by William King
5
VOYAGE BACK
TO ENGLAND
O
nce aboard the Elizabeth Dane the four of us went directly to the upper deck to watch the Devil’s Island until it disappeared. The four of us were excited and happy to be alive, a feeling all of us had not felt in quite some time. This was exactly what the four of us needed, a chance to clear our minds from Bastelet. The four of us stayed on deck until we realized how late it really was and I said, “I am starving, how about all of you?”
Elizabeth, Lyle, and Hillary agreed, and we made our way to the ships galley, which looked entirely different than it did the first time that I set foot in it. The blue carpet with gold accents, along with gold chairs dressed in plush green that it was dressed in on our voyage to the Devil’s Island was gone. Everything now seemed to be ordinary for a ship this old. Taking the carpets place was an old wooden floor, the chairs and tables were not luxurious at all. In fact, the Elizabeth Dane seemed to be an entirely different ship all together. It was a good thing that the Elizabeth Dane still had a chef on board, and a buffet that was filled with the same food as our voyage to Devil’s Island. There was lobster, shrimp, crab, halibut, grilled chicken, scallops, and for desert cheesecake topped off with strawberries. Therefore, the dessert was the only thing that had changed on the menu, but at least the change was not as drastic as the inside of the ship. It seemed as if Bastelet had used her supernatural powers to transform the inside of the ship to look how she wanted it to look, and now it was back to normal.
So far, the four of us were enjoying the voyage back to England, and as long as the navigator kept the ship on course, and we did not run into another storm we should get back to England in a shorter time frame than it took us to get to Devil’s Island. We would just have to wait to see how things played out. The captain informed us that the trip to Devil’s Island was a five-day trip. However, we encountered some bad weather, along with some navigating problems. Therefore, the trip back to England should only be a three-day voyage.
As the only waiter aboard the ship poured the four of us more brandy, the captain’s voice came through the loud speaker and said, “We are going to encounter some bad weather folks. Prepare for a bumpy ride tonight and tomorrow. The weather forecast for the next couple of days is not looking good. What I mean is, we could be seeing swells in excess of twenty feet. I thought that I could navigate around the storm, but it does not look like we are going to be able too. I am sorry folks, but we are going to have to deal with it no matter how rough it gets. Do not worry too much about it folks. The Elizabeth Dane can handle a little rough weather. That is what she was designed for.”
Elizabeth stood up at the table and said, “Well then, I guess the four of us better get up on deck before the weather starts getting bad. That is if everyone wants to go. If not. That is alright too.”
“Sure Elizabeth, Hillary, and I will definitely join you and Mason on deck for a nice leisurely stroll.”
Elizabeth replied, “Alright then, let’s go take a stroll up on deck. I believe some fresh air will do us all some good. Just maybe we can see some of those big swells blowing in.”
The brandy that we drank put the four of us at ease as we leisurely walked the deck of the Elizabeth Dane, making us feel as if we had all the time in the world. It seemed as if this was the most romantic place to be in the world. The lights of the Elizabeth Dane glistened and reflected off the ocean surface along with the stars in perfect harmony. The four of us walked the wood decks of the Elizabeth Dane, but said little to one another, as we were enjoying one another’s company while soaking in the romantic atmosphere of the ocean. At first, the wind was light and variable, but soon began to increase in strength, giving Elizabeth the chills, and must have affected Lyle and Hillary as they decided to go back to their staterooms to settle in for the night to warm up.
Once Lyle and Hillary left for their rooms, Elizabeth and I stopped and kissed in a small corridor right before cuddling up together on one of the lounge chairs up on deck and just stared out into the stormy sky, wondering how bad this storm might get. After a bit of watching the stormy sky get darker, and the ship crash through the increasing swells Elizabeth and I decided to get up out of the lounge chair and back on our feet to get our circulation going. Once on our feet our eyes seemed to lock on one another’s when we seemed to burst out in laughter as I said, “I could hardly believe our luck. Just a couple of days ago the two of us were in the depths of despair, certain and fearful that we might never live to see another day, and now we are alive and well, back on the Elizabeth Dane with the most interesting woman that I have ever laid eyes upon.”
