Chapter 33: A Look In the Night
…
"You took an ahrow to the face?"
Link nodded, his eyes cast to his lap. "At least, I think that's what it was," he said. "I didn't get a good look at it."
"Let's see."
Link looked up and allowed Leynne to hold his chin so that he could turn Link's head and see his left eye from different angles. No matter what, the white of Link's eye was unmistakably blood-red. His blue pupil appeared unaffected, but that seemed to just add to the horrific image of Link's newest injury. If Leynne had been caught off-guard by this revelation, he might have run from the sick bay screaming, too.
The night was shaping up to be a bigger disaster than just being killed by The Night once again. It started when Gillam bolted from the sick bay and onto the main deck screaming that Link was possessed. Layna was in the sick bay in minutes with a blade at the ready, Kill Mode the only thing on her face. Nester had to warn her back and set Lawrence on Gillam to shut him up. Leynne heard the commotion from the galley and stepped up into the sick bay to find out why.
"This is… pahticulahly horrible," Leynne said. He looked at Nester, who was searching one of the shelves in the back. "Doctoh?"
"It looks worse than it is," Nester replied. He found a small bottle on the shelf and brought it back to his desk, where Link sat. "It's called a subconjunctival hemorrhage. What's happened is one of the blood vessels in his eye, maybe more, have burst open. It was probably stress from being shot in the eye, but I'm just a doctor; all I can tell you is what it is, not how it happened."
"How serious is it?" Leynne asked.
"About as serious as a paper cut, really," Nester said as he popped the bottle open. He pulled a pill out and gave it to Link. "Here's an aspirin for you."
"Thanks," Link said.
"So… he's had a papeh cut on his eye?" Leynne asked.
"Actually, it's not all that risky," Nester explained. He paused to put the cork back on the aspirin. "It's just a thin layer in his eye that blood leaked into. It's more like a bruise, but its contained just outside the white membrane of his eye."
"Can you see?" Leynne asked Link.
"I see just fine," Link said, indicating his unaffectedness with a shrug.
"He's hardly gonna notice it," Nester said. "The affected area only covers the sclera, so it doesn't affect his vision."
"And it doesn't huht?" Leynne asked Link.
"Well, it feels a little sore," Link admitted.
"That would be The Night's usual doing," Nester said. "The pain stopped just as quickly as it usually does."
"Why the aspirin then?" Leynne asked.
"Headache," Link said.
"I can only imagine what his head must feel like after being squashed flat last night and then taking an arrow to the face this night," Nester said. He turned to Link. "The eye thing will sort itself out in about two weeks. Just try not to press on your eye a whole lot."
Link nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Doctor." He stood up.
And he immediately realized that Layna, having stood beside him the whole time, was blocking his way. He looked up at her to find a sad look on her face. "What's wrong, Layna?" he asked.
"'Inu mitixaylya'ak 'inu nayx laxom boytakwit My Captain ura My Captain ya'lu yisikr 'immu a'ib," Layna replied, her voice a little choked.
Link and Leynne traded looks. "I… suspect she still may be a little upset by youh outbuhst this aftehnoon," Leynne said.
"Oh," Link uttered. "That, huh?" He met Layna's eyes. "Look, Layna, I know I was kinda hard on you earlier about bringing Irleen back the way you had. I just… I'd like you to be a little more careful around here. And I want to be able to keep an eye on you in case something comes up. Okay?" Layna nodded.
"Is this the paht wheh you have to kiss heh?" Leynne asked.
"Huh?" Link asked, turning to him. "Uh… I-I don't think so…" He looked back at Layna to discover that she was simply walking away. "Oh. I, uh… I guess not."
"Aaaah," Nester growled with a dismissive tone. "Plenty of opportunities to kiss a girl around here."
"Provided you suhvive the confrontation," Leynne said over his shoulder. He crossed his arms and turned back to Link. "So, Captain. It isn't even midnight, and you've retuhned spited once again. What's the plan now?"
