To Ocean's End (10 page)

Chapter 10

Wrath

The night after the funeral--the night before my curse would pull me into its monthly grip--I quietly woke several choice crew members. Most woke easily. Even though we were all hardened men, death never struck softly. A few had managed to find deep sleep, forcing me to shake them until they startled awake. Thankfully, none of them tried to hit me out of self defense. However, a few unintended people woke. I told them to go back to sleep.

Five tired, heartsore men followed me to the main deck. We stopped by the metal door to a large shipment container that used to be four smaller train container. Now they were one welded-together resident on my ship.

The stars were out in full with no moon to speak of. The railing lights were still on. Rammus would know to turn them off at dawn. Hopefully it’d be a sunny day tomorrow so the solar batteries could recharge. That was a lot of lights strung along both sides of a very long boat. I leaned against the container door.

Mido, Rammus, Sam, Cancer, and Scully stood in a semicircle around me. They knew it was almost time for my lockdown. The thing is, I only ever grabbed Rammus to make sure I was locked in. They looked at me suspiciously as the wind whipped at us. I cast my gaze to my old boots. “It’s been twenty seven years,” I said just loud enough to be heard over the wind. I didn’t want to talk about it, but I’d create more problems if I waited. “You all know what that means. You’re the only ones who’ve been through it before--minus Mido.”

“Australia,” Rammus said somberly.

“Why now?” Mido asked.

“‘Cause of Jessie,” Sam said.

“I don’t understand,” Cancer said. “What does she have to do with anything? Why are you even bothering with being her chauffeur?”

“He’s not,” Sam said. “There’s more to it. ‘Jessie’ is only her nickname. Her real name...” He gestured to me and let the unspeakable name hang in the air. The name wasn’t taboo. Wouldn’t bring down the wrath of the sea on us either. It simply didn’t give us fond memories.

“Amphitrite,” I said.

Cancer stared at me and paled. “She has the same name.”

“Her arrival means it’s time for a visit to our
favorite
cave. I have to bring her with me if I can convince her to stay.”

“You mean ‘with us,’” Rammus said. “No way we’re lettin’ you go it alone--or with just her.”

A particularly bad memory from long ago roiled around in my head. I’d been thinking about it on and off ever since Ted let slip the whole nickname thing. I’d never told any of them. It looked like I’d have to, but later. Right now it was too much at once. “I won’t pressure any of you to come. In fact, I advise all of you to stay on the boat when I go in the cave. It’ll be very dangerous. We didn’t have a girl last time. It’ll be very different this time. More dangerous.”

“We don’t care,” Rammus said. “All of us want to see you free of your curse.” The rest voiced their agreement.

Cancer said, “I’m sorry, Captain. I didn’t understand her importance. I’ll stop giving her a hard time.”

“That’s why you should never question my orders,” I said with a humorless grin. I’d tried to be funny, but the humor left my voice before I finished saying it. “But don’t apologize to me; apologize to her.”

The doc winced. “Fine. Maybe it’ll help things in the long run.”

“Can’t hurt.” I looked at their downcast faces. Yeah, I felt just as lousy as them. I wished I could hide in my lockdown container until the need to go to the cave passed, but that wasn’t possible. The cave was an unavoidable round of torture. “I need all of you to keep thing quiet for the next five days. Don’t tell those three about my curse and tell no one else about our impending trip to Australia. Just tell them I’m sick, which, in a roundabout way, is true.”

They all nodded.

“Just carry on as normal. Don’t give our new techies anything to worry about, and don’t tell Jacobi or Sauna about the trip. That’s no one’s job but mine. And keep on eye on Jacobi. Make sure he doesn’t go stir crazy.”

“And keep Jessie away from him,” Cancer said unhappily. “He’s been ranting, Captain.”

Well that’s just plain fantastic. “Great,” I said sarcastically. “Give him meds or something, and definitely keep her away from him. I’ll deal with him as soon as I can.”

“What if Jessie starts asking questions?” Mido asked.

