Ocean Drops
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Aboard the ship, he felt a sense of relief. It had been a long and arduous night. The sea was calm and the wind fair for sailing; there were only three other ships in sight, one of them his own, and the others were far out on either side. He had spent most of the night in bed with the captain’s lady, but when he left she insisted that he stay on board to help her prepare breakfast for the crew.
He had protested, not wanting to lose the precious few moments’ sleep he had managed so far in their shared cabin, but she had refused to be swayed: ‘If you’re going to take me up on my offer of marriage then it’ll have to include being useful. Now get back down below before I change my mind!’
The rest of the watch passed without incident, and the dawn came clear over the water. He woke just as the sun was rising into a cloudless sky, and dressed quickly. There were no sounds coming from outside the cabin, and he opened the door just in time to see Captain Pryce standing with one foot on the ladder leading down to the deck. His hair was wet with spray.
‘What happened?’ said Ben.
Pryce shrugged. ‘She wanted to show me something—I can’t say I understood what it was.’ Then he looked at Ben. ‘Are you well enough for duty?’
Ben thought about this. It seemed that he wasn’t really fit even to be left alone in the cabin. But there had been no harm done, and it might do him good. The ship would be all too quiet if he didn’t go out for some fresh air. So he said yes.
‘Good,’ said Pryce, clapping him on the shoulder. ‘You can join us in the mess now. We’ve got an early start ahead.’
The sun rose higher as the three ships sailed south-eastward along the coast towards Cape Agulhas; Ben watched its progress through the open hatchway while eating his breakfast of bacon and bread, washed down with a mug of strong coffee.
The wind was blowing steadily now, bringing them close by land to where the sea became rough and confused around the headland at which the peninsula ended in a long sandy spit.
The sky above was clear blue except for a few white cumulus clouds scudding high above, and Ben took pleasure in the feel of the breeze on his face: he could tell that they would soon be in the tropics again.
They rounded the point as the first birds began to fly eastward, and then they were past the headland and on course for Port Elizabeth. A few hours later the sun was low in the western sky, casting the ship into shadow as she cut across the waves. They had reached the end of the shipping lanes, and the ocean fell silent as they moved deeper into the South Atlantic.
The next day brought more sunshine as the three ships plowed on through the deep blue waters. Ben stood on the quarterdeck for a while, watching the horizon to make sure that they weren’t being followed or trailed, but all went well and after midday, they sighted land to starboard, where the waters were calmer.
The sun shone brilliantly as the ships slowed and turned north, passing within a stone’s throw of the island where the Portuguese had established a small fort before moving to Brazil. They rounded the eastern cape of Africa as the sun set behind them and made their way slowly eastwards in darkness.
By dawn the following day they had crossed to the west of Mauritius and were sailing toward Madagascar. By midday, they were well out of sight of land.
***
Aboard the ship, he felt a sense of relief. It had been a long and arduous night. The sea was calm and the wind fair for sailing; there were only three other ships in sight, one of them his own, and the others were far out on either side.
He had spent most of the night in bed with the captain’s lady, but when he left she insisted that he stay on board to help her prepare breakfast for the crew.
He had protested, not wanting to lose the precious few moments’ sleep he had managed so far in their shared cabin, but she had refused to be swayed: ‘If you’re going to take me up on my offer of marriage then it’ll have to include being useful. Now get back down below before I change my mind!’
He climbed wearily aboard his own ship and joined the crew in the forepeak, where he ate his own breakfast in peace while waiting for Pryce to emerge. The cook was making bread from some dough that had been resting on deck since dawn; there was also a fresh pot of coffee steaming nearby.
When the captain did appear he was still wearing his pith helmet and leather gloves, carrying a sack containing two heavy bottles. He sat at the table with them and said: ‘This is the best coffee we’ve found yet.’ He opened the first bottle and handed out a cup to each member of the watch. ‘Drink up—the sooner we finish this the happier I am.’
It was a very good coffee, rich with the flavor of spices. Ben took a mouthful as he stared at the map laid out on the wooden floorboards. The route they had planned was straightforward and direct, taking them down the eastern coast of Africa before swinging around towards Mozambique and the Indian Ocean beyond.
The first port of call would be Madagascar, then it was down to Mauritius for provisions. Then it would be onwards, towards Seychelles, before finally rounding the Cape of Good Hope and reaching Cape Town on the southern tip of Africa, where the squadron was due to meet its final destination, England.
Pryce looked over at him as he drank. ‘Are you tired, Ben?’
Ben shook his head. ‘I’m fine.’
‘What’s your plan for the journey from here? There are places to stop en route, of course, if we need rest or a change of pace. How does the voyage suit you?’
