A Demon's Lapse

According to the GPS system, Nora was somewhere off the coast of Southern Japan. There was no way she'd be able to make it back to San Francisco on this boat. She had to go to the mainland and find a way home from there. It was dark so she couldn't where she was going because the marine layer was so thick but the computer was her guide. Putting the system on autopilot, she went down below to the cabin to see if there was anything to eat since she was starving. The only things in the pantry were some ramen packets and canned fruit. Better than nothing.

After eating she sat on the bed, thinking. Now, Rosie and her were fugitives. There was no end in sight for this nightmare. Her anxiety slowly combined with fatigue from all the energy she spent earlier in the day. Drowsiness began to overtake her. Trying to stay awake became a struggle that she eventually lost.

Thump! Thump! Nora woke up to the sound. Someone was here. She quickly ran for cover under the table in the saloon. A man shouted, "Look for anything valuable!" The cabin door creaked opened. Nora put her hand over her mouth. The intruder walked past her, wearing dirty rubber boots, and then turned back. They exited the cabin but Nora waited. After a while, everything was quiet. Slowly creeping up from under the table, someone grabbed her by her collar. He was a greasy-looking pasty middle-aged man. "Crikey, look what we have here," he said gleefully as he licked his lips. Nora screamed and struggled to escape his grasp. He dragged her out onto the deck. "Look what I found, cap'n," he shouted. Beside the boat, was a medium-sized fishing ship that was old and rusted.

The captain approached Nora. He, too, looked dirty and raggedy. The stories about pirates were true. The man grabbed Nora's face, "We have a Sheila for tonight boys, of course she's mine first!" Absolutely repulsed by the man, she spat on him and was met with a slap in the face. She felt her cheek stinging, red, as she was dragged onto the boat. "No, let me go!!! Somebody help," she screamed but the men gagged her with a dirty rag. She should've just stayed on the gangster island.

The captain ordered his men to tie the other yacht to theirs to salvage it for parts. After tying Nora up, she was thrown into a storage room below deck where she fell on the wet and grimy floor. A light bulb hanged in the middle of the ceiling, revealing a room full of rubbish. Abject horror flowed through her body and apart from that she felt so foolish. She shouldn't have tried to escape. Now she was going to be tortured and most likely murdered when the pirates would find out that she's trans. No! I can't go out this way! I've already come this far! She looked around to see if she could find anything to cut her loose. In the corner of the room, she found a broken mirror with some pieces scattered across the floor. Wriggling over towards it, she managed to grab a shard.

Nora started cutting her hands free and felt a sharp pain on her palm. Slice! She let a scream and winced in pain as blood began to run from her hand. Desperately trying to hold back tears, she managed to keep cutting the rope. She was almost finished when the captain entered the room. Quickly, she lay on her back so he wouldn't see, hoping the blood wouldn't form a puddle underneath her. He began to unbutton his shirt. "I'm going to take my time with you, I haven't seen such an exotic lass in a while," he said, dropping his shirt to the floor and rubbing his hands together. Nora wanted to throw up. She tried to protest but it was no use. He kicked off his boots and unzipped his pants. Thankfully, Nora finally got her hands free. The man got on top of her and as he leaned in to kiss her, she swung at his face with the glass shard, cutting his cheek. Slice! "You bitch," he yelled, holding his bleeding face. She quickly untied her feet before he lunged at her and kicked him in the groin. With the man down, she ran out of the room, tossing the disgusting rag aside and holding her bleeding hand.

It was pouring out and the waves rocked the ship violently, crashing over the sides of the boat, inundating everything with seawater. Nora had to get back on the boat. The captain stumbled out of the storage room and yelled, "Get that fucking bitch!" With all the men on alert, Nora ran to the stern. Maintaining her balance was a struggle as the waves kept slamming the boat.

Approaching the back of the boat, the man who initially captured her stood there, holding a machete. All she had was the glass shard and it was no match. Swinging it at her forcefully, Nora quickly threw herself back, dodging the blade. Thud! She fell back onto the floor and anxiously scooted back from the assailant. Then, in the blink of an eye, the man vanished. A dark blur had swept him away. Then there was screaming as the man fell down and colliding onto the deck. He lay there dead. The other men were frantically searching for the culprit as was Nora. One by one, the men were being picked off the deck like they were marionette puppets. Some were dropped onto the deck and some were hurled against the sides of the boat. The second to last man was firing a shotgun randomly in the dark. Nora covered her ears and crouched along the railing of the stern.

The captain, angry that Nora still hadn't been apprehended ran over towards her and pinned her to the ground. Suddenly a bright and red ray of light penetrated through the darkness and landed on the crewmate holding the shotgun. In an instant he was vaporized. The beam caused the boat to catch fire. The captain, consumed with rage, put his hands around Nora's neck and crushed it. Having dropped the shard in the midst of the assault and couldn't defend herself. She tried fighting back with her bare hands by slapping him and digging her fingers into his wound but he clutched on tighter. She began to lose oxygen and went weak.

The flames cast a bright orange light in the middle of the dark night. Then a figure slowly descended aboard. A large figure of a winged man. The captain released Nora and looked at the newcomer in fear. Nora quickly sat up, holding her neck, trying to catch her breath. She, too, gazed at the mysterious entity in horror.

The captain picked up the machete on the floor that was brandished by the deceased crewmate. "Who the fuck are you," he shouted. It didn't say anything. Lightning struck, illuminating everything for a second, and Nora was able to see who the demon was. Kiyohira. She fainted instantly from fright. The captain then yelled and swung his machete at him. He glared at him and shot the red beam from his eyes, disintegrating the captain.

Kiyohira approached Nora's senseless body and picked her up. With the ship had been completely engulfed in flames, he rose up into the sky with Nora in tow before the boat finally exploded, setting the black ocean ablaze.