Beyond the Sea

CHAPTER 6: ANNALIESE

Annaliese's eyes snapped open and she lifted her head, blinking blearily and trying to get a sense of her bearings. She looked around, relaxing a little when she saw Kara sleeping next to her, and Lucy and Gael on her other side. That's right; they were spending the night on the island. She listened, ears straining, but all she could hear was the whisper of a faint breeze. She settled back down, tugging her blanket up to her chin, and was just feeling herself slip back into sleep, when unfamiliar whispered voices woke her fully.

"Seems they've brought a pig."

Annaliese's heart was throbbing in her chest, stampeding like a wild horse. Who was that?

"This one, it's female," whispered the same voice.

"So's this one," a different voice whispered back.

"This one reads." The first voice sounded like the holder was smiling. "Let's take her."

Annaliese shot straight up when she saw Lucy being carried away—was she being carried away? She was floating in the air, wriggling as if she was hanging from strings, but her eyes were wide with panic and she couldn't seem to cry out.

Whatever was taking her had to be invisible.

That conclusion had Annaliese jamming on her boots and taking off after them at as quiet a jog as she could manage. In a moment, she saw that Kara was already awake too and was running silently next to her. Their breaths misted in the cold air until they seemed to be exhaling and inhaling in sync, and Annaliese took a moment to revel in the feeling of knowing it was just her and Kara. Her older sister always had her back.

Annaliese slowed to a halt, and she and Kara slid quietly behind a couple of the odd-looking trees. Lucy stood in the middle of a small clearing, glancing around her as if she was surrounded.

"There is no escape!" One of the voices was growling, and others joined in, hooting and encouraging him.

"Well put."

"Scary."

"Yeah."

"W-What are you?" Lucy asked, pulling her shoulders back.

"We are terrifying invisible beasts!" Said the second voice. "If you could see us, you would be really intimidated."

"You forgot to mention that we are very large!" Chimed in a third voice.

Lucy interrupted the cheers and comments. "Well, what do you want?"

The voices all seemed to fall silent at once.

"You. You'll do what we ask," said the first, who was most likely the leader.

"She will," said another voice approvingly.

"Very clear."

"Well put."

"Yeah."

"Or what?" Lucy said bravely.

"Or... death."

"Death?"

"Yeah, death."

"Death. Death. Death. Death."

All the voices began chanting, though Annaliese was beginning to wonder at the level of intelligence these invisible people had.

"Well I wouldn't be much use to you dead now, would I?" Lucy shouted, halting their chants.

There was a brief moment of silence. "I hadn't thought of that," muttered the first voice.

"No you hadn't," mused another.