Once Upon A Miracle

Chapter 12: Inky clues

"She watched the gap between ship and shore grow to a huge gulf. Perhaps this was a little like dying, the departed no longer visible to the others, yet both still existed, only in different worlds."

~Susan Wiggs (The Charm School)

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure?" Miracle asked, skeptically.

"Yes," Blue replied, firmly. "I'm sure. I clearly remember the tattoo."

Warren snorted, plopping down in the bed of the same room where Blue had woken up in. "You're telling me that we're supposed to believe some mumbo-jumbo of two men who came to your house three years ago? Gah! Stop wasting our time!"

"He's right, Blue, my Blue," Miracle said, not unkindly. "Maybe it was just a coincidence?"

Blue gaped at Miracle in outrage. "No! It wasn't! How can you say that! I thought you said there were no coincidences!"

"Okay, so, even if we do consider the fact that maybe those men were lying," Sherry began, cautiously, "and your father's ship didn't actually drown, but what can we do about it? That ship out there is clearly abandoned."

"But why would those men lie?" Blue asked. "What did they have anything to do with my father? And," Blue swallowed, mustering the guts to say the one thing she dared not hope was true, "what if he didn't die? What if he's still...alive? The men told my Ma that there was no body. We all presumed that it must have been swept away by the sea. But what if there was no body because he didn't die to begin with?"

A brief silence ensued before Blue broke it, shouting, "See?! There's something going on here! My father's supposed 'death', those tattooed men, their lies, the disappearances of Love, Hope, Happy and the rest! It's all connected. I know it. It must be!"

Miracle sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I think Blue's got a point. There's something fishy going on here."

Sherry grunted in assent. "Fine, so what do we do now?"

"We go investigate that ship for...I don't know, anything weird or creepy."

Warren looked astounded. "Seriously? We're actually considering this? You cannot possibly think--"

Miracle ignored him and instead captured Blue's hand in his, looking straight into her eyes. "I'm trusting you and your instincts. The ship's not far away. We'll manage to teleport there. But...the first sign of danger, and we're getting out of there, okay?"

Blue smiled, although it was a grim one. "Okay."

~~~~~~~~~

When Blue opened her eyes, her face immediately scrunched up into a frown. They were standing in at the mast of the Navy vessel. All around them was the dank smell of seaweed. The metal used to craft the ship with was rusting and cracking, the paint having long peeled off. There seemed to be a heavy silence...a bleakness surrounding the massive boat. Blue could spot their cruiser slowly sailing away while the sky threatened to burst into a heavy downpour.

Abruptly, Miracle, who was standing beside her, gawking around, yelped in pain.

"Miracle?" Blue cried, as he clutched his head and fell to his knees. "What's happening? Are you okay?"

"Ow!" yelled Sherry from somewhere. Blue whirled around to find both Warren and Sherry crouched in the wet, dirty floor of the ship, looking nauseous. Suddenly, Blue felt it too. A splitting agony tore through her head and down into her spine, crippling her. Crying out, she crumpled into the floor as well, her ears ringing with the pain.

"What in the name of Goodness is happening?!" Warren yelled, writhing.

"A-A protective sphere!" Miracle huffed out, his face pale. "There's a protective sphere surrounding the ship! It's affecting us!"

"Wow, genius," Warren spat. "If there was a sphere, how would we be standing here? How were we even able to see this ship then?"

Miracle suddenly recalled, through the haze of pain, how the ship seemed to flicker like a light, as if it were passing in and out of existence.

"It's weak," Miracle said, starting to look less haggard as the realisation dawned. "Can't you feel it? It must have worn off through the years. That's why we could see the ship. And why we were able to bypass it. But the layer still remains in pieces. Just wait some time. It has to break off and fade away. We already cracked through it anyway. Blue, my Blue? Are you okay?"

Blue whimpered from the floor. But she could feel it too. The pain was fading away as quickly as it had raged through her. Slowly and steadily, she stood back into her feet, feeling light-headed.

Warren and Sherry stood up too, groaning.

"What was that?" Sherry asked, still panting slightly. "Who would place a protective sphere over this ruined ship? And why?"

"Someone wanted this ship to remain out of sight," Miracle said. "I don't know why though."

"I told you those men were lying," Blue said, looking around in frustration and anger. "My father's ship never drowned. It had been here this whole time! And now we know why nobody could see it!"

"Yes." Miracle nodded reluctantly. "No radar would have been able to detect it because of the sphere. But...we're still not sure if it's your father's ship, Blue, my Blue. Let's not be hasty. I don't want you to have false hope--"

"Oh shut it, you two," Warren snapped, annoyed. "It doesn't matter. We're here anyway. So, let's go check out this darn ship!"

~~~~~~~~~~

"It's dark," Blue said, her voice echoing as she peered through the doorway. Miracle snapped his fingers and a flashlight materialized in his palm.

"Show off," Warren muttered as he grabbed the flashlight and cautiously stepped inside the ship's interior, the door already broken open and barely hanging onto its hinges. The kids found themselves in a long hallway that branched into several arteries. The inside was musty and dark but it wasn't polluted with seaweed and moss.

The four moved slowly, the torch streaming a golden light that fell on empty, decaying walls and creaking floors.

"This is a large ship," Miracle said. "We need to separate and explore."

"Good idea," Warren said, without even hesitating, and grabbed Blue's hand and dragged her through one of the hallways.

"Ow!" Blue said, as she stumbled upon a loose floorboard. Warren paused and turned around to look at Blue, as if he hadn't even realised it was her.

He groaned. "Aw, what are you doing here? I thought I grabbed Sherry!"

Blue glowered. "Well, now you know not to grab a girl," she spat and strutted past him, while he appeared to blink in astonishment.

Rolling his eyes, he said, "Whatever-hey, wait up!"

But Blue had reached the end of the hallway and was already waiting for him anyway. Warren rushed towards her, as she stared up at the door looming in front of them, slack-jawed.

"What is it?" Warren asked.

Blue, unable to find her voice, numbly pointed at the gilded placard hanging precariously by the door, gathering dust. It had a name written on it.

Markus Jennings.