The Yacht

The moon’s reflection off the dark ocean left much to the imagination. Just enough light to see the rippling of the water, and the outline of a boat to the right of the horizon.

Thomas stood at the top of the cliffside and stared off into the sea, listening to the sounds of waves crashing below on an otherwise peaceful night.

It’s taken me a long time to afford a view like this. I wonder how long it took him, whoever is sleeping under the stars, floating on top of the ocean. Day in and day out, the boat sits there. I’ve never seen anyone on it. Not that I can tell anyway.

“Jamie,” Thomas said to her from across the yard, “How long has that boat been there? Have you noticed it before?”

“What boat?” She replied as she started walking over.

“The one out there, a little to the right of the horizon. I feel like it’s been there a long time, and it’s never really moved,” Thomas said.

“Well, I haven’t really been paying attention,” Jamie replied, “But it is curious that it hasn’t moved.”

“Maybe we should call…. Wait who would we call for this? The police?” Thomas replied.

“I don’t know if we really need to get involved, Tom,” Jamie replied.

“What if the person or people on the boat died and now it’s just a floating carcass?” Tom replied.

“Well, it’s someone else’s problem. That is, unless the smell starts to reach our yard,” Jamie replied.

Just as Jamie finished her sentence, clouds passed in front of the moon and shaded the entire cliffside. For a moment, Thomas and Jamie stood there, still listening to the sound of the water. But now, with the clouds covering the moon, the boat disappeared into the blackness of the sea. It was as if the horizon faded into ocean, forming a cascading darkness changing from greys to blacks as the backlit sky faded into the ocean.

Then, the lights on the boat turned on, including a floodlight on the top – pointing into the sky.

“Woah, check that out,” Thomas said to Jamie, “It’s like they heard us or something.”

Then, the light changed from pointing towards the sky, to directly at the two on the shore.

“Ah, the light is so bright! It seems like they did hear us. How is that possible? We’re so far from shore, and the waves should shadow our voices,” Jamie replied.

“What’s that? Do you see the movement off the side of the boat? It looks like they are getting into a lifeboat or something. There’s at least two people but it’s hard to tell from this far,” Thomas replied.

“Tom, Tom! They’re coming this way. We should call the police, just in case they need help,” Jamie replied, a hint of fear in her voice.

“You’re right - let’s call them,” He replied.

“I don’t have any service. Damn living all the way out here, even if we get to look at the water,” Jamie replied.

“I don’t have any either,” Thomas replied, some hesitation in his voice.

Who are these people? What do they want with us? Was it an emergency?

“The boat is moving quickly. I mean, it’s flying towards us,” Thomas said after a moment of pause.

“What should we do?” Jamie asked.

“Let’s see if they continue to the shore. If they do, we can check if the emergency landline the prior owners installed in the basement still works,” Tom replied.

The boat continued to coast over the waves, minimally illuminated by the searchlight from the boat.

“They’re heading straight for the cliffside. They’re going to crash!” Jamie said in disbelief.

Thomas didn’t reply, he wanted to see what was going on. There’s no way they’re actually going to crash into the cliffs, so what are they doing?

The sound of the raft’s engine was now audible to Thomas and Jamie as it was within 100 yards of the cliffside. The engine’s sound transformed from a subtle hum to a blaring engine, filling the mostly quiet night with industrial sounds.

“Oh shit, they really are going straight into the cliffside,” Thomas said as he turned and started running toward their modern, glass home.

“Jamie, let’s get to the basement and use the landline to call the police,” he huffed after taking a few strides.

Jamie stood there for a moment in horror, wondering if those people just crashed into the cliffside and are on their way to a watery grave.

The two of them scurried over the grass and dirt of their backyard, narrowly avoiding the flowerbed wall. Tom grabbed the house’s metal doorhandle and ripped it open, slamming it against the side of the wall.

The lights were off inside the house, but both Tom and Jamie new it well. Gliding around the wooden, rectangular dining table, the two made their way to the basement. The uncertainty around what they just witnessed left them on edge, and the tension was palpable as they continued down the hallway towards the basement door.

It seemed like they just disappeared into the cliffs. I didn’t hear a crash, maybe there was cave that leads to dry land. If that boat has been there longer than us, they could know more ways to get on shore.

Finally, the doorhandle. Thomas thought to himself.

“It’s locked? Did you lock it?” Jamie asked as Tom jiggled the doorhandle.

“It didn’t even know it had a lock! We’ve been here what, six months now. How have we never used this room?” Tom said.

