Shadow In The Distance

It began upon a rowboat. This strange hunk of wood I found myself upon drifted through a cavern, beneath a sky of rain. Rocks to my sides sat calm against the sea in the distance, which swept and slashed at the air in the midst of a vicious storm. The rowboat I clung to was still, and seemed to be, fastened to a large rock, all while the sea tore at the rope attaching me to the land; a jagged rock that had caught the rope on a loop and held me close. I climbed over and took hold of a chunk of rock on the land. I forced myself up from the rocking hunk of wood and took big steps onto the landmass, attempting not to trip over into the water. I fell forward onto hard warped rocks, shredded by centuries of water and misshapen waves. The rope tore and the boat fell back into the sea, being taken away by the cyclones that whipped and slashed in the distance.

I struggled to climb atop the rocky island and cancel out the bitter cold that tore at my uncovered ankles. My revealed hands felt the same fate. I couldn’t remember how I’d ended up in the boat; or how I’d become stranded upon this melancholy chunk of ocean. I looked in all directions, yet all I could spot was black seas and grey skies. The world around appeared in a state of chaos. My yellow raincoat, plastic and soaked, did nothing to keep the water from seeping into my heavy clothing. My boots were filled with water from when the rickety sea had flooded my boat. The wind was uncanny, slashing away at my face and burning my nose with a chill. Waves would come for a moment, trying to pull me from the rock I stuck to. I’d take up water, and the cold brush of death, and the sea below would pull me close. Or at the very least, try to.

No matter how much the sea pulled, I gripped the jagged rocks of the island even harder. I was not going to die there, away at the bottom of the sea. The winds grew harsher, emanating noises and sounds of such vastly horrific tones. The wind almost sounded like voices, slowed and reversed, coming from the blackness of the sea around me. I called out for god as wind filled my mouth. I coughed as the air was unbreathable, but just in small spurts. The sea bubbled and the waves died down. I saw a flickering of light in the distance and saw, on the horizon, the silhouette of a great black ship. From beside it arose this… shape. It was tentacled and rose way up into the clouds, like a snake covered in tongues, passing past the point where the rain was conceived.

And from the rock I looked out on the calm sea, calling out to the ship and the strange shape beside it. And in a moment the blob of tentacles and unearthly movements came down upon the ship, snapping it in two! I heard cries off in the distance, like warped screams of sailors, consumed by that shape that came from the water’s depths. The shape settled down as the ship’s two bits sunk slowly into the ocean. And then, it was all gone, like some faded memory, both images passed back into the sea as the cloudy skies ceased raining. I saw the shape in the ocean once more; that tentacled snake starting off in my direction. I saw the blackness of the sea emanate this glowing mass that stretched out for me across the water’s surface.

It rushed, closer and closer, and I scattered across the rock, looking to take cover from the approaching mass. I ducked, expecting the dark thing to rise from the sea before me. I believed that I was to look upon the horror of the ocean; and those things which dwelled so far out, beyond the areas of the sea where any man would venture. I peeked up from over the top of the rocky island’s peak, looking down at the waters and the miles of ocean around me. There I saw eyes, giant and glowing, focused on me from beneath the waters, and as I stared my eyes grew red, burning like eggs! I screamed as the beast widened it’s gaze and began to rise from the water to meet me. I reached for my face and fell backward into the sea.

From the sides I could make out it’s black tentacles reaching around the rocky island to catch me, and at the very moment my body hit the water. My head went in first, followed by my body as I felt the tongues beneath me stick to the plastic of my coat. As I felt myself going backward, my arms shot out to grab the stoney island again. The shape was upon me and I was completely vulnerable. I gripped a small chunk of rock and it broke off with my weight pulling it back. From the rock, my arm slipped, taking a chunk of the stone with me into the sea. Even after falling in, I felt the stone in my hand. Even if I was to be casted into the sea, as long as I held the stone I’d have a feeling of security, of land, in this ocean of blackened horror. I went under.

I shut my eyes tight, expecting the teeth of the shape in the ocean to tear me apart upon impact. And with the rush of cold that filled my entire being, darkness enveloped me. Suddenly warmth rushed over my head, then upon my body. And I held that piece of stone tight, begging for all of this to be a dream. Then, in a moment all of the water and the sea could no longer be felt upon my skin. And suddenly I found myself within a bed, surrounded by white curtains, with the scent of cleaner, bleach and ammonia in the air. It was a hospital I now lied in, still holding the piece of rock from that oceanic island. Holding it so tight my hands were nearly bloodied. Was it all a dream? In my hands was proof of this nightmare. This awful encounter of that shadowy thing, far beyond the stretch of the sea.

I tried to sit up, and my hand had run scarlet due to how tight I was holding that severed chunk of rock. It was all I had to remember that daydream… Or was it a memory? I couldn’t tell. After a while in the hospital I began to piece everything back together. I was a Navy soldier, on a carrier out at sea. I don’t remember going overboard. Visitors and doctors said it was a miracle that I was ever found. They told me I had washed up along the shores of Subic Bay, right by the base, which was where I was now. I remember none of this. And if I plan to ever sleep soundly again, I’d prefer that I forget this whole ordeal all together.