“We’re still taking her to Cyprus.”

“Why?” Cancer asked. “It seems like a waste if you need her.”

“I’m not making a hostage of her.” I straightened up and grabbed the door latch. “If she doesn’t stay, then I’ll just have to go on without her.”

“But Amphitrite is so fickle,” Rammus said. “She might make you sail all the way back for her.”

“Then start making it hard for her to want to leave.” I glanced meaningfully at Mido. He nervously ran a hand through his hair and wore a faint guilty smile. I almost laughed. He hated being put on the spot like that. He didn’t mind talking about a one-night stand and such, but I could tell by the way he held himself while cooking that he’d taken to her. He’d trip over his own words if anyone asked him what he thought of the girl. “Anyway, you all survive my lockdowns on a monthly basis. You can survive this one, too.” I pulled the door open. “Rammus, lock me in. Everyone else go back to bed and get my curse off your minds. The more you dwell on it, the more likely you’ll slip up. Now good night and see you in five days.” I stepped inside and pulled the door closed with a clang, but not without seeing their solemn faces first. Recent funeral or not, having a girl named Amphitrite on board was eating at them. I didn’t blame them. In fact, I was grateful they were willing to go through all this for my sake.

Closing the door immersed me in the safety of total darkness. The boat’s rise and fall on the waves was my only clue as to what my external surroundings were.

Metal scuffing came from just the other side of the door as Rammus secured a lock on each door latch. Once everything fell silent, I limped to the cot that awaited me on the other end.

*     *     *

As soon as the container door closed, Jessie rushed down the stairs and back to her bunk, not wanting to further risk getting caught. She’d heard all of it--the curse, the cave, the person who shared her name--every last word.

She’d followed them because she was worried they were plotting a way to keep her on the ship for less than gentlemanly reasons. They were all men. How could she trust them, especially when Dyne hadn’t tried to wake her, Ed, or Ted? She understood why now, but had no intention of saying anything until she got all her facts straight.

She’d been right about them wanting to keep her aboard, but not the reason behind it. The whole conversation had been so bizarre. She’d almost pushed the door wider when Cancer apologized to Dyne about how he’d treated her. Not one of her offenders had ever expressed remorse for hurting her, much less scaring her and making her feel even more inferior, like Cancer had.

Jessie slowed her flight to a silent prowl when she reached the hall where the cabins lay. Gentle snoring and a white noise machine gave her movements some cover. She pulled off and lined up her boots with Ed’s and Ted’s, then slipped into the bottom bunk, doing her best to rustle and thump as little as possible. She’d taken the bottom bunk so the two techies could sleep closer together. Ed and Ted had gone to sleep both nights while holding hands, Ed on his belly up top, and Ted on his back in the middle, their fingers intertwined until they nodded off. It was a sweet sight. She found herself almost wishing for the same companionship.

Maybe one day. Right now it was too soon, the nightmares too common, and her insides too raw.

Soft footsteps made their way to the cabins. Jessie pinched the curtain and parted it a crack. Black silhouettes interrupted the orange glow from the night lights that lined the walls along the floor and ceiling. Low voices bade each other good night, and a silhouette with Mido’s voice stopped outside her doorway. She couldn’t make out his face but she recognized the curvature of his arms and shoulders, and the outline of his close-cropped hair. He ran a hand through it, then checked down the hall.

“Good night, Jessie,” he whispered, then, without waiting for a response, he pulled off his shirt as he walked away.

Jessie’s heart started pounding. For half a second she’d thought Mido knew she was awake and had eavesdropped on them. Her guilty conscience had convinced her of it. Mercifully, he’d just wished her good night and walked off, but not before getting half-naked first. There was nothing to take away from showing off his physique. But the good night wish? First the hug and now--maybe she was being too paranoid. She needed to keep reminding herself that she was on a different ship with a different crew. Dyne had made it clear during her eavesdrop session that he was taking her to Cyprus, that he wasn’t going to be another Tethys full of lies and deceit. That was some solace.

