by Ron Vitale
He stood still for a moment, and the wolves now all faced him. The moonlight reflected off the ocean, and he braced himself, knowing that he had to dig deep and run faster than he had ever run before. The longer he waited, the less time he would have as the wolves would be in a better position to reach him.
Nathan looked away from the wolves and ran toward Zeke. He tore off with a burst of speed, running in a straight line toward the ocean. His footing held firm, and he stared only at the sandy beach in front of him, jumping over a large mound of seaweed that blocked his way. The wolves growled and took off toward him ready to tear into his flesh. He could hear the pounding of their paws on the beach and their breathing, but still he refused to take his eyes off Zeke.
At first, Nathan thought he had fallen into a hole, but his three friends suddenly became taller, and the world shifted before his eyes. He shrunk down, feeling smaller, but the waves crashed against the beach, and a white mound of whale flesh rose up out of the water. One second Zeke stood alone facing him, and the next he had transformed into a whale-like creature. Still, Nathan ran toward the ocean. With each step, he came closer and closer to the water, but he could hear the wolves breathing behind him and knew he would not make it in time. In moments, he would feel the strong bite of a wolf on his shin or ankle, and he would fall down hard onto the beach. With every breath, he would poke at the wolf’s eyes to blind it, but the other two would arrive and tear him apart. He could see it happen and ran that much faster, trying not to think about the impossibility of how Zeke had become like the creature he had seen in the hold of the Truelove all those weeks ago.
Turning toward him in the water, the monstrous whale creature that was once his friend opened its mouth, and a horrendous sound emanated from the beast. Its fluke splashed against the ocean, but it still stood on two strong human-like legs. Once the creature turned away from the beach, Nathan recoiled in fear.
Where Josep and Pahukumaa had been, two whale-like creatures ran at him. Like Zeke, they had silvery-gray skin, whale heads, and bodies but human-like arms and legs. An amalgamation of two mammals, they ran at him, and if not for the wolves at his heels, he would have stopped and turned back. With an open mouth, the nearest creature hissed a throaty roar.
Only yards away, the ocean waves crashed and came to meet him with sudden intensity. He tripped forward the last few feet and fell into the sea face-first. Scrambling onto his back, Nathan crab crawled farther out into the sea and saw that all three wolves had stopped. They faced the three whale creatures and growled at them.
Without hesitating, all three werewhales lunged forward to fight a wolf. The nearest whale-man rushed at a wolf and pounded the wolf’s back with its two strong fists, knocking it down onto the sandy beach. The thuds echoed in the night, and the white whale snapped at the wolf, nearly reaching it.
The second and third whale-men rushed toward the two remaining wolves and pummeled them with their fists.
Suddenly from behind him, the ocean surged forward, and a massive wave crashed over Nathan, and he was knocked down under the water, his world blurred for a few moments as he fought to regain his footing. While beneath the waves, he tried to stand and pull himself up through the water, but the riptide pulled him back down hard and back out to sea.
The crush of the next wave pounded over him, and he opened his eyes only to see the blur of light from the moon above and foam from the waves. With his heart pounding, he pushed himself up, off the seafloor, digging his hands into the sand, and thrust himself straight up. Kicking hard with both feet, he swam upward and then, as if on instinct, changed direction and went to his right, parallel from the island, hoping he could clear himself from the riptide.
His plan worked, but his chest burned. He had to hold on a bit longer, or all he would breathe in would be the sea and then he’d drown. Head aching and blood pounding in his veins, he swam hard pushing off the bottom. A weaker wave crashed over him and he took the opportunity to swim, finally breaking the surface. Nathan first coughed and turned over on his back so that he could float up on the water, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. When he turned back over, he was surprised at how far out the riptide had brought him. Yet he saw no sign of the werewhales.
The waves pummeled him still, pulling him farther out into the deep. Kicking with great force, he continued on his parallel path until he was free. Tired and spent, he flung his body forward toward the shore and used his remaining strength.
