Just a forewarning, this was an earlier writing project that I began for the National Novel Writing Month back in 2009. Things happened and I was unable to finish the project. I'm not certain if I want to pick this back up or not. With that said, here it is:
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Chapter 1
The day was cold, and rainy. The sky was a partly, cloudy gray. The six children filed down the steps from the orphanage. Their names in order from oldest to youngest are James, Kevin, Rachael, Melanie, Aaron, and Sarah. They were a sad-looking lot, their clothes too small and clearly hand-me-downs. The children’s faces were lit by an inner light though, an almost ethereal beauty. For today, today was the day of the field trip they’d been planning for days. They’d be going on an actual sailboat. Despite what their orphan mother had warned them about the dangers of the boat, they’d been more than excited and her words fell on deaf ears.
“You ready for an adventure?” The oldest, James asked as they boarded the old, smelly yellow school bus. The buses doors closed and they walked down the path trying to find a set of seats where they could all sit together to be heard over the loud shouts and yells of excitement from the other inhabitants.
“Depends on the type of adventure, I think.” Kevin replied finding a spot by a young youth whose face was covered in freckles and eyes were set a bit too far apart. The fellow claimed his name was Richard or some such nonsense. Not that any of the other orphans really cared. Their minds were overwhelmed with the thoughts of an adventure that awaited them on that boat trip.
“I could honestly care less, anything to get us out of that dull orphanage. The place was seriously starting to give me the creeps. I mean the house practically groaned every night and I swear I felt a rat crawl over my covers once or twice.” Rachel replied shivering.
“You know you could have told us about the rats, right?” James attempted to maintain a gaze with Rachael, all to no avail. The girl was simply too stubborn and usually found a way to have her own way, if that made any sense to anyone. James had wondered on more than one occasion what went on underneath those dark, black curly locks of hers.
The bus started picking up speed as it pulled on to the highway and the children were once more drawn into their own thoughts. James looked over his ‘family’ with a sense of pride and special love. They’d all come from different backgrounds all with different pasts; but, they’d somehow been able to overcome all that to achieve the effect of a sort of covenant. One not bound by the mental limits of society. They were there for each other on everything, and they weren’t afraid to defend themselves from anyone-which several individuals had discovered later on after a broken nose and a slight concussion.
The bus pulled off the highway and on to a gravelly road leading out into the dockyard where the manager was supposed to be meeting them for a brief overview and rundown of how they would be going about handling the class on the sailboat. The children upon catching a glimpse of the docked beauties had all begun to take guesses on which one they would be boarding for their adventure for the day. The bus pulled to a creaking stop and the bus driver opened the door. The teacher, Mrs. Paisley, she’s not of much importance in this story so I’ll just reference her throughout the story as this. Mrs. Paisley in an attempt to maintain some semblance of order strode off the bus and began to call students off one by one.
“Charles.”
“Here.”
“Nancy.”
“Here.”
“James.”
“I guess that’s me, I’ll see you guys off the bus, alright?” When getting a satisfactory nod from the rest of his artificial family, he climbed down the steps. His nostrils were greeted by the salty-fresh sea air, and the underlying smell of gasoline. Crunching his nostrils in disgust, he took a look around before joining the growing group of students as one by one they were called off the bus.
After about five minutes or so, Mrs. Paisley had called all of the students on her list and had dismissed the bus driver who with a wave to the children drove back up the gravel road to the highway where he would make his way back to the bus garage. The group of six gathered around and followed the group of students through the giant, wooden arc where their adventure awaited them.
As they came around the corner they were greeted by a dockworker who with a wave, walked down the gangplank from a giant six-master. He was tall, broad, and walked with an dangerous self-exuding aura. As if the man weren’t afraid to fight dirty if it meant he’d win a fight. His face was scarred with countless knife wounds and his nose was set at an awkward angle as if it had been broken and hadn’t healed right. The most startling feature about the man was his smile; it lit up the dark edges and made him seem somehow ‘human’.
“Hello lads and gals, my name is Captain Sharke. I’ll be the Captain on our little adventure,” He winked at the six orphans as if unaware of just how right he was. “I’m going to be teaching you a bit about the Sweet Marie before we’ll be lifting anchor.”
“Why do you call her the Sweet Marie?” Aaron piped up from where he was hiding behind James. Being the youngest and shyest, he tended to hide behind the other orphans when speaking to an adult. He usually rarely spoke at all, and so James jumped slightly when he did.
“That’s a good question, I’m glad you asked,” There was that startling smile again. “We decided to name her the Sweet Marie because well I’m a fan of sweets myself and Marie, well, Marie used to be a gal in a story I was told as a lad. She was stranded on an island after her husband and her’s schooner ran aground. She survived seven days before being rescued by a passing cargo vessel. She’s a bit of a legend, and no one knows whether the story is true or not. She’s made multiple voyages safely since we named her and well, it’s bad luck to change a ship’s name.”
The children had stood open-mouthed at this pronouncement about the origins of their ship’s name. It was fascinating to some, boring to others, and opened locked doors for others. Some of the children were pushing to get a better look at the schooner that would be their home for the next week. The children had been told to pack light, but pack enough that they wouldn’t be forced to wear the same pair of clothing for more than a couple of days. That tended to lead to smelling like rotten garbage, and who really wanted to be trapped in the same room with someone like that. Let alone on a boat, with no possible route of escape.
After about a half hour or so, Captain Sharke claimed them worthy and ready to board the Sweet Marie. The children eagerly climbed aboard the schooner in a somewhat orderly fashion, if you counted pushing, shoving, and climbing over each other to climb up the ladder on to the boat. The orphans, in no rush, simply waited for everyone else to board. This choice of action had left them on the dock with Captain Sharke, who turned to observe the six orphans as if they were intense subjects of interest.
“So tell me a bit about yourselves.” The Captain motioned for them to board, and they obediently began to walk up the gangplank. The wood creaked and groaned, but held steady under their weight.
“What do you want to know?” Aaron asked eagerly, apparently curious to have more of this man’s attention. I’ll have to speak with him about that later, James thought to himself as stepped on to the smooth wood of the deck.
“Well, what are you willing to tell me?” The Captain replied, obviously enjoying this little game.
