Ghosts of the Deep
“Man Over board! Man over board!” That was the last thing Sef heard as the waves swallowed him whole. There was nothing they could do; they were having enough trouble just keeping the ship a float as the storm mercilessly pounded the deck. Sef struggled to keep his head above for water for only a second before another wave came and pulled him under. All went black as the air quickly escaped his lungs and he sank to the bottom of the see never to be seen again…
“Gasp!” Sef jerked awake as if being torn back to life. Sef is a novice sailor and member of the royal nave. He stands 5’8 and keeps a rapier by his side for protection. He was on his way back from successful negations with a nearby kingdom when his ship got caught in a large storm. While trying to secure the mast a wave hit the ship and threw him over board, brining us to where are now…
As he Looked around something was not right. He was on the deck of a ship. Not the one he fell from, but a completely different one. Dim blue and green lights floated around and showed him an empty ship deck, it’s rails broken and destroyed in many places and the deck looking like it is rotting away. He was in the front of the ship, and the vast size made it impossible to see the back. He thought he could hear wisper, but could not make anything out. He must have been saved by the ships crew. But why would they leave him on deck alone like this? And something is off, but what? “Gaa, dame fish, get out of my face” Sef hollered as he bated it away with my hand…
“FISH! I’m under water!” he quickly looked around again. There were fish swimming around the ship, and other aquatic animals attached to the deck. “I’m on a sunken ship! But how! How am I breathing! What is going on here?”
Behind the Sef is a trap door, so he gathers his nerves and opens it. He descends a ladder into room is full of water. For some reason he is unaffected by it. It neither slows him down nor allows him to swim in it, as if it wasn’t really there. Down the ladder the room is still lit with the strange blue and green lights. A blue light passes in front of him and feeling of sorrow swell up inside of him. An urge to reach out and touch it over whelms him, and when he does a flash of blue light blinds him. When the light fads he finds him self up on deck again, but this time it’s different. The ship is gliding across the waves and the sun shines bright. He is down on his knees with a bucket next to him and a wet cloth in his hands. As he tries to stand up shackles and chains pull him back down. “What are you doing! Get back to work!” a gruff voice commands. He turned his head to see a tuff looking man with a black beard standing behind him. He is holding a cutlass in his hand and has a blunder bust at his side.
“But sir, I d..” Sef started to say, but the man knocks him to the ground with the helm of his rapier.
“I said get back to work!” The man shouted.
‘Sir, I don’t belong here!” Sef pleads.
“I warned you before!” The man says then knocks Sef on his back and pins him down with his food.
“Please!” Sef pleads as the man raises his sword and shoves it into Sef’s chest. Pain fills his body and blinds him, but only for a second before Sef finds him self once again in the water filled room. Sef franticly feels around his chest only to find it unscratched. With a sigh of relief he steps down from the last step and looks around. He is now on the Gun deck, its back half blocked cannons and random cargo, making it impassible. The ladder to the infirmity is below him to the right. Sef turns to the left and looks around, searching for an explanation to what’s happening. He passes by a skeleton and inspects it. Seeing nothing interesting he keeps walking, shortly reaching the obstacles blocking his way. He looks around but can’t find a way to pass, so he turns back, but sd he does he sees one of the green lights hovering right in front of him. As he stairs at the light hatred consumes him, hatred so intense it forces him to draw his rapier and attack the light. As the blade passes threw the light a green flash blind him. This time when the light fades he finds himself and several crew members crowding around a large, bell build man who appears to be the caption of the ship. The captain has long curly hair, a think black beard, and stands about 5’9”. Standing next to him is the man who stabbed him last time. Before Sef can say or do anything the captain holds out his hand to show the crew melon sized green and blue gem. The captain than says “this is it men! This is the stone of souls! As long as it’s on our ship we will be invisible!”
“What’s that stone supposed to do anyway?” One of the men asks.
