Destroying the Ship and Creatures

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Explore it with Omni hotels and resorts Cick now and save up to twenty perents plus kids eat free It's time to turn off the light and turn on the dark for dark nights Hello listeners and welcome to another episode of Chilling Tales for Dark Kights I'm your host, Steve Taylor And tonight, we're leaving the comfort of dry land behind, ventteruring into cold, unforgiving waters, where storms are only the beginning of your worries For generations, sailors have spoken of the sea with equal measures of awe and fear. It feeds us, it carries us. It connects distant shores, but it also guards secrets older than civilization itself Things that drift far below the reach of sunlight, waiting patiently beneath restless waves Tonight's tale reminds us that not every ship lost at sea is simply claimed by wind or weather. And sometimes, the greatest danger isn't what sinks beneath the ocean Sometimes It's what returns from the murky depths So batting down the hatches. Keep a weather eye on the horizon And get cozy The show is about to begin Tonight's featured Tale of Terror comes to us courtesy of acclaimed horror author, William Meeekle pererformed by Darl Castillo. Production by Craig Groschach. present to you homeome from the sea The Irishman's in trouble It was no night to be out in the water But it was an unwritten law in Trinity. If one of us is in trouble We all are I drank down the shot of rum I had but left the ale where it sat The sea was going to be rough enough without having sour beer rolling in my gut. I went with a crowd to the dock and peered through the wind and spray How far out Someone asked just pasting narrows flounging in hold on the port side We'll need four boats at least The long rowbats normally took eight men. we had to leave room for bringing the Irishman and his crew, if need be We set out five boats with four men in each rowing hard into a headwind and swell that threatened to send us as far back as forward with every stroke It wasn't the first time I've been out in such conditions But it was the first attempt at rescuing a big whaler such as the Dublin. I knew they'd been out for three weeks and guessed they might have even had a catch aboard Their weight, the weather, and the sheer number of crew loomed large on my mind. I tried to ignore the increasing pain and tiredness from Roic But I knew it was only the start of the evening's trials By the time we reached the narrows, we were all spent. Matters weren't helped much when the leadboat capsized They were too far away from us to help them But I saw clearly enough that all four men made it ashore The men clambered up to the point and waved I knew they had a long wet walk ahead of them to get back to the warmth of a tavern But I couldn't waste time worrying as I too had to fight the waves and crosswinds that threatened to send us towards the same fate. I was so busy concentrating on keeping us upright and moving forward that I was nearly thrown from my seat as the prow hit something hard I turned to yell an oath at the other sailors, but my words were lost as I looked up and saw the massive bulk of the Dubliner looming over us I helped Roberts and Gallagher, two old friends tie our boats to Dubliner We helped the other three boats so that we were all arranged in aligned along the keel on this starboard side, protected from the wind Then I started to worry I expected someone tops side to acknowledge our presence inststead All I heard was the whistling wind and the crashing of the waves Oh you' bored Roberts called out bellow like a fog horn We waited for a reply but none came Nothing good had happened on the whaler And I wasn't at all sure any good was going to come out of us investigating further But as the saying goes One is in trouble, we all are. when Roberts clambered out of the rowboat and head ont to the Dubliner, I was second in line Gallgh at my heels As I climbed, I steeled myself for the sights to come I'd seen plenty of men smashed to no more than broken puppets by the fall storms unepected that more of the same fate awaited us on deck I climbed over the gun whals and stood beside Rbberts The deck laayid empty, save for a large whale carcass on the platform at the stern My fears of finding human corpses were allayed. But I had a sinking feeling in my gut as I realized we were going to have to search the vessel The deck lurched beneath us as the boat was caught in a larger swell For a second, I thought we were going to have to tumble over the side. the ke or writed itself As the dubblin steadied, more men came up from the rowboats When there were more than a dozen men on deck Roberts organized the search. I went with Gallagher and Roberts We headed for the crew's quarters, or the others went to search the engine room, the mess and the cargo holds Four men worked on getting the vessel moving again. learning to get her at