A Siren's Call

Chapter 3

CJ had been stuck in the same place for years. It hadn't changed. It would never change. Nothing except him as he grew older.

The world remained unmoving, unchanging, and it stayed that way. It was cold, frigid even. This world was darker than the one he once knew, and the things that lurked within were monsters beyond his imagination. Perhaps he truly was dead and this was the Hell God placed him in, but then, what sin did he do to deserve it? The priest at the church Papi used to take him to on Sundays said you had to do a very bad thing to end up in such a bad place when you die. That whatever sins you have done on Earth must be atoned for in your sentence to Hell in the afterlife. And if that was so, his eternity here was certainly punishment enough.

But what had he done? CJ couldn't remember doing anything too bad, not to deserve this. Maybe there were those few times he would take more sweets than he should've from the cupboard downstairs in the kitchen while Mami and Papi were asleep, or when he'd play a little too rough with his older brother and even bit him once, and there was that one time with their pet goldfish when he was five.... Those were vanilla sins, though, not bad, bad sins like killing someone or stealing. It wasn't reasonable for this to be his punishment, and he couldn't be dead because he had seen himself in mirrors and glass, seen how he had aged.

In November he'd be sixteen, or at least he thought. Time was hard to keep track of here. Before he'd found himself trapped here, he spent most of his time playing outside with his toys and watching TV with his older siblings. Now most of his time was spent wandering around, searching for a way out, or just running from whatever was chasing him this time.

The monsters were pesky things. They often snapped at him, chased him, trying to bite off pieces of his tan flesh that had become a paler shade of brown over time. After a while, they stopped being such a bother to him. Not since he found that new power of his, like the superheroes his sister used to watch on tv all the time. Once he learned how to use it properly (Hey, it's not like he didn't have the time), they became the least of his worries. If any of them — no matter the size or species — came charging toward him, they never lasted long.

Though it wasn't those type of monsters he feared most. Not anymore.

Those were the monsters who tried to deceive — the woman who looked too much like people, who kept trying to approach him. Or the man who tried to feed him lies and lure him to his side. CJ could see straight through them, see into their heads, see their true intentions laid out in front of him. They didn't want to help him, only use him. Whenever he heard their soft voices whispering to him, calling out, he cowered away in the darkness of the shadows.

Although there were moments he'd hear voices speaking, hear booming muffled calls. He'd try to follow them, see if they'd lead him out, but only came to a dead end each time.

That wasn't what made his journey insufferable.

Visions of his brother's terrified face and the feeling of slimy fingers grabbing him and pulling him under, into the dark, haunted his memories, enacting in front of him when he thought of the saltwater filling his lungs. The smell of the ocean lingered about him and it sometimes still felt as if he was breathing in water from the air. Like a scarf was wrapped too tightly around, nearly strangling him until all air was gone. They followed him as he walked through the world of ice and fire. There was no other way to describe it than that.

Shivering, he walked through the barren land, a small ringing in his ears as winds from the north blew through the air. Nowhere to go, nowhere to turn to. All he was left to was his own devices. He spoke to himself because there was no one else to talk to. Although that factor didn't bother him so much; at least now no one would make fun of the way he spoke.