SHORT STORY UNPEASANT SAILING

Unpleasant Sailing

Jason Lyman, his wife, Barbara, and their friends, John and Susan Dunne left Bermuda in Jason’s boat for a trip to Miami. While Jason drove the boat, John looked at maps, and Barbara and Susan lay on the deck enjoying the sun.

John went to Jason with a map of the course they had to take to get to Miami. “Hey, Jason, look at this, “John said and put a map on the console in front of Jason. “We’re sailing on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle.” “Is that a problem?” Jason asked.

“Haven’t you ever heard of the Devil’s Triangle?” .“Yeah, John, I’ve heard of it. It’s the Bermuda Triangle. So what? Are you worried?”

“Yeah, I’m worried. The stories are something to think about. Ships and people have disappeared in the Triangle, and, yeah, I’m worried. A lot has been written about the Devil’s triangle, and I don’t think the stories were made up. I suppose you think the stories were made up?”

“Yes. I think the stories were made up. Do you think a monster of some sort lives in the ocean and waits for ships to sail its waters, a ship like this one, and comes out of the water and pulls the ships into the water and eats all the people on board?” Jason said mocking John. “Okay, mock me.”

After an hour out, the wind picked up.

“One minute it was sunny and calm and the next minute the wind is blowing us all over the place,” Jason yelled over the roar of the wind.

“This damn wind is pushing us off course,” John yelled as he held tightly to the wheel.

“I don’t like this,” Jason shouted. “I think it’s time for everybody to put on life jackets,” he said, and gave life jackets to the girls.

Everybody had life jackets on as the wind picked up, and the boat was tossed around like it was a toy. “The wind is unbelievable,” John shouted and strained to hold the wheel steady as he turned on the radio. “This is Lady Grace somewhere off Bermuda. Winds are high. My boat is being battered by huge waves. I don’t know where we are. Is anybody listening? Can anyone hear me?” he yelled. “Nobody is receiving my call.”

The boat spun around throwing John, Jason, and the women against the sides of the boat. John rushed to the wheel that spun like a top and held on to it. “I don’t think this boat is going to be in one piece much longer,” John warned. “Make sure your life jackets are secure.”

As they were tossed around, a huge wave swamped the boat and the four were washed overboard. As they tried to reach each other, a giant, muscular, hairy humanoid, humanoid to its waist and fish from the waist down, came out of the water and slapped its huge, thirty-foot fish tail, on the water causing high waves. The people in the water screamed as the creature looked at them, and they gasped as the creature put Jason in its mouth, chewed him up, and swallowed him. They tried to swim away, but the creature grabbed the others, put them all in its mouth, chewed for several moments and then swallowed them. After eating the four people, it smashed the boat with its tail and then retreated back in the water. About ten minutes later, the wind stopped and the sea was calm.

Like Jason, John, Jason should have been worried, because Jason’s mocking words were prophetic. “Do you think a monster of some sort lives in the ocean and waits for ships to sail its waters, a ship like this one, and comes out of the water and pulls the ships into the water and eats all the people on board?”