S.S DreamChaser
Night
Daniel was frantically walking down the hallway. Merlin and Leona were following close behind him. The blockheads that were sleeping only moments ago, were starting to gather in the hallway. Many of them were very upset, while others were beginning to ask questions. At this time, Daniel was more focused on coming up with a plan to evacuate the ship. He knew that the only lifeline they had until they had found land was going down; and going down fast she was. The ship was already slanting noticeably over to the right. If you had looked up at the lanterns hanging from the ceiling, you'd notice that they were hanging at an angle.
Daniel, Merlin, and Leona were rushing to get back up onto the main deck, but getting through the small crowd of upset and curious blockheads was becoming frustrating as is. Robert, a loyal friend to Daniel and former Blacksmith, stepped in front of Daniel, stopping him in his tracks. Merlin and Leona stopped walking and stood behind Daniel.
"What the heck happened?" Robert asked, "what's going on? I can see it in your eyes. The fear. The nervousness. You can trust me Daniel. Just tell me."
Daniel sighed as he reached out to grab both of Robert's arms. He looked Robert directly in the eyes. "Something terrible happened. We don't have much time. This isn't the place to talk. Just get everyone up on the main deck, would you? Then come to my cabin. I'll tell you what happened there, okay?"
Daniel then pushed Robert out of the way and began walking away. Merlin and Leona both looked at Robert, exchanging a quick glance before catching up to Daniel. Robert knew something was wrong. He wasn't going to wait to find out what that something was. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.
As they disappeared into the crowd of other blockheads, Robert looked down the hallway to his left and then back over to his right. After he looked down the hallway to his left once more, he finally made up his mind on where he was going to go. He wasn't going to listen to what Daniel had told him to do until he understood the situation better.
"Something terrible happened, huh?" Robert mumbled to himself as he began walking down the hallway. Blockheads were wondering where to go and what to do. Should they return to their rooms? Or shouldn't they? There was immense concern amongst everyone. The children were whining and crying, mainly because they were tired. As he was walking down the hallway the ship began creaking and moaning. The chatter amongst everyone suddenly fell silent. Everyone listened to those scary sounds. They weren't pleasant sounding sounds. No one wanted to hear those.
"What's going on?" an elder female blockhead asked as she stood next to her husband, "why was I thrown to the floor in my room? Do you know what happened Robert?" She said as she reached out to grab Robert's left arm. He stopped walking and looked down at her.
"I'm sorry Ingrid, I don't," Robert said, "but rest assured, Daniel has this situation under control. I promise you."
Ingrid looked to her right, looking down the hallway at the other blockheads. She shook her head.
"Hogwash! This is what you think control looks like? It seems as though he doesn't have everything under control! Where is he? We need to exchange words. I can assure you that I won't be nice when we talk," Ingrid explained to Robert.
Robert scoffed. He grabbed Ingrid's hands and looked her in right in the eyes. "If you want answers, you'll find them up on deck. Go there. Tell everyone else to go with you. It's not safe down here."
"Where are you going?" Leonard asked. Leonard was Ingrid's husband. He frowned as he looked over at Robert. Robert let go of Ingrid's hands and looked at him.
"Somewhere that doesn't concern you as of now," Robert said, "just do as I say and get up on deck. I have a feeling it won't be safe on this deck much longer."
Ingrid lowered her eyebrows as she stared at Robert. "What do you mean by that?" She asked as she looked at Leonard and repeated her question, knowing he wouldn't be able to answer that. Robert then stormed off, gently pushing other blockheads out of his way as he went.
Once he reached the end of the hallway and looked to his left down another hallway. At the end of this hallway there was a hatchway with a ladder built onto the oakwood planked wall. He ran over to the hatchway. He grabbed onto the ladder and climbed down it onto the lowest deck of the ship. It was dark. Darkness was everywhere he looked. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear the sounds of water gently splashing around. That wasn't good. Not good at all. As he stood by the ladder, he began to piece together what was happening. He didn't know what caused water to enter the ship, but he could theorize. As he stood there for a moment, seemingly alone and in complete silence, a faint voice began calling out.
"Help!" The voice said as loudly as it could. Robert continued to listen as he began cautiously walking in the direction of where he had heard the voice. It was odd though. Something wasn't quite adding up. Something seemed off. But what it was, he did not know.
As he took three steps further into the darkness, a loud splashing sound was heard from behind him. He quickly turned around. "Hello?" he asked, "who's there?"