“Nathan!” Zeke called to him, but he could not see him in the veil of night.
“I’m here.” He kicked the water’s surface hard with his legs. “I need help.”
The next round of waves hit him hard, and he had thought he had cleared the worst of the riptide. The ocean tugged hard at him, and he took a deep breath and dug his arms into the sea, kicking at the same time to propel him as fast as his body could take him.
“I see you. Hang on.” Zeke’s disembodied voice sounded closer, but still Nathan could not see him.
The palm trees appeared like a mirage to him in the night with the trees reflecting the moonlight. He could no longer see their whaleboat, and as if to toy with him, the moon went behind a cloud. The light faded slowly, and the land became a dark mass before him. He could still see the carcasses of the dead wolves, but all gruesome details became awash in darkness.
Still he swam on, kicking at a steady pace, and matched the speed with his arms cutting through the water like giant windmills. Each time he tried to veer toward land, the riptide pulled him back out, so he switched back to swimming parallel to the island. The darkness became complete, and his hope faded from his tired mind only to be replaced by a great fear that he would die alone in the sea, forgotten by all men and his sister who had already hated him for deserting her.
“I have you.” Zeke’s arm went under him, and his friend flipped him over on his back. “Are you okay?”
Nathan breathed hard, taking in as much air as he could. “I can’t beat this riptide. Each time I try for land, I’m pulled farther out. I can’t break free.”
“You’re not meant to.” Zeke kept them both floating on a parallel path. “The island is taking us where it wants us to be.”
Ignoring what Zeke just said, Nathan spit out some water and turned toward his friend. “What happened on the beach?” He put his hands together and then stretched them apart to show a great size. “You and the others changed. I never saw anything like—”
“We need to get you to the shore first. Then we can talk.” Floating on his back without any attempt to head toward land, he then asked, “Do you trust me?”
The question could not be more difficult to answer. With all that had happened and his life now in Zeke’s hands, what could he truly say? “I don’t know. I’m so tired and need rest. I just want this all to be over.” The truth spun out of Nathan and his great fear with it. “I saw things that I shouldn’t have. I cannot unsee them. The images are burned in my head. I need to know what happened. I need—”
“And I will tell you all I know. But first, we need to concentrate on getting you to the beach.” Zeke turned over on his stomach and started to swim away from the island, but still allowing the current to pull him forward. “Can you follow me?”
Nathan obeyed and swam after Zeke, stroke by stroke, swimming out past the riptide. The clouds traversed the body of the moon, and its light lit up the night again for them both. Minutes passed and Nathan slowed down with Zeke following his lead. “I need to rest. I can’t go much farther.” He coughed and flipped onto his back.
“We’re almost there. Can you see that?” Zeke pointed at the island, and Nathan could see a large hill in the darkness.
“What is that?” Nathan asked.
“It’s where the island wants us to go. The treasure that we all seek is there, everyone here will eventually go there. It’s time for us to be reckoned, and in the morning light, all will become clear. We will either survive or lose our way. Come.”
Z
eke kicked hard and swam now toward the island. Nathan followed him and all resistance had vanished. Now he cut through the water like a knife through warm butter. Without the riptide, his arms parted the water with each stroke, and his legs propelled him forward so quickly that he imagined the sea wanted to spit him back out.
The first wave crashed over them, knocking them forward. The next landed them on a sandbar. Still far out from the beach, Zeke stood up and pulled Nathan with him. “We can walk the rest of the way now. Just stay on this path, and we’ll be fine.”
When Nathan looked down, his feet sunk into the sand, but he kept walking. The sandbar supported them both, and he moved oddly at first, bending over to knock water out of his ear. His balance was off, so he took it slow.
“I think we made it!” Nathan climbed the last remaining steps and then threw himself onto the sand, far enough away from the tide that he would remain on dry land. On his back, he stared straight up at the sky. “Thank God!”
