Chapter 15 – The Journey at Sea

The truck ordered by Edward Wilcox pulled into the parking lot. He sent over a team of men to assist Adam and Jensen load up the boat. By the amount of stuff, you would think they were leaving for a year.

"I hope the Shrimp Dancer can hold all of this," Adam says.

"Ah, don't worry about her," Jensen says. "She's been through a lot worse."

Adam stands there for a second. "There is something I always wondered? Why do they call a boat 'she'?"

"Like a woman," says Jensen, "A ship is unpredictable."

"You said it, not me." They both laugh. "If Ash was here, she would say that was sexist."

"That's an old sailor's joke. The real reason has something to do with the fact that a boat is associated to a mother taking care of a baby inside her womb. When we are all aboard, we are inside of her… like her unborn child. She takes care of us until we are delivered safely to our destination."

With the morning sun at their backs, Adam and Jensen load up the final equipment that they are going to need. Jensen sees Adam methodically folding up his wetsuit and some sort of armor. What is that?"

"Chainmail," Adam says and he perfectly folds it into neat creases. "It's to protect me from an animal bite."

"I know what it is," said Jensen. "It's used against sharks, not a giant squid. She'll bite right through that thing as she eats you like an apple."

Adam freezes in place. He forgot how easily the beast devoured his friend Conrad. Jensen snaps him out of his trance. "Here, help with the other stuff, would 'ya?" They both grab an end of the scuba-motorized vehicle.

Next, Jensen loads the LED light he bought recently. Adam noticed it. "Isn't that the thing that summoned the beast the last time?"

Jensen says, "I hope to be do it again."

"Are you crazy," said Adam.

"How else do you think we'll catch her?"

Adam nods his head and juts out his lower lip. "You got me there."

The last thing loaded are the provisions to keep their energy up. There is no telling how long they will be out there for. Mixed with all of that is stuff that was already on the boat. Adam surmises that most of this was around with Noah.

Jensen looks around. "Well, I guess this is it."

"Yeah," Adam responds, "No turning back now."

The Scrimp Dancer pulls away from the dock. Jensen is a fine boat pilot. Without even touching the sides, the boat cruises along the harbor. Most of the villagers gather round. As if it was the maiden voyage on the Titanic, they all wave them off. Those well-wishers standing on the pier heartily give them a loud cheer.

Adam goes along the deck and up to the front of the boat. He waves back at them.As the small fishing boat gains speed, the one person Adam wanted to see him off was not there. He hoped that Ashley would see him off. Maybe it is for the best. She was pretty upset when he left.

The Shrimp Dancer pass by sailboats. They all wave to them as if they are some sort of celebrity. Then it makes its way throughout the harbor, passing by the boardwalk, the shops, and the offices of Silicon Beach Realty.

The office window glares in the early morning sun. And standing in the frame Edward Wilcox with a big smirk on his face. If only Adam can take this beast down as well. Those in the village would really consider him a hero.

It makes its way from the harbor out to the open seas of the Pacific Ocean.

Looming into the choppy waters, Adam understands the significant of it all. The smells of the chilled, briny, slightly sulfurous odor hits Adam all at once. As if looking for something, he stares into the abyssal salty waters of the harbor. He gets a sneaky suspicion that something is looking back at him.

With full steam ahead, the foamy waves crash against the side of the boat splashing Adam's face. As it hits the breakers, the boat tips up to ride the wave. Jensen knows just the right subtleties to maneuver his craft. The boat darts a bit to the left, tossing Adam a tad. He grabs the side of the boat. Then leans over the edge of it. Tilting his head forward, he gives out the dry heaves.

Jensen notices and gives a little grin. "Ah, prone to getting sea sick are 'ya?"

"No, not usually," Adam gives a forced smile. It must be the anticipation of meeting the beast head on. His stomach does jumping jacks. Once again, the boat goes up and down and up and down and up… maybe this was not a good idea after all.

Shaking a bit, Adam reaches into his pocket and pulls out Conrad's Saint Christopher. Ah good… it is still there.

Jensen gives orders like he's a sea captain. "On this trip, there is not going to be any relaxing in the sun with a hammock sipping margaritas."

"Aye, mon capitaine!" Adam says with a crack voice.

"Italian?"

"No," Adam says, "French… I think. I heard it in an old pirate movie."

"Well, shiver me timbers and give me a beer from the chest."

Adam searches around. "Where is the chest?"

"It's the big brown thing at the stern."

Puzzled, Adam asks, "Is that the left of the boat?"

"No, that's starboard," said Jensen. He rubs his face, "Ah, God… this is going to be a long voyage."

Having a bit of a rough time walking along the side of the boat, Adam heads to the back of it. "Stern… I got it." He lets out an embarrassed laugh. "… I was just joking." Before he left, he gave himself a crash course in the parts of a boat. It did not seem to help him.

