Serpentine

Chapter 1

I was exhausted.

I'd been awake for three days and nights in a row.

This would be my fourth night awake – but I'd had worse. And this was not the most pressing matter I had at hand.

When night finally fell, and I could hear my parent's snores from the room next door – along with the sleepy creaking of our old wooden boat – I pulled myself reluctantly out of my bed, climbing silently to the floor as I had done many times, and slithered across, through my bedroom door, through the long, dark and wooden hallway and into the front room, where the only light cast was the dim, white rays of the moon that shone through gaps in the wooden ceiling.

Once I reached the front door that lead to the bow of the old, rickety boat, I reached up for the door-handle and pulled it down with some force. It made a stifled, rusty screech as it always had, and when I'd finally managed to open it, I slumped back onto the floor and pushed the door open with my arm. It creaked as it opened, as did every door in our boat. They all desperately needed oil – but oil had not been an option for many years.

After going through a very similar, lengthy process of shutting the door behind me, I sat up – or did as close a thing as I could to sitting up – to admire the view. The half-moon shone bright in a clear, crisp sky, scattered with millions of tiny stars. All around me lay the flat, dark horizon of the sea, it's ripples shattering the moon's reflection and spreading it across the surface of the water. This was a view I'd seen many a night, and written many a poem about.

The sea was very calm tonight.

Tearing my eyes away from the endless view, I crawled towards the edge of the deck and lowered myself down into the calm, black water. I let go of the edge of the bow and let my head slip below the surface. As soon as I went under, the swelling and swishing of the sea's undercurrents filled my ears.

I returned to the surface to get my bearings from the moon - and began to swim towards the village, weaving my way through the slippery, tepid water.

It was a long time before I reached the village. The moon rose higher into the sky, my boat had become a speck on the horizon, and my body was aching more than ever. It was difficult to keep my eyes open, and I desperately needed sleep. But I had to go on. If I stopped, just for a minute, I was likely to be killed – especially as close as I was to the village.

I finally arrived at the cluster of boats – getting denser and denser as I swam in further. But there was no way I was to go into the centre- I would almost definitely be slaughtered without question.

I found the merchant's boat in the same place that it had always been – even though I, and others, had stolen from it a multitude of times. The merchant owning the boat still hadn't seemed to come to the conclusion that perhaps it wasn't ordinary villagers stealing from his boat.

I climbed stealthily up the hull of his boat and onto the back deck; where there was a trapdoor leading directly to all of his supplies.

I dragged myself silently across the bumpy, wooden deck and slipped my hands beneath the trapdoor. After a few attempts I managed to pull up the trapdoor and place it carefully on the deck beside the hole. I finally climbed down the ladder and into the supplies store - a damp, dark hallway filled with crates, the amplified creaks of the boat as it rocked gently on the water, and the stench of mould.

I opened a crate and found it filled to the top with bread – a divine luxury that is only available for a ridiculous price (like paper) in the village. This bread had been well packed – they had been individually wrapped in an airtight, plastic packaging. I could tell that these were top quality and could be sold at a rare price. But that's not why I picked up three loafs, and tied them together with a roll of string, which I found in the next crate.

I pulled myself back up the ladder and onto the salty deck - but as I turned to make sure the merchant hadn't awoken, I noticed a creature crawling along the deck towards me out of the corner of my eye. In alarm, I jerked my head towards her – the girl froze.

She stared at me, her wide, white eyes shining brightly and feverishly and reflecting the moon perfectly. Her pale, thin face was framed by straggly, black hair, and she had full, dark lips. Her ghostly skin stood out against the darkness of the night sky, and behind her wound a long, black, scaled and spiny body, which snaked away from me into the water. Her wide eyes darted from me to the deck, to the sea and back again. She was one of my kind, but I knew I couldn't trust anyone – especially someone like me.

Snapping into action, I scrambled away from the siren to the other side of the deck, but before I could get into the water, I felt something leaning on my tail-

“Pssst!”

I turned my head abruptly towards her, struggling to set myself free. Adrenaline rushed through my body and my throat went dry. I wanted to scream. This was the closest I had ever come to another siren. I was terrified.

“Stop!”

She whispered frantically. I tried to calm myself and listen, but I was shaking all over. I needed to be free. I was going to scream.

She lunged towards me and clamped her arms around my head with an iron grip. The siren's cold, slimy hand covered my mouth. After a silent struggle I started to lose hope, and tears began to fill my eyes. I wish I had never left. I just wanted to be at home.

The siren loosened her grip, but didn't take her hand away from my mouth. “Stay quiet,” she hissed.

Tears started to pour down my face as I tried to come to terms with the fact that I was going to die. I stared up at the blurred half-moon, and the smudged stars through teary eyes. My family would wonder where I was.

Suddenly, I heard another voice – a rough, male voice.

“I saw her around here somewhere.”

Another voice growled, “Maybe she went back under.”

There was a long pause, and I saw a faint, yellow light come into view. The siren pulled me down, flat onto the wooden deck. I heard her take a deep breath.

A low voice drawled, nearer this time.

“Pass me the harpoon. I think I can see something.”

Again, another long pause. I felt the siren's grip tighten and heard another intake of breath. I had a vague idea of what was happening but my thoughts were coming and going slowly.

Suddenly, a loud splash.

“Did you get her?”

“Shit! I don't think it was her.”

“She must have moved off over there. I think I see some movement.”

Both of us let out a deep sigh as we heard the voices become more distant, and I saw the yellow light become fainter and fainter. Finally, the siren let go of me.