Elizabeth sighed as I pulled her towards me and cradled her within my arms. She looked directly into my eyes with a weird look on her face, and I just knew that she wanted to talk about the wedding once we arrived in England. My entire body seemed to tense up. I leaned in to kiss her, but she moved away. When Elizabeth wanted to talk, she was ready to talk. She swiftly pulled her hand back and lightly smacked me in the face, which for some reason made me erupt in laughter.
“Come on Mason, I am being serious. I want to talk about our wedding.”
“Alright Elizabeth, what is it that you would like to tell me about the wedding that I know you have already planned out in your head.”
She took a step backwards and put her hands on her hips, looking at me up and down with a slight look of doubt covering her face and said, “Then why do I get the feeling that just the opposite is true?”
I grinned and pulled Elizabeth towards me, breaking through her serious mood, and gave her a kiss on her warm lips. She gave me a great big smile and said, “My gosh Mason. You better believe that I have everything planned out. Once we get back to England we are going to have the wedding of my dreams.”
“Elizabeth, did you say the wedding of your dreams. What about my dreams? You are not going to leave me out of my own wedding, are you”?
“Of course not silly, I will inform you on what I want to do before I do it.”
“That is alright Elizabeth. There is no need for you to do that. I was just giving you a hard time. I have all the faith in the world in you, and I know once we get back to England you will make sure to through the most extravagant wedding that I have ever seen.”
We decided to go back to our room because it was getting cold and dark. Not much was said on the way back to our room except that we were both cold. Once there the both of us undressed, laid in bed and within no time Elizabeth snuggled up against me to get warm.
I laughed and said, “Oh my god you are cold.”
Within no time, at all we were both out cold, and did not wake up until the next morning. I could not believe that for once in a great while I slept through the entire night without having a nightmare. I was the first one to get out of bed, and once up said, “Elizabeth, you can take a shower first if you like.”
“You want me to take a shower first?” Why don’t we take a shower together?”
I was shocked at first, and could not believe what I was hearing, but said, “Sure.”
There was not much room in the shower for the both of us, but washing our bodies was not the first thing on Elizabeth’s mind. As soon as I closed the shower door she bent over and pushed her firm heart shaped but up against my groin, and within no time, my hot rod turned into a hard rod. Then she turned around, put one of her legs up on the faucet, grabbed my hot rod and pulled it towards her, slowly inserted it into her sweet spot. I must say that neither of us lasted long, even for the second time around, though I was concentrating the best that I could not to explode. It almost seemed as if we both came at the same time, and I would have to say that within the short amount of time that we had, it was right up there with the first time having intercourse with Elizabeth. It was GREAT!
Once out of the shower we dried off, dressed, left our stateroom, and headed outside to walk on the upper deck of the Elizabeth Dane. Once on the upper deck we could see the mas
sive swells moving through the ocean. I wondered why Elizabeth and I did not feel the ship going up and down the swells once we awakened, took a shower, and on our way to the upper deck of the ship. However, after the sex that Elizabeth and I just had, I am sure there was only one thing on my mind, and it sure was not ocean swells. We looked at each other and knew that today was not the day to be having a stroll on deck. Therefore, we went back inside, down to Lyle and Hillary’s room, and asked them if they wanted to go get some breakfast, and they said yes.
As the four of us made our way to the ships galley, we could smell the scent of sausage and blueberries in the air, which made our mouth’s water. Once there we sat down at one of the two tables located in the galley, and waited for our food to be served. The four of us talked about how nice it was going to be once back in England, and not have to fear for our lives. However, we did not speak of anything negative, especially about the evil supernatural forces that we once encountered back at the Blackwood Manor. To speak of that would have taken something very beautiful and peaceful away from the happiness that we now had. It was a relief sitting at the table enjoying each other’s company without having to worry about Bastelet trying to kill the four of us.
