A/N - Wow, so this chapter is definitely long overdue, perhaps the fact that it's the longest chapter so far will make up for it? No? haha
I have gone through and edited each chapter, not to mention added many new scenes, so If you've read the rest of the story so far
you may want to give it a quick re-read. I'm sorry for the long absence, although this story is very important to me (I WILL finish it)
I have many other things in my life at the moment that are more important. Hopefully my sudden inspiration decides to stick around a little longer than last time! I would also greatly appreciate reviews, they really do motivate me! Thanks! - JT

Chapter 8 - The Arrival

The next five days passed with nothing out of the ordinary occurring. May had been spending as much time with Jimmy as she could. Just the other day he had showed her how to tie different types of knots, and how exactly they worked. In return she had been trying to explain to him how cameras took photographs, and how exactly to use one, May even let him take some photos.

At the moment, she was sitting in her room with an empty stomach. Lumpy had decided to be slightly adventurous with tonight's dinner, and she was fairly certain she did not want to take part in his latest creation.

May hadn't had the chance to visit Jimmy at all that day, Englehorn had him up in the crow's nest. The reason for him being up there she didn't exactly know, but she had an idea.

So she laid on her bed, dressed in her warmest clothing, listening to the sound of the crashing waves. She tried to relax but the truth was that she was extremely anxious.
May had overheard The captain and Dehnam arguing the other day. Wherever they were going, she was certain they were fairly close.

What if Mr. Hayes was right? What if the island they were going to was truly as horrible as he explained it. What if someone got hurt, or worse?

May stood up quickly, running a hand through her long hair. She bit her lip and decided her next move. She grabbed her jacket and abandoned her cabin.

"Good evening missy," One of the friendly crewmen said on her way up on deck.

She nodded in response, "Same to you Louis, how's the weather holding up?"

"Aye, getting chilly. Seems as if a fog is rollin' in, be careful up there missy," He chuckled as he walked past her and into the galley.

Well that was a comforting thought, hopefully that didn't mean another storm was coming their way.

The wind outside was very light, almost unnaturally so compared to other nights. Only a few men were working, there didn't seem to be much to do.

"Hello Martin," May said warmly as she approached the tall man, they had become good friends throughout the course of the trip.

"Hullo there lassie!" He welcomed in a thick scottish accent, "What kind o' mischief are ya up ta this time, eh?"

May raised an eyebrow at the man, in which he responded with only a chuckle, and then lit the end of his cigarette.

"You shouldn't smoke so often, I hear that it's terrible for your health." She said knowingly, as she parted the smoke away with a gloved hand.

"Comin' from a lass who's never tried one!" He gave a great bellow of laughter, which quickly turned into a great fit of coughs.

"And never planning on it," She rolled her eyes, patting him gently on the back, "Say, have you seen Jimmy?" May asked, even though she was almost certain that she knew where he was.

Martin continued to cough, pointing up to the crow's nest, which was slowly becoming engulfed in the fog.

"Thanks," She laughed softly, "I'll guess I'll talk to him later then."

He waved her off and started to walk away, hopefully to get a glass a cool water for his sore throat. She never understood why people smoked those disgusting things, it was an awful habit and the stench really was horrible.

"Jimmy doesn't smoke," She thought somewhat proudly to herself, looking around to check if the coast was clear. Everyone seemed to be focused in whatever small task they were doing, so she assumed she was safe.

With a deep breath and a burst of courage she began to climb up the unsteady rope, thankful that it was not a very windy day.

May was never really afraid of heights, just of the fact that she could fall to her untimely death at any given moment.

She tried hard not to look down and soon enough she was at the top of the rope, around the edge of the nest. She peered over the edge and found something she hadn't expected.

He was sleeping! Jimmy gets the easiest job on the ship and manages to fall asleep while doing it. May rolled her eyes and brought herself over the metal edge and into the nest, trying her hardest not to wake him up. He looked very peaceful, his head resting on the wall of the nest and a book still open in his hands.

May looked down to the title of the book.

Heart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad.

