Chapter 20: Hold On!

Chapter 20: Hold On!

A Chapter by Steve Clark
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Something lurks under the water - something set to dismantle the ship.

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Hold On!

“Whatever is that noise coming from under the ship?” asked one of the sailsmen.

“What noise?” said Tikvah.

“Listen.”

The men paused, their ears searching for unfamiliar sounds. There were only waves splashing against the hull.

“You are imagining sounds.”

“Shush. Listen.”

Again, there was no noise.

Suddenly, a cry came from above them.

“Get on deck now!”

The men scurried up the ladder, out into the sunshine. Berin, Glavino and Rini followed. As they reached the top, they noticed the men lined on the edge of the ship staring at something in the water. Berin ran over to see. He peered below, into the dark blue waves. A shadow eased itself just below the surface of the water. It was at least as long as the ship, and nearly as wide.

“What is it?”

“I know not,” said Tikvah, next to Berin.

“It is a ferrian!” yelled the first mate.

“A what?”

“A ferrian! I have seen one of these before! Arm yourselves!”

“Arm ourselves?”

“With what?”

“Whatever you can find. This creature is going to sink our ship if we do not kill it first!”

“What?”

The men ran in all directions, seeking anything sharp.

“Halt, men!”

Most of the sailsmen froze, turning towards the captain who stood above them.

“There are harpoons and bows and arrows hidden in my cabin. I brought them along in case we encountered the Bacana.”

“Yes, they will help, Captain,” breathed the first mate. The men ran to the captain’s cabin and broke down the door. Soon they returned with all manner of weapons, real and makeshift. Berin held his sword, though he knew it was fruitless. Glavino was behind the sailsman with the harpoon, and Rini stood behind him. The men filled the side of the ship and aimed their weapons at the creature. At that moment, its head rose into the air.

“Look at the size of its head!”

“May the gods be with us!”

The creature looked not unlike a fish, with a fin at its crest and flippers on either side. It was the sheer size of the creature that made Berin stare wide-eyed. Its blue-grey head rose to the level of the deck, about thirty paces away, its mouth opened, showing its teeth long and sharp as Keturah swords. Its eyes gleamed red as it blew a puff of air and water into the sky.

“A waterfall!” cried one of the sailsmen. The water came splashing down onto the deck, drenching the men. Berin wiped his face and looked around. The men were still poised, ready to defend their ship.

The ferrian dove under the surface, its shadow closing the distance between itself and the ship.

“Steady yourself!” cried the first mate.

The men braced against something, anything, solid. But no collision came. Instead, the ferrian swam under the ship and came up on the other side. The men ran across the deck. As they did, the whole ship shook, causing each man to fall. Two men both landed on the spears they were clutching, piercing their hearts. The rest lost grip of their weapons as they clambered back to their feet. Berin, somehow, managed to remain upright. He rushed to the edge of the deck. Where he stopped, a large crack in the wood appeared. The force of the ferrian had snapped the solid wood in two.

“The ship will break up if it hits us again,” said the first mate, now standing next to Berin.

“We must kill it,” said Berin. The men with the harpoon reached the edge and set up the weapon, aiming directly at the shadow in the water. It was swimming away.

“Be ready to shoot the beast!”

“But it is leaving!”

“It is not. It will return, ready to ram the ship into splinters!”

“We will be ready.”

Indeed, the shadow turned in an arc, before swimming straight for the ship.

“Steady! Steady!” demanded the first mate.

Berin braced himself against the side, his sword returned to the belt. He needed both hands. The ferrian crept closer and closer.

Shoot! Berin thought to himself.

The first mate waited.

“What are you waiting for?” demanded Berin.

“Hold, hold.” The ferrian was now right upon them. There was no way the ship would survive the impact. Berin closed his eyes, clasped his hands, and waited for it.

“Shoot now!”

The harpoon left its canister, the rope following its trajectory. Spears followed. Berin opened his eyes, seeing the mass of weapons heading straight for the ferrian. The harpoon and spears rammed into the ferrian’s head just as it rose above the water, thumping into the ship. At that, the side of the ship broke in two, causing the deck to bend outwards. The wood snapped, nails flinging in all directions. Berin grabbed for Rini as he fell onto the deck. Glavino was nearby, his part of the deck swaying away from them.

“Grab hold! It looks like we are going to sink!”

“What about the ferrian, Papa?”

“I know not. I hope the weapons killed it.”

As the deck came apart, so did the compartments below deck, like breaking a freshly baked loaf of bread. Unable to remain buoyant, the ship began lowering itself into the ocean. The masts swayed both ways before crashing near Glavino. As a sail covered him, he glanced at Berin. The wide eyes and gaping mouth was all Berin could see, could focus on. The part he was holding on to sunk quickly into the ocean.

“Whatever happens, hold on to the ship until I tap you on the shoulder,” Berin said. Rini nodded. Berin glanced over the side. The water was coming ever closer as the deck sank into it. So was the body of the ferrian. It was thrashing about. One of the other sails dropped over its head and wrapped around the beast. Unable to break free, the ferrian writhed until its strength dissipated and death was its only resignation.

