Entries for National Reader's Contest Season Two

The World as They Knew It

The sun was bright and the clouds were fluffy, and somewhere up above, the floating city of Atlantis bobbed in the wind up in the Stratosphere. I looked up with awe as the shadow crossed the boat crashing through the Atlantic waves.

"What you looking at, boy?" a gruff shouted at me, and I jumped, catching myself on the rigging before I could go over.

"Nothing," I murmured, and picked up the mop to keeping working. I didn't dare look to see which one of my captors it was this time, especially because he sounded like the worse one who beat me black and blue every night.

"Alrighty, then," he snarled. "Keep working!"

The callouses on my palms kept the splinters from getting to deep into my flesh, but I still felt the pinch on the wood.

I wondered at the grand city just up above, sitting in a break between clouds. Even though it was so high up, I could still see the golden light streaming down off the buildings, and the silver lining around the edge. 

The ship pitched with every wave, and the dark wood groaned. I stood near the port side rail as I mopped, and across the way, to other kid was cleaning the deck as well. She looked up for the briefest of seconds, and we made eye contact, but she jerked her head away and scrubbed harder. She hadn't spoken to me since she got on board, but I figured it was because she had it worse and just couldn't bring herself to talk. And her throat must hurt after screaming through the nights. 

"I'm going to get off this hell hole," I muttered as he dragged the mop hard against the wood, aggression working me harder. 

The sun kissed the western horizon and the crew began to make their way to the cabins, leaving me alone on the deck. I glanced around, but was unable to find the girl. I sighed and went back to work, inching my way towards the helm. 

"We should be getting to the Iceland port soon, sir," a weaselly voice spoke. "Hopefully the vikings will understand our mission and let us in."

"What do you mean, hopefully?" a second voice snarled.

"Well, sir, it's just that there is still a chance that, well, they don't let us into the port, sir," the first stuttered.

"NO!" the other boomed like a roll of thunder. "We are getting into that port no matter what those Vikings say." 

When I was finally told to go down to my cage, I curled up and plotted with the sound of water bubbling and the calls of some deep sea monster crying in it's deep, terrible voice a sad song of loneliness. I thought of my mother, alone in some city filled with people, but lonely, like the creature somewhere below. 

I sniffled, a swiped at my eyes to keep the tears from falling, though it really didn't work. Eventually I let my eyes drift closed and fell into a bumpy sleep. I dreamed of my mother, her golden hair glowing in a beam of light as she sang a sad song in a haunting voice. It ended in loud crashes and bangs of people collapsing on deck. I nearly fell out of my hammock as I scrambled to my feet and darted up the stairs. 

The ship had made it to the port just fine, but it was boarded by burly men. My captors fought hard with as much muscle in sinew as they could, but the axes of the attackers sliced through swords made of steel. 

"Who are you?" a gruff voice asked and a large hand swung me around to face the bearded figure of a Viking, I supposed. 

"Me?" I gasped, shaking immensely. "I- I'm their prisoner! They captured me a while back, I just mop the deck and stuff." I knew my eyes were glazed with fear, but the man just smiled.

"So you'd say you hate them, huh?"

"I guess..."

"And you'd want to see them dead?"

"Well-"

I was cut off by a sharp scream from a high voice. The captain strode out of his cabin with the girl's hair tight in his fist. 

"Go or the little girl gets it!" he shouted, holding a nasty looking knife to her chin. And then it wasn't there any more. Then it was in my hand. The Viking looked at me with a nod, as if he knew what had happened. 

"Do you want them dead or not?" 

I watched the girl's face shining with tears, her eyes clouded with fear, humiliation, and defeat. 

No one moved as they watched the girl cry and the captain draw out another knife. 

"Brother, you better save this little girl of yours. You know I will do it."

I shifted behind the walls of bodies blocking the scene from view.

"Brother, you want your daughter back or not?" 

No one even noticed me as I inched my way around to the back of my captor and moved closer. But I wasn't the only one moving. A large man with hair like the girl held, paralyzed by terror, came to the front of the throng and lay down his axe.

"Jonathan, I thought you had died," he said. 

"Well, I'm not! But you didn't have anything to do with that, now did you?" 

The Viking bowed his head. "I'm sorry John, but don't hurt my little girl. Please don't hurt her."

The other clenched his fist around her hair tighter causing her to squeal with pain. It was too much, and I darted forward, shoving the blade deep through the man's skin and between his ribs. I yanked it back out, and blood dripped lightly from the grooves ending at the tip. His grip loosened and the girl darted forward, running into her father's arms, and the dying man collapsed in front of me, revealing me as the murderer. 

"You saved my daughter," the man said in awe and respect. "Anything in life that you want is yours."

I stood silent before the hoards of people. 

"Kill the pirates," I commanded, "and we'll go from there." Instantly the deck broke out into fighting again. I looked at the knife in my hand that suddenly had a name on it. 

It was my name, or so I figured since no one ever told it to me, but I liked it. Samuel. 

"What do you wish now, sire?" a voice asked. I realized the deck had gone silent and all my captors were dead. Just then a shadow was cast over everything.

"I want to go to Atlantis," I said, staring at the city as it passed overhead. And then there I was, staring up at a glass dome of an atmosphere shining between glistening gold towers. A rainbow frowned down at me, as the saying was a happy rainbow is a frowning rainbow. A smiling rainbow was a bad omen. 

"Welcome, to the Prancing Unicorn!" someone shouted. "Come, one and all, and witness the prancing unicorn at our state of the art bar! Not a dancing unicorn, those fakes, but a real live and prancing  unicorn!" 

And all around me were people, and a happy, joyful feel in the air.