‘We’ll do what’s needed to keep us going,’ Ben said.
‘That sounds a little grim,’ Pryce replied. ‘You know how much I enjoy your company, and I don’t want you falling asleep at the wheel!’
Ben smiled. ‘Don’t worry. You won’t find me falling asleep anywhere, anytime.’
***
There was no sign of pursuit as the ships sailed northwards along the coast, skirting the edge of Madagascar to reach its northernmost point.
At this point, the water became too shallow for any ship to venture into without the aid of an anchor, and it was another three days before they reached the open ocean where they could see ahead to the distant line of islands that marked the entrance to the Gulf of Oman.
‘That will be our next port of call,’ Ben said.
The weather had continued to hold, although there was a strong wind blowing from the east as they sailed eastwards in a wide circle around the southern coast of Africa. On the fifth day, they passed south of Mauritius and were sailing towards the western side of Madagascar when Ben noticed something moving off to starboard.
A small fishing boat appeared on their right, heading straight for them and bearing down on them rapidly. He stood at the taffrail as the craft drew closer, holding on tightly to the rigging as he scanned the beach for signs of life.
He saw a man standing beside the boat on the sands, staring up at them as they approached. It looked like a small canoe with a square sail fixed beneath its bow and Ben realized that it was being pulled by a single horse; the rider stood on the bowsprit, guiding it.
As the vessel drew level, the man jumped clear and scrambled ashore. They came within hailing distance, and Ben called out: ‘Hello! Is anyone aboard?’
A young boy came running out from behind the shelter of a large tree. His clothes were ragged but he appeared to be about twelve years old, and he ran across the sand as though his legs had been set to full power. As he arrived at the rail, he stopped in his tracks and stared at Ben with eyes that seemed unnaturally bright and alert.
For a moment, Ben wondered whether it was some sort of trick of the light, but it persisted as the lad stared back at him. Ben felt that there was a connection between them, although it was impossible to say what kind or why, but the young boy began to speak to him.
His voice sounded strange and alien, like nothing that Ben had ever heard before, almost as though he had learned it as a second language. In fact, now he thought about it, Ben realized that was exactly what it must have been. The boy’s words were slow and his accent so heavy that it took a while for Ben to understand what he was saying.
At first, he thought that the lad couldn’t speak English, but then he remembered the other men who had met them at the last port of call; they were from India, which made perfect sense given where they were headed.
Ben was trying hard to remember everything that the boy said, hoping that it might help him in understanding his language in time. The youngster repeated himself several times until finally, Ben got the gist of it. ‘He says you’re going to be safe here,’ Ben told Pryce.
‘What’s this?’ Pryce asked. ‘I didn’t hear anything else after “safe.” What did you tell him?’
Ben shook his head. ‘Nothing much, just that we would try our best not to hurt him.’
‘I don’t get it. Are we stopping somewhere or what?’
‘Just a moment,’ Ben said. ‘I think I’m beginning to pick up his accent.’
Ben turned to Pryce, who was looking confused.
‘You’ll have to listen to him again,’ Ben explained. ‘His voice sounds familiar to me.’
Pryce nodded slowly. ‘Well?’ he prompted when Ben failed to continue.
‘Well, what?’
‘If this lad is Indian or part of some trading tribe, I’d really like to stop for a chat.’
Ben looked at the boy again. ‘What do you mean, “chat”?’
‘Just take him on board for a few minutes. Let’s see if we can communicate better than last time.’
‘Oh. Well, let’s find out then. I guess we could drop an anchor and wait till nightfall – maybe we’ll be able to converse easier then.’
They dropped the anchor and lowered a boat to collect the lad, who came aboard and sat opposite them. They spoke in English, although they still struggled to understand each other’s accents. Pryce gave one of his sailors instructions to stay with the child until dark and make sure he was all right, then to row back to the ship with the two of them.
When the boat had left, Ben looked at his crewman and said, ‘What did you tell him?’
The sailor shrugged his shoulders. ‘Not a lot. I just asked him how he was and whether he wanted food or drink, that’s all I said. We’ve got plenty of supplies on board.’
Pryce looked at the boy who was sitting opposite. ‘Did he answer you?’
The youngster shook his head. ‘No, but he kept pointing to my hands,’ he said.
Ben looked down at his hands. The boy seemed to know what he was talking about. Ben noticed that his nails were clean and well-manicured – not something Ben expected from someone working outdoors. He looked more like someone who spent most of his time indoors; perhaps the boy was a scholar?
They continued speaking in English, and after several attempts, they finally managed to understand one another. The youngster was happy to talk, although he seemed a little reluctant at first, possibly because of the way Ben kept staring at him.
