Chapter Text
Dick’s stomach rolled as the boat rolled and groaned beneath his feet. He leaned against the mast, closing his eyes as his stomach dropped again. Rain slicked his hair against his face, and they ran rivets down his face.
He was feeling sickly and cold. The captain had commanded them to release the sails, but the ropes were slick in his cold, numb fingers, making the work hard.
The ship crashed hard against an oncoming wave, making Dick lurch to the side, tossed across the deck of the ship. He grabbed the edge of the ship and promptly threw up over the side.
A couple moments later, Dick opened his eyes, wiping at his mouth weakly, still tasting the wine from dinner, mixed in with the acid of his stomach. He looked out over the stormy sea, praying silently to the gods for the tempest to calm. He made the mistake of looking down into the sea.
For a brief moment, Dick swore a pale white face stared back at him. But he blinked and stumbled to the side and the waves rolled again. There was nothing there.
Someone behind him yelled and one of the heavy ropes whipped around the side of the mast and smacked Dick in the face. He gasped, not yet processing the pain as he was knocked off his feet and over the side of the ship.
He plunged into the ice cold water, his breath knocked out of his lungs as he clawed desperately towards the surface of the murky waters.
As the waves tossed him head over heels, Dick no longer had any idea which way was up. The freezing cold pressed against his chest, slowly suffocating him. He couldn’t see anything. He did not know whether his eyes were open or not. Dick could no longer feel his arms or legs. He did not know if he was dead or not.
He slowly drifted out of consciousness.
~
Dick awoke suddenly.
His teeth were chattering loudly, only stopping to cough loudly. Dick opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying on his back, his wet clothes clinging to his cold skin. Everything hurt and was numb at the same time.
Slowly and unsteadily, Dick pushed himself up. He looked around, the sound of his chattering teeth bouncing off the walls of the cave, it seemed.
It was quite dark in the cave, the tiny bit of moonlight coming from a medium sized hole way above him. Dick had no idea how he had gotten in here. He barely remembered anything. Just a heavy storm, and being very, very cold.
Dick stood, slipping on the stone slightly. He noticed that he was not wearing any shoes. Dick looked up at the hole way above him. It would be impossible to reach unless he could climb up somehow. He looked around the cave, wondering if there were any rocks small enough for him to move, but big enough for him to stand on and climb out. He did not want to die in here, after all.
Dick found one wall of the cave and started making his way a bit deeper within. Just a couple steps and he felt the wall curve. Pebbles stung the soles of his feet, but Dick kept going, keeping one hand on the wall, and one hand in front of him.
Suddenly, he tripped over something. Dick tumbled to the ground, coughing and sputtering. He spit, clearing his mouth of salt water from his long hair, and squinted at the object he had tripped over.
It was something long and white.
Dick reached out and grabbed it. It was stuck to something. He pulled.
There was a loud rattling noise as the object came loose into his hand. Dick scrambled back, clutching the object. The tumbling stopped a few seconds later, and Dick looked down.
It was a large bone. Dick quickly tossed the bone away, wiping his hands on his wet clothes and shivering. He slowly crept forward again, inching towards the area he had found the bone, to see what had come tumbling down. Perhaps another opening?
His toe touched the edge of something loose and something came rolling down into the light. A human skull. Dick gasped and leapt back again. His eyes flickered to the dark corner. Now that his eyesight had adjusted to the darkness a bit more, Dick could see that there was a large pile of carefully balanced bones piled there. Dick had pulled the leg off of one of the skeletons, sending the whole pile coming down. There were at least five skulls in the pile, their bony grins and sunken eyes staring at him. Dick backed up into the light again, kicking the first skull away from him, back into the pile.
He reached the opposite wall, which was probably ten feet away, and he slid down the wall, grabbing his knees and clutching them to his chest.
He could not help it. Dick whimpered, the sound echoing.
He was going to die here. Whatever had brought him into this place did not want him escaping. It had plans for him.
Dick sat there trembling from cold and fear, waiting for his doom.
He kept his eyes trained on the hole, his only means of escape, so high above him. He did not know if he was hoping for a rescuer or for his kidnapper to arrive. Whoever came first. He certainly hoped it was a savior.
As the dark starry night slowly lightened, Dick’s posture did not relax. He could see more clearly now.
His clothes had become damp, no longer dripping wet. His long hair was stuck together in heavy clumps, clinging to his face.
Suddenly, something large flew over the hole in the ceiling, blocking out the light for a split second. Dick stopped breathing. A moment passed, and it came back around again. Dick started silently trembling again.
There was a loud whoosh and the dark object flew through the hole in the ceiling and filled the cave with its presence. It was huge.
Dick squeezed his eyes shut and awaited certain death.