Chapter Ten: Panicked

The Alenna was named after Siannon and Dylan’s eldest daughter, a ship Siannon christened upon its first commission. Dylan and his comrades had used it to escape the Norse in the chaos of their initial invasion. Siannon hoped it would be her salvation as well back to a world where her life was familiar and expected.

From the top of the pier, she saw outlines of people on the ship, the first ones she had encountered since she awoke to all this strangeness. As she climbed the gangplank to the deck, however, she saw that these figures were not alive but hanging from the cross pieces of the sail masts. That sight was bad enough on its own, but as they began to climb down from their nooses, that was when she panicked.

Siannon tried to run back down the gangplank, but a skeletal sailor blocked her progress. She considered hiding in the captain’s quarters, but she didn’t want to be trapped. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, her breath harsh and ragged, when she realized none of the dead were threatening her. On the contrary, the sailors were unfurling the sails and casting off the mooring ropes to set the Alenna out to sea.

She walked to the bridge where a skeletal captain manned the wheel. Siannon realized how lonely she felt, so she asked him, “Can you talk?” He shook his skull “no.”

“Am I safe here?”

The captain nodded.

“Is this a dream?”

Another “no.”