Never Again
by Robert David Anderson
The bright blue skies and calm seas east of the Bahamas was deceiving. Thousands of pieces of debris floated on the surface as two US destroyers searched for any signs of life after the mysterious disappearance of the Caribbean Queen cruise ship, the SS Princess Alexandra. The debris field spanned over twenty square miles from everything from deck chairs to articles of clothing. Onboard the USS David Benjamin, a spotter signaled the bridge that he sighted a life raft with a lone person in it. The ship�s captain ordered his helicopter to rescue the survivor. It lifted off with a rescue team and it flew out a half a mile where the battered leaking raft bobbed among the scores of empty life rafts and vests and personal effects of those vacationers that were on the ship.
The rescue team hovered over the raft while one man was lowered down with a second harness and gently stepped on the broken seat to what appeared to be one of the seaman from the ship. The Navy seaman checked to see if he was alive and noticed several deep lacerations on the sailor�s arms and chest. He buckled the harness onto the man and signaled for the helicopter to reel the men up. The doorman raised the men up one hundred feet and the medic unhooked the survivor when they made it up to the open door.
�He�s in shock. Let�s get back to the Benjamin.� The medic ordered and the pilot turned and flew back to the destroyer.
The helicopter landed and two corpsman raced out with a stretcher. The corpsmen and the medic eased the man on the stretcher before rushing him down to the ships� infirmary. The captain, Mark Coltrain, stared out at the sea with his binoculars when he received word that the man was in shock but still alive. �Let me know when he�s stable enough for me to question him.�
�Aye, aye, sir.� Lt. Commander Denise Stenovich answered.
�What was the weather and seas like yesterday when the Alexandra went missing?�
�Just like it is now, calm seas and bright blue skies.�
�Radio the Coast Guard and have them expand their search pattern another ten square miles.�
�Aye, aye, sir. Do you want me to radio Norfolk about us rescuing one person?�
�Yes Lt. Commander. I�m going outside to see the debris field in a better light.�
The fifty-five year old captain left the bridge leaving his thirty-five year old Lt Commander to handle the Coast Guard flights and contacting Norfolk about their rescue.
For two days, both destroyers searched the debris field picking up chunks of the missing ship, and crushed life boats but there were no survivors. No bodies, not even the presence of any large predatory sharks, which disturbed Capt. Coltrain as his men and women searched for life among the floating wreckage. �If there were bodies in the water, the sharks would be out in force. What�s the depth of the ocean here?�
�Seven hundred feet sir.� Lt. Commander Stanovich answered.
�When will the Dept. of Transportation accident investigators suppose to be flying in?�
�At 1000 Zulu hours.�
�How�s the survivor?�
�Lucid. He�s up and about but asking us to get out of the area before it destroys us like it did to the Princess Alexandra.�
�What is it?�
�I don�t know what it is, sir.�
�Keep me informed. I want to be with him when the civilian investigators questions him. I�m going down to my quarters to write up my report to fleet command�
Lt. Commander Stanovich took her post searching the ocean for even a hint to what may have happened to the cruise ship. She wondered if privately, that it was another victim of the Bermuda Triangle.
At 1020 Zulu hours, the Dept. of Transportation accident team flew to the USS Benjamin and disembarked and were greeted by Capt. Coltrain.
�Hello, I�m Capt Coltrain.�
�Mr. Douglas Meijer And this is Ms. Katrina Nicholas.�
All three shook hands before Capt. Coltrain escorted the civilian investigators down to the ship�s galley where the sole survivor sat by himself drinking coffee and smoke on a cigarette. When the investigation team walked into the galley, the sailor just stared blankly into his black coffee and nervously puffing on his Camel cigarette before flicking the ashes into a solid glass ash tray.
�My name is Douglas Meijer and this young lady is Katrina Nicholas and we�re from the Transportation Department to investigate the disappearance of the cruise liner, SS Princess Alexandra.� Mr. Meijer introduced himself and raising his hand to shake the survivor�s hand.
The man dressed in a navy blue shirt and work pants borrowed from the crew stores glanced up and ignored Meijer�s hand. �My name is Jackson, Leon Jackson I�m the�was the first mate, helmsman for the SS Alexandra.
Mr. Meijer opened his briefcase and pulled out a micro recorder and sat it in front of Leon Jackson before switching it on to record their conversations with the shell shocked sailor.
