1 Sinking down into the sea
“All right, shall we talk about this peaceably?”
Thud!
“If you continue to keep your mouth shut, I’d make sure to feed your son to those sharks.” The shiny black muzzle of a gun was pointed at the head of a 16-year-old boy, trembling in his arm. The boy pursed his lips tightly, keeping his eyes fixed on a man in front of him who had thrown his hand up in an attempt to dissuade the heartless crook whose arm was locked firmly around the boy’s neck. The man’s black eyes wavered. Fear had engulfed his mind. He was afraid something would happen to his son before he could grow up.
He shouldn’t have bought his son with him.
“Don’t touch him. If you want to kill someone, kill me instead.”
“If you still choose not to reveal the information, this kid dies.” The big man smirked and tightened his hold on the boy’s neck, making his breath come out in short gasps.
“Ack!”
“Sol!”
“Uh-uh. Don’t step any closer.” He raised the gun, threatening him without caring how the oblivious kid would suffer. “I want the research data. You only need to give me what I want. Then, you all can go back and play in your own crib. I won’t bother you again.”
“Ethan.” The wife held on tight to her husband’s arm. Her eyes pleaded with him to save their son. No one would have thought that cruising on a yacht for relaxation before jumping back to research would end up with them being captured by terrorists. To say they were pirates was not exactly correct, either.
Because they knew Ethan Ildenson, or the owner of the Sea Research Center.
Ethan pursed his lips tight. He had known full well that they wanted the information of the deadliest predator, a creature of the deep sea which no one had yet to discover. Something that was hidden like an unknown treasure of the sea. Ethan knew how to make that treasure emerge, but if he revealed that, it meant betraying the oath.
He lifted his eyes to the young boy’s face. He was crying. His brown eyes stared directly at his father, whom he loved with all his heart. If he were to die in order to keep the data…
Would it be worth the risk?
“Sol, I shouldn’t have bought you with me.”
“Dad…”
“Let him go. He doesn’t know anything about this.”
“Doesn’t have to. Being a hostage is already enough.” The man snickered, pressing his face against the boy’s smooth cheek, inhaling his alluring body scent. Despite being a boy, his face was very tempting. “If you won’t talk, maybe I could take your son right now. I don’t care whether it’s a man or a woman.”
“No! He’s just a kid. Don’t hurt him!”
“Then, tell your husband to give me the files. If you still hesitate, I’ll do everything in my power to get the data,” he demanded, looking through the handrail. The sea was colorless at the moment. The moon shining above revealed that it was already past midnight, and, currently, there was a feast underwater.
The pungent odor of cow’s blood used for attracting the beasts filled the air, competing with the moonlight.
He smirked upon the sight of white fins circling around underwater.
“Your friends have arrived, kid. You wanna go say hi to them?”
“Ack!”
“Or do you want your mommy and daddy to go down and greet them?” he whispered to the boy and kissed the fair skin of his neck. The boy swiftly turned his head away. Disgust was all he felt. He tried to struggle against the man, but he didn’t have enough strength. The stocky build of the man put him at an unfortunate weaker position. “But I think the flesh of the young might taste better than those of the old.”
“Ahhhh!”
“Stop! I give in.”
“Ah!”
“Let my son go. I will give you the data!” Ethan shouted, pleading that he stop molesting his son further. Sol’s expression was wary. He was on the verge of a heartbreak, no different from his father. After Ethan’s surrender, the cruel guy cracked a wicked grin, keeping an eye on Ethan, who was fishing for something out of his pants pocket.
He held up a silver flash drive.
“What you want is in here.”
“Hmm?”
“I will give it to you, but you need to release him.” His hands trembled when he tried to hand it over as he promised. At this moment, he had to do anything he could in order to protect his son. “Take it and release him.”
“Huh, all right. I’ll give him back.”
“…”
“But first, you need to die.”
Bang!
“Aaah!!!”
“Dad!!!!!” Sol and his mother let out a terrified scream when the first bullet ripped through the heart of the person before them. Ethan’s body collapsed and hit the handrail. The hand that was holding the flash drive shook until the drive fell to the ground. The cruel man whose name the boy did not know nodded as to give an order for one of his men to grab the important object. As for the body of the owner of the research center…
“Have another bullet then.”
Bang!
“No!!!” the boy shrieked. He tried to push himself out of the arm clasped around him. His eyes misted over with tears until what was happening before him was all but a blur. The boy let out a hoarse sob while looking at his mother taking his father into her arms. She shook her head, drowning herself in sorrow. “No. Dad… hic… Dad…”
“Aw, you are feeling sorry for your daddy, little boy?”
