By Your Side Through The Abyss

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hudson's POV

I swam forward as soon as I heard the loud booming voice which shuddered the whole room, I moved myself behind Albion and Ler, feeling protective over them both. Seeing the sirens chained up, seeing my family locked away, not knowing who we were, had made something inside of me snap. I had some regret about coming here, but at the same time I felt as though it was the best decision I could have ever made. They were alive, and I had a chance to save them. I could save our family, and we could live just like we could before. But I didn't know how heartbreaking it would be to look into a loved one's eyes and have them not be able to know you.

But there was something wrong about this entire picture. Our parents weren't here. Our mother and father were not part of the group who were chained to the walls. I recognised most of them as my family, my aunt Sheila was here, alongside her two children. I couldn't help but fear the worst, and it was pounding against my head constantly, like I was in a room full of huge drums which they sometimes used on ships.

But the heartache had to be pushed aside eventually. I used it as fuel as I glared up at the ceiling. I didn't know if that's where the voice was coming from, as it seemed to crowd around us, but it was as good of a target as any. "What do you mean 'no'?" I asked, sounding quite sassy.

The voice chuckled, the sound once again shaking the room. "Do you not know the meaning of 'no'? It denies your statement or answers your question in this case. You will not be able to get any kind of upper hand here. You are in my domain. I am the one in charge here." The noise moved from one part of the room to the other, which felt incredibly strange. I could feel the being moving, the presence shifting, but I didn't know how I was aware of it. "It's a pleasure to finally interact with you three. You've made contact with a few of my creations, but it's nice to torment you directly."

"Your creations? The octopus and dolphin?" Albion guessed, sounding a lot braver than I would've expected from him a few days ago. "You're the one in charge of the abyss?"

"That's right," the voice confirmed smugly. "You're in my little pocket now. You know, I really do love having humans here. They're so different to each other. I must say I have a soft spot for them, I've been so generous with you so far."

"Generous?" Albion stammered out. "I was nearly eaten and paralysed at one point."

"I'm not sure if you could call it paralysis," the voice retorted. "But that's technicalities we won't look into right now, okay? You just be a good boy and stay quiet as I talk to the sirens."

"A good boy?" Albion muttered angrily under his breath. "I'm not a dog, nor am I five." His words were then silenced, He looked around, mouth opening and closing whilst we just stared. His face began to turn red, and his confused expression turned into a glare which surely rivalled my own. Some of the sirens just glanced away, probably used to the power of this being.

"That's better." The voice seemed to give some sort of dreamy sigh as it moved around us, booming from behind me, causing me to jump. "Sirens! It's time for us to have a little discussion on why you're here and what I'm going to do with you. I'm not completely merciless, I do like to give my victims options."

"How generous," I commented with a roll of my eyes. I still didn't know what I was talking to, and it really irritated me. "You're giving us options on how to torment us? That's a little unconventional."

"It won't just be torture." The voice scoffed, as though I had said something silly, and it was mocking me. "I'd just like to point out that the other sirens here had to face the same choice. There are other sirens here, who decided to take another route."

My interest was piqued and I instantly looked around the room again. "Where? What route did they take?"

Ler tugged on my hand, wrapping his arm around mine. I didn't think he liked my enthusiasm as the being spoke so casually about having other sirens here. I pressed my arm tightly against my side, keeping his arm stuck there, trying to comfort him.

"You could stay here like mindless husks, chained up until I need you. Or you could come with me, to lure sailors to my domain."

I hesitated. Would my parents actually have taken that deal? I couldn't see it. I couldn't see my loving guardians choosing to lure sailors to their demise. Then again, it is the true nature of a siren. Albion had heard siren's songs since coming here, maybe it was them, trying to warn us or trying to lead us to them. I wasn't even sure if this deity, this being, this monster, was aware of the fact we had the aid of other sirens.

"Is that the only other option?" Ler asked with a whimper, bringing me back to the present moment. Ler's eyes were wide with terror as his grip on my arm tightened even more. If I tried to move, I was sure he wouldn't let me do so without a great struggle. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Such a precious siren," the voice cooed. "That's up to the big one, I don't care who does the job, as long as the job is done."

"And why do you need more sirens to do it?" I asked with a frown, though the frown had been permanently etched onto my face for quite some time. "All you need is one siren, and they could bring down an entire ship."

"Don't sirens get tired?" the voice questioned. They didn't seem too confident in their claim, but it wasn't a question they seemed to want the answer to. They spoke as though it was an obvious statement, with a slight falter. "The more sirens I have to do that job, the easier it'll be to lure ships down here. They have to carry them in here as well, if not the ships, then the crew."

"And what exactly do you do with the crew?" I asked, glancing at Albion. Albion's face had paled considerably. I couldn't help but think about his family, his crew. What would've been the outcome if we hadn't brought Albion down here? We hadn't run into any of Albion's crew down in the abyss, but I imagined that it was only a matter of time before the curse became activated. But that just led to more questions.

"It depends." I could imagine the creature shrugging casually. "Sometimes the humans are kept in my jail until they're useful and entertaining, sometimes they're fed to my creations, and sometimes they're tortured in order to give me more ideas for creations. Only one person has ever been spared in my domain."

I suddenly had very strong negative feelings towards the humans who had previously been trapped by this creature, as they were probably the reason for the giant dolphin and the yellow octopus.

"And the markings? What about the round symbols?"

"You are full of questions." The voice groaned loudly, the room shaking a little. I knew that was just to show off the power that they had, it wasn't actually caused by their voice or anything. My fellow sirens looked anxious and uncomfortable, sparing me cautious glances. "The markings are how I identify my property, what I have claimed."

Albion quickly moved forward towards me, tugging on my arm and pointing across the room. I thought that it was just a design in the wall, but there appeared to be spirals like the mark all around the room. It made me feel unsettled, but what made me even more unsettled was what Albion pointed to next.

My eyes trailed from one siren to the next, my heart sinking with each siren I glanced at. The same circles were marked on their skin in a light white. There was no mistaking it for anything else than a sign of ownership and sameness.

My first instinct was to look back at Ler and check his arms, my chest tightening as I noticed the same mark on his skin, and I cursed myself for not seeing it sooner.

We had been marked as this being's property.

"What is your decision, siren? Where will yourself and the little one go?"