�Leon, if its alright with you, Capt. Coltrain will sit in on the debriefing.�
Katrina poured some coffee for herself and Douglas and handed a white mug to Douglas. He sipped at the hour old coffee and winced. �How old are you Leon?�
�Thirty-nine.�
�Place of Birth?� Katrina asking a standard question to Leon.
�Ludington, Michigan.� Leon answered puffing on his cigarette before putting it out.
�Lovely town. When I was a boy, my parents and two brothers would rent a beach house for two weeks every summer until they retired.� Mr. Meijer commented studying Leon�s demeanor and could see that he was man traumatized by a sudden violent accident, which is similar to Delayed Stress Syndrome.
�I still live there on the beach.� Leon answered downing his cold coffee
�Good. Leon, please tell us the events surrounding the disappearance of the SS Princess Alexandra.� Katrina inquired lighting up a cigarette and exhaling it up above them.
Leon stared coldly at her. Never blinking, just staring straight at her what seemed to be an hour but only for a few seconds. �What I am about to tell you is from what I observed�I don�t even know what I perceived is real or an illusion.�
�Let us be the judge of that.� Capt. Coltrain reminded him.
Leon light another cigarette and played with it for a moment before he replied. �Ok.�
The SS Princess Alexandra ploughed through the blue green waters near the ancient site where some claim that part of Atlantis was still visible to divers. The cruise ship was suppose to reach one of the Carnival owned islands to the north near the Grand Bahaman Island before sailing out for Miami. Capt William Dover, the most senior captain in the cruise lines, knew the seas well in this part of the Bahamas So there wasn�t anything out of the ordinary. The captain made his usual rounds through the guests areas and down to the engineering room to make sure the engines were at one hundred percent. He left myself at the helm and I knew the lanes between the islands like the back of my hand. Sonar read nothing in front of us and it read a depth of six hundred feet.
Second mate Barren Nataga stood by the windows and noticed something moving out in the open ocean near the small island called Isle de la Negras. It was only a sand bar with a few trees and a large population of sea birds colonizing it. It appeared the disturbance was a pod of whales feeding on squid schooling in the area. It seemed to be nothing new.
I decided to go to the left of the island where the depth was 800 feet and avoid the whales and I went to half speed. The island grew closer and something odd about the island struck me. The trees were knocked down at the roots and the birds that usually roosted there laid dead ripped to shreds. I made a comment to the second mate who dazed at the island and then looked down at his sonar. The island was moving slowly back and forth.
Capt Coltrain stopped Leon for a moment. �How big is this island? And why isn�t it on any of our maps?�
�Its about a half a mile long and probably about five hundred feet wide. Its one of those islands around the Bahaman Islands that are not documented.�
�What�s so damn important about that island?� inquired Douglas down his cup of coffee and taking the final drag from his cigarette.
�This area is noted for short lived islands. Whether its from erosion or a storm that creates and destroys them. They leave no trace and will not pose a threat to shipping. Go on Leon, continue with what you observed.� Capt. Coltrain explained pouring himself another cup of coffee.
At this time, Captain Dover came up to the bridge to see if we will make it to the island by mid afternoon as scheduled. I informed him why I wasn�t taking the central channel between Negras and San Elizabeth and he agreed with me. He noticed the destruction of the island and remarked that the area did receive a bad storm several days before we set sail from Jamaica to our second destination. He reminded me to keep the ship a safe distance since the island do appear out of nowhere. Second mate Nataga made a comment that the island moved five hundred yards in ten seconds.
�That�s impossible.� Katrina blurted out interrupted Leon who was looking more frightened within seconds.
�Ever been a sailor Ms. Nicholas?� Capt. Coltrain asked politely but a little pissed off at her disbelieving stares she gave Leon.
�No. My father was a captain in the merchant mare for forty years in the Atlantic and on the Great Lakes.� She pointed out tapping her butt into the ashtray
�Well, I have seen some strange shit out here in the Devil�s triangle Shit that no one could make up. Let him tell us what he knows before we pass any judgment.�
Katrina backed down for the moment.
Capt Dover shook his head no and went over to the sonar and found the island was five hundred yards from its original position and still moving. He went over to the chart table and took a coarse heading and found it indeed moved but according to the charts its off by two miles. He again took out his binoculars and studied the island and where we thought whales were feeding on squid. About two miles into the channel something was churning the water as if it was grabbing onto a large animal. Suddenly, a sperm whale breached but it was cut in half by something massive It was cut clean as if it was a fish being cut up by a fish monger. Capt. Dover exclaimed, �Holy Mother Mary.�
�Hard to port!� I ordered and swung the ship hard when the island turned towards us and ground on us as we strained at twenty-five knots. The captain noticed that it submerged leaving bird carcasses, palm trees, and sand in its wake. Nataga stared at his sonar noticing the creature was accelerated up to forty knots. I decided to turn hard to port to try to get it off our tail.
