Chapter 5

And so, Shogo reluctantly leads Mizu to the sick bay which is the epicenter of his escape plan but also where the swab stashes all of his stolen goods.

As they enter the room below the captain's cabin, Shogo steps to the side and points out the hatch hidden beneath the operating table at the back of the room.

Mizu wastes no time and stalks over to the table with long strides. The deranged captain shoves the underused table aside and lifts the hatch in question to reveal a singular dingy tucked snuggly in a compartment and it is filled to the brim with food and numerous types of precious wares.

Mizu chuckles at the sight, making Shogo very uncomfortable.

"Ya sneaky bastard hahaha. Even I didn't know this here existed. I thought I destroyed all the spare boats on this here ship, but I guess this one escaped me. Couldn't really ask for the blueprint when I killed the previous owner and stole it ya know gahahaha."

As Mizu continued to take inventory of his now recovered goods, Shogo musters up the courage to confirm his safety from his Captain's wrath.

"So, we're all good now that I gave you your stuff back, right?"

Mizu's beady black eyes snap back to the tiny swab and a strange look emerges on monstrous face.

"No swab we are not… good."

With that cryptic reply, the infamous criminal snaps his fingers, two members of the crew rush into the sick bay to grab Shogo by each of his arms.

Despite his well above average strength for his age, Shogo is quickly overwhelmed by the combined strength of two full grown adults as the swab is dragged from the sick bay and pinned onto the deck near the dead body, he had just deposited there himself earlier that day.

Shogo's face is pressed against the floor, but he can hear the rattling of the iron chain near him causing his struggle to intensify.

The crew members respond by leveling multiple blows on his head and legs until Shogo stops struggling, succumbing to unconsciousness for a few seconds.

Shogo's arms are tightly bound to his sides with an iron chain, his legs all the way down to his ankles follow suit. Just as the beaten and bloody swab groggily opens his eyes, he sees the misty rotting eyes of the corpse he had just carried up from the depths of the ship prior.

His head jerks back instinctually as Shogo is nearly nosed to nose with the dead man.

Shogo's eyes go wide with unbridled fear as the same metal chains that currently bind him are hooked into the flesh of the rotting corpse.

His squirming reignites in earnest, knowing full well how dead bodies are dealt with on this ship. Chucked overboard and ripped apart by the captain's pets in the blink of an eye.

The fate of the corpse was sealed the moment Shogo dragged it up from the cellar and now he is ironically chained to it.

Suddenly Shogo feels himself being jerked into the air by the chains and cranes his neck to his to see Mizu holding him along with the dead body up with one hand.

Hot blood fills Shogo's face as the rage at being duped like a fucking naïve jackass overpowers his fear of death. How could he ever allow himself to trust this living pile of shit for even a few seconds!?

Mizu's air of indifference at Shogo's glare fuels his growing hatred even more,

"You son of a bitch! No good bastard! I'll fucking kill you! I'll find a way to gut you and your shitty goddess! -"

Mizu doesn't even blink at the child's threats and swiftly sinks the confiscated dagger into Shogo's right cheek making the tip of the blade come out the left.

The action effectively silences Shogo's verbal attack, tears well up in his eyes as bleeds profusely from his mouth.

"Your life was forfeit the moment you decided to steal from me kid. Maybe you thought you could take advantage of my faith and not get punished or you were stupid enough to believe you would be able to slip away from me."

Mizu reaches down and grasps one of the chains stretching across Shogo's back before he hoists the child up, holding him in the air as if presenting a prize catch to his friends.

Any air left in Shogo's lungs is squeezed out as the chains are tightened.

Mizu looks toward the sky and grasps the crescent moon around his neck with his free hand,

"My goddess please bear witness as I cast away one of your fallen children to the sea's welcoming embrace! My charity has been rebuffed by this sinful seedling and I simply cannot allow him to taint my freedom. Please forgive me for not following in your benevolent footsteps!"

Mizu's roar echoes throughout the mist so loud it makes the crew members cover their ears and wince.

Abruptly ending his religious theatrics, Mizu snaps his fingers and beckons two burly crew members to grab Shogo from the floor.

"Alright boys, ITS FEEDING TIME!"

Mizu brings his fingers up to his lips and rips out a chillingly sharp whistle that is all too familiar for everyone on board the ship. It never gets less unsettling for even the hardest of the crew members because they all know what that terrible sound brings.

Right in the queue the water to the right of the ship starts to tremble and shake the entire boat. Shogo's desperate shimmying intensifies, his eyes begin watering as the chains scrap at his bare flesh. Cold fear surging from the pit of his stomach makes it even harder for him to breathe with the iron chains already squeezing at his lungs.

Without warning Shogo is hoisted in the air, forcing any air to be forced out of his body. His eyes the size of dinner plates as Shogo can now see over the side of the ship but instead of the pervasive mist or even seawater what meets his gaze is giant cavernous maw filled to the brim with teeth the size of his forearm.

The open mouth shuts to reveal a monstrous entity that can hardly be called a shark staring back at Shogo with one of its large shiny black eyes. Its head descends downward, and the rest of its giant body became visible as the apex of its jump had been reached.

As if its intimidating size were not enough to scare grown seafaring men shitless, the shark is coated from head to tail in a sickeningly bright green and jagged coral. Sinking a full-sized ship with a swipe of its tail is an easy task for this behemoth and Mizu possessed two of these living weapons.

Not to be outdone by its kin, a second shark leaps out as well close enough that were Shogo not bound, he would be able to reach out and touch its rough coral encrusted hide. This shark sports a more blueish green coat compared to the first, with patches of moss growing from the crevices on its skin.

"No more dawdling! Feed them fast! They need to get back to their jobs!"

Mizu explodes as the crew members holding Shogo up quake in fear at the horrifying display, both reluctant about getting any closer to the edge of the boat.

With zero remorse, Mizu punts the bound child and corpse from the hands of the terrified men into the ready jaws of his man-eating sea monsters.

Shogo, though scared beyond belief manages to keep his tear-filled eyes wide open as he rapidly approaches the mist below the ship that hides countless rows of teeth waiting to rip flesh from bone then eat it all whole anyway.