Dawn's Dusk on the High Seas
Chapter 9

“How many’d you lose?” Jack questioned, the second he saw Colton on the Mortis.

“’Bout seven. You?” he quickly replied.

“Six. And one that believed the sirens for the real thing,” Jack added.

“Hmmph. Those sirens nearly had me leaping out of my skin. And… I saw my wife Samantha on the rocks. Seeing her face again brought a wave of hate so great that I shot six sirens before they got within eight feet of me,” Colton responded, sounding equally depressed and enraged.

“You know why I switch at times, right?” he began.

“Why don’t you tell it. Forgive me if it only opens the wound or salts it, but the only way this will be better is if you speak of it,” Jack soothed.

Colton sighed through his nose before explaining.

“Back when I was in England, Samantha and I were prosperous in our small tailoring business. That is, until a jealous suitor came for her. We fought, and Samantha jumped between us. The suitor decided that if he couldn’t have her, no one would. He stabbed her through the heart and attempted to skewer me as well. But, I was saved by Samantha’s corset. It was too thick for the rapier to pierce twice, so it saved my life. But, not Samantha’s. I plunged my blade through his throat in grief and didn’t even bother to watch him as I felt her die in my arms. I shattered. My mind split. Half is the gentleman tailor of Colton that you see often. The other is the bloodthirsty, grieving, broken animal of Captain Daybreak. They’ve seemed to overlap now, but when the guard came, I ran. I ran to wherever I could. Until, I was cornered, and Daybreak broke free to be born for the first time. I slaughtered those four men with my bare hands. They couldn’t even graze me. And in my grief, I carved an ‘S’ into my left arm. For me to always remember who I loved. Laura… reminds me of her. So very much. I don’t know why, but I can feel a connection to Samantha in her. While still being attracted to Laura. That is why every time I wake up with her, I am unable to become used to it. I know. I must sound delusional because of this.”

“No. You are mistaken. I understand. At least, as much as I believe I can. To watch the one you love most die in front of you. To feel their blood warm your hands as their heart beats its last. I don’t know your pain. But I hope never to. We have both lost parts of ourselves. Your heart and love are beginning to recover. My… morals, are hazed and are beginning to come into focus, but at the same time, they may be already as clear as crystal. We both face difficult pasts. But, they are… well, past. They have happened, and made us who we are. Pursue your feelings with Laura, or don’t. That is your choice. But as a friend, I believe you should continue with Laura. While she may never be Samantha, an echo can bring clarity if only listened to and accepted,” Jack returned.

Colton smiled before both captains looked in melancholy at the horizon. As it would happen to be, both Alice and Laura were walking about the decks of the Vitae and The Jackal before spotting their lovers brooding at the wheel of Mortis. They each crossed with mischievous smiles on their faces before slipping up behind them and placing kisses on their lovers’ cheeks. Thus, causing Jack and Colton to perk up and smile at them.

“Life’s too short to brood,” Laura cooed.

“And neither is our time together,” Alice sighed.

“Then night had better get here soon. For all our sake,” Jack laughed.

Alice and Laura giggled before retreating back to The Jackal and Vitae. Returning to his own ship, Jack gave the order to begin cleaning the blood off the deck, lest anyone want to smell rotting blood until the next rainstorm. The crew hastened to start washing since the deck already smelled as if the inside of a fresh grave. While his crew worked, and Alice took care of the the kids, Jack descended to the small room where the siren bodies were laid against the walls, with one on top of a wooden table. Luckily, and quite by chance, one of his surviving crew had dabbled in taxidermy, so he offered a small amount of gold to the man to preserve the siren head for him, and to be careful with it. The young man loved a challenge, so he took on the task with pride and curiosity. Garbing himself in a solid and flexible layer of shadow, Jack leaned over the first siren’s corpse before having another shadow begin drawing and taking notes on the body, based on what Jack observed and thought of. After three tedious hours of looking over the outside of the body, he began to cut into it with a solidified shadow. More hours passed as he slowly skinned the body to look at the muscle beneath, and found it to be as if a human female had merged with a fish, more likely a shark, before developing its strange shape changing ability.

The body was frighteningly similar to a female’s anatomy. Same shape and seeming design, but with additions like gills under the lower part of the jaw, webbed hands and feet, tougher skin, strangely shaped tongue that likely allowed for their supernatural singing, larger eyes to likely help see in the dark depths, and a dense but light skeleton that also, likely helped with swimming through the water.

Sighing, Jack stepped away from the siren. His shadow cover expanded before evaporating while the tendril gave him his journal and quill before he quietly stalked through the sleeping, and hanging, crew members in their hammocks. Reaching the Captain’s Cabin, he found Alice waiting for him. Her eyes glinting in lust.

“Where are Vivian and Christopher?” Jack whispered.

“Colton said that he’d watch them for the night while we… had a little fun..,” Alice murmured.

Knowing exactly where this was going, Jack shrugged his shoulders before setting his sword belt on the table along with his braces and other armor. It took him five minutes to leisurely take all of his armor off. If there was a threat, he could have it on in less than two. Alice retreated to lying with her palm against her cheek on the bed.

“So, are you ready yet?” she whispered.

“I wear three layers of robes and armor. Give me time my melodious siren,” Jack cooed.