Dive: Stucky

Part 10: The Chance

Bucky's stomach sank as the boats faded into thin air. The sun pierced the horizon and shone across the surface of the water in a reddish haze. His heart was pounding furiously in his chest as he slowed to a stop. The medallion's light was gone and so was his only hope of saving Steve and the rest of his kind.

He slowly sank to the bottom of the ocean in a hopeless heap. His body was positioned in a snake-like fashion with his tail curled up in an 'S' shape. He moaned with grief and knew it was all over. Steve was probably dead by now, and soon all of his kin would be destroyed.  He stared into the black depths of the water, feeling his heart break. It was all his fault. He had failed them. He had failed them all.

Suddenly, his sensitive ears picked up some vibrations coming from the surface of the water. He looked up and saw the bottom of a boat, followed by countless others. He swam up closer, but not too close to be spotted, and popped his head above the water. Around fifty fully manned armada ships were drifting past, undoubtedly preparing to kill of all the sirens they could find. In the front of the hoard was Steve's ship. He could clearly see the captain and familiar crew members scuttling around on the deck.

Bucky scouted around the perimeter of the ships, keeping his head down and out of sight. He could see countless crew members carrying loads of harpoons and nets and all manner of things that could cause harm. He knew he had to stop them here and now, but what could he possibly do? 

For now, he decided to tail them and make sure they didn't get close. He would throw them off course by pumping his tail under the boat, causing the crew to believe they had stumbled across an unknown current and change direction. This only slowed them down slightly however, for they were skilled seamen and soon set themselves back on course. He tried to haul the anchor down, but it was far too heavy. He desperately clawed at the baracled wood on the bottom in vain attempts to scratch a hole into the boat, but he only left deep gashes.

Throughout the entire day Bucky tried everything he could to slow the boats down, but they had finally reached the spot he had been dreading. They were above the graveyard. A suddenly question aroused in his head. How had they managed to find the graveyard?

Bucky circled around the leading ship and saw his answer. There were a couple of young sirens hanging above the water in a net, shivering and dry. Bucky felt rage rise up in his throat as he slowly approached the ship, gazing up at them. He slapped the surface of the water with his tail and got the attention of the two in the net. They peered down and a shadow of hope crossed their terrified faces. Bucky gave them a reassuring smile and dove down as fast his he could.

Diving.

Diving.

Diving.

When he thought he was far enough, he turned around and shot back up, pumping his powerful tail and ejecting himself out of the water, reaching just high enough to cut the rope that was keeping the net hanging over the water. He sliced it with his claws easily and the net plunged into the water, freeing the two young sirens. They nodded their thanks and swam away as fast as they could, disappearing into the deep depths of the ocean.

Bucky swam under the ship and out of sight as he heard the crew members cry out in shock in the sudden disappearance of the two captured sea creatures. He saw the anchor sinking beside him and smiled to himself. They had finally taken the bait! He turned and saw the other ships lower their anchors. They had come to a stop.

The moon was starting to rise as the sun disappeared on the horizon, and Bucky knew that later on his blue bioluminescence would give him away. For now, he would have to stay out of sight.

An hour crept past as he stayed motionless underneath the hull. He flicked his tail as he began to get antsy. He knew the moon would be completely overhead sooner than he would like, so he was praying that perhaps the ghost ships would come again to save his kin.

Suddenly a loud cranking sound interrupted the silence and Bucky whirled his head around, searching for what was the cause. To his horror, he saw the anchor beginning to rise, followed by the rest of the ships in synch. He swept forwards and wrapped his single arm around it, trying desperately to keep it from reaching the surface. Instead it dragged him up and out of the water, causing it to swing around precariously from the offset balance.

"H-Hey! There's a siren hanging off our anchor!!" a gruff voice cried, and Bucky knew it was time to go. 

He let go of the anchor and flipped back down into the water. Immediately, he saw the ships shift restlessly and a harpoon sailed inches away from him in the water, soaring into the darkness. Another and another followed in his pursuit as he evaded them, swimming for his life. An idea occurred to him quickly as he dodged the deadly spikes being hurled towards him: why not end the fight here? He could trick them into using all of their weapons in their attempts to catch him, right?

He decided he would give it a try since he had run out of any other options. He grabbed the next harpoon to sail past him, shooting himself out of the water and hurling it with masterful precision as the helmsman. He cried out and leaped away, losing his balance and toppling overboard. This was his chance.

He shot forwards, faster than a bullet, and dug his claws into the man's flesh, making him flail in the water. He snapped his neck to give him a quick and almost painless death, then let the blood seep downwards. Moments later he could see it; a hoard of hungry sirens spilling to the top of the ocean, starving for blood.

He took the dead sailor's body and swam him up, leading the sirens to what he hoped would be a siege against the ships. 

He hoped they would take a stand.