"A World Forgotten" DARK WATERS

DARK WATERS

The dark, blue sky was clear and the stars twinkled like lights on a Christmas tree for as far as the eye could see. The calm, cool water reflected the lights from the sky and gave off a soft glow as the "Golden Lady" pushed forward as she headed back towards Cape Cod Bay. The group of men had set out for ten days on a fishing trip, and were returning home with a very fruitful cargo. In the "hold" they had plenty of Cod, Tuna, and Haddock which they had preserved in ice to keep them from going bad. As the "Lady" sliced silently through the water, Josh walked slowly over to the starboard side of the vessel and leaned up against the railing. As he took a big gulp of hot coffee from his mug, he took a long, deep breath and inhaled the warm salty air. Being out on the ocean for days at a time can certainly play tricks on a persons' mind. They start to see things that aren't really there and believe that they can actually hear the ocean calling to them.

Josh and a few of his close friends had decided to rent this charter boat several months before so that they could get away from the "rat race of the world", and enjoy the peace and quiet that the ocean brought to them So, they all pitched in and rented a boat, and then decided that while they were out to try their luck at fishing and see what they could catch. They decided to go about 40 miles out and do some deep sea fishing. It seemed much more exciting than just fishing along the coast.

So, they set out on a foggy Friday morning around 5:30am loaded up with food, coffee, warm clothes, waterproof boots and jackets, a first aid kit, and of course plenty of beer. Before departing Rick, Brian, Randy, Jason, and Josh all gathered at the local restaurant at approximately 4:30am to grab a quick breakfast before heading out. They chowed down on scrambled eggs, wheat toast with strawberry jam, and link sausage. Then they washed the food down with several cops of black coffee. They left a $5.00 tip for the waitress when they were done and exited the building.

As the young men pulled into the marina, they parked their vehicles close to the pier, and started to unload their supplies. Once everything was taken onto the boat, the group prepared to cast off. Brian was in charge of navigation, so as soon as he plotted their course, Randy headed up to the helm. He turned the key in the ignition and the motor roared into motion. They pulled slowly away from the rickety, wooden dock, and headed out of the marina towards the open waters. This was the last time the men would every see Plymouth again - and home!


As Josh drank the last of his now cold coffee, he didn't hear the silent figure slowly sneeking up behind him. Suddenly, he felt a strong had grab him by the shoulder. Startled, Josh whipped his body around to find Brian standing there.

"Man, don't do that! What's the matter with you? You scared the crap out of me! Josh shouted as he shoved Brian backwards in retaliation.

"Calm down dud! Just trying to have some friendly fun that's all! No harm done okay?" Brian said as he put his arms up in the air as if surrendering. "What's ya doin' out here anyway?" He questioned as he took a swig of the ice cold Budweiser he was holding in his hand.

"I-I don't know. Just wanted to be by myself for awhile I guess." He confessed. "I've never seen the waters quite so calm before. Seems almost too calm if you ask me." Josh remarked as he looked back out over the water. "Kinda reminds you of a freshly polished glass floor, so shiny and smooth you could almost climb out and walk on it." He added.

Brian glanced out briefly at the water, and then turned his attention back to his friend. "Yeah, I guess. So what do ya say we go inside and have a couple of brewskies? The others are already a couple up on us." Brian said as he gave his buddy a friendly slap on the back and motioned towards the cabin door.

"I'll be in, in a few minutes, B. You go on in." Josh replied. Brian shrugged his shoulders and turned towards the door when Josh suddenly whispered to him and put up his hand signaling his to come back.

"Hey, listen, do you hear that?" Josh said almost in a whisper as Brian returned to his buddy's side. "It almost sounds liking singing, doesn't it?"

Brian listened carefully for a few seconds and then looked back over at Josh with a look of disapproval on his face. "You're imagining things, dude. You know yourself that being out on the ocean for days can play tricks on a persons' mind!"

"I know what I heard, Brian, and I was NOT imagining it." Josh replied. He stopped and pointed back out towards the water again. "There, there it is again.!" Josh said has the strange melody seemed to be getting closer, but as he stared out over the water he could still see nothing.

Brian shook his head thinking that his friend was hallucinating, and then he too suddenly raised his arm and pointed to an area on the starboard side of the boat. "Would ya look at that!" He blurted out in amazement .

