The Last Voyage of the Emir

by David Riley

  “Captain, I can assure you my God is the God above all gods. He created the world and all we see. This storm is nothing to His mighty power. When He became a man, Jesus the Christ, and walked on this earth, He was able to calm storms with just His voice. I can guarantee you He is stronger than this or any other storm. I know that the wind and the waves you see around us still know His mighty name. If He says we will live, I guarantee it to be true.”

  Paul declared this with such authority that all in the small room were comforted, even as the wind and rain continued to roar and the ship to bob in the water. All were quiet and introspective for a moment.

  The Captain cleared his throat gruffly as he surreptitiously wiped his hand across his eyes. “Well, uh, thank you for bringing this to our attention. I’m not sure what we need to do but we will be on the lookout for any land close by.”

  “Thank you, Captain Sahaq,” Julius said as the three turned to return to the hold.

  There was no indication of a break in the weather, but the men were buoyed with optimism as they braced themselves against the rain and wind while the ship continued to rise and fall.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Down in the hold, Demetrius fumed. He has been tied up and guarded like one of the prisoners for two days now. If they knew who he was, they would treat him differently! He used to be rich and famous, a leader in Ephesus. The town leaders consulted him, and the other silversmiths looked to him for direction. He was not some lowly criminal! It was Paul’s fault all of this had happened to him, and yet Paul was free, even appearing to be friends with the soldiers guarding him! Only those two soldiers, Porcius and Cassius, seemed to see through him. Their motives were weak and they did not have the hunger for revenge that drove Demetrius, but still they did not fawn at the feet of their prisoner the way the centurion and the other officer seemed to.

  Now to find out his son, Temeros, was alive?! It was almost too much to bear! He wanted to go to him, to find out why he had run off and abandoned his father when he was injured and alone. But they tied him up and threw him in the dark, wet hold, away from anyone who could help him. He needed to find a way to reach Temeros! Surely he would help his father, wouldn’t he?

  When it was time for his guard’s shift to end, he was replaced by Porcius. Maybe now they would help him to get loose. When the others were occupied elsewhere in the hold, he gestured to Porcius.

  “Hey, what is going on? Can you let me out of here?” he asked quietly.

  Porcius shook his head. “No, we are being watched all the time. Our commander, Gaius, won’t let us have any freedom. There are too many soldiers that are loyal to Paul for us to help you right now. But just hold on. Maybe an opportunity will present itself.”

  “Well can you at least get a message to someone for me?” He pleaded.

  “Who do you want to give a message to? I didn’t think you knew anyone on board!”

  “The guy working with the doctor. The young one that always wears a scarf on his head. I want to talk to him!”

  Porcius looked puzzled. “Why in the world would you want to talk to a young guy like him? You’re not planning to do something scandalous, are you?” he asked with a sneer and a wink.

  “No! Of course not!” he responded indignantly. “I have my own reasons for needing to talk to him.”

  Porcius studied him for a moment and slowly nodded. “Ok, I’ll see if we can get a message to him somehow. Is there anything I can tell him that will help convince him to come see you?”

  “No, I need to see him and talk to him privately. I can’t share anything else with you yet.”

  The rest of his shift passed slowly. Not much more was said between them.

  —————

  After all of this time in the storm, the ship was barely holding together. Time was running out for all of them, and they were keenly aware of it. The water in the hold that had been knee deep twelve days ago had continued to rise. For the past ten days, there had been a line of sailors passing buckets of water up from the lowest hold to the deck to bail out the water. Although they had been able to keep the water from flooding over into the middle deck where everyone was huddled, they were not able to gain the upper hand and see it diminish, either. The most progress they had made was during the few hours of relative calm when they had passed near the eye of the storm, but once they were back into the heavy seas and rain, they were back to where they had started.

