'What the hell,' Ceres thought. In a short panic, she quickly recovered her book and pencil and pushed her face up from the deck.
"We're under siege!" Mr Smoits suddenly bellowed. "Arm yourselves men!"
Dread rampaged it way through Ceres' veins as the captain's words set the realisation into her mind. She was dragged to her feet by Mr Smoits and forced forward into a run.
"Get below deck and hide" he ordered before rushing off in the opposite direction he'd thrown her. The jolly old grandfather figure she'd know had vanished to seeing and replaced with an old war veteran. It suddenly made sense how the captain knew her uncle.
Ceres burst into a sprint and rushed across the deck. Another blast struck the Wave Strider and she was thrown off balance once again as the ship quaked, collapsing hard to her knees and hands.
'Where are the wardens?' Ceres questioned as she scrambled back to her feet, making sure not to forget her only possessions. To her horror, her question was quickly answered as she glanced to the right.
The once magnificent and grand vessel of the wardens of Eletheria had been completely split in two, its blazing debris slowing sinking down to a watery demise. Even with the distance between the two ships, Ceres could hear the horrified screams and anguished cries of the pirates as they plunged into the slowly reddening waters. There must've been a hundred men on that ship, Ceres thought her body trembling. A hundred men now dead. The wardens of Eletheria, great warriors and protectors, had sentenced to death without a fight. What the hell was going on?
Battle roars snapped Ceres from her nightmare daze and she threw herself once again into a sprint. The sound of feet crashing into the deck and the sharp shing of brandished metal behind her sent her legs into overdrive. She passed by many of the Wave Strider's crew as she reached the stern of the ship, they fearlessly charged towards their invaders, wielding large blades and flintlock firearms.
Warfare was unleashed upon the ship's deck. The thick fumes of gun powder overwhelmed the salty sea air as gunfire exploded and razor sharp metal clashed and grinded against each other.
Ceres' panicked rush let her reach the stern of the boat in athlete timing. She was instantly greeted by a familiar face, standing by the door, which hid the stairs down to the hold and cabins. Her long, curly hair was windswept and ragged and her brown eyes were weary but it was unmistakably Mrs Smoits.
"Hurry Ceres dear!" she said urgently. As soon as Ceres was close enough the older woman grabbed hold of her arm and ragged her through the door. The captain's wife slammed the door shut behind them and slid across its lock, although Ceres doubted it'd be much help. Maintaining her hurried demeanour Mrs Smoits grabbed a lantern off the wall and led them down the shadow shrouded steps. They emerged below the deck of the Wave Strider in a vast open space which made up both the cabins and hold of the hold and cabin of the ship. It was dimly lit by lanterns and small, hollowed out windows along that wall, that allowed daylight to leak in. The bottom of the ship was filled mostly with cargo however, had hammocks scattered around anywhere they could be fitted, providing ample spots for the crew to rest. Although from the sounds radiating down from the deck, Ceres doubted they'd ever be used again. The men of Wave Strider were putting up a damn good fight, but it was quickly becoming clear from the overwhelming screams and grunts and unfamiliar battle cries, they were outmanned and outgunned. They were trying to combat a foe that'd reduced an entire battleship to a fiery wreck. They never stood a chance, their fate had been sealed the moment they'd sailed into these waters.
Mrs Smoits grabbed hold of Ceres's arm and jolted her forward, leading her to the far end of the hold. When they could travel no further Mrs Smoits forced Ceres to hunker down behind a giant stack of crates, hidden from view of anyone who may have followed them, and extinguished the lantern's flame. The older woman then began to race around the hold, foraging items and throwing them in a small, smooth, black sack. Lastly she collected a coil of rope and series of small wooden planks, each no longer than a meter and wider than a few inches.
Mrs Smoits joined Ceres down behind the crates and without a word began to tie the planks, together with hurried pace. Initially Ceres stared blankly, completely confused, however soon she recognised the sight of a raft being constructed. But there was one glaring problem, the raft was tiny, Ceres wondered if it'd even fit her never mind Mrs Smoits' larger frame as well.
Once glance into the older woman quickly cleared her confusion, however, it was against every iota of Ceres' liking. Mrs Smoits was sacrificing herself.
