Max's head buzzed with excitement and apprehension as he drove his black Infiniti towards the shore. Bill hadn't exactly made it clear what he was going to see on this island, and he wasn't sure whether or not he should even be doing this. He had only met him last night, but there was a certain intrigue to the brief description he gave to his island. But at the same time, something seemed oddly out of place, and he couldn't figure out what it was.
Eventually, the stretching buildings on either side of the road gave way to sand dunes and waving reeds. The parking lot was empty, naturally, since it was very early in the morning.
Max headed down towards Lot D, which was the parking lot closest to the docks. As he did so, he found his conscience reminding him that he had one last chance to turn back. He blinked, and shook the feeling away. He rarely got to do anything this adventurous.
He parked his car and put The Club on, and exited his vehicle. He took his bag out of the back; he wasn't sure exactly what he would need on this trip, so he brought a few changes of clothes, a few toiletries, and his Gameboy Advance. He slung the bag over his shoulder and began treading across the sand, which was shining golden in the morning sun. He gritted his teeth… he could feel the sand getting inside his sneakers; he hated it.
Within ten minutes, he had reached the Sandy Hook docks. The smell of sea salt was thick in the air, and several sailboats, motorboats, and other sea vessels were docked, their masts and sails flapping in the gentle breeze.
A figure stood on the far end of the pier, being only a silhouette in Max's eyes since he was blocking the way of the sun; he was gazing far out at the sea, his hands in his pockets, his brown hair blowing in the breeze. It was up to this figure that Max walked, and he stood behind him, not knowing whether or not he should disturb him from his trance.
But, the man shortly turned around, and upon recognition, flashed Max a big smile. "Hiya, Max! Ready to go?"
Max looked around, and said "Yes, I guess I am. I brought a few things with me. Clothes, toothbrush, Gameboy…"
Bill smiled. "I don't think you'll be using your Gameboy much on this trip, my friend."
"So, which one of these are we taking?" Max asked, gesturing to the various seacraft.
"None," Bill replied. "My friend owns a high-speed ferry. It's faster than…" He was cut off by the sound of a motor growing louder by the second. "Ah, here it is."
A most-unusual vessel pulled up to the pier: its center hull was round and made of an odd kind of metal, and the front of it ended with two cylindrical protrusions, one on either side, which had windows at the tops; Max assumed those were cabins. A number 7 was painted on the front of the vessel, in between the two protrusions.
A metal ramp extended from the front, and landed on the wooden pier with a clank. A voice spoken over a loudspeaker said, "Ready for immediate boarding."
"You ready?" Bill asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Max replied.
"Then, let's get a move on."
"Right."
They walked up the metal ramp, and the same voice greeted them by saying, "Welcome aboard Seagallop High-Speed Ferry 7!"
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The Seagallop Ferry's interior cabin was somewhat cramped; round in shape with doors branching off to separate quarters. Wood paneling lined the walls between the doors, and round portholes gave brief glimpses out to the seascape beyond the hull. The ceiling wasn't decorated or adorned at all; it was simply the grey metal roof of the boat, with an exhaust fan spinning rhythmically on top.
"Nice digs," Max said, looking around. "How fast can she get?"
"On a good day we've pushed 60 knots," Bill said, smiling. "Would you like to meet the captain?"
"May as well," Max said. "Always nice to know whose hands my life is in."
Bill walked up to the door parallel to the front of the ship, and knocked on it. "Ahoy, captain!"
The door opened, and an old man walked out; he was about 5 foot 3, wearing a black robe with a red belt, and he had a white scraggly beard that hung from his chin; otherwise he was bald. "Hullo, Bill!" he said, in a surprisingly deep voice.
Bill smiled, and said to Max, "Max, this is Captain Briney. He's been captaining this ship for the past three years."
"Nice to meet you," Max said, shaking the captain's hand.
"Pleasure's all mine, sonny!" Briney said. "Glad to have you aboard. Bill tells me you're very talented."
Max shrugged. "Only in video games."
Briney arched an eyebrow, but after a firm glance from Bill, he grinned and said, "Oh, yes, yes! Video games! Of course!" He looked quickly at us both, and then said hastily, "Well, I've got to prepare this baby; we'll be departing very soon."
"Take your time, Captain," Bill said, patting the elderly seafarer on the back. Briney grunted and retreated into the captain's cabin.
"What was with him?" Max asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know… hasn't he ever heard of video games before?"
"Sure he has," Bill said with a chuckle. "He's just forgetful, is all. But he…"
At that moment, a crackle of static filled the room, and a voice under the curtain of an intercom said, "Ahem, this is your captain speaking. We will now be departing for Knot Island, so if you haven't gotten your sea legs yet, find them quick; we will be going very fast."
