EMBRACING BRINE

“Captain wants to know what the problem is,” Kearney speaks loudly and firmly.

“Net’s stuck on something,” Edwards states.

“It’s not stuck,” Hughes protests. “It’s moving. Just got hold of something heavy.”

“Maybe it’s a chest of treasure,” Green jokes with just enough of a hint of sincerity.

The rest of the men laugh and smack each other at the thought.

“Fish, treasure, bare breasted mermaids, or rocks, it’s coming out of all of your shares if you break the captain’s nets and winch,” Kearney shakes his head.

The crew feign surrender and refocus on careful retrieval of the nets.

“It wouldn’t kill you to be just a bit light hearted now and then, you know,” boatswain Vano remarks with a chuckle.

“Not all of us grew up in the circus, Vano,” Kearney responds.

“I was born with this personality,” Vano laughs. “My tattoos and random skill set are a result of the circus.”

“Maybe you can parlay those into a first mate position one day.”

“What skill made you qualified?”

“I’m not afraid of the captain.”

“Does anything scare you?” Vano laughs.

“Yeah. Being buried on land.”

The winch stutters for a moment before raising the net from beneath the waves, water sloshing from off the catch back into the ocean and on the deck.

“So what did I so expertly bring aboard?” Hughes shouts.

Green and Edwards help guide the net to the deck and unfurl it as Kearney and Vano step forward to get a proper look at the contents.

The men look at what appears to be a carved statue of a vaguely feminine face and torso with numerous tentacle-like appendages wrapped around in the appearance of cradling, upon further inspection, a human ribcage.

The hilt of a knife extruded from the statue’s chest.

“What is it?”

“Not treasure, that’s for sure.”

“Museum or collector might pay something for her.”

“Maybe a tool of heathen sacrifice?”

“There aren’t any islands out here.”

“Maybe not anymore.”

“Is one of you going to tell me what you lazy bastards are standing around gawking at?” Captain Osley’s voice booms down from the helm.

“Some kind of statue,” Kearney shouts back up. “Might be worth something?” He shrugs.

“It better be, given all the fish we haven’t caught,” Captain Osley responds. “Get it stored below, and all the nets back up. We need to try other waters.”

‘You heard the Captain!” Kearney shouts. “Edwards. Donner. Get that thing stowed. Hughes. Vano. Koffer. Green. Let’s get ready to sail on.”

As the sun sets, the crew conveens in the galley for supper, where a perturbed Novikov serves up the food.

“What’s the matter Novikov?” Vano asks with a chuckle. “You aren’t your usual cheerful self.”

“That statue,” Novikov practically spits the word as he spoons food onto Vano’s plate. “Saw them put into the storage. Bad omen. Looks like an idol to something evil.”

“You worry too much my friend,” Vano reassures him.

“Perhaps,” Novikov says, unconvinced.

Night comes, and Kearney has the helm, while Hughes and Green take watch, making their rounds on the ship.

Kearney makes small adjustments to the wheel and sees Hughes’ lantern sway in the darkness as he walks back and forth on the port side, when suddenly it swings and goes out.

Concerned, Kearney slides open the window and shouts for Hughes to no response.

“Green!” Kearney leans out the door and shouts at the crewman.

Green turns and raises his lantern.

“Go check on Hughes,” Kearney orders.

Green nods and hurries up and around to where Hughes should be.

The ringing of the alarm bell soon rings out.

The full crew, woken from their slumber, now stand around and stare at the broken, torn body of Hughes.

“Christ.”

“He’s been ripped and chewed.”

“What the fuck did this?”

“Some kind of beast.”

“It’s because of that statue,” Novikov says bluntly. “We took from the sea, and one of ours was taken.”

The crew shifts uncomfortably at his words.

“I don’t believe in all that superstition,” Captain Osley shakes his head. “But I’m not willing to risk another member of my crew. Green. Edwards. Go get the statue and give it back to the waves. Kearney. Go with them so they don’t fuck it up.”

