Chapter Six

A voyage to the mainland and encounter with a noble sailer?

Daniel stuffed his pocket watch back into his vest after checking that it was two o'clock. A small ship was anchored out in the distance and he watched as a tiny row boat made its way to shore. As it neared, he picked up his suitcase and walked as near to the water as he could without getting his black, rubber soled shoes wet. He wished he was standing on a populated dock rather than an empty beach. 

   The boat skidded across the sand as it finally reached the shore and a tall man stepped out to drag it further onto dry land. Daniel approached him slowly as he turned around and held out his hand. "Hallo, du bist Daniel, richtig?"

   Daniel stared at him blankly, trying to work out what he had said in German, and took his hand, shaking it.

   He laughed. "My apologies, I forget what language I'm speaking, sometimes. How are you, Daniel? The name's Max."

   "Ah, hello, Max. I'm doing well. Are you the sailor Alexander is having take me to Brennenburg?"

   "Aye, indeed I am, his one and only personal chaperon." He grinned at the introduction, satisfied by his position. "May I take your bag?"

   "Yes, thank you," Daniel said, handing his briefcase to Max.

   He put it in the boat, grunting under his breath. "Now I see why you only have one bag. You really know how to pack," and chuckled once he set it down, securely.

   Daniel forced a chuckle, starting to warm up to the man. He figured if he had to travel with him for two days, they might as well get to know each other. A feeling told him that he would be seeing more of Max after the journey to Brennenburg.

   "Ready to go?"

   Daniel nodded and stepped into the wooden boat, sitting opposite of the oars. Max grunted as he pushed it back into the water, jumping in once they were afloat. The boat rocked back and forth, which made Daniel a bit nervous, and Max took up the oars, turning to face towards the ship. He propelled them so gracefully through the water, it was obvious he'd have years of experience.

   "How long do you plan on staying?" asked Max. "Master Blu never told me, when he usually does to give me a heads up on when to prepare for the voyage back."

   "I don't know," responded Daniel, truthfully. "I was only invited to come, not leave."

   "Ah, you must be staying with us for a while, then," Max stated, bumping against the ship and he hooked two ropes into loops on either side of the row boat. "Can you pull this rope in sync with me? Be wary, it'll be heavy."

   Daniel took the rope and tugged on it with all his might, lifting the tiny boat out of the water. After nearing the top, he noticed there was no crew aboard the ship. "You can manage this ship all by yourself?"

   "It's not easy, but yes, I can. However, I may ask for your help if we run into a sticky situation. This isn't your ordinary ship. Alexander invented the engine, and somehow or another, it's powered by light. Even the dim light of the moon and many stars is enough to keep it running."

   Shivers ran down Daniels spine as he slowly realized that Alexander was more than he probably claimed to be. It was going to be an interesting trip, for certain.

   It was the smallest ship that he had ever seen, and he was amazed that it could even function without at least a huge engine room. Max showed him into the cockpit after covering up the row boat with a black tarp. The room held two straw beds off to the side; a compass sitting upon a podium in the center, and at the end of the cockpit there was a window looking out upon the open ocean and a big control panel splayed out in front of it. Many switches, buttons, pedals, and bulbs covered the panel, as well as a big, classically styled steering wheel.

   "There aren't very many ships with all these controls, are there?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Daniel stood amazed at the spectacular array of buttons in front of him.

   "Nope. This is the only one, and it's all thanks to Alexander."

   "Does he ever plan on sharing his creations with the world?"

   "I don't believe that the people of this world could handle all of his inventions well. Any real scientist would find this ship physically impossible to move past where the waves of the ocean took it. It's all for the better if he keeps to himself and the people around him.

   "In fact, he's told me that he was researching a new source of energy: human adrenaline."

   The hairs on the back of Daniel's neck stood on end. "Adrenaline? Like fear?"

   "Exactly." Max smirked and flipped a switch on the control panel. The ship slowly began moving and he turned the wheel to set their course. "Next stop: the Northern Forest of Germany."

   He pulled a table and two chairs into the room, setting them up so they could both easily see the ocean ahead of them and reach the wheel. A deck of cards was fished out of his pocket and he shuffled them idly. "Have you ever heard of the Queen's Theory?"

   "No, I haven't," Daniel said as he sat down at the table.

   "Care to learn how to play?"

   "Sure."

   Max set the deck face down on the table and began explaining. They played throughout the remainder of the day, occasionally fixing the steering wheel to stay on course. The sun had disappeared beyond the horizon a few hours before Daniel finally retired to his bed. He slowly nodded to sleep as Max flipped a couple of switches at the control panel.

   That night, his dreams stayed in the shadows.

   There was no way to describe how he felt about docking in Germany. He had only, really been there once with his team to investigate rumors of an ancient civilization that lived under a towering mountain. All they had been able to come up with, though, were a few impassible caves and what looked to be a comb made out of gold. That object was quickly sealed in a museum nearby, never to be seen by the Federation again.

   He was glad to note that the citizens of Germany acted proper, whether their intent be good or evil. Daniel believe that any German man, with enough skill in speech and manipulation, could dictate the country as a mass murderer, yet still be the image of a hero in the eyes of his people.

   The ship had docked mid-morning on the border of a dense, coniferous forest. The redwoods shined with a dark beauty as a thick fog moistened their bristles.

   Two horses grazed on a patch of grass nearby. Daniel noticed they were to pull the carriage as Max approached. "You don't picket your mares?"

   "No need to," replied Max, holding two, red apples out in his hand. "They know better than to run off. I trust them." He clicked his tongue and the duo came trotting over, taking the juicy, red apples with their big teeth.

   Daniel took a few steps back to say a comfortable distance away. Despite being around horses as often as he was, he could never grow fond of them. Their size overwhelmed him and made him feel smaller than a hen.

   "You're welcome to sit up front with me, if you want," Max said, getting the horses attached to the carriage.

   "I don't mean to be rude, but I just wouldn't be at ease."

   Max seemed to understand. "Alright, then, hop in the back. Alexander wouldn't be happy if we arrived late."

   Daniel made himself comfortable in the cab as it jerked to a start. Before long his clothes grew damp from the humid air. He could only sit there in anticipation for his meeting with Alexander Blu that evening. A knot in his stomach threatened to make him sick at every little bump in the road.

   As he stared out into the surrounding forest, he couldn't help but feel as if something was following them.

Reviews

[Truth]

Probably your best chapter yet, my dear. Well done. Very well done indeed. I like Max, though he doesn't have too much of a personality. I was actually very down today, but when I read this, it suprisingly brought me out of the darkness a bit. Thank you so much for sharing, Autumn.

[brenda]

creepy chapter well the ending its good!:) kep going !:)