Stranger Tides

by Jack Castle

  “Swim?” the old man asked incredibly. “Why would wouldn’t you just take the elevator?”

  “Elevator?” George repeated. He gritted his teeth while shaking his head, “That might’ve been nice to know on the way down here.”

  Kelpi shrugged, “Sorry, rules are rules.”

  Unlike the round-shaped bathysphere, this elevator was shaped like a flying disc. After it shot out of the ocean like a UFO, the walls cracked open like a blooming water lily, revealing fresh open air. The platform continued upwards on a telescoping pylon until they were about 70 feet above the ocean surface. George felt the wind on his face and through his hair. It felt good to be out in fresh air again.

  He noted Henry at a control station, and how the old man grimaced when he moved. It was clear Henry was in a lot of pain and most likely dying. Kelpi continued to swim around the elevator’s edges, marveling at the beauty surrounding them.

  George watched him check his controls. “I’ve set up a homing signal for your friends. They’re already on their way to pick you up.”

  Hearing this, George tilted his head to the side, “You mean to pick us up?”

  Henry shook his head. “No, I’m not going with you. There’s too much for me to do.” The old man seemed to regard him for a moment as though flattered he had asked.

  “But you’re hurt. We’ve got a doctor who can help you.”

  “What, this body?” Henry clapped his chest. “This is nothing. Besides if you think I’m going to let a goofball like Dr. Bob operate on me, you’ve got another thing coming.” The way he said it, George could tell they were old friends. Henry confirmed this when he said, “Tell Bob I said ‘hi’ by the way, when you see him.”

  Then, as though it had only just occurred to him, Henry said, “Oh, that reminds me, one more thing.” Henry removed an ornate silver key dangling from a chain around his neck. “Give this to my son when you see him. He’s the only one who can use it.”

  “Your son? You mean the Lamppost Man?”

  Henry frowned. “No. Not that abomination. He is not my son.” He pointed a gnarled finger at him. “You’d be wise to steer clear of him until you find that knife.”

  “I know, I know, the knife in the jungle, it’s the only thing that can stop him.”

  Henry smiled at this, turning to Kelpi he said, “And, you said he couldn’t be taught.”

  Kelpi only shrugged her shoulders in response.

  “If the Lamppost Man isn’t your son, then who is? How will I know him when I see him?”

  “Don’t you worry; he’ll know what this is when he sees it. He’s the only one who can use it so don’t even bother trying to use it yourself.”

  Henry tapped another button and a circular hole, about the width of his shoulders appeared next to the console.

  “When will I see you again?”

  “When you are meant to. Until then…”

  Old man Henry jumped up into the air over the hole, slammed his arms to his side like a penguin, dropped down into the abyss feet first, and was gone.

  Kelpi began to follow.

  “Wait, Kelpi, you can come with us?”

  Kelpi stopped her retreat and gazed back at him for a moment. “That’s sweet of you to ask, George.” She gazed down the hole, and then back at him one last time. “But Henry’s weak. Until he regains his strength he’s going to need me. But don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll see each other again very soon.” She swam closer to the hole, was about to dive in head-first, but then stopped and looked at him one last time. “I’m glad you made it, George.” With that said, she too had vanished.

  Were it not for the key, George would have found himself wondering if Henry Stranger and Kelpi had ever existed in the first place.

  George was alone once more. As he waited for the Dauntless to arrive, he sat down on the edge of the elevator’s platform. Letting his legs dangle over the side, he swung them back and forth in open air and his thoughts drifted toward his wife.

  Tessa, I miss you.

  Staring out over the vast ocean, he thought he could almost detect her presence. It was as though if he turned around right now, she would be there. He decided not to turn around and enjoy the feeling for a bit longer. Instead he focused on the shrinking sun.

  You would have enjoyed this.

  It was the most beautiful sunset he had ever seen.

  Chapter 30

  The Lamppost Man Cometh!

  “Come with me and no one has to die.”

