Wring Group: Short Story: IX

The writing prompt for this story was an unsolved mystery. We all drew mysteries from a hat and I got the Flannan Lighthouse Mystery. Here is the short blurb:

In 1900, thre lighthouse keepers disappeared from their post at the Flannan Island Lighthouse. The ship sent to relieve the men could tell something was very wrong when no one was at the landing to greet them, No trace of the men could be found, save for some broken railing, an overturned chair, and their raincoats, which they had left behind. Theories range from rogue waves to sea monsters, but nothing concrete has ever been found.

As always, the only editing done after the initial write up is for spelling.

Flannan Lighthouse Mystery

Crashing waves and sea spray. Salt crystal coat the railings and window ledges. A storm was rolling across the sea towards the Flannan Lighthouse and her keepers. 

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The sirens were hungry. Ships were becoming too loud, their engines chugging along, drowning out the voices of the sirens as they sang. The sirens left their rock, swimming away from their ancestral home with many a backward glance. They fed by calling swimmers deeper into the seas. People that would be there one moment and gone with the rolling of the waves. Lost to the songs and the fanged maws of the beautiful sirens, temptresses and mistresses of the tides. 

They dared not stay in one place for too long, afraid to be spotted, fearing to fall prey to spears and nets as so many of their sisters had over the millenia. All the while they searched for a new home. They found it by chance, dashed against its rocky shore by a tempest. From the salty water they could see the flash of light that burned their eyes and blocked the glimmer of the stars. 

They had to stop the light and to do so would be sweet. The first of the tower guardians came to check on the supplies for the light in the storm, he pushed through the driving rain. Nearer and nearer the shore he came and then in between crashes of thunder a haunting melody caught him, ensnaring his mind. Need drove him, he had to hear more of the song. The one making the song could make everything he ever desired come true. He crashed through a railing and threw himself into the sea. He smiled at the enchanting singers with silver eyes who ripped out his throat with claws like coral. 

The raging waves dispersed his blood and the little fish were more than happy to nibble at the bits that escaped from the feasting sirens. There was no sign of him when his companions came to check on him after the storm. Singing to them was easier as the sirens did not have to fight the crash of waves or thunder of the storm. These men drowned as easily as the first. Their screams unheard but by the birds as they sank beneath the white sea foam. 

For three glorious days the sirens relaxed on the rocky shores, the starlight glimmered off their scales and the salt crystals dried on their blue-gray skin. On the dawn of the fourth day, a rumble pulsed through the water, a ship on course for their small bit of rock. They hissed in anger and dismay at the men come to destroy their peace. As the ship docked, they flipped their tales and were gone. Diving down into the depths, set to searching again for a place to call home.

I enjoy writing spooky tales fun of monsters and mysteries. I’d love to know what type of stories you enjoy reading and if you are enjoying my short tales. Let me know in the comments. Happy reading!

Thank you KW Photography for allowing me to use your wonderful photos!

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