Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, places, etc., are either product of the author's imagination used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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DAY FOUR OF DEATH GAMES:
The Leviathan's Teeth
一一一一一回回回一一一一一
Day 04 | 6:00 P.M |
Status:
Blackwoodian Citizen's HeadCount？
FIFTY-ONE
Kills:
ZERO
Challenges Accomplished:
NONE
一一一一一回回回一一一一一
"I'd like to introduce you to your new bunkmate..." Light announced, stepping into a cramped storage room. Avy was slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. No matter how hard she fought, she couldn't break free of his firm grip.
"Well, actually, your his new bunkmate," he said as he lowered her to the floor.
"It's his bunk, anyways."
Avy followed Light's pointing fingers and stared at the ship's dog, Echo. He was a large alpha male Siberian husky yet, funny-looking dog, with perked up ears, a big nose, and a slimy stream of drool hanging off his lower lip. But his odd looks were nothing compared to his unusual smell. It was like a combination of stale dog biscuits and rotten eggs.
The dog climbed into Avy's lap and licked her face as Light stepped out and locked the door behind him.
Avy groaned, pushing Echo away. Her new quarters weren't exactly luxurious. But as long as Light kept his word to change course for Xebyss, she could live with it only If she didn't breathe in too deeply.
But she couldn't live being a prisoner. Absentmindedly, she took a ribbon from her pouch and wrapped it around her hand. Avy didn't want to miss the most exciting journey she'd ever experienced by being trapped in the hold. She was at sea again! That part was like a dream come true. She scratched Echo behind his ears thoughtfully.
Avy pulled out a small dagger she'd hidden in her clothes. She wriggled the blade into the crack of the door, and a moment later, she'd loosened the pin from one of the hinges. She smiled as she heard it hit the floor. Gotcha!
The door swung open, and Avy stepped out onto the deck. She glanced back at Echo. "Oh, come on. You look great," she said, then glanced around at the crew. Echo reluctantly stepped into the daylight, ribbons tied around his ears in a big floppy bow.
"Look lively!" Ray shouted from nearby. "Jet! Get the long poles!"
A line swung toward her, and she ducked to avoid it. She turned around just in time to jump out of another sailor's way as he rushed past.
"Pardon me, m'lady," he called over his shoulder.
Avy glanced around, wondering what was going in. As soon as she noticed where they were heading, she understood.
Jugging out of the water were dozens of massive, jagged towers of rock.
"The Leviathan's Teeth," she murmured in awe.
"Indeed, signorina." A voice responded from directly above her. Glancing up, Avy saw a skinny little sailor hanging from a line. "Only the most foolish of captains would dare to sail a ship through一."
"Ray!" Light interrupted from somewhere nearby.
As Ray hurried off, Avy followed the sound of Light's voice. He was at the wheel, spinning it professionally like it was just an easy thing.
Oh my god. Avy gasped. Didn't he realize how dangerous it was to sail through the Leviathan's Teeth? Everyone in the Thirteen Cities knew the tales of the ships that had vanished in there.
"Hey, are you sure一" she began.
He cut her off. "Yes, we've done this freakin' kind of thing before."
"Look一," Avy tried to speak once again.
"No," but he interrupted immediately.
"There's no other way." As if sensing her upcoming question, Light said those words, which made her sigh.
"But一"
"And yes," he broke in yet again. She was getting annoyed. Wasn't he even going to let her finish a sentence? Argh! This sucks...
Turning his attention to her, he plastered a menacing smirk, "You have my permission to stand there quietly and get a free lesson in sailing, babe..." He even winked before getting back on his job.
Avy clenched her fists. He was so infuriating! She was ready to tell him exactly what she thought of him and his free sailing lesson. Free sailing lesson, my ass. No thanks!
But he spoke again before she could find words to say. "Besides..." he said smugly.
"A ship is no place for a woman. Got it?"
She groaned. Why waste her breath, though? He was hopeless. She knew that no matter what she'll say, Light would never take it. What a jerk...
The Arcadia sailed on. Soon the tall, eerie rocks of the Leviathan's Teeth surrounded it on all sides. The ship slowly glided through the water. Nobody wasted any words as the crew navigated around the deadly rocks.
