The derelict boat bobbed up and down with the waves as it moved across the dark ocean. It listed to starboard as it continued to take in water, every moment bringing it closer to sinking. There were no visible crew onboard and the boat appeared to have been long abandoned. Its faded paint and missing beams revealed that it had been in the water for a long time and had not docked for repairs.
As the tide receded, the boat settled on the coral stones. Wood and metal groaned and creaked with the weight of the boat, its hull threatening to break. Waves continued to batter it with strong blows that gradually weakened with the ebbing tide.
Two men walked from behind the rocks towards the shore carrying containers filled with water and fruits. They resembled each other, but the older man had graying hair and his sunburnt face was heavily wrinkled due to age and exposure to the elements. Both men were wearing thin shirts that barely protected them from the sun and wind. The younger man stopped in his tracks upon seeing the grounded boat and set down the water container he was carrying. He removed the straw hat from his head and used it to fan himself as he looked at the boat with interest. The older man merely glanced at the boat and continued to walk past his companion without saying a word, a big bunch of bananas over his shoulder. Feeling the rush of air as the older man passed from behind him, the younger man replaced his hat, lifted his water container, and followed the older man.
After walking silently a few meters on the rocky beach, the two men finally reached the edge of the water and started wading towards their own boat - an outrigger with a rectangular sail . A boy who was sitting in the outrigger suddenly sprung up and jumped up and down excitedly, waving his hand while pointing at the grounded boat.
"Look! There's a boat that got grounded. Can we board it?" asked the boy when his two companions arrived. "Maybe there's treasure on board. Maybe we can find something precious we can take home to mother."
"You know it's bad luck to take anything from abandoned boats. Who knows where that boat had been. We may still find its dead crew and their ghosts will haunt us until we ourselves meet some disaster," said the old man as he set down the bunch of bananas he was carrying beside a water container.
The old man's companion from the shore spoke as he gazed at the derelict boat. "You said it yourself that the crew could be dead. What if we just take a look to find out who they were and who the boat belongs to? We may be rewarded for reporting this to the governor."
"No harm, I guess, if you just look." The old man's face softened. Then, with a stern tone, he quickly added, "But you don't have to take anything. If that boat is cursed, I don't want you bringing anything to the house that will give bad luck to your whole family." Then, seeing the torn sail of their own boat flapping in the wind, the old man turned to the boy and asked, "Didn't I tell you to fix that sail?"
"I've replaced the ropes and tied the knots as you taught me, but I don't know how to sew the sail," said the boy while looking at his feet, his voice wavering.
"That's what you get for leaving this work to your son," the old man admonished the boy's father. "I'll fix this. The two of you can go and board that boat."
The old man turned to the sail and proceeded to tie it properly. Without wasting any time, the boy jumped to the water and waded towards the stranded boat. He got there after only a few minutes and immediately climbed aboard using a rope that dangled to the side. "Careful!" the father shouted to his son, but the other had already reached the deck and disappeared from view. The father grunted as he used loose boards on the side of the boat as footholds and lifted himself up using the same rope his son used. Soon, he was finally able to climb to the deck and found the boy.
"Nothing on deck!" reported the boy after a quick look around. "I'll look in the cabins below.
The father made a quick scan of the deck, but like his son, did not find anything of value. He went towards the aft side of the boat and saw ropes tied to the rusted railing. Along the side, he could just read some letters scratched on the wood: A Y U D E M E
Instinctively, his eyes followed the rope that led to a corner that was partly hidden from view. What he saw caused him to gasp in shock. Tied to the end of the rope were the remains of a man in the early stages of decomposition. Its sunken eyes stared at him and its mouth was wide open.
The boat suddenly rocked as a big wave reached its side, catching the father of the boy off balance. He quickly recovered his balance and went after his son, shouting the boy's name as he did so.
The door to the cabin was partly open and the father opened it wider to get inside. It was dark with just a weak ray of light streaming in from the top windows.
The boy turned his head and saw his father entering the cabin. "What do you think these are?" asked the boy as he kicked the wooden crates that were piled on the floor. He lifted the cover of the crate closest to him to peer inside. "Looks like sand or something," he said.
The father counted nine crates. He tried opening the others, but these were nailed shut. He looked around and saw a closed door leading to an inner cabin. He tried the knob and found it unlocked. Opening the door, he had to quickly cover his nose as the odor of rotting flesh filled his nostrils. It was dark so he took out a match and lit it.
The room was briefly filled with light, but it was quickly extinguished as the father of the boy let go of the match in his shock at what he saw. There were two more dead men inside the cabin, both with sunken eyes and mouths wide open. Like the remains on deck, their hands were tied with thick rope.
With a gasp, the man quickly closed the door and turned to his son. To his horror, he found his son lifted off the floor, head bent to the side and eyes looking upwards. Two red eyes glistened in the darkness from a dark figure that was holding the boy.
In panic, the father rushed towards his son and tried to attack the dark shape, but was thrown backwards across the room. Dazed, he felt the pain on his head and back as he struggled to stand up. He saw his son being lifted higher and thrown to the side like a rag doll.
The dark figure stepped into the light. It looked like an old man, but with grotesque features that could only be described as inhuman. The father of the boy struggled once more to get up and was able to crawl to the door leading to the deck. The door bursted open and the man pushed himself to crawl out. Behind him, the dark figure approached, its eyes a brighter red. Just as the man was stepping out into the light, he was yanked violently backwards and the door was shut as his muffled cries were drowned by the wind and the waves.