by D. K. Combs
She screamed as a pair of rough hands grabbed her shoulders.
“Come on. We’re loading the rafts!” shouted a man.
She was hauled out of the water and dragged onto the deck before being passed to another pair of hands. The world spun around her; everything was happening too fast for her to keep up with.
Flashlight beams shone around the corridor. The ship groaned again, this time louder, and she heard the distinct sound of water rushing in from somewhere behind her. One of the men holding the flashlights shouted and pointed over her shoulder. The last thing she saw in the man’s eyes was a resigned look of certainty.
The certainty that they were going to die.
All of them.
Her blood chilled in her veins, though not because of the cold water.
A shove to her back propelled her forward into what seemed like millions of arms. Someone wrapped a life jacket around her and then guided her to the other end of the ship, which was slightly more elevated and the only place the water had yet to reach. Mari looked around her; people were being loaded into rafts.
She tried to remain calm. Her mind was blank, as numb as the rest of her body. Were ships supposed to sink this fast? And how many hadn’t made it? Mari recalled that most of the passengers had been below deck unpacking and settling in... already, so many were lost.
The deck was in pieces: floorboards were split in half, bodies were crushed under rafters, and suitcases were floating in the pool of water that was gathering at the center of the ship. Large chunks of metal sunk beneath the surface of the water. Couples were choosing to go down together rather than part, and from all around her, she heard the endless serenade of prayers.
“Someone, get him! Please, we can’t just leave him there!” Mari looked in the direction of the voice.
The blonde. She was fighting against men who held her back, tears raining down her stark white face. Mari’s chest tightened at the sight. The agony in the woman’s eyes … she’d never forget it.
The man behind the blonde grabbed hold of her, dragging her away from danger. As he passed Mari, he paused a moment and ordered her to get moving. She followed his command like a zombie. There was no use trying to escape the catastrophe, not when the sailors gave up on themselves.
“Buckle that up,” the man growled, trying to keep his hold on the hysterical blonde in his arms. Mari numbly buckled her jacket like an obedient child.
The ship jerked to the side, and Mari lost her footing. The abrupt movement caused her head to slam into the deck. Water poured around her, choking her.
Mari gagged. Salt water wasn’t the best beverage, she thought, dazed and blinking sluggishly.
The world…slowed. Paused.
Blackness slowly replaced her vision. Limbs turned numb.
Consciousness…left.
The first thing she came aware of was the sound of lapping waves. They came slowly yet forcefully, bringing cool air with their arrival. She winced, lethargically opening her eyes and sniffing. Was that right?
Yeah. Cool, salty air.
She sat up slowly, rubbing a hand over her face… and coming away with pebbles. What the hell…? Mari wiped her hands off slowly, awareness settling in. Around her, the air was damp and thick; misty. Something she’d never seen or felt before.
Her feet were submerged in water, but the rest of her was on land. Cold, rocky land. Dark, rocky land. The blue dimness in the cave was unsettling yet ethereal. Sand and large boulders surrounded her. Above her, the ceiling of the cave swooped in a jagged dome, stalactites dripping so low that she could touch them. She reached for one cautiously, dazed.
Mari touched the shimmering cone with fascination. The substance that came away with her hand was waxy, covering her fingers with a silky sheen. A drop from the build-up hit the floor and joined the growing pile beside her. That small droplet had her eyes actually adjusting to where she was, reality kicking in.
Where the hell was she?
Mari looked around, stunned.
There wasn’t any light source, yet somehow the cave was bright, alive with an aqua glow. Wonder filled her, then confusion. It was so beautiful, like her own closed off escape, but…how had she gotten here?
Her eyes widened.
She was dead–she had to be.
But how–
The ship. The ship had sunk.
Her hand flew to her mouth with a gasp, eyes stinging painfully. She really was dead. The people on that boat…the blonde… everyone. Gone.
Her chest tightened, emotion clogging her throat. The blonde, her boyfriend, the men who had worked so hard to save them...there was no way anyone could have survived that.
Mari had never been on a boat, let alone a cruise. Her first time on board, and it had sunk. There’s no way this could be heaven! While it was magical and surreal in the underwater cave, there weren’t any clouds or men dressed in white robes coming to greet her.
Was this…hell?
Mari sat there in silence, thoughts running around her head like the gray matter was on steroids.
All she felt was remorse over what had happened and confusion for where she was. Was she going to be stuck in this dank cave for the rest of eternity, or was it like the waiting room of heaven? She squinted around, standing up. Grains of sand fell off her body and tumbled to the ground, the only sound besides the lapping waves.
She looked at the glowing pool of ocean again. There wasn’t any way to leave unless she swam under the water and eventually found an exit. But, judging by how dark the water was, she’d have to hold her breath for a lot longer than she could.
I’m dead, she thought. I can hold my breath and fly and sprout wings. Escaping a cave shouldn’t be a problem. After all, what could kill her if she were already dead?
Mari barely realized how strange it was that she felt perfectly fine for having died. The sound of tumbling water pulled her attention to the beach again.