“Well sir, we really don’t know too much. We don’t even know who our actual parents are. We’re orphans, as you can see.” Aaron patted his ripped jeans, and attempted to adjust the too small shirt to cover a bit more of his gangly frame.
“That’s a sad thing to hear,” The Captain rubbed at his eyes a moment, overwhelmed with memories of having a mother and the good times the two of them had had. “It must have been tough growing up without having both sides of the maternal figure.” The orphans merely nodded in bemused silence.
The Captain realized he wouldn’t be getting anything else out of the orphans and walked off to handle several other issues that required his attendance. The orphans gathered around in a huddle by one of the tall masts. Their cheeks were flushed and they shivered a bit in the chill, morning air.
“What do you guys think of him?” Aaron was practically begging for the rest of the ‘family’ to have the same views of the Captain as he, himself, had. James began to understand that Aaron had begun to see the Captain as a father figure despite the short period of time in which he had known the man. James wished he could experience the same emotions.
“I don’t know, to be honest.” Kevin replied, pushing a stubborn brown curl out of his eyes.
“I think he seems like a nice man.” Sarah replied, her dark brown eyes twinkling.
“I honestly don’t know what to think at this point. The man seems to have an interest in us, but why? We’re not exactly freaks of nature and we’re certainly not the first orphans!” Melanie muttered in a perplexed tone. Something had been bothering her lately, and James made a mental note to speak with her about it when they had a chance.
The rest of the orphan’s voices were drowned out by the sound of the Captain calling for the raising of the anchor. The sailors ran about in orchestrated coordination, each man knowing his task and the children for once, stayed out of the grownups way. The schooner turned into the bay, and soon the boat began the classic rocking motion. Several of the children’s faces turned a pasty color, and they hurried to the sides where they regurgitated their lunches. Several of the sailors saw them, and taking pity, led them down below to a cot.
In the distance, a storm was brewing. The clouds were turning an ugly shade of black, and the wind was beginning to pick up. The children could tell the sailors were nervous; but, they didn’t understand why. This ship had sailed countless storms the Captain had reassured them, why should this one be any different. Some of the children were even starting to sob, but the older ones were attempting to remain stoic. The orphans simply stared in fascination at the darkening sky. Their minds were awash with thoughts of true adventure, one not straight out of the pages of a fairy tale or nursery rhyme. A true adventure, one with action, twists, and perils. James was attempting to remain brave, but he had an underlying urge that something just wasn’t right.
The funny thing about hunches, they usually turn out to be right about nine times out of ten. If you were hoping this was that one time out of ten, you’re wrong. The boat rocked, the entire ship seeming to struggle with the effort to remain afloat in the tall swells that pounded the deck. Most of the children had sought safety below decks, where the crew cabins were. Not the six orphans, no. They were drawn to the raging tempest like moths are drawn to a flickering flame. The sky was awash with flickering bolts of yellow, and the thunder seemed to be erupting from the very core of the earth as if she were screaming in rage.
The Captain came running up to them, holding on to the rails to steady himself against the strong wind that threatened to blow anything not tied down off the deck. “Why aren’t you children below deck?” His eyes despite his attempts showed his worry about their safety.
“I don’t know Captain, there’s just something weird and wrong about this storm. It just doesn’t feel natural.” The words coming from the mouth of a twelve year old startled the Captain for a brief moment; but, he managed to recover in time to motion for them to follow him back below deck to where the other children were huddled around Mrs. Paisley as if she were their only anchor in this harsh storm.
“I know what you mean kids, this storm doesn’t feel right. I outta know, I’ve been through more than enough of them in my lifetime as a sailor to have a professional opinion. It seems almost like this storm has some drive or motivation. Those waves out there are larger than any I’ve seen in my entire life. I’m a bit worried about the Sweet Marie. I don’t know if she can hold out against such a beating.” Apparently this was the wrong choice of words, and the teacher simply made a fish ‘o’ and attempted to draw in some breath.
“Is there no hope?” Mrs. Paisley had managed to form a few words, but it was obviously a challenging task to say any more without scaring the children any more than they were at the moment.
“I didn’t say that. What I need you do to first for me though is to make sure that all of the children are accounted for. I need to be focused solely on controlling this ship. I can’t be distracted with having to worry about the safety of a child. If you want to live, I suggest you start counting.” Mrs. Paisley merely nodded, and pulled out her clipboard with all of the children’s names on it.
She started calling the names off in alphabetical order, and the children obediently replied with a loud confirmation as their name was read. When she reached the orphans, each of them was called off. Five of them replied they were present, and James was not surprised when Aaron wasn’t there with the rest of them. Aaron had been known to be particularly daring and oftentimes got into trouble because he simply didn’t understand there was some places a child wasn’t supposed to be.
“Aaron….Aaaron?” Mrs. Paisley called nervously. James felt bad for the woman, she could be held responsible if Aaron were to come to any harm. This was supposed to be just an average school field trip. James practically chuckled at the outrageous thought, this a normal field trip, hah. He’d guarantee these children would be telling their children about this when they were older. Sighing, James motioned for the rest of the group to follow him back up the ladder. He knew that if they didn’t find Aaron before he got into trouble, it could spell bad for the rest of them as well.
When the six orphans reached the upper deck, they were greeted by chaos. The sailors were running and shouting, their early orchestrated movements seeming to have been abandoned as they fought to keep the Sweet Marie from going under in the raging tempest. The rocking motion that been subtle before had become an almost violent motion that threatened to toss even the most sea-worthy sailor overboard if he weren’t tied to one of the masts. The orphans crawled along the deck, making slow but steady progress towards the bow where the steering wheel of the schooner was. They were hoping that the Captain would be able to tell them where Aaron was.
They found the Captain at the wheel, his face set in grim determination. The orphans somehow felt a bit safer knowing that this man was the one that was in charge during this time, it seemed like he would be the one if any that would help them to make it safely through this dark time. The Captain looked over and if the man had been startled before he was even more so now. He seemed to gather his wit before ordering another sailor, the first mate, James guessed to control the wheel.
“What are you kids doing up here?” The man’s voice had developed a slightly agitated tone and the orphans drew back for a bit, but his expression softened a bit.
“We can’t find Aaron. We know how much the boy idolizes you and we wondering if you had perhaps seen him?” James held the Captain’s steely gaze.
