Dangers of the Sea || Byler Story ||

23 - The Underground

Third Person POV:

Dustin leaned forward, grabbing onto the two ropes and pulling them.

A few moments later, Lucas and Max's heads popped above the water. "Did it turn?" Lucas asks. Jane shakes her head, and pointed.

Lucas and Max turned around, and their mouths dropped open.

It was an island, and on the large island, was a bustling city. Max swam over to a hidden beach, untying herself from the rope and transforming into a human. Lucas did the same, and he turned to the humans.

"I know this place, I've heard of it from one of our friends," Lucas says. "You guys need to be silent. This place is for really bad people."

Will nodded, stepping off the boat. Jane did as well, holding the green bottle, followed by Dustin.

"Just follow us," Max says, taking the potion from Jane.

The group entered the area, almost immediately stealing some cloaks as they started walking through the maze of wooden flooring, going deeper and deeper. Soon, they were walking down the side of a cliff. Most of the people around them ignored them or gave them glares.

After half an hour or so of walking, the group approached a large door.

"Hey, misses," A pirate standing at the door greets. "You're not allowed here."

Max shifts her hand through her potion bag, before pulling out a small cup with sparkling purple dust inside. The pirate frowns at her as she uncorks it.

She blows some of the dust over his face, making him sputter. "We're old friends of your boss, remember?" She whispers. "You will let us in and then forget of our existence."

The pirate inhales the dust, closing his eyes for a moment. He opens them again. "Ah, welcome back, Miss Mayfield and friends," He says, grinning. "Please, come inside," He opens the door and gestures for them to go inside. Max grins as she and the rest enter.

When the door closes, Lucas grins at Max. "When did you learn that?" He asks.

Max shrugs. "I've been taking extra classes with Murray," She says. "I have tons of helpful spells now, but I think I like that one the most."

The group walks down the area, and it was quiet for the most part.

"Where do you think he is?" Will asks, looking at the green bottle in Max's hand, which the green trail was fading.

Max frowns, checking the potion. "This way," She says, pushing open a door.

When she enters, everyone freezes. The captain was inside, standing over a semi-conscious Mike. The burn marks were very clear on his pale skin. Will's chest welled up in fury.

"Ah, what do we have here?" The captain says, smirking.

Clanky footsteps were heard behind them, and the group turned to see a bunch of pirates waiting.

...

"So.." The captain says, pacing a few feet in front of the group. "Why are you in my base?"

The group was tied up, with their hands behind their backs and sitting on their knees. A pirate was behind each of them, ready to attack if they tried anything.

"We got lost," Max says simple.

The captain chuckled. "Yeah, right, like I'd believe that," he says. "You're here for my black tailed mermaid." He waves at the door, making two pirates open it. Another pirate comes out, dragging Mike in by a large rope tied to his tail. The ravenette was unconscious, and he was dragged out so he was very much out of the group's reach.

"What did you do to him?" Lucas questions, eyeing the burn marks.

"Oh, he just needed to be broken in," The captain says dismissively. He walks backward, crouching down next to Mike. He grabbed the boy's jaw and held it up so they could see his face. "His scales and blood will sell for quite a lot of money on the market."

Mike's eyes opened as the captain dropped his head, and his eyes widened as he saw his friends.

"Are you going to tell them what you did?" The captain questions. Mike's eyes widened as he glanced at the captain, before looking back down. "Tell them what you did."

The captain stood up again. He walked over to the fire whip's stand, taking it in his hand and turning back to everyone. Mike's eyes widened in fear, freezing in place.

"He did something quite marvelous," The captain tells Will and his friends. "All by his lonesome. With a little pushing, of course," He says, swishing the fire whip in the air. Mike flinched. "Are you going to tell them what you did?"

"I didn't want to.." Mike whispers, barely audible to anyone. He continued to stare at the ground.

The captain clicked his tongue in false disappointment. "He murdered a whole crew of pirates," He tells the group. Mike flinches, closing his eyes. "A great feat to accomplish."

Will stared at Mike in terror. Not terror towards mike, but terror for him.

"With good training, I think he might be able to murder a whole fleet." The captain says, walking closer to the ravenette.

He cracks the whip close to Mike's face, making Mike flinch harshly.

A jolt of realization went through the whole group. "Oh Mike.." Will whispers, looking at the burn marks with a new found horror.

The captain held the fire whip over Mike's tail, inches away from the scales.

"Do you know what this is?" The captain questions the group, referring to the whip. "It's quite a special weapon to have in your possession. I had to kill the last owner."

"It's a whip.." Max says softly. "You.. You're a monster."

"No, that title goes to this one," The captain says, slowly lowering the whip. "Such beautiful scales, too bad I accidentally melted some of them."

He slashes the whip down on Mike's tail, making Mike shriek in pain, letting the captain kick him against the floor.

The group gasps in terror. The way the fire whip was hitting Mike's scales caused a few sparks to fly off, dancing in the air before fading away.

Another whip. Another scream. Jane, Max, Dustin, and Lucas all close their eyes, not wanting to watch. But Will couldn't talk his eyes off the captain, glaring at him with so much rage it was amazing he hasn't burnt a hole through him.

The captain continues to whip Mike multiple times before the poor boy faints.

Everyone who closed their eyes opened them again. Jane was sobbing while everyone else stared in horror.

The door opens and Zia runs in, rushing to Mike's side, glancing up at the captain.

"Zia, bring him back to the dungeon," The captain says, not looking at her as he speaks. Zia's eyes widened in shock.

"NO!" Will shouts. "I won't let you!

The captain turns to him. "What could you do?" He asks with a mocking laugh. "You're just a boy."

"Captain.." Zia whispers. "That's Prince William Byers." Her eyes look over at Jane. "And the princess is here too."

"Yes, and I will tell my father of this if you don't let him go," Will says, glaring at the captain.

The captain stares at him. "Interesting.." he says. He drops the fire whip on the ground, and the tip grazes a long line across Mike's cheek. "The prince and princess of the kingdom come and try to save a mermaid." He announces to his crew, spreading his arms in a huge gesture. The crew burst out laughing. "A prince and a princess think they can fight me?!"

"Our family will come and find us if you don't let us go," Jane says through her tears, looking surprisingly confident.

"Zia, bring him to the captain quarters," The captain says. "And you all," He waves at the group. "You'll join him there."

<^> To Be Continued

(1.2k words)

shoop, shoop.