"I don't know," Link said as he made to gather his tunic and trousers. But then, he stopped as he heard grunting from the front of the sick bay. He and Leynne turned as Lawrence entered, his short frame burdened with Gillam, who showed signs of only being half-way conscious. Leynne had to move aside as Gillam dragged himself onto the bed Link had been using. "What happened to him?" Link asked.
"Well, 'e ran up on deck 'n tried t' tell Twali 'n Lwamm ya'd go'en possessed," Lawrence explained. "Dholit translated for 'im, 'n Lwamm was tryin' t' tell 'im there's a reason for i'. Bu' 'e wouldn' stop screamin' a' 'er, so she decked 'im a good one."
"Well, I suppose Lwamm finally undehstands how things happen around heh," Leynne commented. Link shot him an annoyed look. "Let him sleep it off."
"Excuse me, Leynne," Link uttered as he tried to squeeze between Leynne and the desk. Leynne stepped aside to allow Link to move to the bed with his gear. He started to put on his tunic while he said, "I think I'll just stay up the rest of the night. The Night didn't even let me make it off the launch, so I doubt I'll be getting any farther today."
"What about the Conductoh?" Leynne asked.
Link was just about to pull on his trousers, bent forward with one foot raised. Then he hissed through his teeth as he stood up. "Shit…" he said. "Right, let's go look at the Conductor. Just let me put my trousers on."
…
~~9/26, Expedition Day 44.
~~The Night shot me in the eye with an arrow. I now have a bright red bruise on the white of my left eye. I think it creeps out the crew, so I've been trying not to look people in the face too much. But I think it's safe to say that The Night doesn't feel like playing around. I didn't even get off the Conductor before The Night killed me. I just might have to wait a little longer this time, but I don't know how much longer my crew can wait.
…
After checking the Conductor (and finding that The Night had at least spared their precious launch) and filling out his log, Link spent the rest of the early morning hours trying to keep his crew going. Just as Leynne had said, the combination of the adjusted schedule and alcohol shots were allowing most of the crew to stay awake through the night. The only exceptions were Cale and Lilly, both of whom Link found nodding off in the galley.
WHAM!
So Link slammed a fist on the table. Lilly started awake and looked up at him. Cale, who had fallen asleep sitting up, jerked and fell backwards off the bench.
Whump!
"Sorry, you two," Link said. "But I need you to stay awake for just a few more hours."
"Thanks, Captain," Lilly said with a tired sigh. She put an elbow on the table and raked her hand through her long, loose, brown hair.
"Ugh," Cale groaned as he stood up. Then, upon looking at Link, his eyes opened wide. "L-Link? Youh… youh eye—"
"It's all right," Link told him, raising a hand to calm him. "Nester says it's just a bad bruise in my eye."
"Can I see?" Lilly asked. Link turned to show her his left eye a little better. "Oh, wow. It hurt?"
"Not anymore," Link replied. He gestured toward his eyes as he elaborated, "It only bothers me if I touch it or if the wind gets in it."
"Wha-what happened?" Cale asked.
"While I was in the dream, I took an arrow to the eye," Link said. Cale grimaced. "Yeah, that's about as bad as it's been."
"Oh, right," Lilly said as she moved to one side. "Flower said you were gettin' killed in yar dreams."
Link sat down next to her while Cale returned to his seat. "I've been killed…" He paused to count on his fingers. "Six times now, even after I've cleared out a part of the technoworks."
"How many moah do you have to cleah out?" Cale asked.
"Two, at least," Link said. "But the mines are turning out to be a problem; I haven't even been able to step inside before The Night gets me."
"You took three nightzza get the second one cleared," Lilly pointed out. "Maybe the next night'll be your lucky night."
"I hope you're right," Link said. He glanced back and forth at them. "How are you two doing?"
"Unfohtunately," Cale spoke up, "abstinence in the name of education has not been treating us well."
"Abstinence in th—you two make out all the time," Link said.
