Holas. Thanks again for the wonderful reviews. Major thanks to JJ for not only the shoutouts but her help with this story. I am rather indecisive in case I didn't mention that before. And Sybele, I know how much you are adoring Scotty and to be honest, he was only ever included as a supporting character for Benny at the camp. But the love has grown I see (I too have taken a fond liking to that shmexy man) and I am proud to say that his last appearance was not seen in the last chapter, nor will it be in this one. You will see him later on too, and, just because he is loved now, we dedicate this chapter to him, so, a lot of Scotty here for his fans. Love you all. Also, I found the perfect likeness for his physical appearance, though slightly modded by yours truly: Josh Holloway's character Sawyer from Lost, (I've recently started to finish the series on Netflix) I just gave him a little bit of a touch, and removed the Georgian accent for Texan. Yums. Anyways...here you go, some Scotty memories :)
I do not own Far Cry 3 (dammit) or Vaas (Dammit) but people I do own include Benny, Scotty, Mango, Timmy, Luis, Manny, Pierre, slightly Carlos I guess, Molotov Man, and future characters such as Brandon and Pyro. Alrighty then.
Prepare for Scotty memory/dream sequences of war and returns home. Lassie moments, Citra (blegh), Dennis playing dentist, and Benny's utter stupidity. Enjoy :)
Extras: Find the quote Benny says and name it. Kudos and brownie points and cookies if you do ;) Prolly shoulda done that in earlier chapter too :/ ...oh well! If you choose not to I will feel regretful for even mentioning it.
Warnings: I had a hard time writing Scotty's emotions out in this chapter. Let's just say he was a good boy gone bad. I had an even harder time writing out the second part of this chapter. Lets just say I was horribly raped by it.
Fun Fact: The white straps Vaas wears around his chest are an allusion to the three white stripes worn by generals. Huzzah, now my life is freakin' complete.
Fun Fact #2: I utterly enjoyed writing out Dennis and Vaas in this chapter. I mean, if I could, I would probably write them arguing all day at each other. Also, I do believe that Dennis would indeed play a dentist if he was given the opportunity...so I gave him one :) I mean :( Ah fuck, I enjoy torturing people :/
XXX
Strange Waters
Chapter 9
Monster-Boondox
XXX
He slammed his fist into the man's jaw a fifth time, hearing teeth crack and watching blood spew from the Afghani's mouth. His knuckles were stained with the red substance; some of it had sprayed onto his face and into his hair, the short blonde strands sticking together from the blood. The Afghani still managed a chuckle through bloody teeth and spewed another foreign insult the American's way. "You killed them!" Scotty shouted, fingers latched around the other man's throat as he held him against the wall. "You slaughtered them in cold blood!" He threw another punch and the Afghani was forced to take it, his hands bound behind his back tightly. He chuckled again at the blonde.
"Is that what you call it?" he said in English, a humor in his dark eyes. "Slaughter?" Another punch, then another, then he was thrown to the floor, the blonde soldier straddling his chest.
"That's exactly what I call it," Scotty growled, teeth bared as he sent a flurry of punches to the Afghani's face, blood splattering his clothes and face. When the dark man's face was disfigured with lumps and red liquid, Scotty stopped, his breathing heavy as he loomed over his prisoner, blue eyes darkening with rage. "Your fucking god tell you to kill innocent women and children?"His glare was hard, his face contorted in fury. "Hah!? You think he justifies you!" He punched the man's jaw again, hearing a tooth dislodged from his gums.
The Afghani still smiled through red teeth and split lips, laughing up at his assailant. "You Americans," he spat, blood spilling from his mouth as he spoke. "Think of yourselves as righteous and good, butting into others' affairs...no wonder the world hates you." He laughed again, a lengthy hysterical laugh that surged an animalistic rage through the soldier and he pulled a pistol on the beaten man, digging the barrel into his temple. Still the darker man laughed. "Do it," he goaded, smiling still, dark eyes boring humorously into the blackening blue of the man above him. "Pull the trigger. Do it, and I'm sure your own God will justify your actions. If he doesn't, there's no doubt your President will." Scotty pulled the gun back to cock it, and held it once again to the other's head.
"Don't think I won't! Don't think I'm some pitiful hero here to show you mercy! I will fucking do it! I will kill you, just like you killed them!" His finger vibrated against the trigger, his lips trembled, and his shoulders shook with the flurry of emotions passing through his being. "I am NOT merciful!"
The Afghani continued to laugh, his body jittering with each chuckle and Scotty felt his grip tighten on the gun. "What will you do when you kill me? Go home, feel proud of yourself, thinking you did the right thing," another chuckle, "while your brother is in your home, fucking your wife on your kitchen table!"
Scotty screamed, his emotions overpowering his better judgment, and he slammed the butt of the gun into the man's forehead. He did it again and again and again, until blood spilled from the open wounds, coating the stone floor, his hands, his face, his gun...Scotty's body shook fervently, his anger washing over his body in a flood of blood. His blue eyes glared down, to the dead man below him, his shaking hand, and the loaded gun. He had done this. He had done this. He had killed this man. It felt good; he had done it with just cause. This man would never hurt anyone ever again. He would never put another family through the fury of hell... And then another sensation washed through him; a sudden realization of what he had done. He had done this. He had done this. He had killed this man. It was no longer enough to satisfy him. He needed to find the others. He needed to kill them all...
"Scotty! Scotty! We gotta go!"
The screeching of the metal door attacked his eardrums, and he screamed again, huddling over the dead man's corpse, hugging himself, his gun still clutched tightly in his hand as he started to rock back and forth. Something was moving inside of him, he could feel it. It clawed at his heart, grabbing it with spindly fingers and squeezing with all its might.
"Scotty! Come on man! We gotta go now! NOW!"
The scream that escaped him echoed through the room, bouncing off the stone walls and engulfing the room in a murderous touch. Tears spilled from his eyes, losing themselves in the fresh blood and sweat on his cheeks as his body continued to rack and the desert sun flew in through the open door and wrapped itself around his body, enveloping him in its warm rays as he closed his eyes tightly, blinded.
Bright blue opened to another world. A world far from the gun shots, explosions, and bloodshed. A familiar world. He was home. He knew this; the two story house before him welcoming and subtle. He breathed and smiled. "I'm home..." eyes scanned the mowed lawn, the tire swing hanging from the tall Oak in his front yard, the horses in the pasture whinnied and neighed and their hooves thudded on the green earth. "I'm home," he repeated, a sense of peace wrapping around his body as he smiled, relieved. "It's over..." he ran to the front steps, jumping over them and onto the porch, past the lounge swing and he burst through the door, wide smile gracing his features as he walked through the house. The peace was in the air, warm light embracing his home's interior. Scotty's fingers traced over pictures hung on the wall; two small blonde haired blue eyed girls, his daughters, his life.
"Sam! Sam!" He yelled through the house, skipping around the furniture in search for the woman he dedicated his life to, whom he had taken to the prom, who had shown up to all his football games, who said 'I do' with a pleasant truthfulness in her voice he could have never doubted. "Sam, hun, I'm back! Sam!" He ran past the stairway, hopping over misplaced Barbie dolls and plastic tea cups. "Sam?" There was a sudden emptiness in the air, and his smile was quickly replaced by a frown as he approached the door. Its once light blue color paint was slowly cracking and decaying. "Sam?" There was a worry in his voice...what was wrong? Something had happened. "Hun?" His voice cracked as he placed a shaky hand on the decaying door, pushing it in slowly, his breathing stopping slightly and a lump formed in his throat.
The sight before him had him frozen, hand stuck to the door as he stood, his heart pounding against his chest, ready to burst right out. His breathing caught at the sight; his wife, the woman he swore his life to, in sickness and in health, to death do they part, was on her back on their kitchen table, his Cowboys jersey that she loved to wear around the house was hiked up to her neck, and her bare legs wrapped around the shirtless body above her. Scotty shook his head furiously, trying to back away from the scene, but his feet remained planted, and his heart wrenched and shook. "Sam..."
The blonde head of his brother was buried in his wife's neck, his fingers squeezing her thighs and causing moans to escape her lips as she raked her nails through his short hair. "Shaun?" Scotty squeaked, gulping down the lump and finally remembering to breathe. His breaths were short though, and ragged, like his lungs were being squeezed in a vice. The hazel eyes of his brother looked upon him with humor, as did the light brown of his wife. "Wha-what are you doin'?" his voice was a whisper and his breathing hitched, sobs finding themselves in his throat.
"What does it look like," came a condescending voice that he hadn't ever heard his younger sibling use. "I'm fuckin' your wife," he said with a toothy smile and continued to pound into the woman below him, her pleasurable moans echoing throughout the room and screeching against Scotty's eardrums like nails on a chalkboard.
Rage filled the man, and he saw nothing but red, nothing but the blood that splattered on the walls and floor following the loud bang of a shotgun. His hands trembled with the heavy weapon in his grasp, foggy eyes catching on the blood and brain matter splattered on the wall, and his wife, Sam, screamed, leaning over the dead body of his brother and pulling at her hair. "What have you done, Scotty? What have you done!" She leaped at him, pinning him against the wall and pounding on his chest with closed fists. "You're a monster," she seethed, glaring at the man before her with a new found hatred.
Scotty found his hands around her throat, squeezing the air out from her lungs as she kicked and clawed at him. His anger rose, that wrenching at his heart tearing at the organ and he felt it collapse inside of him, leaving nothing but an empty, black, inky thing in its wake. "Why? Why!" he screamed, tightening his grip and pushing heavily on her jugular, watching as her eyes began to roll back into her head. "Why! Why did you do it! Why!"
"Dude I just wanted some smokes!" Scotty's eyes blinked, the world around him slowly melting into a place of another familiarity. The outpost he shared with half a dozen other men, and his eyes shot around its interior, the tin roof and walls and wooden windows, the metal framed cots strewn around the room, personal belongings piled under them, and Lupo, cowering under his grasp on the floor. "Come on, brother..." he wheezed, prying at the blonde man's hands with desperate fingers.
Scotty shook his head, getting his bearings, and let go, realizing he was no longer where he had thought he'd been. Lupo took in lungfuls of air, coughing and rubbing his sore throat as the blonde man pulled off of him, leaning back against his cot and running his hands through his hair, sighing. "You have that crazy dream again?" Lupo coughed out, and took to sitting on his knees before the other man. Scotty's only response was another sigh and he rubbed at his eyes. "Christ, brother, you need to quit that shit," he said, flipping long dreadlocks back behind his head and managed a chuckle.