  Maddie pulled on the raggedy man’s white gloved hand. “Let me go,” then remembered, Wait a minute, the raggedy-man wasn’t wearing gloves earlier. Peering up at him she saw the raggedy man no longer existed. In his place was the one her parents had warned her about, the man everyone steered clear of, and talked about only in hushed nervous tones… the Lamppost Man. That’s right, I remember now. He was in the communications room. Why am I so confused? How did we get to the back of the ship?

  They were now aft, above deck and in the open air. The gilded elevators were in their stables. She guessed that’s where they were headed. That’d be a big mistake, she thought. Maddie knew that even if the Lamppost Man could override the safety measures in place and lower one of the elevators, it would be suicide to do so, while traveling over the ocean waves as fast as they were now. Which was why he surprised her by dragging her past the elevators and over to the railing on the starboard side of the ship. He threw her roughly to the deck, took out his pocket watch and frowned when he checked the time. Tsking to himself he muttered, “Late, late, late. Always late.” He snapped the lid closed between a thumb and forefinger and replaced the pocket watch in his vest.

  Staring up at him, Maddie cried, “Why are you doing this?”

  The Lamppost Man seemed startled for a moment; as though he forgot she was there. Whether this was an act or not, she had no way of knowing. He answered her, “We’re going on a little adventure, you and me. With your parents no longer in the picture, I think you’ll quite enjoy it.”

  Maddie’s fear was replaced with a rush of anger. “You shut up about my parents. My dad is alive, and he’s coming for me!”

  The Lamppost Man, rolling his eyes, cut her off by saying, “Yes, yes, yes, we’ve all heard this before.” Mocking the way she spoke, he said, “My name is Maddie, and my dad is going to beat you up, blah-blah-blah.” He purposefully stuck his tongue out on the last blah.

  Resuming his countenance once more, he gazed across the distant ocean, and said, “Trust me, my dear Maddikins, by the time The Dauntless reaches your dad, we’ll be long gone. After a time, you won’t care about him anymore.” Turning toward her, and leering his face in front of hers, he asked, “Won’t that be nice? Hmmm?”

  Maddie refused to give up hope, not when she was so close to seeing her Dad again. She grabbed the railing and pulled herself up slowly. She pretended being weak long enough to throw the Lamppost Man off guard, spun around violently with fist clenched and…

  THWOCK!

  The Lamppost Man actually stumbled back a few steps holding his nose. Pinching it, he asked in a nasally voice, “My, my. I think you broke my nose. Where in the world did you ever learn to punch like that young lady?”

  Sticking her chin out at him and fists still clenched, Maddie shot back, “My dad taught me.”

  The Lamppost Man released his nose and checked his gloved hand for blood. Finding a few droplets, he sneered as he said, “Oh… George.” He dusted off his gloved hands and Maddie was pretty sure the blood was now gone. “Well, I’m going to show you how to hurt people in a lot more interesting ways than clubbing them with your fists like some barbarian.”

  Maddie shook her head. “I’ll never join you.”

  The Lamppost Man’s eyebrow arched high. “I can see I’m going to have to teach you a bit of manners first.” The imp pushed up his sleeves, flashed her a menacing look, and took a step toward her.

  Frightened, Maddie tripped on her own feet dodging backwards and fell agains
t the railing for support.

  “Come-come now, Maddiekins. Time to take your medicine like a good girl.”

  Maddie shook her head. Scanning the deck for a place to retreat, she only saw the gilded elevators behind her, and they were too far.

  She was trapped.

  “Step away from the girl.” The loud baritone voice echoed above the wind.

  Maddie lifted her eyes to see Uncle Rick, Henry, and several other members of the crew coming toward them with weapons in their hands.

  The Lamppost Man seemed amused, when he asked, “Are those metal guns?”

  “Yeah, and wait until you see what’s in them,” Rick growled back. Spotting Maddie behind him, Rick asked her, “Maddie, are you okay?”

  She nodded that she was, but even as she did this, the Lamppost Man removed a ridiculously large magnet from his coat.

  First Rick’s gun flew out of his hand, and then the rest of the crews’ weapons did as well. The magnet became so heavy and overloaded with guns that the Lamppost Man could only hold it up for a few seconds more before it fell to the deck with a loud crash.

  Bent over the magnet, the Lamppost muttered, “Well this is embarrassing.”

