Scars

     The sun was setting. The starry night sky was partially obscured by clouds, forming shadows throughout the abandoned amusement park, and by the still-setting sun. Karl stood in the crow’s nest of the ship, Arma on the railing, and he stared up at the sky “looks like its going to rain tonight. Yes, we’ll go inside in a little bit. I just want to see the sky before its covered.” As he stared up at the clouds, he thought he heard music. “Arma, do you hear music? You don’t think she’d come tonight; it’s bound to be pouring rain.” He listened again for the sound, and for a moment a strong breeze carried through the park, making it difficult to hear anything. Then, once the wind had subsided, he heard it again “yes Arma, she is here! And she’s playing! I wonder where she is, though. Shall we go find her? I’ll go inside if it starts to rain, I promise.” Arma jumped onto his head and he made his way down to the ground.
     Using the music as a guide, Karl let the sound lead him to where the woman was. He was lead to an area he had never seen before (it wasn’t visible from Pirate’s Cove). There, he finally found his music teacher playing the violin. She was sitting on a park bench, playing her instrument. A short distance away, a figure stood atop a pile of skulls. It appeared content while listening to the sounds of the violin. Karl took a step forward, and the skulls the figure was atop began to rattle. Immediately the figure was alert and looking for the source of the trouble before it spotted Karl. “P-pirate…” was all it said, which caught Karl’s attention. He walked over to the figure “I assure you, I am not one of them. The name’s Karl, and this is Arma,” the bird landed on his forearm as he said her name, “what’s your’s?” “M-my name…is…Jack. Jack Derippe.” “Nice to meet you, Mr. Derippe. I don’t usually leave my part of the park, but it seems my music teacher decided to pay you a visit, and I just happen to love her violin playing as much as you seem to.” “Oh…yes…it is very…beautiful. But why would she…be with…a pirate like you?” “A pirate like me? I already told you I’m not that type of thing anymore. I’ve gotten rid of my eye patch and hooked hand, now I’m nothing like what the humans viewed me as.” “You…may have changed…a bit…but the scars still show…who you truly are…pirate.” “I’m warning you now, Jackie, drop that title from my name. I’m not like that anymore, see?” he spread his arms out and continued, “the humans have left. We’re in control. We can decide what we want to be!” “You can never change…you will always be…a pirate…”
     How can I get through to him? Karl though. As if reading his mind, Arma shape shifted into a blade, which Karl rested against his shoulder and told Jack “I did warn you to stop calling me that. Would you like to find out what would happen if you said it again?” Jack looked back at Karl and answered “but you…are…a pirate…”
     Karl swung the blade in the air, aiming to slice Jack in half. Jack moved out of the way, but part of his hat, his right arm and part of his right torso were gone. Karl aimed to swing again, but Arma turned back into a crow and perched on his head. “Arma, what are you…? Oh, right.” Karl turned to see the woman cowering behind the bench. He gently smiled at her and walked over to her. “Is there no lesson tonight?” he asked, staring at her violin. “Would…if I played my music…would that calm you down?” she asked. “I believe you are mistaken, miss. I’m not upset. I do admit, I can get a little…testy…when someone doesn’t believe what I’m saying, but I assure you I’m not upset!” “Karl…you can’t hurt others to get your way.” “It’s a very effective approach though, wouldn’t you agree?” “Karl, why don’t we go back to the Cove? I’ll play some music for you; plus seeing all those familiar landmarks will make you feel better!” The woman got up and began to head in the direction of the area, but stopped when she realized Karl wasn’t following. “Karl?” “Sorry, but I can’t go back there. All that place does is remind me of what the humans viewed me as. I want to leave this place. I want to be where other humans will see me as more than a…statue.” He can’t even bring himself to say the word ‘pirate’ the woman though, but she knew she had to set him straight.
     “Karl, you know you can’t leave the park. Whatever’s keeping you alive is probably only within the boundaries of this place. Furthermore, none of the others would see you for who you were trying to be; they will only see you for what you are: a pirate statue.” “I had thought I had made my point with Jackie. Apparently, you need to be reminded as well: do not call me that.” Arma transformed into Blade!Arma and he ran at the woman…
CRACK
     Karl stopped, his free hand reaching up to trace the new scar that ran from part of his hair, through his left eye and to his the middle of his face. The woman held the violin bow as if it were a sword. “D-don’t come any closer, Karl!” “That wasn’t very nice,” Karl said, taking another step towards the girl, “why did you-
CRACK
     Now there was another scar below the first. “Karl, you never know when to stop, do you?” The girl still held the instrument like a weapon as she continued “there is a time when enough is enough. Perhaps when you learn that you’ll be able to understand what I’m talking about. But for now…I can’t stay here. Its too dangerous; you’re too dangerous. Goodbye Karl.” With that, she lowered her weapon and began to walk out of the park. “I can’t let you leave. I won’t let you leave…” Karl ran to the girl, forgetting about Blade!Arma in his hand…
     The girl looked down to see the tip of the blade sticking out of her chest. Karl immediately pulled the blade out of her. Using her last ounce of strength she turned and  gouged another scar below the second one. As she collapsed, Karl held her close. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “K-Karl…” was her last word. He laid her body down then left for Pirate’s Cove. He needed to think.
     Later that night, Karl was leaning against the ship, Arma on his shoulder. As he looked up at the stars between the clouds, he spoke “It wasn’t even my fault, really. The humans who made me designed me to look the way I do, so people would assume that I’m a….They never gave me an option of what I wanted to be. And now things have escalated to this….Arma, humans can not be trusted. They only care for themselves. My teacher was different; at least I thought she was until the end. She was trying to save her own life, not help me. All humans are the same: selfish, greedy.” He looked around his surroundings and caught his reflection in the water; what a mess he was! A hand where a hook was, a mess of the left side of his face. “Looks like we’re on our own, Arma. Let’s get out of this Cove.”