The Life I Live

O, Beloved Daughter

For only being 7 in the morning, the sun was already high in the sky. The rays baked the crew as they stood gathered on the deck, waiting for Law and Bepo to return with the captives. Determination and cold indifference was all Summer could see in the faces of her nakama.

Jean Bart stood beside her, towering above everyone else with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Penguin and Shachi were leaning against the railing with their heads down. Reid and Liam were still in the infirmary, neither of them having woken up yet. Scott had his hands stuffed in his pockets as he lazily wandered the small area by the door.

Summer shifted on her feet, glancing over the endless expanse of ocean around them. What was taking them so long? An awkward cough broke the silence, but nobody said anything.

Suddenly the door burst open and Law strode out, nodachi leaned up against his shoulder and his left hand in his pocket. Behind him walked Scarlet, though at this point it was really hard to tell.

Her face was so bloodied and bruised that she was hardly recognizable as the rich, vain woman they had kidnapped less than 48 hours ago. Her black sequined dress was gone, replaced with a ragged brown shirt and grey, loose-fitting pants that didn't reach her ankles. Numerous cuts and gashes marked her arms and legs, many of them inflamed with infection. Narrowing her eyes, Summer thought she saw singe marks across her face. It looked like sections of her hair had been burned, the tips matted in black soot.

Behind her walked Kat, completely untouched. Her porcelain skin was still as pale as the day she had been brought aboard. Her mouth was down turned in a small frown, her brows furrowed in thought. Today, the two women were polar opposites of their normally boisterous selves. Summer almost laughed.

Bepo brought up the rear, holding a blanket and pistol in his hands. Summer thought the bear would have been uneasy about doing this, but he didn't look concerned or anxious. In fact, he looked just as set as Law.

The captain stopped in front of the railing, where down below a yellow inflatable raft had been tied to the edge. It rocked lazily on the waves. Locking eyes with David, one of the engineers, he nodded and the subordinate threw a rope ladder over the side where it landed in the raft below.

Summer watched as Law turned and surveyed his crew, his eyes finally coming to rest on the two women. "Kat-ya." He said. The girl looked up in surprise.

"While you did not have a hand in the kidnapping of my men, your fate aboard this submarine has already been decided. You cannot remain on this vessel, and as such you and your mother will be set adrift in the ocean. We cannot give you food or water, but you will be given a blanket and a pistol with two shots."

Bepo stepped towards the girl, holding out the provisions. She slowly took them without a word. Her face hadn't changed.

"Mrs. Winslow-ya." He said, to which the woman physically flinched. Summer raised a brow, wondering just how much her time with Law the night before had affected her. The red head recoiled away from him, barely making eye contact. However, the captain didn't smirk like Summer thought he would at her display of weakness.

"This is your death sentence. You will not survive on this ocean with the condition you are in. There is no guarantee your daughter will either, but she has a small chance."

"Yes." She croaked in response, her pride and ego thoroughly crushed.

"They say starvation and dehydration is one of the worst ways to die." Law continued, his eyes narrowing in anger. "For your sake, I hope that's true." He then nodded towards the ladder and the two women slowly shuffled forward.

Scarlet had a difficult time making her way downwards, but Summer knew that nobody would jump to aid her down to what was essentially her coffin. David, however, did offer Kat a hand up the railing. Summer knew David only a little, but she knew his honor as a man prevented him from withholding that small courtesy. Kat didn't meet his eyes and quickly descended the ladder into the raft below.