Chapter Eight

 

“This is our ship,” Daniel’s voice penetrated my thoughts and I was glad for the interruption, my thoughts were not leading a pleasant direction as I had been intending them to.

            He bent to pick up the bags that lay at his feet. I stooped as well and picked up two of them. They were rather ordinary looking and I felt confident that Daniel had much finer things he could have brought. But he had to blend in now, the Prince was dead.

            He had gathered all of the things we would need for the journey. Sturdy clothes, shoes and money. A lot of money. I would never be able to collect the rest of the money from Prince William but it would be more than made up by the amount Daniel had given me. He had taken everything he had and gave nearly half of it to me. I had insisted that it was far too much yet he would not take it back.

            The ship he indicated was not large; actually it was quite small in comparison to the rest of the others. It was to be loaded with empty crates, destined to be filled with spices and linens from our destination I deduced from the smell that clung to the wood. Daniel felt confident that the Captain could be trusted and could keep his mouth shut.

            We were loaded onto the ship quickly, along with the empty crates. Daniel had made a quick introduction of me to the Captain, using a false name. Daniel was right, the man did not ask questions, he had simply nodded once and turned back to the small crew of six other men.

            Daniel led me below the deck and into a small room. It was dark, damp and smelled strongly of spices even though their presence was absent. There were two hammock’s set up inside and the room was completely devoid of anything else. I wondered how much Daniel had paid to gain this privacy and our passage.

            We set our few bags down and settled in comfortably. I could feel the ship pulling out and found the swaying of the boat soothing. I realized this was my first time on a boat.

            “So were exactly are we going?” I asked. This was only the first of a lot of questions.

            “Spain,” he answered simply as he stared intently at me in that irritating way he had done before. His gaze was not entirely uncomfortable but more unsettling.

            “So, now that I have done as you have asked are you going to tell me what exactly is happening?” I questioned. The flame within me started to smolder again as he stared.

            “Forgive me,” Daniel said as he looked away. “I am just in shock to find another one. You are only the second one I have met. And the other one was the woman who changed me. I almost had myself convinced that I was just going crazy and making all of this up in my head.”

            His gaze returned again to my face and I could feel the irritation building inside of me. “Could you please say something that might make even the slightest sense?” I said through slightly clenched teeth. 

            A smile spread on Daniel’s lips and he laughed. “I am sorry, I am just not exactly sure where to begin. There is so much to explain, yet so much that I do not exactly understand myself.”

            “You said you knew what I was,” I said as I tried to calm myself. Why was the anger and irritation within me so hard to control? “Why don’t you start there.”

            “That’s not exactly an easy thing to explain but I will try,” he sighed and leaned back in his hammock. “I am sure that you have noticed the changes?”

            I simply nodded my head. How could I have missed them? “It’s managed to destroy my life completely.”

            “Yes,” he mused, his face grave and saddened. He seemed a different man now and I realized in the short time I had known him he had always been happy and cheerful. “Life will never be the same.”

            As he said this I had a sudden realization. Daniel was no ordinary man. He was whatever I had become. I was not alone in this new world of terror and confusion.

            It was a moment before he spoke again. “I can only tell you what I know from my own experience and knowledge and that is quite limited. I was changed about seven years ago. 

            “I had been kept out of the public eye for a very long time. From the time my mother gave birth to me I was very weak, very ill. I teetered on the edge of death for years. My existence was kept quiet as they simply waited for me to die. When I was twenty-six my health took a turn for the worse and they truly thought I had died. That was when Mary stepped in. She is one of us and she had worked in the castle for all my life. She was the one I sent to retrieve you.”

            Well, that explained a few things of that strange night.

            “I would have indeed died if it were not for her. She did not do what she did lightly. But she said that she had seen the good that existed in me and she said that she could not bear to let me die. And so she made the choice to change me.

            “The change was extraordinary. Everyone called it a miracle. I was completely healed, far beyond any human expectations. The doctors were all astounded and came from far and wide to try and study me, to find the reason behind my sudden recovery.

