The Seakretors Ch. 1

Chapter One
When Susana Scarlet was a little girl, living with her parents on a farm on Hills Avenue, she tried to imagine who she would someday marry. She wasn’t sure what he would look like, but she thought of him as “prince charming” like in all of the fairy tales that her mother and father read to her. She imagined a grand wedding in a large church. She imagined a beautiful white cake. And her entire family would be there. The wedding bells would chime and only until then could she and her one true love read their vows, kiss, and become husband and wife. From that point forward, life with her new husband was a mystery to Susana. All she knew was that they would live happily ever after. Of course, first she had to find her prince. But, she was hoping more than anything that she wouldn’t have to look. She wanted him to find her.
Until that time came, Susana found herself living life day by day. Growing up on the farm was incredibly boring, and the chores were difficult and tedious. Days were long and nights were longer. On a normal day, Susana would wake up before sunrise, and she would help her siblings with the animals. She would feed the pigs, milk the cows, and shave the sheep. Then, after lunch time, she would devote her time to her studies. Neither she nor any of her other siblings were sent to school. They had to make do with old school books and journals.
By the time Susana went to bed, she was exhausted. But, night was no better. Susana was plagued with nightmares every time she drifted off to sleep. She would toss and turn, often times falling out of her bed. The dreams seemed to last forever, but each day, when she would wake up, she would forget what she had been so troubled by. She never seemed to remember her nightmares, only bits and pieces of them. Still, the feeling that she had during the night would remain with her for the majority of the day.
Another reason why night was so dreadful was because everyone across the land feared the attack that they so desperately didn’t want to have. Susana and her family feared it too. The signs were clear; with a dark sky, a violent storm often times arose, and then they approached. The attacks were rare, but frequent enough to worry.
Susana didn’t know who or what attacked. She was too young the first time it happened in the town of Glarsenville. After all, it was across the sea of Brome in the land of Fresto, which was hundreds of miles from Susana’s town. Since then, four more attacks on towns nearby had been reported. The night of the last attack, Susana’s family had surrounded around their kitchen table.
The radio was in the center, allowing everyone an equal chance to hear the terrible news. The reporter’s voice was familiar to Susana. He was Dan Coop, the world reporter. He was famous for his articulation and his strong voice.
“The Seakretors have attacked again,” he started with. “They attacked in the town of Nomay on the land of Darving. It is suggested that anyone in a 50 mile radius evacuate immediately. There was only one survivor, a young boy whose survival is a mystery. He did describe what these creatures look like, which may help our research on them.”
“They look like humans, although their skin is gray and covered with a short layer of fur. Their eyes are a bright gold, and difficult to look at. The boy quoted, ‘I couldn’t look at their eyes. They were too bright. They reminded me of the sun.’ The creatures have claws that are sharp and pointed. They are in between three to five inches in length. The only other characteristic the boy spoke of was their voices. Their weapons are their voices. The boy stated, ‘The voices are as sharp as swords or knives. They seem to cut; I felt pain inside my body’.”
“As I said before anyone in a 50 mile radius of Nomay should evacuate as soon as possible. Keep safe, lock your doors at night, and be on the lookout for forecasts of dark skies. Good night.”
Susana’s father turned the radio off and took a seat in one of the chairs at the table. Her mother did the same.
It occurred to Susana, then, that her nightmares actually did make sense. Before that night, Susana hadn’t remembered what she dreamt of. She only knew that they were scary and mind boggling. Now, she knew, and it scared her more than anything ever had.
“I dream of those creatures,” she said, and her family looked at her with fear glazed over their eyes.
Susana watched as her father ran his fingers through his hair. At the time, Susana was only eight, and she didn’t know what was happening. All she knew was that something bad was happening, and for some reason, her father was upset by it. What did Dan Cooper say that was so awful? What did she say that was so awful? Susana found out a week later when her mother handed her a large suitcase.
“What is this for?” Susana asked, taking hold of it. It was heavy, and she was unable to carry it.
With tears in her eyes, Susana’s mother said, “My darling Susana. You know your father and I love you with all of our hearts. You know that, don’t you dear?”
“Yes, mother, of course I do.”
“The town of Nomay is only 35 miles from Hills Avenue. We are apprehensive, awaiting an attack. You and the rest of your siblings are going to go on a trip for the time being.”
“A trip? Where?” Susana was confused. “Are you and father coming too?”
