Hey everyone :) Long time no see. This will end in a few more chapters or so. Who knows, maybe we'll get to thirty, but most likely not. Fin and Annie will get together eventually and then everything will have fallen into it's place. But I'm also thinking of changing a few things to make it more interesting..
Enjoy :)
Chapter Twenty One: Finnick : Building A Raft
"Finnick! What on earth are you doing...?!"
I was crouched near the log we were set about carving out, picking at the tiny splinters that stood out on the trunk and trying to tie them into small, delicate knots. Snap. Darn. One of them broke on me. I was a lot better at this when I was younger...
Mary Ann grumbled and straddled towards me, snatching the thin threads of bark from my fingertips. The sharp, quick friction of the material left my skin feeling burned, tarnished. I glared at her irritably.
"I was just-
"We're supposed to be building a raft. What are you doing, braiding bark strips...? Finnick, you are quite the-
"I just got a little distracted -I used to do this when I was a kid to ease stress. Nostalgia, alright? "
She looked at me with disbelief.
"Stressed out? About what? Before you know it, you and your little mermaid are gonna live happily ever after. In a big house, that outlooks the sea. Just like the bedtime stories,"
The exact emotions in her voice were indiscernible.
I sighed, picking up grains of sand and watching them slip through my fingers.
"What if things don't work out the way we planned? Maybe she and I aren't the way we used to be..."
She huffed and shook her head.
"I don't know what you're talking about. All I know is that we've got to get to get started or we'll never finish by sun down. Come on, Finnick. Let's get to it,"
I sighed and stared blankly at the log.
"How are we supposed to carve it, anyway? We need a knife or some kind of thing. It's not like it's made of butter..."
She nodded, standing up and pulled me along with her.
"Good point. Let's explore that jungle and see what we can find,"
I turned to where she was pointing. Not far from where we stood were a thick mass of trees, not the dark, wilted kind in Hiberna Somnium, they were lush green, exotic and full of life. Their leaves grew lengthy and supple, swaying softly in the wind. A distant chatter of birds could be heard.
Before long, we were knee deep in the depths of the wild, waterlogged in thick, wet mud clinging onto our bare shins and sharp, tapering blades of grass scraping our elbows, as a constant haze of droning insects clouded our failing vision. The back of my shirt was soaked in sweat, clumps of moist dirt caked my hair and the insides of my nails and I coughed feverishly, surrounded by a most horrible smell. Mary Ann wasn't faring much better, her hair looked like a bird's nest, her once white dress now drenched with one hundred shades of diarrhea. She cursed under her breath, as she sunk her arms into the swamp to pick up what was left of the hems of her dress so she could walk properly.
We wadded languidly through the thick, viscous water, our sopping clothes feeling as if they weighed more than we did. The heat was like the weight of the world upon our shoulders. I looked around, seeing nothing but trees and vines and the hornets that had formed a permanent relationship with the circles of sweat around my forehead. They circled me, hammering their buzzing into my temples and if I hadn't been in the middle of a humid swamp, now with the slimy water up to my chest, I might have eaten them by now and be suffering the side effects of induced stinger poison. I was beginning to wonder whether it would be better to be hit by a falling coconut or to drown myself. Life and death seemed indifferent to me at the moment. Occasionally, I could convince myself they were the same thing.
"So, Mary-Ann," I spoke stiffly. " - what was it that you so desperately wanted to find...?"
She coughed feverishly and glared at the mud that clung tightly to her bare arms.
"I wanted to help us find something to carve the damned log, but it appears that is the least of our worries at the moment. Anyways, I don't see anything remotely useful here..."
"I suggest we find an alternative form of transportation," I muttered groggily.
"And what might that be? Are we going to fly...? Don't be ridiculous, Finnick. We need some kind of raft..."
"Forget it, Mary. I am tired and hungry and frankly, I don't care anymore. Can we just get the hell out of here?"
She sighed heavily and grit her teeth.
"Fine. It's not like you're the only one who feels like vomit."
"I don't feel like vomit. I need to vomit..."
