EDGE OF
DARKNESS by
Pauline
With thanks to Liz
& Diane.
Admiral Nelson, head of the research institute
that bore his name, pushed his way through the thick vegetation overgrowing the
trail. They were being led by a native
from the local tribe that inhabited the region.
This was a long way from the institute back in Santa Barbara. They were here to search for Dr. Justin
Owterz, who had disappeared while on an expedition here to look for a plant
that was supposed to have medicinal properties.
The local tribe’s people used it as an aphrodisiac, but Owterz believed
it had other, more orthodox uses.
The humid, steamy atmosphere sapped their
strength, and Nelson wiped an arm across his forehead. They had been on the trail for most of the
day, and he was about ready to stop and set up camp for the night. “How much
further?”
Their guide stopped and turned to Nelson. “Not
much further, we are almost there.”
Nelson nodded, and then glanced over his
shoulder to his companions, Lee Crane and Seaman Kowalski and Patterson. “All
right, Lee?”
Crane nodded. “We’re fine, Admiral.”
Nelson turned his attention back to their guide
as he started to move off. They trudged
on deeper into the jungle. Above them in
the canopy, the calls of Toucans and Macaw mixed with the cries of the Spider
Monkeys. The whole jungle was alive with
life. Nelson hoped that they did not
encounter some of the more dangerous species that lived here, such as the
Poison Dart Frog. It’s poison caused
paralysis and could kill a man and the tribes’ people used it on their arrows
when hunting.
*
Thirty minutes later they arrived at the
doctor’s campsite. The camp appeared to
be deserted. After a quick scout around,
both tents were found to be empty. The
first smaller of the two, was sleeping accommodation, the larger, divided into
a Med Bay and Laboratory. There were also some huts built from wood with
thatched roofs.
“Owterz, where are you?” Nelson called. The light was fading fast, and he had no wish
to start a search now. “Owterz!”
“Let’s get a fire going and set a perimeter,”
Crane suggested.
Nelson nodded in agreement. “Good idea.”
They started gathering material to build a
fire. There were enough dead branches
and debris on the jungle floor to provide enough firewood. Nelson watched Lee build the fire and get it
started, while Kowalski and Patterson scouted the perimeter. The jungle never sleeps and soon the sounds
of the day were replaced by the sounds of the creatures of the night, most
deadly of which was the jaguar. But there was no danger to them, jaguars were
solitary creatures and would not come near the camp, however, Nelson did wonder
what had become of Owterz and his men.
They would start a search of the area tomorrow.
After a meal of field rations and coffee brewed
over the fire, they all sat around the fire in silence; relaxing after their
exhausting trek through the jungle.
Their guide had made his own bed in one of the small huts and he could
just see the glow from the hut.
“I’ll take first watch, Admiral,” Lee offered
as he added more wood to the fire.
Nelson nodded as he climbed to his feet. “I’ll
take the bed in the Med tent, Kowalski and Patterson can take the other
tent. Wake me in four hours.”
Lee watched as they retired to their respective
tents and the lights were turned off
Leaving just the glow of the fire and the
hurricane lamps that had been placed at intervals around the perimeter of the
camp. Their glow swallowed by the
darkness beyond the edge of the campsite.
Lee sat near the fire, listening for any sound that did not belong,
anything that might signal danger. The
fire was more to keep away predators than for warmth. Even at night the temperature was in the 70s
with the thick tree canopy holding in the heat and humidity. Beyond the camp the darkness was complete,
wrapping the jungle in a deep blanket of blackness and turning it into a
mysterious secret world of strange sounds and occasional flashes of iridescence
as its nocturnal inhabitants hunted for food. It was a frightening and dangerous place for
anyone that did not know the region; where if allowed, the imagination could
run riot, conjuring up all sort of terrifying monsters. Since captaining
Seaview Lee had experienced his share of nightmare ghosts and monsters. This in comparison was easy and he was
trained in survival skills for several types of terrain.
Lee got to his feet and did a circle of the
camp perimeter and checked the lamps.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he returned to the fire and sat
down. The occupants of the tents were quietly sleeping. He tossed more fuel onto the fire before
poured himself a cup of the strong coffee.
He was about to take a sip when he caught a blur of movement on the edge
of his vision. He looked around, but
there was nothing. Feeling distinctly
uneasy, he got to his feet and backed up towards the tents listening intently
to the noises of the night.
