Chapter 1 – Try and Survive
It was another regular day, coming off from work and heading towards the gym. Skyler had been practicing mixed martial arts, initially as a hobby, but it had rapidly become a prominent part in her day to day.
She had started this activity because she felt like something was lacking in her life. Or perhaps she was the one who was lacking and, with these thoughts, she'd have to occupy her mind with some form of routine that would push her further, make her tired so she'd not have the energy to let them invade her mind.
After a day of dealing with clients that hired her for photography sessions, complaining about the smallest details or making absurd demands, she would let out any stress or frustration whenever she did her training at the gym. Especially whenever there were fights that had been scheduled by her trainer.
Which was the case for today. Skyler rushed to the gym, heading straight for the locker room to change to her workout clothes. She then returned to the main space of the gym to start warming up with a few drills before turning to the punching bag. She had previously taped her hands to protect them better, her gloves over them for extra protection.
"Ready for another work-out?" A voice called out. Turning her head she saw the coach, prepping his things as well.
"Yeah, I am. Is the match still up for later today?" She asked and noticed that her black hair was still down. She took a pause and caught it in a messy bun. She'd take care of it later, tighten it up before the match.
"Absolutely! And I expect you to do a fast K.O. You've been going crazy over these past weeks." The coach stated and gave her a thumbs up that she returned, with a huge smile on her face.
"I always do my best." Skyler replied and returned to doing her warm ups.
She did her punching exercises for some time, making sure to be precise in the location she was hitting before increasing in power. She was focused on what she was doing, everything around her seemingly going quiet.
Skyler was counting the punches, increasing in speed and alternating with a few kicks, be it with her left or right leg. During this, something started to bother her: everything around her still seemed quiet even when she tried to turn her focus to hear if anyone had arrived in the meantime. Something else that had started to bother her was the fact that, in the corners of her vision, everything was going dark, as if she was going to faint. Her head was feeling heavy, she became more aware of her breathing that sounded laboured.
Her arms felt heavier, her movements becoming sluggish and she had to stop herself, holding onto the punching bag. She felt a wave of nausea assault her stomach and she held it in, trying not to vomit onto the gym equipment.
Slowly, her head started to feel lighter and, blinking fast, she saw her vision was returning to normal but something was off. She wasn't looking at the padded floor of the gym but rather a wooden flooring and, looking up, she wasn't grabbing onto the punching bag but, instead, onto a long dark cape.
"I-I'm sorry… I wasn't-…" Skyler stuttered as she looked up to a man that was wearing an odd outfit for a gym. Then again, looking around she noticed she was not in the gym to begin with. She was on a ship, in the middle of god knows where, and she was not recognizing anyone around her. One of her hands was still grabbing meekly at the cape but she quickly shook it off and took a step back. "I'm sorry!" She repeated again, taking a better look at the man before her. He was wearing a mesh crop top, with some leather straps adorning the edges and, going down his torso, connecting to a stripped, black and orange sash, followed by leather shorts and fishnets.
Clearly someone was making a fashion statement, but she wasn't sure if it was the correct one.
She turned around and saw men gathering around her, all of them with similar peculiar outfits and she wasn't sure if she was being pranked or if she had passed out at the gym and this was just a fever dream.
She was on a ship, in the middle of the ocean and she had no clue how she got here at all.
Before she could take in the situation fully, she had a trident pointed at her neck. The man in the long cape was holding it up, towards her and another man walked around him. He had a stripped mask, covering his whole face so it was hard to make out whatever expression he had. What caught Skyler's attention was the mane-like blond hair he had, practically reaching down to the back of his knees. It almost made him look like the was wearing a fluffy cape on his back.
"Who are you?" The man asked, his voice trying to sound soothing but there was a hint of threat in his tone. His presence was imposing, wanting to get clarifications out of her, but he didn't seem like he was threatening, yet.
"I-… Where am I?" Skyler asked quietly, trying to lean back a bit, away from the man who also accompanied her movement, keeping the same distance.
"You don't ask the questions here!" A high-pitched, nasally voice spoke out and, looking down, Skyler saw a short girl with a black dress and long pigtails. She sounded almost like a cartoon character, highly animated and energetic. "You heard the boss! Answer him!"
"Hey, hey… go take a breather, Dive." The masked man turned his head down to her and then did a motion with his head. The man with the cape casually grabbed the short girl from the collar of her dress, lifting her off the ground and taking her away.