"He means alcoholic abstinence," Lilly said in an irritated voice. "Not that we gotta been in much mood for that, either."
"Oh, what?" Link asked in concern. "Is it the nightmares?"
"Bingo."
"The Night seems to have elaborate methods to how it tohtuahs us," Cale said. "Last night, I dreamt that I was… eh… helping…" He gestured a hand at Lilly for a moment, his face indicating embarrassment. "… haah un-undress, and… well, when haah shiht came off, haah head had tahned into that… enohmous beetle thing that tried to kill us."
"'Enormous beetle thing'?" Link asked. "You mean that one from the forest two years ago?"
"Unfohtunately. I've had nightmaahs about it befoah, but… at least its head was attached to its own body."
"I gotta not seen the same stuff as him," Lilly spoke up, "but my nightmares are just as bad. I once watched Captain North shoot him to death."
Link scratched his head for a moment. "Weeeeell, I don't mean to criticize or anything," he said, "but everyone has that nightmare about Captain North."
"I did," Cale added.
"Well, how many of you boys hadda watch yar bleedin' boyfriend crawl towards ya 'til he was shot in the head?!" Lilly snapped. Both Cale and Link sat up a little straighter, wide eyes focused on her glare. She caught herself and took in a deep breath. "Sorry, guys," she said in a calmer voice. "It… it wasn't very pleasant to watch. And that wasn't the worst one. I once dreamed that Cale and I were tied together, face'a face. Then I found out what we were hangin' by."
"By what?" Link asked.
"Cale's neck." Link and Cale shared an uncomfortable look, Cale's face growing pale in the flickering of the galley's electric light. "Every time I see a rope… I-I kinda feel a little sick."
For a moment, only the groaning of the ship's timbers commented on the subject. Then the trio heard footsteps descending and glanced toward the stairs as Stan, the night shift's cook, set foot in the galley. Stan was a little plump, but his arms were thick with just as much muscle. His normally clean-shaven head was covered in stubble, and his beard looked as if it had more grey in it than usual. The dark circles under his eyes backed up the appearance of not having had much sleep or time to keep himself groomed. Even his usual apron was missing, leaving him in a plain, stained, white shirt and work trousers hitched above his belly button.
"G'mornin', Captain," he greeted in a rough voice, tapping his forehead in a weak attempt at a salute. "Chief, Lilly."
"Hey, Stan," Link said weakly.
"Hey," Lilly chimed while Cale said, "Good mohning."
"Captain, I thought you'd be sleepin'," Stan said as he started across the galley.
"I got woken early," Link said, pointing to his eye.
Stan, walking behind Cale, had to stop to get a good look. He leaned across the table, and then he sucked in air between his teeth. "Ow," he grunted. "Can you see all right?"
"Yeah, it's fine," Link said.
"Supahficial, evidently," Cale said.
"I don't need any o' your fancy words, Chief," Stan grunted.
"R-right," Cale replied.
"Any more of that chili left?" Lilly asked.
"Amazingly, no," Stan said as he stood straight again. "I was gonna save the next batch for dinner. Right now, I gotta clean the oven out."
"I'll help," Lilly offered as she stood up.
The flickering light chose that moment to give up, casting the galley into blackness. Lilly cried out, and Link felt the bench jerk.
"Lilly!" Cale hollered. This was followed by—Wham!—a solid body falling hard to the deck. "Ooooh…"
At about the same time, Link felt something grab the shoulder of his tunic. "Yikes!" he cried out as he was then pulled backwards.
"Ah!" Lilly hollered as she felt something fall on top of her.
Whump! "D-ow!" Link cried out upon feeling a new ball of pain on the right side of his head.
"Oh, is that you, Captain?" Lilly asked.
"It was," Link groaned as he rolled onto the deck, holding his head in pain. "I can't tell anymore."
"What happened?" Stan asked.
"I-I punched the captain," Lilly answered.
