Trapped with a Way Out

by Jeffery Martinez

  Little did they all know, Captain Bernadotte could see the Sea Witch's glowing tattoos from the surface, and he readied a harpoon he'd brought.

  William channeled all her strength into her jaws and bit the Sea Witch's invasive tentacle as hard as she could. The Sea Witch cried out in pain, and the time it took to see William's defiant glare was the time she needed to wrap her remaining tentacles even tighter around the little mermaid's neck, torso and tail, and she began to beat her black and blue.

  "DON'T FOOL WITH ME, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" she yelled as she struck her again and again.

  William' face turned blue with the bruises, and she writhed like a worm on a hook as she struggled to get out from the grasping tentacles.

  "After all the trouble I've wasted on you, you'll be lucky if I..." A harpoon grazed the Sea Witch's shoulder, and she cried out in pain and surprise.

  The momentary shock was all she needed to release William, who gasped and coughed violently as she struggled to breathe.

  The Sea Witch looked up to see Captain Bernadotte hovering above them in the water, glaring defiantly.

  "Why, you love-sick fool," she growled, temper rising.

  "B-Bernadotte!" William croaked, still struggling to breathe. She tried to go to him, but Linda held her down with a tentacle. "Bernadotte, look out!"

  "AFTER HIM!" Linda ordered her eels, and they raced toward him.

  Captain Bernadotte swam quickly for the surface, the eels close behind him. He managed to make it to the lifeboat, and went to grab another harpoon, but they dragged him down, fully intending to drown him.

  "Come on!" Harkonnen ordered the stage girls, and they swam up to the eels. They hit and slapped at them until the eels loosened their grip on the human, who once again swam for the surface.

  But the Sea Witch had other ideas. She grabbed her scythe, and aimed it like a boomerang. "Say goodbye to your sweetheart," she sneered at William, and took aim.

  William scrambled forward, then at the last second she grabbed a handful of Linda's hair and yanked it back. She didn't stop her from throwing it, but she ruined the aim. The scythe spun in the air like a boomerang but sailed far away from the human, and instead sliced her eels.

  "Babies!" the Sea Witch exclaimed, and William broke free of her remaining tentacle and dashed for the surface. "My poor little chickabiddies…"

  She glared up at the human and mermaid she held responsible. Captain Bernadotte was close to the surface, and the little mermaid not too far behind him.

  The Sea Witch had finally snapped. Humiliation after humiliation got to her, and now she was truly enraged. She fumed and ground her teeth furiously as she produced large clouds of black ink, and the tattoos on the right side of her body glowed. She flexed her right hand so that the great purple eye in her palm glowed as well, and she plunged it into the ink cloud. Soon the glowing tattoos trailed off her body and flooded into the black ink, which now glowed purple thanks to the tattoos. Soon, all of the ink she had produced was covered in glowing tattoo symbols as well, and the cloud of ink reshaped and reformed into something huge and monstrous. Baron Harkonnen and the stage girls could only tremble and gape in horror at what they saw from the sea floor.

  William made it to the surface, and she and the captain swam toward each other.

  "Mr. Bernadotte, you've got to get away from here!" she said as he wrapped his arms around her.

  "Non, I won't leave you!" he said.

  Her heart throbbed in appreciation, but before she could say anything the water beneath them swelled and shook.

  Then, they found themselves pushed out of the water and on top of the orange, spiky hair of a giant Sea Witch. She emerged from the ocean cackling and laughing maniacally, and growing steadily huger and higher. Around thirty feet up they jumped into the water. When they emerged she was still growing huger, and the two clutched each other fearfully as she grew to her full height—a good hundred feet high.

  The Sea Witch floated on the waves before them—huge, purple, with glowing green eyes. Her canines flashed as her gravelly voice boomed, "YOU PITIFUL, INSIGNIFICANT FOOLS!"

  "Look out!" Pip yelled as the Sea Witch brought a giant tentacle down on them.

  They desperately dove to get out of the way.

  "DID YOU TRULY THINK YOU COULD OUTSMART LINDA MILLS?!" the giant roared.

