A Darker Path Ch. 2
Thank you stranger, for reviewing this humble story! I do hope to get right into the action soon, but I gotta lead up to the big moments somehow, am I right? Onto the story!
The beach was dead silent, except for the small splash of the waves against the stone cold sand beneath their bare feet. Thomas put an arm around his wife's waist, and together they both looked out to the sea, watching the empty space of waters, where the ship used to be. Were they the only ones alive? Had those who jumped off, or had the luck to find a rowboat, sunk beneath the black tinged seas? They would never know.
"Thomas, where do we go?" Elizabeth asked with a frightened air to her voice. In front of them was the dangerous seas, and behind them were vast jungles, painted gray and black because of the lack of stars in the sky. Thomas stroked his beard silently, before answering with as calm a demeanor as he could muster. "We stay right on the beach for now Elizabeth, I'll make a fire and then find us some food."
Elizabeth clutched baby Benjamin tightly and sighed, not having the heart to argue. When Thomas had a goal, he pursued it with a vengeance. Especially when it came to feeding, protecting, or providing for his family. "At least take the gun with you Thomas," she said, worried once again.
Thomas grinned and said, "already ahead of you love," while he hopped into the rowboat, and unlocked the side chest, taking out a simple rifle and a few rounds of ammunition. Loading the gun, Thomas looked to his side to see Elizabeth staring at him intently, seemingly attracted by the sight of him loading a rifle, like he'd done it before. But seeing Elizabeth and the baby shiver in the cold night breeze, Thomas put the gun down, and headed for the jungle, snapping off a few branches from the nearest tree.
Sitting down next to Elizabeth, Thomas laid out a pile of dry wood, working intently to get a fire going, without much success. To lighten the mood, Elizabeth put a hand over her mouth and chuckled, saying, "how's the fire going, mountain man?" Thomas sighed at first, but then chuckled, gently bumping his wife with his shoulder. "Hey now ma'am, I'm doing my best," he replied with a grin.
Soon enough, a spark fired, and the flames began to rise, making Elizabeth utter a shriek of excitement, before inching her and Benjamin closer to the fire. Thomas turned to the baby and gave him a kiss on the forehead, before giving one to his wife, as well. "I'll be back before you know it," he said, before picking up the rifle and trotting over the the jungle.
Luckily, his bare feet made no sound, as they squished through the soft dirt, along a makeshift path through the jungle. Thomas pointed his gun casually at the ground, seeing no sign of a threat. The jungle was eerily quiet, except for the sound of the patter of his feet through the grounds. Strangely, Thomas relished the feeling of a hunt, alone and against nature itself. It thrilled him to have a rifle in his hand again.
In England, Thomas used to always hunt with his father in the nearby woods for game, to help feed their family back on the farm, somewhere outside of London. He and his father would gather rifles, ammo of different types, and serrated knives, in order to be prepared for any type of game. Usually, the only experienced deer, however. Whenever he and his father would come back with game, the family would rejoice, and sit down for a large, family cooked meal. On those nights, the farm family would feel like royalty.
It was after one of these hunting trips, however, that Thomas met Elizabeth. He was around 18 years old, and he and his father had just come back from the woods, when they saw an elaborate carriage parked in front of their home. It knelt on its side a little too much, due to a broken front wheel.
When Thomas entered the house, he saw a family of four in the living room, being greeted by his mother. His two little sisters were nowhere to be found, but most likely in their rooms upstairs. The man and wife were elaborately dressed in fine silks and satin, most likely a rich family, Thomas thought.
"We were on our way to London when our carriage broke down!" the rich man said, "you wouldn't happen to have any supplies to fix a broken wheel, would you kind sir?" Thomas's father put his hand on the rich man's shoulder and smiled, saying, "of course, but we'll need a new wheel sir. Why don't you and I run into town on a few of the spare horses I have in the barn, you and your family can stay here for a day or two. We have plenty of spare rooms."
The rich man's wife and children nodded their heads excitedly, exhausted from walking miles to the farm in the middle of nowhere. This time, Thomas got a good look at the rich man's children. The youngest was a son, around 6 or 7 years old, who ran out with his father to take a look at the horses. But when Thomas laid his eyes on the eldest child, his breath caught in his throat.
