Elizabeth and the Vampire's Cabin (12 page)

They
had cereal and snacked on cut up pieces of fruits and vegetables. Then they
went for a hunt in their animal forms. Elizabeth saw a feral cat, the first she
had ever seen on the island, and ate that. It was large and filled her up. She
became a human again and gave a small burp. She had eaten too fast. Soon after,
Arthur dropped down from the trees in chimp form. A dead bald eagle lay at his
feet and he had part of a raccoon in his mouth. Having eaten his fill of tree
dwelling animals, he morphed back into a human.

They
headed back to the cabin. They knew they couldn't afford to weigh down the boat
any more than necessary, so they decided that they would only bring a case of
water, some towels, an extra set of clothes, and Elizabeth's snorkeling gear.
They didn't require much. They only drank maybe about 8 ounces of pure water a
day. And that wasn't even out of any kind of sense of thirst. They just liked
the taste of the water after consuming so much salty blood and raw meat.
Neither of them even knew if they needed it to survive. Aaron once said he went
a whole month without water, before he finally started feeling mildly thirsty.
But they weren't Aaron. They were half vampires and knew the rules were
different for them. It was possible they could start to wear out in far less
time. Unfortunately, the only way to find out was to test themselves, and they
were going to have to do that out in the ocean.

They
loaded up the boat and carefully carried it down the cliff. After their
precarious descent, they pulled the boat across the shore and into the water.
Arthur wore his board shorts and Elizabeth wore a bikini as they made their way
out into the ocean. Then she hopped into the boat and he began to paddle his
feet in the water while holding onto the back of the boat. He had insisted on
paddling first and she allowed it. Ever since being abducted, she had learned
to appreciate Arthur and his kind gestures. His kindness was what helped
sustain her through the last month on the island. She needed that kindness to
sustain her resolve to depart it.

They
took turns paddling every hour. Elizabeth had basic snorkeling gear (goggles
and a snorkel), and they were grateful for it. This would make their journey go
quicker if they didn't have to come up for air. Elizabeth was by far the more
powerful swimmer.
 
She had told Arthur,
while she was a passenger, that it felt like he was leisurely rowing her across
a lake.
 
However, when Elizabeth was the
paddler, Arthur told her it felt like she was rowing crew for the Olympics.

Their
first mishap while paddling took place when it was Elizabeth's turn to push the
boat. She was marveling at the deep, dark ocean and realizing that she would
probably never get such a beautiful view of this mysterious world. What made it
even more enjoyable was that she didn't experience temperature extremes, so she
couldn't get too cold. She wished that she knew more about the different
species of fish she observed. Through her snorkel gear she saw eels, sting
rays, and schools of fish that she couldn't name. This was a world she was
content to be lost in while she paddled away with her legs until, with her
vampire ears, she began to hear a heartbeat. It was a monstrous heartbeat. And
then she heard several of them. It was like booms moving through the ocean. She
could even feel it against her skin. And then she heard noises. The word she
would use to describe it was cute. She heard happy squeaks and squeals. What
was that? Just as she thought this question, Arthur briskly yanked her out of
the ocean.

"What
is it," Elizabeth asked.

"I'm
not sure. I saw a fin like a shark."

Elizabeth
and Arthur looked out to sea. It wasn't a shark. They saw the head of a killer
whale bob up and then go back under the ocean, his shark-like fin following a
moment later. They started to see more fins. It was an entire pod of killer
whales. Elizabeth guessed it was about six whales total. They began to circle
the boat. Elizabeth, who had always enjoyed Sea World, still couldn't remember
enough about these creatures to know whether or not they enjoyed dining on
humans. She had heard of killer whale attacks on the trainers at Sea World, but
she didn't know if any of the whales had ever attempted to eat the trainers.
She knew she had probably seen the movie Jaws one too many times, but she was
afraid they might try to attack the boat.

