Bang! The shrill, chilling echo of a gunshot echoed through the humid air and bounced of the withered wooden shacks in the camp. The air fell silent, as if the whole world had stopped spinning at that moment. Nothing could be heard, there was no wind, no cries from animals – or people – just nothing. Perhaps the world had stood still. Perhaps not.
The vile pirate that had thrashed his repulsive, grimy body onto Katerina and leapt to his feet. He took the bandana that was attached to his belt and used it to wipe his brow that dripped with hot sweat. He stood there, his body hunched and low, timidly twisting the bandana in his fists as Katerina lay beneath him – gasping for breath and holding back her whimpers. Her face was covered in her blood that had even seeped to her neck and onto Vaas’ shirt. Her shorts were tangled around her ankles, trembling and sniffling she lent down to reach for them and shimmied into them, still on the floor, with the dry grass swathing around her legs, pinning her to ground and keeping her locked in an embrace. She refused to look up, and instead glared at the pallid grass, and crossed her arms tightly across her chest.
“V…boss,” the repulsive pirate finally stuttered, still twisting the bandana in his sweaty hands, “erm… I…”
“So, was you unaware of the girl’s situation? Eh?” His voice was sharp and vicious and clearly irritated. It appeared that he was attempting to swallow his anger and try and keep calm as his voice was cracked and shaken – but this was due to fury alone. His voice was definitely imitating. It was frightening, and the look painted on the sweating pirate’s face supported this. Every word, every syllable, was sending shivers up his skin and making his body jolt. Katerina even quivered to the shrill sound of it.
It was Vaas, of course. Katerina let out a shaken sigh of relief once she heard his voice. She had never thought that she would be so glad and grateful to see or hear him – or have him near. She thought that she would always wish to be away from him, not be thankful that he was close by. If he didn’t show up… well, she didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened. Though, she only wished he showed up sooner, but, she couldn’t ask for the world, not in her position anyway.
“Did you not know,” Vaas continued, his tone growing with rage, and it oddly even trembled with minor hilarity, “not to touch other people’s things? Eh?” His temper was escalating, and his voice intensified dynamically, to a point where he was almost screaming at the pirate. He continued, stepping closer, shaking his hand in the air, chuckling as he moved. “More importantly! Did you not fuckin’ know…” his voice was a hostile, livid scream now - a screech that was so frightening, that even the grass began to wither. To Katerina, it felt that the ground was shaking due to the horrific thunder that was his voice. She trembled to the sound, and squeezed her eyes shut, mentally trying to block out the distressing roar. “That no one, not fucking anyone! Touches, my fuckin’ things! I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Did you not fuckin’ now that? Is it not clear to you? Is this fuckin’ gibberish, am I speaking nonsense? Hey? Well fuckin’ answer me you little prick! It will be pathetic to label you as a pirate. Look!” he pointed at him, laughing and waving his hands to the sky – obviously mocking the shaken pirate, “here he fuckin’ is! A pirate! Yes, this is who we should fear, a fuckin’ lump of meat that sweats like a fuckin’ pig, and fuckin shakes when you ask him a simple fucking question! Ha ha! This is what we have! These are our pirates! This is who my men are!” “Is it?” Vaas stalked over to him, like a predator – his eyes growing with hunger and ire – and stood beside Katerina, his hard, striking combat boots beside her shoulder. The shaken pirate stumbled backwards, now, to her relief, further away from Katerina. Vaas looked the pirate directly into his pale eyes and bitterly asked, “Is it? Is that what I want from my men?”
“No.”
“Great, then fuckin’ answer my question!”
“Vaas look, I’m so, so, deeply sorry. I didn’t know that the bitch was yours.”
“Don’t!” Vaas clenched his fists in the air and squeezed his eyes shut – an expression that any person would so when someone playfully throws an invisible object in their face, or when someone spoils an episode of Game of Thrones, or something to similar to that. He inhaled deeply, almost whistling through his gritted teeth. His eyes sprang open and he barked, “Don’t be so fuckin’ rude. She’s right here.” He gestured to Katerina with his hand and chucked.
“Vaas, I’m so sorry man. I would have never of touch that b… never have touch her if I knew she was yours. Boss I know to never touch your things. If I knew, I wouldn’t have even looked at her. I just thought she was one the others. So, I’m sorry boss.”
Vaas glared at him for a moment. Not speaking, not blinking not even breathing. Then suddenly he shook his head and beamed, a serene, courteous smile – as if nothing had just happened. They both laughed and Vaas patted his shoulder, consoling the pirate in a pleasant tone, “don’t even worry about it amigo, you didn’t know right?”
“Right!”
They both laughed. Vaas scratched his nose and shooed him away with a hand gesture.
The pirate smiled and confidently ambled away, his shoulders back and his back straight again.
“Hermano!” Vaas suddenly called.
The pirate spun around to face his leader and smiled, “yeah Vaas?”
“Come here.”