“I told you that we would be fine.” Zeke settled himself next to Nathan on the sand and glanced back over his shoulder from the direction they had come. “Now it’s time to rest and we’ll talk.”
A gentle wave crashed against the beach, and Nathan took another deep breath, wiping the grit away from his eyes. Coarse and wet, with the sand gone from his eyes, he took another breath and smelled the salty brine of a piece of seaweed wrapped around his wrist. He plucked the piece of greenery away and flung it onto the beach. “I thought I was going to drown out there. The riptide pulled me off and away like nothing I had ever faced before.” Sitting up and facing Zeke in the moonlight, he said matter-of-factly, “You saved my life.”
Zeke’s upper lip curled upward slightly, and a tiny presence of a smile presented itself on his face. In the semi-darkness, he pushed himself up to a sitting position, and only then did Nathan realize that his friend was naked. Placing his folded hands in his lap to cover himself up, Zeke turned back again and motioned over Nathan’s shoulder. “We won’t have much time, and you already know the truth, so there isn’t much more that I can say.”
More in awe than fear, Nathan asked, “What are you?”
The question hung pregnant between them, and Zeke raised his head up high and answered, “I’m a cetusthrope.” His words sounded foreign and gibberish to Nathan who just stared at him confused. He tried again. “I’m a man who can change into a whale. I’m a werewhale.”
Nathan shook his head in disbelief. “How is that possible?”
Zeke ran his fingers through his hair. “The curse. It’s all true like I told you back on the ship.”
Nathan shook his head in confusion. “I must have hit my head, and I’ve been seeing hallucinations. And Josep and Pahukumaa, did the islanders kill them?”
Zeke raised his voice and leaned closer to Nathan. He put his hand on Nathan’s forearm. “You saw them on the beach. Both of them are cetusthropes as well.”
The gravity of his words hung in the night, and as if in response, far-off behind them, they both heard a loud grunt of a boar followed quickly by another.
“Others have found the dead wolves, haven’t they? And now they’ll come after us.” Nathan’s heart beat fast again, and he tried to hold back his fear, but his voice broke. “Everything that you’re saying to me. None of it makes sense. It’s all too much. I’m too tired and can’t handle it all. I need to rest. I have to…”
Zeke took pity on his friend and put his hand on his shoulder. “Yes, we both need sleep. In the morning, the world will be clear again, but my words will still be true, and no matter how far you run, the truth will never be far behind. If we are to get off this island together, then like brothers, we all must work together.”
“You know more about this place than you have first shared.” Nathan fought back his fear and replaced it with anger. “All those odd things that happened back on the ship. You were involved and you lied to me!”
The accusation hit Zeke hard, and he became quiet and stared off at the surf.
“Tell me why we are truly here. I need to know.” When Zeke remained quiet, Nathan raised his voice and shook his finger at Zeke. “Men have died, and I might die as well. If you want me to help you, then I need to know the truth.”
Zeke pulled back his long hair from his eyes. The gray hair, looking darker when wet, shone in the moonlight. “You have felt the call, haven’t you? Of the sea, to whaling, and to this island.”
Nathan backed off a bit. “But what has that got to do with why we’re here?”
“The curse and the rumored treasure are bound together. It’s all here. Can’t you see?” He pointed all around them. “The reason why I’ve become who I am originates here, and it will with you as well. I was like you when I was young, and if you choose to join me, now it is your turn.”
“My turn for what?” Nathan asked with concern.
“To embrace who you are to become. The island breathes life here, and it will allow you to join with what the world can truly be. Just like the islanders became werewolves, so I chose to be a werewhale.” His jumbled words made no sense and Nathan tried to understand.
Nathan quieted his mind and shut out all the world around him. He closed his eyes and a truth sprung up, unbidden, and he said, “I’ve been called to the sea. I left my family to follow the call, but I’ve never known why. I hoped to find peace out on the ocean, but I’ve found only more questions and a deep loneliness so far.” His words trailed off and he lowered his head in shame.