Susana’s mother shook her head, “No, neither of us are coming with you children. You’ll all be going across the sea of Vania, and to live with your Aunt Sarah and your Uncle Dave. They live on the land of Rover in the town of Northview. You children will love it there. It is where I was raised.”
Susana looked at her mother with large eyes. She didn’t want to go, and she didn’t quite understand why she had to, but she trusted her mother and father. Whatever the reason was, Susana knew that they were probably making a good decision. She embraced her mother and started to cry. The tears ran down her face and she wiped them on her mother’s shoulder. Then, she blubbered, “When do we have to go?”
Susana’s mother hugged her tighter and grasped her daughter’s hair. Squeezing her, she allowed herself to weep as well. She whispered, “You will leave tonight.”
Susana and the rest of her siblings sat along the side of the dirt road and waited for their ride. Their suitcases were lined up in front of them, and Susana rested her head against her own. She was the youngest and looked up to all of them when she became scared. Unfortunately, everyone was scared, so there was no one for her to look to so that she could be comforted.
It was dark outside and the moon was hung high in the sky. The stars twinkled, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was the perfect night, and it smelled of the beginning of fall. The leaves were starting to change colors, and the grass was starting to fade brown. The crops would be due soon, and Susana didn’t like the fact that she wouldn’t be helping her father with them this year. She would be gone before the pumpkins were ripe enough to pick and the corn was ready to eat.
Susana felt the need to cry again and run back inside the home that she had known all her life, but she forced herself to be strong. Her other three siblings were strong, so she should be too. When the brown, rusty van pulled up to the children, everyone grabbed their suitcases. Susana’s father helped her lift the suitcase to the back of the van and then he placed his hand on her arm.
“You be careful,” he told his youngest daughter.
“I will,” Susana reassured him and winked. He laughed, kissed Susana on the cheek, and closed the door. Before the driver took his foot off the brake, Susana’s father came up to his window and handed the man two pounds of medallion. Then, he tapped the side of the van, and the driver started to pull away from the home.
Susana gazed out the window, and watched as her father became a dot in the distance. Once he was out of sight, she looked at her oldest brother, Nicholas. She tugged on his arm, and when he looked at her, he didn’t say anything. No one was speaking, and all Susana wanted was for someone to talk to her. She wanted someone to tell her that everything was going to be alright. She didn’t understand that the reason why no one would say that was because no one could be for sure that things would be okay. And no one wanted to lie, even if it was the lie that Susana wanted to be told.
It was late when the driver stopped the van and told everyone to get out of the car. Susana didn’t know where she was, but she didn’t bother to ask. Stepping out of the car, Susana was groggy like the other children. Everyone grabbed their suitcases, and the driver helped Susana with hers.
“You got a big suitcase for such a little thing like you,” he said in his gruff voice. Smiling at Susana, he lifted her suitcase and walked ahead. Susana and the other followed. He led them to a dock, and told them to watch their steps.
“You don’t want to fall into the water, do you now?” he warned them. The clicking and clacking of everyone’s shoes against the wooden dock, was loud and unsettling. With everything as quiet as it was, Susana felt as though even their footsteps should be silent.
Finally, the group found themselves next to a large boat. It was huge; the boat’s body seemed to travel on forever. The driver knocked on the wood and someone knocked back. Susana grabbed onto her sister, Mary’s hand. She pulled her close and closed her eyes.
Moments later, Susana heard a loud creak, and it sounded like a door was opening. Mary nudged Susana with her elbow and whispered, “Come on.” Susana opened her eyes, and followed everyone into the boat. The side of the boat had lifted upward into the sky. It was a secret passage, a way into the boat’s quarters.
Once inside, the secret passage creaked close, and Susana let go of Mary’s hand. She looked to the driver for further explanation. He dropped Susana’s suitcase and it landed on the floor with a thud. Instead, of explaining what was happening, he walked up to a man who was sitting in a chair a few feet ahead.
Looking around, Susana noticed that she was in a vast auditorium, brown seats surrounding her. In every other seat there was a person, sitting there minding their own business. Some were knitting, others were reading the newspaper, and there some staring at the new passengers. The driver had walked up to a man in one of the brown seats, and stuck out his hand.
The man who was sitting down shook the drivers hand and stood up. He was wearing a glossy black hat and he was dressed in uniform. He looked very official and important, so Susana and her siblings felt intimated by the man. As the driver talked to the man, he threw back a few looks at the children that he was accompanying.