Still in silence Mrs Smoits took hold of Ceres' drawing pad and stuffed it into the black bag and then thrust both it and the raft into Ceres' arms.
"Alright now listen carefully as I'll only say this once. You're small enough to fit through that window," Mrs Smoits urgently whispered. "Ceres I want you to dive into the water and swim until you no longer can. The raft will keep you from drowning, stay under water until not a pirate is in sight, if you must surface for air make it brief. Once you find land there's enough food and water in the bag to keep you alive for a few days. Its fabric is waterproof as well so keep the opening sealed and everything inside will be fine. Once you know you're in the clear create a fire as big as possible and pray that if anyone finds you they want your best interest."
"What about you and everyone else?" the teenager questioned, her mind barely following along.
It was only brief but Mrs Smoits flashed her a soft but sad smile. "Dear we're already dead. You are the only person here who has a chance to escape, so I'm making sure you get it."
Ceres stared speechless, her body trembling. How had this happened, it was such a lovely day. Had they unknowingly sailed into the gates of hell? Found themselves in the Abyssal Ocean? Suddenly Mrs Smoits grabbed Ceres' shoulders in a vice grip and shook her back to reality.
"Do you understand?" she demanded.
Ceres rapidly nodded. She felt a maelstrom of fear and panic rising and swallowed a ball of saliva down her dry throat, in hope of holding back her churning stomach.
"Good. Now go," Mrs Smoits said, eerily calm. "May Eletheria have mercy."
Ceres grabbed hold of the sack and raft and stood from behind the crates.
Suddenly the door atop of the stairs burst open with a forceful bang and masculine shouts spread down into the hold.
Mrs Smoits ragged Ceres back down and placed a firm finger upon her own lips, ordering silence. She gestured for Ceres to remain stationary and once the girl agreed the older woman made her move. Remaining crouched and silent she vanished around the crates.
Ceres remained paralyzed, glued to the side of the crate. She covered her nose and mouth with her hand, to quiet her breathing, as the stomps of footsteps heading down the stairs vibrated every floorboard. However, the threat of approaching death confusingly wasn't the most concerning thing Ceres felt. She was near void of fear, her heartbeat remaining at a steady pace even as the footsteps grew closer and made their way across the room, covering every nook and cranny anyone could possibly hide.
Was she in shock? Ceres questioned.
A whining creak alerted her that the intruder was around the side of crate, barely a meter away. Just a few more steps and he'd find her. Ceres glanced around for anything she could use as a weapon. She doubted she stood a chance against a full grown man, especially one that was also clearly experienced in violence and murder, but Eletheria be damned if she was going down without a fight. Her uncle had raised no coward.
Her eyes locked onto the bag by feet. She considered the weight it held, surely that cause some damage if swung at someone's head. Right? Ceres wrapped the black fabric around her hand giving herself a good handle when something beside her feet caught her eye. Her charcoal pencil, it'd never made it inside the sack. Her eyes locked onto its freshly sharpened tip, it was once for producing nice fine lines now it was her best chance at life. Her body instinctively released the bag and claimed hold of the makeshift dagger. The footsteps dangerously close, one more step and she'd be unveiled. Ceres tightened her grip and raised the charcoal pencil high, ready to strike.
Suddenly the explosion of a firearm ruptured the room's silence and a bright flash temporality purged its darkness. Ceres jolted in her skin, completely startled, and almost dropped the charcoal weapon. The man stumbled back into her view with a pained and shocked gasp. Clutching high on his chest, around his collarbone, he crashed back into a pile of boxes. But he never fell down. Instead he raised his own firearm up and aimed it across the room. Before Ceres realised what was happening, the pistol's hammer slammed down and a bullet was launched across the room. It struck Mrs Smoits directly in the centre of her chest. She crashed down without a sound.
Sudden rage flooded Ceres' body and it moved before her mind could even recognise its desires. She burst forward and plunged the pencil into the man's side. He cried out in pain but before he could throw the girl off she stabbed him again and then again and then again. The charcoal pencil moved its way up his torse turning it into a gruesome, mutilated mess. When Ceres had reached his neck, the man lost balance and collapsed to the ground. Ceres pounced on top of him and with both hands plunged the dagger through his eye and into his skull, so deep barely any of its handle remained exposed.