  Though it was a clear early morning, huge and thick storm clouds formed almost instantly, and it became as dark as dusk. Rain and lightning soon formed around them, and the relatively calm water turned wild and choppy. Pip and William desperately tried to stay together in water that lifted them up and down as high as twenty feet.

  "I AM THE MOST POWERFUL SORCERER IN ALL OF THE OCEAN! THE WAVES OBEY MY EVERY WHIM!"

  So saying, great fifty foot waves emerged from her tentacles; and one such wave forced the couple apart.

  "Bernadotte!" William cried she got caught in the undertow, but he was flung through the air by the crest of the wave.

  Before she could go to him though, she was aware that the current was pulling her closer to Linda.

  "THE SEA AND ALL ITS SPOILS BOW TO MY POWER!" the Sea Witch bellowed.

  So saying, she dipped the blade of her scythe into the water, and spun it around a few times. The current then picked up, and formed a giant whirlpool that went to the bottom of the sea; just like the many whirlpools in her realm. Many shipwrecks at the bottom were wedged loose, and many shattered masts and damaged hulls alike spun around the spiraling whirlpool at Linda's tentacles. The giant Sea Witch grinned maniacally at the scene before her.

  Though a terrific swimmer in her day, William was a year out of practice. Whereas once she could swim faster than a human blink, now she struggled not to get swept along by the current. She dodged giant shipwrecks that creaked and groaned around her that threatened to crush her; and she desperately clung to a large pointed rock now sticking out of the water

  One formerly sunken ship threatened to crush Captain Bernadotte, who desperately tried to swim away; until he too was caught in the undertow.

  "BERNADOTTE!" she screamed, and dove into the water to swim to him.

  Little did she know, Captain Berndotte managed to grab a rope from under the hull of the ship, and pulled himself up onto the deck.

  William did not have time to react, for the Sea Witch then leered her way. Raising her giant scythe, the Sea Witch took a stab at her. The little mermaid dodged the giant scythe that stabbed into the water right by her, but to her horror a new whirlpool formed right underneath her! She felt the water disappear from underneath her, and she was soon falling in mid-air, with the watery walls of the whirlpool around her and center of the whirlpool ever deepening under her as she fell.

  Little did she know, back on the ship Captain Bernadotte was desperate to get to the helm. However, at the same time the old whirlpool was merging with the new one, and the sudden change in direction and current doused Captain Bernadotte with a huge wave that crashed on deck.

  In the center of the whirlpool, William fell painfully onto the now-dry ocean floor. She winced and tried to push herself up, then grew pale as death. At the eye of the monstrous whirlpool above and around her, she could see the eye of the giant Linda Mills blink and leer at her.

  The Sea Witch then raised her giant scythe, and brought it down on the little mermaid.

  Too injured by her long fall, William could only barely dodge out of the way. She could feel the giant scythe stab into the hard ground next to her, causing it to crack and shake. When the Sea Witch withdrew her scythe, the whole ground shook, and huge rocks and rubble were pulled loose, nearly crushing the little mermaid beside her.

  Taking advantage of Linda's distraction, Captain Bernadotte managed to grab hold of the helm. The ship was flowing toward her in the whirlpool, although it was aiming to flow harmlessly behind her back in the water. He knew he had only one shot to stab her with the sharp, shattered staff sticking out of the bow. He knew he was in her peripheral vision, so if she looked
directly at him before it was time, he was done for.

  Thankfully, Linda was too engrossed in her game of "stab the mermaid" to notice him. She lifted her giant scythe and brought it down on the little mermaid again and again, not caring that she was missing because she was having so much fun tormenting the poor girl.

  William dodged her desperately, then frantically tried crawling in a straight line toward the edge of the whirlpool. If she could just get into the water, she would be safe!

  But Linda saw that coming and brought the scythe down directly in front of William's face, blocking her exit. When Linda wedged her scythe loose, William was covered in rubble.

