The Island: Chapter 3

The night passed slowly. The men were silent; there were no ghost stories, laughter, or songs. It was as if the entire ship was balancing on a thread, and a single breath could cause it to fall. 

I had a strange feeling about staying in bed, but I was too restless. 

I went upstairs to the main deck and walked alone under the moonlight. The dark clouds appeared to be closer than before, but it was difficult to tell in the stillness. 

The bizarre atmosphere seemed to worsen my insomnia.

I walked along the side of the ship and looked overboard. The sea was dead quiet. There were no waves, and the moonlight that played upon the surface was flat and still. 

Then, I glanced up at the netting, and I almost jumped out of my skin.  

A figure floated beside the center mast and glowed strangely in the moonlight. I thought it might be a phantom, but it didn’t waver in the wind. I realized that it was standing in the netting; it was a person. 

“Who’s there?” I called. 

The person looked down, but I couldn’t see his face under the shadow of the moon. 

“Who are you?” I repeated. 

For a brief moment, I wondered if it was the ghost of the prisoner, but the man answered, “It’s Greg.”

“Greg? What are you doing up there?” I asked. 

The first mate hesitated, “I-I have to go.”

I strained to hear him from the deck. “I don’t understand! Come down, and we’ll talk about it.”

But Greg didn’t budge. He turned his head and looked into the sea. “I’ve seen it,” he said. 

“What?” I asked, but a part of me already knew what he was talking about. 

“Please, come down,” I pleaded. “You can tell me all about it.”

Greg didn’t answer. He was staring off into the darkness.

I followed his line of sight, but there was nothing there–or perhaps it was something that only he could see.

“Greg?!” I asked, but there was still no answer. I wondered if he had heard me. He seemed to be in a trance, as if he were under the ocean’s spell. I realized then that it wasn’t a cry for help; it was something much darker. 

“Please, don’t do this!” I yelled, but my voice never seemed to reach him.

Greg let go of the netting and fell, never taking his eyes off the distant clouds. 

I heard him crash into the icy water and ran to the rail. There were no bubbles–no break in the flat, crystal surface. It was as if Greg was never there at all. 

I stepped back from the rail and went completely still. I did not shake, gasp for air, or even call for help. I did nothing. 

I kept my hand on the ship’s side until the other men arrived. They started asking questions: 

“What was that splash?”

“Captain?” 

“Pull yourself together, man!” 

I stayed silent and only pointed to the rail. “…Greg, he…”

The men ran to the side, and their eyes widened. They talked amongst themselves and ignored me. 

The head CO noticed how shaken I was and took me to bed. I walked in, and he stayed just outside my door. “We can’t keep pretending there isn’t something going on here. The crew knows, and things are only getting worse. We have to get out of this storm, no matter what,” he said. “I don’t blame you for reacting the way you did, but you have to pull yourself together for the crew’s sake. Just get some rest, and we’ll figure this out in the morning.” 

I think I might have nodded, but I can’t remember now. I was so distraught at the time. 

When the C.O. left me, I lay down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. I didn’t want to remember, but Greg’s suicide stirred up feelings that I had long buried. They washed over me all at once, and I was taken back to that terrible night. 

Thunder sounded in my ears and shook the deck with violent tremors. Lightning struck the distant waves and tore apart the innocent, grey sky. 

The waves shook the ship with tumultuous ferocity, but we slaved away against the swell. I manned the wheel while the men frantically rushed around the deck as I barked orders. “Lower the sails! Tie them up tight!” I yelled. 

I knew that the sails would only cause us to pick up speed and lose control in the wind. It was best just to drift over the waves. We couldn’t fight the wind or the current, so we would let the storm take us. 

After the men lowered the sail, they looked to me for orders. “Best thing now is to wait it out. Go ahead, and wait below deck.” 

I stayed at the wheel just in case the tide turned. I watched the waves swelling up ahead and braced myself. The ship crashed over them, and a giant one tumbled over the side, drenching the whole upper deck. 

I lost my balance and was pushed down by the wave. I lost control of the wheel. Next thing I knew, we were careening nose-first into the heart of the storm. The waves crashed, one after the other, into the side of the ship until the wood gave way. 

I ran down the stairs, but it was too late. The waves that had beaten their way into the lower deck had filled the vessel, and bloody bodies, impaled by broken planks and crushed by cannons, floated all around the room. Their faces frozen, staring into the icy waves. 

The water rose to my ankles as I set my tear-filled eyes upon the horror below, and it slowly climbed the stairs towards me like an insatiable beast. 

I had no choice but to leave them…

That night, I took one of the only remaining lifeboats and abandoned ship. 

It wasn’t the first time I had that dream, or should I say the memory… Yet, I woke up in a cold sweat, and my entire body shook as if it were happening all over again. 

I wiped the sweat from my brow and sat up in bed. I slowly pulled myself out from beneath the blankets, and my bare feet landed on the cold floor. I checked my watch, and sure enough, it was 4:25 AM. I thought I had better check on the crew and the state of things, so I went upstairs. I dragged my feet across the wooden floor and slowly climbed each step. 

When I reached the main deck, the sun blasted my face. I covered my eyes and scowled. I wondered how the sun could be so strong through the clouds, but when I lowered my hand, I saw that the barrier was gone. The sky was bright and brilliantly blue, and the sun shone down undeterred. 

