Karr-chapter 3, The Dark Storm

Chapter 3
The Dark Storm

Five minutes later they arrived at the harbor, and they met up with Uncle Rob inside the marina shop.
Uncle Rob was a tall seaman with a short gray beard and a flowing black over coat. He had a small face and large bright smile.
Daniel was looking at some real old-fashioned fishing rods when his uncle came striding toward him.
“Daniel c’mere and help me find some bait we could use for today” He followed his great uncle Rob down the isles and until they reached the back of the store where there were freezers full of night crawlers.
As he opened the freezer door, Daniel thought about asking how his father disappeared and decided now might be a good time and said, “I’ve heard about my father disappearing, and I need to do a report for school…um, could you tell me anything?” Uncle Rob didn’t say anything but kept shuffling around trying to get some bait, and pretending he hadn’t heard anything.
He was about to give up on the thought when Rob told him, “I don’t like to talk about it.” Before Daniel got a chance to argue, his mom came to the back, told them they should get going, and ushered them out the door.
He was eager to see what he might learn aboard the Karrkaroe, and rushed forward, along with John, toward the docks.
As they approached the vessel Daniel could see the size of it, and it was huge. Compared to sailboats he’d seen in pictures, he thought it would be quite small.
When Daniel looked up, it reminded him of those twelve-meter yachts they raced in the Olympics. Then he noticed that on the side of the boat there were elaborate words across it Reading, Karrkaroe.
Daniel looked back and saw everyone else looking just as amazed as he was, all except for uncle Rob that is, of whom was now making his way to the front of the group. “All right everyone, before we board I’m going to inform you about the basics of this wondrous boat you see before you’re eyes now. First, I’d like to say that yes, you will be allowed to steer it, but you must know how, it’s quite simple really.” “All you got to do is move the tiller back and forth,” he said as he lightly hopped onto the boat and demonstrated what he’d said. “Now, the steering is backwards so don’t go steering us crazy or we’ll be lost men, or I’d recommend the steering wheel for beginners such as yourselves. So, we all clear on that?” They all nodded except for Jessica who was staring up at her mother.
Then she said, “I think I shouldn’t go, remember what happened last time?”
Smiling Daniel remarked, “That was because you saw us gutting the fish!”
John, who had also been there, joined in on the fun “Yeah, then you started vomiting over the side!” Jessica looked irritated, Daniel and John, who just couldn’t contain their laughter, burst out laughing at the thought of the look on her face as she looked upon the fish’s split gut, even uncle Rob gave a chuckle.
But they soon stopped after Daniel’s mom gave them a look that plainly said, “Be quiet!”
Jessica’s mother came to her side “I know you’re a little afraid of going out to sea, but your going to be fine by the end,” Her mother paused to think, “just think of this as a chance to overcome your fear” she said with a comforting smile.
Jessica smiled too, because she new she would be alright in the end, whether the end of this sail boat ride, or the end of a great adventure. And she would overcome her fear.
“All aboard!” their uncle bellowed as they climbed onto the Karrkaroe. The boat swayed to a halt, and then the emergency motor was turned on to help them get out of the docking area where there wasn’t much wind.
They made their way swiftly through the water; Daniel felt the wind in his face, the breeze felt refreshing in the hot afternoon. He looked into the water and saw the fish quickly scatter away into the dark patches of seaweed, in order to hide from the low humming noise of the boat’s motor.
The crew upon their ship finally reached the point where they could let the sails up and travel by wind, this way they could experience the true exuberance of being on a sailing boat such as the Karrkaroe.
Daniel thought it was about time to get some fishing in, so he and John gathered up the fishing poles, the live bait, the lures, the bobbers, the sinkers, and any other fishing tools that they would need to catch whatever fish were hungry that day.
John was the first to cast his line over the side, while Daniel had gone to find his sister.
He stuck his head into the cabin and saw his sister on the small cot, trying to ignore the swaying and swishing of the boat. “All the fishing stuff is out in case you want to come, not that you’d have to fish, but you could at least watch.” He said. “Not now, I just want some rest first” she replied sounding awfully sleepy.
Daniel decided it was best to leave her be, and was walking out from the cabin when he heard a voice screaming out “I’ve got something, I can feel it tugging!”
