Nocturna League (Episode 1: The Witching Book) (Nautical Fantasy Short Story) (4 page)

“Buzz off, dork! Leave Jim alone!”

Jim laughs. “Get real.”

“You get real!”

Jim shrugs. “Okay. Oh, Captaiiin!” he calls to the confused Captain.

“Pardon me, Jim?” He answers.

“You know, the only way for Vuuya’s spell to work is to get rid of everything from before-Including people,” Jim says with a reptilian grin.

Colette jolts in surprise as The Captain turns and cracks his knuckles. “Is that so?”

“That’s right! Everything will be back to normal and you can live on your island with your… whoever, forever! You just need to, you know, kill Colette!”

“Ahh, and you too, right, Jim?” The Captain says as he turns around and moves closer to them.

“Yup! Kill both of us! Don’t worry, we’re not the real versions, just… uh, mystical soul copies. We must be removed before the spell can be complete.”

The Captain hums to himself, and nods, “Sounds reasonable enough. Alright you two, en gaurde!”

Colette leaps back, scarcely dodging a joking strike from The Captain. With a gasp and a groan she turns tail to the guard. “I’m meeting Vuuya too!”

The Guard nods. “No weapon-” is all he can put out before Colette smashes the boy in the face with the butt of the rifle, knocking him out cold.

The other islander begins shaking. “Please, stop! Think about what you’re doing!”

Jim laughs. “Yeah, girl-hell you doin’ with that gun? The party’s just gettin’ started!”

“I’m taking care of this myself. Captain, get Jim and get back to the ship!”

The Captain sighs, and lays his head against the wall. “Now I don’t know who to believe. How very confusing.”

As the islander and possessed Jim shout at The Captain to turn around and get Colette, she forces through the door and into the room with Vuuya.

Again, the room is pitch black, but only seconds after entry the book opens its pages like a blossom in morning. “Ahh, how forceful. What manner of creature might
you
be?” The book asks as Colette raises The Captain’s rifle.

“You’re coming with me, book,” she says, eyes squinting in aim.

Vuuya giggles. “Oh, another one of you? The person before you wanted the same thing. How about I simply grant any wish you desire and we’ll-”

“I’m not so easily tricked, book. I know that you just assault people with delusions. The Captain thought he was home, wherever that is, but it’s obvious to everyone else that he’s just a stumbling maniac.”

“Truly? You don’t want your wishes granted? I can make any dream reality.”

Colette pulls back the firing pin. “Yes, but it would be fake. I’d rather live in a painful reality than a comfortable dream!”

The book coos thoughtfully. “Oh? Why? It seems like just such a waste to me. You could have anything you want! Let me see…” The book is quiet a moment “Ahh! You dream of becoming strong! I could give you powers beyond your wildest dreams, no strings attached!”

“Yeah, except I’ll be stuck here protecting you through my delusions. There’s real people I need to protect when I get home… and a real bastard I need to kill. So thanks, but I’m not taking you up on it,” Colette says as she tugs to pick up the book, but realizes it’s chained in place.

The book giggles again as the islander that lead them there sneaks up to the book. “Did you really think I needed to ask permission?” The book asks.

Suddenly Colette feels the deft, spiritual grasp of an enormous presence upon her. Tearing into her head and emptying out her senses, Colette raises The Captain’s rifle at the book, now looking suspiciously like her mother, and pulls the trigger as she drags breath into her lungs.

“Did you think you were going to get away with this?”

Chapter 5: The Captain’s back, and a Riveting Chase Takes Place

There’s a loud blast, and The Captain is knocked out of the illusion. He’s presently looming over Jim, who’s breathing in terror.

“Why, Mr. Masthaven, is everything okay?”

“C-come on, Captain! Don’t kill me! It wasn’t me!”

The Captain nods his head to the side, and then snaps his fingers in realization. “Ahh, so I truly was under an illusion. Pardon me, I didn’t mean any ill will… but you probably did deserve whatever it was I was going to do.”

Jim stares at The Captain as though he’s a lunatic just as the islander that lead them there tears out from the double doors with the witching book, Colette close behind him. “I missed!” she shouts, passing by and in hot pursuit of the islander.