"The fuck did you want?" Scotty asked, annoyed at the dark skinned man before him. Lupo, or as Benny had often called him Molotov Man, was always good at being a nuisance, especially around Scotty. The darker man, whose ethnicity Scotty couldn't even begin to determine from the man's accent—he guessed at one point some kind of mixture of Scottish, Hispanic, and maybe something African—had a habit of always either asking for his cigarettes, or just taking them in his sleep like he had tried now. He also had a habit of punching the Southern man in the arm, ruffling his hair, or throwing an arm around his shoulders while he talked to him. He was annoying, and Scotty wasn't the fondest of him.
"I just wanted some smokes, man. No need to strangle me for 'em. Sorry..."
"The fuck you always gotta have my cigarettes, huh?" Scotty asked, agitated. The dream was still slowly fading from his memory the more he conversed with the living world, and he was thankful for the distractions, even if they did come from Lupo.
"Spilled beer all over mine...Just wanted one, that's it, just one," he explained, holding up a finger to signify his 'one' cigarette. "Mine are still dryin' outside."
"Fuck," Scotty muttered, once again running his hands over his face, feeling the sweat drenching the roots of his hair and his brow. He lay his elbows on his knees as he lent his head back, staring tiredly at the tin ceiling of the shanty, thoughts and memories muddling together inside his head. He vaguely remembered most of his past; he had pushed those memories far back into the recesses of his mind, hoping that they would eventually disappear. He preferred the company of more recent memories these days, though they were more violent and bloody than previous ones, there were still a few that reminded him that he was still human. A more recent one of a certain brown haired, green eyed she-wolf moaning and groaning beneath him and clawing at his back flooded his thoughts and tingled his abdomen. Wonder when I'll see her again, he thought, sighing up to the ceiling and whirring his lips. He glimpsed down to his shoulder where a very prominent bite mark still graced his skin and he felt his dick twitch between his legs. They'd have to do that again sometime.
"So...can I have one?" Lupo's voice sounded, pulling Scotty from rather pleasant thoughts.
Scotty growled inwardly and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, lighting one up for himself, Lupo looking at him pleadingly. He rolled his eyes and leant back again, blowing out a puff of smoke to the ceiling. "No," he stated nonchalantly, and dragged from the cigarette again. Lupo for the most part, looked absolutely heartbroken and he whined aloud.
"Come on, brother, just one, that's all-"
"Look I got one fucking pack left and I ain't too keen on sharin' alright. Go ask someone else," and with this he waved the man off, dragging again and blowing the smoke out through his nose as the other man refused to leave. "I said get!"
"No one else will give me any," he said, shrinking away from the angering Texan.
"Wonder why," Scotty muttered, blowing out another plume of smoke.
"What was that?" Lupo asked, rising to his feet and gazing out the open door.
"What was what?" Scotty said glaring over towards the darker skinned man. He became aware of the anxious barking of a dog in the camp and listened intently to determine whether it was a dingo or some kind of rabid wild dog. The barking continued.
"Mate, that's Vinnie," Lupo exclaimed and hopped out of the shanty, Scotty quickly rising to his feet to follow the Molotov Man.
"The fuck is Vinnie doin' here?" He squinted his eyes in the bright rays of the sun as he followed the other male to the center of the camp where there was indeed a Vinnie, hopping around the men and barking insistently.
"What is it, boy?" Lupo asked the dog, as if said dog were capable of human speech. "Is little Timmy stuck in the well?"
"Perro Timmy 'sta aqui," Luis said, looking at the Molotov man with much curiosity. Why would Little Tim be stuck in a well. Could the man even fit in a well? That would explain a situation where the giant of a man would be stuck in a well.
"Haven't you ever seen Lassie, brother?" Lupo said with a smirk, and the dog barked once again, agitated with these humans already. Couldn't they see that he was calling for their help?
"I'm surrounded by fuckin' morons," Scotty grumbled, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head. "Somethin's obviously happened, alright? I mean do you see Benny or Vaas anywhere around?" he asked the men with a sneer, and their puzzled looks only shocked the Southern man. "Idiots." He made his way to the biggest shack, knowing full well that Timmy had bedded down for the remainder of the morning. The large brute wouldn't be happy with Scotty's waking of the man, but that was a chance Scotty was willing to take as he burst through the door. "Timmy, we got trouble-" he paused mid-sentence to eye the giant sitting on his bed, back to the wall as he read from a book, the binding ripped and the cover creased in several places. He seemed well into the story. "Are you reading Of Mice and Men?"
Timmy glared harshly at the blonde man intruding his privacy and grunted at him, quickly laying the book down beside him, away from the Texan's sight. "What is it?" he growled, and pulled himself to sit on the edge of the bed, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. Really he should have been sleeping but good books were hard to come across on this island, and they didn't stay intact very long either.
"You ain't heard the barkin'? Vinnie's outside...I think somethin' musta happened," he explained warily, keeping to sticking by the door frame. "Benny and Vaas and Mango ain't here with him. They musta run into some trouble."
The large man grunted in response and pulled himself to his feet, grabbing his assault rifle from the table and shoved past Scotty as he made his way to the middle of the camp, watching the dog jump on his paws frantically trying to get the pirates' attentions. They needed to move their asses and go save the others! Timmy observed the canine, his barking a constant noise as he bounced around, running to the gates of the camp and back, paws covered in mud and slight foliage. "I told you," Scotty's voice sounded behind the man and he turned to the blonde, ever present scowl on his face. "Somethin' bad's happened. Think we should go check it out." Scotty bit his lip nervously after Timmy offered nothing but a scowl, as usual. The larger man heaved a sigh.
"Alright, you and Lupo come with me. We're gonna go see what we can find," he ordered, and Scotty and Lupo set off to acquire weapons as Timmy then turned to the remaining pirates. "The rest of you stay here in case they show up. I'll let you know if we find anything, and you do the same." The pirates nodded at the order and within minutes Timmy, Scotty, Lupo and Vinnie set off in the jeep, a strange feeling coming over Scotty as they rolled from the camp. Shrug it off man, just shrug it off.
A good twenty minutes in there was a pulsing beat reverberating through the jungle and Scotty narrowed his eyes through the trees. "What's that?" It sounded faintly like music, but the tones were muffled by the dense jungle and Timmy continued to steer the jeep along the road, eyes searching over the tree lines for any signs of his leader or the other two...
"Is that their truck?" came Lupo as he stood in his seat, hanging onto the roll cage as he gazed ahead of them. "It is! There on the bridge!"
The jeep stopped and the men surveyed the wreckage. The loud pounding of the music blared through the truck's speakers as it hung precariously over the side of the bridge, Scotty's shotgun that he had given to Benny flung from the vehicle and laying in the middle of the bridge. Scotty picked up the weapon, gazing over the gun as he furrowed his brow, frowning. What had happened? Vinnie the dog wandered around the site, nose stuck to the ground as he sniffed around for any scents that might lead him to his master. Lupo ejected the CD from the player, silencing the vehicle, should the music draw in any unwanted guests. Scotty glanced over the side of the bridge, seeing nothing but the river water below and then...what was that? That was... "Fuck," he muttered, blue eyes widening at the sight of a lifeless crocodile, its body half on the shore, and a knife imbedded into its skull. "The hell happened?"
"Two sets of tire tracks," Timmy announced, walking over the tracks in the dirt and scanning his eyes over the roads. "Looks like their tail end was hit," he said, pointing his gun to the downed truck, the left back end of the vehicle smashed and disfigured.
"Gee, you think," Scotty said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes to the sky. Obviously the truck had been hit by the image of the damage on it.
Timmy ignored the man's sarcasm. "Bunch of footprints leadin' into the jungle. Looks like a bunch of natives...maybe Mango or Benny too, considerin' the boot prints."
"I'll check it out," Scotty said, unholstering a pistol and slinging the shotgun over his shoulder. "Vinnie!" he whistled for the dog and the pitbull sauntered alongside the Southern man, nose stuck to the ground again as it sniffed out anything of familiarity. A few minutes into the jungle and Vinnie barked, encouraging the blonde man to jog after the dog, that worrying sense coursing through his body again. He found the dog sniffing around a flattened area of earth, the evidence of life stomping on the grass alerting Scotty that something bad had definitely happened, especially when he knelt down beside the dog as it barked to the ground. There was a shimmering black against the green of the grass and Scotty recognized it right away. "Shit." He picked up the throwing knife, examining it, and noticing that there wasn't a speck of blood on it, ground his teeth together. Shit had definitely gone down, and now his comrades were in trouble. Fucking great.
"Timmy!" Timmy turned his attention from the river—he had caught the sight of the dead crocodile with the knife and thought over possibilities that would put the reptile in such a predicament—and he watched the Southerner bolt from the jungle, running over the parts of vehicular objects littering the road. "Timmy, I think they got 'em."
"Whose got who?" Lupo asked, watching the blonde man hold up the black throwing knife. Wait a minute. That was Benny's! Why the hell wasn't it with her?
"Who do you think's got who?" Scotty barked, gripping the knife in his hand and glaring at the other man. "Those Rakyat fucks! They got 'em. Benny and Vaas and Mango...we gotta do somethin'..."
"Wait, why would they take 'em?" Lupo interjected, waving his hands about. "I mean...wouldn't they just kill them? Why go through the trouble..."
"Come on Lupo, why do you think? Who the hells got the biggest vendetta on this island against Vaas? Hah?"
Lupo furrowed his eyebrows together in thought, biting his lip. "Don't tell me...I know this. I know this..."
Scotty growled out in agitation and spread his arms out for emphasis. "Citra, you fucking idiot!"
"Um...who was Citra again..."
"Oh my God," Scotty grabbed at his hair, trying his hardest not to shove the shotgun up this imbecile's ass and pull the trigger. "His fucking sister! Fuck..."
"Oooh, his sister...why didn't you just say so."
That's it. He was going to do it. He was going to shove that shotgun to the fucking trigger up this idiot's ass and watch the fucking fireworks. Thankfully, Vinnie's barking halted any action he was about to take on his dim-witted comrade and all three men turned their heads to the noisy canine as it wagged its tail and barked down a road that veered off the one across the bridge. The men made their way over to this road and Scotty narrowed his eyes down the path. The pirates avoided this road for one reason. It lead to a place swarming with armed warriors. "I don't get it," Lupo said, tilting his head at the road. "Why would they capture them? Why not just kill 'em and end it?"
"Cuz I'm sure, from what I've heard at least, that Citra wants Vaas all to herself."
"Then why take Mango and Benny?" Timmy asked, gesturing down the road with the assault rifle.
"How the fuck should I know? All I do know is that they have 'em, and we gotta save 'em."
