“Flamethrowers, catapults, long-range archers, short-range archers, firepower, nineteen explosives….”
Drucilla raised her hand, “And the new firepower.”
“It seemed to do nothing, though it is hard to tell from here.”
“Damn it.”
18.
Bard watched as his old acquaintance left the bar. Captain Menas’ thoughts were at the forefront of his mind. The four crewmembers of the Penny Dreadful sat at the table in silence a few moments. The air was thick with the news. A part of Bard wondered if they felt it too—the itch to run back to the ship. He swirled the last dreg of whiskey in his glass, downed it, and slammed it on the table with satisfying force.
“I say we head back.”
They stood in unison. Artisema hopped onto her chair for easier access to Kalak’s back. The two of them had grown so close over the last months that they looked like one. When Kalak moved, Artisema stayed clasped, secured from practice jostling up and down the ship while training.
“Do you smell that?” Kalak stalled, his nose sniffing the air.
“I smell it too,” Abigail said.
The tarry stench of the black water polluted the air all around them. The smell was less diluted than at sea. The boards beneath their feet started to tremble. A great clamor of planks breaking and people screaming permeated through the air.
“Go! Go the way we came!” Bard gestured for them to lead and took up the rear of the party.
Outside was worse than they thought. The portion of the town they could see was backdropped against chaotic rubble. They watched in horror as one of the small fires caused by the destruction caught a stream of black slime left behind the kraken’s wake. The orange snake raced and started to spread, eating at the boards lacing the remaining portions of the city together. The smoke clouded the sky. The plume shifted in the wind, and the kraken’s form appeared behind the tragic landscape.
The ship was in the opposite direction of the kraken. Bard grabbed Abigail’s wrist and led the party down the alleyway closest to the tavern. He kept his ears pricked for both the sounds of their feet just behind him and any new threats approaching in the distance.
Artisema’s voice cut through the air with panic, “This isn’t the way we came.”
“I know,” Bard said, “There is a shorter way.”
“But the girl,” Artisema choked on her words for a moment, “The girl with the pig.”
Kalak’s voice was gentle yet firm, “Artisema, we can’t save them all.” An explosion made him stop. “In moments like these, we must choose.”
“If the girl didn’t get out, it is too late,” Abigail spat out.
Kalak stopped his progression until Abigail looked over her shoulder. The look he gave her was a clear reprimand. It was Artisema’s face, though, that made her stop as well.
“Sorry,” she said.
As soon as the words came from her mouth, another blow from the kraken trembled through the wood planks of the floating city. Bard picked up the pace to a slow jog with Kalak and Abigail close at his heels. They ran after him, snaking through the labyrinth of narrow alleys until they came to a flat ‘T.’
The twinkling of starlight reflecting off the ocean waves signified a passageway lining the water. They looked in the distance for signs of the kraken before Bard led the way towards the bayfront. The sea beast was nowhere in sight. The fires spread through a significant portion of Sparta. Bard’s heart sank as he saw his beloved city aflame in the dark night.
“We need to make this quick. The fastest way to the Penny is straight down this path and then the last right on the track. Stick close together.”
No one responded to his commands. The intense moment caught their breath. Bard kept his eyes trained in front of him, towards the destination. He tried not to think of the chaotic onslaught occurring behind him. Silent prayers raced through his brain that the kraken was preoccupied with the ships opening fire out in the water. He could hear the steady booming of discharges quaking over the water.
It looked like they might make it. Only a hundred yards of open docks stretched out in front of them. One foot stretched out in front of Bard and as it landed the ground rippled beneath his feet. He stumbled forward. In his peripherals, Bard could see Abigail and Kalak lose balance. His heart sank into his stomach. An overwhelming feeling of dread tightened in his lungs.
“Run,” Bard screamed to them, “Run to the right.”
