Pardon the Intrusion: Trafalgar Law x Reader

Chapter 17

I pull Captain by the collar, barely tugging him away enough to avoid the bullet that would have pierced his chest. I feel it skim the side of my cheek and then the heat of the blood trickling down. I didn't have time to acknowledge the pain as I stumble and give Captain another push. A second bullet lands a breath away from his vital organs, the push moving him just in time. A third hits me in the shoulder and the fourth I manage to deflect with the tip of my blade. 

The bullets were silent, as well as the gun and the shooter. I couldn't pinpoint the location of the shooter nor did I notice them until it was too late.

Captain grits his teeth and blood drips down his chin. He stumbles and I get under his arm just in time to stop him from collapsing.

"Thanks..." Warm blood seeps from his clothes and onto my skin. Time seems to freeze as red memories from the Q-room flash before my eyes as Captain coughs up thick red blood. The hot liquid splashes onto my cold cheek, and I see a sea of red.

"Damnit." Captain curses under his breath and lifts up a hand. He mutters something barely audible and our surroundings change. It takes a fraction of a second for me to realise what he did.
"Close the door and submerge!" I yell. In an instant, the Polar Tang was back underwater and we were heading far away from the island.

Captain stumbles and leans heavily on me. His breathing was ragged and short, each breath seemed harder than the next.

"Captain! Hang in there!" Bepo takes him off my shoulder and carries him to the operation room. Any second and he would lose consciousness, he was losing too much blood. Combined with the wounds he already had, the new ones, and then the use of his power to move half the crew on board, he was in a critical state.

I feel a tear roll down my cheek and I wipe it away angrily. I'm not strong enough to protect the people dear to me, heck, I'm not even strong enough to protect myself! But now is not the time to be regretting things. There are more urgent matters at hand.

Penguin and Shachi had already hooked him up for a blood transfusion, but more blood will only do so much if his wounds don't stop bleeding. The ship suddenly sways and lights flicker violently. Bad underwater conditions, at the worst possible time.

Pain flares from my shoulder through to the tips of my fingers, the tingling and stinging sensation spreading wildly like a disease. I wince and clench my fist. I need to get the bullet out of my shoulder before I can even think about operating on Captain.

The three friends tumble around the room, and by the sound of things, so are the rest of the crew. I walk towards the sink, not really fazed by the swaying and tumbling of everything around me. 

"Guys, " The three in the room all look my way, Bepo sliding across the floor and the other two hanging onto each other for dear life, "prepare to remove the bullet." Penguin and Shachi manage to get back to their feet and scamper around for equipment.

Bepo slides to my side as I swallow a few tablets, to keep my body running and to ease the pain of removing the bullet in my shoulder.
"Y/n! I-i'm sorry... but we need to get to the nearest hospital! We've never operated without Captain directing us, sorry..." I rinse my hands and slip on a pair of gloves. 

"Captain is in danger right now. The nearest hospital is almost a day's trip, not to mention that the navy has probably already sent out word of the escape. We don't have the luxury of time nor islands at our disposal." He remains silent, a mix of worry and pain flickering in his eyes. I grab a pair of scissors and remove the piece of fabric over my shoulder. 

"I'll be taking Captain's role in this operation, the ship is too unsteady so it's dangerous for you guys to be standing here with all the blades and glass bottles in this room." I feel confused and surprised eyes on me, yet none of them notices me bite down on a towel then pick up the scalpel and plunge the tip into my shoulder.