But
the whales didn't attack. They did frolic and breach around the boat. They
playfully dived underneath the hull and came up on the other side, curiously
exploring this new object they had found floating atop their ocean home. She
heard their complex singing and chatter and decided to give them a show. She
thought of the different songs she could sing for them and then belted one out
she considered appropriate: Toad the Wet Sprocket's "Walk on the
Ocean." She sang out, "We spotted the ocean at the head of the trail!
Where are we going, so far away? Somebody told me this is the place where every
thing's better and every thing's safe."

The
whales began to "spyhop". They poked their heads out of the water and
acted as a captive audience. Elizabeth finished her song with, "Now back
at the homestead, where the air makes you choke. People don't know you, trust
is a joke. Don't even have pictures, just memories to hold. Grows sweeter each
season, as we slowly grow old." Arthur belted out the ending chorus,
"Walk on the ocean! Step on the stones! Flesh becomes water. Wood becomes
bone!" The pod, sensing the song had ended, gracefully dove under the
water and swam off. One breached, another tail flapped, and Elizabeth would
swear one actually waved at them with a pectoral fin.

"That
was beautiful, Elizabeth. You have Austin's singing voice."

"Thanks.
I usually love that song. But the part about the homestead with air that makes
you choke and memories "'growing sweeter"'...That reminds me of
Aaron's cabin. I felt like I couldn't breathe in there. And I didn't
particularly like life with Austin, but my memories of life with him were
getting a lot rosier after a month in that suffocating cabin."

Later,
during what was to be the last paddling shift of the day, Arthur got into the
water and took his turn at propelling them. He wasn't in there even thirty
minutes when a group of flying fish were swarming the boat. Elizabeth pulled
him out of the ocean and shouted, "Dinner!" As flying fish jumped
into their boat they began to feast. They got blood from the fish on their
hands and savored the mouthwatering rawness of the fish. It wasn't long before
the swarm was over and Elizabeth and Arthur had completed their surprise
dinner.

"That
was a big swarm," Arthur remarked. "I wonder why they suddenly
started flying like that..."

Elizabeth
threw some of the remnants of the fish she had eaten off the boat. Arthur
started doing the same as well. And then Elizabeth saw a giant, gray shark,
with frightening black eyes lift its head above the water and gnash its teeth
on the remains of her fish. It shook its long, pointed nose at her. She looked
over to Arthur's side of the boat. Another shark appeared and gobbled up the
remains Arthur had thrown into the water. Elizabeth stared at the shark and she
struggled to recall its name. She couldn't recall. All she knew what that it
was dangerous. Vague memories from a marine biology class she had taken, but
didn't pay much attention too, alerted her to get away from these sharks. There
was a school of them and she could see their fins in the water. She cursed
herself. The sharks were in a frenzy from the blood of the fish Elizabeth and
Arthur had eaten. Elizabeth took a deep breath and reminded herself that Jaws
was only a movie, and these sharks would not attack their boat. And then a
shark attacked the boat. Her mouth opened in shock and Arthur let out a
bloodcurdling scream. A shark literally jumped up from the water and sank its
teeth into the side of the boat, its curved teeth hooking into and gnawing on
both the inside and outside of it. Please don't let it bite into the hull and
sink us, Elizabeth thought. And then she sprang into action. If she wanted to
survive she could not let this attack continue. She grabbed the shark and
pulled it onto the deck. It thrashed wildly and Elizabeth was frightened the
weight of the mighty shark would sink them, but the boat continued to float.
She pummeled it with her fists until it looked unconscious. Then she sank her
teeth into it and tore it to bits. It was only when there was no more flesh to
devour that she realized Arthur had also sunk his teeth into it and was lying
tired, and covered in shark remains, on the deck. Elizabeth looked around. The
sharks had fled. They had seen their companion disappear from the water, become
frightened that they too could be dragged from the ocean, and quickly fled.

"Elizabeth,"
Arthur said. "Thank you. I think you may have saved our lives."

"You're
welcome, but it's the least I could do. I'm the one who wanted to go sailing in
an antique boat. You're parents aren't going to be pleased if I bring you back
home covered in shark bites."
  

