S. Welles - To Ocean's End

“He’s not,” Sam said. “There’s more to it. ‘Jessie’ is only her nickname. Her real name…” He gestured to me and let the unspeakable name hang in the air. The name wasn’t taboo. Wouldn’t bring down the wrath of the sea on us either. It simply didn’t give us fond memories.

“Amphitrite,” I said.

Cancer stared at me and paled. “She has the same name.”

“Her arrival means it’s time for a visit to our favorite cave. I have to bring her with me if I can convince her to stay.”

“You mean ‘with us,’” Rammus said. “No way we’re lettin’ you go it alone—or with just her.”

A particularly bad memory from long ago roiled around in my head. I’d been thinking about it on and off ever since Ted let slip the whole nickname thing. I’d never told any of them. It looked like I’d have to, but later. Right now it was too much at once. “I won’t pressure any of you to come. In fact, I advise all of you to stay on the boat when I go in the cave. It’ll be very dangerous. We didn’t have a girl last time. It’ll be very different this time. More dangerous.”

“We don’t care,” Rammus said. “All of us want to see you free of your curse.” The rest voiced their agreement.

Cancer said, “I’m sorry, Captain. I didn’t understand her importance. I’ll stop giving her a hard time.”

“That’s why you should never question my orders,” I said with a humorless grin. I’d tried to be funny, but the humor left my voice before I finished saying it. “But don’t apologize to me; apologize to her.”

The doc winced. “Fine. Maybe it’ll help things in the long run.”

“Can’t hurt.” I looked at their downcast faces. Yeah, I felt just as lousy as them. I wished I could hide in my lockdown container until the need to go to the cave passed, but that wasn’t possible. The cave was an unavoidable round of torture. “I need all of you to keep thing quiet for the next five days. Don’t tell those three about my curse and tell no one else about our impending trip to Australia. Just tell them I’m sick, which, in a roundabout way, is true.”

They all nodded.

“Just carry on as normal. Don’t give our new techies anything to worry about, and don’t tell Jacobi or Sauna about the trip. That’s no one’s job but mine. And keep on eye on Jacobi. Make sure he doesn’t go stir crazy.”

“And keep Jessie away from him,” Cancer said unhappily. “He’s been ranting, Captain.”

Well that’s just plain fantastic. “Great,” I said sarcastically. “Give him meds or something, and definitely keep her away from him. I’ll deal with him as soon as I can.”

“What if Jessie starts asking questions?” Mido asked.

“We’re still taking her to Cyprus.”

“Why?” Cancer asked. “It seems like a waste if you need her.”

“I’m not making a hostage of her.” I straightened up and grabbed the door latch. “If she doesn’t stay, then I’ll just have to go on without her.”

“But Amphitrite is so fickle,” Rammus said. “She might make you sail all the way back for her.”

“Then start making it hard for her to want to leave.” I glanced meaningfully at Mido. He nervously ran a hand through his hair and wore a faint guilty smile. I almost laughed. He hated being put on the spot like that. He didn’t mind talking about a one-night stand and such, but I could tell by the way he held himself while cooking that he’d taken to her. He’d trip over his own words if anyone asked him what he thought of the girl. “Anyway, you all survive my lockdowns on a monthly basis. You can survive this one, too.” I pulled the door open. “Rammus, lock me in. Everyone else go back to bed and get my curse off your minds. The more you dwell on it, the more likely you’ll slip up. Now good night and see you in five days.” I stepped inside and pulled the door closed with a clang, but not without seeing their solemn faces first. Recent funeral or not, having a girl named Amphitrite on board was eating at them. I didn’t blame them. In fact, I was grateful they were willing to go through all this for my sake.

Closing the door immersed me in the safety of total darkness. The boat’s rise and fall on the waves was my only clue as to what my external surroundings were.

Metal scuffing came from just the other side of the door as Rammus secured a lock on each door latch. Once everything fell silent, I limped to the cot that awaited me on the other end.

As soon as the container door closed, Jessie rushed down the stairs and back to her bunk, not wanting to further risk getting caught. She’d heard all of it—the curse, the cave, the person who shared her name—every last word.

She’d followed them because she was worried they were plotting a way to keep her on the ship for less than gentlemanly reasons. They were all men. How could she trust them, especially when Dyne hadn’t tried to wake her, Ed, or Ted? She understood why now, but had no intention of saying anything until she got all her facts straight.

She’d been right about them wanting to keep her aboard, but not the reason behind it. The whole conversation had been so bizarre. She’d almost pushed the door wider when Cancer apologized to Dyne about how he’d treated her. Not one of her offenders had ever expressed remorse for hurting her, much less scaring her and making her feel even more inferior, like Cancer had.

Jessie slowed her flight to a silent prowl when she reached the hall where the cabins lay. Gentle snoring and a white noise machine gave her movements some cover. She pulled off and lined up her boots with Ed’s and Ted’s, then slipped into the bottom bunk, doing her best to rustle and thump as little as possible. She’d taken the bottom bunk so the two techies could sleep closer together. Ed and Ted had gone to sleep both nights while holding hands, Ed on his belly up top, and Ted on his back in the middle, their fingers intertwined until they nodded off. It was a sweet sight. She found herself almost wishing for the same companionship.

Maybe one day. Right now it was too soon, the nightmares too common, and her insides too raw.

Soft footsteps made their way to the cabins. Jessie pinched the curtain and parted it a crack. Black silhouettes interrupted the orange glow from the night lights that lined the walls along the floor and ceiling. Low voices bade each other good night, and a silhouette with Mido’s voice stopped outside her doorway. She couldn’t make out his face but she recognized the curvature of his arms and shoulders, and the outline of his close-cropped hair. He ran a hand through it, then checked down the hall.

“Good night, Jessie,” he whispered, then, without waiting for a response, he pulled off his shirt as he walked away.

Jessie’s heart started pounding. For half a second she’d thought Mido knew she was awake and had eavesdropped on them. Her guilty conscience had convinced her of it. Mercifully, he’d just wished her good night and walked off, but not before getting half-naked first. There was nothing to take away from showing off his physique. But the good night wish? First the hug and now—maybe she was being too paranoid. She needed to keep reminding herself that she was on a different ship with a different crew. Dyne had made it clear during her eavesdrop session that he was taking her to Cyprus, that he wasn’t going to be another Tethys full of lies and deceit. That was some solace.

Still, he wanted her to stay so he could bring her to some cave in Australia. What the heck was that about? And what curse? No one had laughed about any of it. They were as dead serious as the funeral from last night. And a little afraid. Should she be too?

If she hadn’t seen the water hands take the cremation jars and a giant water fish take her sneakers, she’d have concluded they were all a bunch of lunatics with some manners. But no. They were all a bunch of strange men who dared not speak her given name. Now she couldn’t say it either. However, she wasn’t too afraid to demand answers. She would bug Sam for an explanation. She needed to get to the bottom of what her name had to do with Dyne’s curse. That, and what was with locking him up for five days?