She had never heard of the story before, but was intrigued by the title, it sounded more like a love story than any adventure or action story; which was the genre she had thought he'd be more likely to read. She reached over to the book and try to grab it.

"Hn..uh..." Jimmy mumbled sleepily, his eyes starting to open. May with drawled her hand and shoved it into her pocket.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bacey," May exclaimed quietly, smiling at his tired face.

"Where?" He sat up straight, his book falling to the ground.

May only chuckled in response, amused by his reaction.

Jimmy looked over to her and sighed, but she saw the slight grin on his face, "Don't even kid about that," He mumbled, "Haven't had bacon in the longest time." He looked over to her with a playful smile, which faded quickly into a panicked look, "What the hell are you doing up here?"

"I was bored," May explained dully with a pout, "I wanted to see you, you're more fun than all the old chaps down there."

Jimmy calmed down somewhat, picking his now wrinkled book off the ground and sticking it in his pocket, "You could have spent time with Ann, I though you liked her." He continued.

"She's with Jack again," May yawned, covering her mouth, "Those two are fun on their own, but just plain boring when they're together."

Jimmy grinned knowingly, the bond formed between the two had not gone unnoticed by any of the crew.

"I mean, if you really don't want me up here, I could leave," May began to get up but Jimmy shoved her back down.

"That's not it," He started hastily, running a hand through his light hair, "Just don't want you getting hurt, its a long fall from here you know."

May paled at his words, "Don't remind me, It's going to take me at least another hour for me to work up the courage to go down again."

Jimmy chuckled lightly, and scooted over so he was sitting next to her, "No worries May, I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I'm happy you're up here anyways, I was getting bored as well."

She blushed at his words, "I could tell, falling asleep on the job?" She teased.

"Just resting my eyes," He looked at her with an innocent expression, "I've been up here for hours you know."

"I know," She breathed deeply, before deciding to change the subject, "It's really quite chilly out, you're crazy to only wear a thin jacket."

"Use to it," He explained briefly with a concerned frown, "Are you cold? You can have my scarf if you'd like."

"No, no," She shook her head, "I'm fine," May assured him.

"No you're not," He smirked, before unwrapping the black woolen scarf from around his head.

"Really Jimmy! I'm more concerned for you." She put her hand up in protest.

"And why is that?" He asked playfully, cocking his head to the side.

May put down her hand and looked directly into his eyes, not knowing exactly what to say. Taking the opportunity, Jimmy leaned forward and began to wrap the scarf around her head.

May looked up in surprise, only to find his face inches away from hers. Her face reddened in embarrassment, he was watching her quite closely, amusement clear in his eyes.

He began to close the distance between them, cupping her face softly with his hand. May parted her lips unconsciously, feeling the heat radiating off the skin of the young man in front of her.

"Station the for' head lookout, and get me the depth by lead-line!"

As quickly as the moment was there, it was gone.

Jimmy looked up in surprise, distracted by what the Captain of the ship was saying.

May took a deep breath, "What exactly is he talking about?" She asked in a shaky laugh.

Jimmy did not smile back, "He wants me to be on the lookout for any sign of land around us, I think we're almost there." He seemed anxious over this sudden development.

"I..I thought that Mr. Hayes had said it would be at least another three days," She stammered quietly.

"Guess he was wrong," He sighed, running a hand nervously through his hair, before looking over to her, "You should go down, Englehorn won't be too pleased if he sees you up here."

"Yeah, you're probably right" May sounded slightly disappointed, as she stood up and held steadily onto the rope, "Be safe, 'kay?"

Jimmy couldn't help but smile at the worried look on her face, "I'll be fine, just be careful on the way down."

He took her hand and helped her get over the edge of the metal bar, May's hand still tightly gripping on the rope beside her. She looked down quickly, the fog was so thick she could hardly see the bottom, she was certain that no one could even see them while they were up this high.

Suddenly Jimmy's arm was around her waist, she looked up and realized that she had slowly been tilting her body to the side. She flushed in embarrassment, his body was now tightly against hers.

"Woah, watch yourself," He chuckled, "Probably better if you don't look down." He whispered.