“I’m well aware of the fact that the boy idolizes me though I don’t for the life of me understand why. I’m not exactly the best role model for someone like him. But, as to seeing him, no I haven’t. I’ve been a bit occupied with trying to keep us afloat and have been working to try to get us out of the worst of this storm. Haven’t had much luck yet though, it seems to be quite persistent. If I were a meteorologist, I’d be willing to bet this isn’t the typical run of the day storm.”
“We’re aware of that sir, but we really would like to find Aaron. Things just wouldn’t – well be the same without him, you know?” The Captain could only nod and hope they would interpret that he did. The orphans were too occupied with their thoughts to wonder about his slight pause before replying.
“Where have you looked so far?”
“Nowhere sir, we wanted to talk to you first.”
“Have any ideas?”
“Not really. He seemed to be really fascinated with the whole boat field trip, but we couldn’t tell you anything more than that. I kinda forgot to check to make sure we were all together when we went below deck.” James was staring at his shoes as the rest of his ‘family’ could only stare at him in shock. They had never known James or Aaron to be separable; the two always seemed to be together.
“Hey guys!” The voice was barely audible over the roaring wind. James could just make out Aaron’s wavy blonde hair over the side of the crow’s nest.
“How did you get up there?” Captain Sharke shouted his facing turning an ugly shade of red. The orphans had seen that look at one point or another in their past and it usually was accompanied by a form of punishment.
“Don’t worry guys, I’m safe!” Just as he said that, as if in a cruel twist of fate, they could only watch shocked as the Sweet Marie titled precariously on her side and then suddenly they were floating. The boat started to tilt, continuing to tilt as if a giant were playing with them. The ship kept tilting, and then suddenly the orphans found themselves floating, falling through the sky.
They did what every other human would have done in their situation; they screamed and begged for mercy. They continued to fall, their thoughts beginning to wonder just how they were falling in the first place when they hit a body of water. The six orphans felt themselves begin to drift into unconsciousness, and they welcomed it. The sleep was a welcome escape from the pain that was wracking their bodies. It felt like they were being poked with a thousand needles, each one leaving a scorching sensation.
Unknown to the orphans, someone else had seen them fall. A ship on the horizon had seen six objects falling from the sky, and had come to investigate. The Captain was startled to see that the six objects were in fact, six humans. The Captain had demanded his crew pull them out of the water immediately.
“But Captain, those are humans, aren’t tey?” The man was missing a few teeth and the words came out a bit slurred. The Captain could smell the whiskey on the man’s breath and it disgusted him. He personally could not stand the smell or taste of the vile liquid. He’d tried it once before long ago only to eventually vomit it back up. He sighed, and motioned for his crew to start retrieving the humans and do less questioning of his reasoning.
James was the first one to wake after their fall, and his first thoughts were those of pain and extreme exhaustion. He hadn’t felt exhausted like this since he’d competed in the school cross country team a few years back while he still had a semi-real family despite how unwelcome an addition he seemed to be to them. He attempted to take stock of his location while treading water, and was startled to see that there was no Sweet Marie anywhere within visible range. This would normally have sent a normal teenager into shock and perhaps denial. James simply accepted the change and tried to find the rest of his ‘family’. He spotted Aaron, Kevin, Melanie, and Sarah laying on a piece of driftwood somewhere to his left a couple of yards out. Rachael was nowhere to be seen, and he started to worry.
His attention was then riveted on the ship that was fast approaching, her black sails unfurled into the wind. He could make out the faint outline of the classic pirate skull and crossed bones. He sighed, and realized that their day had suddenly gotten much, much more interesting than when they’d imagined they would be going on a simple field trip. He was forced to stifle laughter for fear that he’d lose his concentration and be taken under the waves. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the sight of the ‘things’ on the deck. They were like half-human, half-avian genetic experiments.
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Chapter 2:
“Are tey awake yet?” James cracked open one of his eyes to see one of the creatures standing over him. The creature smelled sourly of booze and James was forced to gag back some vomit. The creature must have noticed the reaction for he jumped about a foot into the air, his wings stretching out and flapping to keep himself from falling flat on his back. James was even more startled by the wings than by anything else about the pirate. Though he didn’t understand why they would be sailing at all if they had the ability to fly through the sky.
The wings were a light brown color, with the down a creamy white. The ‘man’ obviously didn’t take very good care of them though. They looked like they hadn’t been washed in ages, and based on the smell exuded by the man, he hadn’t had or seen a bathtub in ages. If they even bathed at all, that’s a scary thought. The sailor seemed to recover and puffed his chest out in an attempt to look impressive.
Well, he failed in that aspect. I don’t think any of his pals are going to be considering him as the man to have behind their back when trapped against a wall anymore. James chuckled aloud, and this drew a curious, confused expression across the pirate’s features.
“What’s so funny boy?!?” The pirate leaned in close, and James felt himself gagging again. Man, this guy needs a serious tick tack.
“Ugh, huh. What’s going on?” James frowned, and turned to see the rest of his ‘family’ tied up to one of the center masts of the large ship. Noting that it appeared that Sarah was the first one awake, he counted down the seconds till he knew she would burst.
Ten…
Nine…
Eight…
Seven…
Six…
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One – his counting was interrupted by a loud screeching scream that would have made a banshee cover her ears. James would have done the same, but having his hands tied behind him sort of eliminated that option. He watched as the rest of the group jumped awake. Aaron looked around, noting the winged pirates before his eyes seemed to grow large. “Ooh…” Seemed to be about all of the words he could form in that brief time after coming to.
“What are you guys?” Kevin muttered, always the rational one. He may look like the average run of the day surfer, but don’t let his looks fool you. He’d crush even the most intelligent man at chess because the man would underestimate him. James on more than occasion had fallen for that ruse. He’d found himself short a lunch when it came to lunchtime.
“Ah, the six creatures of interest come to.” The Captain walked calmly down the steps from the upper deck. His dark, midnight-tinted wings unfurling and then clasping back behind him. He was a startling man, his eyes a light, sky blue but seeming to contain countless wisdom within their depths. It seemed as if when he looked at someone as if they were looking through the person. Seeing their past mistakes, their guilt, their pain, and their joys. He walked up to the six orphans, and stood with his arms clasped behind his back.
“What are you?” Kevin, always the persistent one.
“I’m curious to know the same about you.” The Captain replied coolly, not budging an inch.