  The planks making up the hull groaned with each heavy wave. The men bailing water out of the hold had been fearful with each thud, expecting the hull to breach and water to come flooding in. If that happened, there was no hope. Thankfully, the frapping cables they had placed on the first day of the storm were still holding, and the crew were diligent about checking them and tightening them each day.

  The exhaustion of working round the clock to bail water, and inspect the frapping cables, as well as monitoring all of the other structures of the ship was matched equally by the mental fatigue of constant unrelenting stress and fear. The level of anxiety had built up quickly in the first three days of the storm and had never subsided. Some of the men had grown numb to it, walking through each day with tense nervous looks on their faces, eyes staring widely, jumping slightly with each shudder of the ship. Others had lashed out at anyone for anything, and the rough men who made up the ship’s crew were constantly striking out both verbally and physically, only to call a truce several times a day, with their version of a quick apology.

  The steady line of crewmen with buckets became part of the monotonous rhythm of the ship during the storm. Most of this occurred in the hatch to the stern, not the one they were used to using for their biological breaks or respite from the funk of the hold. The soldiers and prisoners and passengers quickly lost interest. There were rare intrusions into their awareness of this ongoing battle against the accumulating bilge water. Once or twice a sailor slipped on the wet deck falling down the ladder and crying out in pain. And once, oddly enough, a crewman passing a full bucket to the man on the ladder above him happened to catch a glimpse in the murky light of something moving in his bucket. He paused to look closer and was shocked by the sudden appearance of a snake lunging over the side of the wooden bucket toward his arm. He had cried out in fear and dropped the entire bucket of water as he jumped back quickly, narrowly escaping its fangs. The snake, briefly glimpsed on the floor of the hold, slithered out of sight in the shadows. Of course all were on high alert after that for any reappearance but the snake remained in hiding.

  Now, fourteen days into the storm, hope had long since dissolved into despair. But then, there was a breath of hope. Throughout the day, rumors had begun to spread that Paul had spoken to God. Some had heard that Paul had magic powers and would rescue them. Others had heard that there was an army of angels headed their way to carry them out of the storm. Someone else heard that they would be transported to an island paradise full of beautiful angels. Nobody seemed to know the real story, but all felt a sense of hope that something may finally change with this accursed storm.

  As this information was passed through the dark, wet hold, people began congregating around Paul, asking him to confirm what they had heard. Several were talking at once, and finally Gaius and Julius directed the guards to intervene and control the crowd. Julius approached Paul and asked him to share his vision with the crowd so the wild rumors would be quelled.

  Paul stood up, braced against the bulkhead, as he raised one hand to get their attention.

  “Brothers, it is true. God, to whom I belong and whom I serve, spoke to me through His angel last night. The angel’s words are for all of us. ‘Do not be afraid.’ He confirmed to me that I will be brought before Caesar and that not just I but all of you also will survive this storm. God has granted me that all who are on board will survive. So take courage! I believe God that it will be just like He said. However, the ship will not survive. We will have to run aground on an island. I do not know where or when, but I believe the
storm will be over soon. Trust in God that he will save us from the storm, but also trust in the Son of God, Jesus the risen Christ, that he will save us from our sins to give us eternal life.”

  Several of those around nodded and murmured in agreement. Someone asked Paul to pray for them and he led them in prayer of thanksgiving to God for his coming deliverance, even as the rain and wind roared around them and the creaking of the ship continued.

  The rest of the day, there was a definite air of relief and hope, but as the day wore into night, the hope began to slip away again, and doubts and fears returned.

  Paul and Gaius went up to Luke’s quarters for a visit in the evening as darkness descended on the deck. Paul was pleased that Aristarchus seemed to be recovering. His arm was still in pain but he was moving it easier, a fresh, clean bandage in place. His spirits seemed to have returned and he carried on a constant good-natured ribbing of his friend, Luke.

  “Despite Luke’s best efforts, my arm is improving. I’m really glad Temeros is taking care of me. I was sure Luke was going to amputate. Now I just have to get my function back. Didn’t the Lord teach something about the right hand not knowing how to do what the left hand does?”