“Watch,” With this the captain unexpectedly draws his sword and slits Sef’s throat. Again pain blinds him and brings him back to the sunken ship. The green light moves back, then slowly starts to take a shape. Soon floating in front of self is the ghost of a human, with a blood thirsty look in its eyes and a hatful green glow coming from his body. The ghost draws a cutlass and slashes at Sef. Sef raises his blade to block, but the ghost sword passes right threw Sef’s and makes a gash in his right shoulder. Sef drops his sword and winches in pain. The ghost attacks again, so Sef back steps and trips. He falls to the floor, his face landing inches from skeletons face. Fumbling around Sef Grabs a cutlass out of the skeletons hand rolls over, and stabs the ghost as it’s making another attack. Instead of passing threw or cutting the ghost the rapier starts to glow blue. The ghost drops its blade, which vanishes as it hits the ground, and begins moan in pain. Suddenly the ghost begins to be drawn into it cutlass, quickly being absorbing. When the ghost is gone Sef sighs a relief and takes a close look at the sword.
The sword looks ordinary, but a flow of energy is felt coming from the helm. The blade looks brand new, and it seems to be absorbing all the blue and green light that’s hitting it. Sef straps the sword to his hip and moves back to the stairs.
He first tried to return to the upper deck, but finds a green barrier blocking the door, so he instead moves down towards the infirmary. In the infirmary he finds more lights, with more blues than greens. Sef slowly picks threw the cupboards looking for anything interesting. On the bed lies another skeleton which Sef looks at it for a second then turns to shift there a box on the near by table. As he searches another cupboard he seems something moving towards him out of the corner of his eye. He spins around and stabs another ghost. As the sword starts to glow he looks up to see the ghost is the sprit of a woman. She has short black hair, is dressed in a fine blue dress, and stands about 5’5”. A blue light is being emitted from the ghost as the sword begins to absorb her and looks into her eyes. All he sees is sorrow. A sorrow deeper than the resting place of this ship, longer than the flow of time, and more desperate than a mother who’s lost her child. Sef is over come by the look in her eyes and pulls the sword out, stopping it from doing it’s job. The woman falls to her knees and begins to fall forwards. Sef catches her in his arms. As he does another flash of light consumes him, once again taking him above the sea.
This time Sef is locked in a room. The room is dark and dirty with only a single chair in it. The only light comes from a bared window in the door, threw which voices can be heard.
“Why doesn’t the captain just kill her like the rest of the women?”
“I think he’s got a thing for her.”
“You may be right. Course after this I don’t think he’s got much of a chance.”
“Your right. Hmmm… I haven’t felt the touch of a women in a long time…”
“Neither have I. How about we have some fun with her?” Sef hears the sound of a key turning in the lock.
“I told you to watch her and keep her safe!” The captains voice bellows.
“Ca-ca-captain! We d-d-didn’t mean…” The sound a sword being draws and screams of pain is all that’s heard next. Shortly there’s no sound a shadow blocks out the light. Sef once again finds him self surrounded by water, holding the women in his arms. She looks up at him, the same sorrow in her eyes. Sef is unable to meet her gaze and in stead looks away as he helps her up. She nods her head then vanishes into the eerie quit.
Sef looks around the room one last time, dazed and confused. As the ghost presence fades he feels as if a huge burden has been lifted from his shoulders. Still not sure what’s going on Sef pushes threw the door to the sleeping quarters. On the other side he sees the room is inhabited by many green lights. An aurora of hatred burst threw the newly opened door and all but over whelms him. Sef quickly slams the door shut, instantly cutting off the hatful energy on the other side. He gasps for air and waits to calm down. As he settles down he noticed a trap door leading down to a lower deck, so he approaches it and tugs on the pull handle, only to find it locked with no key insight. He slumps down in disperse, fearing opening the door again. He stares at the lock wondering if he can handle the energy in the sleeping quarters. As he stares a faint blue light comes into view from the lock. Slowly a pair of blue glowing hands grows from the lock, with a small key cradled between them. The hands stretch out towards Sef, offering him the key as if an angle were offering him salvation. Sef slowly reaches for the key and graciously accepts the generous gift. The hands quickly pull back down out of site once Sef has the key. Sef hurray unlocks the door and opens it just in time to see the women from before vanish once again.