Leon started shaking like a leaf before he lit another cigarette trying to sooth his nerves.
�Did your sonar give a shape to this creature?� Douglas inquired changing the tape in his recorder.
Leon puffed and exhaled, puffed and exhaled. Staring blankly at the civilians he leaned over and whispered when Douglas pushed play. �A cross between a lobster and a squid.�
Suddenly, the ship jerked, throwing everyone forward as two large tentacles wrapped themselves around the bow and stern of the Alexandra. We were all scared shitless. When the ship slowly rose out of the water and slammed down hard on the surface. Nataga said something in Japanese which I couldn�t make out as we all gave the order to abandon ship. Mass hysteria swept the passengers and crew like a tidal wave. People jumped into the water where smaller tentacles snagged the men and women alike while those who could get into the self contained life boats to be lowered down were met with two large pincers, slicing the forty person boats in half, spilling everyone into the sea.
I managed to get two flare guns and fired two emergency flares into the cloudless blue skies The ship shook violently slowly tearing apart near the castle. The screams of the people�my God�the fucking screams. I watched in horror as dozens of people were grabbed by the pincers and tentacles. I somehow found one life raft at the stern and tried to get some women and children on board. Suddenly one of the massive tentacles constricted around the stern crushing the ship like a tin can. Tentacles knocked most of those with me into the ocean and I somehow was knocked into the life boat. I banged my head against the seat and knocked out cold for a few minutes. The creature ripped the ship in half and deliberately pulled the stern down under the surface. My life raft broke free when the crushed stern snapped before going under.
The warm ocean woke me up and to my horror, I saw a large tube like mouth sucking up the survivors in the water like a giant vacuum cleaner. People tried to swim away but were inhaled in. Thousands of screams were silenced within minutes. I don�t know how I survived and the crew and passengers did not. The creature dragged the bow under and swam deep under me. I didn�t dare move when one of the pincers rose up next to me and rifled like a shark fin doing fifteen knots in the water before it disappeared into the blue seas.
Leon played with his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke above everyone. He was shaking badly. �We need to get the hell out of the area�That thing may be lurking around here waiting to destroy another ship.� He begged nervously
�We cannot leave the area until we are ordered to do so Mr. Jackson.�
�I can feel it somewhere close by this ship.�
�We have enough fire power to kill it if it attacks us.� Capt. Coltrain reminded Leon.
�So tell us Mr. Jackson, why should we believe you? This sounds like an old sailor�s tale.� Katrina mocked Leon.
Leon unbuttoned his shirt and took it off exposing gashes on his abdomen and chest. �What kind of animal would do this!� He yelled turning around to show a large sucker ring where a squid-like sucker almost covering his entire back. The teeth from the sucker dug deep into his back before letting go of him He buttoned up his shirt and put out his cigarette. �Captain, I would like to go back to the infirmary to take a nap.�
�Go ahead.�
Leon walked out leaving Katrina feeling like she was going to vomit.
�Something happed to the SS Princess Alexandra.� Douglas remarked.
�Whatever happened to that ship, it sure left no trace of the ship, not even and oil slick.� Capt. Coltrain analyzed. �Have you seen any ship disappearances like this?�
�The USS Flint in 1919 and the SS Tamerick in 1927.� Douglas answered �The same area. No trace not even an oil slick.�
�Well, whatever did this, we must find it.� Capt Coltrain answered. �I need to go back to the bridge to look after my ship.�
Douglas turned to Katrina and asked. �So what do you think?�
�I don�t believe Leon�s story. He�s on the verge of a nervous breakdown.�
�Until we find the wreckage, we only have his story to go on.�
He got up and went to the head to relieve himself while Katrina looked at the map she received from the Navy showing there were no islands of Isle de la Negras and San Elizabeth. She circled the area where the Princess Alexandra last radioed fifty miles north and east of the northern most Bahaman islands. She folded the map up and hid it under her notepad. Lighting a cigarette, Katrina gazed out at the sea through a port hole wondering what kind of creatures are out there in the deep blue ocean.