least through the narrows quieter wers in the sheltered bay As we walked the deck of the rocking ship, silence fell on us like a blanket. Several oil lamps hung overhead at regular intervals providing a modicum of light. The lamps cast bands of shadows that seem to coort and caper leading us deeper into what I feared be our own doom Sending a flight of stairs, my legs felt like jelly Every fibber of my being wanted to flee back to the tavern to get as much rum as I could get inside of me But for the presence of Roberts and Gallagher, I might have allowed myself to succumb to the terror My fear of ridicule was stronger than the fear of the unknown. So I followed Roberts as we went deeper into the boat. The Irishman's cabin was empty, save for a bottle of rum and the sideboard that shouted at me as I turned away to the corridor. When we stepped into the next cabin I wish I'd listened We found our first corpse At first I was not entirely sure what I was seeing. It looked as if someone had left a pile of clothing on the floor thenen I saw a slimy trail of blood It led to a six inch wide strip away from the clothing across the floor the wall to where it stops at the open porthole As Ive bent for a closer look It became all too obvious that what was left was little more than a sack of skin and bones I cant take my eyes off the sight I had no idea what could have done it I only knew that I did not want to meet the culprit I know that jacket. Robert said softly He said withood Malone Roberts was right It was said or rather what was left of him A fierce drinker, a born semen. and a man who would fight you as quick as look at you There's another one here, Gallagher shouted from out of the corridor We've found more remains at every turn, but no indication as to the cause of death We only saw more bloody trails, most of which led from the bodies to outside of the vessel Whatll happened here? Gallagh whispered Neither Roberts nor I had an answer for him The silence was broken by a scream from above and a yell of pain and suffering that tore at my heart We headed tops side at a run We arrived on decked to a scene of bloody chaos. Men ran and screamed. Bood flew, the wind howled while the vessel bucked and rolled beneath us All around, beasts slithered too fast for the eye to follow only being still by the head affixed themselves to some poor sailor On the first site, I took them for octopus or squid or they had sucker laden tentacles that their head used to cling to their prey The tentacles were attached to a head, the size of a man's clenched fist But no squid I've ever seen hit a face like that Their eyes were the worst black pits that seemed to go all the way down to hell. pits that' s set above a mouth made of an elongated tube of muscular tissue. pierced the victims' bodies and fed The moist sucking noises reached us even above the howling wind And that sound was the most terrible aspect The beasts were everywhere, Six men had already fallen, and three more feebly tried to keep the ravenous creatures away with little success Gallagher jumped up the nearest one and tried to drag it off its victim All he succeeded in doing was tearing a lump of flesh away from the poor man's chest The creature wrriithed and squirmed in Gallagher's hands, tentacles quickly circled his wrist and started to squeeze Get this bastard off me, he shouted Robert's obliged. but was more circumspect in his approach He ran below deck and came back with an oil lamp Turn your head, man, he said to the Gallagher, then spilled hot oil onto the beast's face Black eyes pot Fesh slowed away and the creature fell to the deck Gallgher stomped on it until it was little more than jam Another man, I'm fairly certain, was McGinnister Stoker. ran past us with one of the things clamps on his face He went over the side without a sound I ran to the rail to look The sea below seathed, filled with the squirming writhing tentacles of the beasts I saw three men bolt for a rowboat. They were caught and quickly became food for scores of the creatures The tentacles waving as if excited by the kill. Beast seemed to know I was watching. Half a dozen heads turned, black eyes staring up at me Then they moved as one, scrambling up the hull coming straight for me. If the Dubliner had not lurched at that precise moment I would have been taken For I was so transfixed on the creatures, I could not move When the deck tilted, Roberts dragged me aside To the stern man. he shouted and pray the lifeboat is here We ran, even as the things clambered up over the gun whales and came after us. Gallagher, Roberts and I were the only men still standing by the time we had reached the stern The sight that met us made me fear that I was not going to outlive my old mates by very long The sperm whale, the Dubliner's last catch, seemed to be the source of the infection Its belly was vastly swollen and distended with a gaping hole in the blubber and a nest of beasts all