“I thought it was obvious, we’re humans,” This brought some startled gasps of surprise from the crew and some of them even made warding evil signs.
“But they’re extinct, I heard!” Seemed to be the collective outburst that was winning over the growing crowd of pirates.
“That may have been true. But apparently we’ve stumbled upon six of them.” The Captain rubbed his beard thoughtfully, picturing the market value of these ‘items’ of interest. He could imagine them fetching quite a price in the Golden Marketplace. He did have some moral values though, and would not sink low enough to sell them to a zoo for others to stare in fascination at.
“Could you stop talking about us as if we weren’t sitting in front of you?” James calmly stated while wiggling slightly to try to find a more comfortable sitting position.
“I’m sorry. Untie them. I’d like to speak with them in my quarters.” With a flourish the Captain turned and headed back through a set of large, wooden doors with archaic writing all over them. The first mate issued some orders and several minutes later the six orphans were sitting in the Captain’s quarters located aft of the deck rubbing their raw wrists.
“You’ll have to forgive the men. It’s not every day my men stumble upon something out of a myth or even fairytale. It’s just not a common occurrence, even in our chosen profession. I’m curious to know just how you came to be in our part of the ocean or an even better question, just where did you fall from?” The Captain stopped his pacing and turned his full, undivided attention on the six, haggard, shivering individuals. The children visibly swallowed in nervousness.
James, taking the role as the leader, began “Well sir, you may want to sit down. It all began this morning…”
“Amazing, you’re really from a place completely populated by humans?” The Captain sat back in his chair after listening to the story. The other five children had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, and James was sipping a cup of hot chocolate the cook had grudgingly cooked up.
“Not just populated with ‘em, completely ruled by them. Not only that, the air seems so much more polluted and almost no one travels on foot or by horseback there. They all travel by automobile. Sort of metal boxes with wheels that are powered by an engine.”
“Magic machines that move under their own power and don’t have a brain?” The Captain asked trying to picture one of these funny contraptions.
“I guess you could phrase it that way if you want to.”
“I’m going to have to take you to the Court of Andalon. It’s the central governing body here on Thral. You’re going to become famous for awhile; it’s been a long time since anyone has ever laid eyes on a human being. Let alone a live, intelligent one. But it is clearly evident that you need some rest, so I’ll have my first mate show you to the crew quarters where you and your siblings can have a rest.” With that the Captain called in his first mate, and ordered him to lead the orphans to the crew quarters.
“Captain, I didn’t catch your name.” James nervously muttered from the doorway as the rest of the orphans filed past him, the thoughts of a warm place to sleep overriding their childish curiosity.
“It’s William, William Strapp. Have a nice, pleasant sleep. You’ve got a long week ahead of you-“ The door closed behind James as he turned to follow the retreating figures of his ‘siblings’.
James fell asleep that night to the sounds of birds chirping outside the window, and the peaceful rocking motion of the travelling ship. A long day tomorrow, he has no idea. He felt a sudden painful longing that he was home, back sitting in front of the fire with his real family and that this was all a dream. He didn’t want to be stranded on another world, in charge of the other five orphans. He was barely fifteen, he wasn’t an adult.
You’ll have to learn to accept it, you were chosen..
James practically jumped up into the air as the voice seemed to float on the wind. He had to strain to hear the last few words. “What do you mean chosen?”
You’ll find out in time, sleep now. You have a future that will become clear in time.
“We’re just average orphans with no clear defining traits. We’re not special.”
In time..in time….in time..
James wanted to scream at the top of his lungs that he wasn’t worth this special attention. He was just an average human being who was stranded on another world in an alternate universe. He looked over to see two curious blue eyes looking at him from the cot across the room. Smiling, James motioned that everything was alright to the curious Aaron who shrugged and went back to sleep. James fell asleep with a mind full of confusion and questions.
What was that voice?
What did it want?
What did it mean by they were chosen?
Why the six of them?
James fell into a blissful sleep that eventually was plagued by a nightmare of him travelling through the ship in the middle of the night, alone. No matter how much he searched the ship he couldn’t seem to find anyone anywhere on the boat. He eventually became frustrated and travelled into the bowels of the ship to find a locked door. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t break the lock. He searched for a weapon that could break the strong padlock, all to no avail. The ship was empty of anything that would serve as a suitable blunt striking object.
Throughout the entire dream, he could constantly here the voice overwhelming everything else in the dream. The voice seeming to mock the fact that he couldn’t figure out the truth. That he was stuck because of the door without a way out.
You’ll have to learn to accept it, you were chosen..
Why are you being so vague? Why aren’t you telling me anything else?
You’ll have to learn to accept it, you were chosen..
Why do I have to accept it? It doesn’t seem fair that I’m the one who has to do something great. Aren’t there plenty of other people you could have plucked to do whatever it is you want?
You’ll find out in time, sleep now. You have a future that will become clear in time.
You aren’t answering any of my questions that way. I feel like I’m getting nowhere with you. It’s almost like I’m talking to a reflection of myself. You keep saying I have a destiny, something I’m ‘destined’ to accomplish or do. What if I don’t want to do whatever it is? How do you know I won’t just back out?
How do you know you won’t be the right one? There is no way to know without trying. You’re making this out to be negative.
Great, now the voice was actually talking to him rather than repeating the same comments over and over. How do you know so much about my future? What are you, some form of spiritual stalker? James chuckled at the strange choice of words.
Are you attempting to mock me? I hope you understand that the information I possess could prove to be beneficial to your survival on Thral. Think of me as a sort of helping ‘hand’. Nothing more, nothing less.
Trying to ponder this weird conversation he was having with a voice in his mind that he wasn’t quite sure was real, and couldn’t seem to disprove it either way. He felt lost and confused. He felt scare, he felt well, alone. He suddenly felt the floor give way and he was falling. Visions rushed past of an ocean, a group of well-dressed men standing around a table with several wearing coats of armor, and the final one that seemed to encompass his brain before he faded into complete unconsciousness was that of a man staring at him, his dark eyes two expressionless pools that seemed to be drawing him in. Deeper..deeper..deeper, he felt like the man was stealing his essence. He screamed, and clawed to try to escape.
He awoke covered in a cold sweat; his covers thrown into disarray by his thrashing, leaving his skin exposed to the chill night air that left trails of goose bumps up and down his arms and legs. Adjusting the covers, he attempted to fall back asleep. Without being aware, he felt his vision blur and then fade to black.