THE END
The bright blue skies and calm seas east of the Bahamas was deceiving. Thousands of pieces of debris floated on the surface as two US destroyers searched for any signs of life after the mysterious disappearance of the Caribbean Queen cruise ship, the SS Princess Alexandra. The debris field spanned over twenty square miles from everything from deck chairs to articles of clothing. Onboard the USS David Benjamin, a spotter signaled the bridge that he sighted a life raft with a lone person in it. The ship�s captain ordered his helicopter to rescue the survivor. It lifted off with a rescue team and it flew out a half a mile where the battered leaking raft bobbed among the scores of empty life rafts and vests and personal effects of those vacationers that were on the ship.
The rescue team hovered over the raft while one man was lowered down with a second harness and gently stepped on the broken seat to what appeared to be one of the seaman from the ship. The Navy seaman checked to see if he was alive and noticed several deep lacerations on the sailor�s arms and chest. He buckled the harness onto the man and signaled for the helicopter to reel the men up. The doorman raised the men up one hundred feet and the medic unhooked the survivor when they made it up to the open door.
�He�s in shock. Let�s get back to the Benjamin.� The medic ordered and the pilot turned and flew back to the destroyer.
The helicopter landed and two corpsman raced out with a stretcher. The corpsmen and the medic eased the man on the stretcher before rushing him down to the ships� infirmary. The captain, Mark Coltrain, stared out at the sea with his binoculars when he received word that the man was in shock but still alive. �Let me know when he�s stable enough for me to question him.�
�Aye, aye, sir.� Lt. Commander Denise Stenovich answered.
�What was the weather and seas like yesterday when the Alexandra went missing?�
�Just like it is now, calm seas and bright blue skies.�
�Radio the Coast Guard and have them expand their search pattern another ten square miles.�
�Aye, aye, sir. Do you want me to radio Norfolk about us rescuing one person?�
�Yes Lt. Commander. I�m going outside to see the debris field in a better light.�
The fifty-five year old captain left the bridge leaving his thirty-five year old Lt Commander to handle the Coast Guard flights and contacting Norfolk about their rescue.
For two days, both destroyers searched the debris field picking up chunks of the missing ship, and crushed life boats but there were no survivors. No bodies, not even the presence of any large predatory sharks, which disturbed Capt. Coltrain as his men and women searched for life among the floating wreckage. �If there were bodies in the water, the sharks would be out in force. What�s the depth of the ocean here?�
�Seven hundred feet sir.� Lt. Commander Stanovich answered.
�When will the Dept. of Transportation accident investigators suppose to be flying in?�
�At 1000 Zulu hours.�
�How�s the survivor?�
�Lucid. He�s up and about but asking us to get out of the area before it destroys us like it did to the Princess Alexandra.�
�What is it?�
�I don�t know what it is, sir.�
�Keep me informed. I want to be with him when the civilian investigators questions him. I�m going down to my quarters to write up my report to fleet command�
Lt. Commander Stanovich took her post searching the ocean for even a hint to what may have happened to the cruise ship. She wondered if privately, that it was another victim of the Bermuda Triangle.
At 1020 Zulu hours, the Dept. of Transportation accident team flew to the USS Benjamin and disembarked and were greeted by Capt. Coltrain.
�Hello, I�m Capt Coltrain.�
�Mr. Douglas Meijer And this is Ms. Katrina Nicholas.�
All three shook hands before Capt. Coltrain escorted the civilian investigators down to the ship�s galley where the sole survivor sat by himself drinking coffee and smoke on a cigarette. When the investigation team walked into the galley, the sailor just stared blankly into his black coffee and nervously puffing on his Camel cigarette before flicking the ashes into a solid glass ash tray.
�My name is Douglas Meijer and this young lady is Katrina Nicholas and we�re from the Transportation Department to investigate the disappearance of the cruise liner, SS Princess Alexandra.� Mr. Meijer introduced himself and raising his hand to shake the survivor�s hand.
The man dressed in a navy blue shirt and work pants borrowed from the crew stores glanced up and ignored Meijer�s hand. �My name is Jackson, Leon Jackson I�m the�was the first mate, helmsman for the SS Alexandra.
Mr. Meijer opened his briefcase and pulled out a micro recorder and sat it in front of Leon Jackson before switching it on to record their conversations with the shell shocked sailor.
�Leon, if its alright with you, Capt. Coltrain will sit in on the debriefing.�
Katrina poured some coffee for herself and Douglas and handed a white mug to Douglas. He sipped at the hour old coffee and winced. �How old are you Leon?�
�Thirty-nine.�
�Place of Birth?� Katrina asking a standard question to Leon.