No more than a minute later, the driver returned to the children and knelt down next to them. He looked at each child in the eye and then froze when he came to Susana. Susana couldn’t help but to look away. Then, the driver spoke. “Children, you are aboard the Gladiator 227, and this is a one way trip to the land of Rover. It is a three day journey, but you will be taken care of by Captain Wesley, here.” The driver turned around, and the man in the uniform nodded his head. “Once you get to Rover, your Uncle Dave will see to you. He’ll be holding up a sign with the name Scarlet on it. Look for him. He will be waiting. Is that understood?”
The eldest child, Bethany, shook her head and said, “Yes, it is.”
The driver smiled, “Good then. Good luck children.” He stood up, and waved goodbye to Captain Wesley. He pounded the side of the boat and the secret passage opened so he could step out. After he had left, Captain Wesley came up to the children.
He was a nice looking man with sharp blue eyes and wispy white hair. His eyes seemed to glint every time the lights above swayed. He looked serious though; his face was stiff and he didn’t smile. Susana took hold of Mary’s hand again.
“Hello there,” Captain Wesley greeted them. “I’ll be your captain for the next three days, and I want you children to be on your best behavior. Normally, I don’t take children as young as you are without a parent or guardian supervising you.”
“I’m not so young,” Bethany objected. “I’m almost fourteen. Don’t worry Captain. You don’t need to watch over the others. I can do a pretty good job all by myself.”
“We will have to see,” he said, unsurely. Then, he started to walk in the other direction, in between the rows of brown chairs. He continued to talk, expecting the children to follow. They did so, and they listened intently.
“There are some rules on my ship that I expect you to follow,” he started with. “No rough housing. I don’t like things being broken on my ship. It costs money to replace, and that’s money that you’ll be paying. You break it; you pay for it,” he mumbled, and then continued, “No snooping. What’s my business is none of your business. You kids stay in the main quarters. Also, lights go off at nine o’ clock sharp. The bell will ring above us, and the lights will turn off. That means everyone goes to bed. Sleeping quarters are below the chairs.”
“What do you mean by ‘below the chairs’?” Bethany inquired.
“You heard me right. Underneath the chairs are strings you’re going to pull. The strings are attached to doors that open up. Behind each door is a ladder. Climb down the ladder and it’ll lead to a bed. You sleep there until the lights come back on at six o’ clock the next morning. Breakfast will be served fifteen minutes later.”
Bethany and the others nodded their heads. Susana wasn’t really paying attention. She was looking around the auditorium at each person they would pass. They were all so calm, doing whatever they pleased. They seemed to be in their own worlds, not paying any attention to the new passengers. Susana found it to be strange, and rude in a sense.
What caught Susana’s attention was Captain Wesley’s quiet voice. It was raspy and harsh, but he meant no harm. When Susana’s ears picked up the advice that he gave her and the rest of the children, she was thankful because even though she hadn’t listened to anything else he had said, this was the most important rule of all.
“Lastly, if for any reason at all, the alarm sounds and the lights flicker out, everyone must report immediately to their sleeping quarters. It is a safe zone against any sort of threat.”
“Like what?” Bethany inquired.
“Like the Seakretors?” Nicholas asked. His eyes were large, and he waited for the captain’s reply.
Captain Wesley spoke quietly, “Yes, like the Seakretors.” The children seemed afraid, so he decided to add, “Or perhaps rough waters.”
After the long explanation, he showed them to their own brown chairs. They had chairs 250 thru 254. They were in the third row of the auditorium, which made it easy to climb down the stairs to the bottom. When Susana was given her chair, she sat on it and took a deep breath.
As exhausted as she was, she didn’t feel as though she could sleep. So instead of climbing down to her temporary bedroom, she unzipped her suitcase and rifled through it. Underneath the clothes, her hairbrush, and her shampoo, she found her favorite book. Susana was glad that her mother had remembered to pack it.
Susana held the book with one hand, while zipping the suitcase shut with the other. And as she read the fairy tale, she pretended that she was no longer aboard the Gladiator 227. She had escaped into Darving Folklore by Grant Vandel, the book that always made her worries go away. And as her eyes skimmed past the words, Susana imagined the grand wedding she hoped to one day experience and the delicious wedding cake that made her stomach grumble.