"I hope he doesn't go too fast," Max said, "I've never been on a boat before WHOA!" He cried out in surprise as the craft suddenly gave a sharp jerk forward, and the beachscape outside the windows shot backwards into the rear view, and was gone before he knew it. Max gripped onto one of the safety handles on the wall.
Bill laughed. "It's surprising the first time. But I've rode this thing so many times, I'm used to it."
"Well, good for you," Max muttered. "How long is the ride?"
"At this speed, only about an hour," Bill said. "We'll be there before you know it."
The vessel seemed to give another jerk forward, and Max was thrown against the wall whose handle he was holding on to.
"This is nuts," Max said. To Bill he asked, "Is there any place where I can lay down here? I think it might be easier if I sleep through this trip."
"Absolutely," Bill said. He pointed to the door at the rear-left of the cabin. "That door leads to your quarters. It should be comfortable enough for you."
"Thanks," Max said, and he walked carefully towards the door, and pushed it open.
The small cabin had a thin, blue carpet on the floor, wood paneling, and a small bed with white sheets against the wall, above which was a round porthole looking out onto the sea zooming past them.
Max sighed and walked to the bed and shifted himself into a lying position. At first he thought that he wouldn't be able to relax, because of the constant shifting and jerking of the boat, but he soon found his eyes beginning to flutter shut.
He wasn't sure how long he had drifted off—or if he had drifted off at all—but suddenly the craft gave an incredible lurch, greater than any it had given before. Max sat up with a jolt; he was aware that the speed had at least doubled.
"Bill?" he called, "Is everything okay?"
Suddenly, a metal cover slammed shut over his porthole, completely blocking the view of the sea.
"Hey!" Max cried. He jumped off the bed and went to the door, but it wouldn't open. He pulled and he pulled, but it was firmly stuck He pressed his eye to the round window on the door, but saw nobody outside in the main cabin.
"Bill?" he called. "Captain Briney? Hello?"
The boat jerked again, and then Max got a very strange sensation under his feet: the steady rise and fall of the sea under the hull seemed to have stopped. It was if the boat was now standing still, which wasn't possible because he still felt the force of the boat moving forwards.
All at once, there was a loud woosh, and it seemed like the boat smacked down hard back on the ocean, for Max heard a loud splash from under the hull. The porthole covers slid up, throwing golden sunlight into the cabin once again.
To this porthole Max ran, and he looked out and saw beautiful blue-green waters—not the greyish-blue Jersey waters he was used to—with many seagulls circling in the sky overhead, and a gorgeous blue sky with nary a cloud in it.
There was a knock on his cabin door, and without waiting for a response, it was opened and Bill walked in. "Hey, Max! How are you holding up so far?"
"Okay, I guess…" Max replied. "What just happened before? The window got covered up and it felt like we weren't on the sea anymore."
Bill laughed. "Well we did double our speed a little while ago. You probably just couldn't tell we were floating because we were going so fast."
"And the window covers?"
"When we increase engine power, the Seagallop runs a self-maintenance check, just to make sure all our systems are still capable of working."
Max cocked his head to the side. "But, why are there even window covers at all?"
"For people who want to sleep during the day," Bill answered. "Sometimes we make voyages a lot longer than this."
That seemed to make sense to Max, so he nodded and said, "I understand. Where's Captain Briney?"
"He's till in the captain's chamber," Bill said. "We'll be arriving at the shores of Knot Island in about ten minutes, so we'll be slowing down to a more steady speed, and he has to do all kinds of fancy stuff with the controls."
"Ah, okay." Max said.
Bill snapped his fingers. "Hey, would you like to come up to the captain's chambers with me? It has the best view, and we'll be able to see Knot Island as we approach."
"Sounds cool," Max said, and he allowed Bill to lead him out of the small quarters, across the main room, and up a small but winding staircase near the front of the vessel.
The first thing Max observed about the captain's chambers was that they were very bright: he saw a golden light shining in the room above the staircase before he had even reached the top. In the room itself, on either side, were instrument panels, meters, and other equipment used to navigate the ocean. The Captain himself sat in a large chair in front of a steering wheel of some kind—not one like you may have seen from an old three-masted ship like in the movies, but a sleek, black one, looking like an H, except the left and right vertical bars were curved into sideways U's—and beyond it, as Bill promised, was the large window, giving a glorious view of the sea beyond.
"Welcome, Bill and Max," Captain Briney said, as he spun around in his chair to face them. "I have been expecting you."
"Look," Bill said to Max, pointing at the window. "Do you see that?"
Max strained his eyes, and indeed saw something in the distance: a golden line of sand. "Is that…?"
"Yes," Bill said, putting his hand on Max's shoulder. "That is Knot Island!"
Lines of breakers began to form beyond the boat.