The November '54 Incident
The Boy awoke to beams of light dancing across the heavens, dashing figures and gliding objects brought dark interruptions. Even through the murk, he could still make out their wretched forms. It was time. Now, not even the frigid depths could cool his thoughts. Nor his scars.
The damage he had dealt the previous night was just a preview. Tonight, he would truly give those creatures a reason to fear him. Emerging from the watery void, he was reminded yet again why his kind rarely left the ocean. Almost instantly he could feel his centre of mass drop and his movements become laboured. But not in the familiar sense of elegantly fighting against deep sea pressure; out of the water, he was simply struggling against his own weight. Every step took great effort. He could barely move his tail outside of dragging it against the ground.
Coming to shore, he could see the changes the creatures had made. Large structures, made from some kind of thin rounded material, matched his height. What seemed like an endless length of black material stretched between the structures. They formed a line across the coast. A barrier? If those creatures were confident that these structures would be able to stop him, then there must be something more to them. While inspecting the creature's curious works, the Boy felt a slight pain traveling across his spine, but ignored it, thinking it just another random sensation as a result of his scars.
He stretched out a hand to touch the black material. As he did so, a piercing sensation ran through his arm and ended in his torso, causing his hand to continue on its trajectory and tear down the material. After an inspection of his hand, he realised that whatever the creatures were using merely startled him, causing no real damage. As the Boy continued through the useless measure, smaller structures that the creatures were huddled around, a distance away from the barriers, abruptly came to life. Long tubes spat quick jets of flame, causing barely noticeable impacts across his form.
As the creatures continued to pepper him with their inventions, the Boy felt the return of the sensation across his spine. this time it felt much stronger, spilling over into his back plates, causing them to glow white in a rapid blink. Then, it made its way to his throat, triggering an instinctive response. But instead of the expected roar of pain, a white mist escaped his maw and sifted towards the barrier. As the mist enveloped the structures, they too began to glow. Unlike his plates, the structures' glow was sustained and, not long after, it seemed they started to turn to liquid, with drops forming across their frame and falling to the earth.
This wasn't an ailment; it was a weapon.
The Boy gazed into the dark, catching sight of numerus lights. Some where stationary and some had as much life as the creatures. So, he continued, firm in the belief that there was nothing they could do.
— —
The Boy rested against a rock formation, finding himself unable to sleep. The destruction he had caused that night had felt satisfying at the time, but some part of him would not let him rest. He knew he had done the right thing, he knew those creatures had to learn their lesson, so why did he feel this way? They had taken so much from him; his family, his home, his body as he had known it. They had stripped him of his life, so they deserved what happened, right?
A voice filled his skull, a painfully familiar voice. Holding a grudge isn't going to help anyone.
His brother
But how? He thought back. How am I supposed to forget what they did?
He wasn't sure of the answer, but he knew his brother would be disgusted at him; at the things he'd done.
His focus was broken by a change in the currents; something was with him now. Moving to investigate, he found two of the creatures standing on an elevated slab of rock. They wore a kind of flexible shell, perhaps to help them survive in the water. Long tubes coming from an object on the surface were connected to the shells. One of the creatures patted the other on the shoulder and started to rise. The remaining being held a device with both hands; a mostly transparent cylinder that contained a ball connected to two struts.
For an instant, the creature met eyes with the Boy, revealing that its right eye was obscured by a material, and it seemed purposefully so. An injury? But from what; an animal? Or another creature? But that doesn't make any sense, why would they harm each other? There was only one possibility, one the Boy refused to accept. That he and this creature had more in common than first realised.
Suddenly, the creature averted its gaze. It twisted something at one end of the device and let it sink to the ground. It then hobbled over to an over-hanging rock, grabbed something attached to its waist and used it to…
Cut its tube?!
Before any theories could be formulated, the ball within the device split open, causing the water to bubble. The bubbles quickly erupted from the device and spread, surrounding the slab. The creature disappeared from view as the Boy was now engulfed in the bubbles. They rose to the surface and, as they did so, made the water surrounding the Boy warm. A moment later, he found it hard to breathe and looked down to see that the bubbles were tearing away at his flesh. Panic and pain caused him to ascend to the surface, but he could not escape death's grasp. As his head breached the surface, he bellowed a final cry.
Of pain? Of anger? Of regret? He wasn't sure.
The sorry bones of the Boy slowly sunk into the murk.
— —
Author's notes:
This isn't one of my proudest works and I am already aware of a major flaw (the vague nature of the story). But, as I consider this canon to my little project, I thought I might as well publish it. It will also help set up certain concepts and tones for future chapters. But if there any further criticisms you might have, please, let me know.
Brutal honesty is appreciated!
