Escaping The Sea
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“It’s a trap!” cried the captain. “This is no way to run an expedition.” He turned and shouted at his crew, but they were too busy trying not to drown or be eaten by sharks to pay much attention to him.
The ship was sinking fast now as it made its desperate dive for the shoreline. There would only be one chance of escape; if he missed this opportunity then all their lives were forfeit anyway.
Captain Baskin knew that there must be some kind of mechanism on the beach which activated when the boat hit the sand so that it could take off again, but he’d never seen anything like it before. If any of them survived then they had better find out what it did quickly because time was running short.
He looked back over his shoulder just in case the shark was still following them, but luckily it seemed to have given up after losing sight of its prey. It swam away with a mighty splash towards the horizon, leaving behind nothing more than a trail of bubbles from its gills.
Captain Baskin took a deep breath and prepared himself for the plunge into the surf below. He felt confident enough now that he wouldn’t get swept away by the waves – even though he was wearing full armor!
His men were already scrambling down the side of the ship onto the rocks beneath, while others clambered across the deck and jumped overboard. They didn’t seem worried about getting wet at all.
As soon as everyone was safely ashore, Captain Baskin ran straight through the crowd towards the nearest building. It wasn’t very big, just a single room really, but it was clearly made from stone rather than wood.
That meant it should last longer against the elements than most other buildings. As he got closer he saw that it was divided into two sections: a long narrow hall leading directly ahead, and another smaller chamber to the port where the door was located. The whole place smelt strongly of fish oil, which suggested that it might be used as a storeroom for fishing equipment and supplies.
That was fine by Captain Baskin. He needed somewhere safe to hide until the tide went out. Then he could go exploring around the island. Maybe he would find something useful here…
There were plenty of barrels stacked neatly along one wall, each containing different types of dried meat, vegetables, and fruit. Some of these were covered in seaweed to keep them fresh, but many weren’t. This was probably why the sharks hadn’t been attracted to the place yet. Even so, he decided not to touch any of the foodstuffs without first checking whether they were edible.
Next, he checked out the small kitchen area. It consisted mostly of a large fireplace with a rack above it holding several pots and pans, plus a few wooden spoons hanging from hooks next to the fire. There was also a chopping board and knife set, although the knives appeared to be quite blunt and rusty.
A couple of sacks of grain were piled nearby, presumably intended for making bread. These were definitely not going to be suitable for human consumption.
Finally, the captain examined the bedding laid out on the floor. Most of the mattresses were empty, but there were three blankets folded up beside the far end of the room. One of these was a thick woolen blanket, while the other two were made from animal skins. Each was decorated with a pattern of brightly colored geometric shapes sewn into the fabric.
These patterns reminded Captain Baskin of the ones painted on the walls inside the cave, except that these were much larger and brighter. Perhaps they served some purpose other than decoration?
After a quick search of the rest of the building, he returned to the main hall and found four wooden chairs arranged around a low table. On top of this lay a map showing the coastline of the surrounding islands. Although it was incomplete, it showed how the sea currents flowed between the various land masses.
Captain Baskin studied it carefully for a moment, but couldn’t see any obvious clues as to what function the strange symbols might serve.
He picked up one of the chairs and carried it outside. After placing it near the edge of the cliff, he sat down and rested his elbows on the armrests. Now that he was finally alone, he allowed himself a sigh of relief. At least he had escaped the jaws of death. He wondered if his crewmates were doing okay. Hopefully, they would be able to make it to safety before the sharks caught up with them.
Then he noticed something odd. The sun was shining bright overhead, but there was no wind blowing at all. No matter how hard he tried, Captain Baskin couldn’t hear or feel any movement in the air. This was very unusual indeed. He’d always known that the weather here was unpredictable, but this was beyond anything he had ever experienced before.
He stood up and walked over to the edge of the cliff. Here he could look down at the ocean far below. Normally he would expect to see the waves crashing against the rocks, but instead, there was just an endless expanse of calm water stretching off into the distance. And there was absolutely no sign of the sharks.