Daniel turned around leapt up in surprise when he saw a great big fish lunging out of the water and thrashing about with John wrestling it on the other side of the line. Uncle Rob was looking back at the battle, while at the same time concentrating on steering the boat. Daniels mom was the one left to cheer him on.
John finally managed to reel in the huge fish unhook it and let it go.
“Wow, what a great catch” complimented Daniel’s mom.
Uncle Rob said, “I ain’t seen a fish that big for, well, quite a while.”
Jessica then emerged from the cabin and into the blinding, shimmering sunlight.
“Hey, what have you been up to?” asked her mother.
“Just resting,” she said, looking a lot brighter than before.
“Okay, if you want to learn how to sail this is your chance!” said Uncle Rob in a loud booming voice.
Daniel took the large wheel, and steadying it so that the compass point lined up with the direction they were sailing, he began steering the immense vessel.
A few seagulls that were swimming nearby furiously flapped their wings and lifted up out of the water to avoid the boat.
He started to steer it towards a lighthouse so he could examine it more closely. As they neared the lighthouse Daniel could see the ivy that wound up the side of the complex brick pattern. The bricks had been woven into such a way that they created a spiraling archetype that towered many feet into the air.
“This lighthouse here was built plenty of years before you were born and still stands high,” Uncle Rob said so suddenly that it startled everyone.
Next John steered, he enjoyed it most of all, and had a quick save once when they came near to a patch of sharp rocks.
Even Jessica took a turn at steering the boat.
They soon grew tired and sat down to rest.
Daniel looked up and noticed that the sky was gradually turning grayer. The ship was swaying violently back and forth, and then ended on one side where it was almost completely sideways.
“Aauugh, how often does this happen!” John said sarcastically. He and the rest were all scrambling around on the deck, trying to reach the other side so the boat would balance.
They finally reached one end to balance the boat, when Uncle Rob said, “don’t be shaken, I once had a boat that almost barrel-rolled during a rocker like that’n.
“I thought we were going to get barrel-what-evered!” exclaimed Jessica. “Well anyway, were all safe now right?”
Then, so suddenly, there was some unexplainable force that seemed to knock against the ship.
It was a smashing towards bottom that seemed to send shockingly odd vibrations upward through the bow, stern, and boom. After three times it stopped and a couple seconds after, the water swelled up into large waves. The boat was shaking as vigorously as was imaginable. It would be on one side then the next and everyone was scrambling for the safe side.
Daniel could now see the masts flapping full of the air that was taking control of masts dragging it down and back up.
To his left he could see the rope that was holding up masts, tightening maddeningly around the winch, as if it were a python crushing it’s pray.
Everything around him was completely hectic.
Daniel saw his sister with her arms wrapped tightly around her mother and felt sincerely sorry that he had been laughing at her earlier.
John was saying to Daniel, “I never expected this to happen!”
Daniels mother was trying to stay calm and seemed quite afraid something this terrible would occur, because for someone experiencing this it was obviously no act of nature that could be explainable and seemed as if it were a nightmare.
Next the most unexpected thing happened, the boat stopped.
It was the most absolute silence Daniel had ever encountered throughout his life. He looked straight up at the sound of thunder and saw the gray clouds swirling into a pool of darkness, then from the center came a flash of green lightning.
Jessica gasped and her mother hugged her tighter. Daniel was now the only one standing. He wasn’t quite sure what persuaded him to do so but he said, “It’s alright Jess.”
The sky continued to flash with the wretched lightning.
“This is a nightmare or one bad hurricane!” John whispered, as he seemed to cringe.
“I usually hate nightmares, but I’m hoping it is one,” Daniel replied.
The boat continued to rock to the restless rhythm of the sea. Bucketfuls of water and sea weed were washed aboard the ship dousing the helpless passengers with frost-like water.
Daniel found himself shivering and breathing hard. He didn’t notice but everyone fell into a deep faint and the rolls of thunder were no more than a lullaby to them.
The boat gave an enormous lurch as Daniel’s feet were pulled out from under him and before he had time to realize this; his shoulder had already smashed against the deck. He rolled over flat onto the deck.
Daniel laid on his back and felt a sinking feeling. Then he too fainted, and his head fell with a thud on the wooden deck as the ship was engulfed in waves that pulled it under the waters’ murky surface.