Blood in the Water

[Chak Ku'rill]

As screams and shouts echoed through the darkening sky, Chak could not tear his eyes from the deck of The Silver Maiden where shadows dashed hither and thither and a raging badger roared. Fortunately for his life, the pair of Waverunner otters who held him at blade-point had decided to ?capture? him rather than run him through and be done with it.

So far.

From what Chak could tell, the Waverunners aboard the pirate ship were granting no such quarter to his crewmates, and it turned his insides.

In the water the two otters were arguing how best to get their newfound prisoner onboard The Zephyr so they could join the melee. The problem with taking a prisoner in water, however, was that one could not very well tie him up without dooming him to drown; so the otters had searched Chak and then had to keep their weapons trained on him constantly to prevent his escaping.

?Oy! You! Wavescum!? one finally shouted at him above the din. ?Swim forward ? that-away!?

Chak shot the otter a glare as he prodded him with the tip of his pronged fish spear and moved the direction indicated.

?Slow an? easy now! No tricks!?

Chak toyed with the idea of diving away, but the otters were too close and he didn?t like the reach of that spear. If he was to survive, he had to play his hand right.

All traces of sunlight had completely vanished by now and the fire and lanterns from the two ships were all anybeast could see by in the curling fog, until strangely, in the distance, an eerie blue glow appeared.

Chak did a double take and was nearly impaled.

?Eh! Wot are you gawpin? a ? ah ?ahhh.? The river otter?s eyes grew wide and he waved a claw at the spectral form. ?Drandy, mate ? d?you see wot I see?? The three otters stared in awe as the ghost ship approached, its strange luminescence sending shivers down their spines.

It could not be real, and yet, there it was ? mystical, glowing and creaking: The Phantom.

The activity aboard The Silver Maiden seemed to subside somewhat as beasts ? mostly Waverunners ? gathered at the railings. The Phantom approached and its black-burned hull glittered with ocean spray while spikes and ominous strange appendages stabbed out at odd angles. It seemed to slow as it drew alongside the pirate vessel, as though taking an extra long, vengeful look at Atlas, who glared defiantly back, shouting some kind of challenge.

Then Hell opened up as lightning and fire flashed, thunder boomed, and invisible claws punched violent, gaping holes straight through the sides of The Silver Maiden. Beasts and debris flew through the air and landed in the water all around. Chak thought he felt a splinter or two embed itself in his skin as he threw up an arm to protect his face. The ghost ship continued forward out of a massive black cloud of death straight toward the three otters bobbing in the water. Panic seized them all. The Waverunners swam one way while Chak dove deep.

The huge black body of the ghost ship drifted over the sea otter, discernible by its sheer mass and an ethereal blue outline. Several heartbeats passed as the peaceful silence of the ocean enveloped him and the ship slipped away, then Chak snapped back to reality and shot to the surface with a splash, gasping at the smoke-filled air.

A beast bumped into him and Chak leaped back reflexively, thinking his captors had pursued him after all, but it was a hare. An obviously dead hare. Chak turned his attention to The Silver Maiden, which sat at an odd angle, taking on water. A light sputtered out as it touched the surface of the sea, while the remaining lanterns illuminated beasts moaning, crawling and staggering across the slanted deck.

The slaves.

The slaves were still chained.

Chak kicked himself into action, swimming with otter speed to the galley. He climbed a half-burned tangle of rigging then launched himself over the broken railing with a grunt. No sign of the badger or the captain. Most survivors ? both pirates and Waverunners ? were jumping ship.

?DAGGLE!? he roared above the chaos, searching about for the wall-eyed rat who had his key. ?DAGGLE!? He scanned the waters around the ship for the rat?s body, but it was too dark to make out any faces. Chak cursed.

Just then, a familiar weasel caught his eye. Chak seized Tooley by the shirt and shook him by the collar. ?Where be that wormy-livered scalawag chum o? yours, weasel??

Tooley didn't seem to hear him at first, eyes distant as he focused on the confusion around them. ?I dunno," he gasped, then glanced up at Chak, face etched with worry. "I-I can't find 'im!"

Chak growled and tossed the useless pirate aside. The ship creaked and tilted further, nearly throwing the otter to his knees. Compensating for the lean, he tore across the deck to the stairs leading down below.

The lower deck was chaos, water and blood. A hole had been blown through the wall on both sides and had taken out several rows of slaves. By the light of a few remaining lanterns Chak could see half of the oar benches were already submerged, their captives drowned or drowning.

Oh no.  Minstrel?s bench had been at the back. Chak started for the blood-filled water, then stopped, remembering how he?d relocated the mouse to the front row last night.

?Minstrel!? he rushed back to find the mouse and squirrel huddled together. They were taking turns gnawing at the floorboards around the chain that held them both. Minstrel looked up at Chak with some surprise.

?Quick! The key!? The mouse pulled Scrufftail back and gestured at the manacles around their ankles.

?I?I don? ?ave it!? Chak confessed, surprised at the crack in his own voice.

?Find something else then!? Minstrel shouted, looking grim as he returned to scraping the floor with his teeth. Four slaves, Chip, Gilly, Bluster, and Hodgepodge, cried out and gurgled as water flooded their gaping mouths.

?Arrrrrrr!? Chak roared in frustration, rushing into his quarters and tearing the place apart.

The slave driver had made a point not to leave objects lying around that could potentially be used as weapons, so there were few options available. He smashed the jar of chestnuts and hurled a pair of boots out of his way contemptuously before seizing hold of his cot and breaking one of the legs off. He charged back into the slave quarters with the piece of wood. Water was rising at an alarming rate.  Debris and body parts bobbed at the surface while the paws of more drowning slaves reached towards him desperately. Only the last two benches remained above water, and it was getting harder and harder to stand.

?Chak ? we need you!? Minstrel called out as he and Scrufftail worked to free the deeply set nails.

Chak hurried over to help them pull at the manacle?s base. He shoved the wooden bar into the gap the two had chewed and wrenched it, tugging aggressively. The nails were abnormally long and embedded deep, specifically so no slave could do what they were trying to do. The nails held.

Chak threw all his strength into the makeshift lever, muscles bulging, teeth grinding, and veins popping as saltwater swallowed them all in a surprising gush. The manacle broke free and darkness engulfed them. Chak seized the mouse and squirrel and swam blindly towards the stairs and the surface.

Except the surface was no longer there.

The otter rammed his head blindly into wood, unable to reach out with either of his occupied paws.

They were trapped ? sinking along with The Silver Maiden to the bottom of the sea.

No. The hatch was there, somewhere. He just had to find it.

Chak felt with his body, scraping the back of his neck and shoulders along the wood until at last he found the opening and pushed through. With a last surge of adrenaline, the otter thrust for the surface.

All three beasts gasped as they broke through the water into cool night air, sucking in deep, hungry breaths. Chak spun around, trying to find his bearings in the cloudy darkness while holding the two slave beasts? heads above water.

Here and there stars broke through gaps in the patchwork of clouds, though the moon itself was waning. In the distance, the island came into view, shrouded by mist, and Chak finally knew what direction to head. He leaned back, belly up, and exhaled, beginning the long swim toward shore. He clutched an exhausted mouse and squirrel under each arm, as his mother had carried him long ago?

?sans manacles.