The crew picked themselves up. Their feet slid on the dock as it bowed into an arch before them. The kraken burst forth not far in front. The docks exploded with sea spray. Wood shrapnel flew into the air. The ocean roared up, causing their feet to slip even more against the slick boards. Bard slid and fell to the ground. He could see the shadow of the kraken’s tentacle raising up for another blow. His eyes landed on the forms of Kalak and Artisema making it into the safety of an alleyway. Abigail turned as he pushed himself up onto his hands.
“No, go!” Bard protested as Abigail turned.
Abigail ignored his attempts to get her to run. She doubled back for Bard. Her arms helped lift and stabilize him. The giant tendrils snaked after Bard’s feet. Abigail withdrew a knife as the two ran from the dark serpents. As they reached the shelter of the buildings, she managed to throw the knife and pin one of the limbs just as it touched Bard’s heel.
“Don’t stop. Keep going straight until we reach the main stretch!”
It burned as Bard pushed the words from his diaphragm. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body, yet his limbs felt heavy as he thought of how much faster they needed to go to survive. The structure was collapsing. They were running uphill, against the slant caused by the kraken destroying the floatation devices holding the docks above water. Over his shoulder, Bard could see her angry eyes peering over at them. Her tentacles whipped wild through the water, trying to break away at the buildings and boards dividing them.
“Hurry,” Abigail yelled at Bard.
Panic filled Abby’s eyes as she lost hope watching the scene unfurl. A sudden push of fresh motivation pulsated through Bard. He ran as fast as he could to catch up with them. The wake of the kraken thundered behind them. When they finally made it to the main street, it was chaotic and near impossible to navigate through.
Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs, pushed, shoved, and rushed for survival. A large group of men ran in a tight formation down the center, towards the kraken’s destruction. Kalak and Artisema disappeared, the group of vigilant warriors dividing them from Abigail and Bard.
“Kalak! Kalak!” Abigail tried her best to contact them by voice, but it was futile over the commotion around her.
Bard grabbed her hand and said, “Come on, let’s go. They know how to get to the ship from here.”
Abigail’s face twisted with pain. It was clear she was hesitant about moving forward without them right in tow. Bard tried to soothe her by running the palm of his hand gently down her shoulder, but she tore away from his embrace entirely and stepped two paces in front of him. Bard tried his best to keep his eyes trained on Abigail as everyone jostled to and fro around them as they pushed through to the docks.
“BARD!” Artisema’s voice rang out, high pitched and sweet like a bell. They both stood past the arch, waiting for them on the docks. All of them were thankful to lay eyes on the Penny Dreadful moored behind them.
19.
Drucilla was the first person to meet them. She clasped her hands onto Abigail’s shoulders, “I am so glad to see you back onboard this ship.”
“Me too. Never. The fuck. Again. Am I going on land!” Abigail pushed passed Drucilla and set immediately to gathering her lancing gear as Kalak and Artisema pushed their way aboard the ship at last.
Bard’s harpoon was already on his back. He stood next to the Captain, waiting for the order to depart and join the other vessels. His eyes followed her spyglass out to sea. He tried to spot the sea kraken, but the demon was invisible, hiding somewhere
amongst the black, inky waves.
“How many ships do we have left, Captain?”
Drucilla held the looking glass away from her eyes and shook her head, “They’re gone. We are the only vessel left in this port.”
The impact of her words sucked the oxygen from Bard’s body. For a moment he felt paralyzed as the reality of the situation sunk into his bones. Out in front of them, he could see the destruction. At least a third of Atoll Sparta was already lost either from direct damage from the kraken’s limbs or the fires spread from explosions and damage to the mechanisms running the city.
Bard looked out and tried his best to spot where Kira and the rest of the engineers would be. There was nothing there except ocean and a mess of rubble bobbing atop the churning waves. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. They would not help him or anyone else right now. Right now, if anyone were to survive, the Penny Dreadful needed to beat the monster plaguing the waters. There was no need for a pep talk. There was no question about whether the crew should flee or fight. The ship, the crew, was far past that point. They had seen too much to believe they could ever outrun a threat such as this. There was only one option.