fight to escape from within Our path to the lifeboat was blocked by the slithering mess. We can get to it from below. Come up from under, Robert said. The thoughts of being trapped below decks with the creatures filled me with dread, but I knew that Roberts was right It might indeed be our only chance of escape At F first, we had to find a safe way to get below And that in itself was no easy task We need to get off this boat. Gallaga shouted Neither Roberts nor Rd disagreed beast blocked our way in every direction. and some were beginning to close in on us I considered diving overboard, swimming for it and hoping for the best when Roberts kicked and stomped at any beast in range burst with moist squelches and lay still The heads are their weak spot We can make it, Robert said, pointing to the hatch leading below Just keep kicking We moved quickly across the deck, frantically stomping, leaving a trail of slime and mucus behind us. One of the beasts wrapped its tentacles around my ankle and squeezed, sending a flare of hot pain up my leg brought my heel down hard and the head popped. the tentacles fell limply away I diveed through the hatch after Robert Gallagher was behind us screaming Robertson and I furiously pulled the hatch closed just as he fell through. One of the beasts was attached to Gallicer's shoulder biting into him, making him scream louder to the man's credit. Gallagher moved like someone who wasn't ready to lie down and die yanked the thing away, tearing out a chunk of his own skin and threw it. The creature hit the wall, fell to the floor, and with a wet thud and start scurrying back. Roberts lunged forward and brought his boot down on his head until he finally lay still We stood there, covered in blood and slime, staring at each other All around us, the dublin has seem to be alive Let's sw it softly. wind echoed through hollow corridors But worst of all, the slimy skittering made the ship sound as though it had lungs. and we stood stupefied belly of the beast Summer is a gift the gift of days that last a little longer. Brighter state of mind So giveift yourself a new Kia at the KIA Summer Sticker sales event, Especially taged vehicles including the Sorrento, Sportage, Carnival, as well as the Neuro Hybrid. All backed by a ten year one hundred thousand mile limited powertrain warranty. So the gift of summer can keep on giving for summers to come. Kia Movement that inspires Call eight hundred thir three three four K for Details hostoafree event and seven hundred six twenty six to deala for warranty details Having the right people in your corner for life's biggest milestones makes all the difference. Like a friend who's there when you're househunting or checking out a new ride, State Farm is there too, helping you choose the coverage you need. With a state Farm agent, you know someone is there to help you along the way. And with so many coverage options, it's nice knowing you have help choosing a plan that fits your needs so you can continue celebrating all of life's milestones. Head to statefarm. com to get a quote. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there Suddenly All was silent, save for the creaking of the old boat and the distant roar of the storm At some point in the melee. I lost my bearings I thought we had descended to the area immediately above the engine room but we were once again in the corridor led to the crew quarters and if the layouts of the whaler was as I remembered There was no easy way to get to our objective Our situation has hardly improved, Gallagher said quietly He bled heavily from the wound in his shoulder or waved me away when I tried to help I'll have time for doctoring later. I look to Roberts for guidance bent over the remains of the creature at our feet. The hell are they? Gallagh asked I'd never seen the light before Never heard of the like either, Roberts replied, wiping slime on his trousers It's some kind of squid But I'm buggered if I know anything more than that besides what they are isn an important We need to get to the Sernlland fast The boat is going into the rocks at any minute and when that happens, we're all dead anyway I wasn't too keen on being reminded of that fact down the corridor at the path we had to take Even with the presence of oil lamps, it was too dark to see more than ten yards My imagination filled in the blanks only too well I started in that direction Robert said other ideas We could go further down, he said The most direct route is through the main hold But we have no idea what might be down there, Gallaghar said. can't be any worse than what's above, Roberts replied lifted one of the oil lamps off from its hook on the wall And the sooner it's done quicker we can get off this ghost ship I followed Roberts closely his last statement. close to the truth. We found the Irishman at the foot of the steps. The creatures had gotten him, but not before he had taken many of them with him child remains lay