The Helen: A Story of the Sea
“Sanity is madness put to good uses. Waking life is a dream
controlled.” - George Santayana
She stood on top of a voluptuous
hill, a light breeze beating against her white linen gown. She stood there with
her arms open wide. Her fluid white hair rode the gentile breeze. Every blade
of grass danced around her like a uniformed waltz. She stood superimposed in front of an intense moon
whom’s beauty paled in comparison to her own. Her soft tone bellowed his name.
“Maddox” the name echoed in his skull, “Captain, please.”
Now he stood there with her, their hands locked. He could
really see her now, he could really feel her. Her face felt just as he
remembered and for a moment, all was right. But he knew it was too good to be
real.
“It’s not time yet, Maddox.”
Blood began pooling from her eyes
and flowing down those soft cheeks. Now it rained and just like every time, she
crumbled in the wake of the storm, carried away by the wrath of the winds and
water. His own tears became indistinguishable from the rain.
He knew it was impossible to avoid
real life forever. To his misfortune, Maddox woke up to discover himself massaging
some course facial braids of one of the crewmates.
“Mornin’ Cap’n, been callin’ yer name for a solid five
minutes oi’ve been. Glad to see you made yerself at home on me face, must ‘ave
been quite the dream” said Grunt, spraying Maddox with a little bit of spit
with every annunciation. His faux glass eye rolled around and rattled within an
empty eye socket.
“Damn Grunt, do you ever brush your teeth?”
“Nawt since me land fairin’ day’s mate” he stated with a
decaying grin.
“It’s early, spit out what you’re tryin’ to say. But not
literally, and if you can’t help it then do it in that direction” scoffed
Maddox, pointing away from his face in all directions.
“Oi Cap’n, a beautiful sea maiden dun washed up on the deck,
she did. Kindah exciting if ye ask me. Beautiful face, nice round bosoms” Grunt
snarled, laughing feverishly while releasing a putrid smell from the depths of
his mouth.
“Please get out of my face, mate. Give me a few and I’ll be
out.”
Grunt exited the room and Maddox took
a long look at himself in the gold-framed mirror on his white oak wardrobe. He
combed his golden hair to the side and trimmed his goatee. He suited up in his
typical captain attire, an outfit that commanded authority and respect. He left
his cave to greet this new visitor.
She was
soaked from head to toe. Her white, torn dress still dripped and exposed many
of her lovely features. She stood next to the mast of the ship with her hands
tied and head down, refusing to reveal her face. Her brown hair hung clumped
and draped in front of her. The crew drooled over her like dogs while they sat
waiting for the command of their faithful Captain, Maddox Dranger.
“Found her floatin’ on nothin’ but a piece of plywood,
Cap’n” rasped Krooks, the elder of the crew.
“Head up, state your name and your business here” Maddox
boomed. She picked up her head to reveal her big, green eyes that shone like emeralds.
Her lips were big and blue from the
cold waters and resembled tiny plums. She had a complexion that could enslave
the soul. She stood and stared at Maddox, their eyes met. She said nothing.
“I said name and business here, dear. I have no problem
throwing you back into those tormenting waters.” She contemplated her response
for a moment.
“My name is Ligeia, I was taken prisoner from my village by
a small group of barbarians with raven-hair and blood red eyes. They roam these
seas as we speak. I managed to escape their captivity but they search for me.
You see, I am from a family of the highest order in my village and the only one
who knows the location of a sacred treasure, tucked away deep in the mountains
to the North. I hold the key around my neck” she flashed him the key. “The
barbarians want this treasure and will do horrible and gruesome things to
obtain it, even the senseless slaughter of women and children. Please help me
Captain, please save my life and I will reward you and your crew a portion of
the treasure. This is not something that is easy for me to do, but I fear the
worst if those men manage to get their hands on the it.”
Something
didn’t sit right with Maddox. Something about the story didn’t add up. He broke
eye contact with this stranger of the waters and signaled to Krooks to meet him
on the bow.
