"Land ho!" A shout drifted down from the Crow's Nest. My eyes slid up to the top of the mast to see a man pointing just off the starboard bow. I followed his line of sight out to a faint strip of land on the horizon.
I looked to Jay, who had set down his cleaning supplies and was now clutching onto the banister as he peered out towards the island. I decided to join him.
"I was right," he said in a distant voice. "It was here all along."
"How can you tell?" I asked as I looked back out at it. I wasn't sure how anybody could know there was a small medallion on an island from this far away.
His gaze slid to me, "Can't you feel it? It's pulsing through the air, screaming through the water. It's calling to us. It's calling to us like a beacon in the dark."
That was strangely poetic, in a way, but I decided not to mention that. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to feel all the things Jay said he was feeling.
And in truth, I could feel it. Something was different about this island. Something was off. It felt... dangerous.
As I reached out for those invisible signs with my mind, I started to hear a faint ringing in my ears. It reminded me of the time Jacob Cox had blown an air horn in my face at one of Emily's parties, except it was a quieter, less annoying ringing.
"I can hear it," I said as I reopened my eyes. Jay was still staring out at the island with his brow furrowed in concentration.
As we got closer, I noticed that the ringing got louder. Perhaps it truly was the medallion calling out to us. To me.
"It's..." Jay trailed off as he closed his eyes and clutched the railing tighter. "It's not on the island."
"What?" I asked as I looked out at it again.
"It's in the water."
I looked down at the choppy blue waves. The water seemed almost darker than normal, but that could've just been my imagination.
"I'll look for it," I volunteered after a few moments.
"No," Jay said as he looked down at the water. "You don't have to."
I looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes, "Are you telling me you can somehow, miraculously breath under water?"
"What? No."
"Then it seems as though I'm one of your only options to find it."
"It... It could be dangerous."
"Yes, it could be. It also could not be."
"Elizabeth," he warned.
"I can do it," I told him. Then I looked up to Uncle Paul, who was at the helm.
"Captain!" Jay beat me to it. Uncle Paul looked down at us expectantly, "Just here will be fine! There is no need to step foot on the island!"
Uncle Paul nodded and began shouting orders to his crew. It took an army to get one of these vessels to stop moving. Dropping the anchor, hoisting the sails, and about ten million other things needed to be done. I looked back at Jay as the crew began to run around like headless chickens.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked me.
"I'll be fine," I assured him.
He looked at me for a few moments, and then, without much warning, he reached forward and pulled me into his chest. I hugged him back.
"Be careful," he said into my hair before he pulled back to look at me again.
"Don't worry about me," I smiled at him. Then I asked, "Any idea where it is?"
"It's close," he said as he looked back out at the water, "but I can't pinpoint it. It's hazy."
I nodded, conscious of the fact that the ringing in my ears was growing.
"I'll be back before you know it," I told him.
I placed my hand on his shoulder so he could steady me as I stepped up on the railing. Then I jumped, my arms flailing slightly as the water rose to meet me.
The water was cold, but I was starting to get used to the constant shock of jumping into the ocean. I transformed quickly and began my search.
That god awful ringing intensified tenfold, whether that be because I was in the water now, or because I had transformed, I was not sure. I followed it.
It lead me deeper into the dark murky depths of the sea. As I went down, the ringing became louder, and the water became darker.
I went down.
And down.
And down.
The water became colder, the pressure became greater, and I started to shiver.
Then, something began to emerge from the inky blackness.
It was made of wood. It was... It was a sunken ship.
I came upon the bow first, and I grabbed onto the bowsprit to pull myself down farther. It was slippery with algae, but I tried to ignore that as I moved lower.
I swam past a broken mast and over broken planks in the deck before slipping through the hatch that lead to the hold.
It was so dark, I could barely see a thing. I felt my heart pumping harder through my veins. My depth, the cold, and my fear had it working overtime.
The things I do for him.
With slight hesitation, I swam through the hold.
Forgotten cargo laid spewed throughout, and I did my best to maneuver around various crates and barrels as I followed the deafening ringing sound in my ears.
I couldn't take it much longer. Pretty soon, my eardrums would burst.
I swam blindly, the medallion so close, I could feel its power radiating into the surrounding water. I could feel it. I couldn't see, I could barely hear, but I could feel it.
It seemed to clutch my spinal chord and drag me towards it. I felt around with my hands, making wooden crates shift away from me.
And then my hands touched something else. Something thin, and hard, and... draped in cloth. I felt higher and realized that that something was connected to other somethings, and with a sickening realization, I knew what it was.
I wondered briefly if it had been the captain. Captains always go down with their ships.
I felt sick. The medallion was practically screaming at me, and here I was, grave robbing a skeleton on a sunken ship.
I felt higher up the ribcage, praying to whatever god was out there, probably Neptune in this circumstance, that said skeleton would not come alive and try to kill me.
I felt what had been the man's shirt, torn to shreds now and swaying gently in the current. I went higher, past several buttons, before I felt something cold and metal brush my fingers.
I grabbed it. It was circular and flat. It was a coin. A coin on a chain around a dead man's neck.
Hoping I would not accidentally decapitate him, I grabbed the chain and pulled up, trying to bring it over his head without the use of my eyes.
It took a few moments, but I did it. No sooner was the medallion free that I turned tail and swam as fast as I could towards the surface.
I must've swam a little too fast, because all at once, it all hit me. I felt nauseous. I had just touched a real skeleton, a dead man.
I was going to throw up- no, I was going to pass out. Maybe both. As I looked down at the medallion in what little light I had, I realized I should put it around my neck just in case. I wouldn't want to lose it as soon as I had gotten it.
Then again, it had just been around the neck of a dead man. Did I really want it pressing against my own neck?
I was thinking too much. Steeling myself, I pulled the chain over my head and used what was left of my will power to swim towards the surface.
But little did I realize, I was being followed.
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A/N
Whoa hey!
It's like 10:30pm, a little late for my Saturday update, but still on time! I had a pretty hectic day today. Hair cut, Mother's Day celebrations, two birthday's in the family to celebrate, watched A Dog's Purpose, and ate cheesecake!
Who likes cheesecake?
Have you seen A Dog's Purpose? (It's super cute.)
What do you think is following Elizabeth?
What will happen next?
Thanks for the read! You guys are the best!
Vote. Comment. Stay tuned!
-Megan