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Even when your finely-honed, creep-radar of a gut tells you to pause and thinkthis is too good to be true, your double-digit bank account punches said gut and screams at you to take the money guilt-free. Sort it out later.
It’s embarrassing how quickly I cave, even when I had an inkling to hesitate.Don’t seem so desperate.
But that’s the thing. Iamdesperate. Orwasas of three hours ago.
And now, I’m prepping my own damn ship after wrestling with banks, lawyers, and whoever else to get it back into my name.
My inheritance is still tangled up in some trust loophole, but that I can live without.
The Oceana? I need her more than life. I lost more than just my parents during a freak accident. Without my memories, I don’t know who I’m supposed to be. The closest thing to home and peace I’ve felt recently has been on this boat.
I go room by room, straightening and cleaning. Everything is neat and organized as usual, but I need to get rid of this extra energy somehow. There is no way I could stay put in my hotel room.
Knowing I don’t have to stay at questionable Airbnb’s or couch surf with some of my friends has made me feel hopeful for the first time in a long time.
When my room is as clean as it can be, and I tackle the shared spaces until they sparkle as well.
I go out to the deck to pick up stray cups and towels I left on the chairs. Rolling the towels, I tuck it under my arm while I gather up the trash. They usually aren’t so messy, but tonight called for a little bit of celebration. Some Chinese takeout. A lot of cheap booze. Even so, they all went below decks and turned in early.
A whisper catches my attention. I swivel my head to see if anyone else came up, but I’m very much alone. With the moon hidden, the deck is full of shadows.
A strange chittering like the clacking of shells rises from the far side of the boat. I’ve never felt fear on the Oceana. Yet, I’m struck by the creepy feeling that someone is watching me.
“Jailah? Are you out here?” There’s no reason for my captain to be out here, but maybe she came up for some fresh air?
The sudden silence is almost as nerve-wracking as the inhuman noises. I open my mouth to call out once more, but before I do, an eerie voice echoes my words right back to me.
“Jailah? Are you out here?”
I freeze.I don’t even breathe. As I scan the deck, something pulls at the shadows as if it hides behind a curtain.
Darkness ripples in the air before bubbling over with a hiss. Whatever it is drips and forms amorphous shapes until the bulbous oil slick becomes a distinct figure with a lollipop head, taffy body, and too many flailing limbs to count.
A sharp line of a mouth splits open in its head. “Jailah? Are you there?”
Its vocal mimicry gets better each time.
So far, it hasn’t moved closer. Nor does it seem to see me. Yet.
With my luck, I don’t bank on positive outcomes.
I hear movement below. My crew. Their laughter pierces the air, and the black thing swivels its head like a wild animal toward the source of the sound.
A dead calm steels my nerves. I refuse to let this thing get anywhere near my crew.
It takes one step forward. I snap the towel that I tucked under my arm toward its head. It cracked through the air like a whip.
It doesn’t hit the thing, but that wasn’t my goal. I just wanted to gain its attention, and I did exactly that.
The thing pivots toward me now. Its mouth splits open again, hinging its head back. It unleashes an unholy roar that sounds like a thunderous freight train.
I don’t wait to see what it does next. I take a running leap and launch myself over the ship’s railing into the water below. The darkness follows me overboard, splashing a few hundred feet away.
I didn’t prepare myself enough. Already my lungs burn with need. I inhaled some water into my nose when I dived in, and the sting of the salt makes my eyes tear. I fight the urge to kick up to the surface, but I refuse to give away my location.
Of course, this would happen. A new outlook on life with my boat, and here I am dying next to it. The oil slick that followed me creates ripples in the water as it searches for me.
Just a little farther away, and I can fight my way back to the surface.