Krooks was
an elderly man with many layers of experience. He was as old and wise as the
sea itself and had been on the ship long before Maddox assumed the role of
Captain. His face was glittered with dark freckles; his hair and beard were
white and oily. Maddox frequented Krooks for advice and treated him as if he
was his first mate. Maddox stared off onto the horizon to watch the sunset. The
sky shone bright purple this evening, with different shades of pink and red painted
across the sky. Stars were plentiful around this time. The sea stood calm.
“She’s quite the beauty, Krooks.”
“She’s quite the liar, Maddox. I can see it in ‘er eyes.
There’s something gravely off about this one.”
Krooks pointed to the ivory figurehead
on the prow. It depicted a beautiful, sharp-toothed mermaid with long,
eagle-like wings. Its inanimate wings appeared to flutter in ocean breeze,
clearly the work of a masterful artist.
“The siren: a beautiful creature. Been foolin’ sailors like us for centuries,
drawing us in with their beautiful siren songs and fun lady parts. She’ll make
you feel special, al’right. Might promise you all the riches in the world. But
the moment she captures your heart, she’ll chew it up and spit it out right in
front of you… Be careful with this one, Maddox. Don’t be fooled by a pretty
face.”
They are standing together on the
bow now, watching the sun slowly tuck beneath the ocean’s sheets.
“Aye Krooks, you’re wise beyond your years, I trust your
judgment for I feel the same. But did you see that key, Krooks? It was encrusted with precious stone. It
alone is probably worth a fortune!”
“Aye Cap’n. It certainly doesn’t fit some mere makeup box. If
this maiden speaks the truth, we could possibly buy enough rum and blow to last
us a lifetime!” Krooks reasoned, with a glimmer in his eyes. “There is fame and fortune to consider, sir,
but I trust that you can make the right decision. You are Captain for a reason.”
There was a long moment of
contemplation now. The two watched the sun give its last breath as it was
swallowed by the darkness.
“Can I ask you something personal, Krooks? Something you of
all people would understand?”
“Aye Cap’n.” Krooks has always been a good listener.
“Have you ever stopped to think how REAL we are? How significant
our lives, our emotions REALLY are in the grand scene of things?”
“I’m not quite sure I’m followin’ you, sir.”
“I keep having the same dream about her, Krooks. I’ve had
one every single night for the last month. I can get close to her, but she
slips right out of my hands every time. What’s worse is that I’m happier when
I’m with her in my dreams than when I’m here on this hellish boat.” Maddox
could feel himself filling with emotion now. “What does this world have for me
now. I never even got to say goodbye to her, Krooks. If I could have just been
there I could ha…”
“Enough of this bullshit. She was eaten, Maddox! By a fifty
foot sea serpent with a million little devil-eyes and teeth that could taste
blood from a mile away. There’s nothing
you could have done. Lovely as she may have been, it’s time to move on and
focus on the task at hand.”
Maddox felt that he should have
been offended by this remark, but couldn’t muster the energy to feel anything
other than hungry. He had been mostly bed ridden today and didn’t find the time
to eat. A family of Tiger-frogs began swimming alongside the boat. Maddox
watched as they swam around and dunked each other under the water in a playful
manner.
“Remember, sir, we can only ride the ocean because it is
constantly changing its form. In order to keep up with the changing flow of the
tides, we must also change. Only then can we find peace within ourselves.” Krooks
turned around and began walking back toward the disgruntled crew. “Please come
eat, Cap’n, you haven’t had a bite all day.”
Maddox sat at the head of the long,
finished, rectangular maple table. Ligeia and Krooks sat on either side of him.
Dinner tonight consisted of a medley of exotic fish and white bread. The crew
guzzled their brew and devoured the banquet in very short amount of time. They
ate like animals being fed at the zoo. Food went flying, songs were sung, beer
overflowed from glasses and plates were flung. Maddox peered over to Grunt, who
had gotten up on the table with two other shipmates and began drunkenly singing
some sailor song. He had a lot of fish guts hanging from his beard dreads now and
even what appeared to be a fish eye dangling on his mustache below his one good
eye.
