Mysterious Destiny Bright Lights and Thunder Part II

by D. J. Holmes

  “Yes, sir.” He looked at Ian and around the circle of his mates with a smile showing his gorgeous white teeth, “it worked didn’t it?”

  Lucas begins laughing, “Yes, but if this ever happens again, don’t walk up behind me so quietly. When I turned around and saw you with all that white flour all over you, I didn’t know who you were; I thought that I was looking at a ghost. You scared all the pineapple out of me!”

  “I thought that it would be a great joke, Lucas. You’re always playing jokes on all of us.”

  Everyone nods their heads in agreement as they remember the jokes that were played on them.

  “Is that what all that screaming was about, Lucas? I thought you had stepped on Sea Gull poop.”

  “If I screamed at Sea Gull poop, I would be screaming all the time since it’s all over our deck.”

  “That’s why there was no mistake when I heard you scream. I just said to myself, ‘Lucas must have stepped in another pile of Sea Gull poop.’”

  Loud laughter and slapping their hands on their knees can be heard throughout the village. Lucas laughs at the joke that is being played on him, knowing that his crewmates are finally getting back at him.

  Jaci and the rest of the island girls along with Gray Wolf’s crew stop talking long enough to look in the direction of the loud laughter, with smiles on their faces.

  On the beach Diana and Gray Wolf enjoy the hues of the setting sun as they also listened to the loud laughter.

  “That is one thing that I have missed most of all; the laughter of my father and his crew….” While looking toward the direction of the laughter, she notices a familiar palm tree. “I used to sit on the trunk of that windblown palm tree over there, watching the sun set, as often as I could as a little girl.”

  “It’s a perfect spot, Diana… When I was a little boy I saw beautiful sunsets, but they were never like this…” Looking into Diana’s eyes, “you are the most beautiful thing that I am looking at now, Diana.”

  “When I first saw you Gray Wolf, I thought that you were a pretentious, self indulgent, arrogant young man; I was looking for a man that was hard working, mature, loving and someone that gave of himself rather than taking from everyone. From the experiences that we have been through in the last few days, I can tell you that you are not what I thought you were…you are what I am looking for.”

  “From the moment I first saw you…well not the first moment, because I thought that you were a man in that black leather pirate outfit, but when I realized as we were wrestling, that you had no strength and you lost the scarf and hat that covered your hair, I knew that you were the woman for me. I knew that fate would bring us together again; I didn’t know how or when, but I knew that we would be together.”

  “I love you, Gray Wolf.”

  “From that moment on your ship, my heart has been yours, Diana.”

  The brightness of the full moon added to the softness and connection that Diana and Gray Wolf felt for each other.

  “Diana… you are the woman that I have always looked for. Would you be my wife?’

  “I want that more than you know, but what about Blue Cloud and Snow Flower?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They came here to get you and bring you back to where you came from.”

  “What do you mean, take me back? No one has said anything about that to me. All I want is to be with you.”

  “I just had a cold chill go through my body, Gray Wolf.”

  “Let’s go back to the village and stand by the fire, maybe it’s getting too cold for you.”

  “That would probably be best, perhaps everyone is wondering where we are.”

  Returning to the village they enjoy laughing over and over again along with expressions of concern telling of their individual experiences and listening to all of the other adventures that everyone has experienced.

  At the evening’s end everyone has migrated to one circle. Ian suggests that they stand and hold hands as he thanks the Lord for the protection He has extended to everyone.

  “Father, as we stand in honor to Thee, we would all like to thank you for the protection that you have surrounded each one of us with. First of all thank you for watching over our wives. Thank you for returning all of our island daughters from Black Beards hands. Thank you for protecting Diana and her crew while they looked for their sisters. Thank you for bringing Gray Wolf and his crew to this island, they will make a great addition to our island family. Thank you for allowing me and my crew to return to our wives and families. We know that it is because of fate that you have sent Gray Wolf to our world; it is because of him and his crew that we are together as families on our beautiful island of Martinique. Please be with us always for we know that our fate is in your hands, in the name of our Lord, Amen.”

  “Before we go to sleep, let’s have a dance,” Ian announces.

  “Ian, aren’t you tired?” Grace asks.

  He smiles, “never, with you around, my love.”

  The evening continues as everyone goes from partner to partner dancing with everyone in their island family. The celebration continues into the late evening just as it had begun, with laughing, talking about their adventures and playing jokes.

  Ian and Grace walk to a log and sit down for a while. Diana and Gray Wolf walk over and sit down beside them.

  “Diana, there is one thing that I haven’t asked you about.”

  “Yes, Father?”

  “The colors that you ran to the top of your flag pole, I noticed that it had the skull and cross bones on it just like mine, but why did you put a crown on it?”

  “Did you notice the pirate suits that we wore?”

  “Yes.”

  “The first morning that we were going to leave to find our little sisters, all of our mothers presented each one of us with our leather pirate suits. Mother said then that all of them had noticed that when we took them on our maiden cruise we didn’t have any colors hoisted on our flag pole, so they quickly made one for us. The one on our flag pole is the one that they made.”

  “What is the meaning behind the flag, Grace?”

