Boy from Nowhere

Forsaken Crest

There.

His eyes caught a flash of silver, and his head jerked around. Shit, behind him? A whiting whizzed away from him toward the rocks, its body wriggling in its panic to escape the Inkling. His excitement fizzled out. Just a whi- the small fish was engulfed by a much larger fish, scales blooming in the water where it had once been. Nemesis nearly recoiled, but he forced himself to stay still and watch it gulp down its meal. His hearts pounded in his chest, and he remembered an old saying: fish can hear the heartbeats of their hunters in the water, and an excited Inkling would go home hungry.

The Inkling kicked his legs as slowly as he could, flapping his gills to bring himself more oxygen as he drifted towards the fish. He raised the spear, leveling it and drawing his arms back. It swam through the water sluggishly, its silvery body flashing as sunlight bounced off of it. Closer... closer... he wasn't keen on losing such a large catch.

The fish slowed, its body so close he could see an empty black eye. Could it feel his heartbeats? Was it going to dart away and leave him empty-handed? Not today. The Inkling thrust downward with the full force of his body. The spear found its mark, piercing the fish and pinning it to the sand below. The shaft jerked in his grip as the poor creature tried desperately to rip itself free and swim away. Whipping out his knife, Nemesis stabbed into the fish's forehead. Blood plumed from the wounds and the spear went still.

— — —

The Inkling broke the surface of the water, tossing his catch up onto the planks above. He spat the water from his mouth and exhaled, allowing air to flood to his lungs once more. Lurching upward, Nemesis grabbed ahold of the dock, pulling himself out of the water in a single swift movement. He wasn't waiting for something to follow the smell of blood to his exposed toes. Water dripped onto the old warped planks, soaking slowly into the dried wood and leaving a trail of dark stains.

A breeze chilled the boy's tentacles as he placed the spear back onto the rack. Shuddering, Nemesis picked up his clothing as he trudged back to his catch. Tugging his shirt back on, the Inkling sat down on the dock, pulling out his knife with a little twirl. Better to gut the fish here than to stink up the house later.

— — —

Nemesis hummed gently as he toted the box of fish up the quiet street, the weight causing his walk to stagger slightly. Gravel crunched behind him. Footsteps, and lots of them. The fishermen had all gone down to the docks already, who- Something slammed into the side of his head, and he crashed to the ground. The crate's lid popped off, sending its slimy contents tumbling out onto the floor.

A snarky voice cackled. "Looks like the shrimp's stolen himself a bite of somebody else's catch. Leech." His vision was swimming, clouded by pain. Shit, where was the crate? The Inkling clambered to his feet, blinking the spots from his eyes.

"Leave me alone." He growled. He was surrounded, there wasn't going to be an easy way out of this. "I've got nothing for you."

"Oh, but you do." The boy that had punched him leaned in, his voice a whisper. "Stop wasting everybody's time. You go around actin' like you ain't just a leech feedin' off'a the village scraps. You're lucky we haven't turned you into chum. Save us some time, why don't you?" Each word stung like salt in a wound, stirring up an uneasy pressure in his chest.

"What do you think you're doin', huh? We never said we were done."

Nemesis continued to glare at his quarry. They wanted weakness. He would not feed them. The other Inkling's pupils contracted. "Really don't know how to clue in, huh? Maybe you're just plain stupid." A punch came flying at his head. He dodged, but somebody shoved him forward into the second jab. The hit drew a pained grunt from him, leaving his head ringing. That feeling in his gut began swirling faster, swelling within him, straining to get out.