It had been a good day so far. They’d landed half a dozen beautiful fish, which they’d cleaned and stored in the refrigerators made for just that purpose.
“If we do half as well tomorrow,” Dave pointed out, “we won’t need a miracle to be feasting on fish for the rest of the year.”
“Oh, man. You maybe, but not me. Sally starts twitching if she has to eat fish more than once a week.”
The priest chuckled. “I’m happy to take that burden off your hands. More fish for me, then.”
“Somehow I didn’t think it would be a problem.”
Mark stood up. “I’m going to give Sally a quick call, just to touch base with her and see how the shopping went.”
“Now, there’s a surprise,” the other man said with a laugh. “You wanting to speak to your honey.”
Mark rolled his eyes at his friend and made his way down to the master bedroom. He called Sally as soon as he was inside. As the phone rang, he listened to the static on the line. To his surprise, the call went straight to her voicemail and her outgoing message came through a bit garbled. He wondered if the boat was situated in a bad spot.
“Hey, babe, it’s me. I miss you. I love you. Goodbye.”
He hung up, frustrated that he hadn’t actually been able to speak to her. An intense wave of longing he couldn’t explain suddenly washed over him. He waited a couple of minutes to see if she’d call him back.
Finally, he left the room to rejoin Dave on deck. The sun had set and darkness was closing in fast. He found his friend standing next to the railing, staring up at the sky and frowning.
“What’s wrong, captain?”
Dave turned to him, his brow furrowed. “I don’t see the moon.”
“I thought this would have been something your dad taught you when you were a little tyke. Just because you can’t see the moon doesn’t mean it’s not there,” Mark said, trying to recapture his earlier good mood.
Dave just scowled harder. “I’m not joking. It’s supposed to be nearly full tonight.”
“I’m sure it is. It must be hiding behind some clouds. It will show itself soon enough.”
“But there weren’t any clouds earlier.”
“Well, there must be now. Either that, or you read the wrong day on the calendar. Don’t worry about it. With our running lights on, other ships can see us for miles.”
“I guess,” Dave said, sounding more worried than he usually did, especially considering this was supposed to be a vacation for them.
“On the other hand, if you’ve got some kind of an inside line on the date for the end of the world, I’d appreciate a heads-up. After all, it could be bad for business.”
His quip had the desired effect. It broke the tension that had suddenly seemed to descend upon them.
“Arrogant prick,” Dave muttered.
“Superstitious fool,” he countered.
They settled into deck chairs in a comfortable silence, listening to the gentle lap of small waves against the boat. In a short while, Mark felt himself being lulled to sleep.
“I think I’m going to turn in.”
“Okay. I’ll probably head to bed in a few minutes myself,” Dave muttered, his eyes fixed on the dark water.
Mark made his way back downstairs, convinced that as soon as he slipped between the sheets he’d be dead to the world. It sounded like a pretty good idea with the boat rocking him to sleep like a babe in a cradle.
~
Sally was soaking in her bathtub, enjoying the penetrating warmth of the bubble bath as she stretched out her leg and shoulder muscles. It had been such a long time since she had an evening all to herself that she stayed in longer than she originally intended, savoring both the warmth and the quiet.
When she got out, she changed into her comfiest pajamas and flopped down on the bed. She sighed happily and glanced around the bedroom. She loved this room so much. Mark had been the architect, and they had fulfilled their dream of designing their own home. Everything about it reminded her of him.
Her eyes drifted to the ceiling. There, in the crown molding, were two intertwined hearts he had put in as a signature piece. It represented the two of them and the love which kept them together.
She reached for her phone, feeling the need to call him and hear his voice. She was surprised when her call went straight to voicemail. She sighed in frustration and hung up, deciding to text him instead.
Love you.
She put the phone down on her nightstand and debated what to watch on television before falling asleep. Instead, she found herself dropping off into sleep.
She was awoken by the sudden chime of her phone. She picked it up and saw Mark’s reply.
Love u 2.
Miss you.
It took longer than usual, but his reply finally came back.
Miss u more. Tried calling earlier, left voicemail.
In tub. No voicemail.
I left one, he insisted.
I’ll probably get it later. How’s Dave?
Good.
The fish?
Excellent.
I still have fish in freezer from last time, she reminded him, hoping he would take the hint.
Most r Dave’s.
Good. Can’t wait 4 tomorrow night.
Lasagna’s going 2 b good.
She sent an emoji with the tongue sticking out.
What are u wearing?
Nothing.
Really?
No. Pajamas.
I knew the other was 2 good 2 b true.
What are you wearing? she asked.
Guess.
What do I get if I guess right?
There was a lengthy pause and then his next text came in.
Gotta run. POS.
She laughed. For most people that would mean Parents Over Shoulder. For them, it meant Priest Over Shoulder.