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Chapter 1
The day was cold, and rainy. The sky was a partly, cloudy gray. The six children filed down the steps from the orphanage. Their names in order from oldest to youngest are James, Kevin, Rachael, Melanie, Aaron, and Sarah. They were a sad-looking lot, their clothes too small and clearly hand-me-downs. The children’s faces were lit by an inner light though, an almost ethereal beauty. For today, today was the day of the field trip they’d been planning for days. They’d be going on an actual sailboat. Despite what their orphan mother had warned them about the dangers of the boat, they’d been more than excited and her words fell on deaf ears.
“You ready for an adventure?” The oldest, James asked as they boarded the old, smelly yellow school bus. The buses doors closed and they walked down the path trying to find a set of seats where they could all sit together to be heard over the loud shouts and yells of excitement from the other inhabitants.
“Depends on the type of adventure, I think.” Kevin replied finding a spot by a young youth whose face was covered in freckles and eyes were set a bit too far apart. The fellow claimed his name was Richard or some such nonsense. Not that any of the other orphans really cared. Their minds were overwhelmed with the thoughts of an adventure that awaited them on that boat trip.
“I could honestly care less, anything to get us out of that dull orphanage. The place was seriously starting to give me the creeps. I mean the house practically groaned every night and I swear I felt a rat crawl over my covers once or twice.” Rachel replied shivering.
“You know you could have told us about the rats, right?” James attempted to maintain a gaze with Rachael, all to no avail. The girl was simply too stubborn and usually found a way to have her own way, if that made any sense to anyone. James had wondered on more than one occasion what went on underneath those dark, black curly locks of hers.
The bus started picking up speed as it pulled on to the highway and the children were once more drawn into their own thoughts. James looked over his ‘family’ with a sense of pride and special love. They’d all come from different backgrounds all with different pasts; but, they’d somehow been able to overcome all that to achieve the effect of a sort of covenant. One not bound by the mental limits of society. They were there for each other on everything, and they weren’t afraid to defend themselves from anyone-which several individuals had discovered later on after a broken nose and a slight concussion.
The bus pulled off the highway and on to a gravelly road leading out into the dockyard where the manager was supposed to be meeting them for a brief overview and rundown of how they would be going about handling the class on the sailboat. The children upon catching a glimpse of the docked beauties had all begun to take guesses on which one they would be boarding for their adventure for the day. The bus pulled to a creaking stop and the bus driver opened the door. The teacher, Mrs. Paisley, she’s not of much importance in this story so I’ll just reference her throughout the story as this. Mrs. Paisley in an attempt to maintain some semblance of order strode off the bus and began to call students off one by one.
“Charles.”
“Here.”
“Nancy.”
“Here.”
“James.”
“I guess that’s me, I’ll see you guys off the bus, alright?” When getting a satisfactory nod from the rest of his artificial family, he climbed down the steps. His nostrils were greeted by the salty-fresh sea air, and the underlying smell of gasoline. Crunching his nostrils in disgust, he took a look around before joining the growing group of students as one by one they were called off the bus.
After about five minutes or so, Mrs. Paisley had called all of the students on her list and had dismissed the bus driver who with a wave to the children drove back up the gravel road to the highway where he would make his way back to the bus garage. The group of six gathered around and followed the group of students through the giant, wooden arc where their adventure awaited them.
As they came around the corner they were greeted by a dockworker who with a wave, walked down the gangplank from a giant six-master. He was tall, broad, and walked with an dangerous self-exuding aura. As if the man weren’t afraid to fight dirty if it meant he’d win a fight. His face was scarred with countless knife wounds and his nose was set at an awkward angle as if it had been broken and hadn’t healed right. The most startling feature about the man was his smile; it lit up the dark edges and made him seem somehow ‘human’.
“Hello lads and gals, my name is Captain Sharke. I’ll be the Captain on our little adventure,” He winked at the six orphans as if unaware of just how right he was. “I’m going to be teaching you a bit about the Sweet Marie before we’ll be lifting anchor.”
“Why do you call her the Sweet Marie?” Aaron piped up from where he was hiding behind James. Being the youngest and shyest, he tended to hide behind the other orphans when speaking to an adult. He usually rarely spoke at all, and so James jumped slightly when he did.
“That’s a good question, I’m glad you asked,” There was that startling smile again. “We decided to name her the Sweet Marie because well I’m a fan of sweets myself and Marie, well, Marie used to be a gal in a story I was told as a lad. She was stranded on an island after her husband and her’s schooner ran aground. She survived seven days before being rescued by a passing cargo vessel. She’s a bit of a legend, and no one knows whether the story is true or not. She’s made multiple voyages safely since we named her and well, it’s bad luck to change a ship’s name.”
The children had stood open-mouthed at this pronouncement about the origins of their ship’s name. It was fascinating to some, boring to others, and opened locked doors for others. Some of the children were pushing to get a better look at the schooner that would be their home for the next week. The children had been told to pack light, but pack enough that they wouldn’t be forced to wear the same pair of clothing for more than a couple of days. That tended to lead to smelling like rotten garbage, and who really wanted to be trapped in the same room with someone like that. Let alone on a boat, with no possible route of escape.
After about a half hour or so, Captain Sharke claimed them worthy and ready to board the Sweet Marie. The children eagerly climbed aboard the schooner in a somewhat orderly fashion, if you counted pushing, shoving, and climbing over each other to climb up the ladder on to the boat. The orphans, in no rush, simply waited for everyone else to board. This choice of action had left them on the dock with Captain Sharke, who turned to observe the six orphans as if they were intense subjects of interest.
“So tell me a bit about yourselves.” The Captain motioned for them to board, and they obediently began to walk up the gangplank. The wood creaked and groaned, but held steady under their weight.
“What do you want to know?” Aaron asked eagerly, apparently curious to have more of this man’s attention. I’ll have to speak with him about that later, James thought to himself as stepped on to the smooth wood of the deck.
“Well, what are you willing to tell me?” The Captain replied, obviously enjoying this little game.
“Well sir, we really don’t know too much. We don’t even know who our actual parents are. We’re orphans, as you can see.” Aaron patted his ripped jeans, and attempted to adjust the too small shirt to cover a bit more of his gangly frame.
