Hey! It's me again! This is probably the last chapter I'll get out for a while because of the hurricane. It really sucks. Anyways, please R&R! And, wheneverI figure out how to get a LIVE JOURNAL thingy, I'll have that to talk to my reviewers, okay? Great! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: Caridi/Heidi and the storyline are mine. Nothing else.
Chapter 9: Forest, Come One, Come All!
Caridi looked out over the town below from her sitting position. This really sucked. She'd looked on every hill and had looked at the base of most of the mountains for foot prints. Notta.
She stood, putting her hand onto her sheath. Maybe he'd decided to look somewhere else? He may be on the docks or something. she thought, taking a few steps in that direction. No, he wouldn't do that. she decided, turning in the direction of the trees. Or would he?
She turned around, taking a step forward, then deciding not to. Then tried the other way, and ran into the same problem… Or maybe a different one.
"Goin' somewhere lil' lady?" the man cooed, his accent thicker than ice in the Arctic. She scowled at him, looking up to see his eyes. "Yes, I am. And I'd appreciate it if you'd move." Caridi spat, stepping back a bit.
The male laughed harshly, throwing back his head. Once his laughter died down, he unsheathed a pistol, pointing it in her direction. He cocked his head. "I dun think you're goin' nowhere."
Her eyes widened. He wasn't really going to shoot her, right? She wasn't going to take that chance. She dove past him and into the comfort of the woods. Sure, she'd never find her way out again but hey, it was better than being the deer in the headlights, right?
Zoro rushed down the path towards the forest. That dumbass was probably there with his luck.
He took a sharp turn, seeing a rock in his path and jumping to the right. He stopped. "Man," he murmured. "It's like a maze out here." He took in the surrounding area. Barely a ray of sunlight glistened through the tree tops to signify day from night. He could be missing in there for days and never realize it.
He heaved a sigh, walking a further way into the dense woodland. He continued in one direction for what seemed like hours until he met up with a mountain face. He sighed again.
Just his luck to have to scale a mountain side. Of course, he could always go around, right? "Nope." he argued with himself. "That would take too long."
With that, he started his accent up the peak. About half way up, a shot rang through the stale air, causing Zoro to lose his balance and nearly fall. He caught hold of a solid rock hanging from the rocky turf. He smirked. "Wow, that really works?" he asked the air. "I thought for sure it would…" BAM! The rock broke, just like he'd almost predicted, sending him falling to the unwelcoming earth below his feet.
Using some quick thinking, he pulled out his swords, throwing them into the side of the mountain. Holding on for dear life, he pulled himself up. His hands throbbed from all he'd done with them, but he couldn't give up now.
He was too curious as to what had caused the shot.
Luffy and Nami approached the docks quietly. Luffy looked both ways, kind of reminding Nami of a little boy about to cross a busy street.
He smiled broadly. "Nope! No one's here!" he exclaimed, turning around. "Let's go look in the forest!"
He was about to skip off when Nami spoke up, her voice crisp and clear, if not agitated. "That forest is no place for anyone. Hopefully your friends aren't dumb enough to go in there. First thing: it's just crawling with pirates. Second: It's so dense you can't tell daylight from darkness! It all runs together. If we go in there, we'll either be attacked and killed, attacked and tortured, or get hopelessly lost and starve to death."
Luffy blinked. As much of a point as she had, he couldn't help noticing her view on the subject. He looked her over before replying, "You seem to be quite a 'glass-is-half-empty' kind of person. I really don't care if we get attacked by pirates, I can best them easily. And if we get lost, I have ways of getting us out."
Nami crossed her arms and closed her eyes, exhaling loudly. "Whatever. If you want to go get us killed, then fine by me." With that, they both started to make their way towards the forest.
OKAY! PLEASE R&R AND I'LL UPDATE ASAP! LUV YA ALL!