"I meant the light," Stan growled. This was followed by a loud slam from somewhere in the kitchen, which resulted in Stan living up to the reputation of traditional sailors if in muted tones.
Link pushed himself up from the deck. "Everyone, stay put," he ordered. "The generator must've finally given up."
"Y-you mean… n-no moah lights?" Cale asked.
"Just keep calm," Link said toward the direction of Cale's voice. He used a hand to identify where the bench was and pulled himself to his feet. "I'm gonna see if I can find a lantern or something."
Link used his hand to follow the table to the front end of the galley. After that, he just guessed the general direction of the port staircase and drifted toward it with his hands reaching forward. He nearly walked into the corner of the staircase's surrounding bulkhead, but his forearm brushing against it saved him from injury, and he rounded the bulkhead to ascend to the cargo hold.
Near the top of the steps, he perceived someone coming down and called out, "Who's there?"
"It is I, My Captain, youh mysterious woman of the night."
Link's words spoke of his annoyance as he replied, "Hi, Dholit."
"Oh? Is that all ouh relationship has come to?"
"Not now, Dholit," Link groaned. "I need to find a lantern."
"Yes, things down heah do seem to be a little dahk," Dholit said. "What's happened?"
"I think the generator died," Link said. "Do you know where the lanterns are?"
"At the fah end, I think."
Link started forward and bumped into her. "Whoops."
"Oh, I wasn't ready!" Dholit whined. "You must let me tahn so you might meet a softah paht!"
"Oh, stop it," Link snapped as he stepped aside and moved toward the back of the hold. "Go back up and tell Leynne that we don't have any light down here."
"Aye aye, My Captain," Dholit answered.
Link stumbled into a few crates looking for the lanterns. He felt that Leynne would have left the crate open so that he did not have to search again. This was a problem because the crates he was nearly crashing into were closed.
Light flooded the room behind him a few minutes later, and he turned to find Leynne entering the hold with a lantern. "We've lost poweh?" he asked.
"Yeah," Link answered. "I thought you mounted the lanterns."
"My priority was the weatheh deck," Leynne said as he walked across the hold. "I'd ratheh not have anyone else fall ovehboahd because they couldn't see the deck. I'd hoped that it would last a little longeh foh me to ready the lantehns below-deck."
"Well, for now, we can settle for a lantern here and there," Link said as he followed him toward the back. "There shouldn't be anyone in the orlop, but the engine room might need a few. So will Nester."
"Most everyone is on-deck right now," Leynne said. "I don't know wheh the rest ah."
"In the galley," Link said as he watched Leynne shove the loose lid of a large crate to one side. "That's where I was."
"I'll have to mount the lantehns once we have daylight," Leynne said as he pulled two fresh lanterns from the crate. "Unless… pehhaps I should make it a choh foh tonight." Link gave him a confused look, wondering if he was being sarcastic. When Leynne turned and caught the expression, he further explained, "To keep the off-duty crew from falling asleep."
"Oh, okay," Link said. "Good idea."
Leynne pulled out another lantern and handed it to him. "When you'h done with it, just leave it on the table; I'll mount it when I get the chance."
"Okay. Can you light it?"
"Oh." Leynne set aside the unlit lantern in his other hand so that he could pull a tinderbox from one pocket of his slacks. He produced a match and struck it on the strip inside the lid of the tinderbox. Link opened the lantern and held it steady as Leynne lit the candle on the inside. "Okay," he told Link. "Can I ask that you take some to the galley?"
"Yeah, I'll grab a couple," Link told him. "I'll get the galley and the engine room. Go take care of the sick bay."
"Right," Leynne said as he took two more lanterns by their hanging rings, grabbed the lit lantern from atop a nearby crate, and rushed across the hold toward the berth deck.
Link stepped up to the crate and retrieved two more lanterns before returning to the galley. Once down the stairs, his lantern illuminated Lilly and Cale on the floor near the table. Stan stood against the counter, rubbing his aching knee. "You guys okay?" he asked as he moved across the galley toward Lilly.