“That’s a sad thing to hear,” The Captain rubbed at his eyes a moment, overwhelmed with memories of having a mother and the good times the two of them had had. “It must have been tough growing up without having both sides of the maternal figure.” The orphans merely nodded in bemused silence.
The Captain realized he wouldn’t be getting anything else out of the orphans and walked off to handle several other issues that required his attendance. The orphans gathered around in a huddle by one of the tall masts. Their cheeks were flushed and they shivered a bit in the chill, morning air.
“What do you guys think of him?” Aaron was practically begging for the rest of the ‘family’ to have the same views of the Captain as he, himself, had. James began to understand that Aaron had begun to see the Captain as a father figure despite the short period of time in which he had known the man. James wished he could experience the same emotions.
“I don’t know, to be honest.” Kevin replied, pushing a stubborn brown curl out of his eyes.
“I think he seems like a nice man.” Sarah replied, her dark brown eyes twinkling.
“I honestly don’t know what to think at this point. The man seems to have an interest in us, but why? We’re not exactly freaks of nature and we’re certainly not the first orphans!” Melanie muttered in a perplexed tone. Something had been bothering her lately, and James made a mental note to speak with her about it when they had a chance.
The rest of the orphan’s voices were drowned out by the sound of the Captain calling for the raising of the anchor. The sailors ran about in orchestrated coordination, each man knowing his task and the children for once, stayed out of the grownups way. The schooner turned into the bay, and soon the boat began the classic rocking motion. Several of the children’s faces turned a pasty color, and they hurried to the sides where they regurgitated their lunches. Several of the sailors saw them, and taking pity, led them down below to a cot.
In the distance, a storm was brewing. The clouds were turning an ugly shade of black, and the wind was beginning to pick up. The children could tell the sailors were nervous; but, they didn’t understand why. This ship had sailed countless storms the Captain had reassured them, why should this one be any different. Some of the children were even starting to sob, but the older ones were attempting to remain stoic. The orphans simply stared in fascination at the darkening sky. Their minds were awash with thoughts of true adventure, one not straight out of the pages of a fairy tale or nursery rhyme. A true adventure, one with action, twists, and perils. James was attempting to remain brave, but he had an underlying urge that something just wasn’t right.
The funny thing about hunches, they usually turn out to be right about nine times out of ten. If you were hoping this was that one time out of ten, you’re wrong. The boat rocked, the entire ship seeming to struggle with the effort to remain afloat in the tall swells that pounded the deck. Most of the children had sought safety below decks, where the crew cabins were. Not the six orphans, no. They were drawn to the raging tempest like moths are drawn to a flickering flame. The sky was awash with flickering bolts of yellow, and the thunder seemed to be erupting from the very core of the earth as if she were screaming in rage.
The Captain came running up to them, holding on to the rails to steady himself against the strong wind that threatened to blow anything not tied down off the deck. “Why aren’t you children below deck?” His eyes despite his attempts showed his worry about their safety.
“I don’t know Captain, there’s just something weird and wrong about this storm. It just doesn’t feel natural.” The words coming from the mouth of a twelve year old startled the Captain for a brief moment; but, he managed to recover in time to motion for them to follow him back below deck to where the other children were huddled around Mrs. Paisley as if she were their only anchor in this harsh storm.
“I know what you mean kids, this storm doesn’t feel right. I outta know, I’ve been through more than enough of them in my lifetime as a sailor to have a professional opinion. It seems almost like this storm has some drive or motivation. Those waves out there are larger than any I’ve seen in my entire life. I’m a bit worried about the Sweet Marie. I don’t know if she can hold out against such a beating.” Apparently this was the wrong choice of words, and the teacher simply made a fish ‘o’ and attempted to draw in some breath.
“Is there no hope?” Mrs. Paisley had managed to form a few words, but it was obviously a challenging task to say any more without scaring the children any more than they were at the moment.
“I didn’t say that. What I need you do to first for me though is to make sure that all of the children are accounted for. I need to be focused solely on controlling this ship. I can’t be distracted with having to worry about the safety of a child. If you want to live, I suggest you start counting.” Mrs. Paisley merely nodded, and pulled out her clipboard with all of the children’s names on it.
She started calling the names off in alphabetical order, and the children obediently replied with a loud confirmation as their name was read. When she reached the orphans, each of them was called off. Five of them replied they were present, and James was not surprised when Aaron wasn’t there with the rest of them. Aaron had been known to be particularly daring and oftentimes got into trouble because he simply didn’t understand there was some places a child wasn’t supposed to be.
“Aaron….Aaaron?” Mrs. Paisley called nervously. James felt bad for the woman, she could be held responsible if Aaron were to come to any harm. This was supposed to be just an average school field trip. James practically chuckled at the outrageous thought, this a normal field trip, hah. He’d guarantee these children would be telling their children about this when they were older. Sighing, James motioned for the rest of the group to follow him back up the ladder. He knew that if they didn’t find Aaron before he got into trouble, it could spell bad for the rest of them as well.
When the six orphans reached the upper deck, they were greeted by chaos. The sailors were running and shouting, their early orchestrated movements seeming to have been abandoned as they fought to keep the Sweet Marie from going under in the raging tempest. The rocking motion that been subtle before had become an almost violent motion that threatened to toss even the most sea-worthy sailor overboard if he weren’t tied to one of the masts. The orphans crawled along the deck, making slow but steady progress towards the bow where the steering wheel of the schooner was. They were hoping that the Captain would be able to tell them where Aaron was.
They found the Captain at the wheel, his face set in grim determination. The orphans somehow felt a bit safer knowing that this man was the one that was in charge during this time, it seemed like he would be the one if any that would help them to make it safely through this dark time. The Captain looked over and if the man had been startled before he was even more so now. He seemed to gather his wit before ordering another sailor, the first mate, James guessed to control the wheel.
“What are you kids doing up here?” The man’s voice had developed a slightly agitated tone and the orphans drew back for a bit, but his expression softened a bit.
“We can’t find Aaron. We know how much the boy idolizes you and we wondering if you had perhaps seen him?” James held the Captain’s steely gaze.
