CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
As the group of four turned to head off the deck the world disappeared. With a gasp Sandra realized first what had happened. The fog was back.
"Shit!" Sandra swore. Automatically she reached out and grabbed hold of both Archie and Spider. She didn't want to take a chance of losing either one of them. "Where's Buffer?"
"Right here, miss," the man's voice floated through the wall of white. Under her hand Sandra could feel Archie begin to shake slightly. He hadn't really had to deal with the fog before and was becoming very unnerved in his all ready distressed state.
"This is the fog I told your boss about. Can you lead us below?" Sandra asked, her grip tightening on the two young men. She wasn't going to lose them and she wasn't going to let herself get lost either. The last thing Sandra wanted was to be here alone.
"No problem, miss," Buffer's voice floated to her again. Just as she felt the man's hand come out of the fog to touch the front of her shirt, a low growl was emitted somewhere above and to the right of her.
"Oh, no," Sandra breathed. Looking around and seeing nothing but a white wall, Sandra knew they were in big trouble. "Get inside now!"
With both hands she pulled the two young men in front of her and pushed them toward Buffer's out stretched hand that she could just make out in front of her. The three men fell in a jumble. They had been completely unprepared for the action. That left Sandra as the only one standing on deck and the perfect target.
The growl above her turned into a loud roar and then she felt a huge, hairy mass slamming into her. Sandra had been still close enough to the railing that she and the creature were thrown over it to fall bonelessly toward the water below. The whole process to a fraction of a second, too short a time for Sandra to react in any way.
Then they hit the water. It was like slamming into a cement floor with a 500 lb weight on top of her. Sandra had enough time to gasp a breath then she was under the water, the creature bearing her down into the wet depths.
Panic overtook Sandra. All of her phobias of drowning raced to the surface of her mind. Her instinctual response was a quick intake of breath but the weight of the water and fur against her nose and mouth kept her from doing it.
The creature was trying to slash at her sides and back, its massive arms hampered by the water around them. Sandra knew every second that she allowed her mind to be paralyzed with fear was another foot or so she was under water. Bringing up her hands, she pushed her body away from the creature's mass. It meant that she was going deeper into the water but she had to extract her body from it first. The creature weighed more than her and had less body fat so it was virtually plummeting to the ocean floor. The problem was that it was taking her with it because she was underneath it.
It took some doing and a few lucky breaks but Sandra managed to pull her body away from the creature and start pushing up toward the surface of the water. The creature had stopped trying to maul her as its oxygen had run out. Even in the darkness of the depths they were in Sandra could see the air bubbles of its last breath heading upward.
Her lungs starving for oxygen, Sandra kicked as hard as she could. She knew which direction to head into because of the bubbles but the surface seemed to be so far away. Her heart pounding in her ears, her vision turning red, Sandra kicked two more times. She still couldn't see a reflection of the surface of the water. She was alone, drowning, with no strength left. The red haze over her eyes turned black as she lost consciousness. Her mind no longer forcing her lungs to stop working, Sandra drew in a great breath of water. Suddenly completely still, her body began to float downward, following the same path as the creature.
OOOOO
She was drowning. The world around her was full of water and darkness. Her lungs were burning for air but she didn't dare to draw any in, knowing that all she would get would be water. Struggling against the urge to breathe as long as she could, Sandra finally forced her eyes open, fully expecting the darkness that had surrounded her before.
The sunlight flooding over her face startled her. Taking a deep breath, Sandra realized that she wasn't in the ocean, dying alone. Shocked, she sat up straight, staring around her, trying desperately to figure out where the hell she was this time.
Familiar blue painted walls surrounded her. Sandra was sitting on a very familiar bed surrounded by all of her things. She was home. 'What the fuck?' Sandra thought, looking down at herself. She was fat again. All the weight she'd lost while marching with Captain Sharpe and his men was back. Despair threatened. Where was Captain Sharpe, Harper and the others? Why was she back here?
Climbing off her bed, Sandra moved over to her door and stepped out into the hallway leading to the living room of her house. Somehow it didn't surprise her to find both of her parents sitting in their usual chairs watching 'The Price is Right' on the flat screen TV in the corner of the room. Looking up at her, her mother smiled. "Good morning," she said.
"Morning," Sandra responded. In all the time she'd been with Richard Sharpe she'd imagined what her home coming would be like. This was a definite let down. Clearly her mother wasn't the least concerned about her several months disappearance. That didn't make sense. Mind you, none of this made sense. Sandra stood in the hallway, staring at her parents in dismay.
