Stuck with insanity

Part 16 - the stage

Every so often the rustling of crisp leaves under the pirates boots disturbed the small whimpers or the clanging of the bars as desperate people tried to escape. Vaas every so often would walk past and scare the hostages, often taunting them about how they will never escape. That much was true.

"Buenos dias, hermosa" Vaas greeted and knelt down to my level, looking me squad in the eyes with a grin that signaled a plan. Not a good one probably.

"I have a surprise for you." Vaas untied my hands and picked me up bridal style, angering me beyond what I thought. Vaas just laughed softly as if it were nothing but a small tantrum. It probably was anyway.

He put me down after a few minutes due to the fact my glare wouldn't stop.

"Walk." He said simply and I was confused.

"Wha? Whe-?" I replied slightly before Vaas pushed me forward

"Walk. Forward." Vaas repeated simply for me, irritation growing in his once amused voice. Its best not to anger him, especially after a simple command like that.

A few minutes of walking along the silent, mouse ridden camp landed me in front of a wooden stage. There was chips and faint blood stains on it too, wooden boxes stacked up on it and panic ran through me. I was NOT going to die on there. My body reacted on its own, connecting my knee to Vaas's stomach so hard that he froze in place. My instinct told me to run. Run and never look back, JUST GO!

The pirates froze in the positions they were in and stared at my sudden outburst. I took my knee away and ran. Ran toward the jungle. It didn't take long for one of he bigger built pirates to get in my way and block my exit path. He grabbed the rope that tightly bound my wrists behind my back and yanked on them, making me yelp. They found it hilarious, until Vaas strode to me.

He put a hand behind my neck and pushed me to the floor. The dry sand and small, slightly sharp rocks grazed my chest and knees. Vaas dragged me to stand up by clutching the rope and pulling up. He dragged me to the wooden stage, threw me at the bottom and jumped off.

Three other people, bound, beaten, and terrified had been knelt beside me. All of them shaking in fear.

"Holla! These are the fucks that didn't sell. And, as a special, a loco chica who retaliated!" Vaas announced to the sea of pirates who raised their guns in the air and cheered slightly. Vaas walked to the hostage closest to the steps and laughed slightly.

"N-no, please no! Please no, no" The beaten woman pleaded, her voice crumbling like bread. Vaas took amusement from this and laughed.

"Sh, okay?" He took his gun out and stood up, looking down at the woman and pulling the trigger. We all jumped and whinced, he didn't use much interaction. He stepped over to the man next to her, his smile fading in to a slight frown.

"Oh, hermano. How you tried to fuck me over" Vaas stated and put the gun to his head, pulling the trigger which unleashed a smile on to him.

He stepped to the next one, another girl. She looked like she was already dead.

"Please, I beg you. Please don't, no, no" she stuttered slightly in between sobs. Vaas knelt down and looked her in the eyes.

"Shhh, sh. Don't worry, it's partially not your fault. Just think of it as... A release" Vaas stood up and put the gun to her dirt ridden head, scraping away dry blood. He pulled the trigger and she fell back dead.

He walked to me and then turned to the excited pirates.

"This is the loco chica that retaliated!" Vaas practically growled and the pirates went wide eyed in disbelief. His attention went to me and he holstered his gun, the pirates made a noise of confusion until Emilia got dragged on stage.

OH FUCK NO HE ISN'T!

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER!" I yelled out and Vaas slowly looked at me. He knelt down and gripped my hair, pulling my head up to look at him. The force of his grip felt like my hair was being pulled out.

"Give me one fucking reason, you should stay alive." Vaas said.

"If I have guts to stand up to you, I could be a valuable asset." I stated with confidence and Vaas remained silent a while longer.

"Hmmm. Okay, you can live. As for your friend?" He looked at Emilia and then back at me.

"Sure, why the hell not?".

I gasped in surprise as Vaas let go of my hair and stood up. I smiled at Emilia until I felt a hard knee in my stomach, making me breathless. I fell forward and gasped for air, the pirates all cheered proudly of the sudden outburst from their pirate lord. This best be worth it.