Greedy little fingers formed within the waves, clutching onto the sand and then receding back with reluctance. It was such a soothing sight that all of her doubts fled. Calm washed over her like a misty breeze, and she smiled.
Being dead wasn’t so bad, Mari decided, if she could stay here. She took tentative steps toward the water, dipping her foot into the bright blue depths. She shivered from the cold, but walked further in nonetheless.
Thump.
The sound broke her concentration and her head snapped to the side.
What the hell had that been?
You’re dead, Mari. You shouldn’t say hell anymore. She shushed herself, peering closer over her shoulder. Probably just the echo of…what?
There hadn’t been anything falling to make an echo—that she had seen at least.
Mari stepped out of the water, curiosity urging her to venture into the cave. The water could wait–she had an eternity with it, after all.
Still, the lull was hard to resist. It was like someone had tied her foot to the shore and she had no desire to cut the string. Feeling like something was pulling her back to the water, Mari ignored the calling and strode with caution into the depths of the cave.
It was a lot deeper than she’d expected, almost bigger than her two-story house. The farther she went, the higher the ceiling was, and the darker it grew. If only she had a flashlight…
Shouldn’t she be able to see in the dark, though? Really, you’d think that the higher powers that be would have enough insight to give her night vision if she was going to be living in a dark cave for the rest of eternity.
“Apparently not,” she mumbled. Mari took another step forward, then squealed, yanking her foot back. “Ow, ow, ow! What the hel—heck!” She jumped on one foot, cradling her other, as pain shot into her sole and then up her leg. She whimpered, peered at the injury.
A small spot of blood pooled at the bottom of her foot. She wiped it away quickly, sniveling at the small throbbing in her foot.
Wait.
She was dead. So why is she bleedin
g? And why did it hurt so much?
Mari looked passed her foot, at what she’d stepped on.
Tiny little bones…
A fish skeleton. Her eyes widened.
Okaaaay. So there was some other creature inhabiting the cave as well? She gingerly picked it up, holding it towards the glow from behind her. Going by the size of the skeleton, it wasn’t a small thing either.
Mari should be scared. She should be terrified. She should be running and screaming and begging God to come and get her. She should not be going farther into the cave, like she was at that moment. She ignored the pulsing in her foot, some unknown force propelling her forward. A soothing sensation coursed through her body, nearly overtaking all of her senses and replacing them with the idea that it was okay to be this dazed, that it was okay to venture into the darkness.
Mari didn’t fight it, couldn’t have if she wanted to. The rational part of her mind was telling her that something was wrong, that she shouldn’t be lulled into the secure bubble that was wrapping around her.
She’d never been an adventurous child, even though she had grown up with four older brothers. If she could count all the times that she’d gone skydiving, rocking climbing, and hiking with them, she’d be able to fit the number on one hand.
If there was anyone telling them not to do something, it was her. She was the only one out of her whole family that was against putting people in danger. Her mother, her father – they’d passed on their active lifestyles to their sons, but not Mari.
Mari was the chicken. The wimp. She’d chosen the easy way out for life and had become a teacher, while her family had taken up more physical life styles, choosing to be architects and excavators. Even Ray had been a safe choice.
God. Ray.
The burst of anger she felt overcame the calmness she had been feeling.
How could she not have seen the bastard behind the mask? They’d gone to school together; she should have known he would do something like this, should have at least seen it coming.
They’d both been going to college for teaching degrees. Mari for math, and Ray for engineering. She remembered the rumors about him, but she’d been naïve, a college student looking for a good time. People changed, she told her friends whenever they critiqued the two of them. Ray had changed. He treated her like a princess. He loved her. He was faithful.
But hadn’t he been just like that to Emily? She knew the stories. He’d been with Emily Jensen since high school, had gone to Homecoming together as king and queen, and they’d been inseparable. Up until college. They’d gone to separate colleges, but had decided to stay together… Right up to the end of the first semester, when Emily had caught him cheating after a surprise visit.
By the time Ray and Mari had met, the scandal had died down and Ray had begun his all-famous charm. He’d wooed her, taken her places, shown her off to his friends, and respected her like she’d wanted. After one year together and during Christmas break, he’d taken her to meet his parents.
They’d decided to wait till they were done with school to be “officially” together, and Mari remembered the feeling of exhilaration she’d felt when Ray had come up to her on the day of Graduation.
Soon after, they’d gotten an apartment, were substituting in the same school district, and were falling even deeper in love.
Bile rose in her throat.
She’d been the one falling for him, not him for her. How long had he been cheating on her? A couple weeks? Months? Years?
The thought numbed her heart. She’d never expected this from Ray, never thought it would happen to her —
Thump.
The sound came from the left. The painful thoughts fled, and she realized that her cheeks...were wet. From tears. She quickly wiped them away; she wasn’t going to cry over Ray. She wouldn’t give him that power, even if he never knew he had it.
Maybe she’d haunt him.
