Hanging from the broken mask while burning embers engulf the great vessel, glowing in the twilight, a small boy begins suffocating on the upward smoke and slowly loses his grip. meeting the gaze of fiery eyes, a large figure limps toward the edge with a smile. The beast stomps its wooden limb, crushing the sailor's fingers. screaming into the night his last appendage slips from the log, he falls into the flames. He crashes on the poop deck seeing a flash of white, and darkness.

  Waking up, the boy sees that it is daylight and the intruders have left. He looks around, seeing only a burning plank of wood still standing. It seems this once mighty ship has crashed on an icy island. The rubble already has begun to freeze over. The captain of this vessel has frozen to the cabin entrance. It’s arm is nowhere to be found, while the ice is the only thing keeping the rest of her intact. The young man, who is named Ben, soon came to realize that he was lost. He tries to stand but finds it must more difficult to walk. Ben began gathering rocks and used the burning hull to make a fire. He wrapped himself in the tattered flag and lied on the ground to think and rest. By the dwindling fire, he drifted off to sleep.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.