Just Rumours

1.Mark had always loved travelling. One day, his thirst for adventure led to a strange journey coming to his mind. He planned to voyage directly through the Bermuda Triangle during his summer holidays. He felt that the ‘strange occurrences’ associated with the Triangle were merely misguided rumours. When he shared his plan with his friends, they told him this was too dangerous an idea and that he was being crazy. They also told him there was no point in taking this journey, but their concerns only solidified Mark’s resolve. Hence, he organized a crew for the journey. This was going to be the most unique experience of his lifetime.

2.Mark was unsure of how he felt about his decision. He was trying his best to appear hopeful and brave, but he started having a bad gut feeling as the departure date came closer. However, his adventurous nature won over the rational man inside of him. He bid his family farewell as he ascended onto The Ambitious Voyager, the name he had given to the ship he had bought for the journey. Along with this, he had recruited a crew of about 50 staff to man the ship, all of them fully aware of the potential dangers which lay ahead. “People will do anything for money.” He thought to himself in amusement. After one final safety check, the ship set sail for the Devil’s Triangle.

3.The first ominous sign was when Mark started feeling seasick a little way into the journey. He had never gotten seasick before and they had not even entered the Bermuda Triangle yet. However, Mark dismissed this as reason to turn back. Almost eight hours after the start of the journey, the crew entered the Bermuda Triangle. Mark felt no change in the environment, the ocean also remained calm and welcoming. For the first time during the journey, Mark’s spirits were lifted and it seemed possible to him that they might actually make it through the Triangle safely.

4.Mark did not realize the rashness oh his decision until the crew’s second evening of travel. His former optimism quickly reverted to worry as he witnessed a strange sight before him. Huge waves formed right before his eyes and clashed with the calm ocean, creating a disfigured border in between. Mark did not get time to admire this spectacle as fear seized him and he began shouting at the captain to turn around. The Ambitious Voyager let out a strained groan as the captain swerved hard to try to avoid the harsh waves. It became obvious that they were bound to collide, nonetheless, so Mark readied himself. The impact was much harder than Mark had imagined and he was thrown across the indoor hallway. He heard panicked shouting from the deck and was able to make out that part of the ship’s hull had broken… and they were sinking.

5.Mark went out onto the deck to examine the seriousness of the situation and was met with a huge crater, going straight through the middle of the ship’s hull. He was unaware of how a wave had did that, but he did not have enough time to wonder about this. To add fuel to the fire, it had also started raining by now. It seemed obvious to Mark that the damage was irreparable and he started sending the staff down into the mercy of the unforgiving ocean. He himself was the last to board a lifeboat, the sense of dread and guilt overwhelming him as he observed the frantic state of the crew HE had assembled. He knew the lifeboats were just a last-ditch desperate effort for safety against the cruel waves.

6.Almost instantly after being lowered into the water, Mark realized the futility of the lifeboats against the unrelenting waves. The ocean seemed to be toying with them, throwing them this way and that. The other lifeboats quickly disappeared out of sight, veiled by the gigantic waves. It took all of the crew to barely keep the lifeboat from tumbling. Suddenly, a large wave started heading towards the lifeboat, as if it had a mind of its own. Mark could only watch as it crashed into the lifeboat, causing it to overturn and plunging it into unknown depths.

7.Mark jolted out of his paralysis and made swift use of the force of the wave to dive into the water, absorbing much of the impact in the process. It still felt like he had gotten hit by a freight train. His mind quickly shifted between thinking about his own situation and the fact that he had not had enough time to warn his crewmates. The thought that they would have experienced the full force of the collision weighed on him, he could think much more clearly underwater. Out of breath, he started swimming upwards, eventually emerging onto the surface. As soon as he did so, adrenaline rushed back into his head, and the noise of the waves did not allow him to gather his thoughts. Not even his own lifeboat was in sight, but as he scanned his surroundings, he found a piece of wood large enough to support him. He balanced himself on the piece of wood, and tried to steady his breathing.

8.The waves subsided after about half an hour of careful floating. Mark felt a sense of piece and relief, but it did not last long before turning into concern for his cremates. He felt responsible for putting them through this disaster, even though they had applied by their own choice. There was still no sign of a lifeboat, and Mark was horrified when the only thing he found were the bodies of some of his crewmates, lifelessly buoyant. But he also felt determined to survive to not let their deaths go to waste. He truly felt like the symbol of an adventurer’s spirit.

