Prompt:
Captain Amara squinted through the salty spray, her weathered hand gripping the ship's wheel. A flash of crimson had caught her eye, bobbing amidst the rolling waves. As the ship crested a swell, she gasped. It wasn't a piece of wreckage, but a heart. A human heart, pulsing with a fiery glow, suspended impossibly in the churning sea.
Panic clawed at Amara's throat. Hearts didn't belong in the ocean, especially not burning ones. But the sight of the desperate glow, the rhythm of the fiery pulse, stirred a deep protectiveness within her. No one, not even a burning heart, deserved such a watery grave.
"Hold her steady!" she roared to her crew, her voice hoarse with the salt-laden wind. "We're going in."
Grumbling echoed amongst the crew, seasoned sailors all who knew the dangers of the open sea. Yet, a silent understanding passed between them and their captain. Amara was a woman who wouldn't leave someone, something, in such a desperate state.
The ship lurched as they steered towards the flaming heart. Heat radiated from it, distorting the air above. Amara felt the sweat prickle on her skin despite the cool sea breeze. Grabbing a thick canvas sailcloth, she braced herself as they drew close.
With a sickening lurch, the ship scraped against the pulsing heart. Amara leaped forward, the sailcloth stretched taut before her. Using a boat hook, she managed to snag the fiery heart, dragging it aboard in a burst of steam.
The deck sizzled beneath the heart's touch. Sailors scrambled back, fear etched on their faces. Amara, however, knelt before the strange object, her gaze locked on the frantic rhythm of its fiery pulse. This wasn't just a heart, it was a life force, flickering and desperate.
Artist