That is, if whatever reigning power ever let her out of this creepy waiting room.
She went in the direction of the sound, the darkness creeping around her until she could barely see. How far back did this place even go? She’d only been walking for a couple minutes, and it felt like an eternity.
Even though it was completely dark, she pushed herself forward. She couldn’t die again, so assuming whatever it was that was back there attacked her, it would hopefully pass right through her. She’d seen tons of movies where that happened.
“Hello?” she called out tentatively.
Just because she was dead, didn’t mean she was stupid. At least she was giving the creature some kind of warning that a ghost was in its cave.
Thump.
No reply. Not even a groan. Just that low, steady “thump.”
It sounded like it could have been from a wing. She’d once watched a documentary on how birds flew, and the close-up of the bird had also enhanced the sound. The way the birds wing had pushed from the ground had emitted a strong “thump,” kind of like the one she was hearing now.
So there was some kind of bird in the underwater cave? Her eyes rolled. Okay. Because that made so much sense.
Mari reached out, using the senses she could. If she couldn’t see, at least she had her hands. And her nose…
She inhaled deeply — then coughed. Alright, bad idea. Whatever was back there, it smelled like really bad fish. Breathing through her mouth, she continued moving through the cave, hands extended, hoping she touched something soon — and not sharp teeth ready to chew her arm off.
Thump.
It was closer now. When she heard the sound, her hand brushed against something. Something hard, wet — but rough, just like the ground. She’d found the wall of the cave, at least.
Feeling her way through the cave was a lot easier than blindly walking through it. She felt lower, close to the ground, and made sure she lifted her feet and then set them down slower. Getting another skeleton stuck in her foot wasn’t on her list of priorities.
Something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. Light. As she watched, a small, dim light began to form in the center of the room. It was like a tiny orb, just floating there, contrasting way too much against the darkness. Her eyes adjusted, but the glare was still there.
It grew, moving closer to her. Mari backed away sharply, then screamed.
Something wet and slimy wrapped around her wrist.
Then it started to drag her forward.
“Let go of me!” she screeched, tearing her hand away and holding it to her chest. Terror raced through her.
The light grew until it was the size of her head, illuminating the cave. She saw the droplets of water falling from the ceiling and finally caught a glimpse of her surroundings. The nearest thing to her was the moss that was growing up the walls in intricate designs.
She stared in wonder, forgetting the fear as suddenly as it had struck. Never in her life had she seen something so mesmerizing, so magical. Lining the center of the moss were luminescent veins, glowing brighter than the orb of light was. The colors shone in every spectrum, so vibrant it was as if the air around the moss was shuddering.
What. The holy. Hell.
Mari brushed her hand over the moss. The colorful substance came away like glitter. It fell to the ground with a flutter and her mouth dropped open—
Slimy appendages wrapped around her wrist again and the spell was broken. Panic shot through her and she jerked against the hold, but it held fast, dragging her forward.
She screamed and kicked and fought, but nothing she did made the thing loosen. The glow followed behind them with a bounce, like it was happy.
“Come…”
All of the blood drained from her face.
Had something just spoken to her?
Oh shit. Shit shit shit. God was some sort of mutant freak, wasn’t he? Some fairytale for humanity that lured in the souls to this damp hell and then ate their souls with fish as an entrée.
“I swear to — to Satan! I’ll kill you before you have a c
hance to suck my soul!”
“Come to me…”
She shook her head emphatically, struggling against the hold. “Get off of me, damn it!”
“Calm…Come. With me…”
Real, tangible fear made Mari react the way she did, otherwise she never would have done it in the first place. If her brothers could see her now, being dragged by some slobbery servant of God, kicking and screaming, they would have been ashamed.
Just for that very reason alone, she couldn’t stop what happened next.
She burst into tears.
Large, bubbling, all-consuming tears. “I don’t want to die again,” she sobbed, still fighting. “I still have to haunt Ray and I just—I can’t—Please don’t suck my soul —“
“I’m not going to suck your soul.”
Mari sniffled, the tears falling down her cheeks like she was a faucet, so consumed with distraught and fear that she didn’t notice she was being spoken to by an actual voice, and not one with a ghostly cadence. “Please, please don’t —“
“I’m really not going to suck your soul… Breathe.”
She did as she was told — then finally realized what was happening.
A voice. A human voice. A dark, deep, entrancing human voice was talking to her.
The second she realized what was happening, that small orb illuminated into a full-blown light, spreading rays onto every single thing—and being.
Mari wiped her cheeks, looking around for the source of the voice.
Thump.
She snapped around.
With the light of the orb, she saw everything — and what was laying against the cave wall.
Mari froze. Gasped. Then did what any rational person would do—she screamed.
“No. Just no. You aren’t…what? No. There is no way that you’re just… It’s impossible. This is some weird-ass heaven waiting room. Or, you know what? I bet I’m not even dead! I’m probably in some friggin’ reality show and they’re trying to see when I crack and I think I might have just now and this can’t be happening—“