9.Due to this dreadful experience, Mark could only drift aimlessly across the ocean. There was not much else he could do on a piece of wood, with no clue where he was. He found no sign of life other than the occasional school of fish, and remained constantly in fear of what lay below. He could only hope he would not become a casualty to another storm. He used his hands to pedal every now and then, quenching his thirst with the ocean water, but after a few days hunger eventually got the best of him.

10.Fortunately, a bird land on Mark’s “raft”. He made a desperate grab for it, but did not manage to catch it. The bird flew off to reveal a blessing in disguise. Mark followed its flight and spotted an island emerging from the horizon. He had arrived at Bermuda, that was the only logical explanation. Renewed energy coursed through him as he began to pedal towards the island, forgetting all about the potential dangers he had read about.

11.The island had the appearance of a forest. As Mark got closer, he realized that the island was, in fact, the source of the strange waves his crew had fallen victim too. Having had enough and too tired to care by this point, Mark headed directly for the waves. Just as a wave was about to fall on him, he was pulled toward the island at incredible speed. He crashed onto the island, only the sand to soften his fall. He swiftly got up to search for food, his hunger had become unbearable. To his surprise, he found many different types of fruit trees growing close together. He was grateful for this and ate to his heart’s extent.

12.However, as he ventured further into the island, the pure lack of people and infrastructure made him realize that he was, in reality, not on Bermuda. This island was not at all similar to what he had seen in pictures. Trees and vines grew rampant, and vegetation was really all there was. Mark worked out that he had come across an undiscovered island, in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle no less. Alas, he had no source to prove his discovery, but that seemed unimportant compared to his survival.

13.Mark began to explore the island for resources to return, along with those he would need to survive longer, if worse came to worst. A week later, Mark was confident he had uncovered all the secrets of the small island. It was unconnected to any other piece of land, with no other island even near either side of it. Mark had come across many twists and turns, while also finding many valuable resources for his survival.

14.On a day like any other in the Triangle, Mark was roaming the island when he heard a strange humming from the direction of a tree. He edged closer to it, to find fluorescent light coming out of the middle of its trunk. As he circled around it to inspect it, he felt throbbing in his head. He shook his head, and was startled to see that the landscape of the island had changed.

15.The island looked much more modern now, with mansion-sized houses and organized plantation, allowing him to grasp thee aspects of the island much more quickly and easily. The tree had stopped shining and produced no sound. Mark was almost convinced that this was the island he had originally come across, with such an identical landscape. But this was the Bermuda triangle, “strange occurrences” were common here.

16.Mark got over his shock and moved onward towards one of the houses. Just as he prepared himself to ring the bell, he glimpsed upon strange creatures creeping up on him, their image reflected on a window of the house. Mark thought his mind was playing tricks on him, but when he did turn around, he confirmed that his sanity was still intact, even if he did not want it to be. In front of him, on all fours stood pure-white creatures with slim, elongated legs and bare skin. They seemed like a scary hybrid between an octopus’s head and a bat’s body. A creature with a black triangle on his forehead seemed to be the leader of the group.

17.As soon as Mark turned around, the creatures stopped dead in their tracks. Mark inched closer, and the creatures backed away correspondingly. “What ARE you?” he said in wonder. “He speaks our tongue!” the leader hissed to the others, the surprise visible in his tone. His mouth opened in a wide circle when he spoke, revealing rows of deadly-sharp teeth. Mark was terrified and equally surprised to hear the creature speak. “We must not let him disclose our secrets to the savages!” the leader exclaimed. Suddenly, the creatures were not so afraid anymore. They understood their leader’s order perfectly, starting to crawl towards Mark, and Mark felt that it was his turn to back away. He did not want to see how well those sharp teeth and pointy legs performed their function.

18.Mark sprinted deeper into the forest and thought he had lost the creatures after a while running. He was proven wrong by a hiss above him. He looked up, and was petrified to see many creatures on top of the trees around him. He knew he was done for; these creatures were faster, deadlier, and more evolved than him. Just when he had come to terms with his fate, he heard a familiar humming. He searched his surroundings until he found the tree, and started moving towards the light. He reached out to touch it, and was at once transported to his home in Washington.

19.He felt like he had just woken up from a dream taking in the familiar, yet distant view after so long. However, he was ensured of the reality of his experience when his parents hugged him and got teary-eyed upon his unexpected return. He tried to tell them he had not even been gone for a month, but they seemed to think he had been gone for over an year. Mark often wondered of the Bermuda Triangle’s mysteries and how many versions of the ominous island existed, but never again did he think of returning to explore these guarded secrets, feeling they were better left off alone.