Chapter 5
Daniel woke to the sound of the windless slowly raising the anchor. It was just getting light and the rhythmic sounds of the oars soon replaced the sound of the windless. There wasn't enough light for Daniel to determine their direction. They seemed to be moving slower than they had down the river. The pace of rowing was steady but not as forceful as he had remembered. Tivi would be here soon with some food and hopefully information as to what was going on. It seemed the boat was turning fairly frequently as if they were following a channel. Daniel's frustration with his imprisonment increased and he forced himself to work on his escape hatch.
Daniel had finished his saw cuts through all of the horizontal webbing and most of the vertical struts, being careful to leave just a thin veneer of wood on the outside. The rowing provided plenty of noise to cover the sound of his working. When he heard footsteps on the deck directly overhead he stopped. He recognized the light footsteps of Tivi and his companion as they began descending the ladder into his hold. He asked, "Are we going through the narrows?"
Tivi responded, "We just entered. It's scary, I don't like it. We brought some food. You eat it okay."
Daniel asked, "Why don't you like the narrows?"
"The mountains close you in and then the sound starts. Captain Dirk says it's just the wind but I'm not so sure. I think it's a ghost crying out. None of the crew like it."
Daniel wanted to hear more but Tivi was in a hurry and they completed their daily ritual of passing the pots through the small hatch. As Tivi and his companion were leaving, Daniel asked, "When will the song start and how long does it last?"
"Pretty soon and by midday we'll be through."
Daniel was left to his own thoughts and returned to work on his escape hatch. It was slow tedious work but he had nothing else to do. He would catch only a very rare glimpse of sunlight through the hatch and figured they were moving mostly north by northwest. At least the water was calm and the sickness of the sea was no longer an issue. Whenever his fingers got tired of working his saw, Daniel picked at his food. The quiet time allowed him to reflect on Heather. Surely she had survived the attack, but must be horribly worried. He hadn't meant to cause her problems; if only he had listened to her suggestion and had the party in the palace itself.
During this quiet time, Daniel detected a new sound. It was a soft, almost musical wailing sound. The sound came from everywhere and nowhere. The pace of the rowing seemed to pick up a little but the sound continued to increase in intensity. Small waves were now lapping against the hull and the boat seemed to turn more frequently. Captain Dirks cussing could be heard over the other sounds. The curses Daniel could hear clearly but the directions between the curses were muffled by the siren song. The sound reminded him of the wind sound he and Jeremy had experienced while taking shelter in a small cave in one of the mountain passes back home in the Forest. Thinking of his home and Heather only added to his melancholy. Daniel forced himself to concentrate on his sawing.
The siren song had forced itself even into Daniel’s subconscious and he found his sawing was now matching the rhythm. His melancholy seemed almost overwhelming and he understood why Tivi did not like the passage. The sound suddenly began to decrease and the rocking of the boat increased, which suggested they were leaving the narrows.
A new stream of epitaphs could be heard coming from Captain Dirk. This was followed by a few seconds of silence and then Captain Dirk bellowed, "They mean to force us aground. Row, you bastards! I'll show them and take their ship in the bargain! Break out the weapons!"
Daniel felt the ship surge forward as the power of the rowing increased. Something was happening, but what? Why was Captain Dirk bringing out weapons? Daniel's mind was racing but had almost no information to process. He listened intently trying to make sense out of what was going on but only heard small snippets of orders and occasional blast of cursing from Captain Dirk. Only a few minutes passed and Daniel heard a new sound, the solid thunk of an arrow striking the ship. Their ship was being attacked but by who; was this a rescue?
A sudden lurching of the ship tossed Daniel against his basket prison. He struck his head firmly against the side but not enough to render him unconscious. By the time Daniel's thinking cleared, the boat had heeled over and seemed to be twisting sideways. The sounds of battle permeated only partially into the hull and Daniel decided it was time to try and make his escape.
He was no longer certain of his position in the wooden basket, which seemed to have rolled onto its side. Daniel had to search with his fingers to find his escape hatch. He began sawing furiously with his improvised saw, trying to complete the cuts through the wood. His world was now rotated almost forty-five degrees from the vertical and getting steeper. Daniel completed the cuts in the vertical supports and tried to break the webbing free but it would not give. Something was holding it from the outside. Working feverishly, Daniel tried to pull the hatch inward but the curve of the basket weave tended to wedge it in place.