  When the imp released the giant magnet with the attached weapons, the pile skittered across the deck with loud scraping noises and slammed into the metal hull. One of the Dauntless crew tried to pull a rifle from the magnet, but the magnet and guns were stuck fast.

  The Lamppost Man checked his pocket watch again, frowned, and then returned it to his vest. Realizing everyone was staring at him he asked, “Alright, who’s next?”

  A beefy oiler named Franco stepped forward. Rolling up his sleeves he growled, “My turn.”

  Rick shouted out a warning but Franco ignored him.

  “Ahhhh… fisticuffs.” The Lamppost Man said cheerily. “It’s been awhile, but have at me, knave.” The imp held his fists out in front of him the way prizefighters from the 19th century did. Franco immediately jabbed the imp twice in the face.

  At first the imp stumbled about dazed and confused, but after playing the part of a beaten prize fighter, he came up smiling. “Ohhh… you’re quite good, Mr. Franco.”

  Franco nodded enthusiastically, “Navy, two-time champion…”

  The oiler never finished the last sentence of his life. The Lamppost Man struck Franco in the chest with an open palm so hard that the oiler’s body flew backwards twelve feet and slammed into the ship’s hull, shattering every single bone in his body, and killing him instantly.

  Seeing the oiler’s body slump to the ground, the Lamppost Man made a disgusted face and said, “Ewwww… that was unpleasant,” and dusted off his hands. Spying the rest of the crew, he asked, “Anyone else?”

  Despite what everyone had seen happen to Franco, Uncle Rick stepped forward. “Everyone, stay back.”

  “No, Uncle Rick,” Maddie pleaded. “I don’t want anyone else to die.” To the Lamppost Man, she said, “I’ll go with you. You don’t have to hurt anybody else.”

  The imp tilted his head to the side and sighed. “Awww… see? Is there any doubt as to why I want you to become my apprentice?”

  The Lamppost Man did an odd gesture with his hand, one that almost resembled a salute. The hatches immediately opened behind all the crewmen on deck. The Lamppost Man swiftly brought his hand down and a great wind came out of nowhere. It violently whisked everyone, except Maddie, back inside. The hatches slammed shut, and Maddie could see where the frames were now melting.

  On the other side of the sealed doors, Maddie could hear the muffled shouts of Uncle Rick screaming her name, but she knew nothing could stop this madman, and resigned herself to her fate.

  If only Dad were here.

  BANG!

  Several more gunshots rang out in rapid succession.

  The Lamppost Man recoiled from each round that slammed into him.

  Finally recovering, with a confused look he asked, “How?”

  The Leftenant stepped out of the shadows and into the light. Smoke curled out of the barrel of the pistol she was holding. “Before you try anything else, you should probably know that my firearm isn’t made of metal.”

  One by one, the Lamppost Man plucked the fresh slugs from his body.

  “Leftenant,” he snarled, “Always an unwelcome surprise.”

  Seeing her opportunity for escape, Maddie ran over to The Leftenant.

  The Leftenant pulled Maddie behind her protectively. “As are you, Lampy.”

  Dropping another spent slug to the deck the Lamppost Man said, “Did you really think a mere hologram could stop me?”

  Undeterred, The Leftenant took a step toward him, leveled her pistol at the imp’s head and said, “Let’s find out, shall we?”

  The Lamppost Man smiled sadly, as though a hunter putting down a great specimen he would much rather leave alive. “Now, go away.”

  With a wave of his hand, Maddie was surprised when The Leftenant simply vanished. Maddie stared up at the imp, who was smiling down at her.

  “Now that we’re done with that nonsense,” he began.

  “What did you do to her? You jerk.”

  The imp smiled devilishly, shrugged his shoulders, and answered, “I sent her away. In fact, I sent her far… far away. I seriously doubt she will ever bother you in your mayfly existence ever again.”

  The Lamppost Man took another step toward Maddie and…

  BANG!

  Another shot rang out. This time the Lamppost Man’s head recoiled from the round that had struck him in the head.

  “Hello…”

  Flabbergasted, the Lamppost Man scanned the immediate area for his attacker.

