Finnigan's heart dropped as the men began to hurry up the stairs to the top deck. He had only ever been told stories of the horrors of pirates, often thinking them as myths or folklore. But in those few seconds, Finn knew he had been wrong.
He had never fought, much less a pirate. Hell, he couldn't even shoot a pistol. Finn took a big gulp of air before searching the ground for any assortment of weapons. Amongst the wreckage and piles of clothing, he uncovered what looked to be a sword of some sorts. It was heavy, and Finn was weak so it was an awkward fit. You'll have to do he told himself before promptly charging up the stairs.
A raging battle greeted him. Cannons roared as the Pirates hollered back at the crew. They began to board their once peaceful ship, carrying all manner of weapons and tools to kill. Finnigan's heart pounded against his rib cage as his eyes shot between different potential attackers. Finnigan inhaled sharply before charging up the stairs towards the helm of the ship. He defensively held the sword in front of him as the fighting continued. He watched his fellow crew mates fall at the hands of the pirates. Blood soaked their clothing as they were dropped to the ground.
The metallic scent of blood filled the air, making Finnigan a little more nauseous than he was before. Commodore Delmendo fought the best to his ability before a cutlass was driven through his chest. The sword dropped from his hand as he fell to the ground, motionless. Finn watched in horror as the rest of the crew was almost effortlessly slaughtered before his eyes. That's when they turned their attention towards him.
Fear was not the word to describe how he felt, for it was beyond that. Finn felt the adrenaline pulse through his veins. If I'm going to die, might as well try to fight back. He gripped the blade tightly before charging towards one of the pirates who was advancing towards him. Finnigan lunged forward, and the blade cut into the man's chest, sinking before the man went limp and dropped. Finn gasped and stared at his hands.
"I-I just killed a man." He yelped underneath his breath.
"And for that you will die!" A voice shouted at him.
Finn yelped and pulled the blade from the dead man's chest before standing defensively once again. The pirates began to encircle him, a grin on almost all of their faces. Blood stained their clothes and their blades, but Finn knew it wasn't their own.
"I-I-I can help you! I-I know where y-you can get more treasure!" Finnigan pleaded, his arms beginning to shake underneath the weight of the blade.
Tears dared to gather in his eyes as he stared at the pirates, begging for their mercy.
"Do ye now?" A voice called from behind the group.
The pirates quickly stepped back as a man with an eye patch approached him. He wasn't a fine looking man, quite the opposite. Finn gulped and nodded quickly, taking a couple of steps back.
"And where?" He asked leaning towards him.
"I-I-I have to show you. I-If you let me live I-I'll show you." Finnigan dropped his sword and fell to his knees, covering the back of his neck, expecting the worst.
"Take 'im to the brigs. Once he decides to tell us, you know what to do." The man laughed as the pirates grabbed him by the arms.
They began to drag Finnigan back towards the ship. Finn didn't fight them and walked with them. This was far better than death. They brought him onto their darkened ship before leading him down a flight of stairs. A few cells sat vacant before him, with someone occupying the first. They threw him in the cell across from the stranger with a laugh.
"Kahlo, we found you a friend! Now you'll have someone to eat!" They laughed kicking the bars of the other's cell.
The person winced and waited until they were gone to glance towards him. Finnigan blinked in surprise as he realized that the stranger was...was a female. Her hair was the color of soot and her eyes were the color of fire that burned them. She was tan, at least for the ladies he had known in Maryland. And a large sneer was pulled across her face. A large earring hung from one ear as she glared at him.
Finnigan averted his gaze and stared down at the floor. This Kahlo person was not happy to see him. He sat in silence, giving the woman the peace she seemed to want, in which he didn't want to disturb once more.
~~~
Kahlo stared at the man they had brought. Blood stained his white blouse along with his face. She didn't see any entrance hole, so it wasn't from the fight. She had heard the cannons fire off, so she assumed Neptune's Thrall had stopped to loot a nearby merchant ship. The man was, to say the least, skinny. He looked like he's never seen a fight before in his life. He had disheveled brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was extremely pale for being out at sea, so it was safe to assume he wasn't out that long. He looked about a year or so older than her, so she assumed he was around 21-22. He needed a shave, unless he was trying to grow a beard in which he shouldn't.
Kahlo let out an unimpressed sigh before she turned back towards the hinges on her cell. She continued to fiddle with them, trying to loosen them, to at least have a chance to escape.
"If you're trying to escape. It's not going to work. They're just going to kill us in a day or two."
Kahlo frowned and turned back towards the man. His eyebrows were furrowed together, a frown pulled across his face.
"Then enjoy that. Unlike you, I want freedom." Kahlo rolled her eyes as she continued her work.
The man was silent for a moment or two before his voice filled the silence once again. "Isn't it bad luck to have a woman on board?"
Kahlo let out a groan of agitation as she turned to stare him in the eyes. "Not until you see what they can do."
The man laughed at her in response. "Really? Like what? Clean dishes?"
Kahlo leapt to her feet, anger pulsing through her body. She bent over and picked up a small rock before hurling it at the man. It hit him right in the eye, and he yelped in pain. Kahlo smirked and stared down at him.
"Like that."
