by Garry Hicks
At Sea Day 4
Brandon and Sean sit in fishing seats, no poles. Derek and Kyle relax on each side, faces turned up at the sun. All drink beer as waves gently slap the side of the Mystic. The hot sun blazes down on them.
Brandon, eyes closed, murmurs, "This is paradise."
Kyle pumps his fist. "Yes! It’s a long way from the office."
"Hell, it’s a long way from any kind of reality." Sean adds.
Derek adds "If this is all we do the whole trip, I’ll consider our vacation successful."
Kyle hops up, leans on the rail, looks out to sea. In the distance, dolphins jump. "Hey guys, come here, it looks like a big school of dolphins, about fifty yards out."
They rush to the boat rail and watch as dolphins jump in and out of the water.
"Fantastic!" Kyle says. “It’s like they know we’re watching."
The dolphins form a circle, their heads bob above the water line. It seems they all stare at the Mystic.
Brandon questions "What the hell are they doing, getting in formation to attack us? This is way too weird."
As they watch, a woman’s head appears in the middle of the dolphins, from her shoulders up. The boys glance at each other in amazement.
Sean grins. "I knew we’d find women out here."
"I’m sure she’s just taking a leisurely swim...two hundred miles from nowhere." Derek says as he dashes off. He returns, looks through binoculars. "This is really weird. I can see the dolphins but not her." He takes the binoculars away from his eyes, sees the woman, looks through them again, no woman.
Kyle grabs the binoculars. "You’re on drugs, lemme look." He moves the binoculars away from his eyes, sees the woman, looks through them again, no woman. He hands the binoculars to Sean as Derek and Kyle glance at each other.
As they watch, the woman disappears, the dolphins swim away. Their eyes follow the leaping dolphins into a heavy, large fog bank, not visible before.
The guys just stare at it until Brandon breaks the silence. "Where in the hell did that thing come from?"
Derek responds, "I don’t know, it wasn’t here before the dolphins."
Kyle adds "It’s moving toward us."
Derek, concerned, says "Roger that. Since its surrounding us, I’ll start the engines, we’ll head straight into it, out the other side."
Derek rushes into the control room, starts the engines, pushes the power handle forward, the Mystic shoots into the fog.
As the fog engulfs the Mystic, instantly they are in a storm. Waves roll the boat, thunder claps, light flashes, the boat rolls on top of the giant waves. Derek struggles to keep the steering wheel steady.
Outside, on the deck, the torrents of water soak the guys. They hold tight to the railing, afraid, frozen. A wave slams all of them. Kyle holds tight, Sean and Brandon are knocked to the deck. Huge waves splash over the railing again, shoving Sean and Brandon against a deck wall. As Brandon grabs an anchor chain, Sean frantically looks for something to hold onto but finds nothing. Desperate, he reaches over and grabs the deck rail as another huge wave knocks him down, breaking his grip loose from the railing. He crawls back, grabs the rail with one hand. As he tries to pull himself up, a wave crashes in from the opposite side, lifting Sean off his feet. Kyle and Brandon watch in horror as Sean disappears over the railing, leaving only his hands still gripping the rail. Brandon is close, he tries to shuffle over to Sean’s hands.
Derek rushes back onto the deck but he slips and falls. He pulls himself up by grabbing a bar attached to the wall. He screams, "Hurry Brandon!"
They watch helplessly as Sean’s hands slip away from the rail. As soon as his hands disappear, the sea seems to calm down. The lightening, thunder and noise are gone. All three rush to the spot Sean went over. They stare into the dark and cloudy water. Fearful, panicky, jittery, they glance at each other. The storm ends as it seems to get what it came for.
The fog is still so thick they can’t see past the boats deck. They go inside and gather around the radar, hoping to see something, anything.
Kyle states the obvious. "Nothing."
Derek responds "No, there shouldn’t be, it’s clear from here to the Cayman Islands."
As it all sinks in, Brandon says "What are we going to do about Sean?"
Derek sighs. "Soon as this calms down we look for him." "This is a freaking nightmare. Just like that," Kyle snaps his fingers. "he's gone."
Derek opens charts, points. "We should be right about here. Nothing around for hundreds of miles."
Brandon rubs his forehead. "We’ve been in this crap for an hour, what’s going on?"
Kyle responds "I don't know but what I do know is we need to look for Sean."
Derek, a bit agitated, says "Dammit Kyle, we'll look as soon as we get out of this." he pauses, leans down on both hands, then, slow, looks back up. "But I gotta tell ya, I’m not optimistic."