Lyle must have been feeling his old self again when he spoke up and said, “We only have three more days remaining aboard the Elizabeth Dane before we get back to England.”
“Is that it, three days? Are you positive that we only have three more days at sea?”
“Yes, that is correct Mason. Only three more days left on this ship.”
“Alright then Lyle, let’s make another bet like we did on the way to Devil’s Island. But this time we will try to predict the exact day that the Elizabeth Dane will arrive in England and dock at Cut Throat Harbor.”
“Sure, maybe one of us will get it right this time. I say the Elizabeth Dane will go three hundred miles a day.”
“Alright Lyle, that sounds like a good estimation on our arrival. I am going to say that the Elizabeth Dane is going to go four-hundred miles a day.”
Surprisingly enough, we had guessed the exact same day that we thought that the Elizabeth Dane would be arriving in England to dock at Cut Throat Harbor, which was, Friday, May 31st.
I turned and looked over at Elizabeth and asked her, “Have you talked to the captain about when we will arrive at Cut Throat Harbor?”
“Yes, I sure did Mason. The captain told me that we were definitely going to encounter some bad weather for the next couple of days that may or may not delay us from arriving on time.”
“Elizabeth, you cannot be serious.”
“I am afraid that I am Mason. I cannot wait to get off this ship either, but no one can predict Mother Nature. I guess the only thing that we can do is hope that the storm does not get to bad.”
Elizabeth then turned her attention to Lyle and said, “When the Elizabeth Dane docks at the harbor I need you to make sure that our luggage gets off the ship with us.”
“Not a problem Elizabeth.”
The four of us seemed as if we were frozen stiff at the table, each lost in our own train of thought when Hillary spoke and broke the eerie silence.
“Elizabeth, do you mean that we might be stuck on the Elizabeth Dane even longer than expected due to the weather?”
“Yes, I am afraid so Hillary. The captain said that the tropical storm was a powerful one that he tried to avoid, but unfortunately, things did not work out according to his plans.”
“Great, I cannot wait to get off this ship and back to England, and we might be stuck on this sip even longer than expected, good grief.”
I noticed tears building up in her eyes as Elizabeth reached across the table and gently squeezed the hand of Hillary and said, “Do not worry Hillary, we will get to England soon enough. Look at the bright side, the four of us do not have to worry about any evil supernatural forces trying to kill us anymore.”
“Yes Elizabeth, that is correct, and it takes a great burden off my mind. However, I still cannot wait to get back home.”
Elizabeth and Lyle left the table, leaving Hillary and I to talk about all the things that had been left unsaid. Hillary had a strange look on her face, just short of a fearful look when she asked, “Mason do you really think that we will encounter any trouble with this tropical storm?”
“I am afraid that I cannot answer that question, as everyone knows, storms can be unpredictable.”
Hillary quickly replied, “Mason, it almost seems that a supernatural force is still at work here.”
“How do you figure Hillary?”
“Well Mason, we encountered a storm on our voyage to Devil’s Island, and now we have encountered another storm leaving the Devil’s Island.”
“Hillary, I assure you that there is no supernatural forces at play here. It is just a tropical storm, and that is all.”
Hillary glanced over at me with a twinkle in her eyes, revealing that she had trust in me, and somehow knew that I had not hidden anything from her and said, “Mason, I wonder why Elizabeth has never got married, lord knows she is a catch.”
“Yes she sure is Hillary. One hell of a catch.”
With a great big smile on her face she asked, “Have you been married?”
“No I haven’t, but as soon as we get back to England Elizabeth and I are going to get married.”
Hillary smiled, got up, pushed her chair in, and left the table. I guess her curiosity was satisfied, believing that Elizabeth and I were going to get married once we returned to England.
Her mission was accomplished. She only wanted to know if I planned to marry Elizabeth, and now she got her answer. On top of that, she wanted me to believe that she had tricked me in to telling her. I smiled at her and thought, if she only knew.
