A week later, Mr. and Ms. Plantagenet, owners of a large investment company named after themselves, were on their yacht with some wealthy friends on a California shore. The yacht was tied to the pier, and all the people aboard had each already had several drinks.
“I’m so glad the stock market crash didn’t affect any of us, Tom,” a female guest said to Mr. Plantagenet.
“That’s because, due to our ability to pull the strings of the banks and the federal government, we could prevent the stock market crash from affecting us,” Tom said.
All the guests chuckled.
“A phone call here, an email there, and our representatives can bail out anyone we need them to,” Ms. Plantagenet said.
“That’s so reassuring, Donna,” a male guest said to Ms. Plantagenet. “Since my company was one of the ones that needed a bailout.”
“As Donna and I know, let the common people suffer under the bad economy, not us,” Tom said.
The rope that moored the yacht was loosening and untying…all by itself.
“I agree, Tom,” the male guest said. “The masses are not our problem.”
“Hear, hear,” Tom said. All the guests clinked their champagne glasses together.
“If the masses don’t want to suffer, they should lay off the drugs and stop wasting money on non-essentials,” Donna said.
“Agreed,” the others said together.
The boat was drifting into the ocean, though everyone was too caught up in the conversation to notice.
“A most annoying thing happened to us while at work today, you know,” Tom said.
“Oh, and what was that?” the male guest asked.
“A bunch of university students were protesting in front of our building this morning, can you believe that?” Donna said with a sneer.
“Protesting about what?” the female guest asked.
“Oh, the usual bullshit,” Tom grunted as he had his glass refilled. “We’ve too much influence on the banks and the government, we have too much money and they have too little, all that crap.”
The other guests groaned in annoyance.
“What did you do about it?” another guest asked.
“We called the cops and got rid of them, of course,” Donna said. “A few of the long-haired young men resisted arrest, so the cops beat them.”
“Served the bastards right,” Tom said.
“Oh, definitely,” the third guest said.
Finally, one of them looked out at the water. “Where are we?” she asked.
“What do you mean, ‘where are we’?” Tom asked, then looked out at the ocean. “What?”
Everyone was looking out at the water now.
The pier and shore were nowhere in sight.
The sun had set. Clouds were covering the moon and stars. The guests had only the yacht’s electricity for light. Worried murmurs were heard.
“Derrick?” Donna called out to a staff member. “Radio the Yacht Club onshore. Ask for help.”
“Yes, Donna,” Derrick said, then went off to do it.
Heavy gusts of wind started blowing. The waves were rocking the yacht. Drinks were spilt.
“Dammit!” one of the guests yelled at the stain on her dress. “You!” she shouted at one of the female staff. “Come with me and help me clean this!” They left for the washroom.
The wind and rocking of the yacht continued; it was getting more intense. It also started to rain.
“Oh, no!” Donna said. “Derrick, have you contacted the Yacht Club? What did they say?”
“There’s something wrong with the radio,” he said. “I can’t get any connection with the shore. I tried and tried, but I couldn’t.”
“What are we going to do?” a guest said. “It’s looking like a storm out there!”
A sudden crack of thunder startled everyone.
A flash of lightning scared them even more.
The rain was splashing down. The rocking of the yacht was giving everyone the feeling of a real possibility of capsizing. Everyone onboard was panicking.
Derrick looked out on the water. He blinked and looked again. When the lightning flashed and provided some brief light, he was sure he saw a man’s bearded face among the waves. Apart from the moving of the waves distorting the image, it was as precise as a photograph. The face looked malevolent.
I haven’t had a drop of booze tonight, he thought. No pot, no LSD. And I never hallucinate.
Suddenly, there were bumping, crunching, and snapping sounds, as well as several great jerks as the yacht hit a rock.
The screaming got louder as the yacht was sinking. Everyone was trying to hang onto something to stay above the water, but only the staff managed to do so. Tom, Donna, and all their guests went straight underwater; it felt as though watery arms were pulling them all down. Some of them thought they actually saw and felt watery arms grabbing their bodies.
Before they all passed out, the last thing they saw, because of a few more lightning flashes, was that same bearded, scowling face among the shadows of the deep.
Hardly a second passed by since the last of the rich drowned, then the storm ended. The stars and the moon reappeared, restoring some light to the scene. The staff, hanging onto pieces of the broken yacht or to the huge rock it had smashed into, saw a boat approaching. A light from the boat shone on them. The staff cheered at their rescuers.
As they got on the boat, a few of them, including Derrick, looked into the water, and with the light from the boat shining out onto the water, they saw that bearded face. Their eyes all widened.
This time, the face was smiling.
Infinite Ocean 