The Anatomy of Cross-Dimensional Pirates (One-shot Collection)

What Took You So Long?

The chains holding her arms above her head clanked as Lexi shifted from her kneeling position on the concrete floor to something marginally more comfortable. Tucking her legs to her side, the brunette slumped as much as she could, which honestly wasn't much, given her arms were forced to dangle by the wrists from the ceiling, forcing her into a half crouch, half knelt position at all times. The pose made her back ache something fierce, though remaining immobile for several days in such a place would do that to you.

Her body shivered, cold from the damp cell, coupled with the lack of clothing. They had stripped her down to her bra and underwear, not even a pair of socks to prevent hypothermia from turning her toes blue. Had it been any colder on the island, or had the marine base been not so low in elevation, she would have feared losing some of her more distal extremities during the cold nights.

A groan of pain escaped her lips, both from the aching back and the long bruises from the whip they'd lashed her back with. Even hours later, they still stung from where the leather had smacked at her skin. With each twist of her back she could feel the crusted blood over each welt that had cut just a little too deep. The sticky feeling of long-dried tears stained her cheeks, eyes red from the crying she couldn't help but do.

Somewhere further on, a metal door opened, and the leathery thud of boots against the concrete floor grew steadily closer, slow and methodical, just like the man they belonged to. Lexi shuddered in place, taking as deep a breath she could before her ribs began to ache from the punches. With each step, she could feel her heart beat in rhythm, hammering against her chest with growing fear.

She didn't bother to look up from the floor as the feet stopped just outside the barred cell, the sound of a pair of keys jangling as they inserted themselves into the lock, and the metallic grating of the metal door sliding open, then closed again.

"Well, well. I'm surprised you're still awake after this afternoon." The deep male voice chuckled, amused and smug all in one. Still, she refused to look up into his cold, unforgiving eyes, refused to offer him even that much. If he wanted to see her fear, well, to hell with him.

Lexi's labored breathing was her only response, and her captor didn't seem to expect much more, seeing as he chuckled and stepped a few feet closer to her so his feet stopped just inches away from her knees.

The man leaned down, so close she could feel his breath against the back of her neck. "Look, I admire your...bravery, if you want to call it that," he started again, sighing as if this whole conversation already bored him, "but honestly, you're just throwing your life away if you keep this up. You're not going to be able to hold out forever."

Lexi focused on taking even breaths, in and out, biting her tongue so as not to speak. She had yet to utter a word during her several days of captivity, though she'd screamed plenty, thanks to their...hospitality.

"I feel sympathy for you. Really, I do." He continued, using that 'sincere' tone he'd used so often before. He stood again, walking circles around her crouched form. "I mean, abandoned by your crew, no word on any sort of attempt to rescue you, it's been several days already. Don't you think if that rookie really cared about you at all, he'd at least have tried to save you by now?"

Head still turned down to the floor, Lexi rolled her eyes, tired already of his 'good cop attitude.' Her matted, oily hair drooped down around her face, shielding her expression from his gaze, but he just kept talking like she wasn't even there.

"And you know? You have every right to be angry. We've tortured you, no way around that. But come on. You really think this pirate is worth it? The man who was supposedly going to protect you? Keep you safe?" He chuckled incredulously, as if he couldn't even believe the words himself. "He's a pirate. The people around him are expendable, and as much as it hurts to say it, that includes you. I can tell you're smarter than that, sweetheart."