“I’m well aware of the fact that the boy idolizes me though I don’t for the life of me understand why. I’m not exactly the best role model for someone like him. But, as to seeing him, no I haven’t. I’ve been a bit occupied with trying to keep us afloat and have been working to try to get us out of the worst of this storm. Haven’t had much luck yet though, it seems to be quite persistent. If I were a meteorologist, I’d be willing to bet this isn’t the typical run of the day storm.”
“We’re aware of that sir, but we really would like to find Aaron. Things just wouldn’t – well be the same without him, you know?” The Captain could only nod and hope they would interpret that he did. The orphans were too occupied with their thoughts to wonder about his slight pause before replying.
“Where have you looked so far?”
“Nowhere sir, we wanted to talk to you first.”
“Have any ideas?”
“Not really. He seemed to be really fascinated with the whole boat field trip, but we couldn’t tell you anything more than that. I kinda forgot to check to make sure we were all together when we went below deck.” James was staring at his shoes as the rest of his ‘family’ could only stare at him in shock. They had never known James or Aaron to be separable; the two always seemed to be together.
“Hey guys!” The voice was barely audible over the roaring wind. James could just make out Aaron’s wavy blonde hair over the side of the crow’s nest.
“How did you get up there?” Captain Sharke shouted his facing turning an ugly shade of red. The orphans had seen that look at one point or another in their past and it usually was accompanied by a form of punishment.
“Don’t worry guys, I’m safe!” Just as he said that, as if in a cruel twist of fate, they could only watch shocked as the Sweet Marie titled precariously on her side and then suddenly they were floating. The boat started to tilt, continuing to tilt as if a giant were playing with them. The ship kept tilting, and then suddenly the orphans found themselves floating, falling through the sky.
They did what every other human would have done in their situation; they screamed and begged for mercy. They continued to fall, their thoughts beginning to wonder just how they were falling in the first place when they hit a body of water. The six orphans felt themselves begin to drift into unconsciousness, and they welcomed it. The sleep was a welcome escape from the pain that was wracking their bodies. It felt like they were being poked with a thousand needles, each one leaving a scorching sensation.
Unknown to the orphans, someone else had seen them fall. A ship on the horizon had seen six objects falling from the sky, and had come to investigate. The Captain was startled to see that the six objects were in fact, six humans. The Captain had demanded his crew pull them out of the water immediately.
“But Captain, those are humans, aren’t tey?” The man was missing a few teeth and the words came out a bit slurred. The Captain could smell the whiskey on the man’s breath and it disgusted him. He personally could not stand the smell or taste of the vile liquid. He’d tried it once before long ago only to eventually vomit it back up. He sighed, and motioned for his crew to start retrieving the humans and do less questioning of his reasoning.
James was the first one to wake after their fall, and his first thoughts were those of pain and extreme exhaustion. He hadn’t felt exhausted like this since he’d competed in the school cross country team a few years back while he still had a semi-real family despite how unwelcome an addition he seemed to be to them. He attempted to take stock of his location while treading water, and was startled to see that there was no Sweet Marie anywhere within visible range. This would normally have sent a normal teenager into shock and perhaps denial. James simply accepted the change and tried to find the rest of his ‘family’. He spotted Aaron, Kevin, Melanie, and Sarah laying on a piece of driftwood somewhere to his left a couple of yards out. Rachael was nowhere to be seen, and he started to worry.
His attention was then riveted on the ship that was fast approaching, her black sails unfurled into the wind. He could make out the faint outline of the classic pirate skull and crossed bones. He sighed, and realized that their day had suddenly gotten much, much more interesting than when they’d imagined they would be going on a simple field trip. He was forced to stifle laughter for fear that he’d lose his concentration and be taken under the waves. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the sight of the ‘things’ on the deck. They were like half-human, half-avian genetic experiments.
---
Chapter 2:
“Are tey awake yet?” James cracked open one of his eyes to see one of the creatures standing over him. The creature smelled sourly of booze and James was forced to gag back some vomit. The creature must have noticed the reaction for he jumped about a foot into the air, his wings stretching out and flapping to keep himself from falling flat on his back. James was even more startled by the wings than by anything else about the pirate. Though he didn’t understand why they would be sailing at all if they had the ability to fly through the sky.
The wings were a light brown color, with the down a creamy white. The ‘man’ obviously didn’t take very good care of them though. They looked like they hadn’t been washed in ages, and based on the smell exuded by the man, he hadn’t had or seen a bathtub in ages. If they even bathed at all, that’s a scary thought. The sailor seemed to recover and puffed his chest out in an attempt to look impressive.
Well, he failed in that aspect. I don’t think any of his pals are going to be considering him as the man to have behind their back when trapped against a wall anymore. James chuckled aloud, and this drew a curious, confused expression across the pirate’s features.
“What’s so funny boy?!?” The pirate leaned in close, and James felt himself gagging again. Man, this guy needs a serious tick tack.
“Ugh, huh. What’s going on?” James frowned, and turned to see the rest of his ‘family’ tied up to one of the center masts of the large ship. Noting that it appeared that Sarah was the first one awake, he counted down the seconds till he knew she would burst.
Ten…
Nine…
Eight…
Seven…
Six…
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One – his counting was interrupted by a loud screeching scream that would have made a banshee cover her ears. James would have done the same, but having his hands tied behind him sort of eliminated that option. He watched as the rest of the group jumped awake. Aaron looked around, noting the winged pirates before his eyes seemed to grow large. “Ooh…” Seemed to be about all of the words he could form in that brief time after coming to.
“What are you guys?” Kevin muttered, always the rational one. He may look like the average run of the day surfer, but don’t let his looks fool you. He’d crush even the most intelligent man at chess because the man would underestimate him. James on more than occasion had fallen for that ruse. He’d found himself short a lunch when it came to lunchtime.
“Ah, the six creatures of interest come to.” The Captain walked calmly down the steps from the upper deck. His dark, midnight-tinted wings unfurling and then clasping back behind him. He was a startling man, his eyes a light, sky blue but seeming to contain countless wisdom within their depths. It seemed as if when he looked at someone as if they were looking through the person. Seeing their past mistakes, their guilt, their pain, and their joys. He walked up to the six orphans, and stood with his arms clasped behind his back.
“What are you?” Kevin, always the persistent one.
“I’m curious to know the same about you.” The Captain replied coolly, not budging an inch.
“I thought it was obvious, we’re humans,” This brought some startled gasps of surprise from the crew and some of them even made warding evil signs.