  Maddie lifted her gaze to a railing on a deck overhead. The Leftenant was once more standing there, with her smoking pistol held firmly in her hand.

  The imp’s eyes were wide. “How did you…?” he began, “But I sent you…?”

  The Leftenant waggled her eyebrows (almost perfectly this time), “My, aren’t we at a loss for words this evening.”

  The Lamppost Man shook his head, “But I sent you away.” The imp pursed his lips and waved her away again.

  BANG!

  A second later, The Leftenant reappeared near the gilded elevators. The Lamppost Man feebly waved her away, but she reappeared again and shot him five more times.

  “Stop it!” the Lamppost Man cried.

  The Leftenant gave the imp a little shake of her head, “I think not. Dare I say it, but I do believe I could do this all day.” Before the imp could raise his hand to wave her away once more, she shot him five more times.

  Maddie watched as the Lamppost Man fell to his hands and knees in defeat. The Leftenant took a step toward him and leveled her pistol at his head.

  Breathing hard, the Lamppost Man held his hand up in defeat and managed, “You know, I wonder if there’s still some part of little Lisa inside of you.”

  Finger tense on the trigger, The Leftenant went to fire again, but this time, found that she could not.

  Maddie couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The Leftenant had the imp right where she wanted him. “What are you waiting for? Shoot him!” Studying her face, it was the first time Maddie had ever seen The Leftenant have a moment of fear.

  The Leftenant feebly asked, “What are you doing?”

  The Lamppost Man, using the railing to pull himself to his feet, asked, “You remember Lisa, don’t you? After all, she’s the one who created you.”

  Maddie watched The Leftenant take a step backward. It was as though he had incapacitated her with his words somehow. She noted how he put heavy emphasis on the word, Lisa. Maybe that’s how he’s controlling her. The Leftenant’s hand, the one holding the pistol, fell down by her side.

  “There’s a good girl,” he said, regaining his feet most unnaturally.

  Seeing this, The Leftenant tried to raise her gun once more. Hand shaking profusely, her pistol slowly began to rise, but the Lamppost Man clenched his fist and asked, “Tell me
, what was the name of that young beau, Lisa had? Some sort of architect fellow.” The Imp put fist to chin and frowned as though in deep thought. “For the life of me, I can’t recall his name. Josh… Joshua?” The Lamppost Man’s face lit up in recollection. Snapping his fingers, he cried, “Oh yes, I remember now, Joshua Dawson.”

  Hearing the name, The Leftenant’s pistol hand immediately dropped back down to her side, and a moment later, the gun clattered to the floor, and vanished.

  Maddie shrank away as the Lamppost Man took a step closer to The Leftenant. He was so close to her now that he was able to cup his hand around The Leftenant’s cheek. He patted it two times and asked, “Any last words?”

  The Leftenant, fighting merely to speak, responded, “None for you, demon.”

  The Lamppost Man took a step back. “As you wish then.”

  GazIng down upon Maddie one last time with a look of sadness, The Leftenant whispered, “There now, little one. Chin up.”

  With a wave of his hand, the Lamppost Man commanded solemnly, “Be gone, spirit.”

  This time, when The Leftenant was gone, it was soon apparent she was not coming back.

  Seeing this, Maddie screamed, “What have you done?!”

  “Cheer up Maddiekins,” the Lamppost Man responded jovially, although Maddie could tell there was some pain behind that smile. “That mean ole nursemaid won’t be bothering you ever again.” Withdrawing a white linen handkerchief, the Lamppost Man turned away, and Maddie thought she observed him wipe away a single tear.

  Chapter 31

  Mad-Maddie

  “You’re lying!” Maddie shot back.

  “Oh, I’m afraid not. The Leftenant really is quite dead. I have suffered her infuriating interference for far too long. I not only deleted her, but I deleted her from everywhere.”

  Leaping from his hiding place, Henry grabbed Maddie by the hand and led her back to the sealed doors. “C’mon, Maddie.”

  This action caused the Lamppost Man to chuckle, “Where are you going?” He chortled again. It was a sickening thing. “I’ve fused all the hatches shut. There’s no escape. Like it or not young lady, you’re coming with me.”