"Are you all right?" Sandra's mom asked concerned by the paleness of her daughter's face. Something was wrong.
"Ahh. Yeah. I think. When was the last time you saw me?" Sandra asked. It was the only question she could think of. She knew she couldn't start asking about Sharpe, the others, the creatures, drowning. None of it would make any sense to anyone who hadn't experienced all of it.
"Last night, before we went to bed. Why?" Sandra's mom answered.
It was all so surreal. On the television contestants were 'Coming on down' while Sandra felt her world moving miles out of order under her feet. Tears sprang to her eyes. It was so good to see her mom and dad. At the same time she all ready missed Sharpe. Given a choice, she knew in her heart that she would have stayed there with him and the others. Now, that world made more sense. The stupidity of spending her life working to make money, staring at a box to be entertained, living for that next text was almost beyond her ability to comprehend. Not after spending so much time just trying to stay alive.
"Oh, nothing," Sandra responded. Quickly, she turned around and headed back to her bedroom. Throwing her oversized body onto the bed, she tried to be quiet as she wept bitterly. Not even the presence of her cat could console her.
OOOOO
"Where did she go?" Spider cried as he struggled to get back to his feet. The fog hampered his efforts because he couldn't tell what or who he was trying to stand up on.
"One of the creatures," Archie managed as he extracted his body from the pile. He'd recognized the sound as well and had known immediately how much danger they had been in. The fact that Sandra was gone and so was the creature somehow made sense. Of course she would have made sure they were safe before worrying about her own safety.
"What are you talking about?" Buffer pushed. The fog was unlike any he'd ever dealt with before. He was a sailor. Fog was part of the life but this was completely unnatural in its ability to appear instantaneously and be so impenetrable. The fact that the woman had disappeared amid a rush of noise had his hackles up. That too was completely unnatural. Blinking through the mist, he tried to find the railing only to realize he couldn't see it.
"One of the creatures that attacked us before must have gotten her. We need to find Captain Sharpe. He'll want to know," Archie said. He was feeling the effects of shock. He didn't know what to do or what to think. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt though that Sandra was gone. The fact that the creature hadn't attacked anyone else meant to him that they had both gone over the rail. Belaying his words, Archie stepped forward until he found the metal rail on the side of the ship. Looking down into the mist he couldn't see or hear anything. Sadness enveloped him. She really was gone.
Buffer had to make sure too. He found Archie at the railing and used it to run the entire length of the ship. All he found when he returned to the silent Midshipman was more mist. There was no sign or sound of the woman and the 'creature' that Archie was so insistent on.
"We'd better get below, tell the CO what happened," Buffer said as he caught hold of Archie on his way by. The mist wasn't letting up and it continued to muffle all sounds but Buffer was still fairly sure about one thing. They were alone on the ocean. The Indefatigueable was gone.
"Yes, sir," Spider responded as he also caught hold of the blond officer and helped to direct him to the hatch and below decks. The kid was obviously in a severe state of shock. He hadn't spoken while Buffer had surveyed the deck and had begun to tremble.
"Take him to Swain. I'll go tell the CO," Buffer stated once he shut the hatch, blocking out the fog. He felt immensely better back inside the world of electrical lights and confining walls. It just made more sense.
"Come on," Spider said as he led Archie to the right, toward the mess where he'd last seen Swain. He knew that someone should tell the soldiers of the woman's disappearance but he didn't want to be the one to do it. Those people made him a little nervous, more so than he was willing to admit.
Archie was eerily silent as Spider led him through the halls to the mess hall. Spider just hoped that Swain was still there. He didn't want to have to explain the blond man's condition in front of Sharpe.
"It'll be okay, mate," Spider said quietly. He could easily see just how pale the young officer was and how glassy his eyes appeared. Clearly Archie was in shock. Spider wasn't so sure that he wasn't too. It had all happened so fast! One second they were admiring the view then it was gone. Then Sandra was gone and he swore he could hear something growling and the sound of something or someone hitting the water. After that there was nothing. No calls for help. No splashing of someone trying to swim. Just silence and the fog.
Finally they reached the mess to find that Swain was indeed still inside. He was just finishing up with Horatio, having done all he could for him and was bundling up his supplies to move onto the riflemen. One look at Spider and Archie though and the medic stopped in his tracks. "What happened?" he asked. There had been no announcements. If Flynn was aware of any kind of an emergency he would have called for Swain and for the other officers to attend him on the top deck.