She sent him a heart emoji and then put her phone down, snuggling into the coolness of the bedsheets and drifting into a deep sleep.
~
Mark was surprised when Dave showed up in his room unexpectedly. The other man didn’t look right, and something about his sudden appearance made the hair on the back of Mark’s neck stand on end.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.
“I don’t know. Nothing, I guess.”
“Okay, from the look on your face, it is definitely not nothing. So, I’m going to ask you again. What’s going on?”
“It’s…I don’t know. I’ve just got this weird feeling.”
“Weird in what way?”
“Like something isn’t right, you know?”
Mark sucked in his breath. “Is this like the weird feeling you had back in 2001?”
He was the only person who knew Dave had suffered nightmares about the attack on the World Trade Center two weeks before it happened. Dave wasn’t alone. Thousands of other people had also had the same experience. But it was something Dave really didn’t like talking about.
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
“That’s good enough for me to take seriously. What do you think is wrong?”
“If I could put it into words, I would,” Dave said, sounding supremely frustrated. “Tonight, the ocean feels different somehow.”
“You think a storm is coming?”
“I’ve checked and rechecked the forecasts. There’s nothing.”
“Let’s go up on deck,” Mark suggested.
Dave nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you, given that it’s so late.”
Mark shook his head. “Never worry about waking me up. Besides, it’s only…” He tapped his phone to bring up the time. He blinked when he saw the numbers. “Seven minutes past midnight? That can’t be right. I haven’t been in this room more than half an hour.”
“You probably just drifted off to sleep for a while,” Dave said as he turned and headed out of the ro
om.
Mark shook his head to clear it and then followed the other man up the stairs. The first thing he noticed on deck was that the night was pitch black. Weird, considering what Dave had said about the moon supposedly being nearly full.
But as Mark had pointed out earlier, there was no reason to worry. So what if he couldn’t see the moon or stars. They had to be behind a thick cloud bank. There were no other ships anywhere around, which meant the only light was coming from their boat.
There was no longer a breeze. The air was completely still. He had to strain to even hear the quiet lapping of waves against the hull. The vast emptiness was beautiful, but also more than a bit unnerving. He could understand why it was spooking David.
“It feels as if we’re the only two people in the world,” Mark said in hushed tones. He didn’t know why he was speaking in a whisper, but somehow it felt appropriate--necessary, even.
“I know. I come on these trips specifically for the peace and quiet, but this is a little too--”
“Quiet?”
“Yeah.”
They stood for several minutes, looking around and concentrating on what was before them. Mark found that his field of vision was very limited. He could see water where the lights from the boat shone on it, but even just a few feet out, everything was utter blackness.
Mark shook his head. “I think our imaginations are running away with us. We’ve been stuck in the noisy, busy city for too long.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Dave said slowly.
“Even if we wanted to head in early, it’s just so dark out here I don’t think it would be a good idea.”
Dave nodded.
They stood there for a couple more minutes in silence. If it was possible, the sound of the waves grew even fainter. He wondered if this was what going deaf felt like.
Next to him, Dave snapped his fingers, the sudden sound booming into the darkness.
Mark jumped. “Why did you do that?”
“To test my hearing.”
Mark realized Dave was also straining to hear any sound, which was more than a little creepy. He wasn’t sure if that made him feel better or worse. “Do we normally see ships out here at night?” he asked.
“I was wondering the same thing. We always turn in early, though, so I don’t know for certain. I’ve never heard a ship at night before, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
Mark clapped a hand on Dave’s shoulder. “Okay, enough of spooking each other out. Those fish tomorrow morning won’t catch themselves. I’m going to go get some rest. You should, too.”
Dave gave a slight nod.
Mark turned to the stairs leading down to the cabins. Dave was still standing outside, rock solid and staring into the distance.
Inside his cabin, Mark picked up his phone, thinking he might finish his text conversation with Sally. When he glanced at the time, though, he was just as shocked as he’d been earlier.
How on earth did I just spend two hours on deck without knowing it?
3
Sally jolted wide awake. She sat up, panting as she tried to catch her breath. She was sweating profusely, and her heart was racing. She realized that she must have been having a nightmare, even though she couldn’t remember anything like that. She reached for her phone, her first instinct to call Mark. He always knew how to calm her right down. She hesitated, though, when she saw that it was just before five.
She sat for a moment, finger hovering over his name, while she tried to calm herself down. Mark rarely got any downtime because of how busy his work kept him. He was almost certainly asleep, and she decided not to wake him. After all, there was nothing wrong.
She sat there for a moment, rubbing her arms and thinking about Mark. She wished he was home with her, but knew she was overreacting. He would be home in only twelve more hours.
There in the dark and silence, though, twelve hours sounded like an eternity to wait.
Stop being so needy, she silently lectured herself. He’ll be home in your arms soon.
She took a deep breath, laid back down and went back to sleep.
