Claiming Waters

Chapter 2: Survive or Die

(Reader)'s POV:

I awoke early the next morning, my sleep was restless. Opening up the pod's hatch, I am greeted by bright sunlight. Though my heart is still broken, I gathered up enough of my thoughts to function and form a plan. I began my day exploring everything on the ship. Within the pod I found flares, a compass, a flashlight, a cracked mirror, a knife, and some fishing twine and hooks. There were also a few pieces of clothing, a spare t-shirt, a hat, and male boxers. Too bad there wasn't any female underwear. 

First thing first, I have to stay vigilant, if any ships or planes go by, I need to be ready to fire the flares. Taking the compass in hand, I stared at what appeared to be a fidgeting compass. The needle was shaking, moving all over the place. It seemed that wherever I was, the compass could not find true North. I put the compass down and reached for the fishing line, I struggled to tie the hooks on. After a while I finally succeed, feeling a sense of new confidence. I wish my dad was here to see this, I let a lone tear slide down my face. I wiped it away. I scanned the horizon for hours, not letting my gaze fall in fear that I might miss my only opportunity to signal for help. The sun beat down on me, the pleasant warmth from this morning had now turned into a melting blaze. I must have let the heat get the better of me, because at some point, I closed my, drifting into sleep once again.

Time skip:

I jolted awake, something just bumped the boat. Rubbing my tired eyes, I take in my surroundings. The sun was high in the sky and the waters were calm. Everywhere I looked, it was still a vast open ocean. Perhaps I was simply passing over a shallow area, maybe hitting a coral reef. I relax, letting my guard fall once again. Closing my eyes I hoped to sleep a little while longer.

BUMP!

I'm wide awake once again feeling the boat move upwards. This was no reef, something was striking at the boat from underneath. Holding tightly to the railing I brace myself, expecting something else to happen. The ocean is eerily calm again, deceiving me into believing I hadn't almost just been knocked overboard. I loosen my grip.

BANG!

The side of the ship was impacted, I'm thrown to the other side of the boat. I try to hold onto whatever I can, trembling. What is this thing??? Is it a whale that is simply curious? a shark looking to eat me!? Or maybe some kind of sea monster from the depths!?!

Suddenly I hear a light tapping, it sounds like it's coming from the side of the boat, closest to me. Tapping? I'm pretty sure sharks don't tap.

OH God! What if there is a leak in the boat?! I panic, and start praying silently for what must have been ten minutes. 

The tapping periodically continued, only lasting for about fifteen seconds every time. Though it takes a while, I finally start to come back to my senses. The boat doesn't seem to be taking on water, what a relief. So now, what is tapping on the haul? I think of every possible reason for the tapping, nothing makes sense, especially since I was too scared to even look over the railing to investigate.

Wait!

What if something caught on the ship? I'll be stuck in one place, and I need to keep drifting or I'll never find land! I creep towards the railing. With a shaky breath, I reach out and grasp onto the rail and begin to pull myself over. slowly but surely, I peer down into the royal blue water. Nothing. I crawled around the entire perimeter, looking for anything attached to the haul, nothing could be seen.

I sigh with relief and smile softly, it was calming to know whatever was there seemed to disappear. I let my mind wander off, lazily dragging my hand across the water, feeling the cooling liquid on my hand. I continue to gaze down on the water till something catches my eye. A flash of red scales runs under the water. I pull back my hand, and retreated to the center of the boat. I tense up again, I wonder if I'm seeing things or just going crazy.

Splash!

The sound of water breaking comes from behind me, I whip my head around, only to see waves where the noise came from.

TAP, TAP, TAP,

The tapping began once again, harder than before. I closed my eyes and prayed, the tapping stops, but then continue a few minutes later. The tapping continues till dusk, until it stops for good. I don't move from my position until the sun is touching the ocean. The moon began to rise, and the stars emerged, creating new light. I relaxed and un-clenched my muscles. Finally exhaustion sets in, my eyes become heavy. A deep hum resonates across the waves, mumbled singing can be heard, like a lullaby, yet unknown. Before I can react to this new sound, my thoughts start to melt away and my will to resist fades. My eyes shut, and sleep takes me away.

Luffy's POV:

I've been following this floating mass for a while now, occasionally I would tap the outside. This thing was hard like a rock, yet smooth and flat like in the inside of the oyster. I've never seen anything like it before, it's about twice as long as I am. When I popped my head above the surface, I saw that the object was much larger about the water than below. I was fascinated, for the rest of the day I followed this 'floating rock' drifting in the current, banging on the outside, it seems to be hollow. When I placed my ear against the 'rock' I could hear what sounded like an animal moving, perhaps a bird was on top of the 'rock', but no, this animal was much larger than a bird. I continued to drift alongside this 'rock', not realizing how far I've gone till I hear movement once again. I raise my head above the surface, and see that the stars have come out. Not wanting the 'rock' to float away, I quickly swim away and grab some kelp, tying it to what appears to be a handle closest to the water's edge. The 'rock' gradually slows, and the kelp tightens, holding the object in place. Unable to contain my curiosity, I surface. I began to hum a lullaby song. Whatever was on the 'rock' would soon be fast asleep, sirens can put any creature beside themselves to sleep with our voices, this way I can avoid any unwanted confrontation. The ocean was now calm, no movement could be detected, taking this opportunity, I Prop myself up onto this floating rock, using my upper body strength to drag myself on. Leaning on my side I catch my breath, moving out of water is hard. The surface of this 'rock' was flat, but more than that, it was sunken in. Creating more of a well in the centre, and in the middle of this well was a girl. She had some kind of fabric draped over her body, with only her head and arms showing. She appeared to be fast asleep, my song worked. I pull myself closer, till I'm inches away from touching her. She looked so similar to a siren, and yet so different. Her skin was devoid of any scales, and her hands had no webbing between the fingers. Unconsciously I lightly dragged my hand across her forearm, the skin was soft. I am taken out of my trance, when I feel a small shuffle, as she moves herself into a more comfortable position. Wait, how long has she been on this thing? Siren can only be out of water for about 2 hours, and yet she's been on this 'rock' all day, maybe longer. Now panicking, I realize I have to save her. Ready to rush her into the ocean, I throw off the fabric, I freeze. 

She has no tail! just two longer, and differently build arms, going down from her waist. How is this possible? There is no creature that has 4 arms! What is this Siren like animal? I reach out again with my hand touching these longer arms, they too have no scales and are soft. I retract my hand, and begin to back away towards the edge of this floating thing. I dropped myself back into the ocean and swam away, this was just too weird. I need time to think, beside I tied the 'rock' up, it's not going anywhere anytime soon. A million thoughts raced in my head as I swam back into the deep.