Adam lifts off the cushions that is on top of it. "Ah, and what bountiful booty is in this old war chest. The lid creaks open. He notices that something alive is in there. He jumps back. Hesitant, he walks towards the chest. Hmm. It seems that it is a person inside of it.

Slowly the lid opens up. Adam shouts out, "Ashley? What are you doing here?" He crosses his arms as his eyes widen so much, one can see the whites. "Look what I found."

Jensen yells out. "Is it the craft beers? I am not fond of them, but I know that you like them." Adam walks behind Ashley forcing her to the front of the boat. "What the hell!" responds Jensen? "How did you get on board?"

"She stowed away." Adam's nostrils flare.

"If she is here, who's watching Nikita?"

"I let Mrs. McCluskey take care of her."

"That wacko!" Adam said.

"Don't worry, she's in good hands."

"That's beside the point. Ashely can't come along," Jensen said. "She is not trained to handle things. For God's sake, you barely know what the hell you are doing?"

"Thanks for having my back," Adam said.

Jensen shakes his head. "What do we do with her?"

"I'm all for turning this thing around and drop Ashely back."

"It's too late for that," says Jensen.

"I know, I know."

"Is it so bad to have me go with you?"

Adam paces back forth. His right arm is wrapped around his body as he rest his elbow on it. He taps his fingers on his lips. "I will not be able to concentrate on the task on hand and protect you at the same time." A sheen of sweat transpires on his cheeks.

"I don't need protecting," she snaps back.

"What were you thinking?" Adam rubs the back of his neck.

"That if you want to throw away everything, I might as be by your side.

He avoids her gaze. Then shakes his head. He cannot argue with that. And how is he going to protect her if he can barely take care of himself? His is not a squid killer. He cannot even step on a spider without feeling guilty.

Given all of that, it's the risk that he was willing to take. The last thing he needs is to know that the love of his life is putting her life on the line as well. He lashes out at her, "If anything would happen – I would never forgive himself if you died too." Then he had to chuckle at himself on how absurd that sounded in his head.

"You know that came out stupid?"

He shook his head, realizing that it did not come out as he meant it. But, the sentiment was there and that's what he wanted to express.

Now that the mood was lightened, Ashley surveys the boat to look over everything when she noticed the equipment layout ready for action. The scuba gear, the tanks, the wetsuit. And something else that caught her eye.

She sees the chainmail sitting next to the wetsuit. She picks it up with her index finger and thumb and holds it up in the air as if it was contaminated. She looks at Adam. "Taking the knight in shining armor business seriously I can see."

He pulls it away from her, "It's not armor. The links of metal on the suit stops the penetration of sea life."

She scoffs at him. "You do realize that once that giant… thing… gets a hold of you, armor or no armor is going to stop it."

Adam tilts his head down, lifts his eyes up, and gives her a side smirk. "You do know that the squid will not be the only thing we'll encounter out there," he points to the ocean.

The laughter on her face drops as her mouth turns down. Her body slumps forward. Oops! She did not think of that now did she? Adam would throw a zinger at this point, but the seriousness of what they are about to face is no laughing matter.

He too is having regrets. His mind goes blank and when he tries to speak, he has difficulties swallowing. "I'm sure the other predators will give way once the colossal squid comes around." Her eyes are about to popped out of her head and gives him a long, hard stare. Nervous, he rubs the back of his neck. "I mean, when we encounter her, it will be—"

"—are you two landlubbers going to chat all day," Jensen says, "Or are you going to make the best of a bad situation?"

"Jensen is right. We have to make do." That does not change the fact when it's Showtime, and they face the Kraken, Ashley will be out of the way and safe. Adam takes a few breaths, clears his mind with rational thoughts. He must find ways to keep her busy so she doesn't get harmed when they get into the thick of things.

Adam's new goal now is to protect his wife. The beast be damned!

****

Superstitious travelers of yore thought if you went far enough, you would fall off the edge. The flat earth was a myth because many sea faring boatmen knew that was not going to happen. The biggest fear was sea monsters. With large whales and other giant creatures, it is no wonder they used that term to refer to those beasts.

Another enemy of sea adventurers is the climate. Both unpredictable and unyielding. You can have calm days, but most of the time, it is a tempest in a teapot. Visibility is your enemy. Any kind of fog can be a killer.

The cool, dry warm air moved atop of the body of the cooler waters of the Pacific forming a marine layer. Soon after the water vapors finally cleared as the Scrimp Dancer clips along the fresh breeze into the great unknown of the Pacific Ocean.

The crew did not have to wait long for those rough waters. Jensen yells out, "Grab on to the equipment, we don't want to lose it." Adam heads towards the diving gear, but the vessel lost control crashing along the waves. Adam too lost control as he fell on the deck.

