Inspecting the box once more to ensure its contents were still intact, I turned suddenly, startled by the shrill sound that penetrated my vessel. It was nauseating. It was familiar. And, it alerted me that The Keeper of Souls was headed directly toward my ship's stern. Orders to destroy me, my crew, and my ship I knew was its command. No time to dwell on who sent him. I already knew.
Minutes later, I stood at the entrance to my cabin. The crew rushed to my side. I nodded, then quickly handed the box to my trusted first mate, Greggie. His farewell salute meant the evidence against Neutra, to exposure her plot to destroy the Treaty, had a fighting chance to reach its destination.
Greggie motioned to Brawn, my helmsman, and the rest of my crew, to scurry down the starboard side. I watched, relieved, as they disappeared into the foggy night and away from The Treacherous Depths.
That day was inevitable. The battle was mine.
I turned to the aft. I could see the ocean parting as the force of The Keeper of Souls ripped the water in half, clearing a path straight toward my vessel.
My heart beat faster as I gripped the helm and attempted several evasive maneuvers. My ship rocked violently from side to side, almost capsizing. The wind swirled in both directions, butting heads against each other, then bouncing in my direction as I held fast to the helm. Thunder exploded and rattled the ship. Lightning rods glowed like firecrackers and illuminated the mask.
I could barely witness the destruction as sheets of rain pounded the deck. I lost my grip on the galver. Another sound exploded in my ear as the vessel jerked violently. The sudden stop propelled me forward. I lost my balance and ended up face down on the deck.
My first thought: Shipwrecked. I was now at the mercy of The Keeper of Souls, stranded in the deadly Treacherous Depths.
Many things I wished in that moment; above all, if I were to die, the desire to be embraced in the bosom of my soul mate and accepted into the arms of my daughter, Neutra.
Roused from regret, I managed to pull myself up. I strained to look straight ahead. Reaching the starboard side was my immediate goal. I quickly anchored myself with rope around my waist.
I advanced slowly, one foot in front of the other, despite gusts whipping the rain gear against my thighs. I braced myself against the rail and waited.
Holding up both hands, the sky opened up as a bolt of lightning illuminated the deck.
My eyes, as wide as half dollars, locked onto the massive outline of the twenty-foot beast rising slowly from the raging sea. I felt faint but yelled, "Keeper of Souls, acknowledge your true master and the oath you swore! Lower your eyes and stand down!"
Destroying any creature from our home, The Abundant Waters, was forbidden. I stood, silently facing the beast. My only defense, the duplicate locket in my right hand. That symbol of loyalty pierced the beast's eyes. As though frozen, it stood motionless, hoovering over me.
Suddenly, the violent waves subsided.
The Keeper of Souls bellowed out an agonizing scream. I could see the reflection of my beloved wife and daughter in his large, green eyes. But it was the sight of my daughter and her voice that terrified me the most as she commanded the beast to locate me near the East Brakkon Islands; destroy my vessel; do whatever he wanted with me and my crew; and leave no evidence.
The knowledge of her hatred weakened me. The unbearable ache increased, as I dropped the locket and fell to my knees, crying.
I'd managed to slip through Neutra's grip once. She now commanded The Keeper of Souls. There was no stopping her from destryong anyone she perceived as a threat to her rise in power.
In that moment, I witnessed through the creature's eyes, the madness my daughter commanded upon him. Only The Keeper of Souls kept account how many Human souls Neutra had condemned to a watery grave once she delivered them into his possession.
My daughter's unfulfilled promise from her mother of inheriting full Supreme Council control meant our lives had now come full circle. I remembered the fallout from the rift of our two powerful forces was felt from the ocean floor to the sunlight zone.
I was Captain Amos, a decorated leader of The Supreme Council's navy. Last year, I signed the Treaty of the Graveyard Abyss with the Humans on behalf of my species. Avoiding complete extinction was the promise I made. For two decades, I struggled with that decision.
The Humans needed the ocean and its inhabitants of The Abundant Waters more than our species needed them. However, they never listen to experts who predicted the outcome of decades of pollution to the world's most precious resource. Now they were secluded in the area known as The Barren Expense.
The Abundant Waters, full of life, was worth fighting for. However, the run's rays, which once penetrated our paradise's skin, was now blocked by years of pollution. And Neutra's mother lay buried on the ocean floor.
This was the history of the Graveyard Abyss.
We both wanted to correct a horrible injustice dealt our species. However, I didn't believe that destroying all humankind was the solution.
Thus, she began her quest to rule over The Supreme Council. If she succeeded, no one could stop her from annihilating the Humans. Zanupog, her fiercest, and most competent enemy, led a secret group to defeat her. His quest for power was even more sinister.
But I know Neutra. Through her veins run her mother's supreme lineage. She will never give up. A Soul for a Soul was her battle cry, ripping through humanity, plucking out each one. As she once told me, "a hundred million won't be missed." With the help of the creature, The Keeper of Souls, she single-handedly brought a million of those souls to the ocean floor as down payment on the wrongful acts she felt was done against her species and her home.
She pleaded with me for decades to join her and avenge her mother and our people. Instead, I traveled to The Barren Expanse to notify the Humans of her plans.
The ultimate betrayal. That decision, which I was now facing its consequences, was powerless to defend.
The beast continued to stand motionless as if bracing for a final battle. I saw hesitation in his eyes and felt emotions in his soul. In a moment of weakness, I lowered my land. Instantly, the locket's connection with the beast was broken. Even though torn between conflicting rivalries, his next movement convinced me where his true allegiance lay.
Billows of fire erupted from his nostrils. The time to escape was now. I jumped overboard and landed on the beach. Excruciating pain rose in my hands. I managed to crawl on elbows slowly to safety toward a large rock as flames spread the length of my ship from stern to bow.
When finished, nothing but the smell of burning wood remained. I stood on the dark, empty beach and stared at what was once the pride of my career.
The beast now turned toward the shore. Fire filled his eyes as the burnt orange glow expanded in his chest. Both wrists now hurt. I couldn't hold the locket in place to reconnect with the beast.
The Keeper of Souls advanced quickly. I could sense my death was imminent. With a final bellow and fire from its nostrils, he looked upward, then shook his head in a violent circular motion. I didn't understand what was happening.
Suddenly, he reached down and covered me with his monstrous mouth.
I secured the locket around my wrist. No sense in struggling, I lay limp. As I looked up, the sky illuminated with flames and lightning. Then, I looked over my shoulder unable to move. I felt water splash against my face.
The Keeper of Souls parted the sea, but this time in the opposite direction gripping me between his massive teeth.
My last thought before I squeezed my eyes shut and lay the locket on my chest was not of me, but of my daughter's salvation.
For all the Humans The Keeper of Souls helped her destroy, he was now headed toward The Barren Expanse, I felt, to deliver my soul to safety.
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