After a few more words exchanged, however, the lad became quite animated and started telling them all about the landmass that lay off their starboard side. It was called “the island”, as he kept calling it, and he described how many different tribes lived there and how they all lived together, although there was a rivalry between them.
There was a large river that cuts through the middle of the island and formed a natural boundary. This was called the “waterway”. The island was surrounded by water on all sides and only a small portion of the shore was habitable. As they talked, Ben tried to picture the place and wondered just how close they were getting.
If the island was so big, why hadn’t the islanders seen the ship before now? Then he realized what must be happening: the island had to be far away and they probably passed it every day, but it was difficult to notice the ship in the sea – unless, of course, they had eyes like a seaman.
Ben guessed that the island could cover hundreds of miles at a time without even knowing it was there since it was so huge. He also realized that he would never get a full understanding of this place until he actually saw it.
By the end of the conversation, Ben had learned a few things about the island, but he wasn’t satisfied. He felt that they were missing a crucial piece of information. Why did the island have such a strong barrier around it? And what did it have to do with the creatures that they fought? Perhaps the boy had been too nervous to ask those questions?
After a while, the boy stopped talking and looked at Ben. ‘Can we go ashore? I want to show you something.’
‘Sure,’ Ben replied. ‘But first, we should get some sleep. We’ve had a long journey and we’re pretty tired.’
‘I’m very tired,’ the boy admitted, but he still looked eager to show them something.
Ben turned to Pryce. ‘Let’s drop a couple of anchors over near the island and then I’ll call for you when it’s dark.’
‘Okay,’ Pryce agreed.
Ben stood up and walked across to where the boy sat in a small chair next to the captain’s table. He smiled down at the young fellow who looked like nothing more than any other child. Ben reached down and touched his hand. ‘It’s good to meet you, lad,’ he said, trying to sound as friendly as possible.
The boy stared up at him in shock and began to shake his hand in return. Then he pulled himself forward so that his face was close to Ben’s. Ben was surprised at how warm and moist his breath was; he’d never met anyone who breathed like that. The boy continued to stare at him.
‘You speak English very well,’ Ben commented in amazement.
The boy nodded slowly and whispered, ‘Thank you.’
Ben looked into the boy’s eyes again. The pupils were slightly elongated compared to what Ben remembered from children back home. They were also slightly red – almost the same color as blood. Ben felt his body go cold with fear. He knew exactly what type of creature this boy was – he was one of the creatures.
Ben quickly pulled his hand back from the youngster’s, but the boy grabbed hold of it and pulled Ben’s arm closer to him. Ben tried to pull his arm away, but the boy held on tightly. At that point, Ben understood just how strong these creatures were. The boy didn’t weigh much, but he held on strongly and he looked as though he intended to keep holding on no matter what happened.
Ben tried to push him away, but it was no use. His muscles seemed to belong to an animal or maybe even an ape. The boy was stronger than either Pryce or he put together!
At first, Ben tried to ignore the situation, but then he realized that if he didn’t take control, the boy would hurt him. That’s when he remembered what he’d done with the creature on board the other ship – he’d beaten it up, and if that worked on one of its own kind, surely it would work on this creature?
Ben suddenly thought about the way he had used the pistol earlier and decided that perhaps he could use the same technique here. He took out his pistol, pointed it at the boy, and squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened.
In shock, Ben stared at the gun in disbelief. He pulled the hammer back, cocked the gun, and repeated the process. Still, nothing happened.
Suddenly, the boy released him and backed off, shaking his head. The boy then picked up a small wooden bowl that he had taken from the side of the cabin and threw it at Ben. It hit him hard in the chest.
It had been thrown very accurately and it was filled with a mixture of some kind of green liquid. Ben was shocked by how powerful it had felt as it struck him and he fell backward onto the deck.
The boy stood looking down at him in silence for a moment. Then he started to laugh. He laughed so loudly that Ben heard the sound through his closed door.
The boy came over to the door and knocked on it three times. ‘Captain,’ he said, laughing all the time. ‘Captain!’
Ben opened the door and found himself staring into the grinning face of the boy. The creature looked down at him in disgust. ‘What do you want?’ Ben asked.
‘You are stupid,’ the boy replied, his voice dripping with contempt. ‘Why would you kill my friend?’
‘He attacked me first,’ Ben told him. ‘I only shot him because I saw him about to hurt you.’
‘How dare you say that to me!’ the boy cried out. ‘I have killed many people before you ever came here – I killed your friend just now.’