With that, we climbed awkwardly out of the swamp and staggered like drunks, I with my sopping wet trousers clinging tightly onto my sore bum and her with her wild, ratty hair piled like dead mice upon her head. I believe we got lost a dozen times before we finally found our way out of the horrid jungle.
Later in the evening, I found myself tying knots again, this time with the pieces of vines I picked out from Mary-Ann's tangled clumps of hair. She was glaring intently into the weak fire we built that produced more light than warmth. It was becoming cold quickly. Our damp clothing was not helping the case.
Suddenly her eyes lit up and she snatched the knots from my fingertips again. I was about to protest when she grinned brightly at me.
"Finnick! You're a genius! " She exclaimed.
"I am...?"
She hopped onto her feet and ran back into the jungle. She did not return for several minutes. The fire went out and restarting it was in vain. Then it started to rain. I was beginning to get worried when she came back, staggering heavily, drenched in rainwater. She carried several coils of vines and large bundles of reeds in her shivering, shaking arms. When she dropped them, they fell with a clatter and rolled all over the place. Mary Ann grumbled and knelt down and painstakingly placed all of them into two separate piles.
I was speechless. Whatever her idea was, what made her go into all this trouble for me? What have I ever done for her to deserve this? I didn't know what to say.
"So, we will line the reeds up into a square-like fashion. Then, we will use the vines to tie them together. If we can find a way to make this raft large enough and sturdy enough for two people then that will be good,"
I smiled softly.
"Of course. Let's get started,"
We worked tirelessly, synchronized in our movements, forgetting that the rain pounded loudly upon our sore backs. Mary Ann lined up the reeds and I would tie them together with the vines. Several times the vines broke. Sometimes the reeds would snap and break away from their alignments. We had to make another two trips into the jungle for materials. I believe we promised to give up eight times, almost passing out six times. The rain made it look like we were crying. I suppose I was, on the inside. Never had something irritated me like this. I was ready to pick up the cursed thing and smash it to bits. But Mary Ann was patient, careful and focused. So I controlled myself. Every time I wanted to just stop and forget about it, I remembered how she went to so much trouble to help me. And I remembered how I had done nothing to deserve her kindness.
Finally we were finished. The sun was peeking from its veils of dark water, a brilliant red, fiery and beautiful. The water was still, but it seemed to waver slightly, waking from its slumber. The sky was still pitch black but it would soon have color. We fell asleep when the moon faded into the lightening sky.
It was midday when we woke up again. Our makeshift raft was still there, I realized, smiling softly. It wasn't a dream. We actually made it. The handiwork was coarse and my knot making was beyond terrible but it looked like it would hold. Mary Ann stretched her arms towards the sun and slowly got up. Her dark tangled hair flowed gently with wind. Her blue eyes flickered with joy.
"You're so happy it isn't an illusion, huh? I would rip the hair off my scalp right this instant if that stupid thing drifted into the sea while we slept..."
I chuckled softly and mussed her hair. It was surprisingly soft. She sniffed and got up, picking up the raft and entered the shallow waters.
"Aren't you going to help me test this...?"
"Oh! Yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming,"
Realization flooded my eyes and I sprang up and ran sloppily into the water.
She placed it gently onto the water's surface. It held itself afloat, bobbing from side to side with the waves. Then slowly she inched her body onto the raft. It swung violently back and forth until she found the center. Then it sunk slightly under her weight but stayed afloat for the most part. I sighed with relief. Then I sat on it and the whole thing sunk faster than a falling coconut.
We were submerged in the cold water for moments, kicking and swinging our limbs into the ground and each other before we realized all we had to do was stand up. I sighed. Well. I was completely woken up now.
"Great. What are we supposed to do now...? I am not going back into that damned jungle again-
"-We'll just take shifts...! You can stay on it for a minute or two and I will act as a paddle, you know, holding on to the edge, kicking the water with my legs. We can switch after I get too tired..."
"Do you even know where the ship Hiberna Somnium is...? You know now that I think about it, it could take months for us to find it like this. We'd be better off waiting here for it to find us instead,"
"But we can't be sure if it will ever come here..."
