Fiction Academy: CAS' Never Ending Story 2022

|131| Casabianca

Casabianca

by Aiven Gwen Calusa

In the midst of a raging sea battle, the deafening roar of colossal cannons drowned out any semblance of calm. The acrid air was thick with swirling, ebony smoke, obscuring the vessels and their fates.

The briny waters bore the remnants of shattered masts and splintered timber, casualties of the cannonballs' merciless onslaught. Death lingered on the horizon, as many brave souls had been claimed, while countless others writhed in agony from their wounds.

Amidst the chaos, the flagship found itself ablaze. Fiery tongues licked the vessel from below, greedily consuming the wooden deck. Those fortunate enough to be alive scurried with a feverish urgency to launch a small boat, desperate to distance themselves from the impending disaster. Any place seemed safer than aboard that doomed vessel, for its hold housed a cache of volatile powder.

Yet, young Casabianca, the captain's son, remained steadfast upon the smoldering deck. His loyalty bound him to the captain's command, a lesson instilled deeply in his heart. He had unwavering trust in his father's judgment, believing that the moment to abandon ship would arrive when his father so decreed.

He watched as his comrades leaped into the escape boat, their voices echoing in urgent pleas for him to join them. He shook his head resolutely, determined to honor his father's orders.

"When my father gives the word, I shall depart," he replied firmly.

The flames now crept ever closer, encircling him in a scorching embrace. They devoured the sails, and the relentless heat scorched his hair and seared his skin. The fire raged before him, behind him, and all around him.

"Father!" he cried out, his voice cracking, "May I not leave now? The crew has abandoned ship. Is it not time for us to follow suit?"

Unbeknownst to him, his father lay lifeless in the fiery cabin below, felled by a cannonball's cruel hand in the battle's earliest moments. He strained to catch his father's response above the infernal cacophony.

"Louder, father!" he pleaded, "I cannot make out your words."

Above the tumult of the flames, amid the splintering of the once-mighty masts, and beyond the thundering cannonade, he strained to discern his father's voice. A whisper reached him through the scalding air.

"I'm here, father! Speak once more!" he gasped. But in that very instant, a brilliant flash of light filled the air, sending billowing clouds of smoke racing skyward.

Then, with an earth-shaking "Boom!" that eclipsed even the thunder, the world itself seemed to quake. The sea trembled; the sky darkened. The blazing ship vanished from sight, engulfed in an immense and devastating explosion. The powder in the hold had ignited, sealing the fate of the captain and his unwavering son in a blaze of glory.

The End