Masters of the Sea

012

"Help! Somebody help!"

"Ah screw this! Why does it hurt so bad?" Seokga cursed and swore as he stumbled through the woods, trying desperately, and hopelessly, to ease the piercing sensation that was still within him.

"Help!"

"Help? I need help damn it..." he muttered to himself as his ears picked up the voice of some girl calling out. "What's a girl doing in this part of the woods anyway? Serves her right. Hell, what's wrong with me?" He turned up towards the sky and shouted, "Is this somebody's bleeding idea of a joke? I already got the punchline! You can stop now!"

The pain didn't stop.

As he continued stumbling round, the cries of help got louder and louder, which told him that he was somehow getting closer and closer to whoever it was that was creating this racket. It wasn't long before a group of burly men came into view, surrounding what looked to be the screaming girl who had an arrow protruding from her left chest. Something about the girl's face looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before. Seokga took one glane at the arrow and noted with interest that she was extremely lucky to still be alive. Another inch higher and the arrow would have pierced right through her heart. As it was, the wound was pretty bad, but definitely not fatal.

"Well well, look what we have here? I was expecting a deer, but this is so much better isn't it?" he heard one of the men remark in a gruff voice as he grabbed the girl by her chin. The others chuckled in agreement, murmuring random lewd remarks about their latest catch.

From the way they dressed and acted, Seokga had no doubt that they belonged to the scum of society. If he was considered the scum amongst the gods, then these men would be his equivalent in the human world. For a split second he felt a tinge of pity for the girl that they had captured, but being the heartless bastard he was, that sense of pity lasted no longer than that. The sight of this drama unfolding before his eyes took his mind off the pain ebbing in his chest somewhat. He hid behind a tree trunk and watched the group with interest, his mind churning out ideas on how he could play some good tricks on them.

"What do you want with me, let me go!" the girl tried to shout, but her voice only came out as a frail whimper. Evidently the injury was slowly taking its toll on her strength.

Isn't it obvious what they want? An injured, pretty girl caught in the middle of the woods... Seokga sniggered at her naïvety. The girl had long flowing black hair and a pair of huge eyes with irises the colour of pure obsidian. There was something about her eyes that disturbed him slightly, and he wasn't the sort to be easily perturbed. It was as if those eyes could see through anything, and for someone who liked hiding behind facades, Seokga didn't quite like it when others could see right through him.

Suddenly, the girl looked past the band of men and her gaze fell directly upon him, even though he had thought he was pretty well hidden behind the tree. Seokga immediately retracted his head, sticking his back firmly against the tree trunk so that he was completely obscured from view.

What the hell? Did she just manage to spot me? It was rare for ordinary people to spot Seokga, especially when he was making a conscious effort to remain hidden from view. Yet he was pretty certain that the girl had been looking directly at him. He even managed to pick up that tiny flicker of hope in her eyes before he beat a hasty retreat behind his tree.

After a couple of minutes, he ventured a peek to check if it was just his own imagination playing tricks on him. To his horror, the girl was still staring directly in his direction. This time, she was even mouthing the word "help" to him, a pleading look in her huge eyes.