Captain Baskin’s eyes widened as he realized what must have happened. The storm must have caused the current to change direction. Instead of flowing southwards towards the mainland, it was now heading northeast. In fact, it was moving faster than usual.
The captain turned and hurried back inside the building. He wanted to warn his men before it was too late!
***
“What do you mean we’re lost?” demanded Simon. “How can that happen? We’ve only been sailing for about half an hour!”
It was already dark outside, but the moon was high enough to cast its light across the deck. All six of the sailors were sitting together in a group, staring blankly at the horizon. They had spent the past hour trying to figure out where they were, but none of them had come up with a satisfactory answer.
Simon slumped forward onto his knees. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, and beads of sweat were running down the sides of his face. He felt completely helpless, like a caged animal. If only he knew which way to turn, then everything would be fine. But he didn’t even know which direction was north.
A sudden gust of wind blew through the rigging, causing the sails to flutter wildly. As soon as this happened, everyone looked up sharply. Had someone spotted them? Was another ship coming their way?
But nobody else seemed concerned by the breeze. After a few minutes, the sailors resumed looking out to sea.
Eventually, Simon got tired of waiting. Without warning, he leaped to his feet and ran over to the wheelhouse. When he reached it, he grabbed hold of the steering oar and began turning it backward and forwards.
This wasn’t easy, since the boat was so big. However, after a few attempts, Simon managed to get the rudder to move slightly. Then he tried pulling the opposite way, but the result was exactly the same. Either way, the boat kept drifting steadily away from the island.
He let go of the steering oar and stared at it for a long time. It was almost as though the thing had a mind of its own. Did it want him to steer the boat somewhere specific? Or was it simply obeying orders given by someone else?
As he pondered this question, a voice spoke directly into his head.
<You are being watched,> said the voice. <I am watching you right now. I will not allow your vessel to leave my sight. Do you understand me?>
Simon nodded vigorously.
<Good, good. You may continue to use the rudder as you wish. Just remember: you cannot escape unless I say otherwise.>
With that, the voice disappeared.
For several seconds, Simon remained frozen in place. Eventually, he shook his head and went back to the steering oar.
Now that he had regained control of the boat, he decided to try using the rudder again. To his surprise, it worked perfectly well – although he still couldn’t tell whether this was because he had been instructed to do so, or if the rudder really did work properly.
After another minute, Simon gave up and returned to the other sailors. He told them what had happened, and they all agreed that it sounded like a dream. None of them believed that the voice had actually spoken to him.
However, when he mentioned the name ‘Mordred’, they all started talking at once.
“That’s impossible,” argued Simon. “There is no such person.”
“Maybe he means King Arthur?” suggested one of the sailors. “Or Merlin?”
“No, that doesn’t make sense either,” replied Simon. “King Arthur died hundreds of years ago. There isn’t anyone alive who knows his real name.”
“Well, maybe Mordred has changed his name?” offered another man. “Like some people do nowadays. Maybe he used to be called something different?”
“Yes, perhaps that’s true,” said Simon. “But why should that matter? What does it prove?”
“Nothing, I suppose…” mumbled the sailor.
At last, the conversation came to an end. Nobody could think of anything more to say. So they sat silently on the deck until morning arrived.
***
When the sun rose above the horizon, Simon woke up. He was lying flat on his stomach, with his arms stretched out behind him. For a moment, he thought he might have fallen asleep while standing upright, but then he remembered that he’d been sleeping on the deck.
His first instinct was to look around to see how far they had traveled overnight. But just as he opened his eyes, he heard a loud creaking noise. At the same time, the entire boat began to sway violently from side to side.
Everyone suddenly sprang to life. The sailors scrambled to grab hold of whatever they could find, including the ropes that held the sail in place. Even Simon jumped to his feet and clutched the railing tightly.
Then, without any warning whatsoever, the boat lurched sideways. Everyone fell to the ground, except for Simon. Instead, he found himself hanging upside-down from a rope tied around his waist.
The next instant, the boat swung back towards the shore. Simon hung there for a second or two before falling into the water below. He splashed loudly as he hit the waves, and immediately sank beneath the surface.