The scene was comical but she did not have the luxury to laugh at that time.
"Skyler. My name is Skyler." She answered, slowly raising her hands up to show she meant no harm. She couldn't tell what he could be thinking, given that she could not see his face, whatever expression he could be making. "I don't know where I am or how I got here…"
"I don't know if I believe you, girly." The blond man took a step forward, Skyler taking a step back but coming to a sudden stop when her back was met with the railing of the ship. Behind her was just the ocean now, there was nowhere else to go. He reached out to her and, from the bracers he had, blades popped out sending her on high alert.
Instinctively, she stretched out her arm, going into his guard space and pushed his arm away from her, lunging forwards with her knee raised. It hit him square on the abdomen, sending him back a bit, giving her more space for her to move.
The issue was that now the rest of the people around her were on high alert as well, surrounding her and outnumbering her.
"There was no need for that." She spat at him, assuming a defensive stance, raising her hands to cover part of her face.
"I could say the same to you." He composed himself, rolling his shoulders back before preparing to fight her. He had to admit that her kick did catch him off guard and had hurt more than it should've but he wasn't going to let it show. "Your situation is more precarious, you know that, right?" He raised a hand, signalling for the rest of the people around him to hold their ground for now.
"I have eyes, yes." Her guard lowered only a bit and this was enough for the blond to rush to her, breaking through her guard and throwing a heavy punch towards her chest. She had able to put her arms in front of his hand, taking the brunt of the force but gasped at the weight behind it. He was not playing around and his punch felt like she had been hit by a truck.
The force sent her back again, making her hit the rail and she stumbled to the floor, coughing. She checked her arms, seeing if they were broken from the impact but they seemed intact to what she could see at the moment.
"You can fight." The man called out, approaching her and grabbing her by her hair. "And you showed up out of nowhere, so I am inclined to suspect you as a possible threat." He crouched to her level so he could look her in the eyes. He noticed how deep green they were, almost like emeralds and he had to admit that she had a certain charm to her looks, the freckles adding to the beauty she seemed to hold. But this was not the time and, if it were another circumstance, he wouldn't mind spending some quality time with her. "So, how about you play nice, by our rules and, maybe, if our captain is feeling generous, you may leave here alive."
"Captain…?" She repeated, trying to make sense of his words but she had started to piece everything together, especially when she noticed the jolly roger above them, with the classical skull. "You're pirates…?" She breathed out, grabbing onto his gauntlets for leverage. It sounded absurd given that, last she checked, there were no sea pirates, only online pirating that she knew of. The classical, romanticized idea of pirates did not exist anymore, at least to her knowledge but still he nodded, confirming her assumption. Skyler chuckled. "And pirates are just willing to let me go if I play nice?"
"If you play nice." He shrugged casually, as if this was just another Tuesday for him.
"I have my doubts about that." Skyler quickly jumped to a crouching position and, with the pressure of her weight, kicked out her leg forward like a spring, hitting him in between the legs, right on his precious family jewels. She heard him choke because of the pain and, when he loosened his grip on her hair, she got up, pushing his head down and jumped over him.
Now there was another issue which was the rest of the people that were on deck. Everyone surrounded her and she didn't know how long she had until the blond man recovered from her kick.
She didn't have time to think since, everyone started lunging towards her and she did her best to dodge and incapacitate whomever she could and fast. This didn't last long when someone grabbed her head and pushed her down to the floor with great force, breaking through the wooden surface.
The blond was upset that he was caught off guard for just a split second and, at the same time, quite embarrassed that she managed to kick him there. He used more force than was needed, unsure if she was still conscious after the impact. He knew he was going to get an earful from his captain later for ruining his ship but he could deal with that afterwards.
The wind left her lungs, making her gasp urgently for air. She was on the floor of the lower deck, with the blond man on her back, hand still on her head and now with the blade from the gauntlet out again, right in front of her eyes, seeing her frightened expression on the reflection.
Skyler tried to assess possible damage. She was sure her body would be sore if she was ever to see tomorrow, that was certain. Beside that she had multiple splinters and some nails stabbing her in different part of her body, some splinters too close to one of her eyes.
"What the fuck, Killer!?" A new voice shouted and Skyler struggled to look towards the source.
Her breath hitched when she saw the figure: he was all red. Red hair, red eyes, red lipstick. Everything about him shouted blood and violence. How he stood, how he approached the two of them.