He slowly and quietly reached into his inventory to grab a torch out. Once he had the torch in his hand, he lit the top of it with flint and steel. After trying to light the torch a few times, a spark finally caught the cloth that was wrapped around at the top of the torch. A fire burst to life. As he held the torch out in front of him, he heard another splashing sound come from behind him. He quickly turned around again. Again, as he held his torch out in front of him, a female blockhead rushed into the light. She was grinning; her pointy showing. Her bright yellow eyes were glowing.
"And one by one, you all fall down," she said. Her voice was creepy sounding. Her voice had a hissing noise mixed into it.
He gasped as he fell backwards onto the floor, dropping his only source of light he had. The torch fell into the shallow water, instantly burning out because it was wet.
SPLASH!
He began crawling backwards, trying to distance himself from whatever this creature was. As far back as he could remember, he never once remembered ever seeing or hearing about these things. Who were they? Why were they so hostile?
"What are you?" He asked in a frightened and disturbed voice. He desperately wanted to know what this thing was that he was talking to.
"What am I? I'm a Siren dummy!" She answered, "thought you would've figured that out by now."
"What'd you do to my friend?" Robert asked.
"Oh you mean the witch?" Selma asked, "that doesn't concern you."
As Robert continued inching backwards, it was becoming apparent that he wasn't getting any further away from Selma than he had originally thought he was. The only light around was from the lighting shining down through the hatchway. Robert turned around to look bck at the hatchway. He was getting close. But then, appearing out from the darkness, two more Sirens appeared, blocking the only way to escape.
"Ah, ah, ah," Selma said, "where do you think you're going?"
The water was catching up to him. This deck was flooding fast. Faster than he had thought it was. The damade to the ship must be catastrophic enough to seal her fate. Down she goes. The two accompanying Sirens grabbed his arms, pulling him back up onto his feet. But they didn't let go of him. They were holding him against his will. Unable to free himself, unable to escape.
"What are you going to do to us?" Robert asked.
"It's not what we're going to do, but how we're going to do it," Selma responded. "Once this ship sinks, and your friends are spilled into the water, my sisters and I will feast like we've never feasted before. We haven't eaten like this in a very, very long time. We're anxious."
"You're all canabalistic monsters!" Robert shouted.
"You're right, we are," Selma responded, "we're only doing this because your friends killed our Queen. This is how we get our revenge."
As Robert tried to nudge himself free of their grasp, things up on the main deck weren't looking good at all. Daniel, Merlin, and Leona were all in Dnaiel's cabin, trying to come up with a plan to save everyone onboard. The slant was getting worse as time ticked on. The three of them were standing over by Daniel's desk. Because the list was getting bad, the open book he once had on the desk slid off and fell onto the floor. The small ink jar slid off of the desk, also falling onto the floor. But when it hit the floor, it shattered. The ink it had inside of it spilled all over the floor.
"Do you still have that map Merlin?" Daniel asked.
Merlin nodded his head as he reached into his inventory to grab his map out. Once he had it in his hand, Daniel looked at him. Daniel held his hand out so that he could take the map from Merlin.
"Can I see that map please?" Daniel asked.
Merlin handed the map over to Daniel. Daniel then set the map down on the desk and unfolded it. Once the map was unfolded, Daniel pointed at a specific spot on the map.
"This is where we are now, yes?" Daniel asked.
Merlin and Leona looked down at the map. They both nodded their heads as Daniel looked at them both.
"Yes," Merlin said, "and we're still sailing too."
"We're still moving?" Daniel asked.
"Yes," Merlin responded, "but I don't know how much longer we'll be able to do so. She's taking on water fast. Everyone's starting to ask questions. I mean you saw Robert didn't you? He knew that something was wrong just by the way you looked at him. We aren't going to be able to keep this a secret for much longer Daniel."
Daniel silently nodded his head, agreeing with everything Merlin was telling him. He then looked back down at the map, examining it from top to bottom and from side to side. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed something up in the top right corner of the map. Everywhere else on the map was blue, with some gray spots here and there. Those gray spots were the boulders sticking up out of the water. The blue was for the ocean that surrounded them. But in the corner of the map, there was something strange. He pointed at it.
"What is that?" Daniel asked.
Merlin and Leona once again looked back down at the map. When they saw what he was talking about, they both stared at him. The expressions on their faces showed that whatever that was, they were hopeful it would be something good; something that could save everyone onboard.