Dinner
on the sea was always a very joyful occasion. Maddox, however, was finding his
food difficult to stomach tonight. He believed it had something to do with
Ligeia. She ate her meal with very few words spoken, most likely overwhelmed by
the festivities. Maddox could not place an emotion on her facial expressions
though. She seemed neither afraid nor anxious, something you’d expect from a
person being hunted by barbarians. Instead she looked perfectly content,
smiling at the various antics of the crew. This was unsettling to Maddox.
After dinner, he showed her to her
room in the bowels of the ship. The room consisted of a single oval window,
which was entirely submerged underwater, and a mattress blackened from years of
grime build up. Maddox gave her the proper bedding and a jug of water to get
her through the night.
“Pretty quiet down here for the most part. Sometimes you can
hear the boiler room cryin’, but it’s there’s nothing more than hot air and
rats. No need to be afraid.”
Maddox walked hastily towards the
door.
“Gunna lock the door, but that’s only cause I can’t trust
you yet.” Maddox opened the door and locked it from the inside.
“Thank you for everything, Captain” she uttered with a tiny
smirk on her face. Maddox turned around. She was staring directly into his
eyes. “I wish there was a way I could repay you for this kindness” she said as
she approached him slowly.
“It’s my pleasure, we can talk about this treasure thing in
the morning.” Maddox slowly placed one foot out the door, trying to ease
himself out of the room.
“No I don’t think you understand,” she purred seductively,
grabbing Maddox by the butt and pushing him in closer to her so that their
bodies touched, “I can repay you in treasure, but gold isn’t the only treasure
I can repay you with.”
This cliché
exchange of words caused sweat to form around Maddox’s lips. Hairs on his neck
began standing up in arousal. For a moment, their bodies melted into each
other. After a brief intimate moment of kissing and caressing, Maddox pushed
her away from him. What kind of monster was he becoming? How could he so
blindly cheat on the woman he loved? Was it even cheating? Maddox exited the
room without a single utterance, closing the locked door behind him.
Ligeia stared at the door for a
moment. She looked into the palm of her hand and smirked a sinister smile,
followed by a ghostly laugh. She fit the stolen key into the keyhole and walked
into the ominous blackness of the bowels of the ship.
The ship
slept and floated gingerly upon the waves, underneath a cloudy night sky. Not
much could be heard at night besides the whistle of the ocean breeze and the
sloshing of water against the proud ship. Maddox wasn’t tired in the slightest
and had much on his mind. Regardless, he took a pill of his insomnia medication
and was knocked out. Grunt and a few members of the crew played gambling games
by candlelight in one of the supply rooms. Ligeia walked in on the games and
immediately turned around, attempting to exit the room.
“Oy purty lady,” Grunt sniveled, “Got specific ordahs from
Cap’n to make sure you be stayin’ in your room, I did. What ‘sa cute lil’ thing
loike you doing in this part of the ship, ey?”
Grunt wiped the spit from his mouth
and wiped his hand on his trousers. Ligeia stayed silent, her black hair
covering her eyes. The crew stared at her. Grunt’s tone immediately turned to
frustration and his once smile had now fleeted from his face.
“OY! Oim tawkin’ to yuh, miss. Yuh wouldn’t be tryin’ to
cause some trouble down here now would yuh, miss.” Grunt began pushing her
around, passing Ligeia between each member of the crew. Grunt presented a knife
to her face. “Now yur gunna do exactly what I tell yuh, understand?”
Ligeia
began laughing the same demonic laugh, staring directly into Grunts eyes. She
grabbed his arm and brought the knife her throat. She slit her own throat ever
so slightly, gathering the blood from the small incision on her
fingertips. She then proceeded to suck
the blood right off her fingers.
“Haha, oi think we gawt ourselves a feisty one ‘ere boys!”
The crew snickered. Grunt’s laugh sprayed saliva all over the woman’s face.
“Don’t worry miss,” Grunt went on to say, “mama nevuh taught me how to be
gentile.”
