Taking a momentary break from cleaning the ship’s deck, Henry looked out to see over the starboard side. It had been five days since his merchant vessel had come under attack from the dreaded Captain Lucifer and his ship, the Goddess of Death. When the smoke finally cleared and their ship was plundered for all it was worth before being torched, Henry was the sole survivor. Now, he was free labor to the pirates. Mopping decks, managing the bilge pumps, and being fed scraps, he knew that his usefulness would eventually run dry, and Captain Lucifer would see Henry disposed of immediately once that happened.
“Get back to work, bilge rat!” A deckhand snapped, kicking Henry in the shin.
“Aye!” He replied, quickly dropping to his knees and scrubbing the wooden decking where he’d left off.
Wiping sweat from his brow, the twenty-three year old brushed his long, light brown bangs from his eyes and tried to focus on the task at hand. If he was caught slacking off again, Captain Lucifer would use him as bait for whatever creature he’d been so fixated on finding. If he talked back or questioned the goal of the captain, specifically what they were searching for, he’d have his tongue cut out for sure.
Suddenly, a voice rang out, “We got something!”
The whole crew stopped their current tasks and ran to the port side, clearly excited. Choosing to stay back, Henry lazily scrubbed and watched as ropes were hooked up to the masts and the capstan began to turn. It took the might of twenty men to bring the enormous net in, causing the Goddess of Death to list a few degrees. There was a terrible commotion as the net bore an enormous creature. At first glance, it appeared to be a whale, roughly fifty feet in length. But as it was hauled onto the deck, Henry realized that it was something else. Something he’d never seen before.
It was…a girl.
At least, mostly a girl. The first thing that stood out—apart from her size—was her pale, pink skin coated in a layer of shiny slime. Second were the three purplish-red, frilly gills behind both of her ears. She had a long tail between her legs, thrashing against the net that bound her. As she tossed her head back and forth to bare her serrated teeth at the crew, tangling her deep purple hair in the process, Henry could get a glance at her yellow-green eyes and vertically slit pupils. Despite her best attempts, she could not free herself from the net as she was hauled all the way onto the deck, suspended a few feet over it. It suddenly dawned upon him that she resembled an axolotl, a creature he’d seen only once but was sure she must’ve been related to, at least distantly.
Henry was captivated by the creature. She was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It broke his heart to see such a majestic creature, never before having graced the eyes of man, being treated like this. She hissed and snapped at the laughing men who danced and taunted her.
“We’ve found a sea beast!” Captain Lucifer declared, “And look at the size of her!”
The creature’s breasts were straining against the tight net, her nipples poking through the gaps. A few men helped themselves to a feel of her flesh, earning a ferocious growl and thrash from the creature.
“Easy, sea bitch!” The captain warned, unsheathing his sword, “I intend to bring you to the mainland alive, but act up again, and I’ll slit your throat and gut you like any common fish!”
Surprisingly, she appeared to understand his threat and kept her mouth shut, instead choosing to silently glare at the captain. Impressed with his success in making the creature obey, Captain Lucifer helped himself to a feel of her breasts. Henry scowled, seeing such an incredible and marvelous creature being reduced to mere entertainment. However, a part of him couldn’t help but be tempted to feel her breasts for himself, perhaps even attempting to drink any milk stored within. Shaking those thoughts from his mind and cursing himself for even imagining such an act, Henry noticed a knife sitting unattended on a barrel of gunpowder.
Quickly and quietly, while everyone else was distracted by the half woman, half sea creature, Henry pocketed the knife. He wasn’t sure what use it would be exactly, but a reliable, four inch blade could come in very handy. As the shock of seeing the creature faded, Henry was quick to return to his work like nothing had happened. The Goddess of Death set a course for land, still at least a week out.
Throughout the day, Henry stole glances at the creature whenever he could. She’d given up on trying to escape, occasionally wriggling around to shift her position or to look over at the calm sea. What she was wondering, Henry couldn’t be sure. The rest of the crew was in celebration, with music playing during supper and plenty of alcohol going around. As the moon crept higher and higher into the night sky, Henry decided that his chance to escape the wretched ship had come.
There were the distant lights of civilization off the starboard bow. A dangerous journey for one man in the dead of night, but Henry was willing to take his chances. While everyone was below decks and celebrating their catch, Henry silently tiptoed across the deck towards the dinghys. Already loaded with some survival provisions, it was the perfect getaway boat. Unsheathing his knife, Henry was about to begin cutting the ropes away when he heard a loud whimper from behind.
Nearly leaping out of his skin and dropping the knife, Henry spun around to see the captured creature staring back, whimpering again. Raising a finger to his lips, he urged her to stay silent. As he returned to cutting the dinghy free, he froze. Glancing back at the poor creature, he decided that it was wrong to leave her to her fate. Watching as the island began to pass by, Henry turned around and walked over to the creature to set her free. Now mere feet away from the massive being, he could see dark purple freckles on her otherwise flawless pink skin. He was compelled to reach out and caress her freckled nose, but remembering her four inch long teeth quickly made him sensible again.
Henry went to work cutting the thick rope netting, doing his best to work diligently and silently. The creature understood what he was doing and kept silent, her enormous eyes studying his hand as the knife sliced through more and more net. After compromising the net enough, it finally gave way. Henry backed away quickly as the mighty sea creature fell to the deck, thrashing wildly to throw the rest of the net from her body.
The impact of a fifty foot sea creature crashing onto the deck couldn’t be ignored. In moments, the whole ship was aware of the escape attempt. Some men burst onto the deck wielding spears and hooks, but they were far too late to stop her escape. With a final grunt, she slid free from the net and clawed for the side of the ship, sliding over with a tremendous splash without even glancing back to stare at her rescuer. Henry watched the spot where she’d entered, perhaps hoping she’d break the ocean’s surface one final time. Alas, she was gone, and the crew’s ire focused squarely on the cause for the creature’s escape. Throwing down the knife, Henry knew his punishment would be severe, but saving an innocent creature’s life for his worthless own was a more than fair trade in his eyes.