The Haunted Vessel of Grand Marque

The goal of the contest is to use one of the images provided as inspiration for a story about a ship wreck. I selected the image below of the scuba diver exploring an underwater shipwreck. I hope you like it!

Pixabay

It was almost nine in the morning before Travis got his things together for the day. The others had left without him. But, that was fine because he had trouble sleeping and the island winds kept him awake until morning. The sun was already in full force, and he wondered now if he should go at all.

Gathering his scuba gear, Travis boarded his boat and then headed to the sunken ship. The others would have already explored the wreckage, but Travis knew he’d regret not visiting the haunted vessel. It seemed foolish to come all this way, and not explore this famous, publicized shipwreck.

The brochures in town were filled with stories of visitors leaving the Grand Marque island scared out of their wits from the ghosts aboard the haunted ship. Travis did not believe in ghosts, so this would not happen to him. He laughed thinking about it. “Ghosts.” He scoffed.

As he approached the shipwreck, he noticed many of the locals laughing from a boat floating nearby. He could see them pulling lights from the water; an obvious attempt to scare off the tourists. He could hear the fake screams, as they replayed them, and joked with each other.

It was too bad Travis missed the show. But no matter, he would anchor his boat along the other side, so the locals wouldn’t notice him quietly slipping into the water. If he could go undetected, he could avoid the novelty side show, set up to deter the superstitious thrill seekers.

Once under the water, Travis swam to the ocean floor. The air tank on his back was full, and heavy on his back. Schools of fish circled around him, curious to see if he was edible. He waved them aside as he searched for the entrance, or an open hole in the ship.

The ship itself was massive. It was sunken two hundred years before, and the wood of the ship was decayed and waterlogged. Travis found a hole in the bottom of the ship big enough to fit through, and then began his journey inside.

The ship was spooky, he had to give it to them. He could see the wires hooked up to the speakers set up around the bottom of the ship. The speakers were in the shape of seashells, but they were too fake and obvious to him. Further on he could see projectors, and lights. Amateurs, he thought.

Even if he were traveling with the tourist group, this novice performance wouldn’t have amused Travis much. He had explored almost every sunken ship in the ocean, and he had yet to see one genuine haunted ship. There was a ship near the Bermuda Triangle that gave him the chills, but that was one time.

As he made his way to the back of the ship he heard an eerie whistle. The same high-pitched sound repeatedly echoed in his ears. Travis stopped to listen. It didn’t sound like a recording; more like a cry from something he’d never encountered. The sound boomed louder and closer. So close that he could have sworn someone, or something was quickly approaching.

Travis felt a wave push past him, and the whistle immediately stopped. He backed up a few feet, stumbling backwards; losing his balance. Reaching behind him he felt a metal pipe attached to the wall. Trying his best to remain upright, he caught himself. But, when he did this, the pipe moved and beside him the panel of the wall opened.

Travis looked around him; attempting to find the culprit with the brass to try and scare him. But, no one was there. Travis let out a relieved sigh. He was alone in the darkness. He felt for his flashlight that had fallen to the ground. Finding it, he quickly switched it on again.

Travis was still not sure if this was a set-up by the locals, or if he had just discovered a hidden panel. Regardless he felt a new feeling of curiosity; immediately willing to search. He slowly swam through the opening and could see a dark hallway leading to the back of the ship. As he was venturing through the corridor, he heard the panel shut loudly behind him.

Jolted, he turned around and flashed the light to see. Now he knew this had to be a trick. The locals must have spotted his boat, were wise enough to know he was exploring the ship and were playing a prank to scare him.

Unfortunately for them, Travis was not easily scared. If they wanted to play games, he would oblige them. He ignored the fact that he was swimming away from the only exit he knew and entertained the thought of solving the mystery of the supposed ghost.

The hallway went on for the length of the ship. He could see the back of the ship ahead, and had found no doors, or openings since he began exploring. As he swam closer, a ladder came into view. He felt some relief, but still checked the oxygen level on his tank.

Flashing the light to the ceiling, he could see a trap door. He carefully used the ladder to swim to the top and then attempted to open the door. With some effort, the door released its grasp and Travis was able to push the door open. He swam up through the door into yet another hidden compartment.

As he swam he could see that the water began to level, and that the room was no longer under water. Travis placed his feet on the ground and walked out of the water to what seemed to be a private chamber. There was a desk against the side wall. He could tell this had been the desk of the captain, or an officer who was high-ranking.

Travis took off his scuba mask and took a closer look at the space. Beside the desk was a file cabinet. He tried to open it to look inside but the drawers were locked. As he was searching the desk for a key he heard a faint voice. “Beware. The treasures you seek will take your life. Turn back now. Turn back now…. Turn back now.”

Travis stood completely still; dropping the papers he had in his hands back on to the desk. “Treasures?” He said, more to himself than to this mysterious voice he still assumed was sent by way of intercom.

But before the voice could answer, another door from across the room opened on its own.

Travis wanted to listen to his gut feeling that told him to get the hell out of Dodge, but his curiosity got the best of him. He needed to find a way out of this ship, and the only way he could see was to go forward. Against his better judgement, he walked cautiously through the door; trying his best to light the great darkness.

What he found in this room made him stop in his tracks. The room was filled with more treasure than he’d seen on the history channel. The legend of this ship was that the ghosts guarded a treasure, but Travis thought it only as ploy to attract the tourists gullible enough to believe such things.

To his surprise, the legend of the treasure was true. Before he could even think of taking one gold coin from the floor, he noticed the bones. Looking down at his feet, he could see that the floor was littered with the human remains. Taken off guard, Travis shuffled backwards; kicking an abandoned skull that rolled across the floor.

Travis felt a presence in the room.

Looking up, he shined the light to reveal the keeper of the ship. An old man stood in front of him with wrinkled, sunken eyes; wearing a captain’s hat. Travis could feel his heart stop. The ghost let out a horrid scream. Travis clutched his chest and fell to his knees.

The ghost laughed.

From up above, the locals were counting their money when they heard the laughter. They looked at each other for a moment, before heading back to shore, never to return.

The End

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