Fight Or Flight

Fight Or Flight- 3

Nothing! There's absolutely nothing here! Law shouted in his head. No civilization, no people, nothing!

The only thing of interest he had managed to find on the island was a clear, fresh water lagoon around where he approximated the middle of the island to be.

The water was cool and sweet and it had quenched his thirst, but as the sun began to set and night came upon him Law found himself praying for something hot to warm his frozen body.

Trudging back to the beach, Law was surprised to see that the once pristine sands were now covered by not only debris from the plane crash, but several dozens of bodies as well.

And there was the redheaded brute himself, not too far away from Law and digging; far enough away from the shore so that the waves- no matter how big they got- would not wash his work away.

Law squinted his eyes, trying to see what the man was digging in the fading light.

Moving closer, Law stopped, his eyes widening.

Graves.

Eustass Kid was digging graves.

There was already a line of at least ten finished mounds of sand behind the redhead, and Kid was using a sheet of metal from the plane to dig another.

Law stared as the redhead set down the metal sheet and reached behind himself, gently (even with his now working prosthetic) bringing a body forward.

Law's breath hitched.

It was the ginger flight attendant. The one that tried to warn everyone of their impending doom. Lacerations littered her water-logged body but she still somehow looked lovely.

Law sank to his knees, ignoring the jolt of pain in his ribs as tears streamed out of his eyes. He stared at Eustass Kid as the man placed the woman in the shallow grave.

Law hated himself. God, he was so selfish! He had stormed off in a huff and yet all the while here Kid was, finding as many people as he could and giving them all a proper resting place.

Without a word, Law grabbed a piece of metal and slowly made his way over to Kid and the flight attendant.

Kid jumped as he felt a shoulder brush against his, but said nothing as he watched Law begin working on the next grave. Tears were streaming out if the tattooed man's hooded eyes and he was biting his bottom lip, trying to keep his sobs contained.

The two remained silent and worked. When the sun finally set they used the light of the moon, but they never stopped working.

~

The sun was high in the sky when Kid finally opened his eyes again.

Law was already awake, his arms wrapped around his legs and his chin buried into his knees. He was staring out over the ocean with emotionless grey eyes outlined by sleepless dark circles.

He didn't want to speak. He didn't want to do anything. He just stared out at the protruding plane.

It was a fixture he was sure would last for years to come.

"Trafalgar."

Law didn't react to the raspy voice that called to him, just continued to stare out at the waves.

Kid tried to wet his salty lips and called out again. "Trafalgar... Look I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry I jinxed the plane. I was just trying to make you feel better, but I guess I fucked it up."

He waited for Law to say something, but the man just continued to stare forward.

Kid sighed and ruffled his hair, wincing as sand dug deep into his head wound. "I just-"

"There's fresh water not too far from here."

Kid's eyes widened in surprise.

Law closed his own eyes and sighed, then untangled himself and stood. "We need to drink and treat our wounds. I found a lagoon near the center of the island. We can recuperate and come up with a plan there."

With that he turned and stalked off.

Kid stared after him for a few more seconds before scrambling to his feet and running after the raven haired man.

~

Officially there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

The only one Trafalgar Law had not experienced in the span of two short days was bargaining.

While it may have made him a terrible person, he wouldn't dare trade places with any of the dead for the world. He was alive and that was that.

The other four flew by in rapid succession.

Denial came when the plane first crashed. Anger was when he blamed everything on his savior. Bargaining, of course, never came, though depression arrived the night prior, when he and Kid buried every passenger they could find.

And now he had finally stopped on acceptance.

He accepted that his worst fears came true. He accepted the fact that probably no one even knew they were alive. He accepted that his life would be a living hell from here on out.

What he did not accept, though, was dying.

Hell fucking no he was not going to die.

It was time he stepped up to the plate. He couldn't count on Eustass Kid- a stranger- to save him anymore.

Law already knew he had a few broken ribs. That much would be obvious even without medical training.

But Law had medical training. He was a fucking surgeon for crying out loud.

He would make sure that he and Kid stayed alive for as long as it took until someone found them.

These thoughts raced through his head as he tore a strip of fabric from his shirt and soaked it in the cool water.

If Kid was in pain he didn't show it as Law wiped away the congealed blood and grime that coated the younger man's head in a thick layer.

The cuts were deep enough to require stitches and traced all the way down the left side of his face, only just missing his eye.

Kid chuckled solemnly as Law worked and held up his mechanical arm. "My left's not my lucky side then huh?"

Law rolled his eyes as he bandaged Kid's head with a few more clean strips of his shirt. "Ha ha, Mr Eustass. Has anyone ever told you that you're just a comedy genious?"

Kid raised his arms. "Hey, I'm just trying to lighten up the mood here. No need to be so sarcastic."

"We just buried eighty-four people, so do forgive me if I'm not in the mood to lighten up."

Kid became quiet after that.

With a grim face, Law finished his task and tore off his ruined shirt. He tied it as tight as he could around his chest and even though it hurt, Law was hoping his makeshift cast would help his ribs heal.

"It's crude but it'll work for now." The tattooed man sighed, sitting on the rocks next to his companion. "So what do we do?"

Kid counted down on his fingers. "We have water, so all we need now is food, shelter, and fire."

Law raised a thin eyebrow at his larger counterpart. "And you know how to do all this?"

Kid snorted. "I served in the millitary since I was eighteen. My arm got shot off by an IED about a year and a half ago in Afghanistan and I was relieved from active duty. If I can survive that hell, I can survive here."

Law raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Well then, thank you for your service, Captain Showoff."

Kid snorted and Law continued. "Well I may not be much help when it comes to hunting or making fire, but I can keep you from dying and I can help stitch together a sail, or something, I don't know. I'm a surgeon, you see."

Kid smirked. "A soldier and a surgeon, huh? Were not a bad combination, you and I."

Law found his lips twitching upwards despite himself. "No, not bad at all."