~
Mark didn’t know what woke him. All he knew was that one moment he was sound asleep and the next he was wide awake. He waited a moment, blinking against the darkness of the cabin. He turned his head toward the hallway where there were safety lights along the baseboards, and narrowed his eyes to see better.
As he watched, one of them flickered and went out. He had never seen anything like that happen before. The light on the opposite side of the hall appeared to glow brighter for a moment before it, too, flared then went suddenly dark. A moment later the remaining lights went out, all at the same time.
Mark sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Something was definitely wrong. He could feel it in his gut.
“Dave!” he shouted.
In the pitch darkness, he opened the drawer next to the bed, fumbling for the flashlight he kept in there. When he clicked on the light it was nearly blinding. He heard running steps, followed by a crash and Dave cursing in Latin.
Mark stood up, crossed to the doorway and shined his flashlight down the hall. Dave was picking himself up off the floor, his body twisted in pain as he leaned against the wall for balance. He tried to stand and then let out a strangled yelp.
“What is it?” Mark asked as he moved toward him.
“My foot. I think I broke it. I couldn’t see the wall and slammed right into it.”
“The lights burned out all at once,” Mark said, putting an arm around Dave’s waist. Together, they limped to Mark’s room and got Dave down on the small chair in the room.
“That’s weird,” Dave said through gritted teeth.
“Tell me about it,” Mark muttered. He went and grabbed the First Aid kit and brought it back into the room.
He shined the light on Dave’s foot and could see that it was already swelling and changing color. “Yeah, it looks like you broke it,” he said, angry with himself for shouting in panic at the other man.
“It’s not your fault,” Dave said, as though reading his mind. “My foot is killing me. Please tell me you’ve got something in there for pain.”
“Aspirin.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said through gritted teeth.
Mark stopped and thought for a long moment. “Remember the trip we took after I had the dental surgery? The doctor had given me some really strong prescription pain killers.”
“Yeah.”
Mark headed over to the toiletry bag he kept on the boat. “As I recall, you gave me this long lecture on being careful to not get addicted and badgered me until I stopped taking them—even though I was still in pain, I might add.”
He rummaged through the bag and found the prescription bottle. He grabbed it along with a bottle of water that was on the counter. “You remember that?”
“Just shut up and give them to me,” Dave groaned as he reached for the water.
The flashlight Mark was holding dimmed suddenly, as though the battery had drained.
“Don’t do this to me now,” he said, smacking the flashlight against his palm a couple of times. The light burned brighter for a moment then sputtered and died, plunging them back into darkness.
Mark swore loudly.
“I heard that,” Dave said.
“You’re in too much pain. You don’t know what you heard,” Mark said, trying for a tiny bit of levity. His own stress levels were spiking out of control.
There was a sudden thud as something hit the hull of the ship.
“I heard that,” Dave said. “And it didn’t sound good.”
“So, did I,” Mark muttered, silently agreeing with his friend’s assessment.
“That wasn’t a wave.”
“I know.”
There was a long moment of silence.
“Maybe it was just a school of fish accidentally hitting the boat,” Dave said, sounding as if h
e was trying to convince himself.
“Or maybe it was something larger purposely hitting the boat,” Mark suggested, struggling to calm his imagination, which was going into overdrive despite his best efforts.
“That wasn’t meant to make me feel better.”
“Me either.”
The boat rocked and it almost threw Mark off balance. He struggled to regain his footing.
“Can I have the pills before you drop them?” Dave asked.
“It’s so dark I can’t see anything, including you. You don’t want me to lose them, right?”
“Shake the bottle and I’ll find it.”
Mark shook the bottle. The rattling of the pills inside sounded incredibly loud to him. Moments later, Dave’s hand closed around his and then took the bottle from him.
“We have other lanterns and flashlights on this boat,” Dave said after gulping down a pain pill with water. “And I know I’ve got extra batteries somewhere. I just can’t think of where they are at the moment. My phone’s got a flashlight app, but we need to conserve our batteries for those, just in case.”
Just in case.
Those words felt like a slap across Mark’s face.
Just in case they were stranded. Just in case Dave was a lot worse off than they both thought. Just in case whatever was out there hit the boat a lot harder.
“It’s my boat. You would think I’d remember where I put everything,” Mark said, getting frustrated with himself. The truth was, the unease which had been growing in him for the last several hours had reached epic proportions and he could barely contain it. Something wasn’t right. He didn’t relish the idea of stumbling around the boat alone in the dark, trying to find lights that might or might not work.
Dave chuckled suddenly. “Of course, one of us could just flip on the light switch in this room. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about finding flashlights.”
Mark felt like an idiot. He put it up to his creeping paranoia and his fear that all the lights in the boat had failed, not just the ones in the hall.
He cursed under his breath.
The Triangle Page 2