            “The changes were terrifying at first. My strength was nearly uncontrollable. I killed a member of my guard by accident, one wrong move of my hand and I crushed his skull. I had to use constant restraint to keep at normal paces. My eyes and ears missed nothing.”

            A strange feeling that closely resembled peace settled over me. I truly was not alone. Daniel seemed to know exactly what had happened.

            “But I was faced with yet another problem. As I said, all this happened to me about seven years ago and I have not changed one fraction since that fateful day. I have not aged one day, William.”

            “Eventually, Mary worked up the courage to speak to me, to tell me what she had done to save my life. She explained the frightening fact of my unchanging. We have become immortal, William. We will never naturally die. As I am sure you can sense, it would be very difficult to destroy one of us. You will never age; you will remain as you are for the rest of your existence. Which may last forever.”

            This last word rang in my head over and over and I suddenly felt it might explode. Forever. I could not make my mind wrap around the concept.

            My first coherent thought was that he must have been lying, making some kind of cruel joke. Yet as I looked back at him I could see the severity in his eyes. No, he was telling me the truth.

            To accept this was terrifying. To never die. To be immortal forever. Frozen in time as I was in this moment. Then the worst part of it all hit me. I would forever have to live with the feelings of loss that were threatening to rip me apart. I could never make these thoughts that tortured me end, never make them stop if I so choose to.

            I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself as the all too familiar fire ignited and ripped through me. I wanted to lash out at something, tear this boat apart, splinter by splinter, and I knew I could do it with very little effort. Anything to let the fire consume me completely, anything to extinguish the agony I was feeling.

            “I know it seems unbearable, William,” Daniel’s voice was quiet and soothing. “But what choice do you have?”

            The fire suddenly subsided just a bit as I took in his words. He was right, what choice did I have? I stared across the never ending gulf of eternity, it seemed ominous and impossible to face, yet I knew I had no choice but to start working my way through it. I did not have to like it, but I would simply have to survive it, I had not other choice.

            “How?” I whispered, quiet enough no one but Daniel would have heard the word.

            “I don’t know all of the details of it but Mary told be what she knew. A person must be about to die before they can be changed. A certain elixir is administered that triggers the transformation. I do not know what it is made of or where it comes from. Mary did not know much. She remembers nothing from before her transformation and when she became conscious again she was alone in the country. What little she does know she came to through years of research, sifting through old tales and a lot of myths.

            “She spent a lot of time in the royal library looking for anything that might fit what had happened to her. And finally she came across a legend that seemed to fit. A tale about a race people called the Ever. They never sleep, never eat. They have unlimited strength and incredible speed.”

            This certainly seemed to fit all of my symptoms. “So that is what I have become? An Ever?” I questioned.

            Daniel nodded. “As have I. That is why I have chosen to hide in Spain,” he continued. “I have heard of a doctor there who seemed to bring a man back from the dead. They say he can heal anyone. He has not been there long, a few months or so. I believe he must be an Ever and I have high hopes that he may be able to explain things more clearly. I have to find him. I need to know more.

            “So you see why I needed your help William? I had to disappear. I suspect people were beginning to notice that I was not ageing. How could I possibly take the throne when I would never die? I would have been King forever. Long live the King takes on a whole new meaning,” he said with a smirk. “People would not be able to handle what had happened to me. The safest way to clean things up was for everyone to think me dead.

            “My sister and her husband will be fine rulers. I am a bit surprised to find he wanted the throne bad enough to hire someone to assassinate me,” he said with a chuckle. “But they will do fine. Let them have the throne. I never wanted it. Prince Daniel is dead. I am simply Daniel now.” He said this last bit with a light smile.

            I stared at this man before me with wonder. I could not help but admire him. He had learned that his brother-in-law had planned for his murder yet he held no animosity towards him, even said he would be a good ruler. He faced the same impossible gulf of immortality I did and he did it with a smile. He seemed…brave to me. This new life absolutely terrified me and I had not the faintest idea of how to deal with it.

