It seemed to stretch on forever. It was as if the land had completely disappeared and left reality, leaving only the vast terranes of the ocean. Cool waves lapped at the great ship's hull, spraying salt filled water into the air. The water droplets sparkled in the bright sunlight. The young sailor tentatively reached a finger out to touch the shining droplets. He giggled a bit as he felt the cold water hit his tanned finger. He brought it up to his mouth, wondering if the ocean really was as salty as people said.
"Ack! It is!" he shouted while trying to spit out the salty water.
Suddenly, he heard a sharp voice behind him. "Oy! English! Don't just sit around staring at the bloody ocean all day! Get back to work!"
The young sailor yelped as he was harshly grabbed by the ear and practically tossed back onto the deck. While nearly colliding with his mop and bucket, he let out many apologies. "I'm so terribly sorry! I swear it won't happen again!"
"It better not! You should be doing what you're told and swabbing the deck. I better not catch you slacking off again!"
The older sailor continued to berate the younger sailor until he heard the familiar footfalls of the Captain.
"Alright, Smith stop badgering the poor boy. You have your own job to do."
Smith reluctantly obeyed and stalked off to the masts of the ship mumbling "yes, captain."
"Enjoying the scenery again, Jake? Better not do that too often if you want to keep Smith from nearly beating you to death."
The Captain gave him a smile and a wink.
"Y-yes sir!" Jake gave a shaky salute. "I just can't help it sometimes. This is my first time seeing the ocean , and I can hardly believe how vast it is."
The Captain put a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder. "You know, we humans know very little about the ocean. There are some who say beasts such as mermaids and sirens lie out here."
"I've heard a few stories, but I mean, those things can't be real, right? They're just stories after all...right?"
"Well, I can't say for sure. I've been out on the seas for many years, but even I haven't explored all of it." The Captain began to walk off. "Better keep working for the rest of the day, Mr. English."
"Oh, of course!" Jake managed to blurt out. The Captain's words kept him wondering and pondering all day on mysterious creatures of the sea.
Before he knew it, the deck was swabbed, and the sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, making the sky turn shades of pink and purple. Jake followed the crowd under the deck into the mess hall. As usual, he kept mostly to himself. Most of the other sailors were way older than him, and he found it difficult to find common ground with them besides the Captain who had conversed with him today. He took a seat at the end of a table trying to fight back the urge to instantly engulf his food once it arrived. After about ten minutes, the cooks finally sent the food out. Jake tentatively poked at it with his fork. It looked to be beef in a gravy with biscuits. He saw that the sailor next to him was already scarfing down his dish.
"So...um, is the food good?" Jake tried to project his voice as much as possible, having to compete with the echoing noises of the mess hall.
With food still in his mouth, the sailor answered, "Oh, of course! We have some of the best cooks on board. And I'll gladly eat yours for ya, little pup!"
"Oh, no no! I'm definitely going to eat mine, thank you." Jake laughed nervously, averting the older man's gaze.
He slowly began eating his beef and biscuits. He supposed they probably served the meat more likely to spoil first. After finishing the main dish amdn moving onto the biscuits, Jake heard a familiar booming voice echo through the mess hall.
"Lads, I have news that you'll want to hear!"
Suddenly, the mess hall went completely silent. Even the hungriest of sailors had stopped eating and listened intently. The Captain went to the front of the room with a concerned look on his face.
"I'm afraid to say that The Elizabeth, the ship that left before us to the same destination, has disappeared. We were supposed to keep a close enough distance where I could spot them with my telescope, but alas I can't find them anywhere, not even a speck. I fear something may have happened to lead them off course while I wasn't keeping an eye on them." Jake could tell just from the look on the Captain's face that he feared for the other ship.
"Don't worry, Captain. We'll keep an eye out for them tonight. It shouldn't be too hard to find them if they've gone off course." His first mate tried to reassure him.
"I do hope you're right. They say this is a strange spot of the sea we're going through. I just hope we'll get through it alright."
With these words, the Captain quickly left, heading back to his quarters. Many didn't stick around the mess hall for very long after.
"I wonder what could've happened to The Elizabeth...Do you think our ship will get lost too?" These kinds of questions floated through the air in different conversations.
Being exhausted from the day's work, Jake promptly headed over to his bunk. Trying to keep the worried thoughts away, he managed to drift off to sleep.
I was alone in a darkness I had never known before. As I began to move, I felt myself floating. The darkness had changed to water. I was suspended underwater. A bright light hit my face. Looking up, I could see the surface above me. Trying with all my might, I swam up towards it, but it was as if nothing happened. I tried again and again, but I was still in the same place as before.
"How odd," I thought to myself. Suddenly, I felt myself running out of air. I began struggling and thrashing about, desperately trying to reach the surface. As I turned to the side, I saw something swimming towards me. Before darkness overtook my vision, I saw a flash of orange..almost like scales...
