~O, Beloved Daughter~1068Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXapiBevGH
1068Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIDS04eOlh
For only being 7 in the morning, the sun was already high in the sky. The rays baked the crew as they stood gathered on the deck, waiting for Law and Bepo to return with the captives. Determination and cold indifference was all Summer could see in the faces of her nakama.
Jean Bart stood beside her, towering above everyone else with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Penguin and Shachi were leaning against the railing with their heads down. Reid and Liam were still in the infirmary, neither of them having woken up yet. Scott had his hands stuffed in his pockets as he lazily wandered the small area by the door.
Summer shifted on her feet, glancing over the endless expanse of ocean around them. What was taking them so long? An awkward cough broke the silence, but nobody said anything.
Suddenly the door burst open and Law strode out, nodachi leaned up against his shoulder and his left hand in his pocket. Behind him walked Scarlet, though at this point it was really hard to tell.
Her face was so bloodied and bruised that she was hardly recognizable as the rich, vain woman they had kidnapped less than 48 hours ago. Her black sequined dress was gone, replaced with a ragged brown shirt and grey, loose-fitting pants that didn't reach her ankles. Numerous cuts and gashes marked her arms and legs, many of them inflamed with infection. Narrowing her eyes, Summer thought she saw singe marks across her face. It looked like sections of her hair had been burned, the tips matted in black soot.
Behind her walked Kat, completely untouched. Her porcelain skin was still as pale as the day she had been brought aboard. Her mouth was down turned in a small frown, her brows furrowed in thought. Today, the two women were polar opposites of their normally boisterous selves. Summer almost laughed.
Bepo brought up the rear, holding a blanket and pistol in his hands. Summer thought the bear would have been uneasy about doing this, but he didn't look concerned or anxious. In fact, he looked just as set as Law.
The captain stopped in front of the railing, where down below a yellow inflatable raft had been tied to the edge. It rocked lazily on the waves. Locking eyes with David, one of the engineers, he nodded and the subordinate threw a rope ladder over the side where it landed in the raft below.
Summer watched as Law turned and surveyed his crew, his eyes finally coming to rest on the two women. "Kat-ya." He said. The girl looked up in surprise.
"While you did not have a hand in the kidnapping of my men, your fate aboard this submarine has already been decided. You cannot remain on this vessel, and as such you and your mother will be set adrift in the ocean. We cannot give you food or water, but you will be given a blanket and a pistol with two shots."
Bepo stepped towards the girl, holding out the provisions. She slowly took them without a word. Her face hadn't changed.
"Mrs. Winslow-ya." He said, to which the woman physically flinched. Summer raised a brow, wondering just how much her time with Law the night before had affected her. The red head recoiled away from him, barely making eye contact. However, the captain didn't smirk like Summer thought he would at her display of weakness.
"This is your death sentence. You will not survive on this ocean with the condition you are in. There is no guarantee your daughter will either, but she has a small chance."
"Yes." She croaked in response, her pride and ego thoroughly crushed.
"They say starvation and dehydration is one of the worst ways to die." Law continued, his eyes narrowing in anger. "For your sake, I hope that's true." He then nodded towards the ladder and the two women slowly shuffled forward.
Scarlet had a difficult time making her way downwards, but Summer knew that nobody would jump to aid her down to what was essentially her coffin. David, however, did offer Kat a hand up the railing. Summer knew David only a little, but she knew his honor as a man prevented him from withholding that small courtesy. Kat didn't meet his eyes and quickly descended the ladder into the raft below.
Tendrils of hair blew into Summer's face and she realized that the wind had picked up. At a word from Law, David untied the rope holding the raft to the railing and everyone watched as the yellow vessel slowly drifted away from their submarine. Summer expected to see Kat watching the crew, but the girl's head was turned away.
"Be ready to submerge in five minutes!" Law shouted, prompting everyone into action. Men filed back inside the sub and Law disappeared with Bepo inside. Jean Bart and her stayed back, waiting for the crowd to thin before they moved.