"We need to tell Notch," Daniel said as he picked the map up. He turned around and rushed over to the door. Merlin and Leona followed close behind him. Once they walked outside, the blockheads that were below deck were starting up to the main deck. Daniel ignored them, for now at least, as he ran over to the stairs. He leaped up the stairs. Once he was at the top, Notch glanced over at him. He was still holding onto the wheel.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep her steady, Daniel," Notch stated, "we're going to sink aren't we?"
That was a question Daniel was hoping he'd be able to avoid. But he couldn't lie any longer. The truth must come out. Notch deserved to know as well as everyone else too. As the two of them began talking to each other, Merlin had cautiously walked over to the right side of the ship. He grabbed onto the railing and leaned over the side of the ship.
As he looked down at the water, he could see the water rushing into the ship. He gulped as he let go of the railing and slowly backed away. He turned around to be met with all eyes on him. Notch, Merlin, and Leona were all staring at him.
"What's the plan chief?" Leona asked, "they're going to find out sooner or later. What's on your mind?"
As Daniel looked down at the map he was holding in his hand, he realized what it was that was up in the corner of it. His eyes widened as he realized what it was.
"LAND!" Daniel shouted as he looked up at everyone else, "told you there was land around here!"
Daniel looked directly at Notch. "Do you think we could beach the ship? It's the only way to ensure everyone's survival."
Notch began thinking mentally to himself for a second. He was contemplating on whether or not the ship would be able to stay afloat long enough. Could it? It's only been mere minutes since the explosion and the ship was already showing signs of sinking fast.
The blockheads who were below deck began climbing up the ladder and through the hatchway. Daniel and the others all looked down at them. Everyone was panicking and begging Daniel for answers.
"There's water down there," a male blockhead shouted, "why is there water? Why is the ship slanting so badly?"
As Daniel listened to their questions, it was becoming apparent that maybe the ship wouldn't stay afloat long enough to make it to land. Just as he thought that there was nothing else he or anyone else could do, he suddenly got an idea.
He turned around and approached Merlin. With the map in his hand, he handed the map back over to him. After he did that, he rushed down the stairs. He approached the door to his cabin and barged in.
As he rushed into his cabin, he saw a familiar female blockhead standing over to his right. No it wasn't Petra or Victoria. Instead, it was the notoriously evil Nightmare herself. She stared at him with her arms crossed.
"Seems like you're in a bit of a pickle right now, aren't you?" Nightmare said as she unfolded her arms, continuing to watch Daniel frantically dig through his chest. He was adamant about finding a particular item. An item he thought would get the attention of blockheads who lived nearby on the land. If Daniel could see them, maybe they could see him? Whatever the case may be, it's worth a shot right? All ideas are good ideas right now. Daniel knew that there was a slight possibility this idea might not work. Hopefully it does. It's not only his life on the line, but everyone elses onboard as well. As he threw item after item away after taking them out of his chest, he had finally found what he was looking for. Luckily for him, he had found a couple of red, green, and blue fireworks.
"This doesn't concern you," Daniel said as he stood back up and turned around. When he did that, he stared directly over at the corner of the room where Nightmare was standing. He frowned as he continued to gaze at her.
"You're right, it doesn't," Nightmare mentioned, "but this all could've been avoided if you would've just stayed out of my way and didn't interfere with my plan."
"I'm sorry," Daniel said, "but who are you again? I don't remember your name. Do I know you somehow?"
Daniel knew who Nightmare was. He was just too preoccupied at the moment to converse with Nightmare. He had other important matters to attend to. And so, without saying another word to her, he walked right past her. He proceeded on to run back outside. But because he was so fixed on getting to a high place on the ship, he had somehow forgotten about how badly the ship was listing. He managed to somehow slip, dropping the fireworks by accident. The firework tubes slid to his right. Overboard they went.
"NOOO!" Daniel shouted loudly as he watched the fireworks go overboard. There goes that idea. Those were the only fireworks he had handy were now gone. POOF!
Ceres rushed over to him and leaned over. He grabbed ahold of Daniel's left arm, hoisting him back up onto his feet. Once Daniel was standing again, he looked over at Ceres. Without saying anything to Ceres, Daniel began breaking down emotionally. No longer could he remain brave and strong. No longer could he come up with other ideas. The fireworks were his last hope. And now that they're gone, there was nothing else he could think of. He's tried most of his ideas. The only one he was hoping would work was beaching the ship on that nearby island. But because it was so far away from where they were currently, he was beginning to lose hope in that idea as well.