It took him a couple of seconds to resurface. Once he did, he quickly swam to the side of the boat and climbed aboard. By now, most of the crew were awake too; they all gathered around him and asked what had happened.
Simon explained the situation briefly, but none of them understood what he meant. They didn’t know where the island was located, nor did they realize that it would take them days to reach land.
So instead of trying to explain things further, Simon decided to show them. He pulled out his compass and pointed it at the sky.
“We’re heading east,” he announced. “And we’ll probably arrive at the coast within a few hours.”
Nobody responded. In fact, they looked quite confused. As far as they knew, the compass needle always pointed north. And yet here it was pointing in exactly the opposite direction.
Eventually, Simon realized that they needed to get moving straight away. If they stayed put, the ship would eventually run aground. So he ordered everyone to start rowing.
They rowed hard for about half an hour, but after that their progress slowed down considerably. The tide was coming in fast, which made it difficult to keep going. After another twenty minutes, Simon noticed that the water level had risen significantly.
Suddenly, he saw something strange floating in the sea nearby. It was a large piece of wood covered in barnacles. When he got closer, he recognized it as part of the mast of another sailing vessel.
He shouted over to the nearest sailor. “Look! That must be the wreckage of our ship!”
“What are you saying?” replied the man. “This can’t possibly belong to the same ship that carried us across the ocean. We’ve only been traveling for three weeks.”
“I don’t care,” answered Simon. “If it’s not ours, then whose is it?”
The sailor shrugged his shoulders. “Who cares? Let’s just leave it alone.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Simon realized that he shouldn’t have said anything. Now the men were arguing amongst themselves again.
“You’re right,” said Simon. “Let’s go and fetch it.”
Once they reached the mast, Simon grabbed hold of the top of the wooden spar and tried to pull it ashore. But although he strained every muscle, he couldn’t budge it.
The other sailors joined in too. Together, they heaved on the mast until they felt it begin to move. Then, when it finally broke free of the water, they dragged it onto the beach.
By this point, the tide had completely receded. The sand was exposed once more, so they placed the mast between two rocks and waited patiently for it to dry out.
After several hours, they managed to remove all the seawater from inside the timber. This revealed a metal ring embedded in its center. To their surprise, they discovered that the ring was engraved with the name of a famous trading company: ‘Wyvern.’
Simon examined the engraving closely. There was no mistaking it – it was definitely the same symbol that Wyvern used to stamp its ships’ hulls.
For a moment, nobody spoke. Finally, one of the sailors raised his hand to make a comment. “That’s impossible… How can this be? My father worked for Wyvern. I’m sure he wouldn’t lie about such a thing.”
Another man shook his head in disbelief. “No way. Wyvern doesn’t exist anymore. It went bankrupt years ago. People stopped using the brand name long before we set off on this voyage.”
Still, others argued against these claims. “But why should my dad tell lies? He’s dead now, but if he’d still been alive, he would never have allowed anyone to believe that Wyvern was gone forever. He loved working for the company.”
At last, Simon stepped forward and addressed the group. “Listen carefully. You may think that your fathers would never do such a thing, but let me ask you this. What if someone told you that the sun will rise tomorrow morning? Would you believe them? Or would you check the skies first?”
A short while later, the sailors returned to the ship. They brought along a small chest containing some coins, as well as a number of documents belonging to their former employer.
When Simon opened the box, he found a letter written by the captain of Wyvern. It detailed how the company had fallen into financial ruin, forcing him to sell most of his assets. Unfortunately, the letter also mentioned that the remaining vessels had sunk during a storm.
The sailors handed the papers to Simon. With trembling hands, he read through the contents. Although he could barely understand them, there was one sentence in particular that stood out.
It stated that the Wyvern fleet had been lost in a terrible accident, leaving only the crew members stranded on the open seas. Since they weren’t able to return home, many of the survivors had chosen to continue living aboard their ships. Eventually, they built new ones from scraps of wood and old sails.
Simon stared at the paper in front of him. His eyes filled with tears. No wonder he hadn’t heard any rumors about Wyvern being dissolved. Nobody wanted to admit that their beloved company had disappeared without a trace.
After reading the document, Simon gave each of the sailors a coin. “Here’s your share,” he said quietly. “Thank you for helping me find what I need.”