"Yeah…" Lilly groaned as she and Cale stood.
"Was it the generatoh?" Cale asked.
"Leynne'll probably look at it later," Link said as he put the lanterns on the table.
"Captain, we heard Beech hollerin' from his room," Lilly spoke up.
Link glanced down the galley toward the officers' quarters at the front. "Oh, right…" he mumbled. He turned back to Cale. "Cale, take one of these lanterns down to the engine room and ask if they need any more." He opened the lit lantern and carefully removed the candle. Lilly quickly moved to Link's side and opened the other two lanterns. Link glanced past her. "Stan, we'll leave one of these for you."
"Sound's good, Captain," Stan grunted as he began approaching the table.
"Lilly, I want you to come with me," Link continued as he carefully applied the candle to the other lanterns. "We'll check on Beech."
"Okay," Lilly said as she closed the lanterns.
Link replaced the candle. However, a drop of wax caught his finger just before he could release it. "Ouch," Link breathed, quickly withdrawing his hand.
"Are you okay?" Lilly asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Link answered, shaking the pain out of his hand.
"Are you sure?" Lilly asked. She took his hand into hers as soon as he stopped shaking it.
"Yeah," Link said as she examined the hand. "Trust me; I've had worse all week." He withdrew his hand and looked over at Cale. "Cale? You all right?"
Cale blinked and shook his head. "Sohry, Link," he said. He reached across the table to pick up a lantern. "I will see to the engine room."
"Thanks," Link said. He closed and picked up the first lantern. "C'mon, Lilly."
Lilly trailed behind Link as he walked to the quarters. Beech had been placed in the last door on the left side. Link passed the lantern to Lilly and took the key off the nearby wall. He unlocked the door and carefully opened it.
"Someone there?" Beech asked. Link opened the door to let in more light.
Beech, sitting in the far corner in front of the closet, started. Link, however, felt more surprised. Beech's eyes looked so sunken that they were in shadow even as he looked at them. Without his shirt on, his skin looked ghastly, his stomach almost hollow. Link was not even sure if this man was the same as the man who had joined his crew a few months ago.
Link shook the shock off his face. "Are you doing all right in here?" he asked.
"I'm, uh…" Beech tried to answer. He looked around. Then he said in a raspy voice, "Yeah, I'm okay. Just panicked a bit when the light went out. Hit my shin on the desk."
Link stepped inside. He immediately noticed a rancid smell and glanced down at the trashcan beside the desk. It was a regrettable action, so Link quickly moved closer to Beech so he did not need to see it. "Are you sure?" he asked, squatting to look Beech in the eye. "You look a little sick."
"Well, uh…" Beech twitched his neck. "I-I haven't been able to keep things down the past two nights," he admitted. "You see… the, uh… the nightmares have been keeping me awake. They make my stomach turn. Ley-Leynne said that the shots would help us sleep this afternoon, but I… can't… seem to stay awake these past two nights."
Link glanced back at the bucket. "Why didn't you tell someone? Why didn't anyone know about this?"
Beech looked down at his lap. "I, uh… I hid the bucket," he admitted. He pointed to the cavity beneath the desk. When Link turned to see, he also saw that the edge of Beech's desk looked to have been scratched. "A few wood scrapings, and the smell isn't very noticeable."
"But why?" Lilly repeated for Link.
"I d—… I don't know," he said, his face wide with revelation. "Up until a few minutes ago, it all made sense. Now, I just…"
"It's all right," Link told him after he showed no signs of finishing his thought. "We'll leave a lantern in here for you, and I'll send someone to take that bucket out. But if this continues, you need to see Nester. If we have to, we'll move you back to your berth."
"No!" Beech snapped. Link started, surprised by the outburst. But Beech quickly realized what he had done and shook his head. "Sorry, Captain. I just… somehow, this feels comfortable."