Lupo shook his head. "Uh-uh, no way. Sorry brother, but my loyalty ends here. I'm not about to sacrifice my ass for some guy that threatens it on a regular basis."
"What!" Not that Scotty was necessarily suggesting that they risk their lives for Vaas. No his mind was on someone else. His subconscious began to scream obscenities at himself.
"He's right, Scotty," came Timmy's low voice and Scotty turned to him, blue eyes wide in surprise. "Vaas knew the risks of driving these roads."
"Timmy, they were captured. Don't think those native fuckers are merciful. Cuz they ain't. Remember what they did to Miko? Do you fucking remember?" Scotty didn't like to think of the time their former team member was dropped off at their camps gate, deep gashes in his body and entrails hanging from his abdomen. What was worse was that the Rakyat had left him alive, as some kind of threat or warning to the pirates perhaps. Granted he died hours later, but he suffered greatly...
"Yes! I remember, ain't hard to forget that shit. Which is exactly why we are not going after them."
Scotty glared up at the dark man, blue eyes cast over with a haze of anger. He opened his mouth to respond but Timmy cut him off. "It's every man for himself on this island. Vaas made that pretty clear. If they were captured then they're on their own. We can't help them." He nodded for Lupo to follow him to the jeep, but Scotty and Vinnie remained planted by the road, Vinnie whining and barking and Scotty glowering at the heavy man's back. "Scotty...don't try to do anything stupid. It's a fools errand if you try to rush in there." Scotty curled his lips in a scowl and glanced back at the road. Timmy was right, unfortunately. After all...Vaas wouldn't risk his hide for them...why should they?
A heavy sigh escaped the Southern man's lips and he brought his eyes away from the road before him, slumping his shoulders slightly. Any other time, he wouldn't give a damn about their leader, but it was the person with their leader that he was worried about...no he wasn't necessarily worried, but his subconscious was telling him otherwise. It told him that if he didn't do something to see to it that Benny was safe, he'd regret it. After all, it was hard to come by actual friends on this death trap of an island, and he was very grateful for her company... He shrugged it off though. There was honestly no point. Unless they got every single pirate on the island to help, there was no hope for their three captured comrades...unless we could sneak in somehow, he thought to himself. A fools errand indeed, but he had done more foolish things than sneak into enemy territory for an extraction. That was peanuts compared to the other foolish things he had done. "Come on, Vinnie," he said, tugging at the dog's studded collar. The dog whined in protest and struggled against the man's grasp. "Come on, boy. Ain't nothing we can do now."
Scotty stewed inside the shanty, mind racing over the events of the past month as he fiddled with the shells of the shotgun, unloading and reloading the gun in his lap. Honestly, it was the most eventful month he'd had on the island since his arrival here two years ago. Most of the time he just meandered around the outpost, doing this or that, taking watch, going on the occasional drug run, killing the occasional native, having sex with the occasional prostitute. But it all mulled together in the end and there was never any outcome of any sort, if there ever was one to begin with. Drink, smoke, snort, fuck, kill, repeat. After two years it turned into blah blah. Nothing was exciting anymore save for the occasional showdowns with native warriors. Every once in a while Vaas would grace their camp and voice his thoughts and opinions, sometimes bringing along a prisoner for the men to torment at their whim. Whenever the pirate lord was around, Scotty found himself partaking in more drugs than he usually would, if only to tolerate the unpredictable man's presence. On one particular night that Scotty to this day still tried to forget, Vaas had brought a native girl to the camp. Scotty remembered her black hair matted with dirt, her clothes torn and ripped, and her bare feet covered in mud and grass. She had run from the pirate lord, but Vaas always caught his prey. Always.
Scotty remembered the fear in those dark brown eyes when she was shoved through the camp, Vaas' laughter ever present behind her. It was the fifth of July, Scotty's birthday, and Vaas seemed to remember, that or he was very good at guessing, for he had shoved the struggling girl into the American's chest, announcing a 'Happy Birthday' and encouraging the man to partake in a little fun with the young girl.
Blue eyes narrowed at the memory. She couldn't have been any older than fifteen, and he swallowed at remembering just what it was he had done. It wasn't long after Vaas had introduced him to the girl that he left her to stand, alone inside the shanty, where he thought she would be safe, at least from the other men. He remembered Vaas announcing his present for Scotty to the other men, all of whom chuckled and waggled their eyebrows at the man. Scotty didn't think to do anything that night, until he had delved into a series of drugs. Cocaine and marijuana and alcohol ran through his system that night and his judgment dwindled. He found himself stumbling towards their sleeping quarters, his mind overtaken by a colorful light that sent him on a high he hadn't experienced for a long while. He was giddy, happy, and horny. What he did afterward, to that girl in this very building he sat in still plagued his mind to this day. And the thought of it sickened him as he reloaded the shotgun for the sixth time.
Lupo sat on his own cot, smoking on a wrinkly cigarette that tasted of beer, and played with one of his Molotovs, spinning it around in his hand. "Sorry about Benny, brother," the mixed man said, dragging from his dry cigarette. "You two really clicked." And he accentuated his point by pounding his fists together. Scotty only sighed and fiddled with the gun some more. "Ya know, I'm gonna miss her always callin' me Molotov Man." He snickered at the thought and cast Scotty a genuine smile. Scotty took a glance at the man and sighed, getting to his feet and motioning for the Molotov man to follow.
"Come on, Lupo. We're leaving," he told him, casually as he opened the door.
"Where we goin?" Lupo asked, rising from his cot and following the blonde man as he strapped his Molotov back into place.
Scotty glanced around the camp, noticing his fellow pirates drinking and smoking and some even working, pulling pallets of drugs to the storage room. All in all...they seemed pretty busy. "Check out the crash some more," Scotty told him, shouldering the shotgun and heading for the jeep.
"Wait, what? What for?"
"See if we missed anything," Scotty barked behind him. Vinnie's barks started to sound out around the camp and the canine came prancing to the Southern man's side when he noticed the human heading for the jeep. The dog had been, for the most part, pitiful the past couple of hours since they had returned to the outpost. He lay at the foot of the deck, head in his paws with his ears drooped, a whine escaping now and then as his stark blue eyes scanned over the camp, as if hoping that at any minute, either someone was going to take action, or Vaas was going to appear out of thin air and erase his worry. Vinnie was happy that someone was going to take action.
"What could we have possibly missed?" Lupo asked as he joined the blonde man in the jeep, the dog quickly hopping up to sit between them, barking excitedly. Lupo shoved the dog over, muttering something under his breath about giving him some elbow room.
"I don't know," Scotty muttered, fiddling with the keys. Timmy said not to go after them, but...the dummy had left the keys in the ignition. If he thought Scotty wasn't going to see that as anything other than an opportunity, then he was sorely mistaken. "Somethin'. I mean...like you said. Why take Benny and Mango when all they need is Vaas, right?"
"Right..." The darker man bit at his thumbnail, hoping that Scotty wasn't about to do something that would get them killed.
As they coursed through the jungle, Lupo found himself a little on edge. He enjoyed a good fun time now and then, capturing tourists and killing Rakyat natives and getting high and all that jazz, but he wasn't so sure that looking around a car wreckage would turn out to be fun in the least. If anything, those Rakyat could be staking out the site, just waiting for them to come strolling in and then take them out. A knife to the gut didn't sound fun at all to the Molotov man and he swallowed. "You sure we might find something?" he asked, turning to the other man in the jeep. The blonde didn't respond right away, only tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "What if the Rakyat are staking that place out right now! I mean, we could be running into an ambush."
"If those guys are doing anything, it's celebratin'. They got Vaas right? No doubt a bunch of 'em are just waitin' to sink their teeth into him. If the stories about him and his sister are true, I doubt they'll want anything to do with us." Scotty tensed his shoulders, blue eyes darkening with a cold blood lust that he usually tried to hide inside of himself, never wanting that monster to rear its ugly head again. But his hold on it was slowly slipping, and he could feel it tearing away at him, trying to get out.
"But if they are waiting there, Scotty..." Lupo continued, flicking his nails against the lock on the door. "Then what?"
"Well if they are...we got guns," Scotty told him, a tiny smirk tugging at his lips.
"And so do they," Lupo ran a hand through his dreadlocks, blowing a breath out through pierced lips. "Brother if you think that we're in God's good graces here, I'd hate to break it to ya, but that motherfucker is going to make sure we go straight to Hell."
Scotty managed a scoff, smirk growing more prominent. "Already there, Lupo. In case you haven't noticed."
The darker man heaved a sigh and left the matter alone. The quicker they scoped out the wreckage the quicker they could go home and the quicker he could have a drink. They were coming upon the bridge pretty quick and Lupo grabbed for his gun, ready for any enemy to come rushing from the jungle when they stopped the jeep. But they didn't stop the jeep, and Lupo furrowed his brows in confusion. "What are you doin' brother?" He watched the blonde man swerve the truck off the bridge and onto the road leading towards the Rakyat's territory. Uh-oh, this was not good. "Are you fucking crazy, man!" He shouted to the Texan, head quickly whipping around from the tree lines, the crash site, and back to Scotty.
"Look, all I need to do, is just get inside the temple, that's all," Scotty stated, drumming his fingers against the wheel and glaring ahead to the road. That's all he needed to do, was get inside the temple, and get to Vaas. If he could do that...
"You are fuckin' crazy, man!" Lupo growled at him, suddenly feeling betrayed by his comrade. This man was going to get him killed. "You can't just storm the temple with a shotgun and a pistol and expect those asses to move out of your way! You're gonna get us both killed."
"Lupo, I said I need to get inside. I don't need to storm no nothin' to do that. I just need to get to Vaas."
"And what then? Huh? First off, how are you going to get inside? Second off," he scoffed and shook his head. "Even if you do get to Vaas, if they are even holding them there, how are you going to get out? And, what's Vaas gonna do about anything?"
Scotty sighed, and rubbed at his eyes once again, combing his fingers through his hair. "I know they got 'em there. Where else would they take a former member of theirs huh? As for Vaas...I don't know," he said, defeated. He took a breath and blew it out slowly, wondering just how fucked up he was thinking. You're gonna kill yourself. "I mean, he was one of 'em right? And if he was supposed to be their...freakin' leader or whatever, I don't know, maybe if I can get a gun in his hands..." he shook his head again, slapping the wheel with his hand. "Maybe they'll back off. I'd just need to get inside..."
"Alright, and how you gonna do that?" Lupo asked, pursing his lips and glaring at the man beside him. "Just Rambo your way in or something?"
