S4EP3: Puppeteer - by Darby

We washed ashore on an island I didn't recognize. Forty-three of us left. Forty-three out of six hundred. The ships were gone. The supplies were gone. The wind bag was gone — lost in the storm, swallowed by the sea. I sat on the sand, staring at nothing. "Captain." Eurylochus. I looked up. He was standing over me, shifting his weight. Something was wrong. "I have something that I must confess," he said. "Something that I must get off my chest. Until it is said, I cannot rest." He paused. "Captain?" I didn't want to hear it. Whatever it was, I didn't want to hear it. "Eurylochus," I said, standing. "Go make sure this island is secure." "But captain —" "There's only so much left we can endure." I met his eyes. "Whatever you need to say can wait some more." I turned away. "Of that, I'm sure." A long silence. Then: "Okay." He left. --- He came back too soon. I saw him running from the trees — alone — his face pale, his breath ragged. "Eurylochus," I said. "Back so soon?" He fell to his knees. "Where's the rest of your crew?" He couldn't look at me. "And by the gods — what happened to you?!" He gasped for air. "We came across a palace," he said. "Inside — we heard a voice. It seemed to show no malice. To greet it was our choice." His hands were shaking. "But nothing could prepare us for the power that awaited inside." "What did this palace hide?" He looked up at me. His eyes were wet. "Sir, since we left home we've faced a variety of foes from a wide range of places. Gods, monsters — you know the roster. Hostile creatures that we could resist." His voice dropped. "But this was a hell of a twist. 'Cause we are weak to a power like this." "What was it?" "A woman." "What?" "She had us in just two words." I waited. "'Come inside.'" I closed my eyes. "Damn." --- "Welcome to the best part of your lives," Eurylochus whispered, as if he could still hear her. "Go ahead and rest wherever you like. I got you — don't worry — Circe's got you now." He hugged himself. "Only I stayed outside. But the rest went in —" His voice changed. Became the chant of my men, echoing in his memory: "Take a seat! Let me bring you all something to eat! I bet you're tired from the years spent on your feet! I got you — don't worry — Circe's got you now." He looked at me. "By the time they ate, it was far too late." I said nothing. "Inside the meal, she had cast a spell. They began to squeal — and grow snouts and tails." His voice cracked. "She changed them —" "I got all the power, yeah, I got all the power," he sang — but it wasn't singing. It was horror. "No, I'm not a player — I'm a puppeteer. No, I don't play — I puppeteer." "They transformed. And it wasn't quick. She turned our men — from men to pigs." He looked at me. "She changed them." I stood. "We have to go save them." "No we don't." I turned. Eurylochus was on his feet now. Desperate. "Look at all we've lost and all we've learned. Every single cost is so much more than what we've earned." He stepped toward me. "Think about the men we have left before there are none. Let's just cut our losses — you and I — and let's run." "Of course I'd like to leave now," I said. "Of course I'd like to run." I looked at the path to the palace. "But I can hardly sleep now knowing everything we've done. There's no length I wouldn't go if it was you I had to save." I met his eyes. "I can only hope you'd do the same." He didn't answer. "I can hear her still," he said quietly. "And her voice deceives. What if she can't be killed?" He looked at me. "Will you choose to leave?" "I don't know." "I've got all the power, yeah, I've got all the power," he whispered. "No, I'm not a player — I'm a puppeteer. No, I don't play — I puppeteer." "She's a clever witch," he said. "And she's hard to slay. It's a game of wits — but you don't have to play." "I have to try." --- I walked toward the palace. Behind me, I heard Eurylochus's voice — small now, like a prayer: "I've got all the power, yeah, I've got all the power. No, I'm not a player — I'm a puppeteer. No, I don't play — I puppeteer." I didn't look back.

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