He was dangerous.
He was ferocity and passion.
Skyler felt shivers travel her body and tried to pry her arms out from under the blonde's legs but he only applied more force, preventing her from getting loose. She groaned in pain as this only caused the splinters to stab further into her arms.
"She appeared out of nowhere and has become hostile." The blond man that was called Killer explained to the redhead, not raising his head to look at him.
"Out of nowhere?" The redhead raised an eyebrow before crouching down in front of Skyler's face, a grin on his face. "So, who sent you, little girl?" His tone was menacing, dangerous and she was sure that, unlike the blond that seemed a bit more diplomatic, he was not to be toyed with. He gently tapped her cheek with the back of his hand. "And who the fuck are you?"
"S-Skyler." She managed to spit out, feeling a nail stab her cheek as she did so.
"Skyler… alright. And how did you get onto my ship that is in the middle of the fucking ocean at the moment?" He continued his inquiry but she noticed that his tone was losing whatever shred of patience he had to begin with.
Good, someone with a short fuse.
"I don't-… know." She managed to gasp out, the weight of the man on her back becoming too much for her to withstand.
"Ah!?" He growled at her, not liking her answer.
She tried to raise herself off the rubble again but her head was bashed down again, making her hiss in pain.
"I can't breathe… Get off!" She managed to spit out, turning her eyes to the blond as best as she could. If looks could kill, she would've done so ten times over to him.
"Watch your mouth!" The redhead growled at her before getting back up. "Throw her overboard or kill her, whatever you want. She is useless to us and I don't have the patience." He turned to walk away from them. "And now I have to repair the damages you did to my ship." These last words were hammered at her, making sure she knew the inconvenience he had given her.
"Hey! Blame that on the dude on my fucking back!" She shouted back, breathing heavily from the effort of having to talk with such a heavy weight on her. "And I said I don't fucking know how I got here!" She felt the weight on her get a bit lighter. Maybe he was being considerate? "Trust me, if I could, I would've stayed where I was, at the gym, but no! For some fucking reason! I! AM! HERE!"
"And what do you suggest we do with you?" Killer leaned forward, applying more pressure again on her, noticing how her breath left her lungs again.
"Leave me at your next stop." She managed to say between heavy breaths. "I'll be off your back like nothing happened and you'll go on your merry way."
"I don't think you're in any position to make those requests." The redhead spoke up, turning back to her again. He was amused by her audacity and, had to admit that she had guts to be offering such terms even though her chances of survival were slim. Still, he had to give her props for trying. His red gaze turned to Killer, who nodded at his captain. "You're on thin ice. And you'll be fixing this ship right away." He stated before walking away, leaving the room that was left completely destroyed by her entrance.
Killer got off of her but didn't make any move to help her up but also didn't move away his gaze from her.
"The captain is in a good mood." He kicked her foot, inviting her to move and get up from the floor, not making much of an effort for more.
"Oh lucky me…" She sighed heavily before carefully lifting herself with her damaged arms, splinters stabbing the palms of her hands. Looking down she noticed that her top was completely ruined, blood in some parts and torn on others and her skin was in no better condition. A nail was embedded in her thigh and she knew that would hurt like hell to get out. She looked over her shoulder to the blond that was still standing like a statue. "Oh for fuck's sake… Help me up, please!"
"Now you're being polite?" He teased but reached out a hand after her request. He noticed all the cuts that she had as well as the nail on her thigh. She couldn't see but he grimaced from behind the mask, knowing well how much that would hurt. Killer let go of her hand and walked ahead of her. "Come, I'll take you to the infirmary to have that checked."
She only nodded but didn't go far. For some reason, the same feeling she had felt before finding herself on the ship returned.
Her vision was starting to go dark all around her, there was a hammering in her head and a wave of nausea. Her hand found the edge of Killer's blouse before she fell limp to the ground.
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A/N:
The first chapter has been rewritten and proofread as well just to make sure there were no mistakes. For those that have read the story before, yes I have made changes to it because some things just didn't make sense with how it happened and I want to write better action sequences. There were times, looking back, that even I wasn't aware what was happening fully during fighting sequences so I want to be as clear as I can.
I will be working on future chapters and, I said previously that I would publish all in one go but I think, given that I got a bit delayed, I will be publishing 2 chapters straight away and then do the rest in a weekly of monthly schedulle based on how I am doing so far.