Ben shook his head in disbelief and anger. The creature was right – he did seem to be quite an accomplished fighter. Yet the way that the boy spoke seemed so different from anything he’d encountered before. It reminded Ben of someone he had met once – an African called Kwame who had been captured as a slave and brought over to America.
This creature certainly had an exotic look, but they also shared many of the same mannerisms – a strange combination. But then, there really were no rules in this place; it was like something from the wilds of Africa had come to life in Europe. Ben wondered whether he should try and get rid of this creature once and for all – but what could he do?
‘I don’t believe you,’ Ben said, trying to maintain an outward calmness. ‘You’re lying to me. No one is that good at fighting.’
The boy laughed again and Ben suddenly realized that he was laughing at him, not with him. It made him feel angry and humiliated all at once. The boy turned and walked away, his long black hair swinging back and forth behind him. As he left, Ben noticed that the boy was naked.
The door slammed shut behind him. Ben sat down on his bed and tried to compose himself. He wanted to find out more about this creature, but somehow it didn’t feel safe anymore. He had to admit that the creature had given him a few ideas as to how he might escape.
He had been thinking of trying to make a break for it during the night, but that now seemed impossible. If the creature returned during the night, he doubted whether he could fight it off alone.
As Ben sat there on his bunk, he felt a cold hand grab hold of him beneath his shirt collar. He jumped up from his bed and turned around in panic. There was the creature standing beside him. In its hand, it was holding Ben’s revolver.
Ben knew what he had to do next; he just hoped it would work. He raised his hand to take aim and the creature moved in front of him so fast that Ben couldn’t even see where it had gone. The creature was suddenly behind him, grabbing hold of his wrist and pinning it against the wall.
Before Ben could do anything else, he felt the barrel of the revolver pressed firmly against his forehead. Ben struggled to push away from the wall, but he couldn’t move. His head was throbbing as he felt the muzzled press harder into his temple.
Ben realized that he didn’t actually know where the boy’s arm was pointing and that this must be a mistake; after all, the boy had never held a gun before.
He tried to shout, but he didn’t know if anyone could hear him or not. The creature leaned forward and Ben could smell its foul breath on his face.
‘Don’t be afraid,’ it said softly. ‘I won’t hurt you, Captain.’
The word ‘captain’ seemed to give Ben strength; his arms were starting to move, and he pushed away from the wall. At the same time, he managed to turn around and throw the creature’s own weight against it. The creature went backward onto the floor, and Ben took advantage of the opportunity to grab the boy’s gun and point it at his chest.
‘Now let me go,’ Ben shouted, but the creature was already getting up and moving towards him, still carrying his revolver. Ben pulled the trigger and the weapon clicked, but nothing happened. He tried several more times with the same result.
He tried to fire a few shots at the creature, but the gun didn’t even click. Ben realized that the bullets must have disintegrated by some magic force field.
‘No more games,’ the creature growled as it lunged forward and grabbed hold of the pistol.
Ben tried to pull away but the creature was too strong; he was going to be overpowered if he didn’t think of something quickly. He tried to pull the knife out of his boot, but the creature knocked it away and caught it easily in its hand. The thing seemed to have incredible strength as well as great speed.
Ben knew he had no other options available to him, so he pulled the pistol back as hard as he could and fired two shots. Both bullets hit the creature in the chest and it fell to the ground. Ben looked down at it as he stood above it. A hole had appeared through the torso from shoulder to groin.
It was dead, and the only reason he knew that was that it was still breathing heavily, but not for much longer. Ben knelt down and put his ear close to the wound. It was still alive, but barely. With one last effort, Ben pulled open the creature’s belly and stuck his fingers into the hole.
After a few seconds of straining, he managed to retrieve the creature’s heart, which he placed inside his pocket for later examination.
He then picked up the creature’s revolver and ran out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him. As he did so, he heard someone enter the room. He didn’t dare look back and instead ran as fast as he could to the end of the corridor. He turned left, hoping he could find a staircase leading below decks somewhere, but he soon found himself lost.
‘Come on!’ he yelled to himself and hurried down another corridor. Suddenly he saw a large red door ahead of him. It was an exit! Without hesitating, he burst through it and was instantly outside.
A warm breeze washed over him; he stood there on the deck and breathed in deep breaths of fresh air. He could see his ship, just a short distance away, lying quietly against the horizon. He knew he should return and try to explain what had happened, but instead, he decided to run.
He didn’t know how long it had been since he’d taken off in his ship, but he was fairly certain that the creature had died before he got to the shoreline, so there wasn’t a problem anymore. He ran across the deck and jumped into the sea, swimming towards his ship. Once on board, he headed straight to his cabin and locked the door behind him.
The End