Long Journey || ATEEZ

Bonus Chapter III : Beacon

I tremble as I pensively watch the prisoners all around me, not just from the cold but fear too. Even if all these others are trapped just like me – they are different. I am set apart from them in my entire nature, and that in turn might make me a target. My eyes flit from person-to-person, assessing their potential danger, the glint in their eyes. Before I'd been pulled from the water, I'd managed to transform into my yuzeul form: only those upstairs know of my true identity – for now.

My name is Shinoko, and I am a siren: hunted for our unnatural nature and the way in which we were brought into this world. Set apart from the others in that we are simply not Children of Magik – we are the rejected spawn of Acuate, Lord of the Sea. Cursed for the simple reason that we had worshipped Thalassa – Lord of the Deep Sea – and her mighty kraken and not him, sirens are about as much hated as the Dark Creatures. Perhaps even more. I doubt that the people of Lucidia even think of us as conscious, yuzeul beings like the rest of them.

Hunger scrapes at my insides, and I curl my knees to my chest, clutching at my stomach in agony. I have never gone hungry before, not even after my parents were killed and I lost my home and safety. After all, there had been plenty of shoals of fish in the sea to hunt anyway. I just hope my captors would bring us food, at the very least. Even if it's gonna be scraps of their leftover meals, or even rotten fish. I can stomach rotten fish.

Then hope – real hope – dares to worm inside of me as I hear the mumbling of people. People who aren't our captors; they seem to be having a conversation. I raise my head – as do the rest of the prisoners – keeping my ears keen for something – anything – that might lean towards my rescue, or escape. Surely somebody will notice that this is no normal cargo ship, that people are down here, soon to be slaves?

The prisoners – even the ones among them who started up disjointed conversation – and I listen in tense silence as they try in vain to catch even a glimpse of what was going on upstairs.

Then there is a thud above our heads, and the more weak-hearted of us scream. I keep my mouth firmly sealed. More thuds. Shouting, screaming. I can hear it all; being a siren and having heightened senses has its merits – and pitfalls. I slowly draw my hands up to my ears and bite my lip – a little too hard. I feel the blossoming taste of blood invade my tongue, but I don't care. I hate it. I hate the noise. The bloodthirst-charged battle roars and the clanging of swords. The screaming of the dying and the laughs of the victorious. It hits too close to home, brings me back to a time when I was too foolish, too carefree.

I don't even notice when the door crashes open, the rusty lock breaking free of its useless screws. People begin to flood out by the masses. I am left in the dirty room smelling of sweat and excrement alone.

Until I'm roughly grabbed by someone – by friend or foe, I don't know – and get pulled away. I do little in the way of resistance, my limp body dragging along to the rhythm of my saviour – or captor – as they quicken their pace. Then fresh air hits me like a racing tiger shark and I open up my eyes to the carnage before me.

Battling – pirates, it looked like – everywhere, blood spilling from various wounds on their person. The slave traders have been overwhelmed by the enemy, screaming, crying, yelling incoherent profanities as the pirates round them up into one corner. The captain of the ship is already bleeding out from a gash seared across his now-bare chest – it looks like he's barely breathing, let alone conscious. I drop to my knees in shock. What is going on? I feel panic slipping in. No...no. I'm going to die. The pirates are going to kill me and the rest of the prisoners if we don't prove useful. My breath hitches, before slipping in and out uncontrollably. I'm going to die. I'm going to die.

Then a face framed in dirty-blonde hair with a mismatch of azure and bright sea-green eyes appears before me. I feel my panicked pants melting away as I meet eyes with the sudden newcomer. She's breathtaking.