“D-dad… hic…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let your daddy die alone.”
“Wha…”
“Your mom must die too.”
“No. Don’t…”
Bang!
Before he was able to object, the third bullet shot through her head. The brown-eyed woman stifled a shocked gasp. Every part of her body stopped working because the bullet pierced through the brain. She looked down with tears streaming down her face when she realized that she couldn’t save her son. Her back hit the handrail.
Her soul floated away along with her husband.
“Mom!!!”
“Throw them into the sea.” No objections came out of his lips. Deep sadness had overwhelmed him to the point where he couldn’t stand. Sol shook his head, wanting to beg for them to let his parents’ bodies be, but he was gagged. Sol was forced to stand where they had both died. He had to watch those villains drag their bodies towards the edge of the yacht.
Right at that moment, Sol’s eyes grew wide. There were many sharks swimming around. The smell of blood allowed them to sense the fear, and soon after, more of them assembled…
“Say your good-byes to them.”
Splash!
There weren’t any good-byes because there wasn’t enough time to make a decision. Both bodies were thrown into the midst of those malicious predators. Their massive teeth crushed the bodies. Limbs were yanked away, and blood dyed the sea red like it was hell. Sol watched that scene. His legs gave way. The most important things in life had been destroyed by those that they had been trying to protect all along.
His body trembled as he sobbed. The man behind stroked his meaty hand down his back, as if he was trying to soothe him.
“It’s okay, kid. Your mom and dad have gone to a better place.”
“Hic...”
“I will raise you myself as a gift to your daddy giving this to me.” He stroked Sol’s head gently like he was petting a dog and continued to softly ruffle his hair. He intently stared at the flash drive he had gotten from the dead man. “It will be useful, advancing us towards the future. Don’t worry. I will make you as powerful as I am.
“Monster.”
“Wh…”
“You are a monster!” He pushed the man who was crouching down, making him fall onto his back. The boy stole back the flash drive and held it in his grip. “I won’t let you have what my parents have done. Someone like you deserve death. You are too worthless for this.”
“You…!” Sol didn’t wait for him to finish speaking. His small hand threw the important object down into the deep sea, past the frenzy of creatures which were continuously chewing at the remains of his parents. The cruel man gasped and darted towards the handrail. He let out a surprised growl. “No!”
The white fins of those predators could be seen following the yacht without pause. Clearly, there were still traces of blood on the vessel, so the sharks kept coming after them. The boy knew that if he stayed here, he would share the same fate as his parents.
That was why he didn’t hesitate to rush to the other side of the yacht and jump down.
Splash!
The water splashed up from the force of the jump. Water bubbles surrounded his small frame. Not much of the raucous noise could reach his ears. He dived down under the yacht, avoiding the white sharks that darted toward him. There were many of them, and they were ready to attack at any time.
The sound of gunshots breaching the water was like a warning of death if he were to ascend to the surface. The bullets had made some of the sharks go away but not enough that they wouldn’t rush in to attack.
“Ack!” The boy uttered a loud groan. He let all the air out of his lungs when some of the bullets grazed his arm. Blood oozed from his wound, attracting the sharks that were about to give up and return to feasting on the remains of his parents. Death suddenly approached him in that moment.
A group of sharks focused only on him. They took turns coming closer to Sol.
“Ughhh!” His heartbeat quickened when he saw how sharp their teeth were. He was almost out of breath. He was going to die. At that moment, he wanted to swim towards the surface, but he was confident that he wouldn’t make it.
When there were two ways to die, why would he struggle to find another?
He would eventually die anyhow.
Chomp!
One of the sharks bumped into him. It would almost have bitten him if he hadn’t moved. The others started to move closer to him. He was so afraid he almost cried. Even though he wanted to die alongside his parents, he couldn’t deny that he was terrified. He recalled the time he had shared with them.
The time when his parents hugged him and told him that it would be okay.
‘It will hurt just a little bit, Sol. It will be over in a bit.’
‘Be strong, son.’
'It will be over soon...’
Thinking of those soothing words his parents had once said, the smiles during that last day were replaced by a scene of the beasts rushing towards him. He knew full well, in that moment, that he wouldn’t survive. The exhaustion from the bullet wound and being injured previously had depleted his energy to continue swimming.
He was falling deeper into the dark. The cold embraced him.
His pulse was starting to slow down. The last image flashed before his eyes…
An image of a huge shark baring its teeth and swallowing him whole.
