Chapter Ten

“There they are!” Sebastian’s voice cut through the rain. Villagers closed in, grabbing us. Their hands clamped tight, like iron shackles. I kicked and struggled, but their grips wouldn’t budge.

“Let us go!” Kim’s scream cracked. A villager yanked her hair, pulling her off balance. Her arms flailed, fingers scraping at nothing. Her cries hit me like a blade, sharp and helpless. I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t help myself.

Trevor lunged at a villager, his fist hitting with a dull crack. “Get off me!” he shouted. But they swarmed him, forcing his arms back. He groaned as they pushed him to his knees. Rope cut into his wrists, skin turning raw and red.

They shoved me down. My knees hit the wet ground. Pain flared, but fear swallowed it. Hands wrenched my arms back. Rope dug into my wrists, so tight my fingers went numb. Rain pounded down, blurring everything into gray.

We knelt together in the mud, shivering. The beach stretched ahead, endless and dark. Waves crashed against the shore, loud and angry. Tanya stepped forward, her boots sinking into the sand. Her face was hard, eyes cold.

“The storm isn’t just a storm,” she said. “It’s a sign. The Abyss demands its due. You must be sacrificed.”

“What are you talking about?” My voice broke. “Sacrifice? We came to help! To cure people! Like your daughter!”

Gasps rose from the villagers. Tanya’s eyes narrowed. I saw the rage flicker behind her calm mask. If she could, she’d tear me apart herself. Instead, she stepped closer, slow and measured.

“Your intentions don’t matter,” she said. “You disturbed the balance. That’s enough to throw you to Him.”

Sebastian’s lantern lit his face with jagged shadows. His eyes were empty, like the decision was already made. “You were warned,” he said. “You didn’t listen. Now it’s too late.”

I looked at Tanya, desperation twisting inside me. “Please,” I whispered. “We’ll leave everything. The algae. The research. Just let us go.”

Tanya shook her head. “The Abyss marked you.” Her fingers brushed the marks on my neck. Her touch was cold, almost tender. “These aren’t wounds. They’re a claim. Letting you go would doom us all.”

Her words crushed me. I gasped, my lungs tightening. Is this it? Is this where it ends?

A voice slithered through my mind. Little Pearl... You’re going to be punished.

No. Not now. I clenched my teeth, trying to lock the memory away. But it pressed in, growing louder, scraping through me.

You’ll pay for this, little Pearl. No one will save you.

My body shook. My fists clenched in the mud. The storm faded. The villagers blurred. I was back in that room, shadows moving, the voice coiling around me.

I gasped for air, choking on the memory. I wanted to run, to fight. My body refused to move. My vision narrowed, and a broken sob escaped.

The storm roared. Villagers shouted. But it all slipped away. I twisted, pressing my shoulder into the ground, clawing at the earth with bound hands. Like I could hold on. Like I could stop the memories from drowning me.

“Hush now, the ocean sighs, Deep below where silence lies…”

The lullaby slipped out. My voice shook, but the words came.

“Waves will cradle, shadows keep, In the abyss, all things sleep…”

The song wrapped around me, thin but strong. The memories faded, their edges dulling. The storm and the voices felt far away.

“Stars may fade, the tide may rise, But you are safe where love abides…”

Each word pulled me further from the shadows. The fear loosened its grip. The villagers still dragged us to the boat, but I barely felt them.

“Rest your eyes, let darkness creep, In the abyss, all things sleep…”

I wasn’t on the beach anymore. The storm, the cold, the fear, all gone. The lullaby cradled me, blocking everything else. The world shrank to that fragile song.

?

When I came back, we were on a boat. My hands were still tied, ropes biting my skin. My head throbbed. Rain lashed my face. Tanya and Sebastian stood at the front, staring at the horizon. Two villagers sat at the back, lanterns flickering.

The ocean pulled at the boat, dragging us away. My chest tightened with every wave. The water was too deep. Too dark. Something was waiting.

Trevor’s voice cut through the storm. “You can’t do this!” He thrashed. “You can’t just send us to die!”

Sebastian didn’t look at him. “You were dead the moment you entered its domain.”

A wave slammed into the boat. We tilted hard. My stomach flipped. Kim whimpered beside me. Her body shook so much I could feel it.

“We’re not going to survive,” she whispered.

The villagers moved. One grabbed Trevor. He screamed as they dragged him to the edge. His feet scraped the wood. “No! Don’t! Please!”

“Stop!” I screamed. “Please!”

They shoved him over. The storm swallowed his scream. I strained to see him. Nothing. The water took him.

Kim sobbed, clutching Jaime. “Please, don’t let them take me.”

They tore her away. Her nails scraped Jaime’s arm. Her screams ripped through me. They shoved her overboard. The water rippled. A crunch. Her scream stopped. I gagged, bile rising.

Jaime didn’t fight. He turned to me, eyes hollow. “I never stopped loving you.”

“No!” I sobbed. “Fight!”

They pushed him into the sea. He disappeared. I screamed his name. Nothing answered.

They grabbed me. I was too weak to resist. Sebastian leaned close. His breath was hot. “For the Abyss,” he hissed.

He kissed me, rough and bitter. I gagged. He shoved me back.

The water hit like ice. The ropes dragged me down. The ocean crushed in from all sides. My lungs burned. Light faded above. Darkness pulled me deeper.

Something brushed my leg.

I froze. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. The water shifted, slow and sure. It felt alive.

I wasn’t alone.