bowels of some kind
of ship. Or so I thought. There was a seesaw motion and a hollow,
metallic creaking. It was dark here, and cold, with only a faint
metal-encased bulb at the end of the corridor to let me see where I
was going. I walked the corridor to a metal door. There was no
point in opening it — I just slipped through.
The next room was darker, and from what I could tell, this
appeared to be some kind of crew’s quarters. Bunks with men in them filled the
tiny room. I knew this couldn’t
have been the standard crew — there were too few of them.
I tried to make out the time as it must have been the middle of
the night. I had no luck. No clocks.
There were two other things on my mind as I scanned the room.
Which one of these men was I supposed to be following? And where
was that woman?
I searched through the snoring, flatulent bodies and found
nothing that indicated who I should be concentrating on. I had been
hoping for some kind of glow, or something.
Nothing.
Fortunately, the woman wasn’t around. A part of me hoped she might
not be here this time.
I was suddenly jolted as a thundering sound echoed through the
hull. The ship heaved, knocking the men from their beds. They were
so young, some not even eighteen. As they yelled out, I caught
their accent.
Brits.
They paused for a moment, as if waiting for something. Somewhere
in the mumbling I could hear an announcement come over the speaker
system. I didn’t catch it all, but there was something about
checking the magazine temperature. I had no idea what that
meant.
There didn’t seem to be anything further, and the men
climbed back into bed with the exception of one. He made his way to
the door.
“Gregory!” called one of the men. “Where are
you going?”
The man called Gregory was dark-haired and had the prominent
chin of my grandfather. I had never seen a photo of my
great-grandfather, but I was pretty sure this had to be him. In the
dim light he looked pretty dirty, but he was built like a brick
shithouse.
“Back in a minute,” Gregory said, and slipped
through the door.
I whisked after him, through the cold, metallic corridors. He
moved as if driven by some purpose. I followed him through dark
hallways until he arrived at a room that smelled acrid. He poked
his head in, as if checking something, and then moved on. I
continued to trail him up ladders and along further tight corridors
until we reached the deck. It was a narrow ship with a huge tower
and massive turrets.
It was difficult to see in the dead of night, even with the
Northern Lights in the distance. That green and red weaving
meant we had to be pretty far north.
I continued to shadow Gregory as he walked through the chill of
the night to each side of the ship, leaning over to examine the
sides and the water in the distance. He finally stopped at one part
of the ship. His hands gripped the railing. He was staring into the
distance, and as I got closer I knew what was coming.
I didn’t even reach him before the explosion hit. It was
followed by another right after. The ship lurched and I fell to
the deck screaming, Gregory with me.
Why was I feeling this?
Now I was worried.
The few lights that shone went out. Explosions boomed within the ship, and flames flared from the ladder we had climbed up. The ship
tilted, spilling Gregory and I along the deck towards the other
side.
We both clung to the railing. I tried to pull out the earrings.
They weren’t there.
“Chris!” I called out. “Wake me up!”
I wanted out of this. Now!
Screams bellowed from below us as the ship started to tilt
further. The open portholes at the side of the ship were now going
under the surface of the water. We were sinking fast.
The ship lurched further. Gregory and I tumbled overboard. I
screamed until I hit the water. It was cold, and my breath was
taken from me. I struggled to get it back.
“Chris!” I called again. The ship groaned as it
began to sink.
I saw Gregory swimming away,
of ship. Or so I thought. There was a seesaw motion and a hollow,
metallic creaking. It was dark here, and cold, with only a faint
metal-encased bulb at the end of the corridor to let me see where I
was going. I walked the corridor to a metal door. There was no
point in opening it — I just slipped through.
The next room was darker, and from what I could tell, this
appeared to be some kind of crew’s quarters. Bunks with men in them filled the
tiny room. I knew this couldn’t
have been the standard crew — there were too few of them.
I tried to make out the time as it must have been the middle of
the night. I had no luck. No clocks.
There were two other things on my mind as I scanned the room.
Which one of these men was I supposed to be following? And where
was that woman?
I searched through the snoring, flatulent bodies and found
nothing that indicated who I should be concentrating on. I had been
hoping for some kind of glow, or something.
Nothing.
Fortunately, the woman wasn’t around. A part of me hoped she might
not be here this time.
I was suddenly jolted as a thundering sound echoed through the
hull. The ship heaved, knocking the men from their beds. They were
so young, some not even eighteen. As they yelled out, I caught
their accent.
Brits.
They paused for a moment, as if waiting for something. Somewhere
in the mumbling I could hear an announcement come over the speaker
system. I didn’t catch it all, but there was something about
checking the magazine temperature. I had no idea what that
meant.
There didn’t seem to be anything further, and the men
climbed back into bed with the exception of one. He made his way to
the door.
“Gregory!” called one of the men. “Where are
you going?”
The man called Gregory was dark-haired and had the prominent
chin of my grandfather. I had never seen a photo of my
great-grandfather, but I was pretty sure this had to be him. In the
dim light he looked pretty dirty, but he was built like a brick
shithouse.
“Back in a minute,” Gregory said, and slipped
through the door.
I whisked after him, through the cold, metallic corridors. He
moved as if driven by some purpose. I followed him through dark
hallways until he arrived at a room that smelled acrid. He poked
his head in, as if checking something, and then moved on. I
continued to trail him up ladders and along further tight corridors
until we reached the deck. It was a narrow ship with a huge tower
and massive turrets.
It was difficult to see in the dead of night, even with the
Northern Lights in the distance. That green and red weaving
meant we had to be pretty far north.
I continued to shadow Gregory as he walked through the chill of
the night to each side of the ship, leaning over to examine the
sides and the water in the distance. He finally stopped at one part
of the ship. His hands gripped the railing. He was staring into the
distance, and as I got closer I knew what was coming.
I didn’t even reach him before the explosion hit. It was
followed by another right after. The ship lurched and I fell to
the deck screaming, Gregory with me.
Why was I feeling this?
Now I was worried.
The few lights that shone went out. Explosions boomed within the ship, and flames flared from the ladder we had climbed up. The ship
tilted, spilling Gregory and I along the deck towards the other
side.
We both clung to the railing. I tried to pull out the earrings.
They weren’t there.
“Chris!” I called out. “Wake me up!”
I wanted out of this. Now!
Screams bellowed from below us as the ship started to tilt
further. The open portholes at the side of the ship were now going
under the surface of the water. We were sinking fast.
The ship lurched further. Gregory and I tumbled overboard. I
screamed until I hit the water. It was cold, and my breath was
taken from me. I struggled to get it back.
“Chris!” I called again. The ship groaned as it
began to sink.
I saw Gregory swimming away,
Similar Books
