Ballad of the Seas│Shaw Rocket Prize

Chapter One

Carson walked along the beach. He watched as his combat boots left the ghost of his feet on the sand. He walked confidently yet cautiously. Making sure that no attention was drawn to him, although, it was difficult to stay out of sight when he was wearing all black in a seemingly colourful area. He just had to wait for the sun to set and then it would be harder for him to be spotted.

He wasn't exactly running from anything. He just preferred that people did not look at him. All people did was judge his punk appearance.

He wore black jeans that had a number of rips in them, specifically around the knee. A black leather jacket that was worn slightly at the elbows from him constantly wearing it. Underneath, he wore a simple Misfits t-shirt.

On his back and reaching up towards the right side of his neck, you could see a tattoo. It was of a skull that was pierced with a rose. Because of the clothes he wore, the only part of it you could see was the tips of a few rose petals that extended to the back of his neck. That was not his only tattoo. He had a few strings of barbed wire across his left bicep. As well as a black dagger on his right forearm.

People often thought that it was their job to assess his choice in clothing. And he feared that if they would come any closer, they would be able to see the real emotion he hid behind his eyes. So rather than deal with people evaluating his life choices, he decided it would be best to stay isolated.

On his left was the ocean. The waves crashed onto the shore with a moderately loud sound. The wind blowing soft breaths of air that caused his hair to move gently. The sun, placed in the sky enjoying its final moments of fame before it would be replaced with the moon.

It was strange that a boy like him, no matter the cause, would always find himself walking by the ocean. Perhaps it was the fact that the ocean was harsh but sweet at the same time. At first glance the ocean seemed dangerous with its strikes to the land. But once you got closer, you could tell that it was calm and had a soothing aura.

Carson kept walking. He could see the jungle-looking forest ahead of him.

The trees were tall and formed a canopy above the sand. Many vines were strung across the treetops and hung down to rest. Flowers were spotted across the ground.

As he got closer he was able to hear the soft rustle of leaves brushing against each other. It was like they were whispering to each other that a person was approaching.

He continued to proceed forward through the jungle. He walked in the same straight path until he turned around and saw that he could no longer see where he entered.

He had this entire jungle memorized. He walked until he could see a pile of rocks forming a cave. As he approached this cave he scanned it for the entrance inside that was hidden by a number of vines and the occasional flower.

Inside, it was more of a tunnel than a cave. But that didn't matter to Carson. All that mattered was the cove that it led to.

He was sure that no one even knew it existed. It was his own little place where he didn't have to worry about anyone finding him. He could just sit and breathe and be on his own.

His eyes wandered across the stone that surrounded him. It was a guard, defending him from the cruel outside world. It had a distinctive path that was like a parent guiding its child to rest. At times, Carson imagined that it was telling him that this is where he needed to be. That this was the path to his home.

He finally reached the cove. It was an open spot directly on the water. The rocks from the cave piled up into a canopy that extended over the water. The way the rocks were so closely packed into a wall, it felt more like a large room than nature outside.

Carson liked to think that it was a safe room. A room where no one would ever find him or hurt him. He could just be himself and enjoy that without fearing that someone would judge him.

He looked towards the horizon and saw that the sun was starting to set. The sky was projected with pinks and oranges as it slowly started to become covered in a dark, rich blue. This was projected onto the water as if the sun wanted to show its last hurrah before disappearing.

A number of gray clouds also were in the picture. They seeped in from the sides of the line of vision. Their dark colours did not care that it spoiled the beautiful image the sun had been creating.

Carson knew that this meant it was most likely going to be raining by the time he decided to walk home. That was, if he decided not to spend the night in the cove.

He didn't mind the rain though. It was like a refreshing slap that said, Hey. You're alive and this is a place called reality. Snap back into it. Part of him was waiting eagerly for the rain to begin. He knew that if he allowed himself to get into a train of thoughts it would be difficult to escape.

The reason for this was because the mind was a dangerous place. Sure it could sometimes bring you wonderful things, but other times it could bring you the darkest thing imaginable. These dark thoughts were hard to get rid of. After all, they were a part of you. Something internal that could not be extracted.

Carson walked a bit closer to the beach. In the cove the water was always calm. Even if the rest of the ocean was stormy, the most the cove would have was a few gentle ripples through it's surface. It was immune to the danger.

Carson took a few deep breaths, allowing himself to find a more peaceful mindset. He sat down in the sand, ever so slightly sinking into it. He let his hands fall face down and his palms to press into the sand.

The cove was silent except for the gentle movement of the water. He studied it. Watching the various movements ahead of him. He studied how some waves were slightly larger than the other, and how some were barely even visible.

He watched as the bright colours in the sky slowly became more suffocated by the darkness of night. The reflection on the water was barely visible. It was only a matter of time before the entire ocean became dark. No more reflection of the sun on the water. Just the tiny patch of light drawn from the moon. The dark clouds from before were even harder to see, but they were still there. Waiting for a moment to strike down.

Carson realized that he was allowing himself to explore his thoughts a little too much, even if it was just admiring the beauty ahead of him. He decided that rather than face the danger of letting himself explore his mind more, it was better to stop before that happened.

He allowed himself to stand up near the water. He didn't want to leave to cove just yet. So, instead of turning around and leaving he decided to walk along the coast. It wasn't that big of an area but it would still take him a minute or two to walk to the end of it completely. Maybe that would satisfy the amount of time in the cove that he needed.

He wasn't really focused on anything. He had his hands buried inside the pockets of his leather jacket and kept his mind blank. It was only a matter of time before he would reach the edge of the rocky awning and would turn around.

A patch of lighter colour stole Carson's interest. A large patch of the rocks was covered in a blanket of peach.

He found himself walking faster, borderline jogging, towards the flecks of peach that he could see along the pile of rocks in front of him. As he finally drew closer, he was able to recognize what that shape was. He suddenly felt his chest become tight. It was beginning to become hard to breathe.

It was a body, lying limp across some of the rocks.