Pirate By Blood

Chapter 5: Monsters

CHAPTER 5

Monsters

The trio jumped with a start as a glass shattering shriek echoed through the waves of the ocean. It was so loud it hurt; making them squeeze their eyes shut and clamp their hands to their ears.

            “What the...?” Simon said to himself, as he opened his eyes to see where the racket had come from. But, as soon as he saw it, his anger vanished and it was replaced by some other emotion.

Fear.

Pure fear.

The creature before him was tall, and getting taller as it ascended higher and higher into the sky. It could easily smash a giant ship in two if it felt like it. All Simon could see was a long neck – very long. It was highly possible that this sea creature was some kind of snake; it went on for such a long time. The creature’s eyes were pitch black and had a sinister shine in them. They seemed to flash with glee – enjoying whatever pain he was about to inflict. As it screeched and screamed, Simon could see a black fork-shaped tongue and rows and rows of sharp, blood-stained teeth. It was sinister. Fearsome. And made an icy shiver go down Simon’s spine.

 ‘Get to safety,’ He kept thinking; the instinct side of his brain kicking in, ‘no matter what happens; make sure you get to safety.’

‘But what about the others?’ Another voice in his head asked, ‘you can’t just leave them to die!’

‘She’s Tresanillos’s daughter,’ the first voice argued, ‘does it matter what happens to her? Remember what Leroy did to Martina...just remember that...’

Simon looked at Maleen who was lying just a few feet away from her. He looked at her young, terrified face. Her petrified eyes – blue, with the same twinkle in them as Leroy had.

All she wanted was to see her father. That was all she wanted – nothing in return. All her dreams were being crushed just by the sight of this monster – she was seeing herself. Seeing herself die, with so many more years that she could live, so many more things that she could do...

Fourteen. Not even classed as a young adult yet. Surely there was some kind of future waiting out there for her?

‘She’s only fourteen years old,’ He thought, silencing the bickering voices in his mind, ‘I can’t just leave her behind to die. She hasn’t done a thing to me; it’s her father that I have a problem with. ’

And with that last thought he sprung into action.

He had dropped the oars whilst he had been asleep and they had drifted to some place far away, long gone by now. There was no escape by rowing. The only thing they could do now was...

“Maleen, can you swim?” Simon yelled over the screeching of the creature that was teasing them with its menace and fearsome features.

“What?!” She asked, her eyes were still filled with fear, but there was confusion there was well.

“Can you swim?” Simon asked, in a voice that was growing in annoyance, as the creature swooped down with its almighty green-blue neck.

“Why do you need to know now?” She answered, her confusion growing.

“Just answer me!” He screamed, glaring at her in a fierce way as he tried to get the answer out of her that he desperately needed.

“Yes; okay?” Maleen shouted back, instantly, “I can swim!”

She ducked as the great beast swept back down again – its teeth moving inches away from the back of her head and whisking up a few strands of her hair. It was doing a great job at terrifying them, if that was its intention, but so far hadn’t hurt any of the three sailors.