            I suddenly recalled what he said about the doctor in Spain. Something sparked in me. A doctor who could save anyone, even bring someone seemingly back from the dead. Possibly a doctor who had saved even me?

            This thought I kept to myself. To voice my new questions would lead to questions from Daniel I did not want to have to answer. I was not ready to explain to him how I had come to be here and I was only grateful he had not asked those questions. What would he think of me if I told him what had happened to my family or if I told him that I had sought out the doctor with sure and unwavering intent to kill him for what he had done to me?

            “I want to try something,” Daniel said, a sudden smile spreading across his face. “Don’t laugh, alright?”

            Confusion spread through me but I nodded in agreement. “Alright.”

            Daniel rose to his feet and gestured for me to do the same. He rolled up his right sleeve until his entire arm was exposed. 

            “I want you to hit me as hard as you can,” he said with a childish grin. “I want to see if I can feel it.”

            I suddenly had to try very hard to not laugh at his request. “Are you serious?” I said as a snort escaped as I tried to smother the laugh that threatened to bubble through. “I will break your arm and possibly knock it clean off.”

            “Did you not understand everything I just told you?” he said, his tone exasperated. “I’m an Ever too. I doubt there is much you can do to me.”

            I raised my eye brows and shrugged. “You asked for it,” I said as I rolled my sleeves up as well. Wondering if I was about to have one more thing to feel eternally guilty about I balled up my fist and swung it through the air.

            The connection that was made startled me and I nearly jumped as the great cracking sound exploded between us. I truly had expected to break Daniel’s arm and even though he did shout in slight pain, his bones did not give even the slightest.

            “Oh, jeesh!” Daniel shouted as he shied away and began rubbing his arm vigorously. “Amazing!”

            I began laughing hysterically and suddenly felt like a twelve-year-old boy as I made my next request. “Me next!”

            The scene was repeated in reverse as Daniel balled up his fist and swung away. The force behind it was incredible and I felt the blow radiate throughout my whole body and felt it’s power. The blow stung and while it was not quite as forceful as I had expected I had actually felt something. This was incredible! I hadn’t felt so alive since I had made this impossible transformation.

            After a long period of laughing and making idiotic, childish jokes we quieted down as darkness swallowed up the earth. It was night now and I could tell it was completely dark outside, yet my eyes took in every detail of my surroundings. It suddenly seemed strange to me that we were leaving in the middle of the night but I then remembered that we had reason for a hasty departure.

            My thoughts turned to our previous conversation. What would I do if this doctor were the same who had “saved” me? I had every intent to take his life before, I still held an unquenchable anger towards him, he had taken my life away rather than saved it. He had no right to do what he did to me. Yet I had learned a very important lesson. Every life was important. Who was I to end one? We had all entered the world so perfect; surely humans had the potential to reach that point again. Humans, not whatever I was.

            It became very quiet once darkness had settled. I heard six men come down below and settle in the cargo area. I certainly hoped the man on deck knew what he was doing at night.

            Considering the small size of our vessel I knew that normally a ship would have just gone to the port in France and then we would have to make our way to Spain, but it was amazing what one could get with money. These men were willing to make the dangerous journey and risk their lives for some extra money. We were to be taken all the way to Spain and from there we would start our search.

            The journey was to take at least a week’s time; I had overheard the captain telling a member of the crew. I was not looking forward to this. Being confined in tight quarters with a bunch of strangers was not an appealing thought to me. I had argued with Daniel that we could simply swim the channel and then run faster than the ship would sail. He quickly put that plan to rest by pointing out that we both needed to hide our faces for a while. He at least would still be recognized in France. Neither of us wanted to deal with getting caught and discovered.

            With a sigh I rose from my hammock, Daniel keeping a wary eye on my face.

            “I think I need some fresh air,” I said quietly. He nodded once and I departed the small room. I silently made my way around the sleeping crew members, crates, and boxes and surfaced on the deck.

