Chapter Two
Through the dense fog of the night, a fisherman's skiff could be seen drifting along the gentle waves. Sitting in the boat sat two elderly men, quietly talking to one another while waiting for their small fishnet to grace them with enough fish for the next day. Just a mile or so out off of St. Catalina island, they need not worry about getting lost.
"Well, Joseph, should we call it a night? These ol' bones need to find their way to bed," Quist questioned, stretching and scratching his back.
"I couldn't agree with ye more," yawned Joseph, grabbing one side of the net, "Just be prayin' tha' the Lord blessed us with some good fish, rather 'an the guppies we're usually hoist'n up." The two began hauling up the net, slowly pulling it in foot by foot.
Ding…ding…
"What was that? A ship's bell?" asked Quist, stopping his chore and perking his head up.
"I ain't heard nothing', just keep pullin'."
Quist listened for a bit longer, shrugged, then began to hoist up the net again.
Ding…ding…
"There it is again!" exclaimed Quist, practically dropping his side of the net, "Why would a ship be out here? There ain't no main port around for miles…"
"Just a sentry p'trollin' the coast…and pick up yer line, its heavy tonight. I think there be quite a load this time! Pull hard, mate!"
They grabbed the net and began pulling in eagerness, awaiting the night's catch.
Ding…ding…ding…
This time, Joseph spoke up, "Heh…sounds like it ain't but a hundred yards er so." He chuckled as he said jokingly, "Perhaps we can 'ail 'em 'n' see if they could lend us a hand with these fish."
Quist wasn' laughing though, "Shouldn't there be some kind of warn'n light, lettin' other boats see it in th' fog?"
"Why do you think they're ringin' that bloody bell for, twit? Ta let us know they're there," Joseph shook his head, "Ye know nothin' 'bout ship protocol, do ye? Guess not…considerin' ye weren't a sailor…"
"Perhaps…but I still think they should have a light. It'd be the smart thing to…do…," the old man's voice dropped to a whisper and his side of the net dropped completely.
"Hey! Fool! What do ye think yer doin'?" Joseph demanded, turning to face his friend. What he saw was a man who seemed to have frozen in place, and would have believed so were it not for Quist's wrists and hands shaking.
"Quist?"
Ding…ding…
One of Quist's shaking arms slowly straightened out toward the clearing sky, a long, bony finger pointing to the moon, "It..it's grey, Joseph. The moon…it's grey."
Joseph turned to look skyward. Sure enough, the moon, rather than its brilliant yellow blaze, was a deathly pale grey, as if no color were to it at all, "Th-That means…,"he whispered, looking around, trying to see anything through the fog.
His friend looked down to him, his stare wide and frightened, "The Herald…it's here-- "
Ding!…Ding!…
They both whipped around as fast as elderly men could. An opaque, green aura seemed to grow in size and brightness. The fog slowly began to part…
"Row, Quist…," whispered Joseph, his quiet voice cracking in fear, "Row!"
They both began to pull out their oars. As they dipped them in the water, the wind seemed to be sucked, not blown, toward the parting fog. In that instant, a brilliant burst of green light parted the mist. Blinding the two men for a moment, they shielded their eyes, Quist letting out a quiet yelp of fear. They soon regained their sight and for the last brief moments of their life, they wish they hadn't, for what they saw was the bow of a ninety-gun ship, garmented in a green light, rushing straight at them.
**
Thunder cracked as the sky filled with storm clouds. The small town of Gualiondo, a few miles north of St. Catalina island, was sleepless. Especially within one small fisherman's house…
"Abuela! Abuela!" yelled little Rosa as she ran up to her grandmother. The child's seven year old arms clasped around Margarita's waist.
"Hush, hush, child…there is nothing to be frightened of. It is only thunder."
"But I'm scared…and grandpapa hasn't come back yet."
"It's alright, Rosa, he is out fishing with Joseph, so he is in safe hands with a skilled sailor. Besides," she spoke as she slowly knelt down to look her grandchild in the face, "they know to come back during a storm, so any minute su abuelo will be coming in through that door."
The smile and soothing voice of Margarita calmed down the child a little, and her grip loosened. Suddenly, Rosa's eyes brightened, "Por favor! May I go out to watch them come home? I'll come back before it starts raining…please, grandmamma! I'll be careful!"
Her grandmother smiled again and ruffled Rosa's hair, "Well, okay. You may go. But! The first drop you feel hit your head…rush right back."
"Yay! Oh gracias!" thanked Rosa as she rushed through the door and down to the beach in the back.
The sand kicked up in clumps behind her as she ran up to the shoreline. She ran until the waves lapped onto her feet, and she stopped and peered out into the darkness. The fog had not yet fully lifted, but it was clearing, so she could only see a few hundred feet out into the water. She listened with eagerness for the splashes of oars, a sound she knew well as she always ran to meet her grandpapa, Quist. What she heard, though, was not the splashing of oars.
Ding…ding…
She had not heard the fog bell of a ship before, although she could tell it was one from the stories "uncle" Joseph would tell her. The mud seeped between her toes as she stood on them, thinking that would help her see past the fog. To no avail, however.
It was then she felt it. The air around her seemed to suck past her, toward the sea. The fog began to dissipate and part, and she thought she could see a pale light coming from the waves. A green light.
She gasped.
Right along the shore, appearing from nowhere, a massive ship with a green aura floated past her, not but a hundred feet away. The coast was shallow (Rosa knew this), and any ship of that size would have gotten stuck two hundred more feet out. But as the girl looked closer, the ship made no wake of water behind it. But wait! It was making a wake…or more like a trail, but she could not see what it was in the darkness.
What is it?, she thought. As any other person would have ran terrified, Rosa stood in awe and an interest in what she saw. The ship had three levels of cannons, and five large masts. Upon the highest mast, a torn flag of Great Britain flew. She gazed lower to the deck.
Her eyes widened as she could make out a lone figure standing along her starboard rail. It was of a man garbed in the tattered uniform of a Captain. Arms crossed, he stood erect, as if proud of his massive vessel. His entire body seemed to glow green, but she could tell--even at a hundred feet away--that his piercing eyes were blue, for they stared right at her. Although he wasn't near enough for a close examination, she should have been able to see his face. However, she could not make it out, for one moment, it seemed like that of a man, but the next it seemed to be a skull, then back to that of flesh.
She rubbed her eyes and looked out again. There was nothing. No ship, no fog…nothing.
Rain started to fall. Suddenly Rosa felt dizzy. Trying to keep consciousness, she wobbled and began to move back to home. She took a few steps, but darkness took over and she collapsed onto the sand.
**
Rosa awoke in her bed, the sun pouring into her window. Dazed for a few moments, she looked around to see where she was. Suddenly remembering last night's event, she threw her covers aside and jumped off of her bed.
Rushing out of the door in her pajamas, she ran to the beach. There, she could see most of the village gathered at the shoreline, including her grandmother. Excited to tell her of the strange green ship and man on it, she yelled all the way to the crowd.
She slowed down her pace as she neared, half expecting Margarita to scold her at first sight. Instead, her grandmother stood there weeping, as was most others around them.
"Grandmamma? What's wrong?"
No answer. None was needed, because she too looked out to the shore. There lay a skiff, broken in two. Its net was full of fish, still flopping and jumping for their freedom. No bodies where anywhere, however. Her gaze moved further out to see. A hundred feet out, as if just poured there, was a thick and dark wake of blood.
A/N-- Creepy, huh? Anyway, I hope this would help with the mood of the story. Note that I didn't say lighten the mood…just help it ;). Again, I hope you enjoyed.