The pirate’s grin dropped but he still sauntered over to his leader – as he knew that you never, never defy your leader, especially if the leader was as crazy, and ruthless and unpredictable as Vaas. But perhaps that meant not obeying his order would be more sensible…
Vaas chuckled and gestured for the pirate to come even closer. Katerina tensed as the pirate shuffled his feet through the grass to be besides Vaas, and unfortunately besides her too.
“What’s wrong boss?”
Vaas only chuckled before swiftly pulling out his knife and plunging it into the pirate’s neck. With the other hand, Vaas detained his head, as he pirate choked on his own thick suffocating blood that spurted from his mouth. Katerina watched terrified, with her mouth open wide. Vaas looked at the pirate in the eyes - his pale empty eyes - his face scrunching up into an angered scowl, before releasing him – hauling his knife out from his flesh so that he flopped to the ground like a lump of meat, just as Vaas previously described. Katerina lunged her body away before the dead pirate smashed against the ground. She yelped once the piece of meat crashed into the rigid bed of dry grass.
Katerina glared at the dead man that lay a few feet away from her, her heart pounding – ready to burst from her chest. Her breath quickened as she continued to look at it. She gritted her teeth and steadied her breathing – as tears began to swell in her eyes. Vaas clicked his tongue and crouched beside her, hovering next to her like an animal, a predator. He wiped his blade on the grass beside him, exhaling loudly – portraying his irritation. “You know,” Vaas breathed, his voice still incensed, “I thought that I…”
Suddenly, Katerina rushed to him, wrapping her arms around his robust body and burying her face into his chest, exploding into a thunderous shower of tears and wails. Vaas glared at her, bewildered. What had just happened? His arms were raised in confusion and hesitation on what to do. Katerina waited for Vaas to abruptly push her of him and scream at her– the thought scratched at the back of her mind like an insect. But something entirely different happened. Vaas lowered his arms and wrapped them around her juddering body, hugging her gently to him. Was this really happening? Was Vaas allowing this to happen? Was the crazy, ruthless and unpredictable pirate lord allowing this girl to shower him with her tears? And was he comforting her? Katerina couldn’t even believe it, but still she continued to cry. Her head buried further into his chest – even though it hurt her like hell - so that her wails became muffled and faint.
The pirate lord then spoke, angelic whispers of comfort, “shhh,” he soothed, his voice soft and calming – a sweet sound that you would never expect to glide from his lips - “come on Katerina, I know your stronger than this. The worse didn’t happen. Shhh, your fine. Come on Kat, amada, stop crying now.”
She wanted to do what he said, but she couldn’t. She had been so frightened, and she had to let these horrid feeling of anguish flush away. She also didn’t want to lift her head – Vaas would be disappointed on how she lacked to defend herself. She was disappointed in herself. She couldn’t believe she had to rely on Vaas to rescue her. She couldn’t believe she was thinking that word. Rescue. Who would have known that it was possible to put that word and Vaas’ name in one sentence? Vaas rescuing her. She giggled soundlessly beneath her tears, I guess Vaas really is unpredictable. She thought as she continued to sob, her tears sinking through his shirt and onto his skin. Was he really allowing me to cry into his chest? Was I really crying into his chest? Why was I doing this? What drove me to this? What entity plucked at the strings in my brain, to make me leap onto Vaas and… cry into him? This was insanity.
Two hands gently cupped the sides of Katerina’s beaten face and lifted her from Vaas’ chest. Vaas held her face in his palms and frowned. “I thought I told you not to talk to anyone,” he sighed with a smile.
“I didn’t.” Katerina quickly objected, his voice cracked from her whines.
“I know, I know, calm down. Don’t hurt yourself…anymore.”
Vaas sighed and so did Katerina. She sulked, wincing at the pain in her face, it still continued to bleed and Katerina just began to notice that. She gaged and rushed her hand to her nose.
“Fuck!” Vaas spat, hauling Katerina to her feet as she bowed her head in the direction of the floor, blood dripping from her face onto the grass. “No! No!” Vaas snapped, shaking his head and lifting her head upwards. “You’ve fuckin’ busted your nose…”
“I didn’t…”
“Shut up and keep your head down. Pinch your nose here.” Taking Katerina’s hand he directed her to the bridge of her nose, in which she did as instructed. He then quickly ripped off his shirt and crumpled it into a ball, and gently placed it over her nose. She yelped but grasped the shirt anyway, and kept it pressed against her nose. “Keep that there to stop the bleeding,” he ordered, his voice low and stern. He smiled and said in a jollier tone, “you already got blood on it.”
She tried to laugh but only managed to muster a small, silent snigger that was overpowered by a yelp of pain. Vaas grimaced, his eyebrows arching over his eyes as he bit onto his tongue. “Fuckin’ hell.” He muttered under his breath, as he began marching away. “Stay there!” he called, his voice still riled and displeased. Where would she go?
O.o Liked this chapter? Did you expect the sudden acts of compassion to come from Vaas? Please tell me in the comments! Like always thank you all for reading! Love you all! xx