Chapter 8 – A Taste of the Pirate Life
The tavern was eerily silent. You could hear a pin drop if it weren't for the muffled whimpers of the staff, cowering behind the counter. The air was thick with tension, to the point that Skyler thought they would all remain locked in this frozen standstill.
Then, Kidd clicked his tongue against his teeth, the sound echoing through the tavern.
As if it were a silent command, Killer immediately launched a table forward, shattering the stalemate.
Shouts rang out from all sides. Pirates vaulted over tables, lunging at the marines. The marines barked orders, muskets raised and ready. Gunfire cracked through the air, filling the room with smoke and the scent of burnt gunpowder. Those with ranged weapons ducked for cover, firing at any opening they could find.
Skyler wrenched herself free from Kidd's grip, instincts kicking in. She flipped a table, crouching behind it as a makeshift shield. Her breath came fast, her hands trembling as adrenaline flooded her veins.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Kidd's voice boomed above the chaos.
She peeked over the edge of the table, just in time to see him grinning, his flintlock already drawn and firing.
"Are you serious!?" she shrieked, covering her ears as another shot rang out. "They're shooting at us! Do you really expect me to just – just jump in!?"
Kidd holstered his gun with a scoff before crouching beside her, his looming presence nearly swallowing her whole. "This is what you trained for, dumbass!" He grabbed her arm, pulling her up with more force than necessary. "This is your chance – so get up and do something!"
She winced, a sharp flinch that had nothing to do with his grip. Her senses were overloaded – flashes of movement in her peripherals, deafening gunfire, the reeling aftermath of his earlier threat still clawing at her mind. She hadn't even come down from that surge of adrenaline, and now it was building up again, her body struggling to keep up with the chaos.
And then she saw a glint of metal. A shifting silhouette behind Kidd.
A marine, with his blade drawn, charged right for him and Skyler hesitated.
A part of her whispered – let him take the hit, make him bleed. His threat hadn't been empty, and she still didn't know the full extent of what he was capable of. He wasn't a good man. His playful smirks, his teasing, it had all been making something crueller.
But another part of her screamed to move. Not out of loyalty or care, but because he was her only way home.
If she wanted to find a way back, she needed him and his crew. His connections, his ship. And if she let him fall here, that door would slam shut.
So she chose to move. Using his arm as leverage, she pushed herself up and over his side, twisting mid-air. Her boot connected with the marine's skull before the blade could strike, sending him stumbling backward. A sickening crack filled her ears – the sound of the marine's nose breaking.
And then she landed but not behind cover or beside Kidd, but rather in the front line. Skyler barely had a moment to register the mistake before she found herself staring down the barrels of half a dozen muskets.
She saw blood splattered on the floor, streaked across the walls in jagged smears. The smell of it clung to the air, metallic and making her nauseous. The content in her stomach threatened to come up to her mouth, bile burning her throat but she forced it down.
If she moved too slow she wouldn't have any time to throw up. She'd be dead if she took a moment longer.
An arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her backward.
Her body collided with fur – Kidd's coat – the jagged spikes over his shoulders, pressing cold against her cheek.
Skyler wasn't fully processing what was happening. Her mind was moving too fast and too slow all at once, carving every horrific detail into memory. Bodies strewn across the floor, their uniforms soaked in red. Skulls blown apart from close-range gunfire. A severed limb discarded in the corner like it no longer belonged to anyone.
Someone was speaking, close to her ear but all she heard was Kidd's voice, whispering against her neck – "Good." He sounded pleased, his breath burning her from the inside out, dulling her senses. The pandemonium around her became a distant roar. Her vision narrowed, the edges of her sight blurring.
Not now.
She sucked in a breath, forcing herself to focus – but the stench nearly sent her stomach lurching.
Gunpowder.
Blood.
Sweat.
Death.
The bile burned its way up her throat.
Not now.
Skyler pushed Kidd's arm aside, stepping out of his hold. As she moved, her fingers curled around the handle of his knife, yanking it from the bandolier across his chest in one fluid motion.
Kidd laughed, low and wild, but she ignored him.
The marines had switched to melee combat – swords drawn, muskets discarded. Reloading took too long in close quarters.
That meant she wouldn't get randomly shot in the back. A stab wound was easier to survive.
With the blade firm in her grip, she charged forward and everything blurred down to instinct.
She moved through the fray, dodging, weaving and striking. The knife in her hand found gaps, slicing through uniforms, disabling those who stood in her way. The adrenaline dulled the pain of the cuts and bruises she was accumulating, but exhaustion was creeping up on her fast.
Not now.
She had to clear a path and get out but she made a mistake, feeling herself trip over a bump on the ground. She turned around, her back hitting against the floor in a thud.
She had tripped on the abandoned arm she had seen earlier. Above her a marine approached without qualms, sword in hand, ready to strike.
Skyler didn't think, she just moved, aiming for her survival. With the knife, she let the blade draw across the sword of the marine, the metallic sound ringing in her ear, before she plunged the blade in the marines stomach.
Warmth splattered across her face and her breath hitched. The knife almost slipped from her grasp as the marine fell to the ground, lifeless. A choked sob threatened to come out.
Not now.
She barely had time to recentre herself when she felt a sharp tug from behind her. The arm of a marine wrapped around her neck, and pointed a small knife at her face. Before he could plunge it through her skull, a blast was heard and the soldier dropped the knife.
