I get knocked on my ass at the sudden heart attack I was having. I start to panic again as the man who was just standing in front of me moments ago was now on the floor next to me now lying lifeless. A piece of wood from the cannonball's carnage pierced his chest, thick red blood made a blanket underneath him. I stared in horror at the carnage around me, I never thought I would end up it up in a situation like this, but now that I'm here. I think this might just be my final resting place.

I scramble to my feet as the blood starts to spread its way to where I sit. As soon as I do someone comes walking through the door that was now in splinters.

The man who came through held his sword in his right hand just waiting for someone to fight.

I look for something near me to use and the closest thing I see is a sword whose last owner was still clutching onto it. As much as I didn't want to I didn't seem to have much of a choice.

I grabbed the sword from the lifeless hand to face the man just in time for him to notice me in the shadowy corner.

I see his eyes cut into me before his blade does. I start to shake with his eyes still on me.

He then starts to approach quickly and I make sure to get my sword up and try to knock his out of his hands. I don't succeed but I definitely catch him off guard. I'd probably lose if this were a fight with brute strength but since it's with swords I know I have a chance.

He tries to swing his sword down as hard as he can to knock my sword out of my hand but I deflect it.

Once again he seemed surprised. But rather than getting mad he suddenly had an evil grin on his face as if he had been waiting for a good sword fight. This frightened me even more because though there was no doubt my skills as a sword fighter I'd never gone up against anyone who was really trying to kill me.

He started to bombard me with different movements as if he wasn't sure what would work yet. I just deflected them with the flick of my wrist.

I knew I couldn't play as the defensive forever if I wanted to get out of this alive but I had never killed anyone before and I wasn't sure if I could do it.

Then I felt the sting across my cheek, I deflected his sword but not before it got close enough to cut me.

My luck was starting to run out and I needed to make a serious move soon otherwise this really would be the end for me.

But before I could do anything the man in front of me did something very strange. He stopped barding me with attacks and instead backed up.

I was confused and wasn't sure if I should move forward or not. He then looked at me and did some kind of signal with his hand but I didn't understand. That is of course, until I felt too large hands grab either of my arms from behind, an old sack probably used to hold potatoes was put over my head. I tried to keep a grip on the sword but that didn't last long. I knew screaming was pointless. We were in the middle of the ocean somewhere and now most of the crew-members we're probably dead. Not that they seemed all that willing to help me but I probably had a better chance with them that I do with these guys. I've heard the stories, often Pirates will massacre half the crew members and the ones willing to surrender they will take up in their ranks. However I wasn't exactly surrendering when I was fighting with this guy. My arm get yanked behind me and rope is wrapped around my wrists.

"Ah!" I let out a small cry of pain I was the rope is tied tightly chafing and pinching my skin.

"Gently with the boy." I hear a voice say. "I don't want you to break him before I get a chance to." Those words sent shivers up my spine and I started to shake even more than I was before. I heard voices around laugh at what the man said. Oh god, they're going to torture me. Was the only thing I thought. I didn't think I was crying but I felt water dripping down my face as I didn't make a sound. My whole body had been tenses since the beginning, but all of the sudden it was like my whole body just stopped working and I collapsed to the ground, not caring when the pain of my knees hitting the ground first shot up through my body, I just let everything fall.

This wasn't the first time this has happened to me. Whenever something traumatically terrifying happens that I don't know how to handle my body just disconnects from everything. This situation in particular very much fit that criteria unfortunately. Some people are fight  or flight, but I just freeze. 

I was tired of being scared since it wasn't doing anything to help me, I guess my body decided to try something different. There was nothing else in my mind I just kept repeating that I was going to die. When my body hit the floor with a loud thud I heard nothing else. It was like all the people talking and shuffling around me were far away. It was as if I was awake and yet still lost consciousness. I felt someone pick me up, I remained limp in their arms as I was hoisted upward and they started walking me somewhere. I don't know how long they were carrying me for, it could've been a few seconds for an hour. Time seemed to start running at a different speed.

I was put down on something and the bag was pulled off of my head. My eyes remained out of focus. I didn't even try to look at anything. I was just waiting for the moment when they started to torture me and then eventually kill me, as I was told pirates tended to do. Time passed, how long I'm not so sure of but as it did nothing seem to happen. I felt something cold on my forehead, and with that I started to tune back into the world around me. I realize that whatever I was on it was soft. It smelled earthy, probably the smell of the potato bag had soaked into my hair. I realized I was in a room and someone was sitting on what I now realize is a bed, fussing with a wet towel on my forehead. I don't say anything as I look up at the man who I had fought before. He almost instantaneously notices my eyes on him and looks as if he's about to say something, but before he does I had to ask.

"Why am I still alive?"