Once I had gotten over the shock, I ran to the side of the ship and looked out into the sea. The water was gentle and lapped against the side of the ship. It was well below the normal water level, and I could see the sand within. 

I slowly turned starboard and gasped. 

White sand stretched out between the ship and a luscious, green forest. Large ferns and palm trees furled out onto the beach. The jungle stretched across the vast island and covered the mountains in the distance. 

It seemed impossible that we could have drifted that far South in such a short time, and I didn’t understand how we were beached. I looked around for the crew, but I couldn’t find anyone aboard the Siren. I checked the cabins below and even the cell, but all were empty. Even the injured CO was gone; his bed was worn in but cold. I figured that they must have disembarked, so I climbed down the ladder on the ship’s side and dropped onto the beach. 

The sand was soft and pure. I picked it up and watched it slip through my fingers, gently tickling me as it went. 

As I walked across the beach, the sun beat down on the back of my neck. I could feel it burning my exposed skin, but the warmth made me smile. I had only walked a few feet, but I felt my eyelids starting to droop. I got a sudden urge to lie down on the sand, but I knew that I had to keep going. 

When I reached the jungle, I gazed into the thick greenery. The different shades of the leaves and the reds, pinks, and oranges of the tropical flowers filled my vision. They were intoxicating. 

The tree trunks were vibrant orange, and the leaves shone in the sun. The vines were like colorful coils of string, and the undergrowth was a fuzzy, verdant blanket of grass and ferns. 

I was so captivated by the strange, brightly-colored plants that I forgot what I was searching for. I just kept walking and taking in the sights all around me. 

After wandering a while, a sweet smell filled my nose, and my stomach gurgled. I wasn’t sure how long it had been since I had last eaten, and I gravitated toward the aroma. What I found was a large plant with pink and orange petals. It was about a foot wide, but the roots that surrounded it added at least another half a foot. There was a large bulb in the center that resembled a flower bud. 

Saliva spilled from the corner of my mouth, and I reached for the small fruit. As my hand grazed the subtle skin, a horde of flies enveloped me. Their buzzing filled my ears, and I cringed. I tried to swat at them, but they wouldn’t go away. So, I ran through the jungle until I reached the other side of the island. 

I emerged from the trees and fell onto the sand with my hands over my ears. I could still hear the phantom buzzing of tiny wings, but I couldn’t feel their little bodies bumping against my hands. I slowly uncovered my ears and opened my eyes. 

The flies were gone, but I wasn’t alone. There were people on the beach, but their backs were turned toward me. They seemed to be staring out into the water. 

I stumbled over myself trying to get up. “Thank God!” I exclaimed. 

I walked up to them and tapped the first man on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s get back to the ship and go…”

He turned to face me, and my words were caught in my throat. “…Reggi?”

The other men turned too, until they were all facing me. 

I gasped. “George, Mack, Sammy–you’re all here! But, how? I saw you, you were all…”

Somehow, I hadn’t noticed it. Their eyes were red and bloodshot. Their clothes were torn and soaked. Their bones stuck out of their limbs, and their arms and legs were bent at strange angles. Their skin was loose and grey, and it hung from their bones. 

The men stared at me silently and slowly began to walk towards me. 

I backed away. “I-I never meant for this… I didn’t know that the storm could… I thought we could make it through.”

Their eyes were blank, and their mouths hung agape as if they were frozen that way. 

“I’m so sorry,” I lamented, but they showed no sign of hearing.

I looked into their clouded eyes, one by one, until I reached the final man. My heart dropped. 

Now, I’m sure he wasn’t there before, but at the time it didn’t matter. 

Greg’s empty eyes bore into me, but his face was completely blank. 

Tears filled my eyes, and I fell to my knees. “Please, God, let me join them.”

***

“The last thing I remember was their hands reaching for me and pushing me down into the sand,” I finish.

“Is that all?” the judge asks. 

“Yes, that’s everything,” I answer. 

“And what about your men?” he asks. “Captain Bennet-?”

“Mr. Bennet, please,” I correct him. 

He eyes me suspiciously. “Very well, Mr. Bennet, do you remember what happened that morning after you woke up?”

I look down. “I-I’m not sure..”

“Well, you crashed the Siren into a cluster of rocks just off Washington Port. We believe your crew tried to abandon ship but were caught in the wreckage,” the judge explains. “They are all dead, Mr. Bennet.”

I nod, absently. I can barely hear him over the crashing waves and the call of the gulls. 

“Mr. Bennet, I have one more question for you.”

I nod but avoid his gaze.  

“Do you believe this island is real?” he asks.

I look down at the wooden desk and play with the metal cuffs around my wrists. After a beat, I raise my head and look the judge in the eye. “Yes, I have no doubt.” 

The judge lifts his gavel. “I find William Bennet guilty by way of insanity. I hereby sentence Mr. Bennet to 20 years in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. The court is now adjourned.” 

As everyone begins to leave the courtroom, the guards put shackles on my wrists and lead me to the door. But before we leave, I glance at the judge. “I’ll see it again. It’s only a matter of time.”

The judge frowns. “I beg your pardon?”

I smile and listen to the lulling waves as I answer, “The Island.”

Written in January, 2023.