Three of Swords-JJBA Part 3

Not A Savior After All

Scarlet stared at the huge freighter in shock, and so did the rest of them. None of them even saw it coming. How had they not seen it?

"Jotaro, what are you concerned about?" Joseph asked. Scarlet turned towards him. He was staring at the freighter, obviously suspicious. "Do you think there may be another Stand user on the freighter, too?"

"No, I was just wondering why no one's shown themselves even though the ramp is down." Jotaro replied. Their lifeboats reached the ramp of the freighter, and Polnareff jumped on.

"They came this far to rescue us! There has to be someone aboard! Even if they're all Stand users, I'm getting on this boat!" He announced. The rest of the crew followed him. Avdol went after them, then Joseph and Jotaro followed. Kakyoin helped Scarlet get onto the ramp, and she gave him a small smile in return and looked to the young girl, who stayed on the boat.

"Need some help? Hang onto me, I got you." Scarlet held out a hand to her, and she took it. Scarlet pulled her onto the boat, and the girl hung onto her hand. She looked at Kakyoin, and the three of them followed the others.

They walked around the boat, looking for someone to talk to, anyone. But the entire boat was empty. No sign of life anywhere. Not even a captain, an operator, or any crew at all. Yet every machine was working perfectly.

"Maybe they're all in the bathroom with a bad case of diarrhea." Polnareff suggested, and Scarlet chuckled slightly. Polnareff noticed and turned to her with a smile as Joseph yelled out to see if there was anyone at all. As expected, no answer.

"Everyone, come here, look!" The young girl suddenly announced. She had introduced herself to Scarlet as Anne, and Scarlet walked over to her first, looking at what the girl was pointing at. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"A monkey. There's a monkey in the cage!" Anne said.

"An orangutan." Scarlet and Kakyoin said at the same time, and they both shared a glance before looking away and back at the orangutan. Joseph closed his eyes in annoyance then opened them.

"Who the hell cares about a monkey?! Let's split up and find whoever's been feeding it." He turned around and walked out of the room, and everyone followed him. Anne grabbed Scarlet's hand as she walked out, and they both looked back at the creature one last time. Scarlet shivered slightly and pulled to tell Anne they were done with the orangutan.

Back on the deck of the ship, Avdol and the crew were inspecting the freighter and it's machinery.

"It doesn't appear to be broken, but..." A crew member started to speak. Above him, the crane he stood under started to sway. Scarlet looked up at it and tensed up.

"Avdol, watch out! That sailor's in danger!" She yelled out, but it was too late. The crane impaled his head and raised him up, hanging the body. Scarlet let out a small cry, but Anne let out a larger one. Scarlet and Jotaro both covered the girl's eyes.

"Good grief. A welcome like this is a bit too much for a girl." Jotaro looked at Anne slightly and then at Scarlet, but neither one said anything.

As the crew fumbled amongst themselves, pointing out how the crane moved on its own, Joseph took a step forward.

"Be careful! There's someone here. No one touch any of the machinery! If it runs on electricity, stay away! If you want to live, follow my orders! No one leave the cabin below until we say it's okay!" He announced. The crew all accepted his orders, heading to the cabin. Scarlet had expected Anne to follow them, but the girl clung to her leg. Scarlet looked at her in surprise. As Joseph and the others spoke amongst themselves, Scarlet bent down to talk to Anne quietly.