strewn in a wide circle around the captain's body A hole in his chest showed how he had finally succumbed. It hadn't been long either. The fire brand in his hand was still warm He had the right idea. Robert said lighting the brand from the flame in the oil lamp We should have thought it ourselves. see if you can find more of these I knew from experience that a supply of brands was often kept near the entrance to the hold in whaling vessels I've found three long ones P onces a Gallaggh. Th we lit up from the one in Robert's hand We had enough light to see that we hadn't just found the Irishman found most of his crew as well. They tried making a stand Some corpses lay hidden behind barrels and crates Others were piled at the foots of some stairs bloody, slimy trails led away from each of the dead fade into the darkness of the ship boat swayed hard, threatening to throw us off our feet In a corner, a sea beast scurried away I expected Roberts to quickly head for the stern. But he and Gallagh had eyes only for the cargo I saw that the hold was almost full The whaleerhead made a profitable trip barrel sloshed as the boat rolled each I assumed full of whle oil. There's a king's ransom here, Gallgh whispered. We've got to try and salvage what we can Roberts laughed bitterly What we need to salvage is our lives Gallagher wasn't convinced But he followed as we made our way through the hold. I jumped at every shadow, every creak of warping wood as we went forward When the attack came, it came from two directions. I turned towards the sound to see the tentacles reaching for my face I grabbed the brands and hit the head square on Something hissed and the air filled with a stench that made me gag hot spw rose in my throat. I saw that the creature was burned badly One of the black eyes had popped and dribbled noxious fluid onto the deck before I could lift my foot to stop down It lunged at me again like a coiled snake poked it twice with the brand and the Fames took on the second attempt. The head went first, tentacles writhed and thrashed in a frenzy until I brought my boot down hard Behind me, Galligan and Roberts sounded as though they had troubles of their own I turned to my crewmates They had not had my good fortune of hearing the attack. A second burning beast was on the deck. Roberts was still on his feet, but white as a sheep p from where a wash of blood ran down his chest gaping wound That's his neck evidence of where the thing had penetrated his throat I'll be fine Roberts whispered A moment later, his legs gave way despite Gallagher trying to hold him up fellt at my feet dead eyesed staring up at me Gallagher headed forward at a flat run The ship's breathing grew harder and more intense, the swaying increased and the slimy movements all around reinforced the illusion of lungs I got to the stairs that led up to the stern just in time to see Gallagher step onto the deck some twelve feet above me I flinched, expecting him to be immediately attacked But all I heard was the whistle of the wind and the roar of water on rocks vessel struck something hard enough to make me lose my footing. and dropp the brand. It hit the deck, snuffed out and rolled away Somewhere in the shadows I heard another beast move I fled up the steps, praying not to be hauled backwards down into the dark Gallagher took no notice of me He stood staring towards the shore The lights of Trinity twinkled in some quarter of a mile distant. By some miracle, we had made it unscathed through the narrows and were being propelled towards the main harbour We can bring her in, Gallagher said. Salvage the oil. we can be rich men by the morning I was tempted. And I saw it in my mind's eye, the taverns and the whore houses overrun by these sea demons, burrowing into drunken flesh, feeding on babes and the old alike taking the town by storm I could never allow it The look on Gallagh's face said that he was lost in greed with no thought for the consequences I did the only thing I could think of. I cracked him in the jaw as hard as I was able. To my relief, he fell out cold Gallagher's a big lad But I wasn't able to manhandle them onto the rowboat easily enough I left him there took up his fire brand and made my way back down into the hold to do what needed to be done It was dark, every sound, every shadow made me jump feear of what might happen to my town drove me forward I kicked over the nearest barrel. then another and two more before one finally obliges me and split open, spilling oil. The skittering sounds grew louder Beasts did not approach. I managed a grim smile as I put brand to oil and the deck blazed flame. I fled upward fire nipping up at my heels creature threw itself down at me from above I caught it by the tentacles slung it around my head and tossed it into the flame It took some layers of skin from my hands it left But that was a small price to pay to see it burst open in the fire The first barrel blew as I reached the