The lighthouse was what we noticed first, facing inland and unnaturally still. It felt like we were looking at a predator that had something vulnerable in its sight though all we could see was the same harbour town we always came home to.
We'd been out at sea for so long that the news never reached us til we were too close to shore to do anything but dock. All those distorted stone figures were once human and didn't seem to realise they'd changed. They still treated us like they always had, though the lighthouse seemed to glare at us all the while.
We couldn't get out of there fast enough, with enough supplies to last us til we hit the continent where we hoped to find actual humans and non-sentient lighthouses. As always, nothing ever goes to plan at sea and she threw everything she had at us, making us nearly two weeks overdue.
By then it was too late and whatever had taken our home had spread to the shoreline towns. Only difference is that out lighthouses were built into the surrounding rock and these modern ones found a way to make their foundations propel them towards whatever they perceived to be danger.
We can't tell them apart, you know. The ones that kill and the ones that are just humans in another shell. We ended up trailing a particularly vicious lighthouse with a keener killer instinct than a half-starved tiger and more teeth than a dentist's basement.
It keeps us safe and in return we maintain it, like birds picking fleas from the backs of elephants. Only birds grow old and die and we've been around far longer than any human ought to be able to and it's been so long since we last saw anyone with flesh and meat.
But as long as we've got a light, we'll be safe.
Safe until we turn to stone too.
Then the hunt's on us.
We'd been out at sea for so long that the news never reached us til we were too close to shore to do anything but dock. All those distorted stone figures were once human and didn't seem to realise they'd changed. They still treated us like they always had, though the lighthouse seemed to glare at us all the while.
We couldn't get out of there fast enough, with enough supplies to last us til we hit the continent where we hoped to find actual humans and non-sentient lighthouses. As always, nothing ever goes to plan at sea and she threw everything she had at us, making us nearly two weeks overdue.
By then it was too late and whatever had taken our home had spread to the shoreline towns. Only difference is that out lighthouses were built into the surrounding rock and these modern ones found a way to make their foundations propel them towards whatever they perceived to be danger.
We can't tell them apart, you know. The ones that kill and the ones that are just humans in another shell. We ended up trailing a particularly vicious lighthouse with a keener killer instinct than a half-starved tiger and more teeth than a dentist's basement.
It keeps us safe and in return we maintain it, like birds picking fleas from the backs of elephants. Only birds grow old and die and we've been around far longer than any human ought to be able to and it's been so long since we last saw anyone with flesh and meat.
But as long as we've got a light, we'll be safe.
Safe until we turn to stone too.
Then the hunt's on us.
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