“Who is she? And why did she help me?” Sef wonders as he descends to the supply deck. There aren’t as many lights in here as the other rooms, only about 6 or 7. Sef cannot see any greens so he proceeds threw the neatly stacked supply crates, squinting hi eyes to see in the dim light. As he walks one of the blue lights dips down low and collides with him. The now familiar flash of light engulfs Sef and takes him once again to another time.
This time he in what looks like the captains cabin, placing fine satin sheets on a four post bed. Most of the room is blocked from view by a curtain. This side of the room appears to have just been sectioned off, and looks to have been set up for a lady. As Sef is looking around he hears a door open from the other side of the curtain.
“Sorry about that harsh stay, I’m not use to having lady aboard my ship,” says the captain as he enters the room, “I have had one of servants set up a section of my quarters for you to stay; I hope it’s to your likings.”
“Why are you doing this for me?” A soft female voice says as foot steps are heard approaching the curtain. The foot steps stop and two figures are seen standing just on the other side of the curtain. There is no response to her question. The larger of the two figures seems to ponder something for a moment, then pulls the curtain aside to revile him self as the captain, and the other as the ghost woman. Sef only has a split second to realize this before the captain sees him and shouts “Why are you still here! I told you to be out of here before I got back!” The captain then grabs Sef and throws him hard against the wall. The woman gasps as the captain raises his first. “NO! Don’t!” the women shouts just before the punch knocks Sef out cold.
Sef once again finds himself on the supply deck. He takes a moment to recover then continues on. As he walks he sees two figures standing at the end of the path, one seems to have been backed into the wall by the other. Sef Rushes forwards to see the ghost woman being attacked by a green ghost. Sef attempts to stab the green ghost, but it seems to know he’s coming and quickly vanishes. Sef puts his sword away and approaches the Woman.
As Sef gets closer a feeling of fear grips him, stopping him dead in his tracks. He starts to turn around and run, but then sees the women sitting on the floor curled up in a ball, shacking. Sef takes another step towards the women in spite of the urge to run. As he gets closer the fear gets strong, demanding he runs! Sef forces him self to take another step, and another, each step close feels like some one’s piling more and more weight on his back. When he finally gets close enough he reaches out and pulls her weightless body against his. Fear and sorry fill his body completely, making his head spin and drowning out all other feelings. He forces him self to hold on, like a drop of water clinging to the tip of a leaf. After what feels like an eternity a new emotion begins to grow. It’s a strange feeling that Sef has no idea what it is, but as he stands there comforting her he realizes what it is: hope. Hope and peace. The feeling quickly fills him, pushing out the fear and sorrow as if they were nothing. Sef looks down to see the women’s tear stained face looking up at him. Her hazel eyes catch his, this time showing a comfort they haven’t felt in ages. Sef holds her tightly and softly whispers “I know not what’s going on here, but I promise I’m going to set you free.” He looks at her face again to see a smile; she then lays her head on his chest and fades away once again, leaving Sef alone in the dark.
Sef shacks the last remnants of unnatural emotions from his head and finds the ladder leading up to the galley. The galley is busy with blue and green lights floating around. The hate of the green dominates the atmosphere and tests the deepest levels of Sef’s will. Sef quickly finds the ladder to the gun deck and dashes towards it, but as he nears it a green light hovers down in front of the ladder and takes shape. The ghost that had attacked the women now faced Sef holding its cutlass and ready for a fight. Sef draws his blade and attacks the ghost. The ghost doges and swings at Sef, Making a gash in his arm, then swings again with a horizontal slash which Sef ducks and allows it to pass threw the wall. Sef wastes no time as he stabs the ghost and begins to absorb it into his sword. As the ghost moans in pain Sef wonder what knowledge it might hold for him. Sef reaches out and touches the ghost, sending him self back the surface once again.