  They laughed as Luke responded. “You are going to confuse poor Temeros if you keep misquoting our Lord’s teaching! I don’t think that is what He said when He was talking about charitable giving! Temeros, don’t pay any attention to him or he will lead you astray!”

  Temeros laughed as well, although he still had much to learn about the teachings of Jesus. He glanced at Luke’s collection of scrolls once again, hoping to read them sometime soon.

  Temeros was busy caring for the crew who were injured and those still suffering from seasickness. A few were weakened from prolonged time with no food, and he was helping to give them sips of water and small bites of gruel to strengthen them.

  Thankfully they were not called out into the storm, although there was one soldier who had come up searching for Temeros. Evidently one of the prisoners in the hold had asked to see him. In fact, it was Aristarchus’ attacker. The soldier was not able to tell him why the man wanted to see him, and Luke intervened saying they were much too busy to leave the patients they were attending for something like that. The man grudgingly turned and left, and after he left, they both agreed there was something unsettling about his demeanor. They quickly returned to their duties and put it out of their mind.

  Gaius escorted Paul back to the hold. All those below prepared once again for another night of dark, damp despair. The ship continued to rise and fall against the heavy waves, but as the night wore on, there was a subtle change. There seemed to be more side-to-side rolling of the ship, and the waves crashed against the hull in a different rhythm than before. They did not think much about this, assuming it was one more aspect of the deadly storm. Many still held out hope that they would be saved soon, holding on to God’s promise delivered to Paul.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Up on the deck, Captain Sahaq also noticed the change in the ship’s rhythm. He summoned Rayiz and ordered the crew to be on sharp lookout. This could mean that they were approaching land somewhere, although he could not imagine where.

  Rayiz assigned several of his crew to start taking soundings. If they were nearing shore, they needed to know and take precautions. They couldn’t see anything in the stormy darkness.

  After giving orders, Rayiz returned to Captain Sahaq, looking astounded. “Captain, you don’t suppose the prisoner, Paul, was right, do you? How could he know that we would run aground?”

  The captain mulled this over, puzzled. He shrugged. “I don’t know how he could predict the future. If he really saw an angel, like he claims he did, I don’t know whether to trust him or be scared of him. The only good thing is that if he is right about us running aground, maybe he’s right about everyone surviving.”

  Rayiz nodded. “I hope so!” he said as he went to supervise the crew.

  The men went to the prow of the ship with the sounding lines. The lines were ropes with a heavy lead weight at the end. At measured lengths along the rope, there were leather thongs of various shapes to designate the depth. The men gathered the sounding line carefully to be sure it was not tangled or knotted and then dropped the lead weight overboard.

  The ship continued to rise and fall with the heavy waves, and the seawater washed over the deck frequently. The men steadied themselves and held fast to their lifelines as they watched the sounding line drop into the sea segment by segment. Finally it went slack in the ever-changing sea, and the crew quickly took up the slack watching closely for the marker closest to the surface.

  “We are at twenty fathoms, sir,” the lead crewman called out to Rayiz.

  Rayiz made a quick note of this. “Ok, haul up the line and we will check again in a little while.”

  As he watched the men hauling up the line, there was a brief lull in the heavy downpour. With the decreased noise of the storm, Rayiz became aware of another sound. He looked sharply out to the sea ahead of them but it was too dark. He was sure he heard surf breaking on a rocky shore. He had been sailing long enough to recognize that sound anywhere. Usually it was a welcome sound indicating they were approaching a port where they would have time to relax, but this time it brought only foreboding of danger. If there truly were rocks nearby, and the ship ran against them in this weakened state, there was danger of sinking in the night in rough seas.

  He caught his breath and turned to make his way back to Captain Sahaq. He needed to report this right away. When he reached the captain’s quarters, he was hunched over his table poring over his navigational charts.

