Journey to Innsmouth (part 7 Final)
(Please read the previous posts for the remainder of the story)
The sound of a diesel motor chugging and water slapping against wood filled my ears; trying to outdo the thumping of my head. I groaned and heard,
“I think she’s coming to, Cap’n,” then, “Missy, eh Missy...how ‘bout you open them eyes, we were worried about ya.”
Slowly opening my eyes and squinting in the sunlight, I began to focus on room I had awoken in. Looking about I could see I was in some kind of small cabin. There was the bed I was laying upon, a desk where my hip bag now sat, a chair which the speaker was sitting on, and not a lot else. I went to sit up and immediately felt dizzy.
“Now, now, rest back Missy” the man said, “you took a hit there, we tried to miss you, but the wave tossed you into the side of our boat.”
Laying back down, I closed my eyes until the dizziness and nausea had passed. Then as I remembered what had happened, I said, “INNSMOUTH!”
The man started and said, “I’ll just get the Cap’n” He jumped from the chair and headed out the door.
The next man to appear I assumed was the Cap’n. He introduced himself to me as Dan and told me I was on a small fishing vessel.
“Way out here?” My face must have looked as incredulous as my voice sounded, for Dan laughed and said,
“Of course, we get the biggest, best quality fish around and therefore the best price. All because we are willing to go further out to sea than most, and spend a little more time off shore. But because of that, we only go out a few times per year, and the fish have a chance to restore their numbers. It’s the best out here.”
“But what about Innsmouth?” I asked, “Don’t you have to worry about the creatures there? Have you ever docked there and seen the devastated town?”
The smile slid from Dan’s face, “I don’t know what you are talking about...I have never heard of the place you mention.”
“It was where I was swimming from when you found me” I said, sounding desperate as I tried to remember exactly what had happened just as the boat had found me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember seeing the boat, only that my head had hit *something*, and the other man had said I had been tossed into the side of their boat.
“We found you out to sea, miss.” Dan said, “I think the knock on your head is playing with your mind, your memory, you know?” Dan’s eyes bore into mine, and I could only nod. “I’ll send Steve in with some water for you, I expect you are dehydrated.” Dan got up and left and moments later, in walked the first man, whom I then found out was Steve.
Steve stayed with me for most of the evening, and I found I had been rescued the evening before. It had now been twenty four hours since I had been rescued from that horrible place, and we were not far from the mainland Steve explained. Steve stayed with me as I drifted off to sleep, and I murmured to him that I would show him my polaroid pictures later of what I had found in Innsmouth. Steve left, and I overheard snippets of him speaking with Dan, and I’m sure I heard him mention polaroids.
It must have been near midnight when I woke again, and suddenly I needed to see my pictures; I needed to know that I hadn’t imagined the whole thing. My hip bag was sitting on the desk and I picked it up, suddenly knowing what I was going to find.
No pictures. No camera even. I know they had been there, and I was sure Dan & Steve didn’t want my story getting out. I sat up slowly, and this time didn’t become dizzy. Creeping outside of my cabin, I crept up behind a sleeping Steve. Steve, who had been so nice to me, was sleeping next to a container which had only recently held something hot, something which had been so hot, it had become nothing but melted remains of photographs, polaroids even. I held back a frustrated cry and crept back to my room.
I knew why they had done it. Money - that was the most lucrative fishing area they had told me, and I was sure Dan knew what had happened to Innsmouth. He didn’t want to upset the applecart as that could upset his income. They had probably only picked me up because they were worried about where my body would surface if they hadn’t. And then to find out I had polaroids - wow, they must be thanking their lucky stars.
I couldn’t say anything. Like it or not, they were my saviours, and I needed them to get back to shore. So the next day when I searched for the polaroids and acted out my anguish at the loss of my camera and pictures, they both consoled me suitably. Steve (the swine) even went as far as to suggest I hadn’t grabbed the camera and pictures from my suitcase. They were both good actors, and I acted out my part so well, I was sure someone be waiting with an Oscar when we docked.
That wasn’t to be, and Innsmouth was to affect the rest of my life. In the beginning, I tried to gather funds and interest in returning. I tried to tell anyone who would listen that the Innsmouth townsfolk needed closure, and that the creatures needed to be dealt with. No one believed me, my story too incredulous to be true. I gave my writings to a friend, who thought it a cute story and published it in parts on her blog. I couldn’t sleep and told a doctor about the reasons why. This netted me a diagnosis - a label, and that label would stay with me for the remainder of my days. Each time I mentioned Innsmouth, the doctors would all look at their notes, and nod at the label which ruined my job, my friendships and my self-worth.
So now I spend my days in the activity room, playing pool or backgammon with whomever is there that day. I don’t see any of my previous friends, and my family visit on special occasions for an embarrassed ten minutes or so of silence. I have long stopped mentioning that place, the place which ruined my life.
And when I cry out in the night, with the nightmares which rise unbidden during my sleep, a nurse comes and places a wafer of medication onto my tongue. It sticks to my tongue and I wouldn’t be able to spit it out, even if I wanted to...but I don’t want to, for this medication numbs my brain and allows me to sleep without the horrors which are waiting to remind me of some place I visited in the past.