�Ludington, Michigan.� Leon answered puffing on his cigarette before putting it out.
�Lovely town. When I was a boy, my parents and two brothers would rent a beach house for two weeks every summer until they retired.� Mr. Meijer commented studying Leon�s demeanor and could see that he was man traumatized by a sudden violent accident, which is similar to Delayed Stress Syndrome.
�I still live there on the beach.� Leon answered downing his cold coffee
�Good. Leon, please tell us the events surrounding the disappearance of the SS Princess Alexandra.� Katrina inquired lighting up a cigarette and exhaling it up above them.
Leon stared coldly at her. Never blinking, just staring straight at her what seemed to be an hour but only for a few seconds. �What I am about to tell you is from what I observed�I don�t even know what I perceived is real or an illusion.�
�Let us be the judge of that.� Capt. Coltrain reminded him. Leon light another cigarette and played with it for a moment before he replied. �Ok.�
The SS Princess Alexandra ploughed through the blue green waters near the ancient site where some claim that part of Atlantis was still visible to divers. The cruise ship was suppose to reach one of the Carnival owned islands to the north near the Grand Bahaman Island before sailing out for Miami. Capt William Dover, the most senior captain in the cruise lines, knew the seas well in this part of the Bahamas So there wasn�t anything out of the ordinary. The captain made his usual rounds through the guests areas and down to the engineering room to make sure the engines were at one hundred percent. He left myself at the helm and I knew the lanes between the islands like the back of my hand. Sonar read nothing in front of us and it read a depth of six hundred feet.
Second mate Barren Nataga stood by the windows and noticed something moving out in the open ocean near the small island called Isle de la Negras. It was only a sand bar with a few trees and a large population of sea birds colonizing it. It appeared the disturbance was a pod of whales feeding on squid schooling in the area. It seemed to be nothing new.
I decided to go to the left of the island where the depth was 800 feet and avoid the whales and I went to half speed. The island grew closer and something odd about the island struck me. The trees were knocked down at the roots and the birds that usually roosted there laid dead ripped to shreds. I made a comment to the second mate who dazed at the island and then looked down at his sonar. The island was moving slowly back and forth.
Capt Coltrain stopped Leon for a moment. �How big is this island? And why isn�t it on any of our maps?�
�Its about a half a mile long and probably about five hundred feet wide. Its one of those islands around the Bahaman Islands that are not documented.�
�What�s so damn important about that island?� inquired Douglas down his cup of coffee and taking the final drag from his cigarette.
�This area is noted for short lived islands. Whether its from erosion or a storm that creates and destroys them. They leave no trace and will not pose a threat to shipping. Go on Leon, continue with what you observed.� Capt. Coltrain explained pouring himself another cup of coffee.
At this time, Captain Dover came up to the bridge to see if we will make it to the island by mid afternoon as scheduled. I informed him why I wasn�t taking the central channel between Negras and San Elizabeth and he agreed with me. He noticed the destruction of the island and remarked that the area did receive a bad storm several days before we set sail from Jamaica to our second destination. He reminded me to keep the ship a safe distance since the island do appear out of nowhere. Second mate Nataga made a comment that the island moved five hundred yards in ten seconds.
�That�s impossible.� Katrina blurted out interrupted Leon who was looking more frightened within seconds.
�Ever been a sailor Ms. Nicholas?� Capt. Coltrain asked politely but a little pissed off at her disbelieving stares she gave Leon.
�No. My father was a captain in the merchant mare for forty years in the Atlantic and on the Great Lakes.� She pointed out tapping her butt into the ashtray
�Well, I have seen some strange shit out here in the Devil�s triangle Shit that no one could make up. Let him tell us what he knows before we pass any judgment.�
Katrina backed down for the moment.
Capt Dover shook his head no and went over to the sonar and found the island was five hundred yards from its original position and still moving. He went over to the chart table and took a coarse heading and found it indeed moved but according to the charts its off by two miles. He again took out his binoculars and studied the island and where we thought whales were feeding on squid. About two miles into the channel something was churning the water as if it was grabbing onto a large animal. Suddenly, a sperm whale breached but it was cut in half by something massive It was cut clean as if it was a fish being cut up by a fish monger. Capt. Dover exclaimed, �Holy Mother Mary.�
�Hard to port!� I ordered and swung the ship hard when the island turned towards us and ground on us as we strained at twenty-five knots. The captain noticed that it submerged leaving bird carcasses, palm trees, and sand in its wake. Nataga stared at his sonar noticing the creature was accelerated up to forty knots. I decided to turn hard to port to try to get it off our tail.