            It was eerily black on the water. It was oppressive and threatened to crush and suffocate us all. Even my keen eyes could not make out any details that surrounded me so I knew the man at the stern had no chance of seeing anything. There was a light cloud cover, blotting out any chance of letting stars shine through.

            I could hear the water lapping at the sides of the ship, making a slight sucking sound, longing to pull us down into its black abyss. The ship creaked and moaned slightly as if to say to us that it too wanted to rest for the night. I could taste the salt in the air, of course, that was how everything tasted to me now. I could feel the mist of it settling it’s self into every crevice of my face.

            Strangely, I felt at home here. A feeling of peace washed over me as I breathed deeply. The ocean accepted me here. It expected nothing of me. I could never let it down. I could never hurt it. It simply accepted me no matter what I was. To it I was no different from anyone else.

            I closed my eyes and breathed deeply again. I swayed with the gentle, soothing, rocking of the ship. It seemed to be in strange rhythm with the beating of my heart.

            The sound of the waves brought an image from the back of my mind and I invited it to flood my memory. A strange white world, the sound of the ocean there, and the woman. What was this? A memory, a dream, a vision? When had I seen this scene? I struggled to recall but could not seem to grasp it.

            The desire to see the woman’s face rushed through me. Who was the woman in the strange white world? I tried to recall every detail of the image but was frustrated by the fact that the scene was fading. I could not recall exactly how she had looked, the way she stood, the way her body ran together. The forest I could recall with perfect clarity. I had never seen anything like it. The incredible trees, the ferns, everything of the forest was clear. Yet the woman…

            I was surprised when I finally opened my eyes to see that the world was beginning to lighten. Dawn was whispering at the horizon, begging for entrance into the world. I had seen many sunrises in my life yet this one seemed significant somehow. A reflection upon my new existence. I was embarking on a new chapter in my life. I had learned many lessons in the past few months and I knew things were going to change for me. The old William Colegrove was being left behind and the new one was dawning.

            Unconsciously I had made the decision to stay with Daniel. I was free to go now. I had gained all the information I needed from him, I had done as he had asked of me. But where else was I supposed to go? I would not be able to return to my home, I could not go back to England. Daniel was the only person I knew now, the only person I could trust. I would stay with him as long as he permitted. I had no desire to be in solitude.

            The next five days passed quickly and quietly. The crew of the ship ignored us for the most part. They kept to their business, we kept to ours. Daniel remained quiet for the most part and I knew that he was watching me, gauging my every movement, watching my moods, wondering how I was coping with all of the information he had dumped on me. It was irritating to have him watching me so close but I vowed to myself that I would control my anger, to extinguish that fire that constantly threatened to burn me up.

            Darkness had reigned triumphant upon the Earth for many hours when we sensed the change. Both our ears were peaked, each of us had heard it. Alerted, we rushed up to the deck.

            We both strained to see into the black night but there was not much to behold. The darkness was unwilling to give anything away.

            “You heard it too,” Daniel stated, not a question.

            I nodded once. A major shift in the wind. “How long?”

            “It’s hard to tell.” A deep crease formed between his eyes. “Maybe an hour, probably less. This ship does not stand a chance.”

            Something within me confirmed that this was true. With the fierceness that I knew the storm was going to hit us the ship would not have a prayer. “What are we going to do?” The thought crossed my mind that we could simply swim to shore, that would be no problem for Daniel and I. Yet I knew now that I could not leave the crew to fend for themselves. They would never make it.

            “I’ll wake the captain,” Daniel muttered quietly. He was below deck and out of sight in the blink of an eye.

            I again stared futilely out across the still waters. The calm before the storm. The tempest coming would devastate even the largest of ships. Our tiny vessel would be pounded to splinters.

            I could hear Daniel below talking to the Captain in hushed, hurried tones. The Captain was groggy, sleep weighing his voice down. Daniel sternly told him to not ask questions but he knew a storm was brewing out on the waters and trouble was coming. The explanation Daniel provided was simple enough; this would be more acceptable than the truth. What was he going to say, he heard a shift in the wind miles out and we were in a lot of trouble? The captain would think he was crazy; no one had that good of hearing. Nevertheless, there was quiet scrambling as he clothed himself and after a few moments they both surfaced       “Captain, my friend and I can help you and your crew but you must promise me that none of you will ever breath a word about our actions,” Daniel’s face was severe, his tone sharp.

