[Episode] A Pirate Minefield

Episode:

How long had he been floating around in this boat? It had to have been a couple of days. It was hard to tell. Ever since he had fled the destruction of the Black Dawn Pirates, Hyde had been drifting aimlessly throughout the open ocean. All around him had been nothing but blue skies and even bluer waters. With literally nothing else around him, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Even the changing from day to night did little to help him gauge how long he had been out here.

With his tarp long since melted away due to the water, Hyde had been completely exposed to the elements as well. Right now, the pirate was simply laying in the small life boat, having long since lost the strength to keep rowing, and just allowing himself to drift. All Hyde could do was let out the occassional groan.

Was this it? Was this how it ended for him? Wasting away in the middle of the ocean? It almost seemed like getting captured would have been the better way to go. At least there was always the possibility of escape then.

Then he remembered her face. The woman who fought him during that fateful day.

No, giving her the satisfaction wouldn't be worth it.

His eyes closed, letting out a soft sigh. Well, time for him to embrace the sweet release of death.

He didn't know how long he floated along. He was barely aware of the growing sounds around him, right before his boat suddenly jerked with a small 'thud'. Had he hit something? He slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light. He was barely aware of voices speaking. They sounded so muffled. Or maybe it was just him. He thought he could make out some things.

"Who is that?"

"Is he alive? He looks like hell."

"Well, we can't just leave him there! Come on, give me a hand."

His vision was blurry, but he could make out shadows leaning over him, obscuring his vision. Before he faded back into unconsciousness, he felt someone grabbing hold of him, lifting him out of the boat.


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Hyde let out a low groan as he slowly faded back into consciousness. The first thing he noticed before he opened his eyes was that he wasn't laying on the hard, uncomfortable floor of a small boat, but in something flat and soft. Only seconds later did he notice something light laying atop of him, and a small prick in his arm. Slowly, he opened his eyes, seeing nothing but a white ceiling above him. It took a few blinks before his vision cleared.

His head felt so heavy. All he could do was slowly turn it to the side, seeing an IV standing to the side. It took his mind a brief moment to put all the clues together. A hospital? How did he end up here? Last he remembered he had been floating on the open water. No, that wasn't right. He remembered his boat knocking against something...and voices...

"Ah, you're awake."

Hyde blinked slowly and with some effort turned his head to the other side, seeing someone standing by the bed side. An older woman, judging by her greying hair and the wrinkles on her face. Granted, she didn't look that bad for someone her age. She was clad in the telltale white coat of a doctor, with even a pair of rounded spectacles over her eyes.

It made perfect sense that he was in a hospital. The evidence was all there. Yet in his state his mouth slurred out something else, "Angels are a lot older than I expected..." Thank goodness he was too tired to feel embarrassed.

The doctor in question made a small sound, a chuckle perhaps? He couldn't quite tell. "I don't know whether to feel flattered or to smack you. But since you're a patient, I'm just going to chalk that up to delirium and leave it at that." She walked around the bed to the IV, inspecting it and writing a few things down on the clipboard she was carrying. "You know, you really lucked out you know that? Major dehydration. Malnutrition. I have no idea how long you had been floating out there, but it was lucky you floated into port when you did."

Hyde let out a low groan. "Where...where am I?"

The doctor turned and looked down at him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. You're currently laying in the infirmary of the Las Camp naval base. A few of the men found you floating by the dock and brought you in. Figured in your current state you needed some serious medical attention and quick." She patted him on the shoulder before stepping away. "You're in a safe place, so take all the time you need to recover."

As she walked away, Hyde laid his head back and closed his eyes. Safe. That was good. He could finally rest after everything he had been through. He was somewhere safe...

...On Las Camp...

...in a NAVAL BASE!

Hyde's eyes suddenly bugged open as the horrific reality of the situation hit him like a truck. Good thing the doctor had left so she didn't see his expression. All the fuzziness in his mind was suddenly gone. It was a wonder how blind fear and panic can suddenly make someone focus.


