theshipper101's Random One Shots and Short Stories

Secret of the Siren (original story)

The boy shivered as the pirate looked him up and down, he circling him. "So," the captain was saying. "You thought you could come on this ship. My ship, and not be noticed? Do you know what the punishment is for stowaways?"

The boy, Ithmah, shook his head. As an orphan, no one had ever taught him the difference between right and wrong. He didn't know this was a pirate ship. He was used to sneaking onto fishing boats or barges, but now, in the middle of the winter, he was stuck in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by pirates.

The pirate struck him. "Look me in the eye, boy!" He shouted. Ithmah obliged, shaking with fear. There was no mercy in the captain's black eyes. "We can either sell you into slavery or kill you now. I'm thinking just kill you and leave you to the fishes. Wouldn't get much pay for a scrawny runt like you."

The cold was getting worse. Ithmah's bare feet were like ice and he was inadequatly wrapped in rags that hung off his painfully thin frame. He hadn't had a proper meal in his entire life and the last thing he'd eated was a thin slice of bread he had stolen three days ago out of the ship's kitchen, which had taken all his courage.

Now, standing before the man who would judge whether he lived or died, he hardly had the courage to breathe.

"What do you think, boys?" The captain asked. "What's the fate of this one?"

"Throw him into the depths," one pirate yelled.

"Killing him would be a favor," another said.

"Who'll buy that fish bone?"

The captain smiled. "Ready the plank."

Ithmah looked up at the pirate in horror. The sea had to be ice cold at this time of year. If he didn't drown, the cold would surely take him.

The boy watched as a long, thin board was brought out and pushed a little over halfway off the deck.

The pirates stripped Ithmah down to his short, tattered trousers, which hung off him and needed to be held up by a rope. The boy hugged himself for what little warmth he could obtain. The wind bit hard and the sea spray splashed his bear skin. The captain dragged him onto the plank. He stood, paralyzed for a second, shivering. The pirate rolled his eyes and shoved the boy forwards. He pushed him a little too hard and the boy fell, hitting his head on the board, and going headfirst into the freezing depths below.

Below the dark surface, a young siren was swimming when she heard a loud splash from above. She sensed blood and almost couldn't stop herself from boltling up there and devouring whatever was leaking it. But this siren was different then the other sirens, which would have done just that. She was a veretarian, the only one of her kind. She slowly made her way to where she heard the splash and found a small boy, who was so painfully scrawny that she could count every individual rib on his bare torso. There was also a stream of fresh blood seeping from a wound in his head.

The siren grabbed the boy's wrist and felt a slight pulse. His skin was freezing to the touch. She knew humans couldn't survive without oxygen, would die if they grew too cold, and that there was too much blood coming from the wound in his head.

She decided to take the boy to her secret underwater cave. There wasn't land for miles and it would take too long for her to bring the boy there in time. If the siren was going to help him, she would have to keep him warm, keep him breathing, and stop the blood flowing from his head. She breathed softly into his nostrals to give him a burst of air, though he was unconcious, and she dragged him into the depths.

The siren's name was Serimis. She had tried several times to save unfortinate humans who fell into the grasps of the siren, but never prevailed. Once caught trying to save a human, she would be forced to kill the human then eat him. Serimis had never aquired the taste of human flesh, no matter haw much her parents wanted her to. She was simply odd.