“Secure the sails! Hurry! You there! What are you standing around for! Tie down that line now!” Sef is holding a rope in his hands as huge waves rock the ship. Wind howls and rain pours down onto the already half flooded deck. The storm is over taking the crew and slaves with unnatural furry. Every one’s scrabbling to tie down lines and praying. Just then a piece of wood smacks Sef in the face. Sef is now staring at the ghost as the last of its sole is consumed by his blade. He climbs up the ladder onto the Gun deck once again.
Seeing no green spirits around Sef sits down to rest, exhausted from the trip threw the boat. He gazes at the desperate spirits as they aimless drift around, broadcasting there sorrow into the air. A feeling of hopelessness takes hold of Sef and he begins to cry. He cries for the slave who watches his son get throw overboard, cries for the man who is forced to watch his wife be raped and murdered, cries as yet another man sees his village burn to ashes. All the sprits memories and pain now flow threw him, all telling the tail of the evil the crew and captain have committed. There was no chance to save there loved ones, no chance to get free and return to there homes. All was hopeless as the pirates pillaged there villages and took them captive. All was hopeless then, all is hopeless now. There’s nothing Sef can do, it’s hopeless...
hopeless…
hopeless…
“
You promised” a faint whisper enters Sef’s ear. A familiar feeling begins to pull at his heart, urging him to continue.
It’s not hopeless! He thinks
“It’s not hopeless” he whispers
“
IT’S NOT HOPELESS!”he yells. The spirits scatter in a frenzy. They had been gathering around Sef, being drawn to him and feeding off his will. That’s it! There feeding off my energy, not because they want to harm me, but because they need hope, they all need hope and happiness. But what stopped them…
Sef then notices a hand on his chest. He looks down to see the woman lying on the floor next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He’s got his arms around her and is caressing her gently. He can feel her pulling at his energy, but she’s also giving him some in return. She’s using his hope and giving him courage. He can feel him self getting stronger. He sits there for a while, letting her rest with him. After a while he dozes off, holding her like a lover, and enters a peaceful dream.
Sef finds himself lying in a grassy field staring up at a warm summer sky. Behind him a tall, leafy oak shades him, and lying next to him, with a smile on her face, is the ghost woman. They lie there holding each other and watch the clouds drift by. Sef turns his head to see her looking at him and they eyes meet. He leans in to kiss her, but as he does the sky turns black. Lighting begins to flash and thunder cracks. The wind howls and strips the leaves from the tree. The grass withers and dies and a bitter chill cuts threw the air. “How dare you betray me!’ A sinister voice Booms threw the dreamscape.
Sef springs up out of his sleep. Hovering in front of him and quickly taking shape is a large, dark green light. The site chills Sef to the bone as the captains face comes into view. Sef’s eyes meet the captains to see nothing but hate and rage. Hate powerful enough to fuel a hundred wars, more intense than a volcano, and determent enough frighten even the gods. The ghost women hold Sef tight, as if begging for protection. Sef fumbles for his cutlass, but the captain reaches down and lifts Sef up by the neck. FLASH!
Sef is in the captions quarters as a tremendous storm rages out side. On a table in frond of him sits the stone of souls and to his left is a familiar four post bed, and chained to the bed is the women.
“You must destroy that infernal thing!” She pleads
“Wha..” Sef begins to ask
“Captain, if you don’t none of our souls will ever find rest! I beg you!” Sef Grabs the cutlass strapped to his side and starts to make a swing at the stone, but as he’s about to hit it a loud crash is heard and he’s thrown to the side. “The ships been stuck by lightning! She’s going down!” some one cries out as everything fades to black.
As Sef returns to the sunken ship the captain hurls him across the room. Sef hits the wall and scrambles to his feet as the captain grabs the women and pulls her up threw the ceiling. Sef jumps up and attempts to grab her ankles but his hand passes right threw it. Sef falls to the ground as despair once again fills his mind. “Not this time!” he tells him self, then picks up his sword and rushes up the ladder to the upper deck.
