GODS, TYRANTS AND MONSTERS

CAPTAIN

Their footsteps filled the whole ship as they followed the tall man who wore a red long coat.

Two more men followed behind as they reached a dim room with a steel bared door.

The tall man gestured at them to step inside and they did as instructed before the door was locked.

The three men then disappeared, leaving silence behind.

"Sailor!" Arina said, wrapping her arms around Nijahoeba.

"Arina..." he whispered, recalling the threads that pulled Odo into the dark.

He was not able to save him, not even when he broke the compass. His hand slowly went through his coat and retrieved the broken compass.

Arina sensed his movement and let go of him. Her blue eyes stared at the broken compass.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I broke my promise, they will come for me." He answered.

"They?"

"The Upper Beings. All twelve of them." His voice trembled.

Arina took the broken compass from Nijahoeba's hand.

"You are the New God, aren't you...?" she asked.

"That is the reason Sulli could see you? The reason you knew so much about believers? Why I was so drawn to you?"

"I am not the New God, I am a carrier. The beast does not belong to me." He answered.

"Carrier? How did you get the beast then?"

Memories of the night he killed the congregation returned.

"Nijahoeba!" his mother had yelled as he roared before tearing her to pieces.

A crystal tear ran down his left cheek. Arina did not see it because the room was dim.

"My mother was a fake Believer, just like you. She worshipped The Judge, Mena.

Unlike most believers, she was not devoted to her God. That was when she started her own hidden church."

"Your mother started a new church?"

He nodded. "She was able persuade other believers to join her church, where they would create their own God, using their abilities. They were able to join only five of the Upper being's powers. The powers joined were then stored in a little box along with a new born, dead baby. Feeding on the corps, the beast came to life."

Arina thought about the beast that Nijahoeba had turned to. It had been smaller when compared to Sulli or the thin beast with long hair.

"Baby...whose baby was killed?" she asked.

"My younger sister." He answered.

Her eyes opened wider in shock!

"You had a sister?" she asked but he did not answer.

He then sank to his knees and looked away.

"Mother, she was supposed to take the power from me...she was to be the New God. Not me!"

"Is she dead?" she asked.

The approaching footsteps interrupted Arina and Nijahoeba.

They both turned to face the stranger who wore a red coat.

"Captain Sulton has summoned you to his presence!" the man spoke before opening the cage door for them.

Nijahoeba and Arina exchanged looks before walking out.

"Captain Sulton, who is this man?" Arina asked as they followed the man down the passage. Their footsteps echoed down the narrow passage, Nijahoeba solemn. The image of Naamah had not left him, Odo was in her lair. he could not save him.

They finally entered a large room filled with men playing cards and board games.

As soon as they entered, everybody grew quiet and stared at them.

"Arina Burdett," a deep voice said from the tables as a man with long dark hair and a beard rose to his feet. He wore the pirate Captain hat and the fancy red coat gave him as the captain of the fleet.

His bottle green eyes stared straight at the young woman. Arina's eyes opened wider in shock! Her face went into a shade of red before she screamed loudly.

Her forehead wrinkled as she pulled the sword from the man next to her and walked towards Captain Sulton.

"Arina!" Nijahoeba held her tightly, preventing her from reaching the captain.

"You bastard! Bloody murderer!" she yelled in tears.

Captain Sulton casually pulled out a pistol from his holster and pointed it at Arina and Nijahoeba. "Quiet now or I'll blow your brains out!" he spoke.

Arina hit Nijahoeba with her elbow, causing him to let her go.

She then ran for Captain Sulton but before she could get to him, the pistol fired, setting her head wide open. Blood splattered everywhere and her body dropped instantly.

"ARINA!" yelled Nijahoeba in devastation.

"No don't cry now, dear Arina will heal herself. She'll be awake in no time." Captain Sulton quickly said. "In the meantime...I want you and I to have a talk." While opening a chair for him.

Nijahoeba looked at the young woman's corps, his dark eyes wide open in horror.