Storm and Sea - Book 1

Chapter 7

TW: In the Description
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Giulia POV

Giulia tore after Alberto, the rain striking the side of her face as she ran. But it was no use. She saw the end of his tail disappear beneath the waves.

"Alberto, no!" She cried, but he was gone. The men of the village had sped away in their boats towards the giant shadow in the distance. It was a massive ship, bigger than anything Giulia had ever seen.

Giulia ran down the length of the beach feeling helpless. What could she do?

Nothing.

The realization dawned on her, and she fell to her knees on the sandy beach, the rain soaking through her curly red hair.

There was nothing she could do - but wait.

~.~.~.~

The fishing boats returned hours later. The sun had not yet peeked over the horizon, casting Portorosso in an early blue light. The storm had passed, leaving behind only a light drizzle. Giulia sat huddle under a canopy with several other of the village members.

They all rushed to the docks when they heard the old fishing boats puttering home. Wives rushed to their husbands, hugging them. All the fishermen looked half-drowned. But more than anything - they looked defeated.

Giulia raced to her father as he tied the boat to the dock.

"Papa!" She cried, throwing her arms around him. He wasn't hurt, but the exhaustion on his face told her that the night did not go well. "What happened?"

"Oh, my dear Giulietta." He sighed, giving her a one-armed hug. "I told you to wait home." He said, seeing her soaked clothes and cold, pale skin.

"That doesn't matter now! What happened?"

"The storm slowed our boats. They must have seen us coming because, by the time we arrived, they were pulling up their nets and fleeing. We tried to follow, but the giant ship cut through the waves better than our fishing boats. We lost sight of them."

"So they got away!?" Giulia asked, clinging to her father.

"We called the police boats on the radio and told them which direction the ship fled. But I doubt they will catch them. I am sorry, Giulietta, we failed."

"No, papa! You scared them off! All of you did. Who knows how long they would have stayed if we just sat and did nothing!" She hugged her dad again.

"We did our best." He said, looking down.

The rain continued to trickle on the defeated town of Portorosso. Everyone was waiting for answers. But there were few to be had. Chief Fanti announced that the police fleet lost sight of the Mercenaries in the storm. Nobody knew if they succeeded in catching the Sireni in the village.

Giulia looked around the crowd as they listened to the Chief of police. She didn't see them.

"Papa?" She asked, still scanning all the faces. "Can you see Al? Or Luca?"

Massimo began looking, his movements becoming sharper as he failed to spot them.

"They did not return?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "Al went to the village. They might be hiding with the rest of the villagers."

But the longer they looked, the more frightened they became. Nobody had heard word from the Carollina village. Nobody knew if any had been taken away. Pretty soon, Massimo was gathering the already exhausted men and women to search the beaches. Giulia was the first to race to the sand, yelling as she went.