The Iowa Sisters #2 The Red North

Chapter 23

SAN PEDRO CALIFORNIA AUGUST 1954 "WISCONSIN"

Yeah I know I've had quite a few stories to tell in this but Iowa or New Jersey will have another chance soon enough. Right now though I have to tell this particular part of the story because it's important to what happens next.

As you already know Arianna, Kentucky's bow was fitted on me a few years earlier and although I was very much repulsed by this I had to live with it.

Anyway, I'd been having these strange dreams and visions for quite some time and the latest one had told me to come here and wait for something. What it was I had no idea, all I knew what that I had to go offshore alone and wait. For how long, I didn't know that either so there I was, sitting 20 miles off the California coast while a wedding party was going on waiting for something that was going to happen.

I didn't have to wait long. A few minutes after dropping anchor, I saw a shroud of mist appear on the waters' surface then I realized that it wasn't mist but sea spray like the kind a ship makes when coming out of a really deep trough but I could see no ship.

Then there she was, popping up out of the water like a submarine on the surface, taking her time to settle evenly before cautiously approaching me. I was on my guard at once.

"Wisconsin?" She asked. I gritted my teeth. "Yes, who are you?" I asked. "My name is Long Shadow, but you'd know me by my more common name amongst my kind, Flying Dutchman although I prefer the former." She replied.

It was my turn to be cautious. All ships knew that seeing Long Shadow was bad luck. "Why are you here?" I asked, unable to completely hide the quiver in my voice.

"If I wanted to harm you I would've done that already, without surfacing." She replied. "So why are you here then?" I hissed. She shrugged. "I'm here because I wanted to talk to you." She replied.

"Why?" I asked. "You have a gift Wisconsin, one that not many ships have. You see things, in your thoughts and in your dreams don't you?" She asked.

I stiffened. "How do you know about those?" I asked. I'd never told anyone, not even my sisters, about my visions. "I know all that happens in the world above." She replied.

"What do you want?" I asked. "The Gift of the Orb is extremely rare, more so than the Gift of Foresight. You are the first ship in three hundred years to have it. Not only can you see time, you can see whole new worlds that mankind has yet to discover. And like me, you can cross the barrier." She replied.

"The Edge of the World you mean. I can enter Davy Jones Locker and get back like you?" I asked. She nodded. "Yes." She replied. "Wow." I muttered.

"So, why are you telling me this?" I asked. "You're powers may be a gift, but they can also be a curse if you don't use them properly which is why, I wish to train you in the ways of the Great Powers." She replied.

"Me, your apprentice?" I asked skeptically. "You." She agreed. I frowned. "One question Long Shadow, before, well before Kentucky I'd never experienced any visions but after..."

"Kentucky did not have it Wisky. But by giving up her life to save yours, she made you a prime candidate for this gift, as did your humbleness. What's more is that you were opposed to this plan, you'd rather die than see her die. And you still are opposed to it, but you've accepted what has been done. Not many ships can say that." Long Shadow explained.

I frowned. "So, what do you want me to do?" I asked. "I want you to act as a medium for the dead. They often want to get messages home and unfortunately, every time I try, it only brings more tragedy and loss. That's part of my curse." She replied.

"And what is mine?" I asked. "That will depend on how you choose to use your powers." She replied. I nodded. "Alright, when do we start?" I asked. "Right now, but first I want you to clear your mind of any obstructions. Think of nothing, and I mean nothing." She instructed.

I closed my eyes and tried to wipe my mind clear. As I did, I could feel some connection forming. "Long Shadow," I said worriedly. "Focus Wisky, can you feel them?" She asked.

"Yes, I can hear them too." I replied. "Good, now listen." She ordered. Doing as I was told, I listened to the voices of the dead. I could hear many. "My mother, I want my mother!" One man cried.

"Take me home, oh please take me home I want to go home." Another said. There were so many voices I could barely make out the individuals. "One at a time." I ordered.

They only got louder, raising their voices over the top of one another to get their messages across. I lost my concentration and the connection dissolved. When I opened my eyes, I saw I was lying diagonally on the water.

Long Shadow was pressed against me, trying to prevent me from capsizing. "Are you alright?" She asked. "It takes some getting used to."

I nodded. "I'm alright Long Shadow." I assured her. With a grunt, I hauled myself back onto an even keel. "Did you talk to them?" She asked. "I did, but they had a habit of interrupting each other." I replied.

"Hm, in time you'll learn how to use your powers to control them but for a first time, that was good Wisconsin, very good." She praised me. I nodded. "Thank you." I replied.

She backed off a few paces, her green eyes suddenly serious. "I will give you a choice now Wisconsin but I can give it only once. For once you make it, there is no turning back." She said. "Go on." I ordered.

"You may continue your training as my apprentice and learn the ways of the gods, or you may decide to remain as you are and live a normal life." She replied. I frowned. It wasn't an easy decision. "You don't have to decide now." She assured me. "You can tell me your decision when we next meet."

"And when will that be?" I asked. "You have 10 days to make your decision, I'll see you then." She replied. "How will you know where to find me, I could be on my way to Asia by then." I said. "Trust me, I'll know." She replied.

She dived forward, the sea parted in front of her bow. It rushed over her masts and she was gone. I nodded. "Well ok then." I muttered and turning around I headed back to San Pedro where I knew Missouri would be missing me.