So tell me, as you read or listen to this tale....would you like to visit Innsmouth?
The sound of a diesel motor chugging and water slapping against wood filled my ears; trying to outdo the thumping of my head. I groaned and heard,
“I think she’s coming to, Cap’n,” then, “Missy, eh Missy...how ‘bout you open them eyes, we were worried about ya.”
Slowly opening my eyes and squinting in the sunlight, I began to focus on room I had awoken in. Looking about I could see I was in some kind of small cabin. There was the bed I was laying upon, a desk where my hip bag now sat, a chair which the speaker was sitting on, and not a lot else. I went to sit up and immediately felt dizzy.
“Now, now, rest back Missy” the man said, “you took a hit there, we tried to miss you, but the wave tossed you into the side of our boat.”
Laying back down, I closed my eyes until the dizziness and nausea had passed. Then as I remembered what had happened, I said, “INNSMOUTH!”
The man started and said, “I’ll just get the Cap’n” He jumped from the chair and headed out the door.
The next man to appear I assumed was the Cap’n. He introduced himself to me as Dan and told me I was on a small fishing vessel.
“Way out here?” My face must have looked as incredulous as my voice sounded, for Dan laughed and said,
“Of course, we get the biggest, best quality fish around and therefore the best price. All because we are willing to go further out to sea than most, and spend a little more time off shore. But because of that, we only go out a few times per year, and the fish have a chance to restore their numbers. It’s the best out here.”
“But what about Innsmouth?” I asked, “Don’t you have to worry about the creatures there? Have you ever docked there and seen the devastated town?”
The smile slid from Dan’s face, “I don’t know what you are talking about...I have never heard of the place you mention.”
“It was where I was swimming from when you found me” I said, sounding desperate as I tried to remember exactly what had happened just as the boat had found me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember seeing the boat, only that my head had hit *something*, and the other man had said I had been tossed into the side of their boat.
“We found you out to sea, miss.” Dan said, “I think the knock on your head is playing with your mind, your memory, you know?” Dan’s eyes bore into mine, and I could only nod. “I’ll send Steve in with some water for you, I expect you are dehydrated.” Dan got up and left and moments later, in walked the first man, whom I then found out was Steve.
Steve stayed with me for most of the evening, and I found I had been rescued the evening before. It had now been twenty four hours since I had been rescued from that horrible place, and we were not far from the mainland Steve explained. Steve stayed with me as I drifted off to sleep, and I murmured to him that I would show him my polaroid pictures later of what I had found in Innsmouth. Steve left, and I overheard snippets of him speaking with Dan, and I’m sure I heard him mention polaroids.
It must have been near midnight when I woke again, and suddenly I needed to see my pictures; I needed to know that I hadn’t imagined the whole thing. My hip bag was sitting on the desk and I picked it up, suddenly knowing what I was going to find.
No pictures. No camera even. I know they had been there, and I was sure Dan & Steve didn’t want my story getting out. I sat up slowly, and this time didn’t become dizzy. Creeping outside of my cabin, I crept up behind a sleeping Steve. Steve, who had been so nice to me, was sleeping next to a container which had only recently held something hot, something which had been so hot, it had become nothing but melted remains of photographs, polaroids even. I held back a frustrated cry and crept back to my room.
I knew why they had done it. Money - that was the most lucrative fishing area they had told me, and I was sure Dan knew what had happened to Innsmouth. He didn’t want to upset the applecart as that could upset his income. They had probably only picked me up because they were worried about where my body would surface if they hadn’t. And then to find out I had polaroids - wow, they must be thanking their lucky stars.
I couldn’t say anything. Like it or not, they were my saviours, and I needed them to get back to shore. So the next day when I searched for the polaroids and acted out my anguish at the loss of my camera and pictures, they both consoled me suitably. Steve (the swine) even went as far as to suggest I hadn’t grabbed the camera and pictures from my suitcase. They were both good actors, and I acted out my part so well, I was sure someone be waiting with an Oscar when we docked.
That wasn’t to be, and Innsmouth was to affect the rest of my life. In the beginning, I tried to gather funds and interest in returning. I tried to tell anyone who would listen that the Innsmouth townsfolk needed closure, and that the creatures needed to be dealt with. No one believed me, my story too incredulous to be true. I gave my writings to a friend, who thought it a cute story and published it in parts on her blog. I couldn’t sleep and told a doctor about the reasons why. This netted me a diagnosis - a label, and that label would stay with me for the remainder of my days. Each time I mentioned Innsmouth, the doctors would all look at their notes, and nod at the label which ruined my job, my friendships and my self-worth.
So now I spend my days in the activity room, playing pool or backgammon with whomever is there that day. I don’t see any of my previous friends, and my family visit on special occasions for an embarrassed ten minutes or so of silence. I have long stopped mentioning that place, the place which ruined my life.
And when I cry out in the night, with the nightmares which rise unbidden during my sleep, a nurse comes and places a wafer of medication onto my tongue. It sticks to my tongue and I wouldn’t be able to spit it out, even if I wanted to...but I don’t want to, for this medication numbs my brain and allows me to sleep without the horrors which are waiting to remind me of some place I visited in the past.
So tell me, as you read or listen to this tale....would you like to visit Innsmouth?