarding the ship once again.

"Where's Jack?" I inquire.

"He's in his cabin..." Gibb's says weakly. "He's not doing the best of it."

I rush toward the Captain's quarters and barge in through the door.

Jack lays on his bed, gritting his teeth in anguish while putting pressure on his wounds with a cloth.

I sit beside him and his eyes light up when he sees me.

"Your... alright." He struggles to speak, coughing up blood as he does so.

"Don't say anything!" I panic. "Here, let me help!"

I take some of the rags that lay on his lap and wet them with a bottle of rum that he had been drinking on his beside table.

"Lift your arms if you can."

He does just that and I remove his vest and shirt. I take the wet rags and try to clean some of the sand from the lesions on his chest.

He tenses and holds his breath. He looks like he is going to pass out.

"Come on, you're The Captain Jack Sparrow! You've survived worse than this!" I joke to try and distract him and he grins.

"I gotta say, that was quick thinking. I had no clue I could make people breath like that." I take a clean rag and tie it around his torso as tightly as I can.

"...neither did I..." He whispers.

I look into his eyes, not sure if I had heard him correctly.

"I thought... I thought I was going to die down there." He continues between breaths. "That's why... I kissed you."