Delia watched as Jonah landed into the sea along with a tentacle, before disappearing out of view.

"JONAH!"

Her throat felt tight, and a heavy pit formed in her stomach.

"Get back you fool!" Jeremy chided, pulling at her.

"He's going to drown! We need to help him!"

"Why the fuck have I gotten the ropes for. You need to calm down."

Anger and fear intermingled with one another, and she turned to the hulking man, tears and rain both streaming down her face. "CALM DOWN?!" Her voice croaked, the heavy knot in her gullet diminishing her soul-deep shouts. "He's going to die, Jeremy. For us!"

What didn’t they understand? Why didn’t they help?

“Wha-What…Why…?”

Her mind was a maelstrom, words swirling without forming a coherent sentence; emotions eddies in the violent vortex. She started shuddering with her sobs. "Please… let me save him…Let me go".

Delia pushed against Jeremy’s chest once more, but his grip on her forearms was unrelenting.

"I'll go down and drag him out, even from Hades' underworld. YOU need to stay here. He'll fucking kill me if you touch the water."

She looked up and met his stare. For a man that was head and shoulders over Jonah, he was a coward! A loud shriek interrupted their exchange, and the Kraken's appendages whipped in the air with renewed frenzy. Delia's head jolted to face the water, seeing it take on a deeper shade of crimson.

Was he … She didn’t finish the thought, biting her lips and chastising herself for her lack of faith in him. It was like the Greg said - if it’s crying like that, then Jonah’s hurting it.

“Jeremy, get ready to bail him out," the old man said.

Jeremy gave the man a curt nod, and Delia started to follow him as he walked away.

"Don't you dare move, Delia," Greg ordered. His tone beckoned no argument, and Delia froze, confused and taken aback by her old man's harshness. "You need to learn some patience, girl."

"But P-"

"No buts Del," he interrupted. "You'll only slow Jeremy down. Or are you doubting me?"

Delia opened her mouth to protest. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. She had more of a stake than anyone else. But in the end, no words seemed to come to her aide.

"Good," the captain said, lighting his cigar. He stared into the garnet lake whilst Delia stood helplessly as her mind rocked with the possibilities.

"Go get the crew. We need to pump this water before we capsize." He puffed out the smoke almost casually and sighed. “Delia. Go get the crew.”

Delia silently nodded and she began dawdling towards the cabin.

"Faster girl!" Greg shouted. "Or do you want me to be the first one to greet him?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The thought caused her to refocus, and Delia paced through the ankle-deep water on the ship with renewed purpose.

It was funny; her skin was sore and red from the rain peppering her, and the gales still tried to push her over, but she ignored it all. What was a mere storm compared to a mythical Kraken? She knew Jonah would have seen it differently, but he was a fool.

When she reached the door and pulled it open, she found the third mate waiting diligently for the latest news. Words came out of her in a hurry, and after passing on the captain's message, she rushed back beside the old man, anticipation filling like the water filling the ship.

Jeremy was waiting too, one piece of thick rope wrapped by his waist and fixed to the closest mast. He held another rope in his hands whilst a handful more lay scattered below him by his feet.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked, struggling to keep her frustration from showing.

"I won't be sendin' one of mine to die,'' Greg said.

Delia's anger surged, but the captain stopped her with a scowling face. "I hate it as much as you, but until we see him, we need to wait."

"Two minutes," Jeremy hurriedly added. "I'll go in two minutes, whether I see him or not".

Delia noticed Greg didn't say anything, so she nodded, hands clenching, nails digging divots in her palms.

Waves collided, the monster cried, and Delia watched.

Her eyes searched the red sea helplessly, trying to find any sign of Jonah amongst the chaos in front of her. The smell of copper and rust filled her nose, and her heart pounded in suspense, dancing to the cacophonous sounds of the wailing creature. Her eyes lingered on the darkest patch of red, where the blood was likely leaking from the monster. Where Jonah was.

Where else would he be, if not near the thing, carving out its flesh.

Delia felt the boat quiver, a sign of the scripts protecting them weakening, or perhaps the Kraken tightening its hold on them. It didn’t matter.

"I'm going in," Jeremy said at last. He turned to the captain, who gave him a slight nod. Jeremy picked up a spear that had a neon pink rope lightly wrapped around it.

It was odd she hadn't noticed before considering its bright colour, but she cast that thought aside as Jeremy started walking back towards the mast. Delia was about to question the second mate before realising he was going to take a running leap.

BANG!

All eyes shot in the direction of the ear-spitting explosion, seeing a cascade of red fluid and chunks of flesh fly in the air. And within it all was Jonah.

Delia screamed, running towards him before being pulled back by Greg.

"Patience," he said, as he held her struggling form.

The screams of the crewmates followed the eruption and Delia turned to see the few tentacles that had encased around the ship become limp, falling onto the deck.

He… had done it. Jonah had killed it!

The ship shook as the wind hit it like a hammer, the appendages no longer keeping it upright. As it tilted, water gushed to one side and both Delia and the Captain were almost knocked off their feet.

Then it stopped. The wind howled, but no longer attacked. The rain fell, but it felt like a shower rather than pellets. And the cries - they were gone, leaving the drumming of her heartbeat in its stead.

It felt like a ghost ship, the absence of overwhelming noise providing an eerie stillness.

Time itself paused, allowing Delia to process the events. Her mind raced to Jonah, and she turned to face the water in search of him.

Delia found his head floating, eyes closed.

Though there was a smile on his face, his face was ashen with crimson stains. His black hair was deep mahogany, with chunks of flesh embedded within.

Delia heard a hoarse scream. Her eyes blurred with water and she fought against Greg's grasp, fighting to get to Jonah. She pulled, heaved and jerked to no avail before Greg released her and she dropped to her knees, all energy spent.

Her tears joined the pool below her whilst her heart sank.

Jeremy, upon spotting the body, jumped over the ship and swam towards him.

Delia felt the crew stir and she watched through her blurred eyes as Jeremy swam towards Jonah.

Greg was saying something to her, but she couldn’t hear over the sound of wailing. It wasn't until she felt the pain in her throat that she realised it was her.

It was only a few minutes until Jeremy finally reached Jonah, and the crew, abandoning their other tasks, all grabbed onto the rope fixing him to the mast and pulled.

Delia stood on shaky legs, wiping away the tirade of tears.

There was no way he was dead. Jonah? Out of all people? No. He would open his eyes and give that same sweet smile as always. And with that thought, she approached the body.