Once the deed was done, Ceres abruptly regained control of herself. She recoiled back from the corpse disgusted stumbling back behind the crates. She looked down horrified to see her clothes and skin stained in a vile crimson. It was only now she realised how heavy and strained her breathing was, each breath pained her lungs and felt like razor blades in her throat.
"Fuck" she cursed. She'd just killed a man. She felt … awful. Why did she feel awful? That man was scum he'd attacked them, he'd killed Mrs Smoits. Ceres attempted to justify her actions, but no matter how much hate Ceres built up inside her unpleasant feelings of disgust never faded.
Abrupt shouts and calls began to echo down from the bottom of the stairs. The ear-splitting gunshots had inevitably drew attention from above.
'I have to go,' Ceres realised, firmly planting herself back into the real world. She remembered Mrs Smoits dying words and actions, they couldn't be in vain. If she died here everything would've been futile, her uncle's last days would be pointless.
In an instant, she grabbed hold of the sack and raft and charged towards the window. In one swift motion she tossed the raft out and prepared to follow it but just as began to climb through the roof erupted. Splinters and timber rained down upon her.
Ceres was launched back by immense force. She crashed into piles of cargo and her head was engulfed in a pained daze. Light flooded in from above and through her screaming ears she could just about hear the rageful shouts and complaints of furious and irritated pirates.
That was supposed to happen she guessed.
Her body was cut and bruised and not to mention ached all over but Ceres managed to stumble back to her feet and reclaim the supply sack.
The window she'd planned to escape through had been completely blocked off by debris however, the explosion had offered a new route. The roof had collapsed down perfectly to form a ramp.
Ceres charged forward, once up on the deck she could just leap over the side of the boat and hide underwater below the raft. Taking advantage of the seemingly distracted pirates Ceres clambered up the ramp of debris and made it to the deck.
Instantly she froze. Before her lay the soulless body of Mr Smoits, a gunshot wound staining his entire torso crimson. Operating on pure adrenaline alone, Ceres shook away the sight of his blank, lifeless eyes and pained expression and carried on advancing forward. She reached the railing of the deck and threw her leg over the side and heaved the sack along with her.
Suddenly someone ragged the back of her shirt. She couldn't even scream before a painful and powerful force struck the back of her head. Her consciousness leaked from her body, like water evaporating inside a volcano.
Everything went black.
Captain Zan glared out across the sparkling blue fields of the sea. Its colours slowly began to blacken as the sky's bright blue faded to a navy as another day came to an end. Another day were they'd failed to locate that bastard.
The captain pushed away from the stern's railing with a grumble and wandered back towards the deck.
A month they'd been searching and a month they'd failed to find the rouge crew. They'd eliminated numerous rouge crews and criminals and killed many rampaging sea beasts yet they were still unable to find never mind even kill their prey. This despite the fact that vermin and his crew had ambushed and taken out warden of Eletheria battleship and even kidnapped an innocent traveller. The captain scowled, They'd probably be dead now, like the original crew, either that or being stripped of all identity and ego, a barbaric preparation to turned into a slave and sold to the highest bidder.
The air around him grew heavy and began to tremble as old memories brought a dark scowl upon his face. Some of his nearby crew abruptly stumbled and gasp.
He could now see why the scum had avoided the Cove for so long and the task had been handed down to him. The bastard's strength and firepower were borderline pathetic but his cunning and tricky behaviour had even the pirate lord's best chasing ghosts.
"Captain!" a voice called out. He glanced back to see the tall but lanky frame of Jeck approaching his untamed black hair flowing in the wind.
"This better be good," the captain muttered.
"I can do better than good," Jeck grinned.
The captain tilted his head at the boy's excitement.
"Me and Pitra, we got them," Jeck stated. "We know where they are hiding. And we can make it before the moon full rises."
The captain patted and shook the boys shoulder. For the first time in weeks a bright and wide grin, that shown up the budding stars above, shone on his face.
"Plot a course immediately," The captain ordered. "This ends tonight."
"Aye sir" Jeck confirmed, before rushing off across the deck.