Then, he turned to the rest of his companions. “We’ll take the ship back to England with us. All we have to do is sail around the coast until we reach Plymouth Bay. Once we arrive, we can drop anchor and wait for the tide to come in. Then we’ll row to shore, where we can use the mast to drag our boat up onto the beach.”
They spent the next few days preparing the ship for departure. On the afternoon of the third day, they sailed away from the island. As soon as they cleared the horizon, Simon ordered the sailors to lower the sails.
He knew that they needed to conserve their strength, especially since they didn’t know exactly how far the journey might take them. After all, they were traveling across an unknown ocean.
To keep himself busy, Simon took charge of steering the vessel. Whenever he spotted land ahead, he steered towards it. When the sea became rough, he lowered the rudder and used the oars to maneuver the ship safely past obstacles.
In time, they reached the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean. By then, the sun had already begun to sink below the horizon. Simon glanced over his shoulder. The sky was turning dark, which meant that nightfall was imminent.
“I guess we’d better start rowing again,” he muttered. “If we don’t hurry, we won’t get anywhere.”
As usual, Simon led the way. He pulled the oar hard, urging the men to work harder than ever. Soon, they passed the spot where the mast had broken loose from the waves.
Suddenly, Simon noticed something strange. A large shadow appeared behind them. At first, he thought it must be another ship, but when he looked more closely, he realized that the object was actually a huge wave.
Instinctively, he grabbed hold of the rope attached to the ship’s stern. But even though he held on tightly, the water continued to rush towards them. In seconds, the entire vessel began to tilt dangerously sideways.
With a loud crash, the boat tipped completely upside down. Simon tried desperately to pull himself upright, but he couldn’t manage to right the craft. Instead, he fell flat on his face.
Screaming in terror, he watched helplessly as the ship sank beneath the surface.
***
Hours later, Simon woke up. He lay sprawled out on the deck, his body covered in seawater.
For several moments, he remained motionless, trying to remember what had happened. Finally, he sat up and rubbed his sore neck.
His clothes felt heavy and uncomfortable. He wondered why nobody else seemed to be wearing anything except rags. For a moment, he considered stripping off his own clothing but decided against it. If he did so, he wouldn’t be able to swim properly. Besides, he still had no idea whether or not he was alone.
After a brief search, he discovered that he wasn’t the only person on board. There were other people lying nearby, including a young boy who was curled up in a ball.
“Are you okay?” asked Simon.
The child nodded silently.
Simon helped the boy stand up. Then, together, they walked over to the stern of the ship. They examined the wreckage carefully but saw nothing useful. The mast had been ripped apart by the force of the waves, while the hull had cracked and split into two pieces.
“What are we going to do now?” whispered the little boy.
Simon shrugged. “There isn’t much we can do. We’re trapped here.”
A few minutes later, they heard footsteps approaching from the bow. Simon peered through the darkness, wondering if there was anyone else left alive.
Just as he expected, the figure came closer. It was a man dressed in tattered robes, carrying a staff made from a piece of driftwood.
“Who are you?” asked the stranger.
Simon pointed at the bundle in his arms. “This is my son,” he replied.
The man smiled. “That explains everything.”
At last, Simon understood what had happened. This was the same sailor who had boarded their ship earlier. Now, he had returned to rescue them.
“Where are the others?” he asked.
The man shook his head sadly. “All of them died during the storm.”
Simon sighed. “It’s too bad. I liked most of those men very much. They were good friends of mine.”
“I’m sorry about your loss,” said the stranger. “But perhaps this will cheer you up: I’ve brought some food and fresh water for everyone.”
He handed Simon a small wooden bowl filled with rice. Then, he gave him a large jug containing water.
“Thank you,” murmured Simon.
The stranger turned to the boy. “And you, my friend? Are you hungry?”
The youngster nodded eagerly.
“Good. Here, eat up. You’ll need your strength.”
While the boy ate, the stranger rummaged around inside one of the crates. Eventually, he found a small sack full of dried meat and fruit.
“Here,” he said. “You should have enough for today.”
The End