  “If you will remember, this is just after Black Beard had taken the island daughters. He had taken them by force, while he and his crew had their guns pointed at us. He thought only of what would benefit him without regard for anyone else. In my eyes he was a Tyrant. The flag represents ‘Death to Tyrants.’ The crown represents someone who has unchecked power over other people. The skull and cross bones represent death. We, all of the mothers, were sending Black Beard a clear and decisive message.”

  By this time everyone had gathered around Ian and Grace.

  Looking at his crew, Ian proudly states, “All the while that we were gone, the strongest of our families were left at home. What would we do without our wonderful wives; and our daughters, look at what they have become. We are proud of all of you.”

  “Here, here,” the men shout as their right hand, in a fist, shoots for the sky.

  Gray Wolf and his crew join in agreeing with what has been said, “Here, here!”

  Lucas adds, “May we all become as strong as our women are!”

  Shelly, one of the queens of the kitchen and Jasmine’s mother, walks forward with a huge pineapple upside down cake, “Dessert is ready.”

  Smiling at Shelly, Grace states, “What a fitting ending to our evening.”

  Soon the fires are out, the candles are dark and everyone has gone to sleep.

  ***

  “Cuvar Offion Moradius? The ‘guardian’, you found him?”

  “Not exactly Commander. My midshipman saw him.”

  “If he saw him, why isn’t he by your side, why don’t you have him?”

  “We were in our ship and he was looking in our direction.”

  “He was in the water?”

  “No, Sir.”

  “Let me see…you found the ‘guardian’; he was watching you, but he wasn’t in your ship or in the water.”

  “Yes
, Sir… Let me explain.”

  “Go ahead… I can’t wait to hear this explanation.”

  “We were in our ship returning from an assignment. All of the landing spots were busy, so we went to the secret entrance… As one of my midshipmen looked out of his window he saw a man that was looking in our direction… he wasn’t in a ship and he wasn’t in the water, but he was standing and looking in our direction. I asked my crew member to take a picture of him and put it in the face recognition registry. When the results came back it said that the face belonged to Cuvar Offion Moradius, ‘the guardian’.”

  “How can that be? We have looked for him for years after he escaped from the laboratory on Gliese. We put our best people on it because he had gained so much knowledge concerning what we had planned for the future of his people.”

  “We know where we saw him… we just need to find out how to get to him.”

  “Then make it happen. We can’t have him telling this world what we did on Gliese; they might think that we have the same plans for them!”

  “That would cause us a lot of problems since our trap isn’t completely ready to spring yet.”

  “You are correct, captain; get your men on this.”

  “Yes, Sir…”

  Arriving back at his building, the very moment he walks into his office he yells, “Get me that midshipman who took the picture of the ‘guardian’.”

  “He is right here sir.”

  “Really…what a coincidence…send him into my office.”

  Curious as to why he is needed, the midshipman walks into his captain’s office.”

  “What is your first name midshipman?”

  “My name is Mandar.”

  “Mandar, do you remember the other day when we were approaching the secret landing area and you saw a man standing looking in our direction and I asked you to take a picture of him?”

  “Yes, sir…”

  “We need to find that man. Do you think that you could find that place again?”

  “Yes, sir… If we could approach the landing area in the same way we did that day, I could show you where I saw him.”

  “That would be good. Are you ready?”

  “…Now?”

  “What better time could there be?”

  In the midshipman’s mind he thought, “This man must really be important. I’ve never seen them in such a hurry to capture anyone before. I’ll keep my eyes open.”

  As they approach the landing area, the midshipman points up to the area when he saw a light and a man standing.

  “Cancel the landing and direct our ship to that area.”

  As they fly to the point in question the captain queries, “What is this?” noticing that part of the cliff is made of different material.

  “I don’t know, Sir.”

  “I am going to put you in charge of this assignment. You are to find out what this is, how we get in, and I want a plan to capture ‘the guardian’.”

  “Yes, sir… I’ll need a hovering machine so that I can constantly watch this area to see when he shows up. Once I see him again, I’ll be able to create a plan.”

  “As soon as we get back, I will tell my staff to give you everything you need.”

  “Thank you sir, I won’t let you down.”

  “I’m counting on you to make me look good to my superiors.”

  “Yes, sir… you can count on me.”

  After the hovering machine is assigned to him, Mandar moves it into place to constantly watch the area of Daniel’s ocean portal.

  ***

  Morning has come to Martinique. The sun is bright, the birds are singing and everyone has a smile on their face.

  Gray wolf and his crew wake to the smell and sounds of breakfast cooking.

  “This is heaven!”

  “Let’s go to the village kitchen and see if there is anything we can do to help.”

  With their stomachs growling they enter the cooking area. Paulina notices the look in their eyes, “Are you hungry boys?”

  “Yes, Madam…”

  “You know, one reason that I like to cook is that in order for the food to taste good, the cook has to sample it during the process of cooking.” Smiling she asks, “would you like to become our tasters?”

  Surprised at her request, all of the young men answer with huge smiles, “…yes madame.”

  “Ladies we have official tasters,” she announces and the other mothers that are cooking beckon for a few boys to come and taste what they are cooking.