"Well, that's where you come in," he said with a small smirk, eyeing the darker man.
Lupo's eyes widened. "Me! What the hell am I supposed to do?"
"You like to start fires right, Lupo?" He sent a knowing smile to the Molotov man, who answered with a shrug. He did like to start fires, as if the burn scars adorning his hands and arms weren't any indication of that fact. "Well, I figure, you can be the distraction..."
"Distraction! No, no, no, no, no, brother. I am not a distraction-"
"Oh don't be a God damned pussy, Lupo-"
"No. I ain't doin' it. I know what you want me to do, and I ain't doin' it."
"Come on, man. Just a few Molotovs and-"
"No! I am not going anywhere near that temple!" Lupo was getting ready to just bail out of the jeep. Scotty was crazy. First of all, this was the first ever rescue attempt he'd ever seen the man make, not that anyone else ever jumped at the chance to save their amigos around here, but still, it seemed a little out of character for the American. Scotty never cared about anyone other than himself, so why the sudden need to rush off to the rescue like Captain America? Second of all, how could they even be sure if Vaas was at that particular temple?
"I just need to get through the gates. You can head back to the outpost as soon as I get in, alright?" Lupo sighed and shook his head. "Come on Lupo. That's all you need to do. Just set a few fires, get 'em to come out, I'll sneak in, perform an extraction, or try to at least," he said, his confidence quickly dwindling the further down the road they drove. The thought of actually sneaking over enemy lines sent a shiver up his spine. Those Rakyat were as ruthless as any pirate, and just as merciless. If he thought sneaking into their main base to rescue his fellow pirates was going to be anything like sneaking into a garage to steal a car—yes he had done that—he was crazy. He was becoming more and more aware of just how foolish this was becoming, but his subconscious reminded him that he was probably looking to die anyways.
Lupo once again shook his head. "Seems like an awful lotta work just for some pussy," he muttered.
"What?" Scotty snapped to the other man, a wave of anger washing over his body, and his fingers clutched the wheel tightly. Lupo glanced his way before back to the tree line. "What did you say?"
"Come on Scotty, everyone at the camp knows what you two did," he answered, being sure not to look the blonde man in the eyes when he did. "And quite frankly, we're all a little disappointed in you." Scotty scowled, curling his lips and glancing heavily at the man before back to the road. "I mean here you got this gorgeous ass climbin' all over you all month, and you play Mister Nice Guy just to get into her pants, but yet half the time you defended her when anyone else tried."
Scotty swallowed back the slew of threats and obscenities attempting to leave his mouth, and he continued to glare at the road, fingers flexing over the wheel. "I may have had her back maybe twice in that whole time. It's not my fault she chose me over you fuckers." There was that emotion again, pushing against his chest when he thought of that woman, and his subconscious once again took a voice, telling him that he was avoiding his real reasoning for continuing his friendly relations with the girl.
"The only reason she did choose you is cuz you act all innocent, like you're not as bad as the rest of us," Lupo said, waving his hands in the air before bringing them to his lap. "She probably doesn't even know about half the shit you've done."
"Doesn't matter, Lupo," Scotty ground out, gripping the wheel tighter, knuckles turning white as he chewed at the inside of his cheek.
"Does she even know about the girl?"
"I said it doesn't matter, Lupo. Stop actin' fuckin' jealous of the whole thing, alright? It's over, it's done with."
Lupo scoffed, following it up with a chuckle. "Me? Jealous? Please brother, Lupo doesn't get jealous."
"Don't give me that bull shit, every chance you got you were tryin' to sneak a grab at her ass or her tits."
"Only because she's nice lookin'. Would I want a relationship with her though? No."
"And who the hell wants a relationship with her?"
"Well you have been kinda boyfriendy to her..."
It was Scotty's turn to laugh. "Boyfriendy? Is that what you just said?"
"Just sayin' brother. Just sayin...no wonder you got into her pants." He finished with another chuckle and took to staring back out into the jungle. The other men at the camp were rather jealous of Scotty, some even taking to uttering insults and jests amongst themselves. Why did Scotty get all the fun? Because he was some blonde haired, blue eyed, charismatic debonaire from the Southern states of America? Lupo contemplated. Probably, he thought.
Before the two could discuss the matter further Lupo was flung across the front seat of the jeep, slamming into Vinnie who gave out a yelp when Scotty swerved the vehicle at a gunshot. He pressed on the breaks and rose in his seat, equipping his shotgun and holding it up to his shoulder, scanning the area for the recipient of the gunshot. Maybe a stupid idea to expose himself, but his thoughts hadn't been very focused today...
"The fuck was that?" Lupo sounded from below the man, hugging the pitbull tightly to his chest in a cowardly manner. Vinnie struggled in the man's grasp, trying to investigate the situation they had settled themselves into.
"Whoever the fuck you are," Scotty shouted to the tree line, blue eyes darkening as he gazed over the jungle foliage, the dirt road, and to the other side, "show yourselves, before I come out there and find y'all myself. Trust me, you don't want the barrel of this gun to be the last thing you see."
There was a rustling in the brush and Scotty trained the gun on it, eyes focusing on his soon to be target as his finger itched on the trigger. Sweat from the humid day coated his brow in a light sheen, a droplet running down his temple and sticking to a blonde lock of hair. His heart thumped in his chest, and that tightening squeeze around it sent an energy through his limbs, and he ushered in his blood lust.
The sounds of boots on earth, cracking twigs and leaves, zeroed his attention in and he pumped the shotgun, intent on killing whoever it was that had fired upon them. All anger and anticipation though quickly fled from his body as his target emerged from the jungle. It was Mango, and he looked well worse for the wear.
"Mango?" the Southern man lowered his gun and knit his eyebrows together, puzzled. What the hell had happened. The boy stumbled across the road and towards their jeep, his breathing ragged and heavy, sweat covering his body and sticking his clothes to his skin. The red bandana he usually adorned around his head was missing, and his black hair clung to his forehead. His dark eyes were wild with a fear and adrenaline as he stumbled to his comrades, a pair of pistols gripped tightly in his hands, their holsters slung over his shoulders. Scotty caught the glimpse of the suspenders on one holster as they dangled down over the boy pirate's body, and concluded it was Vaas'. Well, where the hell was Vaas?
"Scotty, thank fucking God," Mango mumbled, laying his arm over the side of the jeep, sighing gratefully and wiping at his forehead with his other arm. Lupo bit his lip and wandered his eyes over the younger pirate, the boy's body weak and weary.
"What happened?" he asked, finally letting go of the dog in his arms. Vinnie shook his body of the sensation and jumped from the jeep, barking.
"Vaas!" Mango called out behind him, breathing still heavy as he lent into the cooling metal of the vehicle. "It's alright! It's just Scotty..." he sighed again and lay his head on his arm against the jeep, thankful that his run was finally over.
Scotty jumped from the jeep in time to see an equally worse for the wear Vaas trudge from the jungle, steps uneven and he grunted at the effort, readjusting the body in his arms. Was that...it was.
"Son of a bitch, what the hell happened!" Scotty asked, running over to the pirate lord as he struggled to keep the bleeding woman falling from his grasp. Though Mango seemed for the most part unscathed aside from a few cuts and bruises, Vaas' body was riddled with them, and a long stream of blood ran a path down from his mouth and over his chin, sticking in the facial hairs and dripping down to his chest. There was a small gash at his temple and his bottom lip was split open. There were multiple cuts on the back of his left hand where a bandage had once wrapped around, and it coated the whole limb in crimson. The woman in his arms though seemed to have taken the most damage; though there were the ever present bruises that she just couldn't stay away from, as Vaas handed her limp body over to Scotty, the blonde couldn't help but grimace at the site of a massive gash on the right side of her head peeking over Mango's bandana. The red cloth was an even darker shade as it drenched in blood, and the gash resumed its course from under the bandana to travel over the woman's right eye and down her cheek.
"We need to go, now," Vaas wheezed out, and coughed as he did his best to stand straight before the blonde man. He held tightly to his ribs as he pushed past him, holding back winces with every step he made. Vinnie was quick to run to his master's side, pushing and licking at his hand and whining worriedly as Vaas yanked his hand away from the dog, growling a low "get down," to the dog. This only caused the dog to worry more and he followed Vaas into the jeep, jumping up to sit next to the man as Vaas ordered Lupo to scooch over and drive them back to camp, quickly.
"What happened!" The Texan demanded, holding the moaning woman against his chest as he made his way around the side of the vehicle, climbing in and doing his best to balance Benny in his arms at the same time, Mango following suit, sighing exhaustively again and laying his head against his knuckles, hands holding ever more to the guns.
Vaas didn't answer the Southerner. He only grumbled curses as he pulled his shirt up to examine his wounds, once again ordering Lupo to drive faster. The pirate lord was in a hurry to be rid of this place, that was for certain.
"Mango what the hell happened to you guys?" Scotty asked the boy next to him, glancing down again to Benny's wounded face and then glaring back up at Mango.
Mango breathed out a heavy breath and rubbed one of the pistols against his temple as he lay the holsters down on the jeep floor. "Citra," he muttered, and Scotty's brow furrowed, his lips set in a straight line and he watched Benny's eyes flutter open and closed, and listened as pain filled moans escaped her blood drenched lips.
"Don't worry, there darlin'," he told the brunette, showing her his famous smirk when her eyes opened weakly up to his face. "We'll get ya all fixed up," he said reassuringly, though in the back of his mind he could only think of all the negatives, seeing the blood's constant flow from under the bandana as it flooded down her face, neck, shoulder, and chest.
The only thing Benny could think of as her eyes closed once more, the burning feeling of warm blood touching her retinas, was Vaas' actions that took place inside that temple. "Why..." she breathed out against Scotty's chest and watched her curiously.
"Why what?" he asked cautiously, wiping the blood away from her face with a palm. But it just kept flowing.
"Why ain't I dead?" Scotty barely heard her as she slipped into a world of unconsciousness, and he frowned.
…...
A few hours earlier...
Her head was pounding yet again, her brain bouncing around inside of her throbbing skull, and every time she made an effort to open her eyes, the blinding light of the sun would burn at her pupils and force her eyes shut again. The pulsing pounding of her head signaled to her that she had once again reacquainted her cranium with a blunt object, and she groaned.
Not only did her head ache, but so did her wrists and arms and shoulders. As she flexed her fingers against the bindings, she came to the marvelous conclusion that she had, yet again, got strung up like a dead pig, and her muscles ached something terrible. Her fingers were turning a sickening blue/purple color from the constriction around her wrists and there was a sting in her left bicep. Oh yeah, that's right, she was shot. Well not shot, but shot at, and the wound the bullet had left behind on her flesh was burning and stinging and she could feel the blood running from the gash and down the back of her shoulder. This was not at all how she had wanted to spend her day.