            I could sense terror in the Captains face. His eyes were wide, his skin pale, his hands shaking slightly. There was also the slightest anger and regret. He could not enjoy the small fortune he had just made if he was dead.

            “Now,” Daniel commanded as he turned to look around the boat. “Gather all the rope and all the barrels you have on board. A smaller floatation may have a better chance of surviving. Now, Captain!”

            The Captain who seemed to have been frozen in place suddenly sprang to life, shouting at the top of his lungs to rouse the crew.

            “Do you think they have a chance?” I breathed to Daniel, knowing only his sharp ears would hear my words.

            “Without us, no.” He stated as he observed the crew bringing the things he had requested on deck. “We are going to have to try to keep everyone together. And keep everyone afloat. I learned that we do not need to breathe as much, William. You can go nearly an hour without coming up for air if needed. Don’t ask how I learned that,” he said as a smile tugged at his lips. “Hopefully it will not come to that, for the others will not survive.”

            By now everything seemed to have been gathered and they stood around us, looking to Daniel for guidance rather than their Captain.

            “I am sure by now your Captain has given you warning to keep your mouths shut about what you may see,” Daniel’s voice was again severe. “We are going to try to stick together. I am afraid that your ship does not stand a chance and we are still yet a ways from shore. You will all follow Mr. Colegrove and myself. Let’s get to work.”

            Daniel barked orders for fashioning a small floatation device out of the ten barrels gathered. While the two of us probably could have worked twice as fast at least I saw that Daniel was trying to be cautious and not reveal any more than was needed. Everyone was to be linked to the floatation with their own length of rope. After that everyone was simply instructed to hang on with their life. There was not much else to do.

            Just as the last knots were being tied I felt the first winds come across the water. Electricity pulsed through the air and I could feel the moisture clinging to every surface around me. I knew there was a great chance none of them would make it out alive.

            The waters started to churn, the waves picking up intensity with every passing moment. Wind pushed against the side of our vessel, rocking the boat back and forth violently. I could see terror in each of their eyes. I actually looked into each of their faces for the first time. There was older man, first mate, years of sea life evident in his crinkled face. Twin brothers, identical in looks, approximately Daniel’s frozen age. There were three other men who all had similar hard looks, the type of men who would rob and murder you in the streets for whatever you had in your pockets. Like the man who had murdered my mother. And then there was the young boy. He could not be much older than Eli… It was painful to think his name, to have that last image of my brothers face flash before my eyes. His still form lying in a heap upon the floor.

            I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to push the images away. I needed to focus right now. I had a task before me that I could not bear to fail at. I would not have more lives end because of my failure.

            As I looked out across the waters I could see the multiple walls the wind was making, rushing to crash upon the ship. The next wall that hit us shook the ship so violently I was not sure we would right back up. It did indeed but the next waves crashed over the side and in that same moment the rain started to pour like buckets being dumped from heaven.

            We clung to our vessel for as long as it withstood the storm but after an hour or so of pounding we heard a great cracking sound and my blood ran cold. With another loud moaning the front end of the ship broke off and was smashed to splinters by the crashing waves. We now stood on the splintered remains of the back half of the ship.

            “Boys, it’s time!” Daniel bellowed over the ferocity of the storm.

            The terror in their eyes previous was nothing to what I saw in their faces now. But with their last ounce of bravery the each nodded and helped to pick up the makeshift floatation.

            “We should all jump together,” he called again as he observed the churning waters as we stood at the boats edge. “On three. One…two…three!”

            Time seemed to freeze for just a moment as we leapt into the stormy abyss. I heard two sounds mingling over the noise of the torrent. The first was the yelling of the crew. I could not blame them; they were jumping into what was likely to be their death. The second was another great moan.