Still, he wanted her to stay so he could bring her to some cave in Australia. What the heck was that about? And what curse? No one had laughed about any of it. They were as dead serious as the funeral from last night. And a little afraid. Should she be too?

If she hadn’t seen the water hands take the cremation jars and a giant water fish take her sneakers, she’d have concluded they were all a bunch of lunatics with some manners. But no. They were all a bunch of strange men who dared not speak her given name. Now she couldn’t say it either. However, she wasn’t too afraid to demand answers. She would bug Sam for an explanation. She needed to get to the bottom of what her name had to do with Dyne’s curse. That, and what was with locking him up for five days?

Jessie tried to shoo away the questions buzzing in her head so she could get some sleep, but her brain refused to cooperate. She slept fitfully, more dozing between bouts of tossing and turning. She managed a few hours by the time Rammus announced via the sound system that the sun was up. She groaned and pulled her covers over her head.

She dozed while they bathed and went about their routine, hoping to grab a little more rest, but knowing the sun was up tricked her lagging brain into wakeup mode. Her mind resumed buzzing with questions by the time the second wave returned. Jessie grabbed fresh clothes, slid her feet into the shower sandals Sam had given her, and headed to the shower.

The ship’s interior was extensive, yet easy enough to navigate. It was one big hallway with everything branching off it. The bow housed a huge cargo hold stuffed with crates and boxes, and a workout station, which smelled strongly of sweat. Sitting adjacent to the hold was the galley and a pantry. Past the galley lay all the sleeping cabins, followed by the bathrooms and showers, and then a large, sweltering engine room full of pipes, gauges, and carefully stowed fuel pellets.

Jessie ended up waiting outside the shower room for a few minutes. Sam was busy getting O’Toole to brush his hair and teeth. She knew Sam hadn’t returned to the cabins but she’d assumed he’d went elsewhere to go about his day. She could’ve waited inside on the bench that lined the lockers but she didn’t want to feel like she was intruding, even though neither of them would have cared. Well, she didn’t know what O’Toole would do. She didn’t trust herself not to punch him.

Sam bade her good morning on his way out as O’Toole scampered off towards the galley. “Don’t be too long,” Sam said with a warm smile. “Breakfast is soon.”

Jessie nodded, then entered the shower room and closed and locked the door behind her. She eventually might relax enough to stop locking it but, until she trusted every last one of them, Dyne wasn’t getting his key back. She might even use it for leverage to get answers.

*     *     *

Rammus was back on the wheel while everyone but Dyne and Jacobi gathered for breakfast. Jacobi was confined to his bunk for several days and everyone at the table had scooted close enough together to keep Dyne’s spot empty.

Mido was turning four loaves of texas toast into French toast with cinnamon. Butter, syrup, and two bowls of chopped fruit sat in the middle of the table. The men snacked on bananas, apples, pineapples, blueberries, and strawberries while Mido worked on flipping his third loaf on the griddle.

Jessie sat in her folding chair near the fridge. O’Toole watched breakfast get made with childlike fascination as he sucked on one of his hood strings. The mood in the galley was light with a nervous tension underneath that emanated from those Dyne had pulled aside in the night. They ate with their usual enthusiasm but they seemed to be overdoing trying to act casual. Tension aside, she watched everyone bring pieces of fruit to their mouths. She wanted some but lacked the courage to approach the table with so many there.

Ted brought a piece of pineapple to his mouth, then stopped and looked at Jessie. “Come sit and eat.”

She fervently shook her head.

Ted gave her an injured frown, then spooned a fresh bowl of fruit and held it out to her. “Here you go then.”

Jessie stared longingly at the bowl. Once she decided to get up, Cancer spoke.

“If she’s going to eat, then she needs to join us at the table. There’s no excuse not to. Sam?”

Sam sat next to the empty spot. He considered Jessie a moment, then nodded. “I agree. Jessie, you’ve been with us a few days now. That should be plenty enough time to see that we’re not Tethys and his crew. Now come over and eat.” He patted the cushion.