Wow, so many reviews ! I'm so happy :) couldn't believe my eyes! Thank you so much for sticking up with me and this story, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a bit dodgy. Or not, I'm not sure. Hope you enjoy!
And thanks again, really, I appreciate the support so so much. Especially the continued support with this fast updating monster ;) please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any ideas as to where this should be heading. I've got an idea, but you know, I'm open to suggestions. I cannot promise I will forever update this fast, but for now it keeps coming so I keep putting it up.
Anyway, on with the show, on with a lovely day :)
When she walks out, Alice finds the pirate sitting on a stone outside the doctor's house.
"That was fifteen minutes, but I forgive you." He tells her, good humoured. "Perfection takes time. Come on, get in the car, let's go."
As he drives, Vaas likes to listen to music, and more often than not he sings along happily. Sometimes he turns the music off and chats to Alice instead, hardly expecting much on her part, for which she is thankful. They pass by many outposts and Alice starts to get a clearer idea of just how many pirates are on the island. And they all work for Vaas.
They drive in the jungle for a while, and suddenly emerge onto a track road overlooking the shimmering turquoise sea.
"Wow!" Breathes Alice, unable to contain herself.
Vaas is overjoyed.
"I tell you, you're gonna like this sirenita, me and you are gonna have a good day! I'm gonna make you feel real good nena."
He drives them a bit further on, and eventually stops the car amidst some trees and bushes. He picks a huge, handmade looking rucksack from the boot and sets off walking.
"Let's walk from here. Stay close. As close as you like."
Alice walks behind him, glad for the sneakers Dr Earnhardt has given her.
"Not far now." He calls.
He is fast, she appreciates that now. She has always known that he is fairly athletic, but she is no weakling herself. She has not been swimming in over a week now, but she shouldn't have been losing her stamina so soon. And yet, Alice is struggling to keep up during their leisurely stroll through the jungle. He's said he was taking her swimming, and Alice is in fact looking forward to that. She is a little bit worried though, because each of his surprises so far has been rather... Bloody.
'I'm gonna make you feel real good, nena' his words rang in her mind along with several warning bells.
Is he planning on swimming with her? She doesn't see any swimwear on him. Does he swim in the nude? He certainly sleeps in the nude, that she has learnt the hard way by foolishly deciding to go to the bathroom before having heard him leave the shack one morning. He also never wears underwear, she's learnt from accidentally catching him getting dressed. He masturbates often, brushes his teeth religiously, loves watching films and cannot get enough of the sound of his own voice.
Basically, the whole shack without doors situation is putting Alice through all new levels of awkward.
Eventually, they break out of the woods and onto what turns out to be a creek. A breathtaking, awe inspiring creek. The sand is white and heads free, the water a bright turquoise which melts into a deep blue, and this gorgeous pond is sheltered by steep, emerald cliffs before opening into the sea.
"Oh." Says Alice.
Vaas is already halfway to the water, but he stops there, removes his military boots then retrieves a small camera recorder from his pocket.
"Ok nena this is where I go to swim, you like it?"
"It's amazing."
Despite the beauty of the place, Alice's fears are returning. She knows there is no underwear under those trousers.
Utterly oblivious, Vaas' face cracks into a wide smile and he opens the recorder.
"Let's make some memories" he declares. The red light comes on and Vaas starts talking to it.
"Ok, welcome back to my show. We are here today...with a special guest. Today, internet peoples, I introduce you to my mermaid." He points a finger at the lens. "Now you better be polite, show respect, because if not, I know where you live hermano." He smiles. "Here she is!"
When the lens turns to her, Alice isn't ready. She has no idea what he expects her to do.
"Say hello sirenita." Urges Vaas.
"Hello sirenita."
By sheer luck, Vaas seems to think that this is the most hilarious joke he's heard in weeks.
"She's so funny. Look at her, she's so beautiful. It's her birthday today, I'm taking her to have a swim. Cause she's a mermaid you know."
He walks towards her, puts an arm around her shoulders but doesn't quite touch her. He is awfully close though, and she can smell him. Smoke, sweat. He holds the recorder up, selfie style.