            Just as time seemed to speed back up there was a great cracking sound. I plunged into the frigid water and whipped around just in time to see the ship split in half again and was crushed into splinters by a pounding wave.

            I turned back to our crew to assess. I could see the older man, the young boy, and the three dark ones clinging to the barrels and panicked when I could not see the twins or the Captain. Frantically I swam over to cling onto the lifeline. Strange, swimming was an odd sensation, very natural.

            “Daniel!” I called, my voice not carrying very far over the water.

            “Over here!” Had my ears not been so keen I never would have heard his call from the other side. With a few kicks I was around. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found the three that were the cause of my panic.

            “How far off shore do you think we are?” I questioned as I spit salty sea water out.

            “I can’t be sure but the storm seems to be pushing us toward land. I am sure it will still be hours though.”

            I nodded in agreement. We could only hope that the lightening would hold off long enough. “We should try to get them out of the water,” I bellowed. As I said this a huge wave came crashing down on our heads. As I resurfaced I quickly kicked my way back to the other side.

            The older man was coughing profusely, clinging with unsteady hands to the side of the barrels. He would be first.

            “I am going to get you on the raft,” I shouted to his ear as I reached his side. “Try to get balanced once you’re up there!”

            With that I grabbed the back of his shirt and hefted. Being careful to use just the right amount of force I threw him up and over the side of the raft. I heard him land with a thud and hoped he would be able to get himself stable up there.

            Next I turned to the boy, his expression shocked as he looked at me. “Don’t ask questions,” I said, my expression grave. I grabbed him by his shirt as well and threw him up and over the side. The other three seemed to catch onto what I was trying to do and started to pull themselves up. Giving them each a hand I helped them up and kicked my way back to the other side. Another wave crashed over my head and I held my breath to avoid filling my lungs with water. 

            Just as I came around I saw Daniel heave the Captain onto the raft, the other two must have already been thrown on.

            “We’re not all going to fit,” he called to me as I swam to his side. “I think we’re going to have to stay in the water.”

            “I think that might be best just to make sure the raft does not fall to pieces,” I yelled back.

            He nodded in agreement and I kicked my way back to the other side. I gave a powerful kick and pushed myself out of the water and got just a glimpse of those on board. Everyone looked terrified but seemed alright.

            We clung to the raft for hours. The waves thrashed us about violently but the raft held strong. Thrice we had to retrieve someone as he was thrown off the raft but every rope proved it’s worth and held strong. Being in the water made it nearly impossible to breathe without taking in a mouthful of water. Daniel was right, I didn’t need to breathe often.

            As the sky started to lighten slightly I knew that dawn had broken but could not entirely penetrate the angry billows above us. The breaking of day yielded no relief from the storm.

            I lost rack of time as we were thrown about. It must have still been the same day at least. There was the same gray haze above us. After an unknown space of time I heard Daniel yell to me.

            “Can you smell that William?”

            My nose burned from the salt but I sniffed hard at the air. Yes, something was different. I could detect a slight musk in the air. Wet earth.

            “Yes!” I cried, joy flooding through me. “We must be getting close!”

            Daniel was suddenly at my side, his nose to the sky. “It’s coming from that direction,” he said as he pointed to our left. “I think we should try to push the raft in that direction. The storm is not going to let up and this thing is not going to hold together forever.”

            I nodded in agreement. “It can’t be too much farther if we can smell it from out here,” I yelled as I followed him to another corner of the raft.

            We both placed our hands against the side of the raft, the young boy watching curiously, and started kicking. At first it seemed a futile attempt. The waves only seemed to be pushing us back. But slowly, ever so slowly I could tell we were moving in the right direction.

            My mind became numb and the only thing I could think about was to keep kicking. We had to save them, all of them. There was no other option to me. And so I kept kicking. It was amazing that I never seemed to tire and despite the cold my limbs never stiffened up.

            “I think we’re almost there,” Daniel breathed after what must have been two hours of pushing.

