Chapter 1 – Nautical Disaster

 

It was a tranquil day. The sun shone down and warmed the battle-worn, wooden planks of the USS Pickering. She cut gracefully through the gentle waves as she headed ever forward. The light wind filled her sails, pushing her 187 tons of weight toward the awaiting armada in the West Indies. Benjamin Hiller stood, looking over at the gentle seas, and let the light breeze blow the rogue strands of hair out of his face for him. He patted the shoulder of the young, 14-year-old boy who stood beside him.

“She has seen a lot, this old girl,” a war-weathered older man in a navy uniform stated as he hauled a crate of rations past them, toward the galley. Benjamin smiled broadly, pride reflected in his eyes.

“That she has, and she has an exciting life ahead of her as part of Commodore Truxton’s squadron!” He exclaimed. The burly old cook nodded in agreement. “Now how about making something special tonight to commemorate our voyage?”

The man grunted in reply, followed with an, “Aye, Master Commandant.” He trudged his way past and down a flight of stairs, disappearing below deck. Benjamin breathed in one more lungful of cool sea air and exhaled happily. It was going to be a good journey.

A crack echoed through the air, and Benjamin’s senses sharpened. The Pickering had seen her share of battle, and he knew the sound of a cannon being fired.

“My scope, lad,” he called to the young man, who promptly pulled it from a pouch in his belt and handed it to him. Benjamin scanned the horizon for signs of the enemy. None were in site, however. The only ships that he could see were the USS Insurgent, and the Pickering’s sister ship, the cutter Scammel.

There was no indication as to who fired, and the three ships continued to sail unprovoked. The wind picked up and the waves splashed slightly higher against the bow of the ship. Benjamin raised his eyeglass again and looked at the USS Insurgent, a few nautical miles ahead of the Pickering, when something rather odd caught his eye. In the sky, was a dark cloud. It was unlike anything he had seen before and seemed almost alive as it spun and churned in a ball in the sky. A mysterious energy began to emanate from the cloud, and it felt as if the light of the sky was drawn to it, making everything seem just ever so slightly dimmer.

“What a bizarre phenomenon,” Benjamin exclaimed, tapping the young sailor’s arm, and handing him the lens. “What do you make of this?” The wind picked up again, and blew long strands of hair into Benjamin’s face, a faint spray of ocean foam accented the moment. He wiped his hand across his brow with little thought and waited for the return of his scope.

The lad beheld for a moment, then looked back at him in confusion.

“I don’t know what to make of it, sir. It’s as if the sky itself has fractured!” Looking again, Benjamin couldn’t help but agree. The cloud had grown in the moments since last he looked, and for a moment he thought he saw people within the turmoil of darkness and energy. Surely not.

Ahead of them, The Insurgent plowed ahead, getting ever closer to the anomaly. There was a blinding light as a streak of crimson red lightning erupted from the center and connected with the ship’s mast. The immense ship rocked to the side in reaction to the blow. Wind suddenly blasted from the direction of the singularity and the waves responded instantly, building in force and speed. A large wave lifted the Insurgent, and it rode down the other side, spinning to its side.

“Brace yourselves!” Benjamin yelled into the wind, watching the larger ship spinning ahead of them. The wave rolled their direction, gaining in size. The massive wall of water hit them, and the ship began to rise, using its built momentum to climb to the top.

As they burst through the wave’s crest, the disheveled crew looked down into a terrifying, watery valley below. He wrapped his arms tight around a rope and gripped it with all his might as the ship tilted forward and plunged downward with neck-breaking speed. As the ship hit the trough, the abrupt stop hurled the ship’s crew to the deck and sent several flying overboard into the icy sea.

“Men overboard!” the lad called from behind Benjamin. He looked frantically around as his crew tried to regain their footing and raise the sails.

Dark clouds poured forth from the phantom orb, and bolts of lightning streaked in every direction. Rain blew harshly against his face.

The Insurgent had not fared well in the crashing wave. Its massive sails made it top heavy, and the array of steel cannons caused it to rock dangerously back and forth.

The Scammel wasn’t in much better condition but was significantly smaller. The crew was untethering the cannons and pushing them overboard into the sea. Another wave suddenly rose, catching the Insurgent and lifting it high. As it rocked, it no longer could keep itself upright and lost the battle against the sea. The turmoil of the ocean spun the massive ship and seemed to swallow her whole. In the blink of an eye, the vessel and its crew were nowhere to be seen.

Another wave crashed into the side of the Pickering, lifting Benjamin from the deck and hurling him into the torn and tattered sails of his ship. It began to list sideways, and he flailed desperately for anything to hold onto. The mysterious hole was over them now and from within it, broken pieces of stone and steel rained down onto the deck of the ship, shattering it into fragments. The rocking craft tore apart, and Benjamin was hurled into the rampant surf.

He gasped for breath as he broke through the surface of the water and watched as the devastated remains of his ship rested upside down in the waves. The large copper-bottomed brig moaned as it came apart, piece by piece.

The vicious eye of the now massive storm began to descend slowly, and out of its mouth flew two men, who splashed into the ocean near the Scammel. Continuing its descent, the ball of energy reached the sea’s surface, and the water came to life, exploding in all directions. Light flickered through the waves, lighting up everything underneath Benjamin. For a heartbeat, he saw the shapes of fish, swimming sailors, and flotsam peppering the water beneath him, and then it was dark again. 

In a breath, the storm cleared, and the blue skies returned. The devastating anomaly had been swallowed by the very ocean it had temporarily been the master of. Wreckage of the ships spread far and wide over the calming sea, as the Scammel worked desperately to reach the sailors in the waves.

Benjamin shivered as the icy grip of the depths hit him, and he looked around for the young man who was always at his side.

“Taitum, lad, where are you?” He shouted into the depths and then joined his men as they swam toward the devastated remains of the Pickering.