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Doctor Miriam had stepped out of the sick bay for a brief moment. It had been a long day and she was in serious need of some coffee. It was good to see though that her mystery patient had awoken. A very good step on the road to recovery. She figured all the man needed now was a good, long rest, fluids and most likely food and he should be able to recover enough to leave on his own two feet. While she would have preferred nobody having the need to come to her infirmary, it was good to have such a simple patient, compared to the many injured and wounded who end up there. Especially after the battle against Firebear'd and his crew. That had been a very hard time for her.

She stopped and took a deep breath. That was over now. The dead and the wounded had all been tended to. Things were quieting down around here. Sure, there were still repairs going on, but that was about it. She was too tired to be thinking about all of this. She needed her coffee dammit!

As she turned to head down the hall, she spotted a trio of seamen approaching her. She was not liking the look on their faces, and especially the rifles two of them held as they flanked the third. She stopped, matching their gaze as they approached. They stopped short in front of her. "Doctor Miriam. How's your mystery patient doing?" That tone in his voice did not bode well. "Well, he just woke up. He's currently resting."

The marine before her nodded. "Well, we finally managed to figure out who our mystery man is." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a sheet of paper. A wanted poster. Miriam took it and looked it over. "Hyde Garland. A pirate." She gave a small sigh. Of course he was. One of the armed marines gave a small chuckle. "Turns out the guy was a member of the Black Dawn Pirates, a crew that just got wiped out recently. Imagine it. Guy manages to escape, only to drift right into a marine base. Talk about the worst luck." Terrible luck indeed. Miriam would have almost felt sorry for the man. But he was a pirate after all.

"I'm assuming you're coming to arrest him?" The seaman nodded. "That's right Doctor." Miriam gave another sigh as her more professional side took hold. "Very well. Can we at least wait until he's up on his feet before you drag him off to a prison cell? He may be a pirate, but he's still my patient." The marines looked at eachother and shrugged. "I guess so. But still, we should inform him that he is being arrested. And we'll have a guard posted for your safety of course." Miriam nodded. "That is acceptable. Ok gentlemen, right this way."

The four of them turned and stepped into the sickbay, Doctor Miriam in the lead. "Well now, Mister Garland, it seems you're..." her eyes then fell on the bed, "...and he's gone."

Indeed the bed where Hyde had been laying in was completely empty. The IV that had been attached to him was now laying on the bed, the tubing having been pulled out. The marines instantly sprang back, gripping their weapons tightly as they looked around. "Where did he go!?" "I don't know! He was here only moments ago!" "There was only one door into the sickbay. How could he have gotten out without us noticing?" Truly this man must be a master of stealth. After all, he did manage to evade capture before.

The seaman turned to his compatriots. "Search the area! Let the others know! We have a pirate loose in the base!"

As the marines quickly scrambled out of the room, they had failed to check one thing. The window to the sickbay. Perhaps they had overlooked it because a certain pirate had the foresight to close it behind him when he slipped out.

Standing just outside the window, back pressed against the wall, Hyde was taking in deep breaths to try and calm himself down. Not an easy feat considering his situation. He was in the middle of a marine base. Him, a pirate! And when he scrambled out the window to escape, he had discovered that the sickbay had been on the third floor of the building. A thin ledge was the only thing keeping him from falling. And right now, adrenaline was keeping his food deprived body going.

He needed to find a way out of here, and fast! Slowly, he began to inch himself along the wall, looking for another window he could climb into safely and hide. He had to get to the docks, grab a boat, and leave this island!


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Finding another window to climb into had been a mini ordeal in and of itself. Never mind the fact that he was several stories up on a narrow ledge, there was also having to make sure he wasn't climbing into a room full of marines, nor make any sound as he entered. He was more of a straight forward kind of person. This cat burglery stuff was not his forte.

Fortunately, he managed to pull it off. He had made a good way around the outside of the building before finding a good window to climb into. Some sort of office by the look of it. He slipped in quietly, closing the window behind him. Ok, so he was now safely inside. But now the big question was where was he going to go from here? Through the window he could see the harbor down below. If he can just grab a boat he could try to make his escape. The bedrest had at least given his strength back. But how was he to get down there? He knew nothing about the layout of this base, and he seriously doubted they would simply allow him to wander around. Especially if they knew who he was.

