Ah, look at all the lonely people.
At first I thought we had hit a wave, but then I heard the screams. Still in my nightgown, walked up the empty halls of the ship. It happened so fast I couldn’t even run away. Men with swords and guns and fire cried out with a lust for blood. Members of the crew were being tied up and carried away. I was knocked onto the floor facedown with a foot on my back and a sword at my neck.
When I screamed the foot pushed harder. The man grabbed my hair and forced me to look at him. He was bald, he didn’t even have a beard or eyebrows. He was muscular to a point of disgust. Long strands of drool fell from his mouth onto the deck. He smiled at me with a wide grin that used every muscle on his face. He flipped me onto my back and wrapped his fat, stubby fingers around my neck. This time his drool landed on my chest. He pushed his thumbs onto my throat. He enjoyed it. It was like sex to him. Mangled, sick and retarded laughter was all I could hear. I closed my eyes and waited for death. I didn’t see what had happened, but I believe he was either kicked or pried off me. His slimy wet hands were gone, yet I still couldn’t breathe. I was too weak. My brother picked me up and tried to carry me to safety, but was stopped just as he put me in the escape boat. The last thing I heard was the sound of the Raiders beating him. I was hiding inside the escape boat, so they didn’t see me. I was saved.
I could not sleep. I just closed my eyes and pretended not to hear the screams of my fellow crewmembers. I did nothing. The next morning entire boat had almost completely sunk. The pirate boat must have rammed a hole into our ship when they collided. I sat in the boat alone. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where to go. I was scared and alone. There was nothing but sea from any angle. I laid back down in the boat and tried to asleep. I felt the boat rock as ropes from a massive ship reeled me up. Judging from the shape and color of the boat, it belonged to the British Navy. However, when I reached the deck, I saw how wrong I was.
The sails were blood red, riddled with holes. Drunken men were mopping blood and gunpowder off the floor. It was a pirate ship. All the pirates stared at me as if they had never seen a woman before. It was only until the Captain showed up when they leaved me alone.
A man wearing a long black trench coat walked up to me. His coat was so long that the tail dragged along the ground. He wore a black fedora with an unusually long brim. His face was in shadows. No, it was more like the darkness had decided to gather around his face. Covering him, protecting him from light. I fainted, half from fear and half from exhaustion.
I awoke in a bed wearing the same clothes I wore the night of the raid. It was sunset. I always used to watch the sunset with my brother. He was the only one on the ship who would talk to me. Everyone else thought I was bad luck.
“I’m glad to see you’re awake.” A voice said from the corner. The man in black stepped from out of the shadows. He sat down on a stool in front of me. I was still dazed from the experience. It all seemed like a bad dream. I wasn’t even sure if it was real.
“What happened? Where’s my ship?”
“Your ship is underwater. The crew has been kidnapped.”
“Why? Why is this happening?”
“Some one on that ship has information. Some one named Naruto Uzumaki. Do you know this person?”
“Yes… He’s my brother.”
“Really? Did they capture him?”
“…yes.”
There was silence. The man in black fell back into his chair.
“Not all is lost just yet. If we follow their trail, we might be able to rescue your brother.”
He looked down into my eyes. I still couldn’t see his face from behind the darkness.
“My name’s Sasuke.” He said. His voice was smooth and rich and strong.
“I’m Reiko, Reiko Uzumaki.” I spoke shyly.
The man in black stood up. He was tall and thin. “Just ask the crew if you need anything.” He said as he walked up to the deck.
I didn’t feel tired, so I walked up to the window and watched the sun set. I wondered if my brother was watching the same sun. What did they want with him? What did he know? Once the sun sunk below the water, I decided to take a walk. The only thing my brother and I really have in common is our explorative nature. It’s why we both became sailors, to go to new places together, always together. The gravity of the situation suddenly hit me, as I realized I might never see Naruto again. In the middle of the corridor, I fell down and cried.
After a few minutes I decided return to my room. Or at least I thought it was my room. I laid down in the bed, quiet as a mouse. Sasuke walked through the door and took off his hat. At first I wondered if he saw me or not. He faced the window with his back to me and removed his trench coat. He was actually very pale. His white skin glowed in the moonlight. His long, wavy hair was like a black mirror. He tucked in a white, button shirt with no buttons, exposing his chest. He put on a necklace of exotic beads and coins and walked towards the door. Just before he opened it he turned to me and asked, “You want anything to eat?”
If it weren’t night, he would have seen me blush. I said no and pulled the sheets over my head.
There was food on the table the next day. He must have guessed that I would be hungry. I ate all of it, making sure that no one could see me pig out. Sasuke walked in. He wasn’t wearing the hat and trench coat yet. The sun was about to rise. He looked at the table and said, “Jesus, you must have been hungry. You ate my entire breakfast.”
My cheeks grew red as I hid my face under the sheets again. He laughed a little, “I could ask the chief to make more if you’re still hungry.”
I shake my head ‘no’.
He put on the trench coat and the hat. Darkness covered him again. He looked out the window. “That ship has to restock, we left just after each other. If we need to buy supplies, they need to buy supplies. The closest pirate-friendly landing dock is about seventy miles south, that’s probably where they stopped. That’s where our next clue is.”
And so it began.
[Reviews - 1]Chapter or Story
Table of Contents
- Text Size +
Chapter end notes: TBC