Bloody Night

There’s a chill breeze in the air. The wind is so cold it cuts right through to the bone. A thick layer of mist permeates on this dark, moonless night.

I stand outside, overlooking an angry sea. The waves constantly crash against the hard cliff wall. My body is chilled to the bone, but my eyes constantly strain looking at the dark shore. I eagerly await the return of the ship, the ship will return my family to me.

I spend hours in the cold and the wet. My clothes start to weigh on me with the water they absorb. I feel as though they are pulling me down. Yet I stand sentinel, keeping watch for that ship.

I sigh and wrap my arms around my body, futility keeping my body warm. I begin to shiver.

I begin to turn around. I see a shadow out of the corner of my eye, afloat on the horizon.

I jerk around to see the shadow of a ship.

“Is it?”, I think as I grab on to the railing for dear life.

I see the shadow come closer to the shore, turning in to port.

“I… I can’t believe this. I didn’t…”, I say as I dash from my perch.

The hard, unyielding ground below my feet helps me push myself forward on this oppressively cold night. I pump my legs as hard as I can. I’ve been waiting for this day for a month.

“I… I’m…”, I start to think as I hear the raw thud of my feet hitting the timbers of the pier, “I’m so happy.”

I get to the slip that the ship pulls in to, I eagerly await for the ram to meet the bow of the ship. The ramp slowly crawls its way down the dock to rest upon the ship’s deck. I hear a slight creak as it rests.

My feet walk up the ramp, almost as if they have feet of their own. They try to speed me to a happy return of family. Before I realize it, I’m on the deck of the ship. I can hear the ancient timbers bob and settle on the angry sea.

For a ship that just docked, it seems strangely deserted. I look around for any crew members or passengers, but there is just me. I stand there alone on this cold and dark night.

Suddenly I hear gentle footfalls behind me. I hear them get closer to me. I quickly turn around expecting to see someone behind me.

I stand there alone.

I sink to my knees.

“Where… Why…”, I start, tears running down my face.

I put my hands on the deck. I’m trying to make sure that this ship is real. It feels solid and whole underneath my fingers.

I stand up again. My legs wobble underneath the weight of my body. I attempt to put my foot solid on the deck. Another foot steps in front of the other. I slowly and on uncertain footing make my way over to the cabin. The door is closed fast.

I grab a hold of the ice-cold metal door knob. I take a deep breath before I turn the knob.

The knob turns easily. The door creaks loudly as it opens up in front of me.

The inside is lit with a dark gold glow of an oil lamp. I cautiously enter the cabin. It smells musty and of something that I’m not quite sure what that scent is. The air is heavy and humid. The air feels like it clings sickly to my skin as I walk forward.

I continue to walk through the narrow, almost claustrophobic hallways. As I continue to walk forward, I notice that this ship still seems to be completely deserted. A disgusting scent strengthens the more that I walk, the closer I get to the main area in the ship.

I light brightens as I get closer. My eyes begin to adjust to the light as I hear my feet sound sticky on the floor.

I look down to see my shoes in a thick pool of dark liquid.

A gasp leaves my lips as I look up. The walls are coated thick with blood. I put may hand on the sticky, wet wall as I again sink to my knees. Nothing could ever prepare me for the massacre before me. A large pile of bodies lie before me, disemboweled and skinned.

I couldn’t muster a scream. My legs stand me up. I run out of the room and back on to the deserted deck. Before I could stop, I had run off the ship and in to the deep dark of the night.