Pirates

Draco's eyes popped open, only to be greeted by the familiar ceiling of the storeroom. Though he looked quite chipper, Draco was actually struggling with an immense headache.

"What the hell just happened? Did I pass out?" Draco muttered, wiping his hand across his forehead. Involuntarily, his gaze wandered around the room, searching for the enigmatic fruit. But the black object had already mysteriously disappeared, just as it had appeared earlier.

"Was that a hallucination? Maybe it's all because of stress?" Draco wondered, looking down at his own hands. To be honest, it all felt too real to be a simple illusion. Besides, that mysterious tingling sensation when he'd first seen the fruit... he still couldn't get it out of his stomach.

"I'm just going crazy." Draco heaved a sigh, leaning forth into a sitting position. All the pain and numbness in his body had subsided drastically.

"This is definitely not okay. Is my mind playing tricks on me or did I really eat something that looked so suspicious?" Draco rose from the ground and once again checked his surroundings for abnormalities, "I'd better ask my father about this."

Without waiting for even a moment, Draco stormed out of the storeroom like a bolt of lightning. Something was definitely happening to his body, and it worried him greatly. It was better to talk to his father right away or else...who knows what would happen.

"Huh?" Draco was about to rush into his father's room, but he stopped in the hallway. The door magically opened on its own, and before he could even comprehend what was going on, a senile voice attacked his ears.

"Draco, don't move." Abel's pale face peeked out from the corner, eyes full of determination and a hint of fear.

"What are you doing, dad? You shouldn't be getting up from the bed-" Draco was worried for his father's health, but he couldn't help but remain silent. Abel's finger placed on his lips was warning enough for him to understand the gravity of the situation.

"Shhh..." Abel pointed to the window at the end of the small hallway, anxiety visible on his face. The view through the bars was nothing of a particular, a few houses in the distance.

"No way." Draco's face immediately paled, his hair standing up. He had finally noticed the problem, the reason his father was so frightened.

"Draco, don't make any sudden movements." Abel, feeling particularly ill, murmured.

"Father... Are those pirates?" The shock on Draco's face still hadn't gone away as he continued to look through the window. Just a few feet away from their house, in the middle of the village, a group of pirates was quietly assembling.

Each of them had a weapon in hand and wore a tuxedo up to their ears. They were gradually dispersing around the village, definitely not coming with good intentions.

"Draco, get a hold of yourself. This is no time to be afraid." Abel took another step out of the room, holding his stomach with difficulty. "Quick, take your sister and escape through the back door."

"But... Dad, what about you? We can't leave without you." Draco opened his mouth wide, but only a whisper reached Abel's ears. The least he wanted to do now was alert the pirates outside.

"The other villagers haven't been alerted yet, I can't let them all die." Abel took another step, closing the distance to his son.

"Dad..." Draco couldn't even mutter a word, his throat dry from shock. To be honest, he didn't care about the lives of other villagers that much, they weren't friends. Unfortunately, it was different for Abel. "Please, Dad... I know you want to save them, but there's no way to alarm them anymore. They will kill you."

"There are a lot of children in the village, Draco. I can't just leave them all alone." Abel put his hands on his son's shoulders, the pain still clear in his eyes. "You need to get out of here as soon as possible, please."

"Why are you trying to be a hero?" Draco suddenly said, clenching his hands into fists. Perhaps the fact that Abel was slowly dying had developed his courage, and now...he was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. But, Draco couldn't let that happen.

Mary simply wouldn't be able to take her father's death, it would break her.

"I'm no hero, Draco, but I can't let other people die when I know I can save them," Abel replied, looking desperately at his son.

Draco couldn't hold it in any longer, veins throbbing on his forehead, "But you can't. There are literally dozens of pirates outside who will tear you to pieces as soon as they see you."

"Draco, enough. This isn't a discussion. I've already made up my mind." Abel looked out the window once again before turning his gaze back to his son. "You need to leave right now. They may attack at any moment."

"Why... Why would you rather die for the sake of others?!" Draco's voice sounded like a thunderclap, catching the attention of all the pirates stationed outside. He made a crucial mistake.

"Shh." Abel quickly put his hand over Draco's mouth, scanning the surroundings every now and then. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, breathing intensified.

Near the window, a group of people could already be heard approaching. They were getting closer with every breath the panicked Draco took.

"Come on, Draco. Quick!" Abel was no longer standing in the same spot, finally taking action. Racing down the corridor at the maximum speed, Abel stopped just outside the door.

Draco held still for a few seconds, still not comprehending the current situation. However, after an image of his sister being attacked popped into his vision, he immediately vanished from the spot.

"Dad..." Draco whispered one last time before leaving Abel all alone. A few grains of water fell to the wooden floor, vanishing right after. It was perhaps the last time Draco had seen his father alive.

"No, I cannot be distracted by such thoughts now. Running away is a priority." Draco hurried down the corridor, fear hidden deep in his expression, "Just wait for me, Mary!"

"I'm sorry, Draco, Mary," Abel whispered to himself, taking one last look at his son's disappearing back. He wiped the accumulated tears from his eyes and regained his earlier determination.

"The noise came from this house." A robust, fearsome pirate came from the other side of the door, forcing Abel to act decisively. Seeing the shadow grow larger through the hole in the door, Abel suddenly drew something from his pocket.

