Hello and welcome back to my show.
I would like to be able to say that I'm too cool to squeal when I get reviews and follows/faves, but you know, I'm not.
Here is chapter 5, and I'm actually already excited to post chapter 6! Again, thank you so so much for your continued support, it goes straight to the heart and into more writing.
I'm not overly pleased with this one, but here it is, and at least it leads the way for the rest!
Hope you enjoy.
The image blurs then zooms in on a scene a few feet away, focuses.
There is a girl, sitting on a stone. There are armed men walking by her, but she seems undisturbed. She is wearing red swimming shorts and a blue top. Her long hair is thrown over her shoulder, and the ties of a yellow bikini are visible around her neck. She appears unaware that she is being filmed. She is smiling, laughing softly as she cuddles what looks like some sort of pitbull mongrel puppy with a flat face. The animal is so young that its round belly touches the floor due to its short legs. It keeps trying to lick the girl's face, and she pulls away, giggling.
"Ok, so" starts a voice, tinted with a strong Hispanic accent. "Welcome back internet peoples, welcome back to my show. Chris is no longer with us. I know you voted life, but he decided to just die anyway. How very fucking selfish of him. But nevermind! Today, I present to you, my mermaid. Isn't she beautiful?"
The camera awkwardly zooms in further, brushing over the girl's face, neck, chest, her hands as she tickles the dog.
"So fucking beautiful." Says the man, his voice husky with emotion. "Like a dream." The image shakes towards the puppy. "That dog is fucking ugly though. Look at this little shit. What the fuck, honestly hermano. It's like the gods of ugliness all took a big shit, then threw it on this island and made it bark."
There are loud noises and the image blurs, all colours melting together in a sickening mix as the pirate turns the camera to his own face.
"If she loves this ugly ass puppy, she'll love me too, don't you think? I'm better looking than that dog, no?" He points his finger at his viewers. "I want you to comment petal number 1, if you think she loves me, and petal number 2, if you think she loves me not. It's your call. You vote number 1 if you know what's good for you, hermano." He smiles at the camera. "Now go and have a fucking walk or something, you lazy fuck. Bye."
Alice tries her hardest to focus on the warm, happy puppy nibbling at her fingers. The truth is, she is afraid of dogs, especially big, mean ones, but puppies do not count. This puppy is no pirate, it is just a warm little baby desperate for attention. After striking her deal with the pirate - Vaas - Alice only had about two minutes with her friends. She had rushed to them and hugged them as their ties were cut off, whispering feverishly to them to go away, hide, go to a town, forget about her, and never try to leave the island or they would be hunted down and killed. She'd hugged Jessica's tiny body, all shaken with tears, and bits of blood and brains had become tangled in her hair as she'd held Tim and said her goodbyes. And all too soon, they'd had to go, disappearing into the jungle, and she would probably never hear of them again.
Alice picks up the puppy and hugs it, burying her nose into its soft, warm body. The puppy starts wagging its tail furiously, overwhelmed with joy at the sudden attention.
"You smell" she tells him, and he tries to lick her face. "Smelly boy," she cooes, rubbing his belly.
True to his word, the pirate is letting her walk around the camp, and, despite insisting on having her sleep in the bed in his shack he has not joined her once. Not yet, that is, Alice wonders how long it will take him to grow tired of their little arrangement. She has no doubt that he will break his word. She does realise, however, that his madness is her salvation.
That morning, as she got up, Alice found Vaas sleeping on the couch. Admittedly, the gesture did touch her a bit, but she knows much better than to trust the psycho based on one nice, no, decent thing he may have done. At present, she is doing a pretty good job shutting down her mind to everything that has happened and focusing solely on the ugly dog in her lap. Perhaps she will visit Dr Earnhardt in the morning? Maybe even spend the night there? Would Vaas allow that?
"What do you think?" She whispers to the puppy.
Suddenly, there are footsteps approaching her and she knows instantly who they belong to. Alice puts the puppy down, trying to school her face. The agreement said that she should show no fear, and she will try her best. A great shadow covers her and the dog, the latter looking up in confusion.
"How are you, nena?" Asks Vaas.
Granted, she can tell he is making an effort to soften his tone when he speaks to her. She still has yet to understand how his psychosis works. Does he truly believe her to be a mermaid? Does he truly believe she will fall in love with him? Does he not realise all the wrong he is doing her? Is this all just a sick game? Is he fucking with her mind?
She forces herself to look up to him, and smile.
"I'm good, thank you. How are you?"