Here Benny had thought that Vaas was taking her on a lovely tour of the island as they made their way to this compound everyone talked about, and that he was finally going to show her the human trafficking side of this operation, the whys and hows and becauses...Benny moaned audibly in her throat. Today sucked.
Benny made a decision to attempt at opening her eyes once again, after all, it was best she get her bearings now should she attempt to escape this one, though her wrists were bound much tighter than the last time. Taking a chance, Benny slowly opened one eye, then the other, jungle green taking in their surroundings. Where in the Seven Hells was she? It was like something off the history channel she thought; stone walls, tall thick stone walls carved into by its people stuck up from the ground on all sides of her. The walls had to be a few stories high at least, and maybe a good few feet thick if she strained to look hard enough. The post she was hung from overlooked a grassy earthy courtyard of sorts, alters of fire burning a path through the temple's interior, down a set of rocky stairs, and disappearing through a stone corridor. Can anyone say Road to El Dorado?
Now is not the time for joking Benny.
There's never a worse time not to...I think...I can't think straight, my head hurts.
Well start thinking straight! You gotta get outta this! And fast!
What's the rush?
Gah!
Benny's eyes followed the path of fires back over the steps and she wandered her eyes over the grass carpeting the temple grounds, her eyes stopping at a large tree in the middle of the yard, white markings painted around its trunk. Tree of life, perhaps? To her left was a continuation of the temple, but only walls and doorways; she couldn't see anything else. She could only tell that this place had seen better days, what with the chunks missing from walls and piles of stone everywhere...
Her eyes closed again, muddling over the events that lead her here. We were hit, and hard. I guess we now know from who...I hope we know. Benny chanced to open her weary eyes once gain, and ignoring the excruciating pain in her head, she scanned the area again. Where were they? Everything was blurring together and Benny couldn't focus in on much else of anything past the massive tree. She saw shapes moving here and there, fuzzy images of men meandering around, one sitting at the base of the tree cutting off slices of a mango. Mango...Mango! Benny squinted her eyes, trying to pull her surroundings into focus. She could faintly make out a tall, dark figure clothed in an army green, and she blinked her eyes rapidly, squeezing them shut, then opening them again.
Images started to clear, and she could see them. Yes! I mean no! Benny's lip curled in a wince as she examined her captured comrades. They were both strung up as she had been, and the first thought to grace Benny's mind was Hah! Suck on that Vaasco! Not so fun when you're on the other end of the ropes hah? But her mind settled down after a few seconds and she thought seriously this time. Son of a bitch, they got Vaasco. What the hell! Squinting her eyes harder, she could tell the man was in a most uncomfortable position. He was hung up like she was, wrists bound tightly in scratchy ropes that pulled tightly at his arms and his toes barely grazed the grass. His head hung down, chin at his chest and Benny could catch glimpses of a twitch here or a jolt there. It wasn't long after that that the pirate came to, and the second realizing that he had been bound up like one of his hostages, a lengthy roar escaped him and he swung and pulled at the bonds, throwing out many an F-bomb and Spanish curses. It was when he started to kick at the tattooed men around him did that dark figure in the army green approach, sending a good swing of a rifle into the pirate lord's stomach. Benny heard the grunt Vaas gave as he bent his knees up, cringing from the pain that now soared through his abdomen. "Shit," Benny mumbled, closing her eyes once again.
I need some Advil.
This was not good. Not good at all. They had been rammed, beaten on, and captured by Rakyat; things couldn't possibly get any worse.
Benny sighed and opened her eyes once again, and startled at what appeared before her. Benny swallowed and surveyed the woman that graced her presence. Well, even Benny had to admit, she was attractive, not that Benny swung that way—not that Benny hadn't tried on an occasion or two—but one has to admit when they see something beautiful right? Well...Benny inwardly shrugged. She ain't that beautiful. I'm pretty sure I could show that up. Quick, fetch me my stilettos! As her inner thoughts fought with her common sense, Benny continued her observation of the woman. Twenties, definitely, and rather...scandalously clad. The woman bore minimal clothing, but what she did wear covered up any unmentionables and left tattoos exposed on her body. Accessories adorned her figure from every appendage and included her neck and ears. Benny noted the not so subtle hair cut too; both sides of her head shaven down of hair, and what was left was wrapped in tight braids that sailed down her back to her waist. A rather not very subtle either tattoo wrapped around her chin and Benny knit her eyebrows together, wondering why the fuck a woman would want to tattoo a beard onto their face. Well, to each his own, she thought.
As puzzled about the woman's garb as Benny was, the woman looked equally as puzzled as she scanned over the brunette, tilting her head, arching a thin eyebrow, and placing her hands on her hips. Benny bit her lip, wandering her eyes up and down the woman before her, wondering why nobody in this place wore any shoes! And above all else: wondering why nobody in this place greeted anyone with a hello! Seriously, Benny was growing bored of this knock out and tie up game everyone was playing.
"You people on this island have a very unorthodox way of saying 'hello'," Benny muttered, regretting letting her mouth form words. Forming words made her brain work, and her brain was hurting, and she didn't like it trying to work when it was hurting.
There was a light chuckle that came from the bronze skinned woman before her, and she brought green eyes up in curiosity. She felt a sudden sense of dejavu. "Do you always joke in the presence of danger?" Her accent was foreign to Benny, and the brunette continued to chew on her bottom lip. She wondered if this was that Rakyat woman the men around the camp had mentioned once in a while. Danger? Duh. Well fuck, this is just peachy.
Benny grumbled and ceased the destruction of her lip under her teeth and managed a quirky smile. "Only on Wednesdays," she pushed out, her throat feeling rather raw and scratchy. I'm thirsty...could I ask this woman for a beer?
Beer isn't thirst quenching Benny, and stop getting off topic!
Another laugh escaped the tribal woman's lips and she hung her head back, black braids dancing over her back as she did so. She brought her gaze back to Benny who, for the most part, was confused. The native's smile then turned quickly to a frown as she approached the brunette, steps slow and calculated and Benny watched the other woman taking her jolly ol' time. Benny took this time to glance behind the woman and back over to Vaas and Mango, Mango finally coming back into consciousness, and Vaas spitting obscenities to the Rakyat men, who responded with punches to his face, ribs, or stomach. The pirate lord grimaced, but continued his antics. It probably wasn't a good idea, especially when that dark skinned man approached him again.
"Who are you?" Benny brought her attention back to the Rakyat woman, green eyes meeting the startling bright color of the others eyes, their hue clinging onto an in-between color of green and blue. They were rather mesmerizing, a lot like Vaas', though much brighter and colorful. Benny frowned when she noticed just how close the woman had gotten to her, though not as close as Vaas had gotten when he first introduced himself. A headbutt was out of the question.
Benny sighed, flexed her fingers, and furrowed her brows. "Nunya," she murmured, pursing her lips.
The darker woman rose an eyebrow expectantly. "As in nunya biz," Benny continued with a smirk. It may not have been the smartest decision to make, but since when did Benny make smart decisions, ever. The other woman ordered something in her foreign language that Benny was tired of not understanding, but before she could grumble any response she felt a hard punch sent to her stomach and she doubled over, er, up, cringing and muttering a 'fucker' through grit teeth as she eyed the Rakyat warrior responsible for the punch angrily.
"I'll ask you again, and you will answer me truthfully, won't you?" the woman said with a snarl, hands at her hips once again. Benny didn't respond, but she kept her eyes on this unknown woman. "Who are you?"
Just answer her. Don't get yourself into anymore trouble.
"Benny," she said, sighing, glancing once again to her comrades. The dark man was blocking her view of Vaas, but things weren't looking good over there. "Benny Hanna."
"Are you lying to me?" There was a glimmer of a threat in her voice, and Benny suddenly started to worry.
She shook her head, not in answering, but she couldn't do many other gestures to explain herself. "That's what I'm called. Nothing else. Sorry I share it with a restaurant chain..."
The woman seemed to be contemplating Benny's answer, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head once again. "And why are you here?" she asked, pointing her chin out at the brunette.
Benny didn't know what this woman wanted. If she was going to kill her, just do it already. Why the sudden third degree?
Gee, maybe it's because you're a woman among pirates?
Perhaps...
Benny lowered her gaze down to the grassy earth, whirring her lips and casting her eyes this way and that around the darker woman's bare legs and feet. Fuck you people and your ability to not grow body hair. She furrowed her brows and looked back up to the woman, than to the sky in a wonderous manner. "It's one of life's great mysteries isn't it?" she said, memories of video games and internet series concerning games rapidly running through her mind. "Why are we here? I mean," she bit her lip once again and met the hard gaze of the other woman. "Are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know, man," she looked back up to the sky. "But it keeps me up at night." Benny's mind flooded once more with video games and she suddenly missed her Xbox. I hope I get out of here alive, if just to play some Xbox one last time...
The woman before her stared, bright eyes narrowing in thought. Benny knew the woman had no clue of what she was talking about, nor where she had gotten the quote from, so Benny suddenly felt rather intellectual for once. For all this woman knew, Benny thought philosophically, and people liked philosophical people, right? She spoke once more to the man near Benny in that native language and the man nodded, walking from Benny's side, and Benny sighed exasperated that she couldn't understand this language. "Excuse me," she caught the darker female's attention and gave a scoff. "But I'm from America okay...we speak Spanish there." She chuckled, but the other woman didn't seem too entertained by Benny's joke. Benny cleared her throat and smiled. "Um...so who are you?" She kept the smile in place, and the woman responded with her own, though her's seemed a little more predatory than Benny's, and the brunette gulped silently.
"You haven't heard of me? And here I thought Vaas would have told you all about me," she said with a small grin and took a step closer to the brunette. Benny frowned and wandered her eyes around again before bringing them back and she shook her head. "I'm Citra, and I lead the Rakyat," the woman said, once again raising her chin in, what Benny thought, a rather snooty manner as she waved an arm around the men occupying the dilapidated temple. "His sister," she finished, letting her wave halt over the direction of Vaas before lowering her hand.
Vaas' voice broke through the distance and breached Benny's eardrums. "Don't fucking talk to her, Benny!" he yelled, and was quickly silenced when another fist found his face, and he growled.
Benny's eyes widened and she peeked over the woman's shoulder in search of her entertaining leader. He wasn't looking very good anymore and she bit her lip worriedly. "Citrus?" she asked, deliberately going after the Rakyat woman with a sudden abhorrence.