"Yeah," May whispered back, biting her lip in nervousness.

Jimmy didn't let go, temporarily caught up in the moment, he took a strand of her hair and tucked it gently behind her ear. He brought his mouth down so that his lips were nearly brushing hers.

"That's a lovely color on your cheeks," He teased in a light whisper, his lips coming in slight contact with hers.

May didn't respond, placing her hand gently on the small of his back. He gently pushed his lips into hers, softly as first. May placed her other other hand on his chest, slowly snaking it up to his neck and finally into his light hair. He suddenly added more force, a sense of urgency, driven by the lust radiating off the couple. A light moan escaped May's mouth as he bit her bottom lip gently. She caught herself and pushed her head back, embarrassed by her breaking of the silence.

But Jimmy only chuckled lightly, his eyes still staring down at her lips, "No need to be embarrassed," He assured her, giving her another light kiss, "I'm glad I make you feel that way," He whispered softly in her ear.

May couldn't help but laugh as well and he gave her a cheeky grin, "I'm leaving for good this time, come visit me after wards?" She asked, "I'll probably be in the galley until all this is over with." May had no desire to see the island right now, if they really were there.

"Of course," He responded happily.

May gave him a quick peck on the cheek than began to climb down the ropes. She made sure not to look down, knowing she would probably regret it.

"Thirty fathoms, no bottom captain!" She heard one of the crewmen shout, his voice echoing over the empty waters.

Did that mean that they weren't there after all?

She continued down the rope and was glad when her feet finally touched the wooden ground.

May looked around at her surroundings, everyone of the crewmen were at their stations, too busy with what they were doing to even notice her climb down from the crows nest.

"Hold on sir! We have sea bed!" The crewman yelled finally.

May couldn't help but suppress a look of shock. She looked around for someone that she recognized and saw Preston standing with the same shocked look, staring ahead of the boat. Looking for something.

"Twenty-five fathoms!"

"Preston, whats going on? What are they saying?" May asked hurriedly.

"It shallowing," He explained, "We're almost there." Without another word he rushed away, to her guess to find Dehnam.

"Another reading!" May heard the captain yell from the front of the ship, "Another reading!" He shouted aggressively when he got no response.

"Twenty-two fathoms!" The crewman finally answered, May saw Hayes up at the front of the ship, talking quickly to the man who was now lifting the rope out of the water as a hurried pace.

"Jack!" May exclaimed, looking over to her friend who suddenly appeared from below the deck.

"May, whats going on?" He asked desperately, seeing the crew hurrying back and forth on the ship.

"They found sea bed, I think we're here," She responded quickly, "You should find Ann." She continued when she noticed the blond was not with him.

Jack only nodded and proceeded back down the stairs into the hallway.

The lights on the ship immediately went out, leaving the ship to wander almost blindly through the thick fog. May grasped onto whatever she could find around her, which happened to be the side railing of the ship.

Silence filled the ship for a moment at the crew stood helpless, waiting for the next order from their captain.

"Wall! There's a wall ahead!" A terrified voice shouted.

May looked up in horror to see a figure through the dense fog, pointing in the way in front of the ship.

The entire crew panicked, securing ropes and holding onto to whatever they had near them.

The ship lurched forward, causing May to fall forward onto the metal bar. She managed to get back up and realized that Captain Englehorn must have stopped the ship. But the Venture was still gliding onward through the water. They were going to crash.

"Hold on tight lassie!" A voice on the ledge above her shouted down. But May wasn't listening, she looked towards the front of the ship. Sure enough she could see it. A wall of rock, so tall it looked as if it went directly into the sky. She stared, horrified by the slight, she had never seen anything like it.

"May!" The voice knocked her out of her daze, she saw a running form and soon enough a strong arm was wrapped tightly around her.

The ship approached the wall of rock and scraped against the side, the sickening sound of the metal and rock clashing echoed throughout the water around them. The venture was old enough as it was, if it took too much damage it would surely sink.

May lurched forward suddenly, but the strong arm caught her when she stumbled backwards.