"Honestly,
I don't think they would care. They would probably blame it on me. I doubt they
even reported me missing."

"You've
been missing for a month. Your parents have probably been on the local news,
showing your picture and begging your kidnapper to let you go. When we get
back, we're going to find out they demanded a police investigation and had
search parties scouring wine country. Aaron has probably cost tax payers
thousands of dollars by kidnapping you."

"I
don’t think so," Arthur said looking depressed. "My parents once
kicked me out of the house when I was thirteen, and when a cop brought me back
home they told him I ran off.
 
When he
left, they were pissed that he brought me back and said I was kicked out the day
I turn eighteen. They didn't do that, but both of my parents have been talking
about how happy they will be when I finally leave. They were always saying they
wish I would walk out the door one day and not come back. Well, they got their
wish. And all of my friends probably assume I finally took advantage of being
an official adult and got away from them."

Elizabeth
felt awful inside. She had been trapped for a month on the island with Arthur
and she hadn't known any of that. She had always identified herself as the one
with the messed up family background.
 
In
every setting, with any person, she had always felt different. Her life had
extraordinary tragedy that no one else could see, touch, or relate to.
Listening to Arthur gave her perspective and she felt humility wash over her.
Sometimes she needed reminding that she was not the only one with problems.

"I'm
beat," Arthur suddenly said. "I need to turn in."

"Sleep.
I'll stay awake a little while longer. I'm too excited to fall asleep just
yet."

And
with that, Arthur laid down as best he could and shut his eyes. Though he
didn't need a blanket, his body temperature didn't vary much anymore, he curled
up with a towel. With that towel wrapped around him, and Elizabeth nearby, his
sense of security was as good as it could possibly be.

The
sky had darkened by now and the stars were starting to come out. Elizabeth
stared up at them as she reflected on her life. All through her life she had
felt a sense of guilt that she had pushed deep down inside her. It was the
guilt of having killed her parents. That wasn't true. She knew it wasn't true.
But there's a difference between knowing something and feeling something. And
then there was her grandfather's death, which wasn't her fault, but it led to
her being raised by Austin. There were many times she would forcefully remind
herself not to blame him for not loving her. If she had never been born, their
parents might have lived and he wouldn't have been forced to become her father
when he was still only a teenager. I'm sorry, Elizabeth thought to the
universe. If I could take it all back I would. But I've changed. I've grown up.
I'm not the child that destroyed lives. I'm the woman saving lives. And I
deserve to be happy.

Unfortunately,
Elizabeth's sudden contentment did not last. She saw a giant shadow in the
water fast approaching their tiny boat. Was that a whale? Suddenly, the giant
sea dragon from her dream leaped out of the water and dived back under. She was
in awe. She could hardly remember the dream--dreams are so easy to forget--but
seeing the sea dragon brought it all back. Joe was at least twenty feet long.
But the first thing she noticed was not his great length. She couldn't take her
eyes off the head shaped like a monstrous raptor, supported by a long, reptilian
neck. He had blue scales with green stripes on his back and a white underbelly.
Giant, blue pectoral fins, looking to be roughly half the size of his body,
were spread wide. And they were shaped like the wings of a dragon. Her breath
was taken away, as she saw this magnificent sea dragon fly out of the water and
dive back under. Arthur immediately awoke upon hearing the giant splashing of
Joe, and he bolted upright.

"What
was that," he blurted out.

"I
think that was Joe," she answered.

A
bat suddenly perched on their little boat. They both knew exactly who it was.
Aaron morphed into human form, sitting on the side of the boat.

"Joe
is turning this boat around right now," he told them.

"Aaron,
please. Just let us go,” Arthur pleaded. "You've had us over a month now.
There's no way for the authorities to track you down even if we were to tell
everyone we were abducted by a Neanderthal vampire who turns into a bat at
will. It sounds like a joke. At the very least, let Elizabeth go. She's been
through enough. Drown me in the ocean if you want. I'll take full
responsibility for this. Please, just let her keep going!"