Citra was not amused and Benny could tell. I'm gonna die. "Ya know," Benny said hesitantly, "for bein' his sister, you don't sound very Puerto Rican...um, Hispanic...I'm not racist..." she ended her observation with her lip under her teeth again. She was becoming nervous. This Citra character left a strange feeling in the pit of Benny's stomach, and it made the brunette want to just vomit. There was something off about her. Vaas Benny could get, no problem, but Citra...Benny just didn't get her.
"Because Vaas was always coddled by our mother. He rebelled against our tribe every chance he got, until he took it too far," Citra said with a seething anger rising inside of her. Benny decided not to press on with the getting to know you's and decided she was much happier just being quiet. "I'll be honest with you, I believe her death was for the better." Well, that was certainly unexpected. What person was happy their parents were dead, well, if they're parents didn't deserve to die? Odd...Benny considered the woman crazy and refused to take her seriously anymore.
The man from before returned, handing over a small black object to his leader, bowing his head and Benny eyed the object closely. That bitch! "That's one of my knives," she said, glaring now at the woman, who only returned with a smile as she ran her fingers over the black blade. Citra approached her slowly, and Benny struggled against her bonds for a few seconds, not liking where this was going.
"It is a good blade," Citra said pleasantly, taking slow steps towards the brunette, smile still apparent on her face as she admired the sharp object in her hands. "No doubt you've taken many innocent lives with it," she brought her gaze back to Benny, bright blue/green meeting jungle and Benny shrugged.
"Don't forget the guilty ones," she mentioned, eying her knife carefully as the woman twirled it around her hands.
"You know-" Citra was cut off rapidly by the growling shouts of her sibling as he screamed across the courtyard again.
"Fuck Benny, I can see your fucking lips moving. Stop fucking talking to her!" he was once again silenced by a kick to the ribs by the much darker man.
Vaas glared irately at the man who had assaulted him since his regaining of consciousness and he sneered. "You hit like a fucking pussy, Dennis," he ground out, eyes darkening and the brown was quickly overtaking the green. He once again felt a powerful kick to his side and he cringed, cursing at the man through clenched teeth.
"Come on Vaas, just shut up," Mango whined from his position a few feet from his leader. Upon opening his eyes and seeing Vaas alive, Mango could only think one thing. That guy is a fucking immortal god! After all, he had survived a crocodile attack, without even a scratch to show for it.
Vaas on the other hand, only struck it as dumb luck. The giant reptile had grabbed hold of his holster straps, missing his leg by mere centimeters. When the animal issued a death roll, that was when Vaas' instincts kicked in and he was able to grab a hold of his knife, wrap his body around the animal's head, and drive the blade through its skull. It took several attempts and he had lost his knife in the process, but he half wished the attack had killed him, or he wouldn't have climbed on shore to the large group of warriors waiting for him, and he wouldn't have been thwacked on the back of the head with the blunt end of a gun, and he wouldn't have ended up here.
"I would listen to your friend," came the accented voice of the assaulter, and Vaas uttered a 'fuck' under his breath, bringing his eyes up to meet the near black of the man's. "Citra doesn't want me to kill you, but I could do much worse."
Vaas laughed through split lips, his ribs aching with each breath but he seemed not to notice as he smirked devilishly back to Dennis. "Hermano," he started, snickering, "there ain't much you can do to me that hasn't already been done." Another lengthy and painful laugh escaped his throat, and he began to fiddle his fingers across his bandaged hand above him, keeping his gaze on the darker man before him.
"Vaas," Mango hissed, wondering to himself why he even cared, and quickly answered his inward question with the thought that Vaas was the only thing keeping him alive on this island.
"Shut the fuck up, Mango," Vaas growled, sending a glare the boy's way, and Mango sighed. Fine, if Vaas wanted to get his ass cut up like Miko then let him.
A subtle chuckle brought Vaas' attention back to the Liberian in front of him. "Sometimes I wonder why you still keep the boy around," he said, crossing his arms and smiling, though there was evidence of a much more malicious emotion behind that smile, and Vaas offered the man a knowing smirk. "He's not much of a force."
"Kid's fucking smart," he said with a wicked grin. "He fixes my shit and he ain't afraid to use a gun. Better shot than you ever were, I'll give him that." Though Mango should have felt complimented, he didn't. If anything he felt fucking sold out. Great, now they're gonna kill me. Thanks a lot Vaas. "If it weren't for that, I prolly would have killed him a long time ago," he finished off with a roll of his shoulders. His sides were aching from the kicks delivered to them, and his muscles in his arms were twisting in this uncomfortable predicament. He shrugged his pain aside though, and continued a humorous yet volatile grin. "So how's my sister, ha? Still cunty as ever?" he chuckled and relished the changing emotions on the African's face. "You still trying to get into her pants-"
Vaas was cut off sharply when a hard fist knocked his head back, blood gushing from his nose and running down his lips and chin as he pulled his head forward, managing little snickers as he shook his head. "After all these years, you still defend that bitch." He frowned now, and humorous eyes quickly turned to anger. He scoffed, then frowned again. "It's fucking sad, you know that right? Running around, doing her bidding, and in the end, what, you still get down to your knees and kiss her fucking feet for nothing more than a pat on the fucking back. Well fuck that shit-"
A hand grabbed at the straps on his chest and pulled him closer to the quickly angering man, dark eyes glaring murderously through the thick rimmed glasses and they met emotionless light eyes. Vaas didn't flinch, nor did he look away. Dennis was a fucking fool. "I told you years ago she'd just fucking use you. And am I right?" Vaas chuckled once again and Dennis lurched forward, nose centimeters from Vaas' bleeding one and he ground his teeth in agitation, Vaas' face still plain and emotionless. As Dennis continued his glare, Vaas' fingers continued their fiddling with the bandage, his wrists grinding against the rope as he dug his fingers under the fabric, and he felt one slide against a sharpened surface, but kept his plain gaze as it cut across the tip, and he could feel the blood slowly leaking from the digit to coat the bandage in a lovely red. No one else cared to take notice.
"Citra," Dennis started, a certain malice in his voice as he eyed the pirate lord, "has freed me from my past. And she tried to free you-"
Vaas didn't hold back the sudden bout of laughter, and it shook his body, his ribs begging him to stop but he could only continue. "Oh fuck," he said through the laughter. "Fuck that, no, fuck that!" The laughing ceased and he bared his teeth at the man. "She's fucking crazy and you fucking know it." Vaas' bouts of anger were quickly accelerating his drops of F-bombs, and it seemed they followed after every few words. "You go. Go, go make a perfect little fucking warrior with her. Lemme know how that fucking turns out for you." He ended his rant with a raising brow and he felt the sharp metal under his bandage slide out between his fingers, the razor cutting across his hand as he pulled it into the one with bleeding fingers. "Go on go, amigo ," he barked at the African as the man still kept a firm hold on the straps. "Seriously, go, your breath fucking reeks. Go buy a fucking tic-tac," and he scrunched his nose up at the man, sneering.
Dennis responded only with a 'hmph' before pulling away from the pirate, chancing a tiny smirk his way that caused curiosity to rise in the man. The hell was Dennis doing now? "Huh, you know I almost forgot," Dennis said, reaching into the back pocket of his rolled up jeans. Vaas watched cautiously as the man pulled out a pair of pliers. Well fuck. "Remember the time you tried to kill me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly. Vaas just clicked his tongue and lolled his head back.
"You gonna bring that up again, huh?" he said exasperatedly. He watched lazily as two men came to either side of him. Well, this was going to be fun. Oodles.
Mango winced, then cringed. Why couldn't Vaas just keep his fucking mouth shut. Whenever Mango saw pliers he could only think of one thing, well two. Teeth and fingernails. And the ending was never very pleasant. He struggled in his bonds, pulling at his wrists and twisting his arms but they were too tight, and he was hadn't much else to do but watch his leader's body be held in place by two, count 'em, two Rakyat warriors. No doubt Dennis knew a kick wouldn't be hard for the pirate lord to initiate should he have the room and movement to do it, and Vaas could kick hard, Mango speaking from experience. And thus, he had called upon his fellow warriors to hold back the man's legs from kicking, and his head from butting, and took it upon himself to force the man's mouth open, pliers in hand. "Oh God," Mango muttered, swallowing hard. Good god he hated the image of someone getting their teeth yanked out. He could stand them being stabbed to death or burned to death, or whatever else to death (cutting ones tits out was rather new), but...not the teeth. Fingernails being ripped off was just as bad too.
Vaas struggled against the men, but there was only so much he could do with his hands bound above his head and two large males holding his legs and head in place, another one prying his mouth open and sticking an oily pliers in. He growled loudly as he felt the metal clamp around one of his molars and well, he wasn't surprised at the African. The man knew how to hold a grudge.
Dennis gave an audible grunt at his efforts. The pirate's teeth were strong and well taken care of by the looks of it, and he had to readjust the pliers, clamping onto the tooth at a lower angle, and the metal cut into the man's gums, blood starting to flow under his tongue. Vaas kicked and he pulled but the hold on his legs was strong as were the arms wrapping around his head. Dennis wriggled and pulled at the pliers, shook them, then pulled again, then wriggled them again and Vaas growled painfully as he felt his tooth rip away from the roots when Dennis gave a well effort yank. The pliers, and molar, were removed from his mouth hastily, a river of blood following afterward.
As more blood started to seep from the now gaping hole where his tooth once took residence, it flooded his mouth and he spat repeatedly, the blood quickly sticking to his chin and neck and chest. "Fuckin' cocksucker," he grumbled, spitting a good portion of blood at Dennis' feet. Dennis nodded for the men to release their hold on the pirate and they dispersed from the scene, Dennis managing a chuckle as he took the molar and held between his fingers, rolling it around before holding it up to the pirate's face. "An eye for an eye," he said with a chuckle. "Or should I say, a tooth for a tooth."
"Well don't forget to put it under your pillow..." Vaas spat out more blood, flicking his tongue over the now empty space. Dennis did not seem to like his little joke and rose the pliers up, taking a good whack at his temple with them, whipping Vaas' head violently to the side. He felt the blood leak down from the temple and he hung his head, teeth clenched and heavy breaths escaping his lips. Dennis left him to hang in agony. Vaas growled and grumbled and grimaced and grunted. That motherfucking prick was going to get what was coming to him, that much was certain.
"Vaas," Mango said cautiously, knowing full well that there was a raging monster inside of his leader that was raring to wave its ugly head. "You pulled out his fucking tooth!"
Vaas spat again and shook his head. "Hey it was a long time ago and I was drunk...very drunk. And I didn't pull it out, I punched it out," he explained, eyes glowering at the back of the man who had played D.D.S to his mouth.