And speaking of which, he could hear some commotion going on in the halls outside. No doubt by now somebody would have noticed he wasn't in his bed. Hyde looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide himself until he was sure the coast was clear. The only place he could see was the desk, and that wasn't much of a hiding spot at all. Should he try to climb back out the window?

The sound of approaching footsteps gave him no time. He did the only thing that came to mind and moved himself beside the door, just in time for it to swing open. Fortunately, the door managed to hide him as a single marine came in, rifle in hand, looking around. They certainly knew Hyde was lose, and were searching everywhere for him.

And in that brief moment Hyde got an idea. An idea that would certainly make his escape from here much easier. There was only one marine here. He didn't know Hyde was there, and it didn't seem like anyone else was coming into the room. He had to act fast.

Quickly, Hyde shut the door. The marine spun around, barely getting any time to react.


Hyde quickly stuff the unconscious marine under the desk, now stripped down to his underwear and his wrists and ankles bound. Taking him down had been rather easy, thanks to the surprise attack. Making sure his body was completely hidden from the doorway, Hyde stood up, adjusting the marine uniform he was now wearing. A little tight in places, but otherwise a good fit. He was counting his blessings he had encountered the one marine that matched his body type. He had to stuff his clothes into the same nook that he stashed the marine. Unfortunately he couldn't take them with him without being noticed. He made a mental note to get himself some new clothes once he was out of here.

He adjusted the marine cap he now wore and picked up the man's discarded rifle. He didn't have much experience with rifles, but hopefully he wouldn't have to use it. He just had to keep his cool. Keeping his head down, he stepped out of the office and into the hallway.


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Ok, just keep it cool Hyde. Don't make eye contact, and get your ass to the docks. Find a boat, and get the hell off of this island! Simple!

Hyde tried to keep his breathing controlled, holding the rifle tightly as he jogged down the hall. Knowing how everyone was right now, he had to keep up the appearance that he was searching for, well, himself. Up ahead, he could see a trio of marines running towards him. They slowly down as they approached. "Any sign of him?" the marine in the lead asked. Trying to avoid eye contact, Hyde shook his head. "No sir! No sign of him over here!" The marine nodded. "Alright, We'll head down to the lower levels. He can't have gone far."

Hyde found himself mentally cursing. He had hoped to avoid being lumped into groups of marines.He just had to try and play it cool for now, find an opportunity to break off and slip away. The further he could go without raising an alarm, the better. Still, he had to play along, for now. He nodded, turning to follow the group as they headed for the stairs.

As they did so, one of the marines glanced at him. "I haven't seen you around here before. You new?" The one question Hyde did NOT want to hear. He had to think fast. "Yeah, transferred here not too long ago, East Blue." There were marines in the East Blue, right? Best to keep things vague. Going into details was when you got into trouble. The marine simply nodded as they continued along.

As they headed down the stairs, another of the marines spoke up. "So, you guys know who this pirate we're after is?" The first marine shrugged. "Heard it was some coward from a pirate crew that got wiped out. Some vermin who managed to avoid extermination." Hyde's eye twitched, but he tried to keep it hidden. The marine continued. "I mean, shouldn't be too hard to take this guy out. I mean, what pirate would be stupid enought to flee to a marine island after something like that?"

Ok, try to keep calm Hyde. Don't rise to the bait.

"Besides. Shouldn't be hard to find him. From what I heard, the guys tends to dress like some gaudy clow-" WHAM! Hyde's foot connected with the side of the marine's head, slamming him into the wall. The other two marines jumped back in shock, their minds reeling from what they had just seen. So much for trying to remain conspicuous and disguised. "Shit," Hyde hissed, before diving out a nearby window. Thankfully, jumping down from two stories was more managable than three. Hyde rolled as he hit the ground before scrambling to his feet and taking off into a limping run.

The struck marine climbed to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth. "I bloody knew it." He looked to his two companions. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go after him! I'll go get the others!"


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