The Avallon Chronicles (BOOK I)

27 | A Captain's Farewell

"What was that?!" The young lady gasped. The strange sound coming from the upper decks made her filled with nervousness.

Rei was about to be hit by the arrows when a sudden force pushed him away from where he was.

He might have escaped death, but there was somebody else who had to die. One of his friends, who was standing nearby, received the attack.

"Daniil!" he called out in horror as his beloved friend fell into the ground.

The other four arrows were received by four other crew members. Witnessing what just happened, the crew scattered like rats, going towards their stations, trying to fight back against an enemy that they can not see.

"Daniil, no!" he spoke, crashing into his knees beside his beloved friend whose life was hastily been taken from him.

"No worries, me lad," Severilo replied with an enlightening smile on his face, "It'll be okay!"

Deep inside him, Rei knew that it was a smile filled with anxiety and depression. He knew that Severilo cares for his crew.

"What do we do now?" Mister Lynn asked.

"Nothing," replied Severilo. "I... I made a wrong decision. I... I drove you to your demise, and now we are all going to die!"

His voice was filled with terror and worry that it made the crew filled with distress.

The winter winds began to grow stronger, growing even gustier than before. Storm clouds began to roll in, and the foggy mist was beginning to swarm around the ships.

Rei pushed himself from the railing, noticing the wind around him. He knew in his heart that it wasn't over. They might not escape this ambush. Deep inside, he could feel that something should be done.

"It's not over," he spoke simply as he looked at the crew in distress. "We don't know these creatures yet, but we still have one strength... they don't know us either."

"We might not be able to survive," Wren said, looking at the horizon.

"We have an enemy that cannot be seen, and without us knowing these creatures, there's no chance," Mister Lynn pointed out.

"We STILL have a chance," Rei retorted, thinking as he stared at the waters that turned back on being calm. There was hope. At least in his youthful heart, and he had to get them to catch sight of it, he had to get them to believe.

"We're all going to die anyways. Let's just face it," Wren spoke with his hopes hastily falling.

His eyes grew the slightest bit blurry as he assumed what it would be like to lose his loved ones. To be in his shoe or to be any of those people's families waiting for them in their realm, witnessing that they never came back because of poor judgment and acquisitiveness for glories.

"We still have a choice! It is either to fight or to surrender," Rei bravely spoke, his eyebrows furrowed. "Can we take the chance to live our lives and make our families see us again?"

The crew's attentions fell towards him; their hopes suddenly aroused.

"Gentlemen, we must fight until the end..." he added. "We are not called pirates for no reason!"

"We must fight until the end," Wren repeated, the look of a proud first mate formed on his face.

"We must fight," Mister Lynn repeated with a giant smirk forming on his lips.

"Aye!" replied the captain. "The wind's on our side! We're going home!"

Rei felt his swelled heart beating rapidly in his chest and tears forming in the corners of his eyes at the sight.  He hopped down from the railing and moved towards his assigned station. He couldn't believe that his words had taken effect on the men around him – the only family he knew.

From the deep, there appeared mysterious shadowy figures that floated in mid-air.

Rei watched as most of the crew moved down the stairs and began helping each other load the guns. He let out a shaky breath as they prepared them.

Looking over his shoulder, he looked back at the captain to wait for his order.

Severilo peeked at him, holding up a finger for him to wait. He glanced at the mysterious figures, waiting for the right time to shoot at them.

The captain's crew watched his finger slowly begin to drop down, then snapped his head to look over the wheel. "Fire!" Severilo ordered.

"Fire!!!" Rei screamed to the cannon holders, snapping his head forward.

"Fire!" Wren repeated who was the one assigned to look out for the guns.

In a blink of an eye, the two parties shoot their weapons at each other. Each blow from the ship blasted the enemies. However, it seemed like it didn't have any other effect on them.

With his eyes fixed on the horizon to assist the moving ship, Severilo didn't notice the mysterious creature who released one of its arrows towards him.

Rei, who was about to report the news to him, saw the captain lying on the ground.

"R - Rei," he spoke with the pain he was feeling reflecting in his voice. "Promise me that you'll find my son and promise me that... that you will take care of the crew."

"Captain, you'll be fine. J-Just hold on, okay?" Rei said before his knees crashed beside his captain.

"My lad," he added, using the energy he had left to reach his cutlass from the ground and gave it towards Rei. "You are captain now."

"Wait, what? W-Why me?" the anxious boy asked.

The crew heard what their captain had spoken. After stating his last words, he breathed his last breath.

The attacks continued. Every moment, the number of arrows being fired was multiplied. Due to their worried souls, the number of crewmembers who died was raised as well.

Some of the terrified crewmen jumped out of the water with a hope to escape, while others just sat below deck and prayed for their safety.

"So, Captain," Wren asked while standing behind Rei. "What's your first order?" he added, reaching his hand to Rei.

The young lad wiped the remnants of his tears before reaching Wren's hand. He stood up bravely and pulled his cutlass from its scabbard.

"We must continue fighting!" he exclaimed. "All hands on deck!" he added, running towards the lower deck where the young lady was located.

"W-What's going on? W-What's happening?" the young lady asked.

Rei took the keys that were hung by the wall. He leaned closer towards the prison cell and then opened it up in haste.

"What are you doing? What changed your mind?" she asked sarcastically.

"Shut up! Just do whatever you want. I don't care!" Rei replied.

All of a sudden, the ship was sprayed with a foul-smelling gas, and one by one, the crew immediately collapsed onto the ground, their bodies paralyzed.

The young lady fell next to him, her eyes wide open. He saw the fight in her eyes, but neither of them could move their appendages.

Breathing heavily, she stared at him. Rei tried to open his mouth to say something, but he felt his eyes slowly closing, his consciousness fading away.