Now he facing the door to the captain’s cabin Sef grabs his sword and takes one last moment to prepare. He lowers his head and shacks off the influence of the spirits, the looks at the door once again. This time, standing front of the door is the women, with a mask of terror covering her face. Sef reaches for her, but as he does a glowing green arm reaches threw the door and pulls her in. Sef kicks open the door and rushes into the room. Inside the room is untouched by time. Lit candles, with motionless, shed a glow across shinny gold plates and dinnerware, fine silk curtains that line the room, and a four post bed with fine satin sheets. Shacked to the bed the women’s body lays motion less. The middle of the room is dominated by a large round table with a melon sized green and blue gem sitting on it. Looming over the gem the captain’s body sits, his head bowed, staring at the gem. It was like looking at a painting, a painting of the last moments before the ship sank. Sef walks over to the table and reaches for the Stone of souls. As his hand is about to touch the gems smooth surface the captains hand leaps up and seizes Sef’s. Sef looks as the captain’s lifeless body raises its head, his skin glowing green. He and the captain look each other in the eye for a second, the captain’s hatred burning brighter than ever. This time Sef isn’t consumed by it however, instead a courage burns in his eyes. A determination that is matched only by the captain’s hatred and the women’s sorrow. Sef was not going to be stopped. He knew what he had to do; he had to destroy the stone of soles!
The captain flings Sef across the room. Sef leaps to his feet and charges the captain. The captain parries the blow then cuts Sef’s shoulder with his cutlass. Sef spins around and swings his sword, but the captain blocks the blow with his own sword and pushes Sef back. Sef falls to the ground and the captain makes a vertical stab. Sef rolls out of the way then impales the captain in the chest with his sword. The captain falls to his knees and slumps over.
Sef stands up and looks at 4 post bed. The women is sitting on the bed, watching Sef. Sef grabs a key ring off the captain’s belt and rushes to her. He quickly finds the key to her shackles and sets her free. As she stands up Sef holds his hand out to her. She smiles and reaches for him, but just as there about to touch a sword hits Sef hard in the ribs. He falls over and lands on his back, blood gushing from his side and several broken ribs screaming in pain. Sef looks up to see the captain standing over him, Sef’s sword still impaled in his gut. The captain lets out a soundless laugh then raises his sword to deal the finishing blow. Sef watches as the sword starts to come down.
“NOOO!” A ghostly voice rings out, and then the women body slams the captain, causing him to drop his sword and land on the ground. Sef watches as she does her best to keep the huge man at bay, then notices the sword next to him and the table looming over him. He grabs the sword and forces him self up. Sef sees the captain getting to his feet as he slams the sword down into the gem. As the gem shatters a gale of wind picks ups and moans of pain and rejoice begin to echo threw out the ship. Sef watches as everything begins to spiral inwards towards the shattered gem. Sef sees sprites being pulled into an invisible void and vanish. He sees the captain’s spirit being pulled out of its dead body and fight as it’s drawn into the void. As it passes by Sef It swings at him, but Sef doges and watches as the spirit vanishes into the after life. Then he sees her. He sees her spirit being drawn into void with the rest of them and reaches out and grabs her. He pulls her into him and holds her tight as the rest of the spirit world is draw in in. They stand holding each other as the lights fade and everything goes black…
Sef wakes up to some one bandaging his wounds. “Sef! Thank the gods you’re alive!” The ships medic shouts. Sef looks around to see he’s back on his own ship, with the medical staff is rushing around caring for the many injured by the storm.
“What happened?” Sef asks.
“You were thrown over board during the storm,” the doctor replies, “We found you floating on a plank that had broken off the ship. We all thought you were dead.’
“So that was all a dream?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’ve been out for a while. And look at these injuries! If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were in a sword fight, not a storm!” Just then a man breaks into the room. “The look out just saw some one floating on a crate!”
Story By:
Thomas Clark
I'm not that good.