Being an experienced navigator, Jensen reduces the speed of the boat. This allows him to regain command of the craft. Soon the waves got bigger. Jensen directed the boat so to keep it on top of the breakers. He approaches the surf at a 45-degree angle. He fights the controls the best he can.

He barks out commands to his sea-weary crew. "Heave-ho!"

"What?" The sound of the wind is so loud, Adam cannot hear him.

"Set the main and headsail opposite each other!" Jensen shouts.

"The what?"

"Never mind, I'll do it." Jensen rushes passed Adam as if he was not there. He pins the boat in one spot. "There. Now we can ride out the storm." He breathes out a sigh of relief. He looks at Adam. "Be of some use, would 'ya? Be on the lookout for large pieces of trash."

"Trash?" Adam replies.

"Ashely, can you help out your husband." Jensen raises one eyebrow and gives Adam a glassy stare. "Yes, trash. Any debris out there that can rip up the Shrimp Dancer open like a can of sardines."

The sun rose higher into the noon sky, beating over this un-motley crew. As soon as it reached its apex high in the atmosphere, it reflects a silhouette of the Shrimp Dancer on the mirrored surface of the sea.

Living by the ocean has it special moments. And watching the sun move around is one of them. The earth rotates around, but gives the illusion of the sun doing the moving. It is fun to watch this nature's magic show of mind over matter. Then it slowly dips down and casts a red hue into the dawn sky, which softens the mood.

Beyond in the distance, shining bright is the Solar System and that perfect sphere of hot plasma baking down upon them. As it appears to descend, it slowly dissolves beneath the skylines vanishing point. Almost hypnotizing as if time itself froze.

This was the winding down of a very long and trying day. Jensen is much calmer as well. He joins Adam and Ashley who are catching the show from the edge of the boat. "Ah," Jensen said, "The golden hour!"

Looking towards the heavens, Adam takes a long, deep satisfied breaths. The voyage is peaceful now. His smile radiates across the bow.

Ashely too grins in a feeling of serene that implies tranquility. "I feel calm right now."

Adam looks at her. "I think you are simply tired."

He walks over to the bow and admires the interesting color palette that nature has to choose from as she paints a startling array of shades and hues splashed over the horizon sky. Rembrandt has nothing on this world's oldest artist. Often admired while no gallery has ever been able to capture its ever-changing landscapes.

****

Nature's art show is also being played out over Harbor Shores. The dusk's late night lights shine through the windowsill of Silicon Beach Realty. Very rarely does Edward Wilcox find time enough to enjoy the beauty of this bedroom community. However, he is not reflecting on any of this. He ponders on the thought that soon that fool Belfort will meet his end.

A slow moving smile reaches his lips like the cat that ate the canary.

"Edward," says secretary Suzy, "Did you hear me?"

"Hmmm? Oh, yeah… The charter schools. Graduate all of them."

"All of them?" Suzy said, "Some of them have horrible grades."

"Are we really going to be so cruel as to hold these kids back?" Edward said in mock sincerity.

She giggles. "Of course not." She makes notes on a clipboard.

"And bury the grades. We do not anyone to see the scores. Too many snooping eyes are upon us as there is."

"Right." She starts to leave, but has an afterthought. "Oh, what do I tell the media?"

"Tell them… um… tell them… that our high graduation rate proves that children in our Charter Schools receive better education than those at privatized schools."

Her devious smile matches his. "Good," she writes it down. "Very good!" She turns to leave. She slams the door as it rattles shut.

He walks over to the bar that he has next to his desk, reminiscent of Mad Men. Picking up a few cubes of ice into his glass, Edward pours himself a heaping amount of bourbon. Clutching it in his grubby hands, he walks over to his executive chair, plops into it, and spins around. He stares into the popcorn ceiling and takes a long…slow…sip.

Ahhhhh! Life is good!

****

After battling Poseidon all day, the trio weighs anchor at about 50-odd miles from shore. After eating a very humbling meal of scraps, they prepare to go to sleep. Jensen suggests that they take shifts. "In case the beast decides to give us a wakeup call."

Both Adam and Ashley find a cozy spot to lie down a cushion. He gives her his blanket. Realizing that he is cold, Ashley cuddles close to him. After a few awkward minutes, Adam breaks the ice. "Now you cannot say that I haven't taken you anywhere."

"Swell," Ashley said. "An evening under the stars. Coronado would have been nice, but I guess I'll take it."

"And the price is right."

"Don't ruin the moment Adam."

"Right," said Adam.

After lying snuggled together for a few minutes, Ashley turns to him and says, "Now that we are in the middle of this wonderful adventure with our fate unknown, there is something I've always wanted to know," she asks.

"Yes, we have plenty of time… that is… until watchdog Jensen comes by to have me relieve him."

She brings up about him getting fired from the newspaper job. "It was the only decent job you had and you blew it."