When he is certain that they are both in the shot, he turns his face to hers and says, in a low voice:
"Enjoy your swim, mermaid. Don't you be swimming away."
She plays along, responds with a smile, they exchange a knowing look for the camera. He turns the recorder off.
He takes a few steps back and Alice can catch her breath.
"Ok, you can swim as long as you want, but stay in this creek. There's sharks further on, adult ones. You'll see little ones in the water but they won't attack you. The big ones don't hunt here because that's where the young ones are, you see? Enjoy yourself."
This said, Vaas sits on the sand and motions for her to go to the water. Alice takes a few hesitant steps forward, stops to kick off her shoes. She reaches the water and when it curls around her toes it is the most delicious sensation in the world. She sighs. One last look behind her confirms two things : Vaas is staying where he is, and yes, he is still staring at her. The girl can even make out a slightly cheeky smile on his lips, as if he knows she is embarrassed at the idea of undressing in front of him.
You can do this. Play your cards well, Alice, you can do this. You'll play your way out of this.
Without looking at him, she walks back towards the beach,picks up her shoes and drops them next to him, although at a safe distance. She then, deliberately, though not slowly enough to arouse suspicion, lifts the dress off her legs, thighs, stomach, chest, then over her head. She flicks her hair as she folds the dress neatly before depositing it as gracefully as possible on top of her shoes. She even goes so far as to adjust the swimsuit around her breasts and on her bum before she risks a look at him.
The cheeky smile is gone.
She holds his gaze for a second too long to be purely accidental, then makes her way to the water.
Although she absolutely does not dare to attempt even the subtlest swaying of the hips, Alice still makes a conscious effort not to pat her way to the water like a fat duck.
He wants a mermaid? He'll get a mermaid. She'll be any kind of mermaid he wants if that means she can work him into doing what she needs to escape. Really, it isn't that hard. A perhaps will keep him keen, at least long enough to think of an escape route.
As she walks into the water though, all evil plans abandon her mind and are replaced by the sheer joy of being able to swim again. The water licks around her legs, molds around her stomach, caresses her chest, shelters her shoulders. Alice dips her head back and the water makes its way through her long hair, cools her scalp, and another sigh escapes her. She closes her eyes in bliss.
One final look to the beach reassures her that Vaas isn't making any movement towards the water, and she notices that he is now clutching her dress between his fingers. He fixes her with an intense look in his eyes.
She'll worry about that later, because for now, the mermaid gets to swim.
Ever since she was a little girl, Alice has always been extremely fond of swimming, especially under water. She can spend hours in the water, and has been training herself to hold her breath every single day since she was little.
Today, Alice knows that from then on she will have to spend more time with Vaas, put up a stronger act, actively work towards an escape while keeping the pirate happy and unaware. She cannot just jump on him, though, he would definitely see right through her. She's got to take it slow and steady, but Alice also knows she is no actress. She'd always be given the role of the tree, or the cloud, in school plays.
Alice stays in the water for a few hours, lost in her thoughts, alternating between swimming lengths from one cliff to the other, floating around to take a rest, and diving as deep as possible to swim along the bottom and listen to the silence.
As for Vaas, the pirate remains sitting down for a bit, then he stands and walks to the edge, goes back, leans back on his elbow, plays with his recorder, rummages through his bag, but does not join her.
When eventually Alice makes her way back, determined to start with her brand new, brave, proactive, freedom seeking "perhaps" attitude, Vaas stares at her unabashedly as she walks to him.
"You're looking very hot right now" he tells her, and there is no definite indication of whether he means sexy or too warm, so Alice doesn't know if she should say thank you.
"You too." She tells him, making sure to sound as ambiguous as he has.
He stands and gives her a sarung which she wraps around herself. Come on, Alice thinks, be polite at least. You're British, you were born to get a brown nose.
"Thank you very much, Vaas, it was amazing. This place is gorgeous and I had a really great swim."
Impulsively, Alice reaches out and grabs his hand to give it a squeeze. His eyebrows shoot up but he says nothing. His hand feels warm and rough, strong. She smiles at him, and as she attempts to drop his hand, his hold on hers tightens and he, gently but surely, pulls her hand to his face and presses it to his lips for a bit longer than necessary.
