Josh's Bizarre Adventure

Calm Before

Ben yelped, causing Josh to splash a bit of red wine on his khaki shorts.

"What's your problem?" Josh barked. He began thumbing the drop of wine on his shorts which only made the stain spread, so he stopped.

"There's a rat on this boat!" Ben shouted, making his way to the staircase.

"Oh my gosh," Josh gasped, immediately following Ben back up the stairs.

Once they had reached the top, Bongos approached them, big belly and all, smiling profoundly. "I thought I would never see you boys again!"

"Do you know you have a rat down there?!" Ben exclaimed. "I want a refund," he demanded.

Bongos chortled. "You can't get a refund on free coupons."

Josh nearly choked on his wine.

Ben glared at Josh. "Why didn't you tell me Andrew got these things for free?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"He didn't tell me!" Josh defended, pulling the pamphlet out of his pocket to quickly read over any fine print he missed.

But he was immediately interrupted by Bongos. "Don't fight, boys. Why don't I get you some Bermuda Rambunctious Rum to help you two relaaaaaxxx."

"That sounds terrible," Josh muttered before gingerly sipping on the remains of his wine.

Bongos swiped the glass from Josh's grip and chucked it far into the ocean, quieting the group for a long time.

Then Ben chuckled. "You know, Bongos? I think we will be best friends. Why don't you pour shots for us?" he said while Josh longingly watched where the glass had splashed in the distance.

"Yes, my friend," Bongos cheered. "But none for me, as I am driving."

Josh turned towards Bongos and raised an eyebrow. "No you're not," he said.

"WOOPS! Almost forgot to turn on auto pilot," Bongos exclaimed as he trotted back to the drivers seat.

Ben shook his head. "We are definitely going to die out here. Thanks, Josh."

Josh's jaw fell. "What?" he snapped. "I'm telling you the truth, I trusted Andrew on this!"

"Let me see that," Ben said, snatching the pamphlet from Josh's hand. He looked it over for a few moments before shoving it under Josh's nose, finger pointing to a set of text at the bottom of the last page.

In very small font, it read: u know, mayB you COULD die on this trip but like... you can literally die anywhere so u R legally not allowed to sue us. like srsly you are liable to ur own stuff sry XD.

"That cannot be real," Josh muttered, partly do himself.

Ben groaned. "How did you not notice this?"

Josh took the paper and shoved it into his back pocket. "I don't know how I could have missed something like that! Look, we will be okay," Josh said, grabbing onto Ben's forearms. "You think so?" he added, now feeling unsure. Maybe Andy was out to kill him and Ben.

"Gee, I don't know," Ben replied, still glaring at Josh.

Bongos strode between the boys, now holding a tray with a quirkily shaped bottle of rum and two shot glasses. "Follow me," he said.

They followed silently, the sensation of irritation still present in the atmosphere. Maybe Bongos was right. They needed to "relaaaaaxxxx".

Bongos gestured at two wicker, cushioned seats beside a glass coffee table at the stern of the boat deck, facing the sea.

The two sat while Bongos placed the tray on the table. Right away he began to pour the shots, whispering "relaaaaaxxx" as he did so.

Bongos stood there for a few seconds as if he was admiring the rum. Then the said, "Gotta go drive the boat. Bye!" and ran away.

Josh picked up the shot of the maroon liquor and stared ahead of him into the sky. The sun was falling just a bit from it's peak, and the sky was clear of clouds of any kind. It looked like they were in the middle of nowhere.

"Maybe this Bermuda Rambunctious Rum will help us out a little," Ben sighed, kicking his feet up against the boat's railing.

Josh just hummed, bringing the glass up to his nose. It smelled like expired medicine. He never really liked hard alcohol that much, but this vacation had been testing him too much.

The two counted from three then both downed their shots. Josh had to fight the urge of spitting it back into the sea. Not only did it smell like expired medicine, it tasted like it too. Like very spicy expired medicine.

"That was gross," Ben said, placing his glass back down only to pour himself another.

"Why are you having more then?" Josh asked, still trying to refrain from gagging at the flavor.

"Because we lost internet thirty minutes ago," he stated, setting the bottle of rum back down.

"Seriously?"

"Yep." He downed another shot.

"Wow."

The two had sat there for another fifteen minutes. Josh had taken a half-shot just so Ben didn't feel bad about possibly going over the "limit" during their time on the boat.

Now the two of them were drunk on a boat with one other– very strange– man, and it was only one in the afternoon. Josh found this to be very sad, and he got a bit emotional, so Ben did too, but only because he still feared for his life.

"I still think we're gonna get lost in the Bermuda Triangle," Ben said as his face drooped into a frown.

"They only have that in TV though..." Josh slurred, gazing out into the ocean.

They were silent for a moment before Ben giggled. "Remember Gulliver's Travels? With Jack Black?" he asked, resting his elbow on the armrest.

Josh giggled. "Yeah. Maybe we will be like him!" he noted, imagining him and Ben in that situation.

Suddenly, a loud BOOM from behind them made the boys flinch. Josh got up from his seat and stared ahead of him, mouth agape.

"You're seeing this too, right?" Ben uttered from beside him.

"Uh-huh..."

Right before their eyes was a sea of black clouds and strikes of lightening, shaking the floor under them.

Bongos screamed from his driver's seat. "THIS WAS NOT ON MY RADAR!!!" He turned to face the boys and screamed even louder. "GRAB ON TO SOMETHING!!!" Bongos sat in his seat and fastened his seatbelt.

The boat was entering the stormy area so quickly. Josh glanced around, his fight-or-flight mode kicking in so harshly he wasn't sure where to look.

The boat began to rock violently causing Josh to lose balance and fall right on his back. He yelled in pain as he heard Ben call his name.

"JOSH!!" Ben shouted over the crashing of the storm and waves around them.

Josh pressed himself upwards, trying to find his balance on the rocking boat. His surroundings had gone dark, but he spotted Ben grasping onto the railing with one arm and holding out a hand with the other.

Josh stepped forward as the boat bounced high into the air. However, he managed to grasp onto Ben's hand.

"HOLD ON!!" Ben yelled, tightening his grip on both the railing and on Josh.

The boat dove into the water, sending Josh down under as well.

Josh lashed around in the pitch black water. It was then when he realized that he was no longer holding on to Ben.