Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
My shimmering blood leaked on the boat as the rest of the crew jeered and smirked. The Captain was the only one with a grim, grey face. He told me before that I had killed his wife and child, and that killing me would be the only way to avenge them. I looked at him, clueless. He scowled at my vacant expression and stabbed me with his sword turning it inside my body which made me cry out in pain.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
I didn’t remember killing his family. I didn’t remember killing any of their families. I didn’t even remember my name but the fury in their eyes as they beat me, and the glee that replaced it as I stood on the plank, bleeding out, means I must’ve, right? I turn around to face the men all pumping their fists as I slowly began to lose the light in my eyes.
“Wh-” with a bone-breaking kick to the ribs from The Captain, I stumbled off the boat and plummeted into the murky depths. Pain everywhere. My lungs burned. My wound ignited as if a thousand burning bees stung it. Involuntarily, I thrashed and screamed while dancing lights swarmed my eyes. I quickly became one with the chilling currents.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
I woke as a warm liquid poured on my face. I opened my mouth to scream for it to stop but only a corpse of my voice jaggedly came out. I opened my eyes to find that I was no longer in the ocean but a dark swamp. Willow trees hung their branches like dead limbs as their leaves swayed at a silent rhythm. Fireflies gave off the only light; millions gathered in clumps to produce an eerie glow. It smelt like somebody had died here…I wondered if it was me. I look down at my wound which would no doubt be turning the water around me a deep garnet however, it wasn’t. A flaky white skin had formed over it making the blood stay in my body, I soon realized the same skin had protruded between all my fingers and toes as if I was metamorphizing into a toad. I moved to stand up but seven arms shot out of the water like sharks to pull me back down into a sitting position, as far as I could tell, they weren’t attached to a body. One of the hands lifted a finger to my lips to signal for me to be quiet, the finger than proceeded to tap me twice on the temple. My eyes glazed over and I became lost in a thick trance. Voices filled my head in a dizzying cacophony as they talked over one another until one sickly silvery voice became prevalent.
“You have been chosen,” it said “to be the new Bearer of the Crown of Branches. The Ruler herself gifted you this honour of deciding the fates of those who come upon you. You have been chosen to decide if they should be granted the gates of Heaven or Hell. Be untrue and immortality will become of you. Otherwise, you will be gracefully granted death in the gates of Heaven when your time comes.” My head was suddenly filled with a deafening silence until-
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
My eyes fluttered open and my gaze drifts towards my reflection in the water, they had become a pearly white and my pupils contrasted them, a dot of raven black. But what really changed in my appearance was the branches crafted on my head which intertwined together to form a crude crown. I reached up to try and take it off but it was as if it was melded to my head. A sickening feeling crept inside me and it quickly spread like a clutter of spiders crawling from the inside out. I wished death upon me and I thought of it as an enchanting dream which I fantasized would sweep me off my feet and ride me across the sunset. I looked up and standing in front of me was The Captain. He looks older, his grey beard now fully white and new wrinkles were etched across his face. He looked at me, dumbfounded. I attempt to scream at him to make him see my fury as this is what he has made me become, a monster. No sound comes out. I feel my eyes glaze over and images flash before my retinas, it’s about his life, all the things he has done. He was a wonderful husband and father and an amazing captain for his crew. He gave what he could to the needy, a real-life Robin Hood. When his family was killed he never changed his ways of helping people. The one and only bad thing he did in his life was attempting to kill me. It all went black.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
The Captain was shaking. “Please,” he said over and over again. Then that silvery voice poked itself into my mind again.
“Choose where he belongs.” it said, “Be untrue and immortality will become of you.” I looked over at the Captain, he was still shaking and pleading. At this point, something snapped. This man ruined my life even if that was the one sin he has committed he ruined me. A newfound power erupted inside me, filling my veins with bubbling energy. I smiled at the old man and slowly waved my finger at him, chiding him. I thought he belongs in the gates of hell. A second later he began to shriek and in a blink of an eye, he vanished. I smiled to myself. The power I felt in that moment had been the best feeling of my life. I let out a soundless laugh as I bathed in my glory. My eyes began to glaze over again, but this time it felt different.
It felt sinister.
The voice boomed in my skull. “Be untrue and immortality will become of you,” it said, “you are untrue this is your undying fate.” It repeated that phrase over and over again until I thought I would explode. The seven hands were grasping my body dragging me into the swamp water. I tried to fight them but there were too many, I thrashed and kicked but nothing helped. One hand grasped onto my hair and I was again submerged in darkness.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
My shimmering blood leaked on the boat as the rest of the crew jeered and smirked. The Captain was the only one with a grim grey face. He told me before that I had killed his wife and child, and that killing me would be the only way to avenge them. I looked at him, clueless. He scowled at my vacant expression and stabbed me with his sword turning it inside my body which made me cry out in pain.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
This picture inspired me to write this story:
Picture: https://theinspirationgrid.com/illustrations-by-magdalena-pagowska/
Feature image: https://giphy.com/gifs/drip-EaKsb01bUT8di