  Finally the island daughters, after their quick morning swim and the fathers after finding wood for their ships, arrive to help with the morning breakfast. Though the job of tasters, the most sought after job, is taken, with such a large group there are still other things that need to be done and everyone does their part.

  Week after week Blue Cloud and Snow Flower help Ian and his crew bring logs from the forest to the cove where the ‘Mysterious’ would usually be docked. Gray Wolf and his crew stack the wood so that it will dry. After enough wood is gathered for the first schooner, Ian and his crew teach Gray Wolf and his crew how to build a ship. The purpose of this is that while they learn how to craft a schooner on Ian’s ship, they will take on more responsibility with their own.

  As the men carry the heavy timber, the women bring water and food so they can continue to build all day long.

  “Blue Cloud, you see how Diana and Gray Wolf interact with each other, how will we be able to take him back to Daniel’s Beach House and leave her here?”

  “I have been wondering the same thing Snow Flower. You can see how they work together; their love is growing stronger and stronger each day.”

  Blue Cloud’s upper right arm begins to tighten with a buzzing sound. Looking at his arm, he can see Daniel’s face on the monitor. “Daniel, Snow Flower and I were just wondering if we should call you.”

  “How is Gray Wolf doing? Treysen tells me that he is safe and is now on the island of Martinique.”

  “Yes. He and his crew are helping Ian and his crew, build a ship…. When it is finished they will build a ship for Gray Wolf’s crew.”

  “Have you told him that he will need to come back here?”

  “No, we haven’t said anything about it yet. He has fallen in love with Diana. Isn’t there some way that they can be together?”

  “It is always hard to leave a dimension when you have gotten to know the people. Though he was sent to help Diana in fulfilling her destiny, he must return. As hard as it is for all of you, you must return. I’m sorry, it is only meant for you to be there temporarily.”

  “This is going to be so hard on him, Daniel.”

  “I know. His brother, Running Deer, fell in love with Jehanne and had to return also. You have got to talk to him as soon as possible. They must both live in the dimensions they were born in.”

  “Thank you Daniel. We’ll see you soon.”

  “I’ll talk to you when you get here.” Daniel’s face disappears from the conversational device.

  “How are we going to do this, Blue Cloud?”

  “All I can say, Snow Flower, is that Daniel knows what is best. We have to do what he has asked us to do.” Looking down to the ground Blue Cloud states, “We are going to have to talk to him tonight.”

  Snow Flower’s heart sinks as she hears her husband’s last comment. For the rest of the day they sit on a log positioned just out of sight, but where they can watch their son work on the first ship.

  Ian and Grace notice that Snow Flower and Blue Cloud are watching their son with intense feelings of sadness. Walking over to them Grace asks, “We noticed that you are extremely sad. Have we done something?”

  “No, we just got through talking with Daniel and he has instructed us to bring Gray Wolf back to the Beach House.”

  “So all of you have to leave?”

  “Yes. This is what is making us so sad.”

  “Have you talked to him yet?”

  “No. We’ll talk to him tonight.
”

  “Even though we knew that you came from the Beach House, we were hoping that you could stay. Watching Diana and Gray Wolf work together on this ship reminded us of when Ian and I first met and were mending Ian’s ship; Black Beard had put a hole through it with one of his cannons and he and his crew had sailed to Martinique to patch it, so we know what they are going through. This will be a sad time for all of us, but especially for Diana and Gray Wolf. Our daughter will never be able to find anyone that will be her match as much as your son is.”

  “We feel the same; they love each other so much… this is going to be extremely hard for both of them.”

  The sun finally sets and the beautiful moon lights the island. The embers of the village fire have become very low as Ian and Grace have been talking with Snow Flower and Blue Cloud. Gray Wolf and Diana have gone back to the beach to look at the stars.

  At long last Blue Cloud walks out to the beach and calls to his son, “Gray Wolf, Gray Wolf, could I talk to you?”

  “Yes, Father, what do you want?”

  “Your mother and I would like to talk to you.”

  “I’m ready. What would you like to talk about?”

  “We talked to Daniel earlier today, would you mind if we talked to you alone?”

  “Diana, would you mind sitting with your parents by the village fire?”

  “That would be fine, Gray Wolf.”

  While Diana sits with her parents on a log by the small fire, Gray Wolf walks with his parents, a short distance away.

  Blue Cloud asks him, “Do you remember the day you came to Martinique from the time portal?

  “Yes. I remember the bright light from the lightning and the loud thunder. I also remember falling from the sky and just barely missing Black Beard’s fire on the beach.”

  “Do you remember anything else?”

  “I remember riding a fish and being pushed into a portal”

  “You know that we have come here to find you.”

  “Yes.”

  “Daniel, spoke with us earlier today, he has instructed us to bring you back to the Beach House.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Sadly, Blue Cloud continues as he looks to the ground, “It means that you need to return with us.”

  “What about Diana?”

  Looking into his sons eyes he sadly states, “She will have to stay here with her family.”

  Gray Wolf is silent as he looks to the ground; his body is filled with a great deal of pain. He continues to be silent, knowing that if he were to speak he would express that pain with a great deal of anger.