The iridescent strings ensnare and entangle the red speck, preventing the golden strings from touching it. They then pull the speck towards me, and as they do, memories flood my mind in a torrent of vivid visions.
******
My eyes snap open in the freezing depths, a shiver wracking my tiny body, punctuated by a silent, underwater scream of hunger. Two enormous, serpent-like figures glide into view. Mom and Dad. They’re our providers, our protectors.
One of them looks strikingly familiar…
I’m not alone. Five other little versions of myself wiggle around in this deep-sea nest. Six siblings in total.
Time passes, and we grow, slowly but surely, inch by painstaking inch. One day, Dad, the larger of the two, departs the nest. Probably off to grab some takeout.
Our peaceful existence is abruptly shattered by two piercing beams of light.
A small submarine materializes from the murky water.
Dr. Keyser’s sub? What’s he doing down here?
The submarine’s lights focus on us, and two metallic claws extend, reaching for us.
But before they can snatch us up, a massive tail slams into the submarine, sending it reeling.
Mom unleashes a flurry of tail strikes, thrashing the sub repeatedly. It zips and dodges, weaving erratically up and down, side to side, narrowly avoiding each blow.
Through the sub’s clear viewport, I spot him—a much younger-looking Dr. Keyser.
As the submarine continues its frantic evasive maneuvers, a hatch on its underside pops open, and something drops out. A blinding flash of light erupts.
I’m temporarily blinded. Everything’s a blurry mess for what feels like an eternity.
When my vision finally clears, our nest is in ruins, a jumbled mess of debris. Only two of us hatchlings remain amidst the wreckage. The water around us is now tinged with a strange blue liquid.
Before we can even process what’s happened, a metal claw clamps down on us.
It almost yanks us into a glass container when a piercing, high-pitched shriek cuts through the water. A grievously wounded serpent wraps herself around the submarine.
It’s Mom! She’s not giving up on us.
Suddenly, a wave of agonizing, numbing pain surges through my body, and everything goes black.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
When I come to, all I see is one of the larger serpents, severed in two, lying lifeless on the seabed.
It’s Mom.
Dad returned, encircling Mom with a low, mournful moan.
The submarine was gone, leaving me alone in our ruined nest.
That bastard had killed the serpent and taken their children!
I nudged close to Dad, resting against him. He gently wrapped his tail around me.
After laying Mom to rest on the seafloor, we left our old home. We relocated to a new spot, much deeper than before. Every so often, we returned to Mom’s resting place, lingering for a while before leaving again.
A long, long time passed. I grew much larger— Dad got bigger too..
This time, as we left Mom’s resting place, I saw it again. That submarine, floating mockingly on the surface—the thing that had shattered our family. The cause of all of Dad’s grief.
My blood boiled. With a roar, I charged, sending the submarine flying into the air. As it crashed back down, a small creature tumbled into the water. Blinded by fury, I clamped my jaws down on it. It felt like biting a jagged rock—a sharp pain shot through my mouth.
The little pest scrambled towards the surface. I couldn’t let it escape back inside. Thankfully, Dad was there. He slammed the creature back down to the seafloor. I gave chase, smashing and crushing everything in my path, but it still managed to wriggle away.
When I looked up, I saw Dad swirling in a furious circle, faster and faster, creating a whirlpool that dragged the submarine and the creature back into the depths. I lunged again and again, trying to tear something off—a limb, a hand, a foot, anything! But nothing budged, and the creature stabbed me repeatedly.
Before I could retaliate, Dad opened his massive maw and swallowed it whole.
Just when I thought it was over, as I prepared to finish off the submarine, the unthinkable happened. A hole burst open in Dad’s side. He roared in pain, twisting and thrashing as that small, deceptively fragile creature emerged from his body.
Impossible!
As it tried to flee, I bit its leg again, determined to drag it back down. Not again. Not after everything. As it raised its blade, I braced for the worst, but Dad intervened once more, swatting the blade aside. It went off to the side, and embedded itself in one of my eyes.
Dad helped me yank the blade out, then promptly swallowed it.
In a final, desperate attempt, we each grabbed one of its limbs, hoping to tear it apart. But the little monster was incredibly tough. Nothing we did seemed to hurt it.
Suddenly, I felt a hand reach into my empty eye socket and grip my skull. I thrashed and twisted, but it was no use. Punches rained down on my skull, one after another.
In one excruciatingly painful moment, it all ended. I could no longer feel my body. Everything went cold again.
******
When the memory stream ends, the dark red speck of light becomes translucent. It’s as if it’s purged all its color, returning to its most innocent form. Then, it drops silently back into the darkness.
My vision snaps back to the middle of the sea.
As if time has been rewound and replayed—minus the dramatic light show—my hair returns to its normal silver color. The smaller serpent remains motionless, still clutched by its empty eye socket in my hand.
The larger serpent releases me, its massive coils loosening as it hurriedly wraps itself around the smaller one. Protecting its head from any further fisticuffs, it cradles the body gently, but it’s too late. The damage is done.
I loosen my grip, letting the smaller serpent’s lifeless form drift away. The larger serpent guides the body softly to the sea floor, laying it down with utmost care.
It looks at the still form in agony, wrapping itself around it and emitting soft, mournful sounds—a lullaby, comforting its child into an eternal sleep.
It’s… heartbreaking…