Link glanced around the room again. "Okay, well… the next time I have to bring it up, it'll be an order," he said. "You may be in confinement, but you're not gonna suffer like this when it's not necessary. Understood?"
Beech nodded eagerly. "Aye aye, sir."
Link stood up and moved back to the doorway. "Don't forget; you're gonna have a baby waiting when we get home."
When he turned back around, Beech looked up at him with a soft expression. For a moment, Link felt like he could see the old Beech still in the haggard man. "Yes, sir," he told Link.
"Here," Link said, holding out his hand to Lilly. She gave him the lantern. "Lilly, the next time he comes up here, let him have some water so he can bathe himself a bit," he said as he placed the lantern on the desk. He took one last look at Beech. "Try your best, Airman," he said. "We need you."
"I will," Beech said as he carefully rose to his feet. He snapped to attention and saluted.
Link grinned at him and returned the salute. Then he closed the door, locked it, and replaced the key onto the nail halfway protruding from the bulkhead.
Once they were back in the galley, Lilly spoke up, "It's a good thing he didn't see your eye."
"My eye?" Link asked. Then he remembered the injury he had received in the last dream and put a hand over said eye. "Oh, right. That might've been bad."
"Yeah."
"Look, I'm gonna go upstairs and talk to Nester. Uh… I guess… just go about your usual routine. If Nester needs a hand, give him one."
Lilly nodded. "What about the bucket?"
"As soon as Nester's done, either take it out and dump it or have one of the deck crew get it," Link said. "Whatever way keeps someone else from throwing up."
"I'll figure something out," Lilly said.
Link parted and went upstairs into the hold again. He heard something moving at the far end of the hold and saw Leynne, along with Lwamm, Gold, and Hunter, pulling more lanterns out of the crate. So he approached them and called out, "Hey, Leynne."
"Cahful, cahful," Leynne was cautioning Hunter as he gave the man three lanterns in one handful. "We've only got so many." Once Hunter had them, he looked over his opposite shoulder and past Lwamm at Link. "Yes, Captain?"
"Hey, uh…" Link scratched his head for a moment. "We… might need to look into moving Beech."
"What foh?" Leynne asked.
"The Night's been getting to him, just like we thought," Link replied. "He's been puking into his trashcan and covering it up, and he doesn't know why."
"You gotta be kidding," Hunter accused.
"'E a'right?" Gold asked.
"A little sick, but that's about it," Link replied. "He hasn't been able to keep dinner down; he's been throwing it up because of nightmares for the past couple days."
Leynne nodded. "I thought isolating him from the crew would be a problem," he said more to himself than Link. Then he asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"
"We might need to put him back in his berth, at least," Link said. "Locking him in a cabin was a mistake; with The Night getting to him, he needs to be watched. I'm going to talk to Nester, see what he thinks."
"If he's bad off, Nesteh will likely agree," Leynne said. "I'll handle the ahrangements as soon as we have some of these lantehns installed."
"Thanks," Link said.
Then he turned and walked into the sick bay, now newly illuminated thanks to a pair of lanterns on both Nester's desk and a set of shelves in the back. Nester was losing a fight to sleep at his desk, his feet propped up. Link stepped up beside him and gave his shoulder a light slap.
Nester started and caught himself on the edge of the desk. "What the—oh," he uttered once he saw Link. He took his feet off the desk and spun the chair to face him. "Something wrong, Captain?"
"It's Beech," Link answered.
"What is it?"
"He hasn't been able to keep down his dinner for the past two days. The Night wakes him up with nightmares, and he just throws up in the trashcan. He's looking pretty bad."
"He can't stay awake?" Nester asked as he slid forward in his seat, preparing to stand.
Link shook his head. "I guess the nightmares disturb him enough that he can't hold anything down at night."
Nester heaved a sigh and scratched the back of his head. "I guess we should be thankful he's the only one. I'll go look at him in a moment."
Link nodded. "Thanks, Nester. I'll be on-deck if anything comes up."