She felt it again – that splash of warmth on her side. She couldn't tell if it was her blood or the soldier's. She didn't have time to think since Quincy approached her, musket in hand, and that warm, comforting smile of hers.
Without hesitation, Quincy took Skyler's hand. "Come on, sweetie," Quincy spoke over the noise, her voice firm. She pulled Skyler and the raven-haired woman followed. Quincy tossed the musket aside, pulling out a flintlock and fired at anyone in their way that wasn't a pirate. "You're doing so good," Quincy reassured, squeezing her hand as they pushed forward. "Just a little longer, okay?"
Even if Quincy was speaking automatically, her words were still a small comfort, steadying Skyler just enough to keep moving. But not enough to let her guard down.
She stepped away from Quincy, tightening her grip around Kidd's knife, and pushed forward toward the bar's exit. Light seeped through the cracks in the doorway, and when she finally shoved it open, a rush of cold air hit her, washing away the stench from inside the tavern.
Relief barely had time to settle before she came face to face with a fresh wave of marines.
Skyler cursed under her breath. Exhaustion was setting in fast – her thighs burned, muscles twitching with every step.
Before she could even think about how screwed she was, the marines weapons suddenly lifted into the air, yanked back toward the tavern.
At the entrance, Kidd stood with one arm raised, a wild grin stretched across his face. The metal ripped from the soldier's hands spiralled toward him, joining the growing sphere of jagged weapons hovering above his head.
"Get ready to run," Quincy warned, her fingers curling around Skyler's hand in a firm grip.
"Who the fuck told you we were here!?" Kidd's voice boomed over the battlefield. Without waiting for an answer, he hurled the massive ball of metal forward. It smashed into the marines like a wrecking ball, sending them scattering.
The opening was all Skyler needed.
She bolted toward the docks, Quincy pulling her along, voicing words of encouragement – whether for Skyler or herself, she wasn't sure. Around them, the remaining crew seized the chance to escape, some shouting thanks to their captain as they sprinted past.
Kidd barely acknowledged them, too focused on crushing the marines. He kept drawing their discarded weapons back, slamming them into the soldiers again and again, ensuring his crew had a clear path. But Skyler knew he wouldn't stay behind for long.
Killer, Heat and Wire would see to that.
The three of them lingered at the battlefield's edge, their weapons drawn, standing between Kidd and the enemy. They never left without him, and he trusted them to pull him back before things got out of hand.
The pirates that had gone ahead, scrambled aboard the ship, hauling up the injured, readying to set sail.
Kidd would have to come up with something – a way to keep the crew safe until the log pose set. But first they had to get the hell out of there.
"Kidd, we need to move," Killer called over the chaos. "We sail now and find a place to hide the ship."
Kidd gave a sharp nod. He knew Killer was right and they didn't have time to waste.
"How long until the log pose sets?" Kidd's voice was harsh, urgent but, as they arrived at the ship, his gaze was elsewhere, sweeping the docks.
He didn't see Skyler, so he stormed up to the ship, Killer, Wire and Heat following close behind.
"Twelve hours," Killer answered, walking beside him. "I'll need to check the charts, but if we don't stray – or hit a storm – it's a direct trip to Sabaody from here." Even as he spoke, Killer noticed the urgency in Kidd's gaze, and searched for the only one he was sure his captain was looking for. And he found her quick. "There, captain."
Kidd turned his head – and stilled.
Skyler was slumped over the ship's railing, retching violently over the side. Quincy stood beside her, rubbing slow circles into her back, her face pinched with worry.
Kidd's jaw tightened. "Seriously?" he muttered under his breath before stalking toward her. Killer almost stopped him but Kidd was moving too fast. He barely made it a few steps before Quincy stepped directly in his path. "What the fuck!?" he snapped.
"Not now, captain." Her voice was firm, determined to push him away if need be. "Give her time." Kidd narrowed his eyes, but before he could argue, Quincy's gaze flicked past him. "Heat," she called. "Check on her. She took a bad fall. I don't know how deep the cuts are but she's got a few."
Heat nodded and stepped forward. Even without a closer look, he could see the injuries. Shallow slashes along her arms, a few on her torso. But what worried him most was the steady trickle of blood from her forehead.
"Come on," he spoke softly, placing a firm hand on her back. He guided her toward the stairs leading to the sick bay.
Kidd didn't move.
The rush – the high – of battle had vanished.
He'd expected her to be shaken, maybe even injured. But he wasn't expecting this. She looked… defeated. And that pissed him off in a way he didn't know how to deal with.
He didn't know what to say. No idea what to do so, instead, he turned away.
"Get ready to set sail!" he barked, shoving the feelings down as deep as they would go. "We need to lose those assholes."
The crew snapped into motion, working together like a well-oiled machine.
Kidd forced himself to focus on the ship, on the wounded. On anything but the unfamiliar knot in his chest.
The downside of being captain was that he didn't have time to dwell on this.
The crew came first, and maybe that was for the best.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
A/N:
Another chapter done and this one took a bit longer than the others. This is where I start to change quite a few things in the story compared to the original. From this point on it'll be different and now its own thing.
I'll still continue to be careful with my writing and proofread everything just to make sure this doesn't get released with errors and is understandable. I appreciate the support and hope you'll keep having fun with reading this work.