"Steady as she goes," Light told his men.
Wisps of fog danced across the deck. Avy held her breath as the ship just missed some submerged rocks. One of the men pointed silently to something ahead. When she looked through the ghostly fog, she saw the wreckage of a ship, half-hidden in the water. She shuddered at her knees, thinking what happened to the poor men sailing through that sunken ship.
"Steady," Light murmured as the crew guided the Arcadia beneath the ravaged prow of the wrecks. Water dripped onto the deck from the face of the broken ship's figurehead, the carved wooden woman at the prow.
Just then, Avy heard a noise. It was faint at first, but soon it grew louder and louder. Voices? She strained to listen. It was unlike anything she'd heard before.
"What the heck is that sound?" She asked. Avy glanced over at Light to check what was would be his reaction. And there, she saw that his expression was distant and slightly dazed. Was he listening, too?
The sound grew louder, blending into a haunting and hypnotic song. She peered into the fog. The figurehead of the sunken ship they passed came to life as a watery, ghostlike figure slipped into the sea. On another wreck, another figurehead came to life and dropped into the water.
At the rail, Echo began to bark out. Avy hurriedly came to him and looked over the side. The shapes were swimming after Arcadia, their haunting song rising up around the ship. She gulped as she realized what they were.
Shit! The Sirens!
The bewitching sea spirits who were capable of luring passing sailors to their islands and, subsequently, to their doom. They are enchantresses who lure men to watery graves with their eerie songs.
She raced back to the wheel. "Light?" She shook him, but he didn't respond.
Crack!
Avy nearly fell as the ship smashed against a rock. Glancing around in a panic, she saw that the other men had abandoned their posts. They were wandering around the deck in a daze, spellbound by the Sirens' song.
The ship was heading straight toward a massive outcropping. Shoving Light aside, she grabbed the wheel. Echo whined anxiously as she managed to steer past the rocks.
Whew! That had been close.
But the Sirens weren't through with them yet. They rose up in front of the ship like a tidal wave. Laughing, singing, and calling, they beckoned the entranced crew toward the water. The men staggered towards them.
Avy glanced around wildly. Oh god! What will I do now?!
Various thoughts circled in her head. If she left the wheel, the ship would smash against the rocks. But if she didn't, the men would follow the Sirens straight off the edge of the deck.
Echo whined anxiously again. That gave Avy an idea. She grabbed a rope and put it between the dog's teeth.
"Ok. Here we go. Round the deck," she told him. "Now!"
Echo wagged his tail and took off. He raced around the crewmen, looping the rope around them and yanking them back into the middle of the deck.
That made the Sirens wailed angrily and put off an act of revenge. One of them called to Ray. He leaped from his perch in the crew's nest, landing in the water with a splash.
"Mi Amore!" he called to the Sirens. "I fuckin' love you!"
Feeling desperate, Avy looked at Light lying on the deck in a daze. She pulled him upright and propped him against the wheel to hold it steady. Then she grabbed a hook and rope, threw it over the yardage, and swung it out over the water. She managed to hook the drowning Ray by his pants. She swung back to the deck and started hauling Ray back onboard. Suddenly, she noticed that one of the Sirens had lured Light away from the wheel! He staggered toward the edge of the deck.
Avy couldn't let go of the rope, or she would lose Ray. But she had to save Light. "Echo!" she hollered. "Get Light!"
The dog leaped forward. Light yelped as Echo bit down on the seat of his pants. Avy dragged Ray onto the deck and raced back to the wheel. With no one steering, the Arcadia was heading straight toward the wreck of another ship. Jagged peaks of rock rose on either side一; there was nowhere to go.
Taking a deep breath, she held the wheel steady, aiming straight toward the wreckage. "Echo!" she called.
"The blades!" Winter had mentioned the Arcadia's special feature when recounting the battle with Eris' sea monster. With the pull of a lever, metal blades shot out of the sides, slicing through anything that got in their way.
Now, they cut easily through the wrecked ship. The Sirens howled in anger and frustration as some of their members got hooked up on the blades. The Arcadia sailed through the obstacle and landed with a tremendous splash in the calm waters of the open sea.
♤ • • • ♤
To be continued.