The Captain hums, attempting to regain his thoughts on the situation. “You… missed? What ever could that-” He stops, hearing the crackling fire caused by the rifle’s shot behind him. “Oh, she missed with my
rifle
… Jim,” The Captain says, picking up the unconscious guard.

“Y-yes, Captain?”

“We must abdicate the area.”

“Y-yes sir!” At that, Jim turns and leaves right on The Captain’s trail. The two descend the wicker steps as the entire ziggurat bursts into a hellfire of swampy doom. The local wildlife is disturbed, some of the beasts below the boardwalk thrashing about vigorously in the water. The Captain spots Colette chasing the islander with the book down a secluded boardwalk, leading to elsewhere on the island.

“This way, Mister Masthaven,” The Captain says, pointing forward with authority as he sprints to catch up.

The Captain, an accomplished runner, catches Colette in but a moment’s notice and turns to her mid-stride. “Miss Ketiere.”

“Cap! He’s got the book!”

“And you have my rifle. I must say I’m disappointed in you, Miss Ketiere. You have been training to hit shots for the entire year you’ve been crewing. I expecte-”

“I’ve been on the crew for a
month
, Captain.”

The two run a moment without a word.

“Oh,” The Captain says, “yes, that’s right. Only a month. Well, you still missed!”

“Yeah, it’s hard to aim when you get punched in the face by a sneak-ass dude running off with the book!”

“Only an additional aiming vector, Miss Ketiere. Here.” The Captain hands her his only spare shot. “Don’t miss this time. You hear me?”

“You want me to… destroy the book? Our target?”

“If it comes to that. I feel this would be too dangerous to bring on board… Anyway, we have more pressing matters to attend to.”

Colette squints in confusion. “Like what?”

The Captain points to the side of the boardwalk, into the water. There’s a wave of shadows following them beneath the decks-jagged, large figures that are just behind them. “I’m guessing they serve Vuuya as well. You’ll need to stay back and protect poor Jim. Remember to save the shot for the book.”

Colette spits in shock. “J-Jim can handle himself!”

“Against a pack of seasorts? I think not.”

“B-”

“That’s an order, Miss Ketiere. You need to keep them off me and I’ll meet up with you,” The Captain says, leaning deeper into his stride and outrunning Colette.

She takes a deep breath, seeing him dash off after the islander with Vuuya, and she slows down just as a force of slick, scaled hands reach out from the water and latch onto the decks.

“C-Colette! Why…” Jim takes a breath. “Don’t run off like that! You know I…
Oh boy.
” Jim and Colette are surrounded by three seasorts, as one swims off to follow The Captain. A snake, a gator, and a snapping turtle-all ripped and armed with swords.

“You won’t lay a hand on her. Thisss ssswamp will be your grave,” the snake seasort says, baring his long fangs.

Colette reaches into her coat and takes out a revolver. “Being a snake and overl-emphasizing the “S”? Really? Jim, do these nerds a lesson. Do the thing!”

Jim scowls in worry. “Oh no,
please no
!”

“It’s better than dying!” Colette says, shooting the turtle but her bullet bouncing off his thick scales.

Jim takes a deep breath, and speaks. “I commit myself!” Suddenly Jim lurches over as his tattoo bursts into black flame, quickly covering his entire body. Jim’s screams turn into the maniacal laughter of the other side of Jim. “About
damn time!
” Jim says, his body completely igniting in black fire and making way for the
real
Jim. The gator seasort rushes up behind them to impale them both, but all Jim needs to do is turn his head one hundred and eighty degrees and catch the blade in-between his teeth.

“Say your prayers,
bitches
!” Jim says as he smacks the seasorts around with incredible speed and strength. As the turtle is flipped and spun around as a projectile to the other two, Colette decides it’s about time she caught up with The Captain. Jim’s not having any problems here.

Colette dashes through the swamp, finally reaching a clearing with a stone building and metal door swung open. It’s quiet. She knows The Captain, the islander, and Vuuya are all in there. She reloads her one spent shot, and enters the house.

