The Virgo Voyages

Chapter 2 - Angel of Death

Chapter Two - Angel of Death 

I cracked open a gritty eye when I realized the sun was rising again. My body was racking with shivers and the heat of the sun was warmly welcomed. My lips were chapped and chattering my my fingers were as shriveled as year old prunes. 

I was hungry, thirsty, and exhausted beyond belief. I contemplated drinking the water around me, but pushed the thought aside immediately. This, I thought of as a good sign. I was not close enough to death to make such a stupid mistake. 

The sun had just pushed off the edge of the horizon when I felt a sharp sting on the side of my leg. I lifted up my leg and saw with horror as the huge jellyfish that had attached a tentacle onto my calf. I opened my mouth to scream when the pain fully settled into, but my throat was dry and it came out as more of a croak. I grasped the top of the jelly fish and pulled it off, gasping when I realized that this jellyfish was a stinger. The tentacle was pulled off but left an ugly red line all along my calf. Tear slipped out the corner of my eye as the salt water burned as my leg and venom pulsed through my veins. 

I wasn’t sure how long I drifted. I didn’t keep track of the sun’s location anymore. Things were too disoriented for me to focus on anything else but stay away. 

I was on the brink of passing out when a distant sound of explosions reached my ears. I strained myself to look around and saw two ship firing at each other. But these ships were like nothing I’ve ever seen. In real life, that is. This ships looked like the one in pirate movies, made up long wooden planks and grand sails that rose talland clear against the blue sky. Plus, the ships seemed to be firing canons at each other. I groaned. 

This is it. I’m hallucinating. It’s only a matter of time before I die out here. What will happen to my dad? Are people looking for me? Would it even matter? 

I just let my body go limp again and allowed the water to bring me wherever it wished, ignoring the sounds of canons and cracking wood. 

A short while later, I felt my head bump into something and opened my tired eyes again. I realized that the water had brought me straight to one of the ships. I touched the hull. 

Huh. Do hallucinations include sense of touch? 

I was pretty sure the don’t. 

I allowed the sense of hope to rise within me once more, but this time with the expectation of disappointment. 

It took all my remaining strength (which was very little) to find my voice and call out for help. My voice started out only as a pathetic whisper, but then grew a bit stronger with each call until I was sure someone would be able to hear me if they listened closely enough. 

To my utter surprise, a bear peered over the side of the ship down at me. I had to blink several more and question my sanity until I was sure that it was there. It’s black nose quivered as it smelt the air and blinked once or twice at me before disappearing once again. A sob racked my body and I sunk down lower into the water till only my head was visible. A soft grunt made me look by up at the rail of the ship. The bear had returned, this time, with rope leaning on the rail. He pushed in over the side and it came toppling down into the water near me. I swam to it slowly but surly and held onto it for dear life, which wasn’t too far from the truth.

I felt the last of my energy ebb away. It was all could do to not let go of the rope. Blackness consumed me once or twice but I always managed to come back before releasing the rope, thanks to the bear, who would grunt at me whenever he saw me go limp. 

There was a faint acknowledgment to the end of the canon sounds, and some mummers of curiosity above me. I pried my eyes open one last time at the sound of a splash to far off and caught a glimpse at a man who swam up to me. Black wet hair stuck to his forehead and got in the way of his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes that not ocean or sky could compete which. His mouth moved but I heard no sound. I could only focus on his eyes until blackness took away everything else, leaving me to sleep with the image of my Angel of Death.