A Siren's Midnight Call

A siren’s midnight call

"The house in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window."

David begins his turn of telling a scary story by the fire in front of them. The waves crash against the shore. Light and heat flicker across his face from the flames. Shadows dance across his face. Enthralled by his story, Violet and Karoline lean in close to hear every word. Telling of the nightmare he had the night before, he guessed right that it would be a good fit to be placed among the other stories told this evening.

"A dark figure walked the halls disguised as maidens who once lived there. The creature hoped to lure in any little blossoms that would be lingering around the woods that night. Not having a victim to claim in years now, the demon was desperate for that of a new catch."

Lost himself in his words, he is almost oblivious to the creature watching them in the waves. Eyes glowing blue, they catch his attention. He stops telling the story in an attempt to figure out if they are indeed eyes staring at him or simply a reflection of light bouncing off the top sea layer. The creature notices David's attention on it and dives into the deep black abyss to get out of sight.

Confused, David tries to comprehend what he just saw.

What was that?

Both girls notice his distracted demeanor, Violet is the one to question it.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Her voice brings him back to the scene before him.

"I'm. Yeah, I'm good. I just thought I saw something. It must have been a dolphin or something."

Grinning wide, he brushes off the incident. Karoline excited by his mention of dolphins now pipes in. Turning her attention to where his once was, she tries to see one too.

"A dolphin, where?"

"Nowhere. It went back under the water."

Smiling once again, he gets back to the story.

"Where was I? Oh, yeah. Not having a victim in years now, the demon was desperate for a new catch."

Asleep, David begins to hear a sweet song coming in with the sound of crashing waves. It cradles him into a deeper slumber, one where the siren is able to entice him without revealing the truth of what's happening. He gets up, his feet hitting the cool wooden floor, and he's convinced that he's simply playing out a dream. Half of that true, the siren's song blocks out all of what will wake him from the trance.

The wordless tune pulls him through the house and out the door. The dream so real to him, it isn’t unlike many others that he has had in the past. The sound of waves crashing grows louder as he opens the front door, and begins his journey to the beach.

"David, ~at ~re ~ou do~"

The sound of a familiar voice whispers into the air, but is washed over by the ocean. A tug on his shirt from behind grabs his attention. He looks back, but only sees the empty house behind him. The song pulls his face back on the path to the beach.

Wanting to continue, something inside him tells him to stop. Unsure what it is, he stops for a moment, but the song grows stronger and overpowers his resistance. His bare feet hitting the soft gritty sand, the familiar sensation calms him. Looking up, he locks eyes with the creature he saw earlier. It's the one singing to him. A strong desire to meet with it in the ocean is quickly countered by a physical force pushing on his chest. Something tries hard to keep him back, but David is determined to keep moving forward.

Please just let me go!

His thoughts pleading with the invisible force, he pushes himself hard to continue forward, and the force keeping him back relents.

Getting to the shoreline, the sand turns damp from where the sea has kissed it. Crisp water and sea foam lap over his feet, and David stops for a moment. The something inside rings clear through him once again.

'STOP!’

‘Just for a moment, stop.'

Taking that moment, everything around him feels so crystal clear, yet still hazy. Almost like the song pulling him is manipulating things. Making them disappear from everything else.

'It's just a dream. You're safe in your bed and free to do what you want here.'

His thoughts try to come up with a solution that isn't true. Convincing himself that his actions will bring no harm.

David's gaze again locks with the creatures sitting in the waves. Its song entices him to continue into the water. The chill of the sea seeps inside of him and is soon accompanied by darkness that tries to drown out anything of light.

This isn't right. I need to stop.

Fear settling in, he tries to fight the hold the siren's call has over him.

Help me, Lord!

Pleading for help, it seems too late when a large wave overtakes him and drags him under. A creature grabs his ankle and pulls him down deeper into the abyss below. Looking into its eyes, they are the same glowing blue of the beast that lured him out here. Struggling hard against the siren's pull and that of the current, David tries hard to fight for his life. Still unaware of this all being more than a dream, he tries hard to wake up.

I don't want to be in this nightmare anymore.

Wake up.

Wake Up!

Please Wake Up!

David tries to grasp air that isn't there but takes in water instead. Saltwater fills his lungs, burning him from within. Trying hard to keep fighting, it all grows to be too much. He begins to fade out of consciousness. The last thing he registers is a quick burst of light and the siren’s releasing grip.