I was alone at the table when my thoughts started to dominate my mind. My mind almost immediately begun to wonder, and my thoughts were quickly centered on what Hillary had mentioned about the storms. I kept telling myself that it was just a coincidence that we ran into a storm going to Devil’s Island and now we have ran into another storm leaving Devil’s Island. I had no clue on what was going on. The seed of doubt was now planted deeply within my subconscious mind. Was our horrendous nightmare really over as we thought, or is it still coming for us?
Elizabeth returned to the table and we decided to go up on deck to see how bad the tropical storm was getting. Elizabeth and I walked to the bow of the ship to get a better look at the swells, but found out that it was a bad idea. As the Elizabeth Dane went through the swells, the spray from one of the swells almost engulfed us before we could run for cover. Elizabeth and I ran as quickly as we possibly could back inside the ship before we encountered another enormous swell rolling through and closed the door. We decided that the safest thing to do was go back to our rooms. Once there Elizabeth and I laid down on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
I awakened to the sound of Elizabeth’s voice saying, “Will you wake up already, wake up. I want to get some lunch.”
“Ok, ok, I am up, I’m up, geese Elizabeth, you scared the crap out of me.”
Once I got up and put my shoes on, Elizabeth and I went to get us some lunch at the ships galley, set down at a table and looked over the lunch menu. Elizabeth and I ordered the only thing that there was on the menu for lunch, a double cheeseburger, French-fries, and two cokes. Not to long after the waiter sat our plates on the table Lyle and Hillary joined us, and right as they were taking their seats Lyle asked, “Did the both of you find something interesting to do this morning?”
“Well, Mason and I went up on deck to see how bad the tropical storm was getting and got drenched by an enormous swell smashing into the bow of the ship. So we decided to go back to our room, where we laid down on the bed and drifted off to sleep. Once we awakened our stomachs were growling for food, so we decided to go get something to eat for lunch.”
Lyle smiled and said, “I thought only old people sleep during the day.”
“I guess all those slee
pless nights caught up with us.”
Lyle looked at our empty plates and asked, “What did you have for lunch Mason?”
“Elizabeth and I had the only thing on the menu for lunch, which was a double cheeseburger, fries, and two cokes.”
“Then that is what we shall get.”
Elizabeth mentioned that we should go to the upper deck to see how bad things looked. Just to see if things have gotten worse. She informed Lyle and Hillary that we would see them for dinner as we got up and pushed our chairs in.
Lyle replied, “Alright, see you two at dinner time.”
“Enjoy your monstrous and juicy cheeseburgers,” I replied as Elizabeth and I left the table.
Once on deck Elizabeth and I had noticed that the weather had worsened since the last time we had been on deck. The dark and eerie clouds were replaced by a thick fog bank that hugged the surface of the ocean, making it difficult to see the incoming swells. Elizabeth and I stood in the inside corridor of the ship looking out the windows, watching in awe at Mother Nature at her finest. We only stayed a bit as the swells were making it difficult to stand without holding on to something. So, Elizabeth and I decided that the safest thing to do was to go back to our room and watch some TV. We stayed in our room the entire day, until the evening had arrived and decided to get some dinner. Therefore, we decided to ask Lyle and Hillary if they wanted to join us for dinner. Their room was located just across the hall from ours so it was just a matter of seconds before I was knocking on their stateroom door. Lyle opened it and said, “Hello you two, come on in.”
Once inside Elizabeth asked, “Would you two care to join us for dinner?”
“Sure we would,” Hillary replied.
“Alright, lets get some dinner,” Elizabeth replied.
The four of us were out the door within minutes, on our way to the galley when the captain’s voice echoed through the loud speaker saying that we are going to have some rough weather tonight. The four of us looked at one another with smiles on our faces as we stumbled down the hallway. None of us cared about the weather at the moment, our only concern was filling our hungry mouths. We managed to make it to the galley without falling down, as the Elizabeth Dane was rocking back and forth, and moving up and down the monstrous swells.