NOVEL NEXT Cosmic Dreams 1: Cast your Anchor….
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[Fish in the Sea]♫ "Come all you young sailor men, listen to me, I'll sing you a song of the fish in the sea;" ♫
♫ """And it's Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys. When the wind blows, we're all together, boys; Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow, Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes.""" ♫
♫ "Up jumps the eel with his slippery tail, Climbs up aloft and reefs the topsail" ♫
♫ """Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys. When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;
Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow, Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes.""" ♫Jonah grinned ear to ear, swinging his tankard along with the tune as the three large, bald forms of uncles, Billy, Bob, and Bo, stood on the small table, singing at the top of their lungs. The triplets had spent nearly 20 years in the Navy, and the sight of the three large, muscular, and bare-chested brothers drunk as a door-nob and singing every shanty they knew, was a common thing in any Hilannd family gathering. As was the sight of their sister, his mother sitting next to him, her face buried in her hands, face just as bright red as theirs, though for a different reason.
It probably didn't help their antics much that they were currently 7 miles offshore on an authentic replica of a colonial schooner. Jonah still wasn't too sure how Uncle Billy was able to get a hold of the darn thing, but when he turned up at the clinic last week offering to take them on an old fashioned fishing trip with a couple of his Navy buddies, Jonah jumped at the chance. Alice, his mother, had taken a bit more convincing than her adventure hungry son, but she never could say no to her older brothers.
They'd been at sea for three days now, and he had to admit, it wasn't quite what he was expecting, but it was an experience none the less. Bob had speared a massive Bluefin earlier in the day, and now they were sitting on the top deck with two other Vets from the office, his three uncles and their four navy buddies having a fish barbecue. Thick slabs of Bluefin steak sat on a gyro-stabilized grill (custom build by his mad engineer of an uncle, Bo) with all of the cheap beer they could stock on the small boat. It was a little crowded, but they made it work.
As the song ended, the triplets stepped off the table, giving a small bow amidst the cheers from the rest of the crew. Around the table, people passed food and drink, laughing and smiling as they enjoyed the party and company. Across the table from him, Jonah noticed Billy frown as he looked further out to sea. In the distance, ominous storm clouds billowed and rolled. Billy took one last swing of his tankard and motioned to Jonah
[Billy] - "Come help me set up the rigging, nephew. We need to get back to the harbor before the storm hits. This old girl's well built, but I don't want to risk getting stuck out in that."
Jonah gave a nod in reply, his eyes lingering on the clouds off in the distance. He didn't know what, but they gave him a bad feeling, like something was screaming at him at the back of his mind. But he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. His frown deepened and his brow furrowed as he stood to join his uncle near the mast. Eyes still on the clouds, he reached over and hugged his mother, only to feel freezing cold wetness, like she'd just came from a swim. He turned his head to look at her, his eyes flashing in confusion.
The next moment, his heart stopped cold.
Alice still sat next to him as before, elbows on the table, face hiding in her hands, but that was all that was the same. Her clothes had become soaked in seawater, faded and torn, almost slimy. Her soaked hair was a tattered rats nest, filled with rotting seaweed and clumps of sand. Her skin had become pale and spongy, sagging in spots or torn and festering in others, like some tiny creature had bitten in and devoured what lay beneath. Jonah's breath became shallow and ragged, his heart racing and his eyes bulging out. He took a step back, head shaking from side to side,
[Jonah] - "N..no.....NOOOOO!!"
He screamed and turned back to his uncle, only to freeze in place. His mother wasn't the only thing to change. It was like they had been teleported into the heart of the Storm; where only moments ago the sky had been an endless expanse of blue and the sun beat down uncomfortably hot, now dark and billowing storm clouds stretched as far as the eye could see, and screaming winds sent a biting cold down to his bones. Dark waves rocked the schooner from side to side, as its creaking, rotting wood and tattered sails added their haunting sounds to the angry storm around them.
Everyone else on the boat had seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving him there standing on the deck with his mouth agape, unsure of what was happening.
As he stood, mind blank, he heard another sound, even over the rattling of the rotting ship and raging storm. It sounded like someone was sloshing water around in a cloth bag, as water dripped onto the planks below. Despite the freezing winds, Jonah felt his blood run cold, and he turned around towards the sound. Tears ran down his cheek and his head slowly swung side to side as he watched the figure of his mother rise from her seat with some difficulty, her joints cracking and jerking like they'd not moved in eons.
Still holding her face in her pale, bloated, and salt-encrusted hands, she turned towards him, wet, slimy hair falling over and covering what little was visible. Jonah's feet turn to lead blocks and he could only stand rooted to the spot as the thing that used to be Alice made its way to him, step by rigid step. The tears poured unhindered now, and Jonah could only rock his head back and forth, muttering softly into the howling storm.
[Jonah] - Please...N-no... Please...
But his pleas went unanswered as "Alice" continued on, eventually stopping just a few steps from him. A sudden sound of cracking wood sounded from behind him, as a massive, serpentine figure broke through the rotting deck and cast them both in its shadow. However, it went unheeded by either of them, Jonah unable to remove his eyes from the figure of the small woman in front of him. Through the storm, he could hear a soft whisper emanating from her. Almost silent words that floated on the edge of his mind, but unable to be grasped, ones that had haunted his dreams for years.
As if the weight of the world was on her shoulders, "Alice" struggled to lift her head, still whispering those unheard words, as she slowly removed her hands from her face. Jonah sobbed and struggled, desperate to escape, to move his lead feet, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. But before "Alice" could fully uncover her face, the massive serpentine figure behind him struck down, and then;
Darkness.