"You do not look satisfied." The ex-captain commented, startling Summer out of her thoughts. She looked up in surprise and lifted an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"You have wanted to be rid of her since her arrival. So why are you still uneasy?" She pursed her lips and sighed. To be honest, she really wasn't altogether sure herself. There was just this...feeling that something still wasn't right.
'Am I still jealous for some reason?' She wondered. Law had already stated he had and wanted nothing to do with Kat, so shouldn't that stop her from feeling that way? The girl was gone now, so she wouldn't have to deal with her incessant talking and endless questions. That stress was alleviated. So what was it?
'Trust your instincts.' Something inside of her whispered. 'They will guide your way.'
She still hadn't answered the navigator's question. Realizing this, she shook her head slowly. "I'm not really sure. It just doesn't feel like anything has really ended...you know?"
He eyed her evenly, thinking about his response before he stated it. "No, I do not fully understand. She has been set adrift and we will be submerging. We won't see her again."
He gestured to the door, which had now mostly cleared of men. The two headed inside. Summer didn't say anything, not wanting to express to the wise giant of a man that she definitely had her doubts.
Kat watched her mother without interest as she tried to use a tip of the blanket dipped in the water to clean off her face. Each touch had her wincing and hissing in pain.
"Those bastards." She said, trying once again to wash the blood out of her horrid clothing.
Kat said nothing, looking out over the ocean in thought. The submarine had dipped below the waves in a frothy white foam a few hours ago. Now what was one to do? Her mother's voice broke her concentration.
"Katrina, dear, they didn't hurt you did they? I swear, if they touched y-"
"I'm fine." She replied, cutting off her worried mother quickly. Scarlet sat wide eyed, silenced by her daughter's sharp retort. However, her forehead creased once again in worry. There were several minutes of uneasy silence, punctuated by the gulls cawing overhead. Kat squinted in the sun, trying to see the birds circling their raft in curiosity.
"I've missed you since you-" Kat glared back, effectively stopping the beaten woman in her tracks. However, the end of conversation didn't last too long.
"You don't seem yourself, Katrina. I bet those shameless pirates brainwashed my little angel with their-"
"Please, stop." Kat said. Her patience was really starting to thin.
"But I worry about you! Don't go down the same path as your delinquent sister! I can't imagine how cruel it must have been to-"
"I've had enough of you."
The last thing Scarlet Winslow registered was the detached, uncaring demeanor on her daughter's face before the sound of the gunshot ended her consciousness. The whole in her head slowly leaked blood, and her eyes glazed over. Her body stayed upright for only a moment before falling backwards into the ocean.
Lowering her arm, Kat ejected the used bullet and loaded the last one. Realizing the blanket was in danger of sliding into the water with her mother's body, she quickly grabbed it and yanked. What had been holding on her mother's legs came free and she watched as her corpse sank down into the depths below.
Setting the pistol to the side, she searched her jacket pockets for the small personal den den mushi she carried. Quickly punching in the number she wanted, she waited.
Purupurupuru...purupurupurupuru...puru...gatcha…
"Who the hell is this? What do you want?" An angry voice answered. Kat smiled brightly.
"Hiya sis!" On the other end, she heard a heavy sigh and the shuffling of clothing.
"Damn it all…" Her sister muttered. "Why don't you put a bullet in your head and die already?"
"Haha, you've always been hilarious, sis! Anyways, things have changed! Where are you guys at?"
She heard her take a long drag of her cigarette and she pouted." Hey, don't tell me you're still smoking those things? You know they're bad for you!"
"This is me not giving a shit." She sneered. "We're on Ignis, dumbass."
"Alright! I'll get to see you soon then! Will you tell Magneson that I need a lift? I'm kinda stuck in the middle of nowhere right now!" She giggled, causing her sister to sigh once more.
"Whatever, I'll tell him if I feel like it. Now hang up and go to hell."
"Alrighty! Love you too sis! Bye!" She hung up and put the snail phone away, making sure not to lose it.
Folding up the blanket, she placed it at one end of the boat and lay her head on it. Closing her eyes, she sighed in comfort. All she had to do now was wait.
ns 15.158.61.54da2