Leon started shaking like a leaf before he lit another cigarette trying to sooth his nerves.
�Did your sonar give a shape to this creature?� Douglas inquired changing the tape in his recorder.
Leon puffed and exhaled, puffed and exhaled. Staring blankly at the civilians he leaned over and whispered when Douglas pushed play. �A cross between a lobster and a squid.�
Suddenly, the ship jerked, throwing everyone forward as two large tentacles wrapped themselves around the bow and stern of the Alexandra. We were all scared shitless. When the ship slowly rose out of the water and slammed down hard on the surface. Nataga said something in Japanese which I couldn�t make out as we all gave the order to abandon ship. Mass hysteria swept the passengers and crew like a tidal wave. People jumped into the water where smaller tentacles snagged the men and women alike while those who could get into the self contained life boats to be lowered down were met with two large pincers, slicing the forty person boats in half, spilling everyone into the sea.
I managed to get two flare guns and fired two emergency flares into the cloudless blue skies The ship shook violently slowly tearing apart near the castle. The screams of the people�my God�the fucking screams. I watched in horror as dozens of people were grabbed by the pincers and tentacles. I somehow found one life raft at the stern and tried to get some women and children on board. Suddenly one of the massive tentacles constricted around the stern crushing the ship like a tin can. Tentacles knocked most of those with me into the ocean and I somehow was knocked into the life boat. I banged my head against the seat and knocked out cold for a few minutes. The creature ripped the ship in half and deliberately pulled the stern down under the surface. My life raft broke free when the crushed stern snapped before going under.
The warm ocean woke me up and to my horror, I saw a large tube like mouth sucking up the survivors in the water like a giant vacuum cleaner. People tried to swim away but were inhaled in. Thousands of screams were silenced within minutes. I don�t know how I survived and the crew and passengers did not. The creature dragged the bow under and swam deep under me. I didn�t dare move when one of the pincers rose up next to me and rifled like a shark fin doing fifteen knots in the water before it disappeared into the blue seas.
Leon played with his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke above everyone. He was shaking badly. �We need to get the hell out of the area�That thing may be lurking around here waiting to destroy another ship.� He begged nervously
�We cannot leave the area until we are ordered to do so Mr. Jackson.�
�I can feel it somewhere close by this ship.�
�We have enough fire power to kill it if it attacks us.� Capt. Coltrain reminded Leon.
�So tell us Mr. Jackson, why should we believe you? This sounds like an old sailor�s tale.� Katrina mocked Leon.
Leon unbuttoned his shirt and took it off exposing gashes on his abdomen and chest. �What kind of animal would do this!� He yelled turning around to show a large sucker ring where a squid-like sucker almost covering his entire back. The teeth from the sucker dug deep into his back before letting go of him He buttoned up his shirt and put out his cigarette. �Captain, I would like to go back to the infirmary to take a nap.�
�Go ahead.�
Leon walked out leaving Katrina feeling like she was going to vomit.
�Something happed to the SS Princess Alexandra.� Douglas remarked.
�Whatever happened to that ship, it sure left no trace of the ship, not even and oil slick.� Capt. Coltrain analyzed. �Have you seen any ship disappearances like this?�
�The USS Flint in 1919 and the SS Tamerick in 1927.� Douglas answered �The same area. No trace not even an oil slick.�
�Well, whatever did this, we must find it.� Capt Coltrain answered. �I need to go back to the bridge to look after my ship.�
Douglas turned to Katrina and asked. �So what do you think?�
�I don�t believe Leon�s story. He�s on the verge of a nervous breakdown.�
�Until we find the wreckage, we only have his story to go on.�
He got up and went to the head to relieve himself while Katrina looked at the map she received from the Navy showing there were no islands of Isle de la Negras and San Elizabeth. She circled the area where the Princess Alexandra last radioed fifty miles north and east of the northern most Bahaman islands. She folded the map up and hid it under her notepad. Lighting a cigarette, Katrina gazed out at the sea through a port hole wondering what kind of creatures are out there in the deep blue ocean.
THE END
Copyright, 2004, by Robert David Anderson
Author Bio I live in Horton Michigan with my wife of twelve years (This weekend
was our
12th wedding anniverary). I hold two BAs in History and in Anthropology
from
the University of Michigan-Flint.
I am currently published in Nova SF (five stories), God's Love (three
stories), and one story each in Revelations SF, Open Wide, Ubertwinked,
and
Schrodinger's Mouse.