Josh quickly turned his head in the direction that his friend was pointing to. At first, he didn't see anything, and then in the distance, just beyond the light from the spotlight on the boat, he could make out what appeared to be a large rocky formation rising out of the water. In the moonlight, they could barely make out the shape of a dark shapely figure of a woman perched on top of it. As they watched intently, the formation started to come into focus and they could hear an enchanting melody coming from that direction. There weren't any words, but both men seemed to by hypnotized by the sweet melodious song. The two friends were so entranced that they didn't even notice that a storm was quickly brewing over the horizon and coming their way fast.

Down below in the cabin Rick, Jason, and Randy felt the boat start to sway to and fro. For a moment, the rocking motion didn't seem to phase the group, but when a loud crash of thunder followed by a brilliant flash of light lit up the cabin they all decided to go up top. As the men emerged onto the deck, they were met with a very large and powerful gust of wind. They saw Josh and Brian standing just ahead of them at the railing. They seemed to be looking at something in the distance. The sudden stormy weather did not seem to bother either of them. As Rick began to climb up the stairs to the helm, Jason and Randy rushed quickly over to their other friends.

"Guys, bad storm coming. We need to secure the boat!" Randy said in a loud voice as he tried to look out over the water to see what his friends were watching so intently.

The wind was really starting to pick up now and the thunder and lightening grew more and more intense. The rain started to come down in torrents as he attempted to tug at both Josh and Brian to break them out of their trance-like state, but there was no response.

"She is absolutely beautiful!" Cried Brian as he grabbed onto the railing for support.

"Her song is breathtaking!" Replied Josh as he suddenly lost his footing and also grabbed ahold of the railing to pull himself back up.

"What are you two babbling about" There's no one out th-. . . " Randy suddenly grew silent as he peered out over the water and could clearly make out the shape of a woman with long, dark flowing hair sitting on a large rock formation just ahead of them. Her head was tilted towards the now darkening sky, and her hair was blowing gracefully behind her as if the wind was her brush and gently running its soft bristles through it.

By now Jason had forced his way up to where the three men stood and watched in horror as the boat grew ever closer to where the beautiful woman figure sat. He too became enchanted by her beauty and didn't realize how dangerously close the boat was getting to the jagged rocks that lie ahead.

Rick was fighting with the wheel at the helm. He couldn't seem to turn away from the danger in front of them. No matter which way he turned the wheel, the boat didn't seem to change course. Now as all the men watched in amazement, the woman suddenly seemed to vanish from the rocks and the music grew silent.

As the group seemed to suddenly wake up out of their trance, they realized that they were going to crash into the rocks in front of them. The thunder crashed down louder and louder, and the rain stung the men as it pelted their arms and faces.

"We're gonna hit!" Yelled Brian, as he, Josh, and Randy quickly turned away from the railing and started to make their way toward the cabin door. Up top, Rick stood there frozen at the wheel as the boat rocked violently back and forth. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something jump out of the water.

Rick tried to focus on keeping the boat from running into the rocks. He turned the wheel one way and then the other, but still the boat stayed on the same course. It felt as if he had lost control of the vessel. He could feel the wheel starting to moved against his hands as if someone or something was guiding the boat to its pending doom.

As Brian, Josh, and Randy ran frantically down into the cabin, they ran over to the far wall and started grabbing the life preservers off their hooks. As they began to put them on and secure them, Randy noticed that Josh had became quiet and very still. His wide, hazel eyes were searching the cabin as he lifted his head up just slightly.

"Josh, what are you doing? Hurry up and get your life preserver on!" Randy yelled to his friend.

"Do you smell that? It smells like gas." He announced. Suddenly, he turned around and quickly ran to the hallway and reached down to lift up the door that led down to the engine room. His friends quickly on his heels.

As Josh lowered himself down into the engine room the smell was smothering. He walked over to the engine and as he began to look it over he noticed that a line had broken and fluid was spilling out everywhere. He raced back over to the opening and Brian reached down and grabbed his arms to help him back up.

"The gas is spilling out everywhere. A line broke off from the engine. We have to get out of here!" Josh said as he pushed his friends out of the way and headed for the cabin door, but their fate was already sealed.

Just before the "Golden Lady" crashed into the jagged rocks, a figure surfaced from beneath the water, her dark hair now wet and plastered against her head. She watched intently as the boat was thrown violently onto the rocks and burst into flames. The boat took only a few minutes to burn and then was snuffed out by the crashing waves. As silently as she appeared, the mysterious lady disappeared back into the water as the storn suddenly subsided and the waters grew still again