  'Almost there…' Pip thought determinedly, gritting his teeth. He was so close to the Sea Witch; walking a knife's edge of keeping the ship flowing closely enough toward her so that when he changed direction at the last minute it would stab her square in the gut, but not close enough that she would notice before it was too late. She could still notice at any moment. Pip grit his teeth and hoped this worked.

  Thankfully, Linda still did not notice him. She was glorying in her triumph.

  William was trapped under large rocks and other rubble that weighed her down, unable to crawl away or dodge the next scythe. The rocks scraped painfully against her sensitive fish scales, and she looked up in horror.

  Linda Mills laughed maniacally, and raised her scythe. "SO MUCH FOR TRUE LOVE!"

  William gasped in horror, and Linda slowly lifted her scythe from behind her head to make the final swing down.

  "NOW!" Pip thought, and suddenly turned the helm to ram into her.

  Linda finally noticed him, but too late. She only had time to cry out in surprise as the splintered shaft of the bow stabbed her completely through. At the same time, it disrupted the swing of her scythe. Rather than arcing down onto the little mermaid like she had intended, it arced into an almost complete circle and stabbed her right in the breast.

  The Sea Witch cried out in pain, then succumbed to her wounds. She collapsed onto the ship, and wrapped her giant tentacles around it like a kraken to bring it down with her. Captain Bernadotte tried to escape, but one of her tentacles collapsed the deck of the ship around him, and crushed the outsides over on top of it.

  She soon succumbed to her wounds, and her giant body melted into formless purple ink filled with glowing tattoo symbols that bubbled and boiled as she dissolved.

  The Sea Witch's collapsed body also meant her spell collapsed, and the great storm, giant waves, and whirlpool dissolved instantly. The little mermaid closed her eyes and braced herself as the water rushed in around her and swept her away.

  From far away, all that the wedding guests could see from their ship was the calm after a storm, and a collapsing ship sinking beneath the waves.

  The roar and whirl of the rushing current filled William's whole body. She expected to be crushed by the falling water, or blown to pieces by the relentless torrent of the collapsing water. Instead, she only felt abruptly swept away for a few moments, and it seemed to her the current was so steady that she couldn't feel being swept away. Perhaps she could not feel the current because she was moving with it?

  When she opened her eyes the water was calm, and she was not dead.

  She felt little hands squeeze her, and turned around to find Schrodinger grinning at her.

  "Don't worry, mein Schatzi, you're safe."

  A savage hostility seized her, and she screamed like a wild animal and tried to slash at his face off with her bare fingers. He dodged her easily, as he always did, but he seemed surprised by her sudden aggression and tried to keep away.

  "Whoa! What's wrong, Schatzi?"

  "YOU! Get out of here!"

  "But, what's the matter? I saved you…"

  "GET OUT OF HERE! I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

  She darted at him quick as a predator, with murder in her eyes. Alarmed for the first time at her temper, he swam away from her swiftly and silently. William had lost her temper at him before, and took a swing at him many times, but never like this!

  "But what's wrong, Schatzi?" he asked, a little hurt and confused. "I saved your life!"

  "You endangered it, you little wretch!" she screamed, and she took another swipe at his face.

  He tried to dodge, but she left a large scratch mark on his cheek. If he thought she'd be overcome with remorse at one of her swings actually hitting, he was wrong; for she kept clawing at him as fervently as before. Now Schrodinger was truly alarmed and tried to keep as far away as he could.

  "Yes, but I was just trying to get you to see the Count was no good for you. That you belonged in the sea…"

  "You were just trying to fulfill your selfish little desires, you selfish little beast!"

  Schrodinger hid between two large boulders sticking out of the ocean floor, in a crevice too small for William to fit through. She tried to squeeze through anyway, not caring that the barnacles scraped against her naked skin. She was already scratched and battered and bruised, black and blue, bloody and raw anyway, so what was one more injury compared to her rage.

  "Yes, but…"

  "You've always cared only about yourself! You never cared about me! You only ever cared about what YOU want! And you fed me to…" her mind saw a flash of teeth, a scythe, and groping tentacles, but her voice wavered as she said, "HER! IF YOU EVER TRY TO COME NEAR ME, I'LL SCRATCH YOUR EYES OUT YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE FREAK!"