Jake woke up, gasping for air.
"Hey, English, you alright, mate?" The first mate walked up to him.
"Oh, y-yes! Don't worry, just had a nightmare of sorts!"
The first mate nodded, "Well, anyway, it's good you're up. The Captain could use some extra help. Hurry up to the deck."
Jake quickly got himself up, put his glasses on, and followed the first mate up to the deck of the ship. They instantly spotted the Captian in the darkness of the night by the lanterns accompanied by three other crewmen by the railing of the ship.
"I have another pair of hands for you, Captain." The first mate informed.
The Captain smiled, but Jake could see the worry and stress in his eyes.
"Ah, Jake! Good of you to come. We're trying to haul an object the watchman spotted floating by the side of the ship. Here, take this rope and help us pull."
Jake did as he was told and helped pull the heavy object up with only the light of a few lanterns to help them see. The object was quite heavy. By the time they could see it, it felt to Jake as if both his arms had fire surging through them.
"Alright men, hold it there!"
Jake's arms were shaking, trying desperately to hold the weight. He watched the Captain as he held the lantern up to the object.
"This...this can't be!"
Jake and the crewmen looked up and couldn't believe their eyes. In front of them was a piece of a ship's hull. It was as if it had been forcibly torn from the ship.
"Is that..from The Elizabeth?" one of the crewmen asked.
"I can't say for sure. Let's wait until morning...see if we find more wreckage. Boys, lower it back into the water and go back to bed. I'll sort this out in the morning."
Without another word, the Captain staggered to his quarters, a look of shock stuck on his face. After releasing the piece of hull back into the water, Jake waited a bit before going back to his bunk. He stared off into the darkness as if he was in a trance. When he went back to his bunk, he lay awake wondering about the events that had transpired and his strange dream until morning.
Once morning came, the Captain had all of the crew gather at the front of the ship. As soon as Jake walked up to the deck, he felt as though the very air was different. Violent gusts of wind nearly knocked him off his feet. Gazing up, the sky was covered by dark clouds. The ship pitched and rocked violently as huge waves began to form. The faces of the others were filled with concern and worry. All chatter ceased as the Captain cleared his throat.
"It pains me to say that I think we may have lost The Elizabeth. We found a piece of her hull last night floating in the water. And now, it seems we may face a similar fate. This storm just came up on us unexpectedly. And even now, I sometimes hear...faint singing."
The crewmen looked around at each other, frightened looks on all of their faces.
Jake, even with his knees shaking, spoke, "Ummm, Captain? What do you mean by singing?"
The Captain gave Jake a dangerous look. "There's a small isle not too far from us. That's where some of the Sirens were...on the lookout. They went for The Elizabeth..and now they're after us. God help us all."
The Captain resumed to looking out into the distance as the sky darkened, and the winds worsened. The crew just stood there, everyone unsure of what to do or where to go. The ship moved with the waves in a rocking motion. That's when Jake began to hear it: the singing. It was a strange, melancholy melody that seemed to be coming from the ocean itself. The notes reverberated through the air, surrounding Jake and the frightened sailors.
"I'm afraid this is the end for us, boys. Save yourselves if you can."
After saying this, the Captain dove straight into the ocean, looking as though he was being dragged down into the deep by something... or someone. Many of the crew looked down into the water, desperately searching for any sign of the Captain; however, instead they saw women appearing out of the water singing. The haunting melody now hung in the air like hands about to grab them. Jake lay huddled, hanging onto a mast, closing his eyes, and desperately trying to keep the song out of his head. Opening his eyes at the sound of splashing, he saw the other sailors jumping into the sea as if they were hypnotized.
He shouted desperately, "Come one, mates! Pull yourselves together! Don't fall for their song!"
But his desperate shouts were muffled by the strong waves and the song. Jake carefully crawled over to the railing only to see women with fish-like tails caressing the faces of the sailors before cruelly pulling them under. They were strangely beautiful, but Jake continued to keep a strong grip on the railing and forced himself to look away. There weren't any screams, just the sound of bodies hitting the water, laughter, and ominous singing. When the last crew member went under, curious voices could be heard from the water.
"Is that all of them?"
"I believe there's one boy left, but I think he's too scared to jump down here. He's been clinging to the ship ever since we started singing."
They laughed cruelly.
"Well then, let's just knock him off."
Not long after, huge waves crashed against the ship, nearly knocking it over. At the third crash, Jake couldn't hold on any longer. He was knocked into the dark water, letting himself sink deeper and deeper. Opening his eyes, he saw the surface getting smaller and smaller.
"Hey, this is almost like my dream..." he thought. Before darkness took over his vision, he saw something swimming towards him with the same flash of orange as the figure in his dream.