The man pressed his hand to his eye and cast a glare at her but didn't respond. Kahlo chuckled quietly and continued her escape attempt.
"Alright you proved me wrong. I guess you're right." He said after a couple of minutes.
Kahlo sighed and glared back at him. "Do you ever not shut up?"
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. The name's Finnigan." He ignored her comment and decided an introduction was the proper way to respond. "The pirates called you Kahlo, is that your name?"
Kahlo tensed before closing her mouth tightly. Finnigan chuckled in reply.
"I'll take that as a yes." He answered.
Kahlo sighed, shaking her head before continuing her escape attempt. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to untwist one of the screws keeping her captive. Feet trailing down the stairs sent her away from her work. She slid to the back of the cell, staring at the stairs. One of the deckhands stumbled towards the cells. The smell of alcohol bleeding off of him. Finnigan side-eyed the man as he moved towards Kahlo.
"Ayeee- Kahlo, stand up!" He gripped onto the sides of her cell, fumbling with keys strapped to his belt.
Kahlo obeyed and raised to her feet as the door to the cell opened. The drunk man stumbled into her cell, closing the door behind him. He reached towards her, and Kahlo ducked underneath his arms before sending her knee into his chest. The man yelped before cursing and swinging at her once more. Kahlo kicked the man to the back of her cell, his head smacking against the metal poles. She kicked him sharply in the head as he fell, soon falling limp.
"Did you kill him?" Finnigan asked in disbelief.
Kahlo shrugged and began to search the man, taking the keys, a small dagger, and his hat. She began to saw off the ropes confining her hands together with a grin. The ropes slowly loosened until her hands were finally free. Kahlo pulled her hair, tucking it into the hat before walking towards the cell door. She then began to try different kinds of keys before finding the right one. She twisted it before pushing the door open with a grin.
Finnigan jumped to his feet, reaching out to Kahlo. She started to sneak past him before he grabbed onto the back of her shirt.
"Don't you dare leave me here to die." He hissed, his grip tightening.
"And why shouldn't I?" Kahlo growled turning to look at him.
"Because all it would take was one yell and you're caught. And they're going to see you the moment you step into the sunlight. You look like a woman." Finnigan smirked.
Kahlo cursed underneath her breath, as much as she didn't want to admit it, he was right. She groaned and pressed a hand to her forehead before relaxing her shoulders.
"Fine. Tonight." Kahlo answered quickly as Finnigan released his grip.
"Thank you" He said quietly as she returned to her cell, dragging the drunk and now limp man from her cell, before promptly locking it.
She slipped the keys into a pocket she kept on the inside of her pants, before sitting back against the wall of the ship. Kahlo stared down at the ground with a quiet sigh as she began to plan out their next moves. She mainly worked on straight impulse, but an escape attempt from a ship of this size was going to take a bit more than impulse. Maybe she could commandeer one of the smaller boats and try to sail towards land. But there was a problem. Kahlo didn't exactly know where she was. After all the ocean is vast and basically looked the same from all angles.
She reached into her shirt once more and pulled out the small metallic piece and stared at it with a quiet sigh. She turned it over and ran her finger against the jagged edges. One of the protruding corners pierced her finger. Kahlo let out a quiet gasp and released the necklace, gripping her thumb as warm blood dripped down her hand.
Finnigan raised his head at the sound of her distress. He glanced towards her and noticed the small droplets of blood against the floor. He frowned and allowed his eyes to move towards her hand.
"What happened?" He asked, creeping closer towards the cell door.
She winced before returning a fiery glare at him.
"Nothing. I'm fine." She growled, turning her head away from him.
Finnigan let out a huff of air before releasing a small groan knowing he should probably help.
"If I were to hypothetically cut open my finger, I would try to wrap it with some form of fabric to at least slow the blood flow. Just a thought," Finnigan shrugged before moving back towards where he remained.
He tried to make it seem like he wasn't paying attention, but a small smile poked at his lips as he noticed her listen to him and began to wrap her finger. She had pulled the fabric from the collar of the limp pirate before proceeding to carefully tie her finger. Kahlo glanced towards him, and he quickly looked the other way, Kahlo simply rolled her eyes in response. But in the depths of her heart, a small ounce of appreciation seemed to rest around Finnigan.
Kahlo slowly picked up the necklace and frowned at the blood staining the metallic piece. But her disappointment slowly changed to excitement as the deep color began to reveal more engravings. Engravings that began to form words Sangre para revelar, sangre para encontrar, sangre de la piedra, Sangre de oro.
The words meant little to nothing to her, but the feeling of knowing something else was there was priceless. The language was somewhat unfamiliar to her, as she really only knew English. Although she was able to pick out a few words, like reveal from revelar. But that's also because the two words were quite similar. Quietly she began to sound out a few of the words, only to be replied with a quiet laugh.
Finnigan was watching her, an amused look on his face.
"There's no way you're saying any of that right."
Kahlo scowled and tucked the metal piece back into her shirt.
"Like you could do any better." She spat, the small amount of appreciation immediately dissolving.
Kahlo turned her back to him, staring angrily at the wall, as if it were to release her from her cell. Finn chuckled quietly in response before sitting against the back of the ship once more, waiting for the night. Whether they would know when that was, was debatable, but they could guess.