And the Meek Shall Walk

5: The Song and the Sea

A cry from the main deck shattered his thoughts and he ran through the fragments on his way there. The crew were milling about, whispering between themselves. Edmund Golightly, a behemoth of a man whose name was just about as inappropriate as it could be, was standing at the front. Golightly went everywhere heavily. Even his tiptoe tipped over the edge into stomp.

"What is it Golightly?" Blake asked, pushing his way to the big man's side.

"Listen!"

"Listen to what?"

"Just listen!"

Blake moved up to the forecastle, leaning forward, but could hear only the creak of the ship and the sway of the sea. The mumbling of the men behind him tumbled his concentration, making it difficult to focus.

"Quiet!" he ordered. They hushed immediately. He turned his attention back to the expanse of water.

The sun was setting and heavy clouds were making the dusk feel like the colour was draining away, leaving an anaemic wash to the vista. The colour took the temperature with it and the first mate shivered. He closed his eyes, hoping the removal of one sense would accentuate another. He held his breath.

"What is it?"

Blake jumped, swallowing his heart back down from his throat.

"Got you back for startling me," said Rick.

"Aye," said Blake. "At least you didn't have a heart attack to go with it."

"No," said Rick. "I just had a seventy foot drop below me instead."

"Oh yes," laughed Blake. "Sorry about that."

"No worries. I bounce. Now, what's going on here."

"I don't know. Golightly has heard something. I was trying to find out what till you made me part company with my skin."

"You're welcome to stop your whinnying anytime now," said the captain with a wink. He turned. "Golightly!" he shouted. "Get your blunderbutt up here!"

Golightly joined them, his breath heaving.

"Captain."

"What you been hearing?" Rick asked.

"I don't know, not rightly," said Golightly. He waved his hand. "I heard something out there. Something that didn't sound right."

"Not right? What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure, Captain. Just, if you listen, maybe you'll hear it too."

Rick nodded and they all turned back to face the bow. The captain found himself copying his first mate and closed his eyes. He held his breath for a long moment. Finally, he let his breath out explosively.

"You're hearing things, Golightly. Trying to spook us all up."

"No, I heard something, Captain. I know I did."

Rick looked at Blake who shook his head. He'd not heard anything either.

"Well, whatever it was has probably been scared off by your..."

He stopped. What...? Did...? Had he just heard something?

He could see from Blake's face, the other man had heard it too. It was clear, looking at Golightly, they all had. He pulled his telescope from its pouch at his side and stretched it out, putting it to his eye. Slowly, he scanned the horizon though, in the dimming light, he couldn't discern much. Other than the waves and the timbers and the thudding in his chest, he could hear nothing.

Then...

Singing. High, piercingly clear, with a clarity which made the sound seem like liquid glass, a voice was singing. It carried on the breeze, weightless and effortless. He could almost feel the song touch his ears, caressing.

"Sirens?" Blake whispered.

"No, sir," said Golightly equally quietly. "It's too..."

"Perfect," said Rick.

The other two nodded, neither wanting to say anything else and muddy the lucidity of the voice. They stood, entranced, spellbound. Then the sound ceased, snapping them from their reverie.

"What do you think it was?" asked Blake.

"Whatever it is, I think we need to find it. Or her."

"But Captain, if we find her, what would we do? We can't bring her on board - it's bad luck!"

"We'll face that when, and if, we find her."

Blake didn't comment. Instead he turned to the rest of the crew and began to bellow orders. The men scrambled into action and the ship changed direction, moving in the direction of the song. Rick stayed staring out to sea. He didn't necessarily believe in bad luck. Luck was what you made it. Bad decisions made bad luck and good decisions made sure you woke up the next morning. Either way, he had a sudden glimmer of hope. This could be the big adventure he'd wished for. It could be his way off this ship and into a life on land. He spun on his heel and followed his first mate, shouting his own orders. The ship surged through the water, closing in to a future none of them could see.