Fog of Shadows

Part 27

Having rowed for the rest of the previous night and all of the next day, Thomas was more than tired when he managed to get the boat to shore. The sight of a ghost ship moving through the Eldorado had given him enough of a fright to last for all those hours without rest, but now his arms felt like pudding. Luckily, Donnie had not woken up, but it did worry him slightly. He did not like her much, but he did not her to die either; at least not so young. Leaning back in the boat, his arms resting to his side, he thought of how he regretted his decision to sneak away on the Eldorado to some unknown destination. He also felt lucky how he had managed to get the boat to shore without crashing into any of the sharp rocks, despite the fog. He also hated the fog, it was cold, clammy, blinding, and hid any approaching danger from view. His eyes felt heavy and the boat's wooden rim felts as comfortable as any pillow. With his eyes closed, he began to relax and the world around him began to fade away. For a second, he thought h heard Donnie stir and murmur something, but he did not care at this point if she woke up now. He felt the boat move slightly; it could have been a wave. He smelled something foul, but it was only a small whiff and then it was gone, perhaps a dead animal. His consciousness started to fade, but then the boat moved again and the smell returned; it was stronger this time. He opened his eyes slightly since they felt as heavy as led; through blurry vision, he saw something glowing red in front of his face. His eyes fell shut again; his mind was running, but his body felt paralyzed from exhaustion. The smell became worse and the boat rocked some more as if something was climbing in and out of it. His heart began to race and he prayed in his mind as he felt something cold touch his face; it poked his cheeks and ran something along the bridge of his nose as if testing his flesh. Again, he tried to force his eyes open, but he managed only a small slit; he wished he had kept them closed as a pair of red eyes looked back at him.

XXXXX

At the Inn, Flinn paced back and forth in the living room as Myri and Shill reported their findings. He felt crushed at having failed at his mission. He was glad that Willow had taken Alisea to another room; he was sure that the news of all her heart ship was for nothing would have troubled her mind and upset her even more. It also did not make sense that Janet would be dead; he and Alisea had seen her. "And that she is dead is your final verdict?" he asked with his head hung low.

"It is supported by the evidence; there simply is not evidence that she is alive. Even if she were, why would she disappear from sight, why would she let the town write her down as dead, why would she run away from the news of her uncle, why would she not write back to her uncle and aunt? We tried everything we could on this island for the time we planned; maybe the next rescue team will have more luck in finding her." Said Shill, he tried to comfort his friend but knew there was little he could say and he knew that. He too felt crushed at all their efforts being for nothing; it felt as though fate had a laugh at their expense.

"Well, our trip was not completely useless. With our information, the next crew will have something to build their rescue mission on and they know what to expect from the island. We could have done better ourselves if we had some information on the island, its' people, and how she was recorded." Added Myri with her arms crossed, she could still smell the record house on her. "Face it, we were unprepared."

Flinn nodded his head in acknowledgment, but it did not help his mood. Lillian then walked into the room, a small frown on her face; she was still a little angry with Flinn for walking away from her on the beach the way he did, but she also knew that this was her last evening with Flinn and she decided to forgive him silently. "So, you guys are going to leave tomorrow morning?" she asked, though she knew the answer.

Flinn, again, nodded his head; he was still slightly disgusted with her. The others left for bed, no one was particularly hungry, and Flinn sat down on the sofa that sat in the corner. He kept his head hung low. To his dismay, Lillian sat next to him; her foggy eyes looked at the lit fireplace. He had to admit that she was pretty. Her golden hair glowed with the firelight and her pale skin shown like parceling, but to him, she was just a pretty mask hiding a hideous face. "It is going to be pretty lonely here with you gone." She mentioned, giving him a light smile.