Based off of Ship in a Bottle by Pearlescentmoon12335

***

Context: The origins of the Brooks siblings from SIAB

***

~Arlo

Lightning shattered the sky into millions of fragments, splintering the night like a mirror. The band still played on the deck, the slow, low tune of the sea shanty mugging the cold hellscape of the ship.

'The tears of old, the heart's overflow, pool into Neptune's domain. The grief of gods, and the missed mark, the heroes of legend are slain~'

Water rained down like bullets, the cold sprays of the ocean hazing my vision, fog clinging to every inch of the air. 

The storm had hit us much sooner than anticipated, guests and passengers flocking in a sea of panic towards the lower decks. Panting, puffs of white, the strangled cries of those slipping and sliding against the slick wooden panels.

My blazer was soon soaked through, the chill of the water, the wind and the rain piercing my skin like needles, my face raw, lips chapped and bleeding. With gales powered by the strength of a hurricane, the ship rocked, waves towering ten, fifteen, twenty feet above the boat, crashing onto the deck in a mass of white foam.

I shrieked, ducking low to the ground to avoid getting swept off into the sea. My throat burned from the salt of the ocean, stinging like a sword being dragged through the roof of my mouth. I coughed, fear driving my will to live as I raced across the deck, raced against time.

'Through the stormy gales, the windswept wails, silenced by ocean sound. The ships they rock, the bodies they rot, the lost never to be found~'

The thunder sang in tune with the violent waves thrashing against the bow of the ocean liner, pounding like a drumbeat signaling our demise. 

"SYLVER?" I shouted through the darkness, launching myself into the crowds. I was pushed to and fro, into bodies, hands reaching out and grabbing onto me to either steady their owners or shove me out of the way. I was nearly trampled, but my desperate search for my sibling was more important than my injuries. 

'Down, down rocks the wind and brine, stirring the billows of what was mine. Fate's relent, leads to our demise, the fall of the rain and skies~'

Screams broke the night again as, yet another massive wave rose above the ship, like a serpent rearing its head to strike. 

My stomach jolted as the ship was thrown, the ocean clawing at the sides of the boat, talons of sea water dragging its fingernails into the rails, trying to pull the vessel under. Like a shriek the wind whistled, and with no sails to catch, it beat and tortured the structured exterior, viciously ripping at the very seams of the ship. 

Up, down, left, right, there was no telling which direction was which. There were moments I wasn't sure whether I was on solid ground, the spray of salty water blinding me, my senses betraying me with numbing cold.

"SYLVER?"

'Claws of death, sweep the deck, reaping the unfortunate souls. Breathe the reek, of killer's bleak, tides of thunder roll~'

"ARLO?" The faintest of shouts answered, just barely loud enough for me to catch over the swirling of wind and waves.

As I whipped my head around, I finally caught the cloudy grey of my sibling's eyes, wide with terror as they met mine. Sylver's pale brown hair seemed black, coils sticking to their red cheeks, hanging in dampened and soaked strands in front of their panicked expression.

I darted towards them, my lungs burning, my fingers and nose stinging with cold as I sprinted.

However the ocean waters had other plans.

I watched as Sylver's eyes widened with terror, their reflexes acting quickly as they lunged for me, their lips parting in a shout. 

But I never heard their scream.

I realized far too late the furious spiral of water crashing over me. My thoughts were drowned out as wave after wave of cold and darkness smashed me against the wooden deck, dragging me harshly backwards. I lost all control of my limbs, of my body, lost in a swirl of panic and seawater. 

A scream ripped my throat raw, silenced as water poured into my mouth, suffocating out what little air I could gasp. I was dragged and bashed against the planks of the ship's floor, blinded by salt and the growing foam as ocean made contact with the boat. My shoulders were struck against the rails, sending jolts of agony in every direction I could feel.

I couldn't tell if I was screaming, if what I was seeing was really darkness or just the inside of my eyelids, all my senses drowned out by the roar of the tide.

And suddenly I was falling, the deck going over my head as I plunged. The icy fingers of the ocean wrapped around my throat, enclosing my body like a blanket as I fell beneath the raging waves, my vision going dark, my senses ceased by watery silence.

'The muffled sword, the ocean holds, ready to slay the meek. A brave soldier lost to the deep...'

***

Sooo, do we want a continuation? A Sylver POV perhaps? :>