The Siren Calls

Chapter 2- William

Drowning. All I could remember was the suffocating blackness of the frigid water.

And her eyes. Pale, cold blue eyes. Completely void of feeling.

I couldn't breathe, darkness covered my eyes and bore my limbs down. In a moment of panic, I started to thrash around, then my eyes focused and I saw a number of men, hunched over and solemn. Quiet whimpers echoed through the silence. I felt a hand on my shoulder and flinched.

"Are you alright, lad?" A hushed voice prompted. I slowly brought myself to a sitting position and rubbed my eyes to focus them. There was a dull throbbing in my temple, pulsating through my whole head and neck.

"Yes." My voice was raspy and strained. I cleared my throat, "Thank you."

"Don't worry about the headache. We all had them." His face came into my line of vision.

He looked to be in his mid-forties but still in good health. His hair was very dark, almost black, with gray streaks and a stubbly beard covered his face. Brown eyes peeked out from behind bushy eyebrows. His skin was dark and leathery from the sun. His clothes were torn and dirty, as though he'd been here a while. He looked tough and ragged but friendly enough.

He gave me a crooked grin and slapped a hand on my shoulder. "There you go! You gave us quite a fright boy."

I looked around the gloomy cavern. "If you don't mind my asking, what is this place?"

His cheerful smile faded for a second, "I'll admit that I'm glad you blacked out. You didn't need to see... that. Do you remember anything?"

A face passed through my mind. And the water.

"A little," I replied.

"And?" The man followed up. "What do you remember?"

I furrowed my brow trying to remember, "A beautiful face. And a song. I remember dark, cold water and being unable to move."

The man nodded. "Yes. That sounds right." He sat silently as if thinking to himself.

After a while, I asked again, "Where are we?"

"Oh! My apologies," He snapped out of it and rubbed his beard, "We are in some sort of air pocket under the water. As far as I can tell we were brought here by the seemingly mythological Siren. Or mermaid as you might know them."

"Of course I know what a Siren is. I'm no fool, sir. I am a sailor." I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Yes, right my boy!" He smiled and patted my knee.

This man was acting like this crazy situation was nothing, but I needed to find a way out.

"And my name is William," I said firmly.

"Professor Finnigan D. Kraler at your disposal." He nodded his head politely and extended his hand. I shook it.

We sat again in silence for a while until I noticed a glowing blue light on the floor and jumped to my feet, which made my head spin. I leaned against the wall for support.

Professor Kraler shook his head and chuckled. "Take it easy, boy. You've only just woken."

I shook him off and continued walking towards the light. When I reached the tall opening at the other side of the room I noticed a faint humming sound. The blue light flickered across the opening. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Professor Kraler watching me silently with a keen look on his face.

I cautiously reached out my hand towards the shimmering wall. The second I touched it I could smell something burning and was thrown back against the wall at the far side of the room. I slid down the wall to the floor. My skin felt hot and tingly.

A boisterous laugh echoed through the small cave. "Are you alright?"

There was a small eruption of laughter from the group of sullen men.

"Yes." I wheezed. Kraler's face floated into my blurry vision. I looked past his head and noticed for the first time that the ceiling was embedded with glowing rocks. They emitted a soft yellow light throughout the room.

"That was-" Kraler started, but he was cut off when the glowing shield collapsed and the water behind it, miraculously, stayed in place. I sat up as a beautiful young woman with caramel colored skin and long, black hair moved through the wall and did something intriguing. As she swam through, her tail shimmered and changed into a pair of long, slender legs. All attention in the space was directed towards her. The woman's angular face was pulled into a tight frown as she walked towards the center of the cave.

"Men." She said in a silky, metallic tone, "Welcome to our great civilization. You are blessed above all humans to be even considered, and consumed by us: the Sirena. Tomorrow night you will attend the Evaluation where your... values will be measured. Pray to your God that you are valuable, as if you are not, you will die immediately." She then turned her back and exited the way she had come.

All at once, the men started screaming, praying, and cursing all together. I watched in the corner as one man crossed himself, tears streaming down his rigid face.

"It is the she-devils. These poor souls have just now realized our position." Kraler muttered in awe, his eyes fixed on the scene before us. Chills ran down my spine, my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest, and my breath came short and labored.

I was going to die.

Kraler looked sideways at me, "Lay down lad. This is news to all of us."

I followed his suggestion and dragged myself to an empty corner, slumping onto the cold ground. My mind clawed in the darkness for sleep but my mind was too panicked to relax. I lay in stunned silence, listening to the whimpers and cries, trying to gather my bearings. All I could do was stare weakly at the frayed rope tied around my wrist as lighter memories of sunlight and soft skin flowed through my mind, bringing me to peace. The racking pain in my stomach ceased and my head stopped throbbing, but one thing I remained certain of.

I needed to get out.