Suddenly there was a flare of pain in the back
of his head and he dropped to his knees, hardly holding on to consciousness. He
raised a hand to his head, his fingers finding warm wet blood. A hand around his throat forced him to his
feet and he came face to face with Owterz, his eyes glowed red and his lips
curled to reveal fangs. Lee struggled,
desperately clawing at the icy hand around his throat, trying to break the hold
that was threatening to crush his windpipe, slowly choking him. This
couldn’t be happening. Vampires didn’t
exist, did they?
His lungs fought to drag in air and his eyes
blurred. He knew that he couldn’t hold
on much longer. Giving up the struggle
to break free, his hand went to the holster and he managed to free the
gun. A bullet wouldn’t kill a vampire,
but it might slow it down he thought. He
emptied the clip into his attacker.
Owterz roared with rage and threw Lee across
the camp.
Lee landed on his back in the debris carpeting
the jungle floor, driving the breath from his lungs. He hurt; every muscle and bone in his body
screamed in protest. He fought darkness and dizziness, gasping in air as he
tried to get to his feet. He had to warn
Nelson and the others. But in the blink
of an eye, Owterz was bending over him, his face only inches away. Lee could smell the fetid breath as Owterz
hissed, baring his fangs.
The gunshots had woken the others and Patterson
and Kowalski launched themselves at Owterz, trying to drag him away, but they
were tossed aside like rag dolls. More
shots rang out and Lee saw Nelson standing in the tent opening, gun in hand.
While Owterz turned his attention on Nelson, Lee
dragged himself over to the fire and grabbed a burning log. Stumbling forward, he shoved the burning end
of the wood into Owterz back as he attacked Nelson; the smell of burning flesh
almost made him nauseous.
Owterz screamed and turned, knocking him down
again. Lee pushed himself up and came to
his hands and knees, shaking his head. How were they going to stop a vampire? A hand grabbed his upper arm and helped
him up.
“You okay, Skipper?” Kowalski asked.
“Fine...Kowalski,” Lee croaked taking a deep
breath and straightened to see that Nelson was in trouble. He had abandoned his
gun and had found a hatchet, but Owterz was too quick, and he easily knocked it
out of Nelson’s hand as he swung at him.
Kowalski had seen the danger too and before Lee
could get his feet to move, the crewman had retrieved the hatchet from where
Nelson had dropped it and buried it in Owterz neck, just as he was about to
sink his fangs into Nelson’s neck.
Owterz screamed with outrage and pain, reeling
away from Nelson with the blade still in his neck as Kowalski ducked out of the
way.
Lee looked around for a weapon; he knew that
the hatchet would not stop the vampire for long. Still unsteady on his feet, he stumbled
towards one of the hurricane lamps and snatched it from its hook.
Everyone was converging on the spot where
Owterz was clawing at the handle of the hatchet, trying to pull the blade
out. Lee heard the sickening squelch as
the blade came free. Kowalski moved towards Lee as he closed on the vampire and
grabbed his arm to steady him.
“We have to burn it...only way to stop it,” he
told the crewman.
Kowalski nodded understanding and released his
hold.
Lee swung the lamp at Owterz, the kerosene
spilled and ignited, setting his clothes alight. Lee felt a hand on his arm, pulling him away
from the creature that had once been Owterz and he screamed and stumbled. The flames were spreading quickly, engulfing
him and he fell to the ground. Lee
sagged against Kowalski’s support, the stench of blood and burning meat making
him nauseas. Kowalski guided him towards
the med tent.
“You’d better let me take at look at you, Sir.”
“I’m fine,” he lied. His head hurt, his throat hurt and he was so
tired.
“Sit.” Kowalski ordered, gently pushing him
towards the bed where he was joined by Nelson, who also looked a little worse
for wear. “Sir,” he added.
“You alright Lee?” Nelson asked, putting a hand
on his shoulder.
“Yes, Sir,” Lee nodded tiredly.
“There’s blood here,” Kowalski said. “I need more light.”
“Sit down, Lee,” Nelson ordered gently. “Patterson, light some more of the lamps and
bring them here.”
“Aye, Sir.”
While Patterson fetched the lamps, Nelson found
the first aid kit and put it down beside Lee.
“Admiral, what just happened?” Lee asked.
Had they really been attacked by a
vampire?
Nelson shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Kowalski took some antiseptic wipes from the
kit and dabbed the cut on Lee’s scalp. Lee bit his lip as the crewman cleaner
the wound.
“It’ not too bad, I don’t think it needs
stitching.”