The bow of the ship was only a couple of blocks above the surface of the water. It wouldn't be too much longer before it finally settled beneath the water. When that happens, Daniel was sure that the ship's sinking would accelerate ever faster. To not lose hope in saving everyone, he rushed over to the three tall, wooden masts with sails at the top of them.
Tied around the masts was some rope. Ceres ran over to him to help his as well. Even though Ceres was helping Daniel, he wondered why Daniel was reopening the sails. What good would that do? The only thing opening the sails could do was speed up the ship. But by how much was the real question? Would opening them up again guarantee they'd make it to the island that was nearby? There was only one way to find out.
Merlin and Leona's feet began sliding on the deck. The slant was so bad that it was causing everyone to begin losing their footing and balance. Leona fell onto her back and began sliding feet first towards the railings. She began screaming in utter terror.
"I can't hold her steady any longer," Notch shouted as he suddenly lost his grip on the wheel. He too went sliding in the same direction as Merlin and Leona, also screaming and shouting.
"AHH!" He shouted, "help me! I'm going to go overboard! Someone help, please!"
As Daniel and Ceres continued to open the two closed sails, it was becoming extremely difficult to finish opening them up. But even doing that wouldn't do anyone any good. Without Notch holding the wheel steady, there was no use in opening the sails. It was too late.
Just before Leona, Merlin, and Notch were due to slide overboard, they suddenly stopped sliding. All three of them were confused. How did they suddenly stop sliding? Were they caught on something that was preventing them from going overboard? Or was it something else.
"Don't worry. We got you guys," Victoria said as she and Petra were holding the three of them tightly within their grasp.
But Victoria and Petra weren't the only ones who have come to their assistance. Two other Gods and Goddesses were present as well. One, who was a male blockhead, was turning the wheel back over to the left, while another was guiding the others up to the stern of the ship. Staying on the ship as long as possible was key. Managing to do so would stall everyone from becoming the Siren's next feast.
The center mast, which was charred and almost entirely burnt at it's base, began cracking.
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK!
Daniel, Ceres and everyone else who was standing near the mast quickly began backing away from it in fear and utter shock. Just before the mast collapsed and topped over, everyone began running as fast away from it as they. Luckily though the mast fell in the same direction of the slant. No one was standing in its way.
When it eventually toppled over, it fell onto the deck. More cracking sounds were heard as more sections of the mast broke. Flapping sounds were heard as the sail broke free. When it did, it be flying away through the air in the direction of where the wind blew.
"Everyone!" Daniel shouted, "go up to the stern! RUN!"
No one hesitated on listening to Daniel. As the last remaining blockheads had made it up onto the stern, everyone began holding eachother's hands. Victoria, Petra, and their fellow God William had done all that they could to help. If only they could fix what was damaged, and heal who was wounded. But doing those things wasn't possible. Even the Gods and Goddesses had their limits. And sadly, those were some of them.
Everyone watched as the bow began to slip beneath the water. As that happened, they all began screaming and crying out for help. Some began praying. Praying that this was all just a bad dream. But even that wasn't true. This was real, not fake. This was as real as it was going to get.
Then, suddenly, the ship stopped sinking. For a moment, everyone had thought that maybe the bottom of the ship had hit the bottom of the ocean. But that wasn't the case. After a moment of stalling, the ship resumed sinking. As it sank lower and lower, the water crept closer and closer. Not only did the water inch closer, but so did the hungry and vicious Sirens as well.
All of the Sirens were hissing and growling, growing evermore anxious to get their hands on these doomed blockheads. But just as everything was preparing themselves for the end, a firework had detonated in the sky. The color of the firework was a bright blue. The loud boom sound it had made captured the attention of everyone, including the Sirens.
"Look!" a female blockhead shouted as she let go of the other blockheads hand and pointed at what she was seeing. "It's rescue! Finally at last. They couldn't have come any sooner. We're saved."
The rescue that had arrived must've been from the nearby land that Daniel had spotted minutes earlier. Where else would these blockheads have come from? They're in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by only water and dangerous aquatic creatures like the Sirens.
Standing on the edge of the boat they were on, the male blockhead shouted loudly at everyone. He was holding his bow in his hand, with an arrow in his other. He loaded the arrow onto the bow, aiming it directly down into the water at the Sirens. He then let go of the string, releasing the arrow. The arrow flew through the air, hitting one of the Sirens directly in their head.
When that happened, the Siren quickly sank beneath the surface, sinking lower and lower into the dark depths of the ocean.
"Fear not everyone," the blockhead shouted, "as for we are here to rescue all of you."