Pirates of the Caribbean: Scarlet Tides

Chapter 2, Part 4: The Flooding Depths

The roar of water flooding into the lower deck was deafening. The wooden planks groaned under the pressure as the sea surged into the ship's belly, the dark brackish water rising fast. Liora and Finn barely made it up the stairs as the water surged around their ankles, cold and merciless, threatening to pull them back down into the abyss.

"We're taking on water!" Finn shouted over the chaos, his voice hoarse. He grabbed Liora's arm, urgency flashing in his eyes. "If we don't seal it off, the ship's done for!"

The panic in his voice was a rare thing, and it only made Liora's own heart race faster. She had been through plenty of battles and near-death encounters on the high seas, but this was different. This wasn't a fight they could win with steel and grit—something darker, something ancient, had its claws in The Siren's Call, dragging it down into the cursed waters.

"We need to move!" Liora barked, her voice cutting through the panic. "Finn, get the crew on it. Seal off the lower deck—keep the water contained!"

Finn nodded and sprinted toward the remaining crew on deck, his voice ringing out as he gave orders. "Grab the tar! Lock the hatches! Get those pumps moving!"

The crew moved in a frenzy, scrambling to patch the cracks in the hull, but their fear was palpable. They'd seen men pulled into the water, seen shadows lurking in the fog, and now the very ship beneath their feet was sinking, seemingly under the control of unseen forces.

Liora stood at the helm, her eyes locked on the mist that still swirled thick around them, hiding the horizon. The compass spun uselessly beside her, and the ship felt as though it was moving deeper into the fog despite their efforts to steer clear. The medallion's weight hung heavy against her chest, cold and sharp beneath her coat.

The voices had returned. They echoed in her mind, soft and insistent, like a lullaby whispered just out of reach. Liora... come to us... the sea awaits...

Her grip tightened on the wheel as the ship lurched again, tilting sharply to one side. Below, the sound of splintering wood filled the air, followed by another rush of water. The crew's shouts grew louder, more frantic.

"We're not going to make it!" one of the men cried, his voice tinged with terror. "We're sinking! We need to abandon ship!"

"Stay at your post!" Finn shouted back, his tone hard. "We're not abandoning anything! Keep those pumps going!"

Liora's jaw clenched as she watched the chaos unfold. The fear was spreading, like a plague, infecting each man on the crew. And she knew that if they lost control now, the ship wouldn't just sink—it would be torn apart by whatever dark force was haunting them.

She glanced down at the medallion, her fingers brushing the cool metal. The witch's words echoed in her mind: It's the key to everything...

Finn's voice broke through her thoughts. He rushed back to her side, his face pale but determined. "Liora, the water's rising too fast. We're losing the ship."

Liora met his gaze, the weight of the situation crashing down on her. They were running out of time. The ship was taking on too much water, and the supernatural forces around them were growing stronger with each passing minute.

"There's something you're not telling me," Finn said, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at the medallion. "This... whatever's happening, it's tied to that, isn't it?"

Liora hesitated for a split second, then nodded. "The medallion—it's connected to the witch. I don't know how, but she wants it."

"Then get rid of it!" Finn snapped, his frustration boiling over. "Throw it overboard! If it's cursed, we don't need it dragging us all to our graves!"

Liora's mind raced, torn between the logical choice and the strange pull the medallion had on her. She had never believed in curses, never believed in the supernatural, but the events unfolding around her were impossible to ignore. The witch, the voices, the sinking ship—it all pointed to the medallion.

But could throwing it overboard really stop whatever was happening? Or would it only anger the forces below?

"I can't," Liora said finally, her voice low. "Not yet. There's more to this. We're in the heart of the Scarlet Tides. The medallion is the key—if I throw it away, we might lose any chance we have of surviving this."

Finn stared at her, disbelief flashing in his eyes. "You're risking all our lives for some damned trinket?"

Liora's eyes hardened. "I'm risking our lives to figure out what the hell is happening. You think abandoning ship will save us? The sea isn't letting us go."

Before Finn could respond, a massive jolt rocked the ship, nearly throwing them both off their feet. The sound of wood splintering filled the air, followed by the unmistakable sensation of the ship tilting sharply to one side. The lower deck was giving way.

"Liora!" one of the crewmen shouted from below. "We're losing the ship!"

Liora's heart raced as she stared at the fog-cloaked waters below. The ship was sinking fast, the water already up to the lower deck. They were running out of time. If they didn't act soon, The Siren's Call would be lost to the depths.

But what terrified her most wasn't the sinking—it was the feeling that something was watching from below. Something ancient and hungry.

She turned to Finn, her voice sharp and clear. "Get the crew into the lifeboats. We'll abandon ship if we have to, but I'm not leaving until I figure this out."

Finn hesitated, then nodded, though his eyes were filled with frustration. "Aye, Captain. But if this ship goes down, it's on your head."

Liora watched as Finn rallied the crew, directing them toward the lifeboats, the panic still evident on their faces. The fog continued to swirl around them, thick and suffocating, and the voices in the air grew louder, more insistent. The sea was pulling them in, and whatever lay beneath wasn't finished with them yet.

As the water rose higher, Liora's fingers tightened around the medallion. She wasn't giving in to the sea. Not yet. There had to be an answer—something the witch hadn't told her, something hidden in the cursed waters of the Scarlet Tides.

The ship gave another violent lurch, and Liora's heart pounded as she made her way toward the edge of the deck. Below her, the red-stained waters churned, dark shapes moving just beneath the surface, waiting for the ship to go under.

But Liora wasn't ready to surrender. Not to the witch, not to the sea, not to whatever was lurking in the depths.

She had survived too much to be taken now.