“Thanks,” Lee croaked. His throat was dry and sore. He looked up at Nelson who stood
watching. “What are you...going to...put
in your report?”
Nelson shrugged. “I’m certainly not going to
put that Owterz turned into a vampire and that we were forced to kill him.”
“Yeah, I guess...that would sound...pretty
strange.” Lee managed a smile.
“Right now you don’t sound very good, Captain,”
Nelson looked questioningly at Kowalski.
“I’m okay,” Lee insisted.
“You need to rest, Sir,” Kowalski told him as
he handed him two tablets and a cup of water.
Lee eyes him suspiciously and was about to
protest, but Nelson put a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Take them and get
some rest, Captain. That’s an order.”
“Yes, Sir,” Lee swallowed the tablets before
reluctantly stretching out on the bed and closing his eyes.
****
The trek back was arduous, their guide had
disappeared during the attack and there had been no sign of him this
morning. They were forced to find their
own way through the jungle. The trees
and vegetation was so thick in places that they lost the trail and had to
retrace their steps to pick it up again.
The hot, humid atmosphere persisted with temperatures in the high
eighties, and Nelson was worried about Crane.
Although Lee had insisted that he was fine, he had tripped and stumbled
several time, only saved from falling by Kowalski.
Nelson wondered what had happened to the rest
of the research team. Had they fell
victim to Owterz? Or were they to
vampires, stalking the jungle for prey. He also wondered why Owterz had
attacked Lee. According to legend,
vampires were supposed to possess great speed and strength; he could have
killed them all. Had there been some
spark of humanity left?
He mopped sweat from his face and turned to his
men. “We’ll rest here for a few minutes.”
Shrugging off his rucksack, he pulled out the canteen and offered it to
Lee, who had sunk down against a tree.
“Thanks,” Lee accepted the canteen and took a drink,
grimacing as he swallowed and tentatively massaged his throat. His neck was bruised and Nelson guessed that
his throat was sore; what other injuries was Lee hiding? He frowned, pondering how Lee was going to
account for his injuries with Jamieson.
Kowalski had taken the first-aid kit from his
backpack and squatted down beside Lee, offering two tablets. Lee hesitated for a few seconds before
accepting them without argument, and washed them down with another swig of
water.
Nelson turned away, hiding a smile. He was pleased to see that, for once his
Captain was being sensible. Lee usually
refused to admit to any pain or injury until he was on the point of
collapse. He turned back in time to see
Kowalski try to look at the cut on Lee’s skull, Lee shrugged him off, telling
him to leave it alone. “Do as you are told Lee, there are all sorts of bugs and
things that can crawl into open wounds,” Nelson told him.
Lee sighed, “Okay Ski, get on with it.”
*
Nelson was feeling the effects of his own
battle with Owterz, his legs had stiffened and he felt bruised and
battered. It had been a long trek
back. At last they were approaching the
inlet, and he pulled out the radio to call Seaview. “Nelson calling Seaview,
come in Seaview, over.”
“Receiving you, go ahead, Admiral,” Sparks’
voice came over the radio.
“We’re at the landing site, have SF.1 come and
pick us up.”
“Right away, Admiral. Seaview out.”
Nelson hadn’t bothered to report Lee’s
injuries; it could wait until they were back aboard. Once Lee was in Jamieson’s clutches, he would
have all the care and attention he needed.
For himself, he was looking forward to a hot shower and some proper
food. They would have to send in a
cleanup crew to dismantle the camp and ship everything back to Santa Barbara. Maybe they could work with the native tribes’
people to harvest the plant and continue the research at the institute.
He was never more pleased to see the Flying Sub
as she skimmed the water and came to rest stern first against the small wooden
jetty. Nelson entered via the rear
hatch, which was just above the water line.
Chief Sharkey swung round in the pilot seat and
grinned. “Admiral, Sir – are you a sight for sore eyes.”
“Thank you, Chief,” Nelson moved to the
co-pilot seat and prepared to strap in while the rest of the team boarded. “Lee, take the bunk,” he ordered.
“I’m okay, Admiral,” Lee replied suddenly
reverting back to his usual stubborn self in front of the Chief.
Nelson shook his head, he wouldn’t argue with
Lee in front of the men. Instead he
turned his attention to the controls. “All right, Chief, let’s get back to
Seaview.”
“Aye, Sir.” Sharkey acknowledged cheerfully as
he too returned his seat to the forward position.
****
Showered and in clean uniforms, Kowalski and
Patterson sat in the crews mess enjoying a late dinner. They hadn’t spoken to anyone about what had
happened; no-one would believe them anyway.