Brandon glances out the window. "The fogs lifting." The guys rush back onto the deck.
They line up next to each other, lean on the railing, engine off. The rest of the fog breaks as The Mystic glides out. About half a mile away, two islands sit. Even from where they are, the islands look lush and green.
Brandon smacks Derek on the shoulder, points to the islands. "What the hell..."
Derek stares at the islands. "Looks like two islands to me."
Kyle, nervous, forces his words out. "But... there aren't..."
Derek finishes. "Supposed to be any islands in this area. I know, I’m calling the Coast Guard."
He rushes back into the control room, glances at the radar and gauges, out. He punches the button on the radio, no power. He turns the engine key, nothing. "Dammit, what the crap is going on!"
Derek rushes back outside, sees Kyle and Brandon leaning against the rail, seemingly mesmerized.
He joins them. "What's going on guys?"
Kyle has a huge smile on his face. He waves his hand outward. "We have company."
The boat is surrounded by dolphins. Some jump, some are still, others squeak.
Brandon smiles. "I wish I knew what they were saying."
"I know exactly what they're saying." Derek answers.
Brandon shoots him an icy stare. "Okay Mr. Animal Kingdom interpreter and expert of all the world's animals, what are they saying?"
Derek answers "They’re saying we’re in deep shit because we have no power."
Kyle squints his eyebrows. "What do you mean we have no power?"
"You know, like in dead! No radio, no radar, no engines, kinda like a car in a junkyard." responds Derek.
Brandon peers over the deck at the water. "Then why are we moving so quick toward that island?"
They all lean over and look down outside the railing. Water ripples from the bow, the stern leaves a trail.
Derek jokes, "I guess The Mystic's gone green."
The boat continues to drift toward the north island. Very faint, each hear beautiful, angelic, mesmerizing singing float from it. The boys fall into a calm trance and, as the singing gets closer, it gets a bit louder. The dolphins have disappeared, the boat is six hundred yards from the north island.
Brandon, trance like, says, "It’s the most beautiful singing I’ve ever heard."
Kyle follows. "Like angels calling me from the heavens."
Derek, panicked, shakes Kyle's shoulder. "It’s a trap, don’t you remember the stories, they lure you to shore to die. Plug your ears!" Derek sticks his fingers in his ears. "Kyle, plug your ears!"
"But the music Derek, so sweet...I have to listen."
Abruptly, the boat changes directions, a drastic turn moves them toward the south island. Derek fights to keep the singing out. Slow, he removes his fingers. Trance like, he falls under its spell as the soothing music slips into his ears. He smiles and joins the others. All three stare at the north island as the singing coming from it gets louder and becomes more mesmerizing. Their e
yes twitter with happy but trance like looks as the Mystic continues to move toward the south island.
Brandon struggles to speak. "I...I have to go."
Kyle, weak, responds, "I know."
Brandon dives into the water and swims toward the north island.
Kyle watches for a few moments, smiles at Derek. "I have to go. He dives into the water, starts to swim toward the north Island.
Derek watches Kyle swim away. He waves his arms. "Hold up, I'm comin'." He smiles, dives in.
They each tread water and float fifty yards from the boat, twenty to thirty yards apart. As each tires, they struggle to stay above water. One by one, they slip under the surface and drop further down. The pristine water is clear and bright, it sparkles. Dreamlike, slow, they sink, their eyes open but blurred, paralyzed, alone. Each see dolphins swim toward them.
Derek sees only a blur approach, he struggles to swim away but goes nowhere. A mermaid appears in front of him, his blurred vision can’t see what she is. Her hands glide to his head, he pushes them away, tries to back up. He gasps for air, she moves her hands forward, he’s passing out. She pulls his limp head to hers, blows into his mouth. Instantly, his vision clears and he breathes. Calm, she continues to stare, her long hair flows with the current. She smiles, he relaxes. She wears a south seas type halter top, pearls adorn her neck. She reaches her hand out, he grabs it as a dolphin swims next to him. She places his hand on the dorsal fin, then his other hand. Slow, she swims away. Derek and the dolphin follow. They pick up speed and soon near the south island. As they approach the beautiful, clear, underwater mountain terrain, Derek spots a cave opening. They shoot into the darkened cave, the walls are a blur as they zoom by. As they near the end of the cave, rays of sun illuminate the water. Once they exit into an open lagoon, Derek blacks out.
CHAPTER NINE