"We were on top, looking at the ocean. Then wham, fog. So thick I can't see my hand in front of my face and so fast it appeared during the blink of an eye. We decided to come below decks but before we could something attacked Miss Sandra. She's gone. We think it took her over the railing," Spider said, his voice a little too high and a little too fast. He had to get it out before he thought about it too much. The whole thing sounded nuts, even to him.
Swain moved to the all ship radio, intent on informing the commander that they needed to stop the ship and begin a search. Before he could, Spider placed his hand on top of his, stopping the motion. "She didn't yell for help. She just disappeared. I don't think we're going to find anything," Spider said, sending a side-long glance at Archie. The blond officer had taken a chair beside his shipmate's bed. He was staring off into space while one hand rested on the covers.
"We have to try, Spider. You know that," Swain insisted, trying to pull his hand away.
"Buffer was with us, Swain. He's gone up to inform the CO. He all ready knows," Spider said. "Right now I think he could use your help more."
Heaving a sigh of frustration, Swain moved away from the PA system and turned his attention to Archie. Spider was right. The blond midshipman needed his help.
OOOOO
"Full Stop!" Flynn demanded as he listened to Buffer's tale. Why the man hadn't told him sooner was beyond him but all he knew now was that they had a person overboard. "Nav, get them going."
That was all Nav needed. The petite, brown haired woman was on the PA, getting men to begin unloading the boats while ET and Roe were sent to change into their wet suits.
"I don't think we'll find her, sir," Buffer stated. He hated to admit defeat without even trying but between the fog and the complete lack of sound after the woman had hit the water told him that she had drown upon impact. It was a long way up from the deck of the Hammersley; it would have been like falling twenty feet and hitting a sidewalk. Not many people would survive that.
"Maybe not but we have to try," Mike growled.
"What about the fog, sir?" Buffer pressed. The mist was thick through the front window of the deck. It didn't seem to move at all. "We could lose the men in the boat as well."
"We've worked in fog before Buff," Mike said, turning his attention to his Master at Arms. Something else was going on here. Buffer was never one to shirk his duties. He was certainly the bravest man among them. The trepidation he was demonstrating at going after the woman was completely out of character.
"Not like this, sir," Buffer responded. He had a really bad feeling about all of this. It was just too weird, too hard to make contingencies for. "And sir, the other ship is gone."
"What?" Mike said, turning back to the other man. He'd been trying to watch with binoculars as his men prepared to lower the smaller boat over the side. This was a rescue mission. That was something his people were perfectly capable of performing, even in their sleep. It was what they trained for.
"The other ship, the Indefatigueable, isn't off our port bow anymore," Buffer stated quietly. "I couldn't see it, hear it or smell it as I was checking the deck for Miss Sandra."
"Could they have fallen behind?" Mike asked. There wasn't much of a breeze now that the fog had fallen. Depending solely on sails, the other ship would be dead in the water.
"Maybe," Buffer stated even while he didn't believe it.
"Nav, do you have them on radar?" Mike asked.
"No, sir. They're a wooden hulled boat, it didn't show up on radar when we were right beside them," Nav responded.
"Damn it," Mike swore. Well, they'd stopped their forward momentum. Hopefully the older ship wouldn't get left too far behind. "How are we doing with starting the search for the woman?"
"The launch is off the side and ET and RO are starting the search now," Nav responded. She'd been in constant radio contact with the rescue team.
"Good. Keep me posted," Mike said. He hated to leave the bridge while under the fog but he didn't want to send any of his men to break the news to Sharpe. It should come from the commanding officer of the boat. "I'm going below. I've got to break the news to Captain Sharpe. Nav, you have the bridge."
"Aye, aye, sir," Nav intoned automatically.
OOOOO
"What do you mean 'she's missing'?" Sharpe demanded. Swain had come into the room and begun checking his men over without making any mention that Sandra had disappeared while on the deck of this metal ship. Instantly, Sharpe rushed to his feet and headed for the door, despite Swain's current attempt to take his blood pressure.
Holding up his hand to keep the man inside the mess, Mike put himself between Sharpe and the door. The last thing he needed was another civilian running around on deck. "We are in the water looking for her. Buffer said that he heard someone or something go over the side. He's checked the deck but she isn't there. We can only assume that it was her.
"My men are well trained for this type of mission. Let them do their jobs while Swain finishes his examinations, okay?" Mike said. He could tell the man wanted to bowl over him and was barely containing the urge.