Adam holds in his furry. But, she wouldn't stop. Rolling over to the other side of the cushion, he tries to hold it in and not respond. Finally, he unleashes everything he wanted to say for the last five years. "I saw what was going on, you know?" Maybe he didn't see what he thought he saw.

"What are you talking about?"

He sits up. An aching in his stomach swells as if he swallowed a bowling ball. "I saw you and Brad together."

"Your editor? He was an asshole!" Ashley grabs the covers and rolls over on her side.

"That's besides the point." He knows what he saw. He can still feel the pain that started in his head, but then permeated throughout whole body. This feeling is as natural as a snakebite. "Do you remember that party?"

"What party? There was so many—" She stops herself. "Wait," she sits up, "That one. I know the one you are talking about now because of…" she turns away from him, "… never mind."

"Go ahead…" Adam folds his arms. "…I would like to hear it." That image of Brad placing his hand around Ashley's waist, forever burned in his mind. He always wanted to know why. He must have messed up somewhere.

She responds, "Brad was drunk—"

"—what else is new."

Ashley lashes out, "And he forced himself on me."

They stare at each other for what seems like an eternity. Instead of anger, he felt shame. If anyone he should trust, it ought to be Ashley. "I just thought-- I'm sorry, I should have known."

"That's what you saw that night?"

After what he thought was an affair, turned out to one sided. Then he thinks about their recent fights. He does not know why or how they start. Only thing he knows is that once it does, both of them have to win at all cost. Each one looking to find blame with the other. Perhaps it was me? Maybe I was not assertive enough with no career.

He stands up. He walks over to the edge of the boat. Then drops his chin to his chest. What have I done? Not knowing what to say, Adam mumbled, "That's what I figured. I knew you wouldn't betray me."

All of it comes back to him like a flashback. After the party when he asked her to explain herself, she clammed up which is not like her. She likes to talk. They never mentioned it since, but the emotion from that day lingered on.

"So, what's your beef with me?" she asks.

"I approached Brad about it the next day when he sobered up. I told him I didn't like the idea of him making time with my wife."

"What did you do? Oh, no you didn't?"

"Yes, I slugged him."

"You don't even like to step on a bug that is in your path. How could you have--"

"--he called you a slut."

Shocked, her face drops. "Um… well… that's not what you said when you got fired. You said that he sent you on an assignment you didn't want to do."

"Do you think I could have told you that?" Adam said. "Besides that's exactly what did happened. After that, um… occurred… I was not fired right away because I was at the paper for so long. But, he resigned me to basically a beat position. As if I was a rookie."

"It wasn't worth losing your job over."

"I did it Ash. I put up with it for about a month. Each time he went too far to get me to quit. Then I snapped. The plant closure in Phoenix was the last straw. It was so obvious that it was an inside job. But Brad did not want to hear about it. I had to write the story the way he wanted."

"What did you do next?"

"I told him to write it the way he wanted and quit."

"Fine time to get altruistic."

"Well, once a journalist compromises his values, then he is nothing more than a stenographer."

"Well, if confession is good for the soul, then yours must be clean." Exhausted, she stands up and takes a look at the deep, dark waters of the ocean. "I think you are getting this off of your chest because you think we are going to die tonight."

Adam walks to the back of the boat, "Not if I can help it."

"Where are you going?"

"I think Karl needs me to relieve him."

****

After only a few hours, it was Adam's turn to keep watch. After his discussion with Ashely, he did not get much sleep. Groggy, the dark glow of the sea before him seems to fade a bit. The light gentle breeze hits his face. He pulls up the collar of his jacket to fight the cold. He takes a deep breath and smells the brisk air. He gets a chill that makes him shiver. What is it about the night that seems so eerie, Adam wonders?

At night, the ocean is as dark as the sky.It is rather unsettling. Piercing through, Adam can just make out the harbor lighthouse, flashing in some sort of rhythm. Kind of like the metronome that sat on top of the piano he was forced to practice when he was kid.

Glancing down at the water below, Adam realizes that there is nothing underneath them for miles and miles. When one is at a drift in the ocean, you realize how much water it holds. There is nothing between you and the stars flickering like a firefly up above you. Between the set of neatly arranged stars is that big old white ball the moon.

There is nothing to do but look into the water. Just a murky void of emptiness. Adam's eyes start to drift a bit as he fights to stay awake. As he glares at the ocean, his brain plays tricks with him. Flash back of the Kraken rushing towards him. And like a film on a movie screen, the water plays back that moment when Conrad pushes him way and gets eaten by the beast. He hears the shrieking of his friend's voice fading into the night sky. It still gives him the willies.

He wakes himself up. Must not fall asleep. He walks about hoping that sleep will not overcome him. However, nothing seems to help. He glances over at Ashley snoozing away. Yeah, sure… sleep why don't you.