"You're welcome." He says against her knuckles. As he lets go of her hand he taps his finger to his temple and adds: "this means I can hold your hand from now on, you know that?"
I didn't kiss your hand, Alice wants to say, but instead she just nods. "Perhaps" says the doctor in her head.
Alice uses the sarung to mop up most of the water from her hair while Vaas starts setting up what looks a picnic blanket (it has burn and blood stains on it, of course) and pulls out some food from his bag.
"Ok Alice sit here, you must be hungry? Have some food."
Alice sits opposite him, still in her swimsuit. Vaas has brought fruit and some smoked, dry meat. He's also cut open a coconut with a machete that now lies at Alice's left. As often, the girl only notices she is hungry once she starts eating, and soon enough she has eaten two bananas and a full mango, drank half of the coconut, and is now turning her attention towards the dry meat.
"I'm happy to see you're eating your food," comments Vaas. "I fucking hate picky people. Food is food you know. Just fucking eat it."
"I agree" she says, and means. "Although it is nice to cook something a bit different sometimes."
"You like cooking?"
"I do. And you?"
"Sometimes yeah, but it's hard to find the time you know. Usually we just have a big meat barbecue at the camp with the others."
"What sort of meat do you eat?"
"All sorts of meat."
Alice nods. This is going well, she thinks. They are having an actual, normal conversation. About food, as well, and it turns out they both like cooking. That's something that will help her situation, no doubt, at least she'll always have something to talk about. Her mind accidentally pictures big bad Vaas with an apron on and no trousers, and she stifles a laugh.
She takes a good bite of the meat to distract her thoughts, chews carefully and swallows before taking another bite.
"You like it?" Enquiries Vaas.
"It's lovely. What kind of meat is it?"
"What do you think it is?"
"I can't really tell, to be honest. Pork?"
"Close." And he smiles like he knows some sort of dirty secret.
Alice starts feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"So... Is it boar?"
"Nope." He looks at the piece he is holding, and takes a big bite. "It's very good meat, full of protein. It's gonna make you strong." He chews, gestures for her to take another piece, which she does.
Despite herself, Alice is starting to feel rather uneasy, wondering what the meat could be. She'd thought it was pork, or beef, but now she really doesn't know anymore. Could it be dog? Could it be her dog? Surely not, she thinks, Vaas thought he was ugly, he wouldn't eat that puppy. He wouldn't. Would he?
"It tastes good, no?"
"Yes."
Is he being defensive?
"I was just trying to work out what it was. It's going to bug me all night now." She tries to laugh it off, one last desperate attempt at coaxing the truth out of him. It works.
"It's a special meat that I like to call... Hollywood Agent. It's rich, it's smoked, but it's got a lot of fat you know."
"Hollywood Agent? Why would you-?"
But suddenly she fears that she understands, and the shock of it narrows around her stomach and clutches at it like his fingers had cluthed at her dress earlier. There's a vein twitching at the corner of her eye. She drops her gaze, looks at the piece of meat in her hand. It looks so ordinary.
She cannot possibly put it back. She shoves the whole thing into her mouth and uses the back of her hand to keep herself from being tempted to spit it out. She chews at it, trying to ignore the flavours, and looks out to the sea. There's going to be a beautiful, firy sunset any time soon.
He's got to be lying. He's got to be playing her. It was pork, or maybe boar. Maybe dog, whatever. He's testing her, he's gauging her reaction. It can't be right.
She swallows, drinks more coconut juice. She can hear him chewing on his piece of meat.
He's testing her. It can't be human meat. He's trying to get a reaction, and he won't get one.
The sunset commences, and it is as bright and glorious as she's expected. It has been such a nice day! She thinks with desperation. She's turned 24 today. She's had a wonderful swim, and has a plan set up for the future. The sunset is a thing of wonders. Food is food, he said. And she agreed with him.
He's got to be lying, he's got to be. He's got to be.
Alice doesn't notice when he shuffles closer to her. She doesn't feel it when he puts his heavy hand on hers. Food is food.
The sunset is burning tears in her eyes. What a nice day she's had. Protein is good for you.
He's got to be lying.
He's got to be.
