A COVE OF BONES PART II

The rough waves roll over the surface of the sea. The tempest, blowing high and low as the saltwater sprays on Darius' face. All the while, the boat rocks along with the dance of the water.

In the closer distance, Darius could see the opening of a cove.

In its limestone walls, the waves crash with terrifying force.

The sound of splashing water called Brennan's attention. The sound made his heart tighten with fear.

Out of sheer curiosity, Brennan slowly entered the cave.

And to his horror, there they are in the dark… a school of sirens. Wiggling around a small pool of water, like eels is a small bucket of slimy water.

Out of a sudden, he found himself struggling to breathe properly as fear took over him.

"No." He muttered to himself.

"Food! Food!"

"Come here." The sirens chanted, as their long bony fingers tried to reach for Brennan. Their voices sounded like slithering snakes.

He immediately runs back outside, his heart drumming inside his chest. His breath became uneven as he started phasing back and forth.

'What do I do?' He asked himself.

"Hmm…. I can smell your fear" The siren from earlier said with so many joys, a smile reaching from ear to ear.

"I have to say… it's quite enticing." She added.

"I'm so close to taking a bite." She laughed.

"If only my siblings are here." The siren sighed disappointedly.

"Shut up! Like hell I'm going to let you kill that easily!" Brennan shouted at the siren.

"Oh but it's not like you can fight back…" the siren said in a sing-song voice.

'She's really enjoying this.' Brennan clenched his jaw.

"Once they get out of the cave, you'll have nowhere else to go."

He scoffed if they can get out.

Then the realization hit him, 'If they can't get out of the cave… I will only have one siren to worry about.'

As the wave started rising, inside the cove Brennan works tirelessly to cover the entrance of the cave. Taking as much rock and stone as he could, creating some sort of wall to prevent the other sirens from getting out.

In each passing moment, the sand he was standing on shrinks. Smaller and smaller, every time the waves hit the sand. The mark of his impending death, as the time runs out.

"You're wasting your time." The siren said in a soothing voice.

"Even if you cover the entrance, they can still get out. They will simply destroy that wall, just like how we will rip your body apart as we devour you."

"Shut up!" He shouted for the nth time. His patience and calm persona start to grow thin as fear rise along with the sea level.

While searching for more rocks along the sand, Brennan found something that made him shudder.

Under the sand is a pile of bones.

His blood run cold, his face went as white as sheet, and his hair stood on end.

"Oh, you saw my friends?" The siren said in a cheery voice.

"Aren't they lovely?" Her sing-song tone and dream expression made Brennan feel queasy.

'She just loves what she did to all of those people, doesn't she?'

Angrily, Brennan pulled out one of the long bones.

'Maybe if I kill her now, then…'

He shook his head, 'No. I can't lose focus. I have to close off the cave first before anything else.'

Standing up, he started gathering rocks once again. Only to realize that the water is starting to flood into the cove, reaching all the way to his ankles.

The siren giggles, "It's so close." She said as she swam in circles.

When Darius arrived in the cove, the water was reached all the way to Brennan's knees.

"Brennan!" he shouted upon seeing his friend. While Brennan was standing in the water with human bone in hand.

"Thank goodness you're safe, what the hell are you doing?" Darius asked as the boat started going closer.

"No. Be careful!" Brennan shouted but it was too late, the boat capsized causing Darius to fall onto the water.

"Gah!" His head popped out of the water. Fortunately, it wasn't deep, just about his neck.

He felt something swan behind him, Darius turned but he didn't see anything.

"Careful Darius, she's looking for a weak spot," Brennan said.

Darius started swimming towards Brennan, but the siren tried to reach for him.

"Oh no, you don't!" Brennan threw a rock behind Darius, missing the young man just enough so the rock can disturb the siren.

"What are we up against?" Darius asked as he finally reached the swallow water.

"A siren for now," Brennan held the long bone a little tighter.

"For now?" Darius knitted his brows.

"There more inside the cave, in a pool of water. They can't get here for now, but once the tide rises they can swim out of the cave. I covered the entrance with stones since it was quite small but there's no telling how long it will hold." The younger male explained.

"We have some time before that happens, so the best way to escape is to kill this one and leave as soon as we can."

"Sounds easy enough if we only need to kill one," Darius noted. "For now, we need to make sure that the boat doesn't sink completely."

"Watch my back," He added.

"Alright."

Reaching the boat was one thing, but turning it upside down was a completely different thing.

Because the siren was swimming around the young men and grabbing them, just to keep them from turning the boat to its proper position.

Darius clicked his tongue, "She's buying time, Brennan go ahead and turn the boat. I'll keep her busy."

With a determined nod, Brennan went to the boat, while Darius dove into the water.

His eyes stung as he opened them under the salty water. However, he knows he has endured the pain.

Suddenly, something started pulling him by the ankle. Dragging Darius deeper into the water.

Out of pure instinct, Darius went to draw his sword. But to his disappointment, the water slowed his movement. The seawater dragged the sword as he went for the cut, the siren freely dragging him further and further.

Deciding on a different approach, Darius kicked the siren on the face over and over until the creature let him go.

As soon as the siren let him go, Darius went to breathe on the surface.

"It's done!" Brennan shouted upon seeing Darius.

"Then we should hurry, I can't kill it. The water is slowing my sword down, I can't even swing it with enough force." Darius explain as he swam back the Brennan.

'Using Ravana's magic is not an option. I might end up killing Brennan and myself. The poison is my one and only effective weapon at this point, but it will only take effect if I can cut the siren.'

Of course, he knows that it won't be easy, with the drag of the water and the natural speed of the sirens under the water.

"Get on the boat, we have to escape while we still can. There's no fighting these things, not now and certainly here in the water." Darius told the younger man.

But as soon as Brennan tried to climb the boat, the siren pulled him down.

The siren dragged him under the water, its sharp nails gashing his skin. The blood dripped into the salty water, making the others excited.

"Food! Food!" they screamed with peeking through the holes of the make-shift wall. Their hands desperately reaching out.

Darius felt a chill in his back, it was true then. There are more of them, meaning they have to hurry.

Diving back into the water, Darius saw Brennan struggling against the siren.

'Great she's distracted.'

He swam in their direction, and with a painfully slow stab, he injured the siren. Her blood poured out and immediately mixed with the seawater.

With a horrifying screech, the siren let go of Brennan. Its body started twitching and convulsing as the poison spread. Black root-like things started appearing atop the scales, growing further and further until the siren stopped moving.

With its mouth open, the creature floated up on the surface.

Darius on the other hand was pulled up. Brennan pulled him up by the collar of his shirt.

"L-let's go!" He said breathlessly.

"Yeah, before the others can get out." Brennan nodded.

"No! SISTER!" The sirens cry out, starting to become more violent as they hit against the stone wall.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID!" They hissed, voices like those of slithering snakes.

"Ummm… w-we should really…" Brennan stuttered upon realizing how deeper the water had become.

"Come on." Darius who's already back in the boat, waved at Brennan to climb up the boat himself.

Darius extended a hand for him to take.

Swiftly, Darius lifted Brennan aboard.

"Ha! Finally, it's over." Brennan sat on the opposite side of the boat.

"Let's go back, I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to."

Using the paddle, they started exiting the cove.

Riding the rough waves, they headed back to the safety of land.

Brennan chuckled, "To be honest that was easier than I was expecting." He said as they got somewhat further.