"I can do this, I can do this," Tracey whispered over and over while he swam into the depths of the ocean. Repeating it gave him confidence. The world darkened around him. Tall seaweed brushed against his legs and wrists. Yet, Tracey continued his swim. The wreckage had now become more visible. A long shadow rested on the seafloor twenty feet deeper and was surrounded by other dark figures (perhaps the Kate's propellers and boilers). Longer strands of seaweed danced around Tracey's head and body. They swayed like palms in the eye of a hurricane.
Tracey stopped ten feet above the shipwreck when he heard beautiful, female singing. It was familiar, yet not familiar. "Wha-What's that?" Tracey asked, his voice shaking. He turned his head in every direction, but saw nothing. The only things present were some seaweed over there and the singing.
Tracey bit his lip and turned his body to the right when the voice sang, "Come with me, my one true love, and I will take you to the sea."
Tracey's nervous face vanished, and he closed his eyes. The mark of the Octopus Man flashed on his arm. A smaller figure appeared in the darkness and crept toward him. It was a mermaid. She was the one singing, but she looked different from the average mermaid. Her skin was light green, her tail blue, and a headband held back her long, dark green hair. She wore a green, seashell bra, pink lipstick, and silver star earrings. Her ears were pointy, and she had blue eyes.
She pulled Tracey toward the shipwreck.
With his eyes still closed, he followed.
"Come with me, my one true love, and I will take you to the sea," the siren repeated. She offered her hand to the fairy.
Tracey couldn't let her drag him to Poseidon! Now that he was a merfairy, he could fight and defeat her.
Yelling, Tracey shook his head and reached for it. "No! I'm not going to let you take me!" A force of energy pulled him toward the surface, while another dragged him toward the Kate.
Flapping her tail, the siren swam closer. Just before she sang again, Tracey drew his shuriken and sliced her arm. A cloud of blood escaped the wound, and she screeched. It wasn't long until her hair blew, her eyes glowed red, and sharp fangs appeared in her mouth. She roared at Tracey, who retreated a few feet.
The siren launched her fangs, but Tracey quickly grabbed his shuriken. A large toothbrush appeared in his right hand. Remaining calm, he acted like a dentist. "Remember to brush your teeth every day, miss." He propped up the toothbrush to the top and base of the siren's mouth. Then, as fast as a ninja, he kicked his flippers and shot toward the Kate.
Behind, the siren snapped down on the toothbrush and broke it. Her eyes landed on Tracey, and she chased him. A trail of blood pumped out behind her.
There was the Kate. Her body, or what was left of it, rested on its side in the water. She was covered in barnacles, shells, and oysters, and seaweed grew out of her sides. Her broken propellers and boilers surrounded her, resting on rocks and sand. She was a huge ship. Tracey didn't have time to admire her right now, though. He had to get away from the siren and find Alexandria and Gene before it was too late.
Tossing his snorkel mask and tube aside, Tracey's golden brown eyes caught a broken porthole, and he swam for it as fast as his legs could carry him.
The siren roared and ripped up his mask and tube with her razor-sharp fangs.
Tracey dodged rocks and machinery and swam through the porthole… Well, almost. His body wasn't the problem—it was his legs. His flippers became tangled, causing Tracey's legs to get caught in the porthole. Eyes widening, he glanced back and ferociously kicked his flippers. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get them through. Finally, Tracey kicked off the flippers, and they sank toward the seabed. He pulled his legs through the porthole. He made it just in time, too.
The siren snapped at his bare feet, but missed.
Tracey found himself in a room that looked like a trashed office. Hundreds of parchments floated in the water, and a desk rested on its side, as well as a few chairs. An 1800s map was pinned on the wall. Shoals of blue angel fish, groupers, and parrot fish scattered and moved out of the way of Tracey, who crashed into the wall.
The siren swam through the porthole, too, and edged closer to him. The mark of the Octopus Man flashed brighter as she approached. She opened her fang-filled mouth to sing, but Tracey pushed off the wall and grabbed a chair, smacking her head. He smacked her over and over until finally, the siren grabbed the chair's legs, and her blue fingernails dug into his skin. They looked like claws.