Grunt’s
hand made it below her stomach before she caught it in mid air. In the blink of
an eye, Ligeia twisted his arm around and pushed the back of his elbow out, causing
the bone to be exposed. She swiftly grabbed the knife, pushed the sailor
against the wall and cut out his one good eye, which she then placed in her
mouth to show the rest of the crew. She
continued to laugh her horrible laugh. Grunts glass eye spun around trying to
escape out of his head as the poor sailor screamed in agony. She slit his
throat and then moved on to the rest of the crew.
The screams
shook the sand from the eyes of the boat. Their shrills pierced the sound
barrier and woke everything up. The crew scoured the ship looking for the
woman, following many different trails of blood to find her location. Maddox
and Krooks observed the scene where Grunt and crew were brutally murdered. Most
of the crew’s hearts had been ripped out of their chests and pierced through a
stick. A cucumber had been shoved into Grunts skull where his one good eye used
to be. Body parts lay scattered and blood handprints decorated the room.
“How did she manage to get out of her cell?” Krooks
remarked, clearly in shock by horrific scene. “In all my years of serving this
boat, never have I seen a single woman murder four crew mates.” His voice
trembled.
Maddox
checked his pocket for the key to the room. It was missing. Maddox dismissed
himself and went back to his quarters. He grabbed a few of the essentials: a
small knife, a big knife, his sword, a handgun and a candle. He scribbled a few
notes on a piece of paper in his journal and placed the journal in one of the
draws of his desk. Now he set out to find the demon.
He traced the blood around the ship
and eventually came upon a few more mutilated corpses. Krooks and a few men
managed to catch up with Maddox.
“You can’t be serious. Do you expect to kill her on your
own? Look what she did to the rest of the crew, Maddox? You think this is a
good idea?” Krooks was frantic now. Maddox could see the morale of his crew
dying like a simmering flame.
“This is my mistake, Krooks. I can handle this on my own. I
think I understand what needs to be done.”
Krooks
stood hesitant for a moment. Maddox could have sworn he saw tears forming in
his eyes.
“Aye. Aye, Cap’n. Please come back alive.” Krooks put his
hand on Maddox’s shoulder. Maddox turned toward the trail of blood that led
into the boiler room.
“Men become lost in there, Maddox.”
The door to
the boiler screeched open. Maddox entered the dark abyss and closed the door
behind him, gun and lit candle in hand. Then there was silence.
It had
begun to pour outside. The waves rocked the boat ever so slightly now. Inside
the boiler room, the monster’s dark laugh reverberated. It seemed that the
power had been cut and the only thing illuminating the path was Maddox’s faint
candlelight. A breeze blew down the rusty corridor and extinguished the flame.
Now Maddox was lost and scared. He drew his firearm and his hands nervously
shook as he aimed blindly into the nothingness. He could hear faint cries coming
from all around him, as if the demon was attempting to draw him in closer. He
started to hear a faint show tune being sung. He could hear himself getting
closer and closer to the muse.
Red eyes penetrate the dark veil.
The gun was slapped from his hand and he heard it rattle between the pipes and
boiler machines, which at that time looked like iron giants. It was too dark to
locate the piece so he drew his sword. This was his favorite sword, gifted to
him by his sweet. Its golden shaft illuminated the immediate area around him
with a false light.
“Oh Captain, MY CAPTAIN. Hehehe.”
The voice was
screechy and taunted him from all corners. From the corner of his eye, he saw
the figure perched up on one of the boilers like a gargoyle. The dark figure
pounced on him, grabbing him first from behind and deeply scratching his chest.
She then began ripping his captains gown with her deathly claws. Maddox began
swinging his sword around frantically. One of the swings managed to cut the
beast’s leg. An ear splitting screech echoed amongst the iron giants. The room became cold and quite as the
creature retreated back into the darkness.
Maddox could hear familiar
footsteps approaching him now. Then a familiar hand reached out. In the faint glow
of the sword, Maddox managed to make out the figure. He could recognize those
long beautiful tendril-like fingers anyway. Her beauty was unmatched to that of
an exotic flower. Her long, white hair managed to sway in a breeze that was non-existent.
