"Rubin, you want to go out?" On the pier, Rubin's friend kept trying to persuade him, but the other person kept pulling on the rope. "You know what's out there in the sea. Don't you want your life?"
"Valk, let go." Rubin let go of the fishing net and grabbed the rope loop around the stake. "Let go, I can't go on any longer. I have to get out to sea."
"I won't let go. Do you want me to watch my friend die?" Valk said loudly. The pier was empty, and the lively scene was gone forever. Occasionally, a few fishermen who were hesitating beside their fishing boats looked at them with sad eyes when they heard Valk's cry. Every one of them had the same struggle on their face as Rubin. "I can't do it!" Valk refused to let go.
¡°Then just pretend you didn¡¯t see me today.¡±
"How is this possible?" Valk begged, "You are going to die, Rubin."
Rubin pulled hard and grabbed the rope. "I only know that if I don't go to sea, my wife, my children, and I will all starve to death!" He shouted helplessly, "What should I do? Damn it, that woman can't do anything but ask for this and that. They can¡¯t do it, they keep asking us for this and that! What about us? We have nothing! We are almost starving to death¡ª¡ª"
"Rubin!" Valk shouted loudly, trying to cover his voice. The former looked around fearfully and uneasily. "Shh, keep your voice down, at least don't say it here."
Rubin stamped his foot angrily, and the fishing boat kept rocking. "Look at it, it's still death anyway." He whispered, "Being hung up and stabbed, or eaten by a sea monster! I might as well die at sea!"
"Anyway, don't go, Rubin." Valk begged, "If you die, what will happen to your wife and your children? How will they survive without you?"
Rubin stopped gathering the fishing net. "I don't know, Valk." He lowered his head and said sadly, "I really don't know. I try not to think about the future. It's too far away. I'm just thinking about whether we still have tomorrow."
"Rubin, I still have some dried fish at home - we can survive for a while."
"But what happens after that? What if the sea monster is still at sea? What should we do then?" Valcke didn't know how to answer the series of rhetorical questions. "Valk, your home is not much better than mine, so you can keep it. I have to go." He grabbed the oar and tapped the rubber mat hanging on the dock with the oar blade. The fishing boat started to slow down. Drive away slowly.
"Rubin, you idiot!" Valk shouted angrily.
The fishing boat carried Rubin, and the distance from Valk gradually widened. He lowered his eyes and said to him, "Valk, as far as I'm concerned, people who starve to death are idiots."
"Have you made up your mind? I can't stop you. But I will pray for you. I'm waiting for you to come back."
"Pray, Valk, pray hard."
"You should pray for yourself at sea, Rubin, no matter who it is."
Rubin raised his head and looked at the clear, cloudless sky. The sun had just jumped out of the sea. It was a good weather for going to sea, but his heart was heavy, and his chest was full of uneasiness and despair. Only a will pushed him to wave his stiff arms and slide the paddle. Who else can I pray to? Gods, that ugly woman, or a sea monster? No one can protect them anymore. "Pray for me, Valk," he said, swinging the oar with all his strength. "I don't remember the prayers anymore."
The fishing boat gradually moved away.
Behind Valk, the fishermen all pursed their lips and said nothing, but the pain in their eyes was even more painful. They have watched too many people stubbornly go to sea, only to end up never to return.
When there was only an empty open sea around him, Rubin looked around, and the fear in his heart came like a tide, breaking down the last line of defense in his heart and occupying his chest. His hands and feet were trembling, and he sat slumped in the boat, unable to untie even a slipknot on the rope. He almost wanted to go back immediately! As he grabbed the oar, he suppressed the devilish impulse. He had to catch fish, he had to bring back food, or the whole family would starve to death. Compared with the instinct of survival, what is fear?
So Rubin took a deep breath, reluctantly dragged the fishing net up, and used all his strength to throw the fishing net out. The fishing net slowly sank into the water, taking advantage of this little gap. Rubin straightened his back and looked up at the sky. It was noon, not a good time for fishing, but he still kept praying, hoping that the first net he cast would yield a big harvest, and then he could leave this ghost place as soon as possible.
There was deathly silence around him. Every second he stayed, Rubin felt as if he was heading toward death.Another step forward. The scorching sun hung high above his head, but he was shivering. He stared at the sea, feeling the weight in his hands, and kept saying "hurry up, hurry up" in his heart. I can't wait for a large group of fish to get into the fishing net soon.
