Chapter 3

Horatio fought against the blackness that tried to hold him in unconsciousness. Unlike before, when he'd let the darkness drag him where it would, now he fought back. And won.

The first thing that registered was the sound, the gentle swooshing of waves against...the bow of a ship. He opened his eyes and realized that he was sprawled on the forecastle of a ship, scrubbed, sanded and pristine. His eyes flew open all the way. "What the h*ll..." he muttered as he stood up.

He was standing, as he'd realized, on the forecastle of a ship. But it wasn't a ship that he could ever remember serving aboard. Her lines were similar to those of the old Indefatiguable, but the woodwork was darker as though it had been tarred.

There was a good, stiff breeze blowing from the...odd. Horatio found that he couldn't get his bearings at all. He looked for any kind of celestial body to use for reference. No sun. No moon. No stars. Just an overcast, gray sky. It glowed, though he couldn't see from where the light shone.

Horatio had no idea where he was, what ship this was, and for that matter, there seemed to be nobody to ask. Was he a ghost, then, on a ghost ship? This would make sense, from the talk of the common men below deck at night. Could it possibly..."No! Get a hold of yourself!" he spoke firmly. "There is certainly a logical explanation for all of this."

As though on cue, a song erupted from the top of the mainmast: "RUUUULLE BRITANNIA! BRITAINNIA, RULE THE WAAAAAAVES! BRITONS NEVER, EVER, EVEERRRR SHAAAALLL BE SLAAAAAVES!"

Horatio heard the song, and the two singers, and suddenly realized, "Why, that was marvellous!" He could appreciate the music! But he was tone-deaf, or he had been...
"Oh, d*mn," It suddenly occured to him.

He had no idea where he was.

The pain of his wound was gone.

He wasn't tone-deaf anymore.

"D*amn, am I really-"

This revelation was interrupted once again by the two singers on the mainmast. They had just launched into a fine rendition of "Hearts of Oak". Horatio just closed his eyes and enjoyed the voices. One was a rich tenor, the other, a clear, sweet treble. Shielding his eyes from the glare of the oddly bright sky, he tried to make out the singers, but saw only two vague outlines.

As if sensing his gaze, the two figures finished their song and seemed to look down at him. Horatio watched in horror as one gestured excitedly, and the two leapt from the yardarm. He stared, horrified, unable to move as the two dropped seventy feet toward the unforgiving deck. His mind flashed back to the poor boy from his division on the Renown...falling...hitting the deck with a sickening crunch...the captain watching remorselessly...why was he being forced to watch this again?

The figures hit the deck, both on their feet, some distance away from him. Horatio knew that landing this way would not help them. The two had probably broken their backs, and would crumple to the deck momentarily...

He watched, unbelieving, as the singers straightened, completely unharmed. They smoothed out their uniforms...'My god!' Horatio thought, almost numbly. 'Those are uniforms of his Britannic Majesty's royal navy!' The singers began to walk towards him...he saw them, but his mind processed the images without really seeing them. Two men, one a lieutenant, the other a midshipman...no! Horatio's mind and knees buckled before the apparition before him.

With a huge grin on his face, Lieutenant Archie Kennedy called out cheerfully, "Welcome to Purgatory."