Fragile Skins

Chapter seven: Dungeons

"No!" Kai and Sachiel yelled in sync. The guards started pulling Kai into another room. Sachiel struggled to free himself, but to no avail.
"As for you." The queen looked toward Sachiel. "Escorts are already on their way for you."
"No I don't want to go there." Sachiel cried.
"Wait outside." The guard nodded and Sachiel was pulled outside. The dungeon was dark and musty and the cells were cages that were barely big enough to stand in. The guard threw Kai into one of the cages then locked the door and left.

Outside Sachiel was still being held by a guard. Soon enough a herd of hippocampi could be seen in the distance pulling a chariot carved from rocks and shells. Pulled on the chariot was a peculiar creature, it's lower half was a thresher shark whose tail extended menacingly. The upper half was a tabby cat with long grey fur. As the chariot pulled up next to them the bizarre creature spoke, "Sachiel! How nice to see you!" They spoke surprisingly well.
"Fuck off Mittens!" Sachiel spat. The cat squinted their eyes.
"Never call me Mittens, boy." They hissed, "You know I go by M."
"Whatever." The crab guard holding Sachiel threw him forward onto the chariot and M quickly handcuffed him to the hand rail.
"So you don't get any ideas."

Kai pushed against the rusty cage bars, but they did not budge. He reached around searching for a lock. The cage had a combination lock so he couldn't lock pick it.
"Fuck!" He exclaimed loudly.
"Hey." A small voice rang out from another cage Kai had previously thought to be empty.
"Hello?" Kai looked in the cage. The creature looked like a mermaid but had a sea snake body instead of a fish one.
"They call me Cyrus." She hissed out her words. "What is your name land-dweller?"
"Um Kai." He stuttered.
"Well, Kai, you're exactly what I need to escape." She whispered as to not alert the guard just outside the room, "Hand me that metal pole there." She pointed to a shiny pole on the floor just outside Kai's cage. Many more poles littered the floor like a cage was completely ripped apart. Kai picked up the pole.
"On one condition." Kai said.
"Yes? What?"
"You get me out too."
"It will be done." Kai reached over and placed the pole in Cyrus' outstretched webbed hand. She lifted the pole and inspected it. "Yesss it will do nicely." She extended her s's happily. She reached her hand out of her cage and slammed the pole down on her lock. The lock fell to the floor and the pole snapped in half. She came out of her cage stretching her long body. She lifted half the pole and smashed Kai's lock. He swam out of his cage quickly.
"Thank you."
"Hold on, the danger isss not over we have to get out of here."
Despite the loud banging of the locks no guards were alerted. On the right wall was an opening that lead to stairs.
"Thisss way." Cyrus swam up the stairs, her long snake body swung mesmerizingly. Kai hurried after her. At the top of the stairs the leg of a crab could be seen. Cyrus grabbed the leg and pulled the whole creature toward her, she wrapped her body around the guard who then fell to the floor. "He'sss alive, just unconscious for awhile." She said after seeing Kai staring horrified at the guard's body. They swam through dozens of hallways and rooms aimlessly trying to find a way out. Finally after hours of searching the large wooden ship Kai and Cyrus found sunlight shining in through a small side door. Kai glanced around the vast desert of sand in search of anything that could be the kingdom where Sachiel was taken.
"What are you looking for?" Cyrus asked from a few feet behind Kai.
"The um." Kai tried to remember the name, "Reef Kingdom."
"Ah you're in luck that's not far from here." She pointed east, "few miles that way."
"Thank you Cyrus." Kai said before swimming off.
"No thank you, truly I owe you a favor. Goodbye, friend." Kai waved as Cyrus swam off and disappeared behind the horizon. The swim to Reef Kingdom was long and when the silhouette finally did appear in the distance it seemed as if it was getting farther away than closer to Kai, but he never stopped swimming.