It was a pistol, a brand new weapon. Ever since he had been attacked by those pirates, he had felt compelled to acquire a gun. Not only for his own safety but also for his children's.

"We need to take care of them quietly so we don't wake the other villagers." The whispers grew louder, as did the heartbeat of the struggling Abel. Pirates were truly shameless creatures. Trying to sneak attack this small village, made up mostly of weak women and children. Truly evil.

"It seems there is no other way." Abel forced the last remnants of strength out of his body and walked to the wall facing the entrance. Breathing heavily, Abel pointed the gun forward.

"Draco and Mary should be out by now." Abel told to himself, his face taking on a little smug, "So this is how my life ends. Truly trash." he added, extending his finger ahead.

As soon as the door handle moved, Abel fired. The bullet flew straight at the shadow, leaving a small hole in the door. However, Abel did not stop there.

Numerous shots escaped from the gun until the coil finally stopped. By the time Abel was done, half of the door had already disappeared, leaving a clear picture of what was happening outside.

A couple of pirates lay on the ground, shaking in excruciating pain. Blood was scattered all over the ground outside, showing the genuine horror of this one simple weapon.

"The other villagers should be awake by now." Abel smiled, tossing the empty weapon away. His gaze, filled with ease, scanned the surroundings again. All the survived pirates were already running towards his small house, anger clearly written on their faces.

"Draco, Mary, watch yourselves. This world is a cruel place." With the last bits of his leftover willpower, Abel finished his concluding words on this planet.

His job has been done for the day, and...now he could finally have some rest.

-

"Brother, stop! Why are we running, let go of me!" Mary, hugged tightly by Draco, moved further and further away from the village. The overwhelming smell of wood and grass was replaced by the bitterness of the midnight sea.

"Mary. I'll tell you everything that happened later. We just need to get as far away from the village as possible now." Draco replied quietly, holding all unnecessary emotion deep inside.

"No. Tell me everything now! Where's Dad!" Mary screamed even louder as she tried to free herself from her brother's clutches. However, to no avail.

"Mary, calm down," Draco whispered after stopping right by the sea, his eyes turning slightly watery, "Pirates attacked our village."

"Pirates?!" Incredible shock took over, later slowly turning into fear. Her eyes twisted as she asked, "Brother, are you telling me that Papa... was left all alone in the village?"

"He...he..." Draco wanted to mumble something out, but he just couldn't do it. The hug tightened, tears leaking from his eyes. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this?

"Brother...the village..." Mary interrupted Draco's train of thought and gazed into the distance with her mouth wide open. Seeing his sister's bewilderment, Draco cast a sidelong glance back at the village as well and, he had to admit, it was a shocking sight.

The earlier overwhelming graces of this place could no longer be felt. In the center of the village, a blazing fire was slowly spreading out, lighting up the pupils of the two siblings. From the distance, it almost looked like the devil himself had set foot in this world.

"Brother... please tell me that dad is not in the village." Mary's voice was low as if she was searching for hope to escape this sight of overwhelming flames.

"Pirates... It's always the pirates." Draco ignored his sister's questions completely and focused on the spreading blaze. If there had been any hope of Dad staying alive before, then it has entirely vanished right now.

"Brother," Mary repeated her words, even more, crestfallen now. With all those emotions on her brother's face: fear, anger...concern, she could already understand the entire situation.

"Mary, we will talk after we run away. Please be quiet for now." Draco broke the deadly silence, forcing his sights away from the village. Whatever had happened in the village, Draco had to protect his little sister from any danger first.

"But... Dad," Mary lowered her eyes and looked at the wet sand.

"I know how you feel right now, Mary," Draco forced out a small, almost imperceptible smile and looked his little sister straight in the azure eyes, "But we have to get away first. Who knows what's going on in the minds of those pirates."

"Hmm..." Mary nodded silently, not yet having the courage to raise her head. But then something caught her off guard. A pair of boots she couldn't identify appeared in front of her eyes.

"Brother, behind!" Mary immediately called out, finally lifting her head. But before Draco could react, he felt a sharp pain throbbing at the crown of his head.

It didn't even take a second for his consciousness to drift off. The body lapsed into weakness as his sister was stomped into the sand by Draco. She struggled and failed miserably to wake her brother, tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

"Haha, we caught some big fish today. Those two will sell for a lot of money." A person shrouded in the shadows of darkness laughed out loud. He held a sharp sword in his hand, ready to strike at any moment.

"Coming here on the day when Kojo pirates were attacking was definitely not a mistake." Another person, standing even further away from the commotion, added. For some reason, Mary felt goosebumps run down her skin just from the presence of these people.

"The girl is still conscious," The person in front of Mary replied as he took another step forward, the moonlight finally revealing his features. He was neither old nor young, a person in his twenties. A barely visible beard and somewhat short black hair.

What caught Mary's eye the most was the white t-shirt covering up to his shoulders, paired with a blue tie.

"Please, don't hurt us!" Mary shouted, covering her eyes in fear of this grown man. Unfortunately, her words passed his ears like a soft breeze.

The man switched to the blunt underside of the sword and slashed at Mary's head. Instantly, her sentience flowed away, her breathing calmed down. She was plunged into the darkness of nightmares.