The long wait almost seemed to kill Rubin. So much so that when the fishing net he was holding became so heavy, he was almost pulled into the sea. However, his mood improved. He cheered and pulled the fishing net hard. Rubin thought to himself that he had come to the right place. No one had dared to go fishing for a long time. The fish schools were back and there were more fish. He will be able to go back soon.
The fishing net was gradually pulled out of the water by him, and he looked forward to his harvest with joy.
The fish tumbled out with white splashes, and a white belly of the fish showed that he had a great harvest today. Rubin couldn't stop smiling on his face. While he struggled to pull up the fishing net, he happily thought about how he should distribute such a big harvest. How much can it be sold for? He calculated in his mind that the toys his son wanted, the clothes his wife wanted, he had to prepare some food at home, and send some to Varrick. After all, he was doing it for my own good Thinking of this, Rubin's heart lifted again after he had just put it down, and a smile froze on his face. The chill prompted him to speed up.
He felt that this net was heavier than every net he had cast in his more than thirty years of fishing experience. He could barely pull the fish out of the water. Could it be that the goddess of luck really started to favor me? He took a full breath, shouted, and dragged the entire fishing net onto the boat. Rubin sat down on the deck, breathing happily.
After a while, when his breathing calmed down a little, Rubin turned over and climbed up, walking to the bulging fishing net. The strong fishy smell surrounded him, but he regarded it as a supremely wonderful fragrance.
He took a deep breath and untied the fishing net. He had to throw the fish into the cabin filled with sea water before they died. The sun was too strong, and he was worried that the fish would become bad, die, and stink. Such fish can only be thrown away and cannot be sold at a high price. He quickly untied the fishing net with both hands, throwing all his fears away.
The fish swung its tail and jumped around, just like his mood, he was jumping around. He felt that his dark life was filled with sunshine again, and his head, which had been lowered by despair, could be raised again. Valcke, this is the right choice. He said in his heart, instead of hoping, begging God for help like a beggar. Those guys are vampires and they can do nothing but kill. He thought angrily as he completely untied the fishing net. Then¡ª¡ª
He discovered something strange.
Under the pile of fish, there was a swollen, pale and purple human leg. Rubin felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and his whole body was so cold that he almost forgot to breathe. He swallowed, it was nothing less than thunder in his ears. He reached out with a trembling hand, grabbed the fishing rod next to him and carefully touched the leg. There was no movement in that leg. He relaxed a little and took a few deep breaths - this time he felt that all the smelly corpse gas that entered his lungs was full of courage - and he plucked up the courage to sweep away the fish piled on his leg. Only then did he realize with horror that the fish seemed to have died long ago, and they were as hard as ice cubes and fell on the board of the boat. Rubin thought of the horrific scenario. He looked around desperately and found that he had no way to escape.
The body lay on its back among a patch of fish scales.
Rubin was stunned for a long time, and the fear made it impossible to think. He didn't know how his fishing net caught a corpse, but he knew that he could never leave the latter on the boat. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die." He muttered as if he was about to collapse. He grabbed the oar, resisted the smell of the corpse, and pried the body hard, just wanting to push the latter into the sea again.
The body moved inch by inch, and thenwithout any warning, the swollen and smelly body opened its eyes.
He has a pair of blue eyes, which seem to be burning with fire, but they make people feel bone-chilling, enough to freeze the body and even the soul. Rubin wanted to shout, but it was like an invisible hand was choking his neck. He couldn't breathe, let alone make any sound.
Rubin could only watch as the corpse stiffened its back and climbed up awkwardly like a wooden man. He was covered in water-soaked swellings and naked. The hair is hung neatly on the back of the head, and the eye sockets are sunken. The opponent twisted his neck, and his bones made a terrible cracking sound. He stared at Rubin closely, with a chilling light in his eyes burning with blue flames.
Don¡¯t come here, don¡¯t come here. Rubin shouted silently. But the corpse could not hear his pleas. He lifted his feet and walked towards him. The slippery fish scales on the ground did not stop him, nor did the barrels and planks scattered on the ship's deck. The boat is really too small. He and Rubin were only a few steps away. And he couldn't move at all.
The body stood on Rubin's sideShe stood in front of him and smiled at him.
The stench, the bone-chilling chill, and the fear of dying made him close his eyes in despair. He regretted why he had not listened to Valcke's advice. He felt a pair of cold, slippery hands replace the previous invisible hands and tightly strangle his neck, the fingers tightening, and the pain made him involuntarily open his eyes. He saw: countless octopus-like tentacles stretched out from the water and tightly wrapped around his boat. In a short groan, the fishing boat was twisted into pieces. The body sank to the bottom of the sea with him.