~>:<~

Karoline having a hard time sleeping, she lays there with her window open listening to the waves crashing only several yards away. A creak comes from the hallway. She looks through her doorway and spots David walking toward the living room.

What is he doing up?

Her curiosity gets the better of her as she gets up to see what he's up to. Following him, he starts to head out the door.

Where is he going?

Concerned at his state, she questions him.

"David, what are you doing?"

With no response, she realizes quickly that he must be sleepwalking. Looking at where his path must be leading, the ocean is the only place he could be going.

I have to stop him!

Her thoughts rush into action as she pulls on the back of his shirt in the hope of keeping him from going any further. He turns around but looks past her. His eyes glazed over, she's never seen him like this before.

He turns back but keeps still for a moment. Karoline takes the moment to try to persuade him to head back inside, but her words fall on deaf ears.

"David, let's go inside."

He starts back on his mission toward the sea, and Karoline knows she can't let him get there. She runs in front of him and tries to push him back inside. But, only being twelve, she's unable to counter his strength for very long.

David pushes past her, and Karoline decides quickly to get someone else to help bring him out of this state. Wanting to wake her parents, her choice falls onto Violet instead. As David's older sister, she's used to his night terrors and sleepwalking. Hopefully also with her being a couple of years older than him, Violet will be able to counter his strength better than she can.

Rushing into the guest room, she shakes Violet awake.

"Violet, wake up!"

Violet in a groggy state when opening her eyes, Karoline's panicked expression puts her quickly on alert.

"What is it?"

"It's David. He's headed towards the ocean!"

Her words rushed, Karoline doesn't have to explain anything further for Violet to rush into action. She knew it was a bad idea for them to come with the Fischers on vacation without their parents.

But we took precautions before bed, so how did he get out?

Heading out the door, her heart stops when spotting David already in the shallows.

"STOP!"

Violet's throat grows soar from the frantic words and bustling air coming from her as she sprints towards him. But she doesn't care. Her only worry is to get him before anything of danger happens. He's already toeing a thin line between that and safety.

Please, God, keep him safe!'

Her thoughts rush to the Lord, a place they rarely ever go. In the water waist-deep, still heading his way, she watches David get washed under by a wave he didn't see coming.

Instinctively, she dives in after him. Relying on her training from swim team, she dives into the dark water to rescue her brother. Unable to see anything, a flash of light coming out of nowhere gives her the glimpse she needs to grab hold of David. She struggles to pull him to the shore, but thankfully Karoline comes to help her. With their combined strength, they're able to get him out of the water.

Her brother’s eyes closed, Violet checks to see if he's still breathing. Panic arises when she notices no air coming from his lungs.

"He's not breathing!"

Karoline pushes her out of the way, to begin CPR.

Violet watches Karoline work as she worries David won't wake up.

Karoline presses on David's chest repeatedly. She shifts into mouth to mouth before back to the compressions. Praying in her head that he'll wake.

Please God, let him wake up!

Coughing up water, a smile of relief comes across the girls' mouths as they watch him stir for a quick moment before passing back out.

Looking at each other, Karoline asks Violet what to do.

"Should we wake him?"

Violet wants to let him rest but also doesn't know how to get him inside without arousing him. About to say yes, Karoline's parents rush to them.

Their breath ragged, it's Mr. Fischer that tries to get an understanding of why everyone is on the beach.

"What are you guys doing out here?"

Karoline looks up at her parents about to cry as the emotions of everything settle in. Violet puts a hand on her arm to settle her.

Being distraught herself over it all, she takes the lead of being oldest and informs the Fischers of what happened. Or at least as much of what happened that she is aware of.

Once done being informed, Mr. Fischer decides to carry David inside as Mrs. Fischer helps the girls calm down. Heading into the kitchen to make everyone that is up some tea to help soothe them. Violet about to close the door once everyone is inside notices something in the distance. Two glowing blue eyes floating barely above the water.

What?

Blinking once, the eyes are gone. Shaking it off as paranoia from the evening, she still makes sure to lock the door up tight. Even if she has no intention of sleeping the rest of the trip. It’s just extra precaution that David stays in this time, and that whatever that may have been, stays out.