Chapter 3: Whispers of the Darkness

4 hours until The END

Candle ran and ran, guided by the stars that seemed especially bright tonight. Only the thoughts of comforting Nami and Nojiko lived in his heart, and the aching of his body from non stop running was completely ignored.

As he reached the frontier of Cocoyasi Village, he heard roars of laughter, but the sounds were heavier than what any human should be able to make. Torches appeared from darkness, and through the sinister laughters, he heard a very familiar scream.

"Nami!?" Candle couldn't think anymore. His adrenaline was at its peak, and he ran towards the red flickering flames. Then he found her, her beautiful peach skin covered in brown dirt and purple bruises, and white tears rushing down from her eyes. Her wrists were chained by cruel ropes and around her stood gigantic creatures he had only seen in books.

"Let go of Nami you freaks!"

Candle shouted at the fisherman pirates, and they took notice of a small caramel boy hidden in shadows and covered in sweat. Arlong seemed to rejoice in the intruder of their celebration walk, unlike others who was annoyed by the human boy.

"Candle…? Run away! Don't come!" Nami couldn't understand why the boy was in Cocoyasi Village bridge, an hour away from his own Nicebview village, but she couldn't bear the fear of the fishermen. If they took down her mother, a former marine and the strongest woman she knew, in a flash, they would have no trouble with a small 8 years old boy. But Candle didn't run back like he was told. Instead, he picked up a stick and poised to fight for her freedom.

"Nami, you have a shining knight coming for your rescue!" Arlong spoke in ridicule then laughed with sinister eyes and even darker intent. "Now that he came uninvited to join our celebration, we should treat him right, what do you think boys?"

"Use him as a hostage for his village boss" One of the fisherman suggested and Arlong nodded in agreement.

"NO!" Nami screamed, but it was drowned by the laughter of the pirates.

"Which village are you from boy"

Arlong sized Candle and demanded with his shark eyes while staring down.

"No." Candle froze in terror as arlong's piercing eyes stunned his feet, but his mind buzzed endlessly.

"Nowhere...I'm from nowhere... I'm an orphan!"

Arlong's lip curved up in joy as his hands snatched the boy by his small neck.

"Then I guess no one will miss ya filthy human boy!"

"No!" Nami jumped on Arlong's arm and bit into his blue skin.

The shark fisherman chucked Nami away like a toy and chuckled.

"We're going to take this piece of garbage with us men. She seems to be important to our navigator-in-training so let's treat him well yeah?"

Candle felt a shuddering sensation down his spine as he get clubbed by a fisherman in his head, and fell unconscious on the muddy ground.


Morning of The END

"Greetings, filthy villagers of Niceview, my name is Arlong and I came here to personally congratulate your membership into my empire. Since I am kind and benevolent to unlike your species, I will charge only 100 thousand belis for adults and 50 for the kids."

Arlong and his pirates came down to Niceveiw village by the sunrise, and the sky was crimson and ominous by the time of his arrival. Bathed in crimson light, Arlong's usual blue skin looked black purple. Only the villagers who took their private boats had managed to escape. The boat that carried majority of the population was cutoff by hidden fishermen, waiting at their escape route.

Seaweed family had searched for Candle all night but couldn't find him. They were trying to think for the best, believing that either he took shelter in a neighbouring village or he escaped with the lucky ones.

Arlong snickered in triumph as he continued.

"By the way, I have found an orphan yesterday night on my walk."

One of the fishermen held up a broken body drenched in blood and mud.

"Candle! Oh My Baby!"

Mrs. Seaweed cried as the sun revealed open mouthed Candle. The glasses of his spectacles were broken, and he was missing couple of teeth along with a broken jaw.

"Ah, so someone you know? Well he used his foul mouth to turn my navigator on me."

Arlong smiled at Nami who stood by him, and the crowd gasped in surprise at the sudden reveal. Mrs. Seaweed fell to the floor losing her concious.

"You may buy his life for five times the price: 200 thousand beris!"

Mr. Seaweed screamed in rage as he charged at Arlong. He was easily rammed to the floor by a black haired fishermen and put into a chokehold.

"First attack, I'll give you grace. Second is death."

Arlong spoke coldly, looking down at his attacker.

