][Malice][ =One Piece=

:: Chapter Thirty ::

‘Drip….drip….drip…’

Blood, deep crimson blood, dripped down the slender alabaster arms of the suspended girl from the chains beginning to embed themselves in her wrists. Dim light shone through a hastily boarded up window in the ships brig. The chains creaked as the young girl’s limp body swung back and forth leaving beautiful arcs of crimson across the stained wood below. With barely any strength left in her weary body, the girl struggled to raise her head as she heard a commotion nearby.

Voices were raised in anger; there was some sort of disturbance amongst the crew. She strained to listen finding their unrest giving her strength. They were fighting amongst themselves. Distrust. She could work with that. A small wicked smile wormed its way onto her cracked and bleeding lips.

“Get rid of that vile demon!” Someone shouted.

“We can use her.” Another barked.

They were fighting over her.

“We’d be better off killing her. She’ll bring us nothing but ruin.”

The girl grimaced as she heard a chorus of agreement. She couldn’t let it end like this. Revenge spurred her forward. Hatred and malice gave her strength. Her blood caked hands gripped the chains binding her and she shakily raised herself up. Once satisfied she was high enough the drop would cause her to slip free she released her grip. Her body fell toward the floor and she let her hands rest limply to block any resistance.

Skin and chunks of flesh ripped off her wrist as her hands slid free of her shackles. She bit her lip to keep from crying out at the excruciating pain completely oblivious to the blood now trickling into her mouth from biting through. Footsteps sounded from above, her landing must have been noisier than she had thought.

“What was that?” Panicked voices sounded from the door.

She cringed at the sudden blinding light as the door to the brig was wrenched open.

“The demon is free!” Someone cried and Malice felt a moment of panic as she heard a few people un-holster their guns.

She hadn’t adjusted to the light yet. It was still burning her retinas she couldn’t open her eyes. Three pistols were cocked and aimed for the kill. Her racing heart suddenly slowed as she cast out her senses and focused on her surroundings. The guns fired and she managed to dodge two of the three bullets without notice and allowed the third to hit her near her right collarbone.

Her body fell limp to the floor. The blood from her wrists mixed with the blood from her new wound pooled around her confusing the crew.

“Is she dead?”

“Someone check.”

The young girl held back a malicious smirk as she lay still in the ever growing pool of blood waiting for the opportune moment to strike. It was hard to contain the victorious smirk that threatened to worm its way onto her lips as she heard someone reach for the door.

“Wait.” Someone called out stopping the man from entering her cell.

She managed to keep her body still as stone as she heard someone withdraw a pistol, he wasn’t aiming for her head, she’d be fine. The man fired and Malice stayed composed as the bullet grazed her calf.

“No way she’s still alive.” Someone guffawed.

“We should dump the body.”

“Something about it unsettles me.” The same man who had called out before noted.

“If we don’t it’ll start to stink.”