With one last smack, Tracey shoved her into a closet. He slammed the door and wedged it shut with the chair.
The siren broke free with a force of magic. It slammed into Tracey, knocking him into a bed. He and the bed flipped.
Tracey landed on his front, and a skeleton fell beside him. He screamed and dragged himself out from under the bed.
The angered siren momentarily focused on the skeleton. With a small spell, she ordered it to come to life. Green sparkles danced around the dead body, and its eye sockets seemed to blink.
Tracey felt like he would faint.
Covered in rags, the skeleton stood and picked up his sword, which fell when he did. Barnacles were on its blade and hilt, and the skeleton pointed it at Tracey. He lifted the sword and slashed at him.
It barely missed Tracey. The tip of the sword tore the shoulder sleeve of his tunic and stabbed the wall. While the skeleton pulled it out, he got the heck out of there.
Tracey hurried to the office's entryway and slammed the doors shut. He now floated in a hallway. Tracey could barely see another closet at the end of it. It was a fairly large one, too.
Rushing to the closet, Tracey opened it and dove inside, slamming the doors behind him. He retreated to the corner and plopped down on the rotting floor. He pulled his knees close and inhaled. It was dark in the closet, which only added to his fear.
For ten minutes, Tracey remained in the closet. The doors to the office broke open—he heard it—and the voice of the undead skeleton stabbed him like a thousand knives:
"The oceans will fill with your blood." That was one of the scariest things Tracey had ever heard. It beat Peter Nelson and the Octopus Man.
While he waited for the coast to clear, Tracey held his breath and studied the Octopus Man's mark. It had not vanished. That meant he was not out of danger. Strangely, though, the siren didn't try to lure him out with singing. She and the skeleton didn't even try opening the closet to check if he hid in it. Tracey heard them swish by it.
For five more minutes, it was quiet. Did that mean the siren and skeleton had left? Tracey waited another two minutes, but sure enough, everything had quieted, and there was no more chanting of "The oceans will fill with your blood." He finally could breathe, but still shivered. His entire body felt numb.
With shaky legs, Tracey slowly stood and approached the closet door, staying as quiet as possible. Once there, he pressed his ear against it to listen, but heard nothing. Okay, good. The coast was clear. Tracey could finally explore the ship and search for Alexandria and Gene. They had to escape as quickly as they could before the siren and undead skeleton returned.
For another minute, Tracey thought of a plan before opening the door and starting his search. With it in mind, he smiled and whispered, "All right. Don't worry, Madam Alexandria and Gene, I'm coming." And just like that, he lifted his hands and pushed open the closet door. The first thing he saw was the undead skeleton.
His bony, demotic face bulged, and he yelled, "The oceans will fill with your blood!" at Tracey.
He screamed so loud that the entire ship shook. He could've broken glass with his yell. He tried to rush back into the closet, but it was too late.
The skeleton grabbed him with his bony hands. His sword was back in its case. One hand pulled Tracey's own hands behind him, and the other one covered his mouth. The skeleton's demotic-looking face was right beside his. Three red scratches appeared on Tracey's neck. Cruel laughter was heard from the shadows, and the siren appeared.
To the skeleton, she said, "Well done, captain! We've got him. Finally, he's ours."
Tracey tried to break free from the skeleton, but he only tightened his grip. Within seconds, his life energy drained from his body, but he tried to stay conscious; however, it was difficult. Tracey's vision blurred, and his head pounded.
Just before he blacked out, a familiar set of eight Kraken-like arms emerged from around the corner and approached him, the demon, and the siren.
"Gene," Tracey weakly spoke. He made one last attempt to free himself, but failed.
The last thing he heard was the undead skeleton. "The oceans will fill with your blood."
Tracey then fell limp, and the Kate faded away.
End of Act IV: Bermuda!
End of The Curse of Poseidon (Part One)!
Final Word Count: 141,626