Song of the Sea

Chapter 6

I scream and thrash around, but nothing I do gets me out of the many hands that hold me. Although, even if I did, what would I do? I can't fight back or escape. They would just pick me back up again.

The crowd parts, giving the ones holding me enough space to carry me to the edge.

I beg them not to do this, but they just laugh harder and louder. A couple of them imitate and mock me.

My vision blurs and the tears leak out with a single blink. I know this isn't the best way to die, but I don't regret not surrendering. I would rather this then allowing them to beat, rape, starve, and restrain me.

"Three!" they all shout, and they begin to swing me. "Two!" I rock back-and-forth above heads. They laugh. "One!" They let go. I fly over the railing. My stomach drops out. I watch them all laugh and cheer, before the side of the ship sores upwards into sight. Wind rushes past my ears. My long, red hair flies around my head. I feel as though I should have hit the water by now, but I just keep falling.

I want to throw my arms out or kick but the ropes restrict me. My stomach performs multiple backflips. I realise I'm already holding my breath, and I'm sure that's not good. I should take one last breath while I can, but I can't make myself do it.

The water consumes me, taking me in, and holding me in a frigid embrace. The heavy chains drag me down. I watch the surface and the air shoot up and away from me. I'm pulled further into the darkness.

Of course, my attempts to free myself fail. All I can do is wriggle around.

The pressure building in my chest becomes unbearable and I can't hold the air in any longer. Bubbles rise up in front of my face as I blow out my last breath.

As I release the last bit of air, I spot a shimmer in the distance. A large blue fish. No, not a fish. Narina. She swims towards me. But it's too late. There's nothing she can do. She's too far away, and I've sunk too far down.

With no air, pain spreads through my chest and seeps through the rest of my tense body. The urge to breathe overwhelms me, but what can I do.

Narina rushes for me. I can almost hear her calling my name. I must be imagining it.

She's getting closer, but while she's closing the distance, I'm sinking further away from her. There's no doubt, she's too far away.

My lungs shrivel up, crying out for air. I can't bear it any longer. I suck in. The water rushes into my lungs. Without hesitation, my body rejects it, forcing it back out. As soon as they're empty, my body needs to fill them again. Water refills them. Salt smothers my senses. Endless pain radiates in my chest, expanding down to my hands and feet. My nose floods with half the ocean, and the pressure it creates threatens to explode my head.

My entire body convulses. It tries its hardest to breathe and survive. Every muscle contracts tightly and relaxes for only a second before contracting again. And again. And again

My heart hammers fast against my tight chest. It vibrates through every bone, causing my entire body to throb.

Darkness seeps into the edges of my eyes, closing in.

I catch a last glimpse of Narina. Still on her way. Still too far. There's no more time left. The darkness takes over until all I know his pain.

The most intense pain I've ever known. An unrelenting crippling torture. It devours me. Feasting on every part like a pack of wolves with razor sharp teeth. It gnaws away at my insides, spreading a white-hot burn throughout me.

I feel my body relax and give up fighting. At the same time, I begin to lose feeling in my fingers and toes. The numbness makes its way up my arms and legs until it reaches my neck. It then creeps up my head, pulling me into nothingness.

I can manage one last thought. Make them pay, Nerina.