She looked to be younger than him, possibly 16 years old, and a head shorter than him. Unlike her parents, she wore a simple blue dress, that reached to her knees, which Thomas had never seen before, (but very much enjoyed, indeed). She sat with her legs crossed, and her head resting upon her fist. But what Thomas noticed most of all, was her hair. It glowed like fire in the light filtering in from the window, and it framed her face like a perfect portrait. It shone like the sun, and he was in the midst of its rays of light.
He saw the young girl sit up regally, and stand to her feet, smoothing out her dress. When her eyes met his, she gave a bright smile, pointing up her face to meet his. "I don't believe we have met yet, sir," the young woman said, reaching out her hand to greet Thomas.
Thomas stood there stunned, and reached a hand to scratch the back of his neck nervously. "Oh…yes…well, my name is…uh…" Thomas stuttered with a grin, while she put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. The young woman grabbed his hand with both of hers, not formally, but more…affectionately. "I'm just teasing you," she said, "my name is Elizabeth Davis. But I already know you're name."
"Uhh…you do?" Thomas's eyes brightened while he looked down at his hand enclosed by both of hers. "Of course, you're Thomas Sullivan. Trust me, I've been listening," Elizabeth replied with a glint in her eyes and a deviously stunning grin on her face. She walked past Thomas to the front door, but not before looking back at him and waving her hand, as if telling him to follow her.
Thomas and Elizabeth spent the next few days exploring the ranch, sharing secrets, and laying under the bright night sky. Soon after the Davis family carriage was fixed, Mr. Davis persuaded Thomas's father to let him come into London with them, to further pursue a brighter education at one of the nearby universities. Thomas was, in fact, more than eager to go along, in order to be closer to Elizabeth. Thomas spent the next eight years of his life studying to become a doctor at a prestigious London-based university, while simultaneously courting Elizabeth Davis, who also happened to be studying as a nurse. The two married after graduation, and spent another few years working, enjoying life, and having a baby boy named Benjamin.
But soon, the adventurous Sullivan family craved a change of pace, and when job opportunities arose in America across the Atlantic, they eagerly accepted the offer. That was when the boarded a large ship headed for the Atlantic, and looked forward to a dream that never came. The unaware captain took a wrong turn, forcing them into a storm, where a fire must've been started amid the chaos on board.
Thomas shook his head to relieve himself from his thoughts, and focused back on the task at hand, retrieving food for his family back on the beach. Trudging through the jungle mud, Thomas heard a strange sound among the trees to his side. Suddenly, a large group of birds emerged from their nests in the trees, flying to escape Thomas and his rifle. Thomas quickly cocked his rifle and shot three times in succession, knocking down three birds among the group, conveniently landing them a few meters in front of him. Thomas gave a sigh of relief, finally finding food for his hungry family, before picking up the birds and jogging back to the beach in the opposite direction.
When Thomas came back to the fire on the beach, he saw his wife Elizabeth holding her son tight to her chest, with her dress folded down over her side, exposing her shoulder and breast. She was feeding her son, while giving him soothing murmurs of affection in his ear. Thomas set down the birds and looked at his wife with admiration, catching her attention. "Thomas," Elizabeth said with a grin spreading on her face, "why are you staring at me?"
Thomas walked over to her and sat down, reaching a hand around her waist. "You know," he added, "Elizabeth Sullivan sounds much better than Elizabeth Davis." Elizabeth laughed out loud and brought her finger up to her husband's lips, quieting him instantly. "Oh I'm not so sure," she said sarcastically, "I still think Davis sounds just brilliant!"
Thomas chuckled and then brought in Elizabeth for a long, rough kiss, while she gripped Benjamin tighter to her chest. Both murmured in pleasure, before pulling back and smiling at each other. Thomas sat up and began to skin the birds with a knife he found in the rowboat, preparing them for cooking. "Thomas darling," Elizabeth said with a purr of her voice, "what do you suppose we do tomorrow morning?"
Thomas looked back to the jungle behind him, and than back to Elizabeth. "Tomorrow, we start looking for a home."