  “Captain!” he called out, breathless.

  “What is it?” the captain said gruffly, not looking up. “What was the sounding depth?”

  “We are at twenty fathoms, but there is something else!”

  The tone of his voice got the captain’s attention, and he looked up from the charts, eyebrows raised. “What? What’s the trouble?”

  “I heard surf breaking over rocks off in the distance ahead!”

  The captain’s eyes widened and his breath caught. “How far away? Could you see anything?”

  “No, but by the sound, it is not very far off. What would you like me to do?”

  Captain Sahaq considered this, his eyes shifting back and forth as he thought. “First, let’s get another sounding right away. We are still making fast progress with this wind, even with no sail. If the next sounding is any less, we need to cast out every anchor we have from the stern until we have enough light to see what is ahead!”

  “Aye, captain!” Rayiz responded. “I’ll have some of the men move the anchors to the stern and prepare to drop them on my signal. The men are getting the sounding line hauled up now and trying to lay it out for the next sounding. We should be ready for another reading soon.”

  He hurried out to give the orders. Captain Sahaq returned to his charts, now searching more urgently for any sign of a coast or an island. Where could they be? North? South? Surely not all the way to Italy! He had no way of knowing if they had lost their heading in the shifting winds. Briefly, he considered summoning the prisoner, Paul, to see if he had any more information but he dismissed that thought quickly. He was a sea captain in the Imperial Grain Fleet! If word got out that he was getting messages from God through a Roman prisoner, his sailing days would be over!

  —————

  In the hold, one of the guards brought news of the crew using the sounding line. Yes, it was true! Yes, he had seen it with his own eyes! Of course he knew it was a sounding line; he was not an idiot!

  With that news, there was a sudden return of hope. If they were sounding the depth, the ship must be getting near land! Just the word “land” was like a magical incantation! They could barely remember what it was like to be on a solid surface that was not constantly changing. And all remembered Paul’s report of what he believed to be a message from God. They were about to be saved!

 
; Several of the guards and prisoners wanted to go up on deck right away. Julius and Gaius had to quiet them and remind them that there was a storm raging and the crew was fighting the elements trying to keep them safe. They must remain below until further orders, but Julius and Gaius would go up to get more news from the Captain.

  Julius and Gaius made their way up to the deck. While Julius went to the Captain’s quarters, Gaius went forward to talk to the crew. When Gaius approached them, Rayiz was just ordering them to drop the sounding line again.

  They all watched apprehensively as each depth marker disappeared under the surface. Ten, twelve, fourteen fathoms all submerged, but then, the sixteen fathom mark floated on the surface! They all strained their eyes and leaned over, careful to hold tight against the movement of the ship, hoping to see it drop below the surface, but it did not. They quickly took up the slack and it was suspended above the surface of the water.

  “Fifteen fathoms, sir!” the leader of the crew called out.

  Rayiz hurried over. “Are you sure?”

  “No doubt. You can see the sixteen fathom marker still above the waves.”

  Without a word, Rayiz wheeled and rushed toward the stern of the ship. Gaius, observing all of this, hurried after him unsteadily.

  “Wait!” he called.

  Rayiz called over his shoulder. “What do you need? I have to get to the stern of the ship.”

  “Why?” Gaius called out. “What is going on?” He was barely keeping up with Rayiz on the slippery deck.

  “The sounding shows the water is shallower than just a few minutes ago. I heard waves breaking on rocks not too far away. We need to drop anchor now! We can’t risk running aground in the dark. We have to make it through until morning light so we can see what we are dealing with!”

  That stopped Gaius in his tracks and he watched Rayiz hurry off. He turned to go find Julius at the Captain’s quarters.

  Julius and Captain Sahaq were huddled tensely over the charts when Gaius arrived. He quickly wiped off his face as he went over to the table. They both glanced up, surprised to see him instead of Rayiz.