"It's better than risking our lives to look for the ship and drowning as a result-"
"Wait. I'm still unsure about something. I was stranded in the middle of the ocean, about to drown and the next thing I know, I'm here. How did I get here in the first place...?"
Mary Ann was silent for several moments. I tried to wait as patiently as I could. She kept on looking at the ground, lips pursed, eyes darting left to right like nervous minnows. Finally she sighed and looked at me carefully.
"I...Um...Remember when I told you I consume human flesh...?"
I stiffened for a mere second but quickly nodded.
"Yes, so, you see, I do that because I made a pact with the demons of the sea-
"There are demons in the sea...?" I sputtered, incredulous.
She glared at me irritably.
"Look, I don't understand why you're acting so surprised about it -Annie, that girl you're in love with, she probably did the same. That's why she cannot survive without water,"
I sat there, confused. Then she sighed, exasperated.
"Okay, I have the feeling Annie told you similar things in the past, but you just weren't paying attention because you were too irritated by her undying love for you to listen,"
I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"And your point is...?"
"Alright. Let me tell you what is going on so that you may understand. You know how your mother would always tell you there is good and evil in the world? And how evil lurks everywhere in dark corners?"
I nodded, waving for her to continue.
"Well, she was right. You see, there are demons everywhere. And it is not uncommon for humans to attempt to make deals with them in hopes of gaining something in return. Of course, there are stories about this all the time, but the thing is, it's actually true. Demons seem to like land more than water so there are always a bit more of them in the streets and forests. But of course, there are sea demons. These, are basically the same as land demons, they just have abilities involving water and they are more mysterious and manipulative..."
"So you made a deal with a sea demon? And what happened? "
She sighed, smiling disappointingly.
"I made a mistake. It's something I won't ever do again. Just promise me you won't mock me for what I'd done, alright?"
I agreed and she continued on.
"See, I have always been very frustrated about my lack of a love life when I was a child. I was very skinny, I had a plain face and there was really nothing to me at all. All of my friends who were pretty though dull-minded had young male suitors, all very handsome, dashing. I was so jealous. One night, while I was sitting on the rocks, not to far away from the shore, someone from under the water heard me lamenting about my life and surfaced from the sea. He was a very attractive man, whose body ended in a fish tail. I was mesmerized by his appearance and he persuaded me into making a deal with him."
Mary Ann would not talk for a very long time. When she began again, her voice was rough and unsteady.
"He said he would make me sexually attractive if as long as I was his slave for a time frame of nine days. I was stupid and foolish -I don't know why I had the nerve to agree with him. He would do horrible things to me: He would blindfold me, then tie me up to the point of suffocation and beat me until I was numb. Then after I was unable to feel anything he would mess with my mind, telling me he loved me, that this was what a lot of men did to women and then he would kiss me and act like he really did love me..."
Then without warning, she began to cry. Tears streamed down her eyes and she choked several times before she calmed down, sobbing quietly until she managed to speak again.
"...This pain persisted over a course of nine days, like I'd said before. This encounter caused me to hate men and decide to simply use them for my pleasure and then throw them away when I lost interest in them. I thought that if men thought of woman as objects and toys, I would do the same to them, as a form of repayment. I was right about them a few times, but, I believe there were also some men that actually genuinely cared about me and were heartbroken when I betrayed them. I regret everything. And you see, my transformation also changed me from human to monster. I guess you could say I was a man-eater. Literally," She mumbled, chuckling softly.
I smiled sympathetically and took a deep breath. This was a lot to take in. So Mary Ann was the one who had saved me from drowning and she had had a really screwed up life before we had met. It was all coming in so fast, so I wasn't quite sure if I could believe her or not. But something told me she wasn't lying.
"What do you suppose we do? Are you still willing to help me find Annie?"
She smiled.
"Yes. And now that you've brought it up again, I think I know someone who can help you,"
"And might that be some kind of sea demon...?" I asked, amused.
She snorted.
"Or course not. Sea demons are the worst. What you need, is something very different..."
She took my wrist and we disappeared into the ocean, leaving nothing but the damp imprints of our feet upon the shoreline, behind us.