“But they’re extinct, I heard!” Seemed to be the collective outburst that was winning over the growing crowd of pirates.
“That may have been true. But apparently we’ve stumbled upon six of them.” The Captain rubbed his beard thoughtfully, picturing the market value of these ‘items’ of interest. He could imagine them fetching quite a price in the Golden Marketplace. He did have some moral values though, and would not sink low enough to sell them to a zoo for others to stare in fascination at.
“Could you stop talking about us as if we weren’t sitting in front of you?” James calmly stated while wiggling slightly to try to find a more comfortable sitting position.
“I’m sorry. Untie them. I’d like to speak with them in my quarters.” With a flourish the Captain turned and headed back through a set of large, wooden doors with archaic writing all over them. The first mate issued some orders and several minutes later the six orphans were sitting in the Captain’s quarters located aft of the deck rubbing their raw wrists.
“You’ll have to forgive the men. It’s not every day my men stumble upon something out of a myth or even fairytale. It’s just not a common occurrence, even in our chosen profession. I’m curious to know just how you came to be in our part of the ocean or an even better question, just where did you fall from?” The Captain stopped his pacing and turned his full, undivided attention on the six, haggard, shivering individuals. The children visibly swallowed in nervousness.
James, taking the role as the leader, began “Well sir, you may want to sit down. It all began this morning…”
“Amazing, you’re really from a place completely populated by humans?” The Captain sat back in his chair after listening to the story. The other five children had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, and James was sipping a cup of hot chocolate the cook had grudgingly cooked up.
“Not just populated with ‘em, completely ruled by them. Not only that, the air seems so much more polluted and almost no one travels on foot or by horseback there. They all travel by automobile. Sort of metal boxes with wheels that are powered by an engine.”
“Magic machines that move under their own power and don’t have a brain?” The Captain asked trying to picture one of these funny contraptions.
“I guess you could phrase it that way if you want to.”
“I’m going to have to take you to the Court of Andalon. It’s the central governing body here on Thral. You’re going to become famous for awhile; it’s been a long time since anyone has ever laid eyes on a human being. Let alone a live, intelligent one. But it is clearly evident that you need some rest, so I’ll have my first mate show you to the crew quarters where you and your siblings can have a rest.” With that the Captain called in his first mate, and ordered him to lead the orphans to the crew quarters.
“Captain, I didn’t catch your name.” James nervously muttered from the doorway as the rest of the orphans filed past him, the thoughts of a warm place to sleep overriding their childish curiosity.
“It’s William, William Strapp. Have a nice, pleasant sleep. You’ve got a long week ahead of you-“ The door closed behind James as he turned to follow the retreating figures of his ‘siblings’.
James fell asleep that night to the sounds of birds chirping outside the window, and the peaceful rocking motion of the travelling ship. A long day tomorrow, he has no idea. He felt a sudden painful longing that he was home, back sitting in front of the fire with his real family and that this was all a dream. He didn’t want to be stranded on another world, in charge of the other five orphans. He was barely fifteen, he wasn’t an adult.
You’ll have to learn to accept it, you were chosen..
James practically jumped up into the air as the voice seemed to float on the wind. He had to strain to hear the last few words. “What do you mean chosen?”
You’ll find out in time, sleep now. You have a future that will become clear in time.
“We’re just average orphans with no clear defining traits. We’re not special.”
In time..in time….in time..
James wanted to scream at the top of his lungs that he wasn’t worth this special attention. He was just an average human being who was stranded on another world in an alternate universe. He looked over to see two curious blue eyes looking at him from the cot across the room. Smiling, James motioned that everything was alright to the curious Aaron who shrugged and went back to sleep. James fell asleep with a mind full of confusion and questions.
What was that voice?
What did it want?
What did it mean by they were chosen?
Why the six of them?
James fell into a blissful sleep that eventually was plagued by a nightmare of him travelling through the ship in the middle of the night, alone. No matter how much he searched the ship he couldn’t seem to find anyone anywhere on the boat. He eventually became frustrated and travelled into the bowels of the ship to find a locked door. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t break the lock. He searched for a weapon that could break the strong padlock, all to no avail. The ship was empty of anything that would serve as a suitable blunt striking object.
Throughout the entire dream, he could constantly here the voice overwhelming everything else in the dream. The voice seeming to mock the fact that he couldn’t figure out the truth. That he was stuck because of the door without a way out.
You’ll have to learn to accept it, you were chosen..
Why are you being so vague? Why aren’t you telling me anything else?
You’ll have to learn to accept it, you were chosen..
Why do I have to accept it? It doesn’t seem fair that I’m the one who has to do something great. Aren’t there plenty of other people you could have plucked to do whatever it is you want?
You’ll find out in time, sleep now. You have a future that will become clear in time.
You aren’t answering any of my questions that way. I feel like I’m getting nowhere with you. It’s almost like I’m talking to a reflection of myself. You keep saying I have a destiny, something I’m ‘destined’ to accomplish or do. What if I don’t want to do whatever it is? How do you know I won’t just back out?
How do you know you won’t be the right one? There is no way to know without trying. You’re making this out to be negative.
Great, now the voice was actually talking to him rather than repeating the same comments over and over. How do you know so much about my future? What are you, some form of spiritual stalker? James chuckled at the strange choice of words.
Are you attempting to mock me? I hope you understand that the information I possess could prove to be beneficial to your survival on Thral. Think of me as a sort of helping ‘hand’. Nothing more, nothing less.
Trying to ponder this weird conversation he was having with a voice in his mind that he wasn’t quite sure was real, and couldn’t seem to disprove it either way. He felt lost and confused. He felt scare, he felt well, alone. He suddenly felt the floor give way and he was falling. Visions rushed past of an ocean, a group of well-dressed men standing around a table with several wearing coats of armor, and the final one that seemed to encompass his brain before he faded into complete unconsciousness was that of a man staring at him, his dark eyes two expressionless pools that seemed to be drawing him in. Deeper..deeper..deeper, he felt like the man was stealing his essence. He screamed, and clawed to try to escape.
He awoke covered in a cold sweat; his covers thrown into disarray by his thrashing, leaving his skin exposed to the chill night air that left trails of goose bumps up and down his arms and legs. Adjusting the covers, he attempted to fall back asleep. Without being aware, he felt his vision blur and then fade to black.