            Yes, the sent was getting heavier in the air. I started kicking with more force, determination set in my face.

            It was not long before I could see a dark shadow looming before us. We were almost out of here. Soon the crew was shouting with joy as the sight greeted their eyes.

            We must have been less than an hundred yards away when I heard it. A deep rumbling coming from under the water. I looked over at Daniel and knew that he had heard it too. The raft was not going to make it to shore.

            We both kicked with all of our strength but we had no chance of swimming out of the mammoth wave. I could hear it chasing after us, knowing what was about to happen next. It was inevitable.

            “Brace yourselves!” I bellowed.

            With that I felt myself being sucked upward as the wave caught up to us. The raft was pulled upward in the curve of the ominous wave and everything seemed to slow in time as I watched it tip and throw it’s passengers. And I could only watch helplessly.

            We reached the crest of the wave and I could not help but feel slightly exhilarated as we were suddenly air borne. The feeling of such an unstoppable force below me, the electricity that pulsed through the air, and the sensation of flying through space. I felt myself smile just before my body was hurtled back at the water. It was an odd sensation when I came back down. My legs hit something solid and I realized that it must have been sand. The water could not have been more than five feet deep. I could see that everyone else had landed much closer to shore that I had. They all scrambled to their feet and were racing for shore, ropes and shards of wood being dragged behind them. They were all lucky they had not been smashed to bits as they hit solid ground.

            But there was another strange sensation as I met the water. A powerful sucking, pulling me back out to the abyss. I was far enough out from shore that as the wave retreated it pulled me back with it. Even I was not strong enough to fight it. Mother Nature was more powerful than I and again I stopped breathing all together as I was sucked under the water. I could feel sand grating at my skin as it churned around me.

            When I resurfaced two things happened at once. The first, I realized everyone had made it to shore as I could see eight figures on the wide beach before me. The second was the blinding flash of light.

            My body was suddenly ridged as every muscle flexed to its max. My jaw clenched, my eyes suddenly glued shut. My breathing stopped as my lungs froze with everything else. My heart gave one great thud and stopped as well. My skin sizzled and pulsed in a very odd way. I could hear nothing but the loud boom that seemed to resonate on and on. 

            Our luck with escaping the lightening had suddenly run out.

            I could not fully describe how this moment felt. The feeling of the electricity coursing through my body was amazing. Adrenaline surged through my system, saturating every corner and crevice. I was suddenly elated, the best feeling I had ever experienced. 

            But just as quickly as the bolt had struck it was gone. And I greedily wished for more. The sensation was ecstasy.

            I had heard tales of people being struck by lightning and knew they did not often survive, especially in the water. There was something about knowing I had just survived something that should have killed me left me in awe.

            I became aware of shouting off in the distance and registered that my ears were ringing horribly. As I opened my eyes I could make out someone swimming towards me.

            “William!” a voice shouted and I realized it was Daniel. “Will…” the sound was smothered by the wave that crashed over his head.

            The situation settled it’s self back into my mind. Right, time to get out of the water.

            I started kicking my way back towards the shore, surprised by how far I had been drug back.

            “William,” Daniel called over the storm again as he reached me. “Are you alright?”

            I could not help the smile that spread across my face. “Fine,” I said simply. Daniel gave me an unsure look but did not ask any more questions.

            It did not take long to swim back to shore without the load of the raft and seven grown men.

            “Is everyone alright?” I questioned as we sloshed onto the sandy beach.

            “The Captain broke his leg but other than that everyone is ok. Everyone is a bit in shock but alright,” he replied as he looked around at everyone.

            It was a moment before I spoke again. “Now what?”

            Daniel did not say anything for several long moments as he seemed to be assessing the situation. “I think they will be ok now. They won’t say anything about us if they know what is good for them,” he said, his voice heavy with implications. Looking directly at the older man he said, “You need to get him to a doctor as soon as possible.” He turned back to me and nodded once. “Now we start our search.”

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[Fabian G. Franklin]

Trouble on the high sea; I love a good sea faring tale as well.