Purgatory of the Werewolf - The Wolf of Dorian Gray (Book 2)

Chapter 11 - A Sea Voyage Part 2

He reached the top in a few exhilarating minutes. The climb put him nearly sixty meters above the deck below. Unlike the crow's nest of other ships, this one was more of an open platform. The sides were exposed to the air, with only a few ropes and pulleys in some areas and was wide enough to walk around easily. While on the night watch, he was expected to regularly patrol all vantage points while keeping a hand on the rigging or mast. It was freezing with the wind whipping across the night sea, but the biggest challenge was staying awake.

The glass-like black water stretched out endlessly in a way that clouded the mind. Dorian had made the mistake of falling asleep on duty twice already. The first time the Bo'sun had mocked him relentlessly as he woke him with a rough kick to the ribs. "Oh, pardon me yer lordship, I didn't mean to wake you. Check out this arse bandit here lads, adrift like he's nursing at a babies ration packs." It was several days later when he had fallen asleep the second time. The Bo'sun's cudgel did the waking and Dorian was left with a cracked rib and several bruises by the time the beating was done. The Bo'sun spoke only a grave warning, "Fall asleep on watch a third time and I'll lash all the skin from your back with a cat o' nine tails."

After that, Dorian resolved to stay awake on watch no matter what it took. He began to imagine shapes out in the dark sea and guess as to their origin. Soon Dorian realized the shapes were not his imagination. Most men could see nothing beyond the light that the large lanterns cast out over the water, but if Dorian shielded his eyes from the lanterns, his night vision would snap into focus, allowing him to see for many kilometers in every direction. He could make out giant, scaled fish swimming in the waters surrounding the boat. Sometimes he would see a large sea turtle, briefly returning to the surface for air and exposing a moss-covered shell. Other times he could make out groups of glowing jellyfish or squid, shimmering with bright blue lights to lure in schools of fish.

He was watching this peculiar site to starboard for several minutes before turning his gaze towards the bow. There, lying in the path of the ship was a huge, floating object surrounded by the fins of sharks. He squinted against the light from bow lanterns and realized in shock what it was—the great carcass of a whale.

Dorian cupped his hands and called out in a loud voice. "Turn to port! There's something in the water ahead!"

Sub-Lieutenant Purcell looked up with a confused expression. "What's that?"

Dorian yelled as loud as he could against the wind. "Turn to port! Whale in the water!"

Understanding dawned on Purcell's face as he called out to the shipmaster behind the giant knobbed wheel to make the turn. "Hard to port! All hands to the bow with hooks to repel debris!" The officer blew three shrill notes on his pipe and then rushed to the front of the ship to help the other men in readying to push the carcass away from the ship and avoid a potentially deadly impact. Dorian began descending the ladder rope as fast as he could. The ship was moving too fast and the whale was too close. They would be unable to turn in time. His hand missed a wrung on the ladder and his foot slipped and shot through the narrow square made by the rope. He felt suddenly weightless as his other hand grasped at thin air—he was falling.

The side of the ship struck the bloated whale carcass mid-turn and the impact likely saved Dorian from landing on his head and breaking his neck. As the hull ground against the slick blubber of the whale, it abruptly shuddered to a stop. This caused some of the rope to sway under Dorian and break his fall just before he slammed into the deck. He was able to twist his head to the side and instead his shoulder smashed into the wood, shattering the bone.

With a loud cry, he blinked through the tears in his eyes, suddenly fuzzy from the pain surging through his body. Dorian could just make out the now dark lanterns on the bow—something was wrong. The lanterns had been extinguished as water sprung up as two behemoths collided. Where were the five men with hooks who had been standing there a moment ago? Purcell was gone.

"Man overboard!" The call rang out from the shipmaster behind the wheel of the ship. Suddenly, Dorian remembered the fins that had been circling the whale as they feasted on its rich flesh. With a groan, he pulled himself up to a sitting position. His right arm hung limply at his side, but already he could feel the bone beneath knitting itself back together. It was excruciatingly painful. Dorian lurched to his feet as other men began streaming up from the deck below. They had been alerted by the shipmaster's call, but with the lamps extinguished, they were unable to see the men in the cold water below. Between the freezing water and the feeding sharks, they would not survive long enough for the lamps to be re-lit.

Dorian shook his head to clear it and ran towards the bow. His sharp eyes searched desperately in the water below. He could only see three bodies below. Two were clinging desperately to the floating whale carcass. The third was thrashing in the water in an attempt to gain a handhold on the slippery blubber. Purcell's panicked splashes had attracted the attention of the sharks and they were circling him slowly. Dorian saw the largest of the predators swim behind Purcell. The shark whipped its tail fin and the jaws surged forward as the creature exploded towards Purcell. Dorian had no time to think and leapt with all his might from the side of the boat. He landed on the back half of the shark, which suddenly seemed twice the size now that he was up close.

When he landed, the shark immediately sunk lower in the water, plunging Dorian in the frigid sea. The fish then spun back and resurfaced with razor teeth spread wide. Dorian had only enough time to put his left hand between his face and the shark's snout before it clamped down and immediately released before retreating to assess this new threat. He cried out in pain as the flesh gaped wide and blood poured out of his forearm. The bite had cut down to the bone and had nearly split his arm in half.

In seconds, the other sharks in the water went into a frenzy, the smell of the fresh blood exciting them. One of the other seamen holding onto the whale began screaming as a smaller shark began ravaging his leg. The large shark had recovered from its surprise and was now circling Dorian. The wound was healing very slowly. Too much blood must have leaked out, or perhaps his ability to heal had been overwhelmed from mending his shoulder. Dorian felt light headed and struggled to turn in the water as the fish circled him. He had only moments to prepare. With a grin, he thought to himself, at least I know what it feels like to be eaten alive.

It was not long before the cloud of blood convinced the giant shark to attack. With his left arm a gory mess, Dorian kicked his legs with all his might and swam just enough to the side to avoid the jaws of the shark. He slammed his weakened right hand into the gill slits that flashed in front of him, pulling with all his might. The tough skin of the shark ripped open and the fish flung its head backward. Blood gushed from the side of the fish and it swam away, gasping as if to catch its breath.

Dorian managed to make it over to Purcell and hauled the wet body onto the whale carcass. He was able to do the same for the second man, but the third seaman had already been dragged to the watery depths below by the smaller sharks. The ship's lanterns sprung to life as Dorian collapsed and lost consciousness.