“Aye, captain,” they say in unison and hustle to follow orders.

“Christ! That stench!” Green exclaims as Kearney opens the door to storage and the men cover their noses and mouths.

The putrid, eye burning odor, a vile mix of rotting fish and sulfur, assaults their senses as they push into the room despite their disgust.

“What the fuck?” Kearney says under his breath.

The three men look in shock at the space where the now missing statue once was.

In its place, a smashed hole in the wall, and a puddle of some kind of thick secretion that drips down to the floor and smears toward the hole.

“Don’t…” Kearney fails to stop Green from sticking curious fingers into the puddle.

Green raises his hand, the slime stretching between his separating pointer and middle fingers, and sniffs the mucusy substance.

He instantly retches.

“You certainly weren’t brought on board for your brains, were you?” Kearney admonishes Green.

“Clearly,” Green coughs and gags, accepting Kearney’s assessment.

“Go wash that off,” Kearney orders. “Wait. We stick together. Edwards. Edwards!”

Edwards finally turns his pallid face to Kearney.

“What’s wrong with you, Edwards? You look worse than when you saw Hughes’ corpse.”

“I…” Edwards swallows hard. “I think this might be my fault.”

“How?”

“When Donner and I were setting the statue on the shelf there, the hilt of the knife came loose,” Edwards explains. “Turns out, it wasn’t part of the statue, but an actual knife stuck in the chest, and I pulled it out on instinct. Wasn’t thinking.”

“You saying that knife turned a living thing into a statue?” Green asks as he finally finds a cloth to wipe as much of the secretion off his hand as possible.

“I don’t know. I guess.” Edwards shrugs, confused and despondent.

“Where’s the knife now?” Kearney refocuses him.

“In my quarters.”

“Then you and Green go get it. I’m going to warn the others.”

Edwards and Green head to retrieve the knife while Kearney hurries back up to the deck.

Donner and Koffer are wrapping up Hughes’ body, while Vano and Novikov prepare and light torches.

“What are you doing?” Kearney looks at the two men.

“Something living did that to Hughes,” Vano starts to explain.

“Evil is afraid of light, and most beasts afraid of fire,” Novikov finishes.

“Well, that’s good then, because that statue came to life. Or something inside it did.” Kearney shakes his head.

“Guess we have a little hunt ahead…”

Before Vano can finish his statement, a piercing screech tears through the night followed by the wet, fleshy slapping of many tentacles rushing up the deck toward the men.

A tentacle lashes out and slams Koffer against the railing, while the others manage to avoid the creature, her dark, slimy flesh glistening in the torch light.

The monster whips around, screeching and baring her long, spiny, translucent teeth.

Vano takes a mouthful of kerosene, extends his torch, and spits fire.

Another screech, and the creature backs up toward the bow of the ship.

“Drive it back!”

The men swing torches and avoid the trashing tentacles.

Green and Edwards finally appear, the latter charging in, knife raised and poised to thrust deep into the heart of the creature.

A lashing tentacle sends Edwards tumbling, and the knife skittering away along the deck.

Kearney smacks a tentacle with his torch, sprints and makes for the knife. He slips on the wet deck, but manages to feel the handle in his grasp.

“Vano!” Kearney shouts.

Vano takes a mouth full of kerosene, raises his torch, and spews forth another blast of flame.

The creature screeches and recoils hard against the railing at the bow of the ship.

Under the light of Vano’s fiery blast, Kearney rushes toward the beast and throws all his weight into the creature, piercing the knife deep into the chest of the monster.

The creature falls back over the railing, she lashes her tentacles around Kearney, crushing him hard against her body, and taking him overboard with her.

“Kearney!”

The shouts of the crew chase after him..

Kearney’s ribs crack and his lungs fill with the salty cold of the ocean’s water.

The pair sink faster and faster as the creature turns into stone, but with the fading of Kearney’s life comes a peace and contentment that his crew will be safe and he gets his burial at sea.