"Well, I hope you got a plan for getting us out of here, MacGyver." There was a desperate worry in his brown eyes, and he winced when Vaas spat out another mouthful of blood.
"Come on, hermano," Vaas said with a chuckle, pushing the agonizing headache he had acquired aside. His eyes brightened as he clutched the razor blade between his fingers, flipping it here and there until he was in a good position to cut the ropes. "I always got a plan." He offered the boy a reassuring, albeit with a hidden wickedness, smile as he worked the razor on the ropes, the blood coming from his fingertips making it difficult to grasp the slippery metal, but he managed.
Another Rakyat came forward, and Vaas rolled his eyes. Was he going to be getting punched in the face by every single one of these fucks today, or what?
In the meantime, Benny was, well she was being Benny. "I mean, I'm not saying that I'm in love with the guy or obsessed or anything like that," she rambled to a growing fed up Citra, "but he is cute, I'll give him that. And that unpredictability...mmm...it's entertaining really. I mean, not a lotta guys can pull off the whole grr-I'm-a-psycopath-and-I'm-going-to-slit-your-thr oat-in-your-sleep-maybe-you'll-never-know kinda thing without some heavy muscle to back it up. He's not a big guy, but hey, I think that's what makes it all the more interesting." Citra seemed uninterested. "Oh come on man, you gotta admit, The Joker's fucking hot right?"
Citra rubbed at her temple with the handle of Benny's knife and sighed. Yes, she was surprised Vaas had a woman in the ranks, and had even voiced her thoughts on the matter to the woman at hand, but she had not expected said woman to go on a random rant. The last thing Citra had said was that her brother's mind was gone, and somehow, the brunette had taken that as an initiative to start a story about imaginary people. "Enough!" she yelled, agitated maximally, and she gripped the knife in her hand.
"Alright," Benny said, shrinking away from the woman. She was quite moody.
Citra sighed again and shook her head, offering a rather condescending smirk that the brunette caught, and Benny narrowed her eyes slightly. "I must say, I've never met anyone like you before..."
"Oh don't, don't," Benny said, shaking her head. "I'm kinda tired of people saying that. Oh my God you're so different! Oh my God you're so not like anyone I've ever seen before! Oh my God! Seriously," she mumbled, eyes averting Citra's. "It's tiring. Like, seriously, omfg Batman, shut the hell up." She sighed heavily and flexed her fingers once again, trying to get the feeling back into them. She was half convinced they would fall off soon.
"Hm," was all the Rakyat woman had to say on that matter and she turned her attention to another man who made his presence known beside her. Benny eyed him up, noting he didn't necessarily look very native compared to the rest of the warriors, nor did he sound like them. First of all he was black...Benny eyed him up and down, from his bare feet to his rolled up jeans, to the tattoos adorning his arms to the green army jacket. Huh, ya know, I really like that jacket. His smirk was humorous as he approached Benny, his right hand graced with a layer of blood, and there were traces of it on his jacket and shirt as well. Benny watched nervously as the man approached and held his hand out before her eyes, something white and blood covered pressed between his thumb and finger. She squinted at the object as it was thrust into her face. Shit was that a tooth! Wait, no that was Vaas' tooth? Well now that she knew what had been going on over yonder...
"You pulled out his fucking tooth!" she exclaimed, eyes widening when the man pulled back the molar. "The hell was that for? Tryin' to make a quick buck with the Tooth Fairy, what?"
The dark skinned man only answered with a grin and a tilt of his head. There was shouting across the courtyard again and Benny took a glance over the man's shoulder, and was alerted when she saw one of their members sending a flurry of punches into Vaas' face, stomach, ribs and chest. As fun as it was to see the man tied up and defenseless, Benny, being Benny, decided to do something very, very stupid. "Hey!" she called out angrily, swinging her body slightly forward. The Rakyat man ceased in his actions, leaving Vaas to cough and sputter and glare, and he turned to the direction of the screeching woman. "You lay a hand on my man one more time and it's fuckin' on like Donkey Kong!" she threatened, surprising the two people before her. The Rakyat across the yard furrowed his brow in confusion. Was he being threatened by a woman? "I'm fuckin' serious, you best get your hammer ready cuz the barrels are comin!"
Perhaps calling Vaas her man, along with threatening a Rakyat warrior, was not the best decision, but, as we've established, Benny's not the greatest at judging when one should or should not speak. The events that followed were both painful and memorable.
Citra was grasping at her throat with a vice like grip, and Benny's lungs cried for air. She was growing weary of this bad girl game the American was playing and was ready to take that woman's knife, and plunge it into her body. Green eyes widened at the sudden fury behind those bright blue and Benny was legitimately worried. Great, she was going to fucking die. "You know," the native woman started, a malicious grin curling her lips, "I never thought that a woman would last so long on the island with Vaas. They usually die." She said the last part with a clever little hint and Benny gulped, at least as well as she could. She loosened her hold on the brunette's throat and Benny gulped in supple amounts of air. This dejavu thing was getting out of hand. "Is it because you are with him?" she said suggestively and Benny coughed before offering a smirk.
"Oh wouldn't you like to know," she said, waggling her eyebrows and giving a toothy grin. "What's the matter? Don't like anyone touching your brother hah?" She managed a giggle as a fury from hell grew inside of the native woman. "Well just wait till I tell you about all the wonderful things I do to him," she giggled again, and winked, and the woman was once again in her face, teeth bared like a wild animal's and eyes boring into her own with a distinct murder. Benny did the only logical thing she could think up. She pulled her head back, and relived her first meeting with Vaas, but this time, with his sister.
Citra was struck square in the forehead by the apparently thick skulled woman and she stumbled back, holding onto her aching cranium and growling irritably. The man beside her lunged forward and bashed his fist straight into Benny's jaw, sending her head reeling. Ouch...The native tongue of the woman behind him halted him from sending any other unwanted beatings unto the brunette and he stepped aside, still glowering though at the American. Benny noticed several of the temples occupants gather around the scene, staring dumbfounded at the situation. Had this American woman just headbutted their leader? Why yes, indeed she had, and Citra ground out in their tongue, leaving Benny to wonder just what it was that woman was calling her. She was obviously calling her something, the way she glared at the brunette as she approached, Benny's knife clutched tightly in her hand.
Benny winced when the woman's slender fingers wrapped themselves tightly in her Mohawk, pulling tightly, causing pain to rack the brunette's nerves. Without any hesitation, Citra had the knife at Benny's stomach, the tip quickly slipping through the fabric of her shirt and she grimaced when she felt the sharp point slowly cut into her abdomen. The piercing pain soared up her body and she groaned out her displeasure, green eyes meeting those in-between hues of the Rakyat before her, and she sent silent threats her way.
Citra halted the knife before it could cause any serious damage, but the tip burned Benny's skin and sweat was quickly adorning her body from her body's fight to be rid of the foreign object imbedding itself inside of it. Blood started to leak from the wound, and it traveled down her abdomen, following the trail of the scar, and she clamped her mouth shut, doing her best to withstand this uncomfortable situation. It was when Citra's eyes cast down to the knife sticking to the brunette's abdomen, did Benny become honestly concerned. Citra's eyes went from the blood seeping from the woman's red shirt and traveled downward, to where it was leaking onto her belt. She pursed her lips as she removed her hand from the others hair and lifted up the hem of her shirt. Benny furrowed her brow angrily at the Rakyat when she brought her eyes back up to hers, widened in a sudden surprise that grabbed at Benny's curiosity.
The brunette felt the woman's fingers trace along the scar and she pulled away, allowing the knife to be pulled from it's bed inside of her stomach. Fucking great, just fucking motherfucking great! "Stop fucking touching me," she warned, green eyes glaring angrily at the long haired woman, who seemed unfazed as she continued to trace her scar, up and down. Her wide eyes came back to Benny's once again, and the brunette scowled. "You had a child..."
Benny's anger seemed to dissipate quickly turning to a sudden shock, green eyes widening to the point where they might have popped from their sockets, and her scowl dispersed. What...her head was suddenly flooded with memories that pounded at her skull, her headache threatening to burst from her head and cover the ground in brain matter. Images of dark skinned Iraqi soldiers, of a scarred leader, of a young dark skinned man with curling black hair and gentle eyes, of dark evil eyes, of flashing lights, of strangled yells, of a serrated blade as it plunged into her swollen belly, of a baby's wail... She grit her teeth and flinched away from the woman, growling and pulling herself up in her bonds to send a strong kick into the woman's jaw. However Citra knew, Benny was sure, but she certainly felt like killing her now.
The woman lifted herself up with the rope and kicked at the nearest charging Rakyat, her boot connecting well with his chin and sending him backpedaling into another. That was the best Benny did though, for that dark skinned man with Vaas' tooth grabbed at her body from behind and held her in place as Citra recovered, rubbing at her now throbbing jaw and glaring intently at the other woman. She approached quickly, digging a thumb into the shallow knife wound in Benny's stomach, causing a massive groan to escape the woman's lips, and she clenched her teeth, breathing heavily from the inflicting pain. "So you wish to share my brother's life," Citra stated with a tiny smirk, eyes taking over an emotion Benny couldn't place and she felt the man's arm wrap around her neck.
"So what," she said, daring. It may have been the stupidest thing she had done in her whole month of living on this island. Much stupider than aggravating an irate Vaas. Because she felt the tip of the blade on the side of her head.
"If you wish to share his life, then you can share his scars." It was enough to tell Benny just what exactly she had gotten herself into, and she cried out when the knife started to slice through her flesh.
Meanwhile Vaas had his legs wrapped tightly around his assaulting Rakyat, choking the life out of the poor distracted man who had only turned when he heard the screams of the woman pirate. Vaas rose his legs up on the warrior's neck, and grunting with the effort, kicked his feet around, a snap sounding from the warrior's neck as it quickly broke. "Holy rusted metal, Batman," Mango muttered, staring wide eyed at what his leader had just done. "You broke his neck with your fucking legs! How come you never did that before?"
"Haven't been in a position to lately," the pirate lord answered, his fingers making quick work of the ropes with the razor. His face stung with the cuts and bruises it had acquired and his mouth burned, his ribs bruising to an agonizing state. His mind was also reeling with strange thoughts, such as Benny pulling a completely stupid maneuver by calling him her 'man'. Did she have any idea of who she was dealing with? Citra was 125 pounds of crazy and wouldn't hesitate to slash the woman across the face, especially if she mentioned him. There was a certain vendetta there that annoyed Vaas for the most part.