Hell, until yesterday, they thought that vampires were a myth, dating
back to the 15th century and Vlad the Impaler.
“I can’t believe it, Ski, a real vampire. I mean, they’re not supposed to exist,”
Patterson complained.
“Yeah,” Kowalski agreed, he was having a hard
time coming to terms with the realisation that such things existed, and the
implications.
“Do you think there are any more of them out
there?” Patterson glanced around nervously.
Unable to admit to his own fears, Kowalski
shrugged. “Who knows?”
“As soon as we get home, I’m going to get
myself a crucifix.”
Kowalski nodded in agreement. The world had
suddenly become a more frightening place and he would never feel completely
safe in the dark again.
“Are you guys coming to the party tonight?” One
of the galley hands asked.
“Party?” Kowalski asked, not sure what the man
was talking about.
“Yeah, Halloween remember? Cookies making pumpkin pie and witches
fingers, and some of the guys are going to put up decorations.”
Kowalski and Patterson exchanged glances. Ski shivered, suddenly glad that they were in
a submarine below the ocean, where he hoped they would be safe from vampires
and spirits. “Err, I think I’ll give it a miss, I’m kinda tired.”
“Yeah, me too,” Patterson nodded agreement.
****
Lee
closed his personal log and rubbed his gritty eyes; it was 0100 hours. He’d been unable to sleep because of the
burning pain in his throat from the attack in which he had been nearly
strangled. The pain killers Jamie had
given him did little to relieve the discomfort, and doing paperwork helped to
take his mind off it. He reached for the
glass of water on the desk and took a sip, grimacing as he swallowed; even
water was difficult to swallow.
Putting
his log into the desk drawer, he got to his feet, if he didn’t get some sleep
soon he would be fit for nothing. For a
brief moment he considered going to sick bay for some sleeping pills, but
decided against it; if doc found out that he’d been awake at this time of
night, he’d be in trouble and he had no desire to spend the night in Sickbay
doped to the gills.
Moving
to his bunk, he stretched out and rested back against the stack of pillows he’d
been using since Jamieson had allowed him to return to his cabin. Closing his eyes, he tried to relax, but it
was difficult to ignore the pain; try as he might. At least his head injury had not required
stitches, for which he was thankful. It
felt like it had all been a bad dream, but his injuries told him that it had
been real.
He would have to do something he decided. Remembering that when he’d been ill as a
child, his mother had given him ice cream, he sat up and swung his legs over
the side of the bunk. Slipping his feet into his slippers, he headed for the
door.
The
crew were used to seeing their Captain roaming the boat at all hours, but he
did not encounter anyone on his way to the ward room. At least at this time he
should be safe from discovery by Chip or Nelson. His luck held and there was no-one in the
wardroom when he arrived, and he dropped into one of the seats.
A
steward emerged from the galley and approached him. “Captain Crane, Sir – can I
get you something?”
“Have
you got any ice cream?” Lee asked, feeling a little self conscious.
“Yes,
Sir – what flavour would you like?”
Lee
shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, anything will do.”
“Sure
thing, Captain,” smiling, the steward turned away and headed back to the
galley.
Lee
grinned, when a few minutes later the steward returned with a large bowl of
chocolate and vanilla ice cream and put it down in front of him. Cookie probably made sure that they kept a
supply for Chocolate Chip Morton.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime,
Skipper.”
Lee ate
slowly, feeling the ice cream cool and sooth his throat; it was such a relief
to have some respite from the discomfort he’d been suffering for hours; he
wished that he had thought of it earlier.
He planted one elbow on the table and rested his head on his hand and
yawned. He was so tired, the lack of
sleep was catching up with him; he could close his eyes and go to sleep right
there. His cabin suddenly felt like it
was a million miles away. He looked at
his watch; he had to be in the control room in six hours. He’d finish the ice
cream and then crash in his cabin for a few hours before he returned to duty.
****
Hearing someone enter the wardroom, Lee opened
his eyes and levered himself upright.
Seeing that it was Nelson, Lee took a deep, relaxing breath, he was a
little jumpy. “Admiral,” he smiled.
“Lee, what are you doing here at this time of
night?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Lee admitted.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Please,” Lee indicated the seat opposite.
As Nelson came closer and sat down, Lee noticed
that Nelson’s usual alert blue eyes were glowing red and when he smiled he
revealed fangs. “Admiral, what...?” Lee pushed to his feet.