"She's one of my men," Sharpe grated. Swain was trying to force him back down onto the seat behind the table. Behind him Harper and the others were also trying to get out. All of them wanted to find Sandra and deal with any creatures that might be about. From what little information the CO was able to provide them Sharpe figured that was what happened.
"I'm well aware of that, captain. However, this is my boat. The crew take orders from me. Please, stay here while we conduct our search. I will keep you abreast of any developments," Flynn said. Nodding at Swain to continue, he left the mess.
"We have to go look for her, sir," Harris insisted as he continued to try to vault over Harper on his way to the door.
"Harris," Sharpe said, stopping the man in his tracks. "He's right. We have to let him do it. We have no idea how this thing works."
"But sir, it's Sandra," Harris pressed.
"I know. Sit down," Sharpe ordered. They were out of their depth. If they tried to help all they would do was get in the way. Vibrating to the core of his being, Sharpe sat still as a statue while Swain finished his examination.
"Who did this?" Swain asked, indicating the newly scarred wounds on Sharpe's arm and shoulder.
"Frogs," Sharpe answered. He wasn't feeling very charitable at the moment.
"No," Swain chuckled. "I mean who fixed you up?"
"That would be Miss Sandra," Harper stated with pride. He had an ache in his chest that seemed to go on forever. How could the woman be missing? She'd just been there.
"Well, she did good work. Given enough time there shouldn't be too much scaring," Swain stated. He'd seen a road map of suffering on this man's body. He couldn't imagine the hell that he and his men had managed to survive. For an instant Chris Blake's mind turned to his family. Where were they? Was his wife and child all right? Squashing the thoughts, he concentrated on checking the rest of the men sitting silently around the table.
Time passed. Swain didn't bother to do things quickly. At the moment they had all the time in the world or no time at all. Either way, he saw no point in hurrying.
The men around him stank. Clearly personal hygiene was not high on their list of priorities. They were hard. Harder even than Buffer, if that was possible. Until Chris met these men he'd thought the big man was the epitome of strength with an edge that made most people nervous. Compared to this group he was a pussy cat. For a split second Swain felt a wave of unease pass over him. They could kill him in a split second if they decided to. The thought passed though. If that was their intention, they would have done it before.
"Are they going to find her?" Sharpe asked quietly. He was sitting on the edge of the bench, one elbow on the top of the bench and the other on the table top.
"I'm not sure. They will do everything they can, though," Swain answered.
OOOOO
"There' s no way, sir," ET said as he climbed back up onto the deck of the Hammersley. He'd gotten into the boat and realized instantly that the visibility was zero. He'd hoped that lower to the water the fog would let up again. All he and RO would manage to do was to get lost. As much as he hated to admit defeat, there was no way in hell they could look until the fog lifted.
"It's that bad?" Flynn asked. He'd come up from telling Sharpe to check on his men. Standing at the threshold of the hatch he understood immediately what his seaman was telling him. Until the fog lifted there was more chance of him losing his people than there was of them finding the missing woman.
"As soon as we untie from the boat we'll be lost," ET stated.
"All right," Mike said as he moved out of the way for the rest of his men to pass by him. ET and the CO were the only ones left on deck. Charge had all ready brought the RHIB back on board. Turning to enter the hatch, Mike was brought up short. Something big was growling out of the fog. It sounded very big and very close.
Knowing he was the last person on deck, Mike pulled the hatch shut, cutting off the sound. Locking the hatch from the inside, Flynn turned toward the bridge. Something was going on. Well, more than usual.
Quickly Flynn reached the nearest radio. "Now hear this, this is your captain speaking. Secure all stations. Prepare for boarders!"
There was a breathless moment while all hands on board the boat took in and processed the orders. Then controlled chaos erupted as each crew member headed to their assigned position.
In the mess hall Swain made a quick judgement call. "All right, we're going to head down to the other mess," he said. These men were mobile enough to be able to take care of themselves and Archie and Horatio. It would also limit the number of civilians wandering around. Always a good thing when there were possible boarders on board.
"What's going on?" Sharpe asked as he allowed himself and his men to be ushered out of the room. There was still a certain tension in his body with Sandra still missing. Now there was something else going on that he didn't entirely understand.
"Someone's attacking the boat," Swain responded. It sounded preposterous even to his ears. Who the hell would have the guts to attack them?
"They're back," Harris stated. Suddenly, there was came a loud, thunderous pounding sound reverberating through the boat's hull from somewhere above them.
A/N: This update is too long overdue. I'm very sorry. I'm working on finishing all of my stories before I move onto the next one. Thank you for your patience.
Susanne