The Captain was silent as he sat on a log near the fire, his gaze lost on the horizon, the line between the sea and the night sky was barely discernible under the white moonlight. A sigh left his lips before he took another long swig of rum, hoping that he could drown his sorrows with alcohol.
Although this was not often the case, Kid was no stranger to the bitter taste of defeat, but this one did sting more than most. It had been foolish and irresponsible of him to underestimate a pirate like Red-Hair Shanks, and his recklessness had cost him his left arm, more than half his crew and his ship. The Victoria Punk, in fact, was barely afloat after the fight, which had forced them to land on the first island, in desperate need of wood, supplies and medicinal herbs. Killer, his right-hand man, had insisted that he lead the expedition inside the island so that his captain could rest and regain his strength. He had entered the jungle shortly after dawn with some of his companions and had not yet returned. Kid couldn't help but worry he'd lost him too.
His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a chorus of shouts and laughter. Kid turned his head towards his crew, ready to shout them off, but the words died in his throat as he watched them gather at the entrance to the jungle, around his breathless first mate.
"Killer!" Kid yelled, springing up and striding forward to meet him. "Move and let him breathe, you idiots!" he then barked at his men, who were still hanging around their comrade like a pack of hungry wolves.
"We need to get out of here, Kid," Killer said, still trying to catch his breath, "and soon."
"So that we can sink less than a mile from the coast?" retorted the Captain sarcastically.
"A better fate than the one that awaits us if we stay," the first mate replied in a serious tone, looking him straight in the eye.
If it had been any other member of his crew to make such a request, Kid would have sliced them up without hesitation; but it was different coming from Killer. In his deep blue irises, the Captain was surprised to catch a glimpse of an emotion that had never been there before: fear. His friend would have never suggested escaping and abandoning their comrades without a valid reason. Whatever had happened in the jungle had scarred him deeply.
"Tell me what happened," Kid said in a grave voice.
Killer sighed. "Fine," he said, before nodding towards a log nearby and sitting down. Kid followed.
"We found an old house in the middle of the jungle. It seemed unapproachable at first, because of all the beasts that surrounded it, but when they didn't harm us we decided to check it out. It seemed abandoned but it could have had some useful supplies." He paused, looking down, trying to find the right words and the courage to continue. "It wasn't abandoned. There was a woman inside. She was gorgeous, Kid, more than any woman I've ever seen. And the others thought the same: they couldn't keep their eyes off her, it was like they completely forgot about everything else. She invited us in and offered us food and something to drink. The men didn't hesitate to accept, of course."
"And why didn't you join them?" the Captain asked, not liking the turn that the story was taking. They were supposed to find supplies for the ship and the injured, not to fool around with a random woman.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to," he replied. "But something felt off. And thinking about it now, I'm glad I didn't."
Kid shot him a questioning look, impatient for him to continue.
"They turned into swine, Kid. She turned them into swine. All of them."
"What?" the Captain roared, jumping to his feet.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I saw it with my own eyes," Killer sighed and run a hand through his messy blond locks. "I'm not a lunatic. And I'm not a liar. Our men turned into pigs right in front of me."
