Writing in Public: Story 3, Final Scenes

[image error]5

Grace knew the lighthouse was closer, but it looked still too far away, and the sea folk too close. The current was more choppy now and working against them. Samuel rowed for a while and then Alexander took over. Both refused to let Grace row.

She shifted her injured leg to a more comfortable position. The gash wasn’t deep and had stopped bleeding, but it stung.

“Here.” Samuel passed her a canteen of water.

She unscrewed the cap as she glanced behind the boat. The five sea folk followed, popping up above the surface periodically to check for the boat. Two of them were together. Maybe mates. The other three were spread out.

Grace stretched her back, easing the stiffness. They needed more hunters. They weren’t going to get any.

She gulped down the warm water, clearing her dry throat.

The sea folk stayed twenty feet away. Wary. They never got too close to the boat.

But they didn’t leave either.

“What are they waiting for?” Alexander asked. He’d taken off the fussy waistcoat and rolled up his shirt sleeves to above his elbow. Sweat gleamed off his skin as he dug the paddles into the water.

“For us to go ashore, I imagine,” Samuel said. “Be easier to catch us.”

“That’s right,” Grace murmured, suddenly glad that the men were with her. They were making her think beyond what she’d trained for. It had always been about the dive, because the only way to kill them was to catch them off guard, when they were sleeping.

That was probably what got the more experienced hunter killed.

And almost had gotten her killed.

Except the sea folk had been too eager. They’d come up to the surface thinking easy prey.

“They’re afraid of the boat,” Grace said.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Samuel said. “It wouldn’t take much for the five of them to swamp us. Why haven’t they capsized us?”

“Because they live underwater,” Grace said. “They don’t need boats. Probably don’t even understand what one is. Other than it holds us, anyway. Maybe we can use that.”

“What are you thinking, Grace?” Samuel asked.

“We have to kill them. They’re not going to let us off this boat alive. And I have to get close enough to them for the hunter magic to be any good.”

The idea was still swirling around in her head, refusing to come together.

Alexander: “Can the boat be a weapon?”

Yes, yes. Grace went to the stern of the boat to analyze where the sea folk were. There was always at least two on the surface, alternating disappearing under the surface.

But which one? What was going to give them an advantage?

The pair.

If she could get both of them at the same time. If they didn’t kill her.

If…if…if.

“Wait until the pair goes under,” she said. “Then aim at them. As fast as you can.”

Samuel got on one oar and Alexander on the other. They put all the muscles into rowing towards the sea folk pair. The boat began to pick up speed.

Grace counted to herself, doing her deep breathing prep. The hunter magic told her when to go. She slid over the port side of the boat, going under the surface.

The cold water made her body tighten up. The water was murky and hard to see. She could only see dark shapes up ahead.

She dove, going deep enough to be below the shapes.

With great, reaching strokes, she swam for them. The boat blocked the light above her, surging ahead of her.

The shapes scrambled to get out of the way.

Grace pushed it, stretching it out, eating up the distance.

All she need to do was touch them…

She caught a ankle from each. The hunter magic reached.

It began to take.

The sea folk struggled, in sheer panic. Their screams were muffled by the water.

One kicked at Grace, catching her in the ribs.

She lost her grip on one ankle.

No, no, no.

The creature was trying to swim away.

She planted her feet on the first one’s backside and pushed off.

Seized the nearest body part, the foot.

The first one’s struggles weakened.

The second thrashed violently, stirring up the water so she couldn’t see anything.

She could only trust the hunter magic. And pray.

Her breath screamed in her lungs. Black spots crowded in on her vision.

Then the two creatures were both floating, not moving.

Grace surged to the surface. As soon as her head cleared, she took deep breaths.

The boot was only a few feet away. Alexander was watching the other sea folk. Samuel was watching for her.

She gave a thumbs up and swam to the gunwale, looping her arm over it.

“Ready to try it again?” she said, panting.

“We’ll go for the one at eleven o’clock,” Samuel said.

Grace paused to picture where that was, then nodded.

She waited until the men started the boat moving again, then dove. She was shocked at how fast they were going. It plunged ahead of her. She swam after it, her body sure with the purpose of what she was doing.

Crash!

She heard the crash even underwater. The boat came to an abrupt halt. A black cloud exploded out.

Were the men okay?

She surfaced. Samuel and Alexander were both looking over the side. A dead create floated on the surface.

Before she had time to gloat, the remaining two attacked the boat. The grabbed the starboard side and tried to pull it under the water.

Samuel and Alexander lurched starboard, trying not to fall overboard. Alexander grabbed the nearest thing–one of the oars–and began hitting the creatures’ hands.

It wasn’t doing much good. Their grip was strong.

The boat rocked back and forth. If Grace didn’t do something now, the men were going to be thrown into the water and killed.

She took a deep breath and dove under the boat, going deep.

Swift strokes took her directly under the two creatures.

She kicked, propelling herself up, between them, hands, locked around their waists.

The hunter magic began to take.

The two creatures screamed and broke free. They couldn’t get away from her fast enough.

She stayed down long enough to make sure they weren’t coming after her again, then surfaced.

Samuel and Alexander were cheering and roaring.

Samuel slapped the gunwale. “We got them to turn tail and run!”

As Grace climbed back into the boat, she couldn’t help smiling. She’d thought she was not going to make it out alive. Instead, between the three of them, they’d killed four and run off two. Not bad. Not bad at all.

6

It was a week before Grace was able to go back out to the beach to swim. She’d dressed in her bathing attire for the walk down. The early morning sun set off sparkles on the surface of the water. She glanced up at the lighthouse. Samuel stood out in front, just keeping an eye on her.

She waved at him.

The hunter magic stirred, impatient. It had been keeping her up these last few nights, wanting to fulfill the last part of its duty. But she’d had to hold off until the gash on her leg had healed enough.

“Be patient,” she murmured to it.

The waves rolled in to greet her feet, bringing a butterfly shell in for inspection. The sand squished between her toes as she waded further out. The hunter magic drifted up, as if to say, Finally.

She smiled. It was time for the hunter magic to return what it had taken to the sea.

Filed under: Writing in Public Tagged: Fantasy Stories