Indisposable

Part 1

"Deciding what to do is just as important as deciding what not to do." ~Steve Jobs

Run.

Blaring alarms raddled her eardrums until she could no longer hear and bright spotlights swept across her eyes until she could no longer see. His cool, tight grasp grew so numb she could no longer feel her fingers.

Run.

Tall seagrass grazed her legs, leaving them itchy in her overalls, but there was nowhere else to go. Nothing else to do, to see, to hear, to feel except what's already in front of her. All she knew was she had to keep hold of his hand.

She panted, struggled to keep up. She spared a glance only to watch the sweat roll from his temple down to his jaw. His teeth were bared as his free hand swung to push himself harder - faster. The buttons on his overalls jingled and clinked with each step. She thought this was the first time Usopp looked brave to her - actually brave as if he was running to slay a dragon with just his bare hands - but she could see it in his eyes that he was just as scared as she was.

He only slowed down when they reached the tree line; and even then, didn't stop until they were a good few yards in.

She bent over and grabbed her knees, wiped the sweat that accumulated between their hands, and tried not to gag. "Did you - did you see if the others got off okay?"

He wheezed. "No. But I think I saw Zoro jump in the water."

The fall from Skypiea was disorienting and the few minutes consisting of their return to the blue sea wasn't anything short of hell. She wouldn't have been surprised if Usopp had actually thrown up because of their short distance sprint from the boat and into the tree line; heck, she wouldn't have been surprised if she had thrown up. The sudden altitude change didn't help, either.

Something echoed through the mud caking the soles of her feet - vibrations with a marching rhythm became stronger and stronger with each stomp in their direction. Panicked, she grabbed hold of Usopp and pushed him towards the closest tree.

"Climb," she whispered. "Climb. Now."

Her heart raced, battered against her rib cage and violated her eardrums - it made her hands tremble. She grabbed at Usopp's outstretched hands, scrambled up the tree and stiffened. The once burning sweat beaded along her spine gave her goose skin as she watched two Marine men scout the area they were just in - both carrying their own bayonet rifles. She felt Usopp shift behind her, allowed his arms to snake around her waist and didn't resist when his weight on her back pushed her against the tree trunk. She probably would've been touched at his self-sacrificing shield if they were in better circumstances.

This close, she could feel his heart beating erratically and it only got worse when one of them stopped. He jerked his gun up, pointed right at them, and pulled the trigger. It was an explosion in the silence, blasting out her eardrums, but nothing could cancel out the noise of the bullet whizzing inches above her head. She could feel its blistering heat and didn't doubt it singes a section of her hair. Her squeek was muffled by her sleeves, the echo of the blast, and something else' shriek in the distance. Twigs snapped in its decent and she dared open her eyes when it thumped to the ground behind them.

The shooter stalked under them and when he returned he held a bright smile and a dead bird swinging limply by its feet.

"Think Jessica will like it?"

"You know she's married, right?"

They walked on, their conversation fading in the distance as they disappeared through the fog.

Finally, they breathed and sat upright.

"Do you think they were hunting or, you know, hunting," he stammered.