The boat had continued to roll onto its side and was now almost at a right angle. One corner of the hatch had finally given way and Daniel continued to pull and twist trying to free the remainder. Reaching through the opening Daniel realized he was up against a wall or bulkhead which was now becoming the floor. The basket must have moved. Tivi’s voice could now be heard saying, "Mr. Daniel you must get out. I think the ship is sinking."
"Tivi, can you help me move the basket?"
"What you want me to do?"
"We need to roll the basket. Can you help push from the side by the hatch?"
"I'm afraid."
Daniel finally finished tearing his escape hatch free and stuck one leg out against the wall. He began pushing trying to roll the basket. He felt some movement and when Tivi began pushing the basket slowly rolled along the wall. When he had created an open space he said, "Try and hold it while I crawl out."
Pulling his leg back in, Daniel turned around and began crawling out the small opening. The ship continued to swing sideways and seemed to roll ever more on its side. A sudden lurch of the ship occurred as the boat finished capsizing and the basket began tumbling. Daniel finished pulling himself through the opening as the basket fell completely away from the supporting wall. The dim light from the hatch disappeared as the ship rolled inverted. Daniel heard Tivi cry out in pain as the basket rolled on top of him. Daniel was even more disoriented until he felt the rungs of the ladder that he knew led to the hatch. He called out, "Tivi, where are you?"
"The basket fell on me and I can't move."
"Keep talking. I'll find you."
"The water’s coming in. I'm scared!"
Daniel moved towards the sound and stumbled against Tivi, who was pinned under the heavy basket. Trying with all his might, Daniel was only able to roll the basket partway off of Tivi but it was enough for Tivi to pull his leg out. Daniel lowered the basket and quickly felt the damaged leg; the twisted bone was obvious. Daniel said, "You will need to ride on my back. How do we get out of the hold?"
"If we climb the stairs we come out by the aft mast. But the water’s there now."
With Tivi on his back, Daniel began crawling towards the ladder. There were several inches of water in the hold and the coldness had begun seeping into Daniels bones. As he began pulling himself down the ladder through the hatch Daniel said, "Hold your breath and whatever you do, don't let go."
Daniel plunged into the cold black water pulling himself down through the hatch. Once free of the hatch the current began to sweep him aft. He brushed against the mast which lay broken and tangled in the multiple lines that normally secured it. He began swimming with the current, trying to avoid the tangle that would have entrapped him forever. It was unnatural to swim down to escape, and quickly his lungs began to burn for air. Forcing himself to concentrate on staying below the surface, Daniel swam until light was visible above. The desire to breathe was becoming overwhelming as he pushed t
owards the light. Breaking through the surface Daniel gasped for air. Treading water, he made sure Tivi's head was also above the water.
Turning around in a circle, Daniel surveyed the situation. The boats had already moved off beyond his swimming ability. The water was strewn with debris from the overturned ship and Daniel swam towards a hatch cover. He held onto the edge and told Tivi to crawl up onto the wooden structure, which he did by crawling over Daniel’s head. Daniel tried to pull himself up, but the hatch would begin tipping despite Tivi sitting on the opposite edge. The cold was penetrating deeply and Daniel knew he needed to get out of the water.
He asked Tivi, "Can you hang over the edge more?"
"I can't swim. I'll try but I'm scared."
With Tivi leaning way out, Daniel again tried pulling himself up onto the hatch cover. It tilted up at least forty-five degrees, but he was able to pull himself up without capsizing the hatch cover. As he moved towards the center he had Tivi huddle up next to him and he wrapped his very wet cape around their shivering bodies. Tivi tried to talk but his teeth were chattering so bad that Daniel could not understand what he was saying. Only after he pointed towards the boats was Daniel aware that the larger boat had sailed further away from them. The current seemed to be taking them away from land and the wind was freshening. Daniel knew that if they were not rescued quickly the cold would penetrate too deeply for them to survive. Just staying on top of the hatch cover would become a major challenge as the wind and waves increased. He doubted they could survive even an hour. He said nothing to Tivi, instead holding tightly to his small friend who had saved his life.
Sacred Water, Book 2, The Time Before Page 6