main deck concussion almost knocking me off my feet The vessel shook and lurched sharply to port I had a bad couple of seconds when I couldn't find the winch for the lifeboat only released it just as a second explosion nearly tore the whaler in half. I fell My stomach in my mouth. boat hitting the water hard and almost overturning before I was able to get an oore in my hand Gallgher awoke, groggily unawares of what had happened Then his eyes burned with anger when he saw what I'd done But the anger quickly turned to terror as the sea between us and the rapidly sinking vessel began seething and roiling A mass of tentacles rose as if tasting the air seeking us out Scores of the creatures had escaped the ship and they were making straight for us. Row you bugger, I shouted and Gallgha thankfully. Two more explosions wrecked the stricken whaler, Then a third, huge blast that filled the air with smoke, splinters and ash when I could see clearly again Dubliner was gone, save for a mass of wreckage bobbing on the water The tentacled beasts swam fast and were mere yards from overrunning us I gripped the oar, meaning to use it as a club, ready to take some of them to hell with me And that's when the sound came from out beyond the narrows It was a high wale like the one we had heard from the creatures earlier deeper. resesonant It sang out like a great church organ, high and clear. even above the roar of the wind. The swimming beast stopped Their interest in us suddenly gone Scores of mouths opened, the feeding tubes raaced high out of the water. as they too wailed, answering some distant call The noise from beyond the narrows grew louder consistent beast started swimming again not towards us but off towards the narrows. Oh M God it's huge, Gallaghar said We rode to the shore in silence. We wouldn't speak of what we saw again not until later in the warmth and comfort of the Tavern It filled the ho of the narrows, Gallagher whispered so no one but I could hear chilling me once more to the bone their mother some home Having the right people in your corner for life's biggest milestones makes all the difference. Like a friend who's there when you're househunting or checking out a new ride, State Farm is there too, helping you choose the coverage you need. With a state Farm agent, you know someone is there to help you along the way. and with so many coverage options, it's nice knowing you have helped choosing a plan that fits your needs so you can continue celebrating all of life's milestones. Head to statefarm. com to get a quote. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there ONDeck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, ONDecks loans up to four hundred thousand dollars make it happen fast. Rated A plus by the Better Business Bureau, and earning thousands of five star trust pilot reviews, ONDeck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at OndDeck dot comot Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by ONDeck or Celtic Bank. OndDeck does not lend to North Dakota all loans and amounts subject to lender approval justust heard homeome from the sea Written by William Michle performed by Darl Castillo and produced by Craig Groschek Great maritime horror has a way of reminding us how small we truly are. Long before satellites mapped the globe and Sonar probed the ocean floor, sailors understood a simple truth. The sea keeps its own secrets. Every voyage beyond the horizon meant placing your life in the hands of a world that could become unimaginably hostile without warning William Meekle captures that uncertainty beautifully from the opening pages. What begins as a straightforward rescue mission quickly transforms into something far more terrifying not because of the storm itself. But because the tempest has delivered something home that never belonged anywhere near civilization If tonight's tale left you wanting more, you'll definitely want to check out the work of William Mekle. Originally from Ayshire, Scotland, and now living in rural Newfoundland, Canada, William has become one of the most prolific voices in modern horror fiction With more than thirty published novels and over three hundred short stories appearing in thirteen countries, his fiction has earned readers around the world through its unforgettable blend of supernatural horror, creature features, mystery, folklore, and cosmic dread His stories have appeared in numerous professional anthologies and magazines, including Nature Futures, Galaxy's Edge, and many others, while his novels have become favorites among fans of classic monster fiction and Lovecraft horror alike When he isn't writing, William enjoys playing guitar, enjoying a good beer, and dreaming of fortune and glory All while living in a picturesque Newfoundland fishing town with whales, bald eagles, and even icebergs right outside his door It's an inspiring setting for an author whose imagination so often ventures into the unknown