Her question seems to catch him a bit off guard, and for a second he has a startled look on his face. He recovers quickly, and mistakes her attempt at hiding her fear and disgust for an invitation to sit next to her, which he does.
"Not too bad" he smiles, settling by her side. Alice does her best not to shuffle away. The puppy starts sniffing Vaas' shoes.
"This dog is fucking ugly," comments the pirate, "you like this dog?"
"He's just a puppy," shrugs Alice. "He's very friendly."
"Good job he's friendly, 'cause with that ugly face he ain't never gonna get any pussy." He gently pushes the puppy's nose. "Look at that. It's like someone shut the door on his face or something."
Despite herself, Alice lets out a quiet snort which she tries to hide behind her hand. If he's heard her, the pirate doesn't show.
They remain silent for what feels like an eternity. Alice is struggling with herself. Her brain is telling her to get on the pirate's good side, while her guts are screaming at her not to give him any form of hope whatsoever, anything at all which may be interpreted as consent in that sick mind of his. She wants to go to the doctor's house but is afraid to ask. What if he decides it is a favour and she should repay him somehow?
Eventually, as she is about to speak, he breaks the silence himself.
"I saw you talking with Sophie" he tells her.
"Sophie?"
"Sophie. The American girl with the black hair."
"Oh! She said her name was Jennifer."
"Yeah she does that. What were you talking about?"
"I just... I asked her if she lived here. And how long she's been here. She seemed very upset."
"She don't live here, nena. You're the only woman that actually lives here. The others don't stay long."
Alice is burning with questions. One of them being, what makes her so different? Instead, she asks:
"Do... Do the other pirates not have girlfriends?"
Surprisingly, Vaas fails to respond immediately, as if he is weighing his words carefully.
"The other pirates aren't looking for girlfriends." He says, throwing her a side look. "I wasn't neither, until I met my mermaid." He gives her what is meant to be a charming smile, but it feels more ominous than anything. How many 'mermaids' were there before her? "They're not all as sentimental as me." There are dried blood stains on his shirt and trousers.
"Is Jennifer, or Sophie... What is she doing here? What will happen to her?"
"She's leaving soon, she's been bought."
This time, Alice looks at him.
"Bought?"
He just nods, his face serious. He is looking right back at her, holding her gaze. For the first time, Alice gets a real look at his face. It is rough with stubble, sharp edges, a badly shaved head around a black Mohawk. That huge scar runs from the back of his head all the way to his eyebrow. His eyes are circled with black, but they are green, a darkish green. She'd always assumed his eyes were brown.
"I can't tell you where she's going."
Alice breaks eye contact, looks down. She knows she is scowling but she cannot help herself. She has absolutely no doubt as to what will happen to that girl.
"Do not cry for her, sirenita" he tells her, and once again his voice is all soft and loving. Alice is having none of it. This whole situation is making her sick. She is no longer listening to her brains, just her guts. How far can she push him? How much does it take for him to break the nice guy act?
"This is nonsense. Why aren't you selling me? What's so different about me? I could easily have been that girl."
His face loses its good humour and grows hard and menacing again as he dips his head towards hers. His hot breath brushes her lips.
"You", he starts, and there is hardly contained anger simmering low in his voice, "are nothing like other women. You are a fucking mermaid. My fucking mermaid. And nobody is selling you."
And just as suddenly, he leans back, and all the tension is broken. He pulls a cigar out of his pocket and lights it with a match. Alice turns her face in disgust when the first fumes reach her.
"Ok so, don't get attached to the goods, ok? They never stay long. You can have that ugly dog though, no way anyone is ever going to buy that. You'd have to be into some freaky shit."
He searches somewhere to his right, and retrieves a bag she had not noticed yet.
"This is for you." He is all smiles again. "All of it." He stands, and jogs away. "See you later!"
She watches him run to his men, hitting one in the genitals on the way. The puppy tries sniffing into the bag, which Alice picks up and opens. It is full of clothes! Women's clothes, it seems. She has been wearing hers for days now and she is getting sick of them. It is as if they are so full of filth that they have turned into leather. Sticky, moist leather. Occasionally, they even get itchy.
As she rummages through the bag, trying not to get too excited, Alice starts noticing that something seems a bit wrong. Scratch that, something is awfully wrong. She pulls out a shirt, and there are three holes accross it. Big red stains on the back. There is a pair of shorts, the button and zip broken as if they had been ripped open. Alice searches frantically through the clothes. Blood. Rips. Tears. Each piece of clothing tells of a tale of murder and torture.
And she is to wear it all.