The villagers murmured but avoided any of Seaweed family's gaze. They all pitied, but no one had 250 million belis to cover for Candle, .

Candle shook in shock. The fisherman kept tapping at his gun, grinning widely at him.

"We have the money. Spare our grandson. We don't have the money for our selves though." Soft and slow voice broke the silence, and the crowd made way for two Seaweed elders.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" Candle broke free and ran into the arms of his grandparents.

"So you're saying there's no money for you two old. Farts?"

"That's right" Mrs. Elder Seaweed smiled.

"Don't cry now candle. You're looking ugly with those snots all over you" Mrs. Elder Seaweed brought her hands and gently wiped Candle's nose.

"Blah blah blah, you take too long"

A gunshot deafened the ears, then the lifeless body of Mrs. Elder Seaweed fell on the floor.

Before the crowd had time to react to the horror, another gunshot dropped Mr. Elder Seaweed on the floor. Candle frantically shouted for help, trying to plug the holes in his grandparents' heads.

"Don't you dare touch my navigator" Arlong laughed as the whole village mourned. "I don't even want to be part of you murderers." Nami shouted in disgust and tears as she tried to scratch every fishermen around her.

"And who will take your side?"

Arlong whispered in Nami's ears, and Nami froze at the sight of Niceview villagers. In front of the crushing strength of the savage pirates, all the villagers dodged Nami's eyes. Predicament was clear. Ignore the orange hair girl unless you wanted to pay with blood and tears.


"You're a murderer"

Mr. Seaweed venomously spat every word to eight years old Candle, who came up to his hips.

"You killed your grandfather, grandmother. You filthy murderer!"

A glass cup flew by candle and shattered in pieces by the wall behind him.

"If you hadn't gone for that miserable orphan girl, they would still be here!"

Mrs. Seaweed sat silently beside her husband, hands folded. Little Candie hid in his room and sobbed quietly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry dad."

Candle cried and begged for mercy at the feet but he was shrugged of like garbage.

"Do you know why we moved here? So your grandparents could enjoy comfortable noiseless life! Not for you, not for me, for them!"

Mr. Seaweed screamed at the shacking boy, then smashed another glass of bottle by the wall.

"All I asked from you was to study a little and please them! Was that so hard? Was that so hard you heartless murderer?"

Every word cut candle like a knife but Mr. Seaweed didn't stop.

"Get out of my house. Criminals are unwanted here."

Mr. Seaweed grabbed Candle then kicked open the door, and tossed him on the other side of it. Then the door slammed on the little boy and the thundering weather.


Genzo, the police cheif's veins nearly popped as he found another child knocking by his door. Ever since Arlong's conquest, there have been casualties, mainly to demonstrate his power over their lives. And he had been accepting orphans into his home.

"My parents... When they said they wouldn't hand over a penny to the pirates...they just shot them...My Parents!"

Bob was in tears as he wailed with his story, and he almost choked on his own tears.

"They are the richest of Fatview village, and just shot them..."

Bob's eyes spaced out, and he kept mumbling 'Shot them' over and over again. Genzo was the police chief of Cocoyasi Village, but his house was rather modest. Now, it was proving to be to small to serve as an orphanage.

Under Arlong's control, meetings between villagers became closely monitored. But after witnessing the killing of Bell-mere, every Cocoyasi villagers felt vengeance fuel their wounded hearts. The kidnapping of Nami even after the payment with Bell-mere's life was the boiling point. The villagers held a secret meeting that very night. Under the crusade for Nami, they devised plans of rebellion that may even call the entire island to arms.


Candle pulled himself up from the floor of Genzo's house, dodged Bob and other orphans who have been fighting for spaces in the tight living room, and staggered into the kitchen. He fingered for the knife he had eyed earlier on in the day. His fingers recognized the hilt, and he drew it from the cutting board. Candle didn't hesitate. He pressed it by his wrist, then dragged it deeply across his veins. He dropped the knife as he felt the warm liquid drip down his elbow. His legs gave in and his head hung back, leaning against the kitchen cabinet. Suddenly, Candle realized that his eyelids became extremely heavy to hold, and he didn't resist its fall. The moon shone brilliantly like always, but the light didn't reach Candle beneath the cabinet under the window. And Candle drifted away, by the whispers of the darkness.

The END