11 May 2008

The Beast

I wrote the following scene for a creative writing group I used to hang out with in Second Life. It is presented unedited, so what you see here is exactly what I presented to the group.
Sarah lay flat along the bottom of the small, blue boat and prayed silently that the creature would not see her. The sea had been calm for barely ten minutes but she was certain that the foul predator was still nearby.

The thick scent of its fetid body hung in the air like a black cloud, enveloping the boat and its terrified occupant in an aura of fear. Sarah shivered and hoped this sudden movement would not give away the fact that she still cowered inside the wooden contraption while her friend suffered a fate she could not bring herself to contemplate.

The creature had struck suddenly while Sarah had been teaching her flatmate, Jenny, to sail on the boat she had inherited from her father. They had been out in the water for hours and had decided to head back to shore when the humid air had turned thick and rain had begun to fall.

The sky had darkened quickly with the rain threatening to become a storm at any moment but Sarah had done her best to sail the boat back to the harbour when the creature struck. It came from behind, without warning save for the thick stench of rotting fish. Jenny saw it first and had barely time to scream in terror at the sight of its hideous form before it struck.

Its monstrous tentacles gripped the boat and threatened to pull it under had its occupants not fought back. Sarah grabbed the oar and swiftly sliced at the one visible eye upon the beast's bulbous, blue-green form. It shrieked in pain and its grip on the boat loosened enough for Jenny to pull the muscular tentacles free and throw them back into the water.

The beast sunk below the waves again and the sailors looked at one another as if to seek reassurance that what they had just experienced had indeed happened. Again without warning it rose up, this time below the boat. The wooden vessel threatened to capsise and Jenny was knocked swiftly overboard. Sarah reached out for her friend with one arm, gripping the side of the vessel with the other for dear life.

Had the creature not quickly grabbed the stricken woman, Sarah would have rescued her from the stormy water but she could not overcome the might of the beast. It dragged her screaming friend beneath the waves and disappeared.

No comments: