Pirates of the Caribbean: Scarlet Tides

Chapter 3, Part 2: The Hunter Below

The sound of oars cutting through the water was frantic, desperate. The crew strained against the thick, fog-heavy air, their muscles burning with the effort, but the lifeboats barely moved. Liora sat at the helm, her heart hammering in her chest as she watched the dark shape circling beneath the surface, moving with terrifying speed and precision.

"It's playing with us," Finn muttered between ragged breaths, his eyes never leaving the water. "Whatever it is, it's waiting for the right moment."

Liora's grip tightened on the edge of the boat, her mind racing. The creature had already brushed against them once, a warning, but the real attack hadn't come yet. She knew it was only a matter of time before the thing beneath the water struck—and when it did, they wouldn't stand a chance.

The fog pressed in around them, thick and suffocating, making it impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction. The sea felt unnatural—too calm, too still, like the eye of a storm just before it unleashed its fury. Every ripple, every splash of the oars sent a jolt of fear through the crew. The witch's song still lingered faintly in the air, and Liora couldn't shake the feeling that Serafina was guiding the creature, watching them from the depths with cold, calculating eyes.

Finn's voice broke through her thoughts. "We have to get out of the water. Find land, anything. If we stay here, we're sitting ducks."

Liora nodded, though the weight of the situation pressed down on her like a stone. "Keep rowing," she ordered, though her voice felt hollow. "We're not giving up yet."

But even as she spoke the words, she knew the futility of it. The creature was faster, stronger, and the fog made it impossible to navigate. The compass was useless, spinning wildly, and they had no idea how far from land they were. The Scarlet Tides held them in its grip, and every minute they spent drifting in the lifeboats brought them closer to death.

A sudden, violent splash erupted from the water behind them. Liora's head whipped around just in time to see one of the other lifeboats, a few yards away, lurch violently to one side. The men aboard screamed in terror as something massive slammed into the hull, nearly tipping the boat over.

"Row!" one of the sailors cried, his voice hoarse with fear. "Row faster!"

But it was too late.

The water erupted again, and this time, the lifeboat was thrown into the air as the dark shape surged upward. Liora caught a glimpse of something massive, sleek, and horrifyingly serpentine before it vanished back beneath the surface, dragging the boat down with it.

The men's screams echoed through the fog as the lifeboat disappeared into the blood-red water, swallowed whole by the creature. There was a brief moment of eerie silence, broken only by the sound of splashing as the men thrashed in the water, trying to stay afloat.

And then... they were gone. Dragged under by invisible hands, their final screams choked off as the sea claimed them.

Liora's breath caught in her throat. "No..."

Finn swore under his breath, his eyes wide with disbelief. "It's picking us off. One by one."

Panic rippled through the remaining crew, their eyes wide with fear as they realized what had just happened. One of the men, a grizzled sailor named Grover, looked at Liora, desperation in his eyes. "We can't stay here! That thing—it's gonna kill us all!"

"We're not staying here!" Liora snapped, though she knew the truth. They were being hunted. The creature was too fast, too powerful, and they were running out of time.

Another ripple in the water. Another surge of movement.

Liora's pulse quickened as she turned toward the horizon, straining to see through the fog. There had to be something—land, a reef, anything they could cling to. But the mist swallowed everything, leaving them adrift in a void of red-tinted water and fear.