Vrill's teeth were chattering. Simon had to laugh through the pain. Vrill didn't even have teeth, which meant that he had to have picked it up somewhere. Might've even been from Simon himself, back in the mountains.

Turning of the Key By Joshua Trujillo

Part 4 - Midnight Encounters

Vrill seemed awfully good at it, though...The chattering continued for a few more minutes and Simon's curiosity got the better of him.

Hey Vrill, he thought at the knife still stuck in the side of the barrel, Why do your teeth chatter? You don't even have teeth...

The chattering stopped.

-I thought that's what people do when it's very cold.-

It IS, Simon thought, But...You're not human.

Vrill seemed to think about it for a minute.

Besides, Simon thought, We seem to be drifting south.

-And how exactly do you know that?-

The days are getting warmer, Simon thought, No, check that. They're downright hotter. The nights are nice. Plus the constellations are different, and the only way all that'd happen together is if we've been traveling south. Or north.

-North?-

Depending on our latitude, Simon explained, Or longitude. Whichever one goes right and left...

-Huh?-

I'm dying, Vrill, Simon thought flatly, If I don't find land soon I don't think there'll be much left.

Vrill had nothing to say. It was probably for the better. Simon had lost so much weight in the last few days that he was able to swing his legs up onto the sides of the barrel and balance on the rim, kind of like balancing on an inner tube. A bit stiffer, but the same principle. Besides, the meager exercise this provided was better than nothing. He could feel himself dying. And that would be bad. Simon chuckled at his own sarcasm. Vrill sent a query to Simon, but Simon just shook his head. The currents swirled around Simon and turned his barrel to face the setting sun. The last vestiges of the orange and reds faded to deep purples and blues until the blackness of night crawled slowly westward. Or eastward. Whatever the Hell the way the sun set here. Simon learned a few weeks ago that if he slept during the day, it didn't seem like he got all that drained. Sure, he had to wake up every now and then to drink a little, but it seemed that his body was taking it better. Even the voices stopped, after a while.

Simon climbed gingerly to the rim of the barrel and rested his butt in the open barrel top. His thin arms and legs stuck out from the sides and he sighed as he leaned his head back against the rim. The constellations came out again over him and once more, he tried in vain to find anything that he recognized. He wasn't an astrologer. Astronomer. Whatever the Hell they were...A cool breeze floated along and even Vrill was quiet. It was, if he could've enjoyed it, a perfect night.

-Simon...-

"Hmm?"

-Something's going on down here...-

Down here?

"Down where, Vrill?" he asked as he slipped the little worn strip of cloth, now wet with barrel water, into his mouth.

-Down HERE! In the water,- he said more excitedly than Simon liked, -I can't describe it, but I think you better get in the barrel.-

Simon shrugged as much as he could and slipped his legs back into the barrel. The barrel bobbed slightly and Simon stuck his head over the side, trying to see through the inky night what Vrill meant. Oddly enough, he *could* see something going on down there. He took the cloth out of his mouth and tried turning the barrel. The ink below moved and swirled with a life not borne of the water. Without warning, the water broke no more than six feet away from Simon and a huge form lifted out of the water and lazily turned in the air. It was huge and roughly triangular. A fin. It was a fin! It turned once and slammed back into the water away from Simon. He almost lost balance as something slammed into the barrel from below.

-By the Seven Holy Mothers! Simon, if there's any way ANY WAY to get us out of here,- Vrill shrieked, -THEN DO IT!-

"Whaddya' want me to do, Vrill?" Simon breathed as two fins rose in the distance, "Paddle?!"

Simon yelped as the spray from a fin came over and drenched him from behind. Another fin. Assuming the size of these things were similar to whales, then they'd be turning. He'd seen this kind of thing on the Discovery Channel, but was never stuck in the middle of it. The fins, as best as he could measure, were at least three stories tall. A story is about eight feet. Twenty-four foot fins. With most whales, that was about a little less than a quarter of their full length. Simon cowered in the barrel at the thought that these creatures were over a hundred feet long. The barrel rocked aside as it was hit a glancing blow from a rising fin. Simon paled in the dark. He'd underestimated the fin size!

-Okay,- Vrill piped up, -So, you're gonna drown and I'm gonna end up at the bottom of the sea.-

"Shut up Vrill. This is NOT the time..."

-Maybe there's intelligent life down there...-

"You might just-"

Simon threw his hands over his ears as a wave of sound crashed through him. He could see the water around him bubble and spit as the sonic vibrations ripped through it. The sound grew in intensity and dropped away suddenly. Simon gasped as the sound released his lungs.

-Wow!- Vrill laughed, -THAT felt NEAT, Simon! Do it again!-

"I didn't do it in the first place," he coughed, "It was these things."

-Damn,- Vrill was disappointed, -Then we're in trouble.-

Another wall of sound rippled across the water. It wasn't as loud or as intense as the first, but still near enough to hurt. Through the pain of the sound, Simon could make out a pattern. One would call, then the others would answer. The first seemed very far off, but something else struck Simon. The first one, of whatever these things were, could also be very deep. Simon poked his head over the side of the barrel into the water and gasped. He was right. Another call from the first one reached up through the darkness and sung it's way to the stars, but it was also followed by the creature being lit up like Time Square. The huge beast lit with every note sung, every word issued from a throat the size of the Lincoln Tunnel. Simon was entranced. The pattern shown through the water like that of a leopard's skin, mottled and brilliant in hues of orange and green. The first one faded and Simon could see others answer him, far into the distance. Everywhere he turned, the huge biolumins lit up the night below in a chorus of light and, at times, painful sound. Another bioluminescent whale-thingy breeched near Simon and lit the darkness with it's call. Simon clutched at his head in pain, but failed to get his breath back. Even the little barrel rocked back and away from the powerful call. The sound wave ceased and Simon hung onto the side of the barrel as he tried to get his breath back. Being as weak as he was was bad enough without these critters ripping the air from his lungs. He tried to move his leg, but something was wrong.

Simon tried to look down as the chorus continued around him, but the inside of the barrel was too dark Simon gingerly pulled his leg toward the opposite end of the barrel and winced as the pain in his head was suddenly forgotten. It had most likely happened during the last blast from the creatures. He'd accidentally stuck himself in the leg with Vrill. Simon cursed at himself and rummaged around in the dark bottom of the barrel for something to help him quench the bleeding he could feel happening.

-I'm...- Vrill muttered quietly in his head, -By the Gods, Simon...-

"Yeah Vrill...I know..."

The chorus continued around him, but was lost on Simon. The little barrel turned this way and that in the currents stirred up by the singing behemoths and, as quickly as singing had begun, it stopped. The barrel swung around and Simon laughed slightly. There, lit by the light of the stars, was land. Simon laid his head on the rim of the barrel and sighed as a snibbet of movie ran through his head.

'He'll make it to America all right...He'll die within sight of it...'

Simon smiled as he closed his eyes. He could feel the blood draining from him and wondered how long it would take...before the end...

Joshua "Gargoyle" Trujillo "Stone Cold Protector of the Righteous" "Owner of The Anime Bar & Grille - Type without Pants!"

Come visit The Anime Bar & Grille! Now with two locations! http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/1509 and http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/museum/1275