Her ocean blue eyes walked right through his and stared directly into his soul.
Her lips formed a faint smile like the crescent moon.
“I’m here, Maddox. Lets leave this place together, lets get
away from all this and build a house on a cliff and smoke fine cigarettes
together on our porch that overlooks the sea.”
The woman got closer now. He could
smell her essence; it was a sweet familiar smell that filled him with tears.
“But you’re not real. I watched you die… You’re the demon
playing tricks on me.”
“None of it matters, baby. Please lets just start over. I
can be this girl; I can give you everything you want and more. The real treasure
is power, baby, and you and I wreak of it.”
Maddox
smiled. Ligeia smiled. Her claws were beginning to extend from her fingertips
and Maddox could feel them piercing his skin ever so slightly. It was a
titillating feeling. They kissed for a long moment. Her long, serpent tongue
started from the bottom of his neck and worked its way up into his ear. Their
clothes slowly began to fall off their backs. The sex was aggressive and
beautiful. They swayed and danced like long grass being whipped around by the
winds of a tropical storm. They flowed like a brutal tidal wave. Sweat pooled
on the ground and the boilers sang louder than ever now. Maddox was close to
finishing, but would give this beast no such satisfaction. While she was
distracted, he reached for his dagger.
“Agghhhuuuh,” Ligeia grunted, as blood began pooling from
her mouth.
Her eyes turned black as the night
sky as she jolted for Maddox’s neck with certain electricity. He twisted the
dagger deeper and deeper into her heart, or whatever foul organ inhabited the
place where her heart should have been. She growled and snarled. She swiped his
face with her bird-like claws and extended her wings into the air like the
angel of death. Maddox felt her grip weaken around his neck. Swiftly, Maddox flipped
over Ligeia and decapitated her with one fell swoop of his sword. Her wings went
limp and everything became quiet for a moment. Maddox stared at the head of his
decapitated loved one and slid down against the wall until his butt touched the
ground. He sighed a sigh of relief.
“Don’t worry baby, we’ll be together soon.”
Maddox
took his glowing sword and slit his own neck. It was a slight pain, but
tolerable with the knowledge that it would all be over soon. His vision was
getting fuzzy now. He rolled over to look at her once more. Her ocean blue eyes
were still staring into his.
Or maybe
he was just imaging the blue eyes, maybe the blue eyes were just what he wanted
to see, maybe the blue eyes never existed at all. Maddox relinquished his last
thoughts. He watched his loved one slowly transform back into the deranged
creature that stepped on his ship not even twelve hours ago. The swords faint
glow extinguished, leaving the boiler room alone to hiss its solemn song.
Krooks was the first to discover
the bodies. Ligeia’s decapitated head lay close to Maddox’s. Her eyes were
entirely black and still stared at Maddox’s lifeless body. You could almost see
the despicable smirk on her face, still laughing at their faithful Captain. Her
black hair lay ragged and messy, almost Medusa-like. His throat was slit and he
seemed to have bled out rather quickly.
The ship
carried on. Maddox’s ashes were scattered amongst the waves. He was now one
with the sea, one with his beloved one, and one with himself. Apparently, this
was all he ever wanted.
It was
Krooks’ duty to shuffle through Maddox’s belongings in search for a will of
some sort. While rummaging through Maddox’s belongings, he discovered a parcel in
the desk with his name. Krooks opened the parcel to find Maddox’s dream book.
The book contained over three hundred pages of the same dream with the same
ending each time. It was a hopeful story, but certainly not a rewarding one for
our dear Captain. On the last page of the book was a moon, drawn full and
bright. Written at the center of the moon was a single phrase: “I am finally awake.”
Krooks closed the book and
stored it in his breast pocket. He walked to the bow where him and Maddox held
their last real conversation. He stared out onto the sea. The water sat cold
and still. It is always cold and still after a storm, and always will be. This
was something that Krooks understood very well. Unfortunately, Maddox had
learned this lesson when it was already too late. The sea had claimed another innocent
soul and hopefully, this would be the last time Krooks would have to witness
it.
