Felicia's Fortune Chapter 10: Annoying Acquaintances

This story is inspired by Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Magnus Chase and the gods of Asgard, and my siblings.

Author's prenote: I know I don't start this story as a whole with someone forgetting what day it is, but they do forget the day once the story really starts to pick up. The prompt piece starts when Felicia asks what day it is.

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Sorry, I’m back now. Had to chase Adrian away. Nobody cares about your stupid math jokes! Now, where were we? Oh! The fish-thing!

Ali screamed, “Up, up! Bloody daft machine! Go UP!” Azazel and I hung onto our seats as Ali pulled on the controls. As the monster came closer, it opened its mouth. The razor-sharp teeth on the inside looked like they could even penetrate something as thick as Azazel’s skull!

We went up to the surface so fast, our ears popped, and we practically flew out of the water, but the monster was still close behind us.

“Faster, FASTER, FASTER!” Azazel yelled at Ali, who was frantically pushing buttons and pulling levers.

“This is as fast as it GOES! Now, SHUT UP!” Ali frantically answered to her. I desperately stepped in.

“GUYS! STOP!” They both looked at me, confused at my outburst. “We’re NEVER going to survive this if you keep arguing. It won’t do anything, now, we have to do everything we can to get to the nearest dock or isle, or SOMETHING!” I hoped that would get them to bugger off and stop bickering.

I ran to the back, frantically searching for something that could hold off the sea monster. Desperately, I grabbed the only thing that  would at least give us a chance at stalling the monster: a bloody old rope net. The other items in the ship were a used toothbrushes and buckets of fish and seaweed. Totally unhelpful and gross… unless I wanted to give the monster’s fangs a good cleaning.

I decided to at least try the rope net, which was heavy and wet. I opened the door to see that the ship was skimming the water, the giant fish getting closer and closer with each kilometer we went. I heroically hefted the rope net off the ship without falling on my butt. (I said I did NOT fall on my butt! Yes it actually hurts, Bronte! And no, I will not reenact it for you!)

The rope smacked the monster’s side, and it didn’t seem the least bit gobsmacked. I cursed some unrepeatable words underneath my breath. (shut up, Bronte, they don’t want to hear it! Why are you in here anyway? Get out!)

Ali yelled back to me, “What’s going on back there, Felicia? Is it that hard to stop a giant fish?”

“If you think it’s so easy, come back and do it yourself!” I yelled at her, getting annoyed.

“I would, but I’m keeping you ALIVE!”

Azazel interrupted us by shouting, “Land HO!” We looked at her in confusion.

“What? It’s what those people say in pirate movies when they see land!”

Ali looked out the front window and shouted in surprise as we all went weightless. For a while, it felt like we were flying, waves crashing down around us as our boat was shredded to bits and bobs, the feel of the sun trying to fry us, and of course, the monster fish leaping in the air to eat us alive. Its jaws snapped shut a few centimeters from my face, and for the next few minutes, all I could smell was rotten fish and dirty seawater. In fact, that was all I could breathe for a bit as Ali, Azazel, and I fell into the water.

I panicked as I couldn’t get to the surface. My lungs started to burn and shake as they got desperate for air, and my limbs seemed to grow heavy. I started feeling delirious and saw face-like images in the water. I reached out to touch one but was pulled up rapidly from behind. I fought against it until I realized that I could see the sun again.

A voice that sounded far away but weirdly familiar was talking, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Through my shock, I could barely feel myself being squeezed rhythmically. I’m my blurry vision, I could see someone’s face through layers of watery light.

All of the sudden, I realized that I wasn’t breathing (Yes, Bronte, you CAN forget you’re not breathing, now get out!). A loud beating noise sounded like a drum, and I couldn’t hear anything through it. I gasped as it got louder. Then I gasped again as I realized that I could breathe. I heard cheering off to my right that could only have belonged to Azazel.

As soon as I got feeling into my limbs, I sat up and looked around. Ali was kneeling on my left, panting with relief while Azazel was cheering and clapping like me drowning was the best kind of entertainment. (It’s not funny, Bronte! And no, she wouldn’t get along with you. You’d kill each other in, like, thirty seconds!) Anyway, I eventually got up, and the island we had crashed on looked nothing like the Calf of Man pictures I had seen. There were lots of people roaming around and buying souvenirs, there were more than just three buildings, and there was a sign nearby that said, “Welcome to St Agnes Island!”

I groaned as I realized we were still hundreds of kilometers from our destination, and we didn’t have any way to get there. Although I had a thousand questions, Ali and Azazel obviously weren't in the mood to answer any of them. I leaned on them for support as we walked into the city. There weren’t as many buildings as London, but there was enough to keep the people happy. Or so I assume. We went onto the street and walked down the road. After looking around for a little bit, we finally found some place to stay for the night. We entered the hotel and walked up to the front desk where a lady was waiting. She was dressed in a gray dress the same shade as the walls, and her black heels held her up above the checkered floor. The chandelier reflected light onto the frames of her glasses. She smiled and asked in an islander accent, “What can I do for you children today?”

I looked at the woman behind the counter and started asking, “First, what day is today? Also, do you happen to have an extra ro–”

I stopped talking when the front door opened. I recognized his face, those hazel-blue eyes above that bloody annoying grin.

Before I could move forward to punch him he said, “Is that really how you greet your best friends, Quackenbush?"

–Felicia