The blow to the Venture caused it to swing on an angle, leaning towards the dangerous waters. Ocean waves sprayed the side of the deck, soaking anyone in its path. May looked up quickly and saw the kind but stony face of Mr. Hayes, how he managed to get over to her so quickly, she did not know.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad, nothin' the captain can't handle," He said soothingly. It was at that moment that she probably noticed how frightened she looked, her eyes wide in fear and her hand gripping tightly on his arm.

Another wall of water crashed down on the deck, leaving both of them drenched with freezing water. The boat stopped rocking eventually, stuck in an awkward angled position. The crew were already running around in panic, seeing how much damage their ship had actually taken.

Mr. Hayes turned her around and looked her right in the eye, "It be best if you went down to your room, there's not much you can do right now," He explained quickly, "It's going to be pretty hectic up here for awhile, but we'll have this old steamer running again in no time."

She nodded slowly and removed her hand from his arm. He gave her a kind smile and hurried away to help his crew mates.

May walked quickly down the stairs into the hallway, her mind still having trouble focusing on the current situation. Never had she been in such a frightening situation before. She felt completely helpless.

"Everything that isn't completely screwed down to the ground goes over!" She heard the distinct voice of Lumpy yell from the galley. They were trying to stabilize the ship, from her guess. When she turned the corner, past where all the crewmen were bustling about, she saw Carl and Preston speaking heatedly.

"Ah, May," Dehnam noticed her as she approached, ignoring Preston who tried to continue his argument, "We're going over to the island as soon as Ann is ready, I expect you on the deck ready to go in ten minutes, uh, Preston here will come get you and escort you to the lifeboats."

Preston only frowned, "I'm fairly certain I can find my way to the lifeboats on my own Carl," She protested, unsure of why he was acting so strange.

"No no I insist, now not another word, go get ready!" He waved her off, and turned back to Preston.

May walked by them, with the strong sense that something else was going on that she didn't know about. As she clicked her door shut she heard them continue argue in quickened angry voices; as if she had never interrupted.

After changing into a thick woolen scarf and warm sweater, she put on her favorite gray jacket and finally Jimmy's black scarf that he had given her. Luckily for her it hadn't gotten too wet while she was outside. It really did warm her up. She buried her face in the soft material, it smelt like him. She prayed that he was alright, if anything happened to him, she didn't know if she could go on.

May packed two of her favorite cameras into her traveling bag and tucked in a small portable tripod, along with ten rolls of film. That would be more than enough, at least she hoped it would.

May went to blow out the candle she had lit in her room, but noticed something out of place, her album was not sitting in its usual place on top of her small dresser. She looked around in panic, only to sigh when she noticed it laying there on the ground in front of her. She picked up the thickly bounded book, looking for any damage to the photographs.

Her mothers soft eyes stared back into hers. Smiling brightly, the arm of her lover draped protectively over her shoulder.

May took out the photograph and folded it in a clean half. She didn't care if it was bent, scratched or stained. She needed this right now.

She put the small fold square into the pocket of her coat and blew out the candle.

A young girl of about ten or eleven entered the dark, damp room. Her face was tired and pale, a lack of proper nutrition and sleep definitely being the cause of this appearance. She opened the dark windows and let what little light there was on this dreary winter day, shine through and onto the cool wooden floorboards.

"Dr. Arnold came by earlier yesterday," The girl said in a soft voice, turning to the unmoving body on the bed, "He wanted to speak to you but I told him you were too tired." She continued.

The laying body did not respond.

"Mama, I know you're tired, but if you do not eat, you won't get any better." She sighed, looking down at the uneaten bowl of porridge on the nightstand.

The young girl sighed and approached her mother, "Mama, are you even listening to-" She lifted the covers off the bed.

Her eyes were open, but staring only into darkness. Her skin pale and cold.

She had spoken to her that morning, she told her she was feeling better, that maybe she would be up to go out for some fresh air later that day. Then she told her she loved her and wanted to sleep.

But her mother was no longer the person laying in front of her.

May Beaulieu stood in confusion, staring into the empty eyes of the woman who was once her mother.

"Mama?"

Empty prescription bottles lay lonely on the table next to the bed.