Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 248

The floor was slippery, and everything stank of sickly sweet metal. It felt as if they were the only beings left
in the world. All else was reduced to piles of obstacles in their path. Then, with a hard blow from the
pirate-demon, he was sent sliding over the blood-red planks of the deck, crashing against the painfully
fragile railings…
He fell…
Over the edge…
Into the deep, dark ocean —the hungry, gaping mouth of the beast he adored…
And it stung, everything stung! His eyes, his nose, his lungs, the slashes across his arms… They all burned
with a searing, unforgiving fire.
He blinked. Darkness lined the edge of his vision, but he could just barely make out fiery hues and muffled
sounds above the waters.
HelpmepleaselookdownI’mrightherelookatmelookatmepleasepleasepleasehelppullmeoutofhereplease!
He wanted so badly to yell at them, to cry for help, anything! However, the words were stuck, unable to be
choked down or spat out, not unlike a fish bone that had once stuck stubbornly to the back of his throat. He
was young then, and he had been terrified, thinking that he was about to die, just as he was about to end up
at any moment.
The stabbing pain, joined by a sudden urge to cry, intensified…
NoIdon’twannadieI’mjustaboyIstillwannagotoplacesIlovemycrewIdon’twannadie!
He started struggling, but every time he reached the surface, the ferocious waves pulled him back in. His
chest felt like it was about to explode.
Nopleasedon’tletmedieIlovedyouIlovedyouI’mtooyoungtodie!
Thoughts of his mother began surfacing: her disgusted eyes, her disapproving frown, her scathing last words
to him: “ You’re just like your father! You’ll regret this, little disgrace.”
PleasepleasemotherI’msorrypleaseforgivemeIpromiseI’llbetheperfectsonpleaseHELPSAVEME!
He sure was regretting it now...
But it was too late…
Tendrils of crimson and obsidian began crowding into his vision. His lungs started filling up with salty
water, but it might as well be lava, for he wouldn’t notice the difference.
I...don’t…die…help…please…
He could no longer think clearly, his limbs jelly-like, sloshing sluggishly in the water.
Pain… Suffering…Help…
His limbs had ceased their useless flailing, his eyesight becoming murky. He could no longer see the ships,
the place he had come to call home, nor the other crew members, the closest thing to a family he had had in
a long time. He briefly wondered if they were still alive, if they were grieving for him now…
Oblivion… Death…
Darkness, death , was engulfing him now, wrapping its massive claws around him, waiting, a predator about
to claim its prey.
No more worries…
His body didn’t burn anymore. In fact, all of his senses seemed numbed. But it would be fine, the darkness
would take good care of him… He didn’t have to be afraid anymore…
So peaceful…
The cruel claws of death around him softened, morphing into a pair of warm, soft hands. They reminded
him of a mother caressing a child. He would never be neglected, never be despised again…
Goodnight, world…
He closed his eyes.
*
Isn’t fate funny, how it twists and manipulates, turning our strengths against us and transforming what we
love the most into our greatest downfalls?
After all, he had always loved water.