“Bard, prepare the hunting vessels.”
Bard’s mouth fell open. “Captain,” he looked at her, trying to guess her intentions, “No one will survive in the hunting boats.”
“I know,” Drucilla did not divulge her plans. She looked Bard hard in the eyes and said, “That was a direct order, Bard,” before she turned and departed from his sight.
Bard was not the only person afraid that Drucilla grew madder with each day and new death. He heard of people going insane—of brilliant captains losing their shit in the height of battle. He feared she’d lost it, the way her father had when faced with Kaiku, and yet, he'd won, in the end, even if it cost him his life, and so Bard continued to follow her orders. The hunting boats were in excellent condition.
As Bard checked the lines and water seals, he was relieved to see the Captain approaching with Vladimir. Vladimir wheeled a cart filled with random objects laced with wires. Although the hodge-podge of devices used to make them was odd, he knew they were most likely explosives and felt a wave of relief wash over him.
“Bard, these are only to be ignited after we’ve injured the creature. You will be in charge.” His eyes flashed open with concern and fear as he imagined manually igniting the boats. Drucilla must have seen the look on his face and read his thoughts. Instead of saying anything, she rolled her eyes in annoyance and pushed a bow and quiver into Bard’s hands.
“The second she,” Drucilla’s finger jutted out towards the kraken, “is injured enough to consider going home, you will make sure these chase her on her way, understood?”
Bard looked out at the ocean. He knew it would be impossible to control the boats once they reached the water. Bard looked at the boats and then his Captain. It was madness. It would take an entire season to afford new ones. Drucilla knew it. Drucilla knew what it meant for their future even if they made it out of this. Those boats were a necessity for a whaling vessel. Somehow Bard was expected to magically control them enough to make the sacrifice worth it. He took a deep breath. Archery was not a particular strength of his.
“Aye, Captain,” there was no point in arguing. He would do the best he could to save his city, and the crew he’d come to know as a family.
“That is your only job,” Drucilla snarled to emphasize the importance of the order as she pointed to the long boats.
Bard set to work immediately preparing the longboats. He thought the explosives would only fill two, but there was enough for three boats. This was good. Three were better odds than two for it working. One boat remained. It was not a hunting vessel, but it would be enough to help transport men to the kraken’s lair when the time came for action.
After Bard loaded the boats, he reached for his harpoon only to hear his name called out across the upper decks.
“Bard! One job,” the Captain’s last word quaked as the ship rolled beneath the crew’s feet.
They were not ready. They were still in port. Any stray fire would risk setting more of Atoll Sparta aflame. Bard watched as the black monster’s eyes rose above the water. Her snake-like tentacles spread out over the water. It was as if she was taunting them, challenging them to draw near her and into her eternal grasp.
“Archers!” Drucilla marched with her cutlass drawn, signaling the long range and short range archers to draw their bowstrings.
The long-range archers laid on crates, their feet latched into the grooves of the massive bows. The short range archers stood in between them, aiming for the tentacles closer to the ship than the mantle of the kraken.
The Captain’s cutlass dropped, and dozens of arrows filled the air. Many of them disappeared into the ocean with a soft swish of the sea. Most of them landed though. One thing about the kraken was that she made an easy target even in the darkness.
Arrows riddled the creature’s body like tiny thorns in comparison. Her eyes slanted in rage and one of her tentacles raised up above the decks. Drucilla ordered for another wave of archers. Within seconds of their arrows leaving their bows, the serpent-like tentacle swept over the Penny, knocking out part of the railing and at least two men.
Bard watched in horror as a second tentacle snaked its way over the surface of the water, slithering towards them in an attempt to wrap itself around the body of the ship. Before any commands were called out, Mr. Pit’s massive form caught Bard's eye sprinting towards the crane they'd used to unload cargo earlier.
Drucilla cried out, but the wind drowned out her voice.
