Deep Within

•{Chapter Three}•

I place the palm of my hands on the wet wood and use all of my strength to lift my upper body. My black tail was giving off a faint shine from the lanterns. The ropes weighed heavily on my entire body, but I wasn't going to show them I was exhausted. My wet hair stuck to my face and I breathed heavily. The air was starting to burn.

A couple of the men walked closer to me, so I swung my tail to make them back away or better yet, hurt them. Father also told us that they could easily get cut and our fins were quite sharp. Using my tail as a weapon was a no brainer. I hissed once again as a warning and I kept my glare.

My focus was immediately pulled away as I felt pain. It was all over me. It wasn't the same pain as I was feeling earlier. This was mild compared to it, but it still hurt. I looked down to myself to see so many cuts marked on my body. The color blue streamed down my figure and soaked into the wooden surface.

It had to be from when I was panicking to get away. Fuck! These ropes were no joke. The men all started becoming lively. It's like they had no fear at all, like they didn't care if they got hurt. Are they insane??

"What are we waiting for? Grab her!" The man shouted and with that, one of them grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands above my head. A couple of others, pushed their whole body weight down onto my tail to keep me from lashing out again.

More pain... I tried to move away, but it was no use with how weak I was. Their touch felt so gross to me. I wanted to puke at the horrid feeling. Everything was happening all at once and I couldn't keep up with it. The cuts on my body, the lingering pain in my heart, the painful breathing and the awful heavy weight from the men. I honestly can't take it anymore.

My eyes were becoming heavy. I could feel my arms and tail start to get extremely cold. Before I slipped into darkness, I could see a blurred figure in the distance. Is that drops of water falling off him? I lost my vision but could barely hear for a couple more seconds after.

"-hoon, what happened to you? A cut?? You must..... into my room...... help you." This voice wasn't deep, it was soft and I could hear worry in it. Is this a woman? I couldn't think anymore and finally drifted off.

•~•~•~•~•~•

My eyes fluttered open as I started to cough. My throat felt so dry..... I need to get back into the water. My skin was feeling itchy from how dry it was. I moved my arms to try and scratch it, but it was no use. I looked up to see my hands were tied together with more rope and hung over a hook from the wall.

There was a dull lit lamp hung from the center of the ceiling, swaying back and forth as the ship moved with the sea. The walls and floors were damp, some areas were worse than others and a door directly across from where I was bound. The rope I was captured in was now gone.

I could hear the sound of dripping coming from my left and to behold, droplets of water fell from the ceiling. Even if it's just a small amount, anything will do to get this unbearable itch away. I tried to reach over, but it was no use. It was just out of my reach. These humans sure do love to torture anything that is not them.

My breathing was shallow and quick. What am I going to do? How do I get out of here? Just as I was in my thoughts, I could see another figure in a dark corner next to the door. I squinted my eyes to see who it was and fear shot through me as I could see a piece of a silver fin peeking in the low light.

"Althea!!" I moved as much as I could to try and break free, but nothing was budging. There wasn't a sound coming from the corner either, she didn't move at all.

"Althea! Please wake up!" My voice broke as I was on the verge of tears. She shouldn't be here! This is all my fault. I am the one who brought up the idea of bringing pain to these assholes. She is in this situation because of me....

Water started falling from my eyes and down my cheeks. I've never experienced this before. Normally the sea would eat my tears in an instant, so this was new. This little realization finally broke me as I was now sobbing. Althea and I should be home, minding our own business, playing and laughing. Not here, all tied up and in pain.