The Captain

Breath turned to mist in the cold night air, adding to the denseness of the fog that hovered low over the water and engulfed the deck. Fingers of frost crept up the sides of the glass cage in spidering webs. For days now, an anxious anticipation had been building and building in Anorch’s mind. The captains feeling of an oncoming, inevitable downfall caused a twitchy paranoia that had all of the crew on edge.

Captain Anorch looked past the space that separated him from the cage and the abandoned area of the deck that surrounded it as no one dared take a step closer, like some invisible line had been drawn. His gaze traced the veins of ice, mesmerised by the patterns, unnatural as the shapes were. It just went to prove that the monster trapped inside the cage was in deed just that. A monster.

A creature of unholy origin. An abomination. Half woman, half fish, with unnatural allure and power over water, obviously stolen from the gods. The frost and ice made intricate shapes that curved and swirled like the ocean amidst a storm. Pale eyes devoid of a soul bore into his, the creatures hatred palpable. Anorch jerked in fright, breaking the eye contact and crossing his body to cleanse away the caress of evil that meeting its eyes imparted and apologise to his deity.

A beam of moonlight cut through the thick cover, highlighting a patch of still water barely visible just beyond the port side of the ship. The captain walked over to get a closer look at what the gods wanted him to see. The mist muffled the sounds of his careful steps and the cracking of glass behind his back.

He set his sight upon the illuminated water not too far ahead, it swirled, in an isolated dance. Twisting and twisting and twisting around itself. A whirlpool. Then another appeared, and another and another. More moon beams and spotlights and unnatural circumstances. There and there and there, until there were more than enough to surround the ship proper. Small but powerful vortexs blocking any hint of escape. Unlike the mermaid that dragged herself, unbeknownst to the captain across the hard, splintering deck.

The creatures unnatural tail allowed it to propel itself up, onto the unguarded back of Captain Anorch, the unmerciful being that had torn Maylee from her home and family. Imprisoned her in an uncomfortable and tight cage above the water and headed to distant shores, with little light or water or air. The torture had broken her.

Once a noble and just being, she had, within days, been reduced to match the bestial, desperate, unconscionable will of humans. Maylee’s strong limbs held tightly and she hung her weight so that Anorch would have difficulty breathing. He struggled but she held.

None of the crew aboard the ship dared venture closer, not even to free their captain. They knew better, creatures of the sea should never be prevailed upon to be anything other. And so she hung with no interference until the captain collapsed, with nothing more left to give. The landing was hard and devoid of cushion when the duo thumped upon the sodden deck. One brimming with life and determination and one a hollow husk.

Looking over her shoulder, Maylee opted to ignore the stupefied crewmates of the now lifeless captain and fully release herself from her captivity. She crawled and dragged her inhuman form across the rough deck, until she was close enough to escape overboard.

With the thundering and ungraceful splash of her departure, it seemed as though the whirlpools of the angered ocean decided to let its displeasures be known. A storm, the likes of which never before known raged that night, and the crew was never seen again.