The kraken’s mantle rose up above the water, raising her arms to crush the remaining crew. Mr. Pit used the momentum of his sprint to push himself off of the deck, clutching to the crane with one hand as it swung him out towards the beast. His war hammer lifted high above his head, and the mighty blow came crashing down on the kraken’s exposed eyeball. A wild scream filled the air. Most of the men clutched at their ears to shield themselves from the horrid cry.
Bard watched as one of her tentacles lashed at her face as she receded. One of them hit Mr. Pit and neatly folded him in half, the wrong way, and sending him flying over the water into the darkness of the night.
Drucilla lost her composure. The crew saw it in her pallor complexion. She lost complete hope and fell to her knees. Vladimir took charge, ordering the catapults to open fire. Bard would have discharged the boats, but they were on the opposite side of the vessel than the kraken. To his left flank, down in the water, he heard the revving of an engine. He looked down to see Riddle flying with full fury over the waters below upon a jet ski.
Riddle discharged shot after shot as she laid her gun arm over the handlebars of the jet ski and rotated the barrels, burning through a small fortune in bullets as she fired round after round into the beast. The kraken tried to swat at her, distracted for a moment from the Penny Dreadful. Bard looked at the boats full of goods and back at Drucilla. It made him sick to his stomach to stand by and watch. He looked around and realized he’d have to abandon his station completely to join the battle. He looked for Drucilla in hopes of a change of orders. It took him a while to spot her through the smoke and dashing of crewmembers, but when he did, he saw she saw her at the helm, a wild look in her eyes. She changed their course and drew the ship away from the Atoll.
Down below, Riddle continued to weave in and out of the tentacles’ reach. Vladimir took charge of one of the catapults. His focus was unshakable as he ordered a continual assault on the kraken. One of the monster’s limbs rose up above him. Bard watched in horror as Vladimir raised his head to see the she-beast, unable to rush to Vlad’s aid before the sea witch crushed him.
Riddle’s jet ski sped up. She used the increased speed to jump over one of the tentacles keeping the kraken afloat on top of the water. Mid-air, Riddle pushed herself from the vehicle and sent a lance, launched from the side of her gun arm, flying into the black tentacle threate
ning Vladimir. She was close enough for the force of her lance to drive the tentacle back and pin it to the kraken’s body.
And then she was gone, as the air filled with the shrill and terrifying screams of the injured kraken, its lashing tentacles agitating the water and making it impossible to tell where in the churning darkness Riddle had splashed down.
It was Bard’s cue to complete his duties. The kraken would flee past where he waited, prepared to attack. All he needed to do was let down the boats one at a time as Drucilla moved the ship forward. It was vital he did not lose sight of them and timed the discharge of his lighted arrows perfectly. Bard cautiously let down the boats, careful not to bang them around with the motion of the ship. The kraken retreated away from them: a damaged eye and only seven functional arms.
The boats were in the water. Just as planned, the kraken streaked past the ship. Vladimir stood next to Bard. Bard loaded an arrow into his bow. Vladimir lit the oil-soaked material. The crew watched with bated breath as the flaming arrow arched over the black waves. It extinguished. Bard tried once more. His hands trembled under the pressure of failure. He inhaled deep to calm himself and concentrated. If she sucked water through her siphon and propelled herself forward, the boats would be wasted.
The air stilled as Bard’s second arrow flew across the water. In the distance, they watched it hit one of the boats. It did not explode immediately. The crew waited, watching in suspense as both of the boats and the kraken threatened to disappear from sight. It looked as if she was out of reach. A sigh of hope being lost escaped the lips of the crew. That’s when the first hunting boat exploded. The explosion was loud enough to cause everyone standing near the railing to stumble to their knees or keel over, grasping at their ears.
Bard looked at Vladimir. He smiled. A tiny trickle of blood leaked from a blown-out eardrum and down Vlad’s face. Two more explosions of equal size erupted followed by another set of shrieking. Bard hit the kraken with one last blow to send her flying home.
Blackwater Kraken (The Dystopian Sea Book 3) Page 8