“What’s wrong Lee?” Nelson tormented, watching
him with cold red eyes.
Lee tried to slide out from behind the table,
horrified and saddened that his friend had been infected by the same thing that
had turned Owterz into a vampire. Nelson
snarled and grabbed Lee’s robe, dragging him across the table towards him.
“No, stay away from me,” Lee knew that there
was nothing he could do against the superior strength, but his life was not the
only thing in danger, he knew that the only way to stop the creature that
Nelson had become was to kill him. A
part of him was glad that it would not be him who would have to give that
order. Strangely there was no pain as
Nelson sank his fangs into his throat...
*
Lee awoke abruptly and he bit back a cry of
panic. He pushed away from the table and
tried to stand before he was fully awake. His legs wouldn’t work and he fell to
the floor.
“Lee, what’s going on?”
Lee looked up into the worried faces of Will
Jamieson, Chip Morton and Nelson. He
took a deep breath, starting to regain his senses. “Jamie...what...?”
Jamieson smiled and knelt down beside him.
“That must have been some dream. You
scared the hell out of Jackson.”
Lee put out a hand to steady himself and felt a
sharp pain as he came in contact with the broken dish that he had knocked to
the floor.
“Did you hurt yourself?” Jamieson asked, reaching out and taking hold
of Lee’s wrist to inspect his hand.
“Lee, are you okay?” Chip was looking at him
with concern.
Lee looked from Jamieson to Chip, still feeling
stunned and a little disorientated. “Yeah...I’m fine.”
“What happened?” Nelson asked as he stepped
closer.
“I...must have fallen asleep,” he answered. “It
felt so real.”
“Come on, let’s get you to sickbay,” Jamieson
took his arm to help him up.
“I don’t need to go to sickbay,” Lee shrugged
the doctor off. “I’ll go back to my cabin,” he insisted, climbing unsteadily to
his feet.
“I need to clean and dress that hand and you’ve
opened that head wound,” Jamieson informed him with determined look. “Besides which, you look a little shaken
up.” Jamieson took his arm and Chip
moved to his other side.
Lee glared at him, but Chip’s expression told
him that there was no point in arguing.
****
Nelson paused outside the Captain’s cabin door
and listened for any sound from inside.
If Lee was asleep, he didn’t want to wake him. Lee had refused to stay in Sickbay and
Jamieson had finally relented and let him return to his cabin, if somewhat
reluctantly. That had been six hours ago
and the doctor had finally made his way to his own cabin, leaving his corpsman
in charge.
Unable to detect any sign of life from inside,
Nelson carefully opened the cabin door and peaked inside; Lee was lying in his
bunk. “Lee, are you awake?” Nelson asked
softly.
“Yeah, come on in Admiral.”
Nelson entered and closed the door before
walking over to the bunk. “How are you feeling?”
“Embarrassed,” Lee replied with a grimace.
Nelson pulled the chair out from Lee’s desk and
turned it around to face the bunk and then sat down. “Want to tell me what
happened?”
Lee sighed, looking at his injured hand. “I
must have fallen asleep. I was having
this horrible dream,” he shook his head. “It felt so real.”
“What was it about?” Nelson encouraged. If something was playing on Lee’s mind enough
for him to have nightmares, then he needed to talk about it.
“Vampires,” Lee answered quietly.
“Not surprising after what happened in the
jungle, combined with the medication and lack of sleep.”
Lee sat up and adjusted the pillows. “What did
happen in that jungle? Was that really a
vampire, or some experiment gone wrong?”
Nelson shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. It’s a pity we don’t have a body for Jamieson
to autopsy, but I do have the hatchet, I might be able to get a blood sample
and run a DNA test.”
“I thought vampire blood was supposed to
evaporate or something in sunlight.”
“Well why don’t you join me in the lab and
we’ll find out,” Nelson smiled. Lee
maybe on the sick list, but he couldn’t see him being happy with resting in his
cabin for long. At least this way he
could keep an eye on the young man and make sure that he ate.
Lee’s expression brightened. “I’d like that,
thank you, Admiral.”
“Make sure you stop by the wardroom for
breakfast first, I don’t want Doc on my case for distracting you,” Nelson
warned good naturedly.
“Aye, Sir,” Lee laughed.
Nelson stood and returned the chair to the
desk. It was good to see Lee smile. Maybe together they could find some answers
and lay the ghost of Owterz and the memory of what had happened. This was one
Halloween story that had been all too real.
End
Happy Halloween
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