At that moment, Berin and Rini entered the water.

“Hold your breath!” Berin cried as the plank they held took them under. The bubbles and white water was too great for Berin to see anything, so he closed his eyes. Finally, feeling they were far enough below the surface, Berin tapped Rini. They both released the plank, swimming to where they thought was the surface. Only Berin could not tell the location of the surface. He opened his eyes. The bubbles were heading in a different direction to them.

Oh no! That must be the way to the surface.

He grabbed hold of Rini, who swam onto his back. They both followed the bubbles until they reached the surface. Gasping for breath, they floated onto their back.

“Can you see anything?”

“I see a floating plank, Papa.”

“Swim to it.”

They reached the plank and climbed aboard. All around them was white water. There was no ship, only elements of its remains that floated. Some of the sailsmen, like Rini and Berin, were holding on to anything that floated. Berin paddled their plank closer to a sailsman. It was Tikvah!

“Are you fine?”

“Yes. You?”

“Yes.”

“What are we to do?”

“There is land over yonder. I saw it just before the ferrian attacked.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“In which direction?”

He looked up into the sky.

“If the sun is there, then it was in…that direction,” he pointed.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I think.”

“We have to trust him, Papa.”

“I think you are right.”

“Where is Glavino?”

Glavino! Where was he?

“Berin!” came a cry from behind them.

“My friend! You are safe!”

“Only by the gods!”

“Paddle this way. We think there is land over there!”

The four, along with other sailsmen, did their best to swim in the direction Tikvah suggested. Sure enough, when were out of range of the sinking ship, they could see land in between the dips of the waves.

“Over here!”

They paddled until they were close enough to the shoreline. People in boats came towards them.

“What happened?” one of the rescuers said in the lingua franca as they dragged drenched men aboard.

“We were attacked by a ferrian.”

“A what?”

“A ferrian.”

“What is that?”

Berin described the beast.

“Ah, we call them unfera. We thought they lived further north.”

“Really?”

“Indeed. I wonder what has brought them this far south?”

The boats made it to the shoreline, where the men lay on the sand, breathing in deeply.

“How did we escape that?”

“The gods must be watching after you,” said one of the rescuers.

“Come, we must get you to the town,’ said another. ‘There you can rest and be fed.”

The rescuers carried them as best they could until their strength returned.

“You are fortunate. No one survives the attack of an unfera.”

“Yes, no one.”

“How did you do it?”

Berin and Glavino relayed the tale.

“Unbelievable. I would never have imagined such a deathly experience.”

Glavino stumbled, falling to the ground.

“What is the matter?”

“I am too weak to carry on.”

“Look Papa, there is blood creeping down his leg!”

“Stop the bleeding.”

“Glavino, where does it start?”

Glavino pointed to his rear.

“Quick, take off your clothes.”

“No.”

“Glavino, this is no time for modesty.”

“But no one has seen me naked.”

Berin was surprised. In all this time, Glavino always managed to remain hidden when clothesless.

“I care not. Take off your pants.”

Glavino obeyed. Berin ignored Glavino’s belongings as him and their rescuers packed a mud ball to stop the bleeding.

“It stings!”

“That is the seawater, sorry.”

“No more!” Glavino pleaded.

“This will help.”

The bleeding soon stopped and Glavino was able to return his pants to their position. He lay on his stomach, biting his lower lip and scrunching his nose.

“When will the stinging stop?”

“Not for a while. Can you move?”

“Not likely.”

“Try.”

Soon Glavino was able to walk. They slowly covered the distance to Zuzi, the harbour town.

“Finally, we made it!” cried Glavino. He was taken to the local medicine man, while Berin and Rini were ordered to rest in one of the local inns.

“I am so glad we made it,” said Rini, the hearty soup the innkeeper provided dripping down his chin.

“As am I. Slow your eating, son.”

Glavino returned to them, hobbling.

“How is your, umm, injury?”

“Do not want to talk about it.”

The innkeeper came with a steaming bowl of soup for him. Glavino slowly ate it, his eyes looking into the bowl as if it were some distant place where his mind wandered.

“Glavino, are you fine?”

Glavino remained silent.

“Whatever is the matter? Is it your rear?”

“Dead. They are all dead.”

“The other sailsmen?”

“Yes.”

“That makes you sad?”

“Of course. We are, as the Zuzi man said, rather fortunate.”

“We must thank the gods.”

“Says you. Why did the gods save us and not the others?”

“I know not, Glavino.”

“This is not right. I should be at the bottom of the ocean with them.”

Berin searched for the right words to say. None came. Glavino excused himself and the innkeeper took him to a bed to rest.

“Papa, what does he mean he should be at the bottom of the ocean?”

“I know not, Rini. I know not.”



© 2016 Steve Clark


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Added on August 10, 2016
Last Updated on August 10, 2016


Author

Steve Clark
Steve Clark

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia



About
A free spirited educator who dabbles in the art of writing novels and articles. more..

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