Blinded by Eternity

Chapter One - Awoken

Chapter One

It was just last night that I had snuggled into bed. I remember the warmth of the blankets around me. Now my body was cold; frigid. My eyes, near sealed shut from the tired sand in them opened slowly revealing why I was so cold. The room was solid metal, and around me, sound crashed down. It sounded like water- heavy with rain and waves. It didn't take long to piece together that I was on a boat. A large one. To go as far as to say it was a ship would be a fair statement. My pyjamas didn't provide much heat, but for once I thanked God for the snow in New England. Light poured into the room I was in, a door once hidden from the dark, opened.
"Oh! You're finally awake!" A chipper voice called out, its form pulling a cord seen by the light from the outside. The lights flickered on, and I saw a large woman with curly hair and an odd complexion. Her skin was dark but with a glowing aura.
"Where... Where am I?" My words were slow and cautious, riddled with sleep. The woman chuckled.
"About a thousand miles from shore in the Pacific Ocean on the girl Blue Eyes!" The woman's accent was sick with South, but nothing made sense. How did I, a northerner end up in the middle of the Pacific with a woman from the South? "Oh, how rude of me! The name's Carmen. What's yours, Sweet Pea?" Her smile calmed my nerves but didn't cancel my worry.
"Tania. How exactly did I get here?" She just kept smiling.
"I brought you here myself! My husband, Gabriel said he wanted someone spry and lively to join us on our little ship, and when I was around your parts, I stumbled across you! Granted, I thought you probably wouldn't want to go off with a stranger into the night, so I just picked you out of that bed and drove you all the way here!" Loopholes. I saw gaps.
"Drive me? That would have taken days. And last I remember, I was in my bed." Carmen let out a sigh.
"Yeah... I had to keep you all sleep like. It's just how we do things. And while against my will, Gabriel said to slip you some nightshade to keep you down. The lot of it worked through your system, so in another hour or so, you should be feeling alert again." Carmen walked closer to me, extending her hand. I took it cautiously, pulling myself up.
"Thanks for explaining all this to me Carmen."
"Oh, it was no problem!" Her smile was no longer of joy, but of affection. "I swear you're the sweetest lil' thing we've ever had on our Blue Eyes! Oh! Can I introduce you to the group we got?" I figured I had no choice.
"Sure, why not." My smile was faint, yet I felt it spread on my cheeks.
"Alrighty! Let's go sweetheart!" She was a boisterous woman, full of life and spunk. She took me through hallways, telling me where the kitchens, bathrooms and other such utilities were. "Ooh! It sounds like the rain stopped! Come on; we should go up to the deck and see if the group is gonna come out and eat! Oh my Lord! You haven't even eaten! You must be starving, sweetheart!" My stomach did a timely grumble.
"Uh... maybe..." I shyly chuckled. Carmen patted my back.
"Oh don't worry sweetie! Come upstairs; I'm sure Jackson will have made some nice lamb!" Carmen grabbed my arm and pulled me to the deck. I half expected to see a large group of people, teetering the numbers of 20 or so, yet I saw five people. One, a tall man dressed in a suit with a demeanour of grandness. Another, a soul around my age with silver streaks through his hair and a gaze on the floor that could kill if glanced at others. He had a dog sniffing around his legs, the coat a rugged brown sheen that looked as though it was dragged through the woods for three days before being worn. Surprise loomed in me when I saw a baby, a bizarre sight I'd assume on the boat. He had a sickly complexion which worried me. A woman that a man would describe as to be a 'tall drink of water' stood near the railing of the boat. She had on a beautiful red dress, a cliche for the mistress of the matinée. And then my vision curved to who I thought to be the cook. Jackson, Carmen said his name was. He was very lively, just like Carmen, and appearances matched wits to think they were siblings. "Ooh! Come sit yourself down! Next to Simon dearie! He's the moody one at the table." I followed Carmen's instructions and sat myself to the right of the boy with the streaks.
"Hello there." I civilly said to him. His stare at the floor made me feel nervous for what murder plot he had for the boards.
"Buzz off, normie." Okay, rude. Duly noted. Jackson came over.
"Simon, be nice to our guest," Simon grumbled softly and let out a thank you when the food was placed down in front of him. "Hey there, Sugar. The name's Jackson. You can call me Jack, though. You are?"
"Tania." Jackson placed the food; a nice piece of lamb, down and kissed his fingers.
"Mm! A beautiful name for a beautiful girl! I'm Carmen's brother. Can you tell? We got the personality from our momma!" He let out a hoot of a laugh which was so infectious; it made me chuckle, even in the scenario I was in.
"Y'all talkin' 'bout mama? Aww, she was a beaut'! Just like you, darl." I let out a short exhale, blushing at the compliments.
"Please, you're both too kind." The tall man I first saw came over.
"The youngling is right. Enough with the compliments and the amiability. Jackson, would you be so kind as to feed the mutt?" The dog growled at the man.
"Oh, Gabie, don't be so hard on him. Tania, if you didn't already guess, Gabie here's my husband." I smiled.
"Pleasure to meet you, sir." He nodded curtly and sat down next to Carmen. He ate in silence while Carmen attempted to strike up a conversation with Simon while simultaneously feeding the baby. "Carmen, who's baby is that? Yours?" Carmen shook her head.
"Nope. Little orphan babe. Poor guy's momma didn't want him, so I decided to take matters into my own hands." I felt pity for the baby. I grew up in a loving family and just the thought of them leaving me nearly broke my heart. I saw Jackson pop out of the kitchen with a dog bowl.
"Here doggy!" The dog jumped up and down and ran downstairs. We all ate in silence after Jackson got back from giving the dog its food. "You know, Tania, you look like a dog person."
"I am." Jackson had a sly grin.
"Well, if you'd be willing, you can go to the big guy's little doggy den and say hello. He loves new people!" I smiled widely.
"I'd love to!" Jackson cleared some of the plates that were clean, which looking around seemed like they had just come out of the dishwasher, that's how spotless they were.
"Great. The doors are labelled with names. Just look for Jesse."