  This was the cruelest thing she could think to say to him, even when she was so filled with murderous rage that part of her wanted to gouge out his eyes with her fingers and bite his nose off with her teeth at the same time. Yet, it was cruel enough, because her words hit Schrodinger like a slap in the face. After years of laughing off hatred, rejection, and prejudice by almost everyone he ever encountered outside his home, and being scolded and reprimanded by William every two minutes back when they were together; she finally found an insult that hurt.

  As Schrodinger swam away, the stage hands from Harkonnen's concerts swam up to William.

  "William Hanna! There you are. You must come, quick!"

  "It's the human, William Hanna!"

  "He's drowning!"

  William's rage fled in an instant, and her stomach dropped like a rock. "Oh no."

  She followed them swiftly northward and upward toward the surface. They could still swim fast as a blink, but they were kind enough to swim at a pace she could keep up with. They led her past the bubbling purple goo that remained of the Sea Witch, and soon they made it to the ruined ship that was sinking fast. She could hear the groan of massive wooden planks as they continued to collapse on themselves, and the spray of sea water as it continued to flood into the ruined ship.

  Only two stage girls had come to get William, and she found two more on the deck of the ruined ship as it sank into the water.

  They broke through the water, and crawled up the deck. William rose too, and was struck with how bright it was now that the storm passed and the sun shined over them. After being in the water so long, she was struck by how heavy she felt to be in the air again; to drag herself by her arms.

  A portion of the deck had collapsed, allowing water to flow in rather freely; but there was a tangle of wooden planks and beams that were close enough together to prevent one from going through, but far enough apart to allow one to view through them like a window.

  From this little window, she saw Captain Bernadotte's face.

  All at once it hit her that the ship was sinking fast, and Pip was trapped inside it as it flooded with water. Very soon it would be below sea level, and he would not be able to breathe.

  "Pip!" rushed to him, and rushed to him.

  "William!" he cried, as water pooled in around his face.

  "Pippen!" she cried, and tried to hold his hand through the space between the beams.

  Frantically she tugged at the beams that held him in the sinking vessel, but they would not budge; too many masts and beams had collapsed on top of them.

/>   "I can't move it!" she cried.

  Pip looked as pained as any man told he was about to die.

  The other two stage girls searched for a way out from atop the ship, and three more searched under and around the vessel. William was too frantic to notice, though.

  "Oh, for once in your life, help me!" she screamed.

  "We are helping you!" they cried, a little offended that she'd forgotten so soon what they had given up to help her. "We're looking around for a way out, William Hanna. And the others are searching around the ship."

  "Oh, it's not good enough!" she screamed, wild with panic, and she moved to search herself.

  "Don't go!" he cried in a panic, reaching for her.

  "No, no. It's okay, it's okay," she said in her most soothing voice. She returned to him and held his hand with hers, and she pressed her face to his as closely as she could reach, and she smiled her most reassuring smile. "I'm not going anywhere. See? I won't leave you."

  It was such a pretty smile, he thought. Her sweet little voice, her pretty little smile, and her loving blue eyes were almost enough to make him forget the panic of his own imminent demise.

  He smiled, despite himself, and reached a hand through the beams and cupped her cheek. "You're… such a good girl," he said, his heart a glow.

  "Don't talk like that," she said, and squeezed his hand with hers.

  He laughed. "Got your voice back," he said, "And already, you're like a nagging housewife."

  "Hey!" she snapped.

  He chuckled.

  She had such a sweet, pretty voice. The kind of voice he'd always imagined for a girl as sweet and pretty as her.

  The last standing mast groaned, then fell over the half-submerged ship, causing another surge of water to flood through.

  William gasped and held his hand harder. Her panic seemed to ease him. She was worrying enough for the both of them, and he felt he could be strong, be calm, and face his death with dignity if it put her a little at ease.

  By now the water covered his entire body except the edge of his face. There was only enough for him to see and breathe.