“I was in there this morning to grab a few decorations for the yard, there’s no way I locked it,” Jamie said.

The two of them froze, and Tom thought, has someone been in our home? Or did Jamie just forget that she locked it?

“Where are the keys? The previous owner gave us 5, and we never really got around to changing the locks. They said they were moving out of state, so why would we rush? That was a stupid move,” Tom said.

“They’re by the front door, in the bowl on the table in the alcove. You get them, I’ll stay here,” Jamie replied.

“Why am I the scout? Ugh, fine. I’ll get them,” Thomas replied, heart beating out of his chest.

Realizing they might not be alone in the home, Thomas’s steps slowed, and his breaths became short and quick.

Down the hallway before reaching the dining room, the photos on walls truly felt as if they had eyes, following his every move and digging into his back like a knife. Each family portrait looking increasingly sinister as he ran forward.

As he reached the door, he felt around the table for the bowl. Hand sliding around the polished wood, he felt a cold breeze on the back of his neck.

His eyes widened in terror while he thought, why would I feel a breeze if the door was closed? It was locked before I went to the backyard.

Slowly turning, he saw the slightest crack in the door. It hadn’t been closed all the way and the outside air was leaking in.

His hands scrambled across the top of the polished wood surface, smacking into the bowl and almost knocking it to the floor. He grabbed all the sets of keys and took off back towards Jamie.

In moments, he reached the basement door.

“Jamie? Jamie, where are you?” Tom said, head on a swivel.

Then, he noticed a light from a flame where the basement door used to be.

But, the basement was locked. How could Jamie have gotten it open? No, it wasn’t her.

“Jamie!!!!” Thomas shouted. His body tensed and his feet carried him towards the door, a place his mind did not want him to go.

Watching the shadows behind the flickering flame, he heard a muffled cry.

Jamie.

Pausing, Tom now knew that anyone in that basement was an intruder. He collected himself and realized a few more things: they probably had the keys to the house, had been in the house before, and had seemingly captured his wife.

Damn, a gun really would have been helpful here. I can’t just barge in. What do I do?

He turned, planning to grab a knife from the kitchen and charge in. As he turned, a behemoth stood in front of him.

“Professor Thomas Burgess of Santa Barbara?” The figure asked.

“Yes,” Thomas replied, just as he was smacked in the head and went unconscious.

Waking for a brief moment, he noticed that he was being dragged from his legs down the stairs. The unfinished basement was lit by flames down the sides of the walls, but there was a hidden hatch that was underneath a carpet the previous owners left in the home. As he began to black out again, he saw his captures slink down into the hatch.

This has been here the whole time?

_____

Waking, he realized he was tied to a chair and immediately felt the rocking of the room he was in.

Am I on the yacht? Where’s Jamie?

“Where’s Jamie? Where’s my wife?” Thomas yelled, alone in the room.

He heard footsteps above him and a large thud on the other side of the ceiling. The footsteps began to cascade down towards the door in front of the room.

There was a brief pause, and a rattling of some keys. Then, a quick slip of a key into the lock. The doorhandle turned and Tom held his breath.

The giant being he saw earlier walked into the room, face and body completely covered with a trench coat, gloves, a smooth mask, and some technologically enhanced boots. The only thing that stood out was the being’s piercing purple eyes.

A human followed in the same outfit, but around 6 feet tall, dragging his wife by her handcuffs.

“Jamie, thank god you’re alright,” Thomas said to her in relief.

She was upright and, on her feet, but didn’t reply and looked like she was in a daze.

Thomas’s mood returned to its grim state. Probably a concussion, but we’ll see when we get off this boat.

The behemoth hadn’t said a word this whole time and now stood on the opposite side of the room from Thomas, next to the human holding his wife.

Finally, the being spoke, “You sold us the patent to your work, the liquefier machine that turns all matter into energy – allowing the world to rid itself of the problem of trash and human waste.”

“But, ” The being continued, “You didn’t read the fine print. You were part of the patent purchase. You were given six months to get your affairs together, before we came. We were the ones who directed you to this house, our holding cell.”

“Why is Jamie here then? Let her go! Why capture us?” Thomas replied, looking over at his dazed wife.

“You get to take one person with you,” The being replied.

“With me? With me where?” Thomas replied.

“To our underwater city. The yacht was just one of our entrances, off the coast of our holding cell. We purchase all the great patents and take the scientists to live there, creating a utopia. Everything on the surface is leftover. It’s biological matter as we see the rabbits and coyotes living in their own ecosystems, part of the whole but nothing inherently special. The real life, well that’s down here with us.”