“And that is why I have taken to be your mentor. The source is here. It will make you anew.” Zeke placed his hand on Nathan’s shoulder and lightly squeezed it. “You have a chance, and I hope you take it. I want you to become a cetusthrope like me. At long last, I’ve found another who has the true call of the sea in him. You’ll join me and become a brother to Josep and Pahukumaa. Together we will swim the oceans, and all your sorrow will be taken away when you see the mighty gift this island can give to you. All of it can be true, if you but want it.” Zeke took away his hand from Nathan’s shoulder and then reached out an open hand to his. “What say you?”
Nathan, confused and tired, held his hand back, and as if in answer, the grunts of the wild boars sounded closer than he liked.
Zeke put down his hand and pushed himself to his feet. “Come, let us go hide for the rest of the night, and in the morning, you will be rested. Then we can talk more.”
Nathan nodded and the heavy weight on his chest did not fall away. He glanced up at the moon and prayed that Morgan would hear him. She would never forgive him, but he needed her help or his soul would be washed away in abomination forever damning him in the eyes of God to become a creature that was not meant to be.
Chapter 11
I opened my eyes to the sound of a bird calling. He sat on the tree limb next to me and gave a mighty chirp. Disoriented at first, I took in a breath, and through the canopy of trees above, and glimpsed a nearly cloudless clear blue sky. When I turned to Ishmael to wish him a good morning, he was not there.
Startled by his absence, I searched around and leaned forward to gaze down below. Nothing. I could find no trace of him. Troubled thoughts ran through my head, and I quickly came up with a plan of action. I would eat some fruit first, find some water, and then head toward the beach. I had to find a way off this island and do so before I crossed paths again with the indigenous people who lived here.
“Morgan.” I heard someone whisper my name on the other side of the tree below me. I peered over the tree limb and spied Clarence waving up at me. “Come on down. It’s safe to do so.”
No one else was with him, and without Ishmael, my chances of survival would increase if we worked together. Two would have a better chance of getting off this godforsaken island than one. Or at least I hoped so.
“Here I come.” Careful not to fall, I climbed down the tree and jumped the last two feet into the soft cushion of fallen brush. “Have you seen Ishmael?”
“Yes, he’s f
ine.” Clarence spoke low and came close to me. He had no injuries that I could see, but his body was covered in dried mud. “He asked me to watch after you while you slept. He should be back soon.”
I touched his shirt and crumbled off a large piece of dried mud. “What happened to you?”
“After we separated, I had to hide in a mud pit to avoid being found.” He leaned forward and ran his hands through his hair, sending a cloud of dust to the jungle floor. “I’ve been looking for survivors through most of last night but only found Ishmael this morning. He went to go get some fruit and to refill his canteen with fresh water.”
“Have you been able to find your way back to the ship?” Exposed and out in the open, I glanced around, still fearful that a band of men with spears would come running out of the bushes at any minute to try and kill us.
“I did go back to the beach.” He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “It’s no longer there. I found no sign of the boat. And with night coming, I thought it safer to hide in the deep jungle than to be walking on the open beach. I holed up in a mud pit, and in the early morning hours started walking and found your tracks.”
“We were that easy to find?” I longed to be gone from this open clearing.
“To someone skilled in tracking, yes, but you both hid your path well enough. I’ve made my living as a bounty hunter, so I’ve made it my business to know how to track people down.”
The more I spoke with him, the more I learned about his complicated past. “Do you have any idea where the ship is?”
“No, I don’t, but I want to get back out on the beach this morning and start searching.” He still kept his voice low. “After we find the ship, we go back and bring more men with us.”
“I want to leave and never come back.” I glanced up at the bird on the tree limb above me and listened to his song. “I have a bad feeling about this place.”
“You can stay on board the ship if you’d like, but I want to find the treasure…” He heard movement on our right and silenced me with his hand, and together we hid behind a tree.
