Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

Today’s story is brought to life by the following prompt…

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS August 10, 2024 

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ship.’” Use it as a noun, a verb, or slang … or all three! Enjoy!

The She of the Sea

The ship thrusts through the waves like a hot knife cutting through butter, its sails riding the winds, while Ben holds the wheel tightly, trying in vain to steer the ship towards the light calling to him from land just on the edge of the horizon.

Waves crash down, licking the ship’s deck like the sea’s hungry tongue, dragging anything that isn’t nailed down with it. Ben feels the flesh being torn from his face as wave after wave drags across him like fortified sandpaper and spiced rum. He grits his teeth and takes a series of breaths as a break in the assault momentarily gives him breathing room. Desperately, he loops the well-worn rope hanging from the wheel around his arm, ties it around his waist, and digs his heels in as another barrage of waves roars toward him. Each wave slaps him across the face, and he falls to his knees, seeing stars spinning wildly around his head like the ones from the cartoons of his youth. With a grunt, he pulls himself back to his feet, arches his back against the wheel, and looks up into the heavens, screaming defiantly.

His cries catch in his throat as his eyes widen, watching a lone gull circling overhead, calling out loudly to its lost flock. Then the waves crash against him again, knocking him to his knees over and over. Each time, he struggles to his feet, and each time, he is knocked back down. Suddenly, as before, the world stops, and the air is silent once more. His breaths seem more laboured now, his chest burns, and his bones feel out of place. He casts a nervous glance down to see his shirt awash in red, a rib tearing through his tattered shirt. His lips curl, and he staggers momentarily before the waves crash towards him again. He gasps for air as his eyes widen in surprise and horror when he spies a woman’s face smiling at him from within the crashing waves. He shakes his head and mumbles incoherently under his breath, convincing himself that his sleep-deprived mind is fooling him, and there’s no real chance a woman would be living in the water.

As another barrage of waves hits, he sees her again. This time, time itself seems to stand still, and they share a moment. She smiles and nods her head towards the light, waving him into the waters. He furrows his brow and blinks repeatedly before the waves hit him again, knocking him to the deck with ferocious intent. He flails around like a flag in the wind, his body limp, and his mind awash. The ship heaves as it crashes into rocks below, sending it this way and that, its path now reckless and uncontrolled. Ben’s eyes shoot open, and he screams in pain as the rope tears at his flesh, his arm snapped in several places. He squeezes his eyes shut and sucks in a breath as the ship crashes into more rocks, sending him tumbling forward. The frail rope finally snaps, and he finds himself tumbling overboard into the icy depths of the sea below.

He struggles frantically as the sea pulls him down. He screams, reaching out for the light as it grows further and further away. It’s then that he realises it is not the sea that has him, but something else. With a desperate glance, he peers down to see the woman of the water, dragging him downward towards his death.