She creeps through silently, checking each of the rooms, empty-this seems to be a safe house. With some careful listening, she can hear talking upstairs.

“She’s in too now,” rings the voice of a man, probably the islander that escaped with Vuuya.

“It’s no matter, my pet. I’ll do the same to her.” Vuuya says in a room above.

Suddenly, Colette’s perception of reality shifts. Her emotions grow dire, and she knows, somehow, that she’s inside the lair of the dark overlord, the very same that kidnapped her best friend, Grancis.

She stutters as she pushes her hand against her forehead. “C-come out, you bastard! W-what did you do to Gran?” She mutters.

The Captain… no,
The Overlord
comes out from another room.

“Oh, Miss Ketier—
So you’ve come at last!
” The Dark One says, his evil, shining grin covered in the blood of the innocent.

Colette draws her ri…
sword, and points it forward.
“Fiend! I’ve trained long for this day-now you’ll be m-… no… Captain?” Her stance wavers as she looks around… this dark tower looks so much like that stone house she had entered… how long ago was it now? Her eyes spark with realization-she knows what to do.

“Who is this Captain you speak of?” The Overlord says as he gives Colette a friendly hug, just a like a jolly, also confused Captain would.

Colette squints in perception, and she slowly makes her way up the stairs to the second floor. She busts into the room with none other than her mother and Grancis waiting.

“Oh! Colette!” Grancis says. “Thank you so much for saving me!”

Colette sighs, and holds her “sword” as if it were a rifle. Suddenly Colette’s mother runs to tackle her, but Colette’s too fast. “I won’t miss this time, Gran.” Colette shoots through Grancis, an enormous, burning hole shot into the girl’s breast.

“Wh-why? Don’t you believe in giving people what they want?” Grancis asks, the mirage burning away to reveal the book as Colette’s mother… no,
the islander
, grovels in horror close by.

“No,” Colette says. “I believe in giving people what they
need.
”

With that, the flames from the anti-magic shell disintegrates Vuuya, and the islander falls over, eyes wide with disbelief as his illusion burns away as well. Colette slings The Captain’s rifle around her shoulder, and meets up with him downstairs.

“Oh, Colette. I had the most wonderful dre-” He stops, seeing Colette’s raised brow and bland frown. “Ahh… So you did it, then? You destroyed the objective?”

She nods. “Yup. You were right. If we took that to the Nocturna, Boris would have a field day.”

The two share a quick scoff-Boris the chef is quite easily impressed upon, and is the butt of many of Colette’s jokes.

The Captain nods as they turn to leave along the board walk. “Funny, but you know the crew will still think you screwed up.”

“Yeah, but there wasn’t anything I could do.”

The Captain shrugs. “That’s fine, honestly, but the rest of the crew won’t let you live it down for a good while. They’re certain that you, a woman, couldn’t hit something a foot in front of you.”

She sighs. “
Yes
.”

“That said, I would ask that you reflect on your decision. Once we’ve passed through the town on the way back to the ship, tell me: do you think we improved the lives of these people, or made them worse?” The Captain says, seeing Jim rush forward with his evil, fiery claws bared.

“Now it’s time for the real show! Captain! I’m coming to get y-” Jim is promptly silenced the moment The Captain kicks him straight in the nuts, causing even evil Jim to crumple over in pain. The flames quickly reside, and The Captain picks up a groaning, pain-stricken Jim. All things accounted for, they walk on for a few minutes back to port.

Colette is quiet as they pass through the swamp and reach the town. The Captain sets the two unconscious men down on a bench while the town floods in chaos. Weeping is replacing the sound of celebration as people stumble through the streets, calling to find their children, spouses, parents, friends, pets, and more. A limp man crawls through the street asking himself in muttering tones what he did wrong to no longer be able to walk. A woman cries over a well, feeling her face in disbelief of how ugly she has become. All around them, Vuuya’s illusions have been broken, and the truth is too painful for any of the islanders. Colette spots a man throw himself from a roof head first into the stone road, as two men fight over a scrap of bread.