In seconds, the rope was cut, and Vaas landed with a grunt and, scanning his eyes around the temple, was thankful that the Rakyat were distracted, if only for a few seconds. He stumbled over to Mango and quickly undid his bindings. "Get the guns," he ordered. "I'll get Benny." And Vaas sprinted off across the courtyard, leaving Mango rather surprised. He was curious as to why Vaas suddenly felt the need to rescue Benny, but it could have been because he wanted to go after his sister...either way, Mango darted to their pile of belongings, quickly taking the pistols from their holsters and slinging the belts and knife-filled sheaths over his shoulder as he followed after Vaas.
The pirate lord ran at a speed that rivaled the island's wildlife and several Rakyat men were put off by not only his escape, but his ability to run in his battered state. He pushed past the tattooed men and hurled towards Citra, wrapping an arm harshly around her neck before Dennis could even alert the woman. The action caused Citra's hand to slip, sending the blade slicing down over Benny's right eye and down her cheek, elicting various cries and groans from the woman. Vaas had his free hand quickly wrapped around his sister's wrist, the knife in her hand being pulled up to her throat as Vaas fought her to the ground, pinning her body down underneath his on the grassy earth. He screamed at the men around him, ordering them to back off unless they wanted to see their warrior goddess' throat cut open. That, and Mango's appearance with two pistols loaded and ready to shoot anyone who dared cross his path, halted the Rakyat from doing anything rash.
Benny groaned pitifully in her position, blood seeping over the right side of her head and down her face, flooding into her eye and leaking into her mouth. "Vaasco," she groaned, wincing at the pain of moving her jaw. "You're sister's a bitch."
"Tell me about it," the pirate lord grumbled, sending a series of death threats to the muddled mass of warriors. He swore at them, yelled at them, and threatened them, sliding the knife ever closer to his sister's jugular. Benny could make out his speech, but not his language. She could only think to herself though of course he's trilingual you dolt. What part of being a former member of the native tribe do you not understand. When only a few of the men moved to his order—these ones being the most fearful and cowardly towards their former leader—and Vaas dug the knife further against Citra's skin. "Tell your fucking dogs to back off or I'll have Mango do it for me," he growled into her ear, sending a glance to the armed Filipino beside him, arms stretched out at his sides, guns ready to fire. Citra lifted her chin up high, challenging her older brother, but she carried out the order, and the men backed away, Mango's guns following them every step they made, one trained particularly on Dennis, who glowered at the both of them.
"Mango get Benny," Vaas told the boy, and after a moments hesitation, the Filipino made his way over to his bleeding comrade, grimacing at the sight of the gash running along the right side of her head as he undid her bonds. She collapsed beside him, arm clinging desperately to his shoulders but he wasn't a very strong kid. He weighed a whopping 118 pounds soaking wet; he couldn't carry this fucking woman! He lay her to sit by his feet as he pulled his bandana off, quickly pushing it against the woman's wound and wrapping it around her head, eyes darting from every man in the vicinity, one gun still trained before him.
"Citra, Citra, Citra, Citra," he mused into his sister's ear, ever present smirk upon his lips. "When will you ever fucking learn?" he chuckled above her and then turned his attention to Mango and Benny, the woman uttering many a curse word and groan as she held her head in her arms, blood quickly coating the flesh of her body and rose an eyebrow at the site. What the hell was Citra trying to prove by doing this? No doubt Benny had gotten herself into this situation. She was well versed in being a complete idiot at times. "How bad is it?" he asked, eyes darkening when they came upon Dennis, the man's stature tensed and ready to attack should Vaas lower his guard. The fucker was as stupid as Benny.
"She's bleeding pretty bad," Mango said, gun raised to the tense Dennis. If any of the Rakyat were to make a move, it would be Dennis. He was well protective of their woman leader and Mango recalled the feel of his hard knuckles on his face from previous events. "We need to go," Mango urged, an energy flushing through his arms and to his trigger fingers. He much preferred the pistols to assault rifles. They were lighter and quicker, not to mention he felt more badass with two pistols than he did one big AK.
"Where's the walkie?" Vaas asked, fingers itching to end his sister's life here and now, but a force in the back of his mind preventing him from doing so.
"I couldn't find it. It's either still in the truck or you lost it in the river."
"Fuck," Vaas growled, rubbing at his bleeding temple. So much for a pick up. His body was aching something bad and the only thing keeping him from passing out was his adrenaline rush, which could end at any time. "Benny can you walk?"
"I don't know...maybe...fuck." She cringed when the stinging pain assaulted her once again and gripped her wounded head tightly.
Vaas gave an exasperated sigh and tightened his hold on the knife, reminding the woman beneath him who was at the advantage. "Alright little sister, here's the deal. You're gonna let us walk out that door," he said, nodding to the stairs leading to the stone corridor which would then lead to their salvation. "And I won't have my young friend over here unload a clip into every one of your little cronies, okay?"
Citra's nostrils flared with agitation and when she didn't answer, she felt her brother's strong arms wrap around her body and haul to her feet, knife still in place at her neck as he brought her to a standing position in front of him. "Let me rephrase that," the pirate said with a sick humor. "Mango."
He only needed to say his name, and the Filipino boy sent a bullet straight through the air to implant itself into the brain of one of the surrounding men. He fell in a second and Mango's fingers itched to impale another of these crazy assholes with a bullet. Mango's blood heated his body with the surge of energy coursing in his veins and he silently wished for one of the men to step up and attack, just so he could shoot him dead.
"Now," Vaas said, returning to growl into his sister's ear. "You are going to let us walk through that door, aren't you?"
Citra stood strong, but seeing the brown haired woman now adorning a wound similar to Vaas' brought a tiny smile to her lips and she spoke to the warriors, giving out Vaas' order. "Citra," Dennis moved to interject but the sudden feel of a bullet piercing through his thigh sent him toppling to the ground beneath him, crying out at the sudden pain and holding a hand tightly over the wound. Mango stood beside Benny, his gun now two bullets less and he kept it trained on the darker man, the other gun on the rest of the Rakyat. He glowered down at the African man with a snarl and sending a "if you move, I will seriously go Lara Croft on your ass" threat his way. Should the man move, he wouldn't hesitate to shoot again, and this time he'd be aiming for a more fatal blow.
The surrounding men parted away from the pirates, emotions zipping across their faces from one to the other. They thought this a foolish idea, but Citra's word was law, and they backed away from their enemies, slowly and hesitantly. "Vaas I can't carry Benny," Mango stated, still aiming his guns around the men, the woman below him whining and groaning and cursing and at times letting out a loud 'fuck!'.
Vaas scoffed. Of course. "I'll be seeing you, little sister," he whispered murderously into her ear and in one swift motion, cut the blade across her neck and pushed her away, sending the woman stumbling to her knees. She ground out curses in his direction, holding a hand to her bleeding neck. Vaas hadn't attempted a kill, but she seemed unsurprised. Citra's eyes narrowed angrily at her older sibling as he approached the bleeding Benny, hauling the woman to her feet and wrapping an arm around her waist. The three made their way to the temple's exit, Vaas sending glares and snickers to the men as they parted around them. Dennis limped past Citra, but she grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. The man looked down at the woman worriedly, and glared back at the pirates, mainly Vaas.
Vaas could feel Citra's cold stare on his back, and his shoulders tensed when her voice sounded behind him, echoing through the air to pierce his eardrums in a patronizing way. "You could have died a powerful warrior," he sang to him, rising to her feet and holding her head high, blood trickling from the cut on her neck to slip down to her chest.
The pirate halted, Mango stammering about the man's actions, and he kept the pistols ready as his leader, woman in hand, turned back to the Rakyat, his eyes going from murderous to humorous in an instant, though the former emotion was still hinting behind the latter. "Yeah, or I could die a free man," he countered with a smirk and made to leave when his sister's voice sounded once again, and he grumbled.
"As long as you are with him," she seethed, "you will never be free."
Vaas halted once again, eyes darting around the ground and his nostrils flared with a sudden anger and he turned around in an about face manner, Benny dangling from his arms and moaning into his chest. He felt the warm blood drench his shirt and seep through to his skin, and he readjusted the woman, sending a killer glare to his sister. His body was weakening, and he managed to hide the adrenaline crash well behind murderous stares. "If I ever see any of your useless warrior fucks again, I will personally gut each and every one of them," he threatened, and brought a hand up, fingers twitching. "And the next time I see you," he groaned, twitching his fingers near his temple, "I will not hesitate to put a bullet through your fucking skull." And his fingers flicked at his temple, animating to Citra what he would do with a silent promise. He huffed a snort and they moved quickly through the temple doors and once outside, Vaas gave the order to run. If Citra wanted to keep him alive, she'd need to try something other than ropes and pliers.
Benny's head was throbbing in an explosive way and she could feel the blood slipping through her fingers and into her eyes and mouth and ear. She could feel Vaas' arm muscles tense and twitch under her back and she could hear his heart pumping against his chest. She grit her teeth in the pain and wondered what the fuck Citra was thinking, what the fuck did she want with her? Granted Benny may have said some things that maybe angered the woman, some of them not even true, but still, the woman could have just killed her. Not only that, Vaas could have just left her there. After all, she was just another pirate lackey, right?
Benny was blind to the world, and she could only identify things through sounds. Vaas' cursing, Mango's heavy breathing, their boots as they stomped through the jungle floor, sticks snapping, leaves crunching, animals calling, and suddenly a gunshot. Mango cursed when he pulled the trigger. He hadn't necessarily meant to fire the weapon, he had just forgotten to remove his finger from the trigger when he tripped over a large tree root in their mad dash through the jungle. Benny heard his voice ring out Vaas' name, and then that down home country romance novel voice fluttering around her face and she felt the Texan's strong arms wrap around her body. "Don't worry, darlin'." Scotty's voice was like an angel singing in her ear and she was thankful for his soft words compared to Vaas' constant anger bursts. She still wondered though...why the fuck was she still alive? There was a sudden peace, but her head still throbbed, and her world was quickly becoming a far off memory as she felt herself slipping from reality.
Her subconscious couldn't think of a damn thing to say.
XXX
Holy rusted metal Batman, did that ever take freakin' long! Keep in mind, this chapter used to be a lot shorter until I decided to add a bit more Scotty. Only that bit wound up being very long, as did the original bit, which I thought was going to be way short. Wasn't, prolly due to the fact that I didn't cut out a damn thing. Nothing is ever short for me. Everything is just uber uber long. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, though it probably took you all a while to read it ;) I can't stay away from humor for too long, so even during dramatic situations, there's always going to be some funny line or gesture.
