A Monumental Journey 4

Excerpts Chapter 3 Anders reappeared near the port stern. Wildly my heart beat as I watched this giant of a man. Screaming with unbridled excitement, the Norseman had somehow gotten onto the creatures back and was now holding onto the raised meaty edges of the six foot blow hole. It was the most magnificent site I had ever witnessed; like the legendary Captain Ahab riding on the back of Moby Dick. Valiantly I struggled with the flood of emotions pumping through me. “John, ask Olaf about the scuba gear,” Anders cried out in wild excitement. John waved back and nodded. Breathing deeply several times he tapped the whale with his right foot; again they slid down beneath the surface. Profoundly influenced by what was transpiring, John and Garrett implored the Captain for the gear and, after getting another reluctant nod; they both raced below decks and came back up with three air tanks, regulators, face masks, and fins. After suiting up, Garrett and John jumped in and swam out to where they assumed Anders would be resurfacing; moments later he reappeared twenty yards off the port stern and motioned for them to join him. “Oh man this is so incredible;” Anders gushed excitedly as he put on the gear, “Something’s making the water glow down there; you can see almost as good as you can up here. These whales are sages, and so loving, and so willing to bond; it’s just amazing dudes.” “How deep is it Norse?” Garrett asked. “Don’t know little brother; we didn’t go down all the way. John, are the regulators adjusted?” “Yah, they’re set.” John answered. “How much air do we have?” “Forty-five minutes in these tanks,” John assured him. “Excellent!” Anders let out a whoop. “Alright, let’s do this.” After Anders had slapped on the water several times, half a dozen whales rose to the surface near where they were treading. “Gabriel,” John motioned when he was next to one, “You can do it brother; you’ll be safe. You’ve done this before. Don’t be afraid! Olaf, can Gabriel have a tank?” “If he wants one,” the Captain waved back with a hearty laugh. Chapter 41 As inconspicuous as possible we made our way down the blacktop path towards the ocean. North of us we could see and hear two aircraft making their final approach towards SeaTac airport. East of us I could make out the low rumbling of a group of motorcycles on the coastal highway. South of us I could see the bright lights of Seattle glowing eerily through the vaporous marine layer. From where we were, on the western side of the island, I could see that the fog was now about one hundred yards offshore and retreating steadily. “There’s the schooner,” Anders gasped. “Sheesh, it’s beautiful man,” Garrett murmured. “There’s another structure backa’ the wheelhouse, we have a new winch too.” “Looks nice,” John agreed, “guess the raft’s got a garage now eh?” “Man, I can feel the wind in my face dude, can’t you Gab?” “You bet I can Garrett, I can hardly wait!” “What’s that out there?” Anders pointed. Emerging ghostlike from the retreating fog we began seeing the outline of something about half a mile north. “Looks like another vessel,” John answered. “Look at the silhouette; looks like it belongs in a pirate movie.” “Yah it does Anders- strange,” John agreed pensively. Something gripped my guts. Could this be the vessel that we’d disabled last year in Scammons Lagoon? The thought horrified me and I forced it from my mind. When we’d reached the shoreline the four of us remained hidden in the shadows of all the thick growth near the path. From here we quietly watched over our surroundings. As I was wrestling with my fears a sudden clanging metallic sound echoed across the water from the northwest. Moments later there was another and a third after that, and then, after a moment of silence, we all heard the muffled sound of someone’s gruff voice shouting. Chapter 63 The sun had dipped below the far horizon and all of us were meditating on chairs outside the huts. The meal had been excellent and was sitting well. In the twilight shadows had lengthened across the bay and colors were deepening along the shoreline. Erratic breezes were blowing in now from across the lake and the air had a musty fragrance of night jasmine. When the moon had finally edged up over the cliffs, and was creating mysterious shadows dancing through the trees, Gunnar’s longboat returned; they were escorting a gorgeously constructed smaller vessel. Standing near the bow together a petite woman and a burly man, with a beard halfway down his chest, were the only passengers; both were wrapped in cloaks that hid their identity. Fully intrigued we all watched quietly. As soon as he’d disembarked Gunnar turned and motioned for us to remain where we were. Captain nodded our compliance. As the woman was being helped from the vessel the lake breezes picked up suddenly again and her cloak was blown from her head and fell back over her shoulders. The woman’s skin glowed with a milky opaline luster in the radiant moonlight; she appeared as a goddess and I was utterly transfixed with her beauty. Another sudden gust caught her long flaxen lochs and whipped them around in front of her. After complaining to her escort, he reached around at once and gently pulled the hair back over her shoulders. Patiently he waited until she had it clasped in both her hands before he let go. When it was secured again she turned towards us and smiled and then pulled the cloak back over her head. The scene was intoxicating. “What a babe, I wonder who they are?” Garrett murmured as they were whisked into the large wooden building. “Who knows,” John answered, “they weren’t gone very long.” “Maybe they picked them up from one of the islands,” Anders pondered. “Could be,” Rorek nodded, “the ones in the north were pretty big.” “I saw a plume of smoke on one of them when we first came in,” Olaf mentioned. “Did anyone see that?” “I did sir, right after we entered the channel,” John confirmed. “She was so striking, goodness,” Betsy marveled. “It seemed as if she was a queen in a story.” “You noticed that too huh?” Garrett chuckled.