Prophecy of Heaven - Chapter Five

Chapter Five1

Hawk-eye2

"Deliver this as soon as you can," Lyhavien's mother said, handing the mailman the letter that Lyhavien had written in reply to Norriul's letter. The mailman nodded his head. Norriul's ship, the Explorer, would be stopping at a small town soon, if all was going according to plan. There the passengers would get mail and supplies. Lyhavien's mother went back inside and the mailman walked down the street. He picked up more and more letters. Most going to passengers of the Explorer. A few hours later he had a bag's worth of letters. As he was counting how many letters he had to deliver and looked to see where they were going to be delivered to, Lyhavien's letter slipped between his fingers. The mailman reached out for it, but it was carried away by the wind. Never to be seen of again, or so the mailman thought.3

The young man brushed his golden-colored hair from his face and opened his eyes. Hawk-eye was his nickname. His best friend had told him that his brownish-yellow eyes were like that of a hawk. Though there were other reasons for the odd nickname too. It was morning. They had landed at a town a few days ago, where he had sent the letter he wrote to Lyhavien. But the town they had been at was far of course. They were like helpless victims. In the hands of the mercy of the ocean. Hawk-eye wondered if he'd ever see Lyhavien again. He sat up and looked around. All the bunks were filled. Most of the passengers were still asleep. The ship was big. It was very sophisticated from the outside, but the inside of the ship was plain and simple. The ship smelled much better now though. When they had landed they took the opportunity to clean the ship. They hadn't seen land in a long time and most people didn't clean up after themselves. So a few days before they arrived on land, the stench was almost unbarable. Hawk-eye had slept on the dock just to avoid the smell of the passenger area. There had been some rotten food on board before. Which made the smell even worse. But eventually that was thrown into the ocean. Hawk-eye got up and climbed onto the dock. The captain was awake, he looked troubled, deep in thought. He was smoking a pipe. Hawk-eye went to the head of the ship and looked out at the sea. He could still see no land. Just endless stretches of water. Will I get out of this alive? He wondered. By now, they were so far off course they didn't even know where they'd be once they found land again. Unless by some chance they were blown north in the direction they were supposed to be going in, then when they found land again, they'd be lost.4

Later in the day, Hawk-eye avoided going down below. He would do anything to avoid the weeping, the arguing and the smell there was down there. Nobody seemed to mind. Most of the sailors ignored him, like he wasn't there. Even from there, Hawk-eye could hear a child's whining coming from below. He tried to block it out and listen to the sound of the ocean and the wind instead. That's when he overheard two sailors talking nearby. "You mark my words, there'll be a storm tonight."5

"You sure?"6

"I sure am. And it'll be shakin' this ship. We're all in trouble."7

"You must be wrong. How can you see that in a bunch o' clouds?"8

"I just can."9

The sailor laughed. "You're just kiddin' me. You ain't serious."10

The other sailor shook his head. "Believe me, I wish I were kiddin' you. But I ain't. I ain't gonna live through this. Neither is you."11

"Ey, that ain't funny."12

"Ain't tryin' to be." The other replied. The sailor walked away, leaving the man he was talking to alone.13

"I-I-I ain't gonna die!" The man cried in despair. He claimed not to believe what his fellow sailor said, but yet there was fear shaking his voice. Hawk-eye watched, but he had no opinion, he didn't know what to think. But as if to tell him what he should think, as he turned to face the ocean again, a drop of rain fell onto his nose. That was when he knew the man was right. There would be a storm.14

Lyhavien had Benadonian slow down and then, eventually stop. "This will be good for the night, don't you think?" He asked the horse. Benadonian neighed lowly and laid down. "Tired, boy?" He asked as he patted Benadonian. Angel jumped off Benadonian's back and went off to explore. She was smelling so many different scents in one day, just this one place alone had many new scents. She didn't know where to start sniffing! Lyhavien roped Benadonian to a tree and then went to follow Angel so she wouldn't get lost. He picked up all the branches on the forest floor that he knew would be good firewood. When he thought he had enough he clucked to Angel and headed back to Benadonian. He started a fire and sat close to it, glad for the warmth it offered. Angel curled up next to Lyhavien and Benadonian was eating grass. Lyhavien looked in the basket his mother had given him and took out two carrots. Angel wasn't hungry because Lyhavien had given her some food while they were riding. Lyhavien offered one of the carrots to Benadonian, who took it happily. Lyhavien ate the other one himself. After he ate the carrot he brought out a blanket and laid it on the floor. Then brought out another to lay on top of himself. He was just about to close his eyes when he saw Alitia.15

"Hello, Lyhavien."16

"Mmhmm," Lyhavien said tiredly, with drooping eyes.17

"You will grow used to long days full of riding soon enough I should think. This is only a small part of the journey ahead of you."18

Lyhavien nodded his head. "Why must I do this?" He asked right as his eyes became to heavy and closed against his will. But he was too sleepy to fight it.19

"Because," Alitia said, "it is the prophecy of the angels."20

"Get below, boy!" The captain cried. Hawk-eye was holding onto the rail for dear life. The ship was swaying to and fro, the waves were raging and the wind was fierce. Hawk-eye wanted to go below deck for once since the beginning of the trip, but he knew he wouldn't be able to make it there without being knocked off the ship.21

"I can't!" Hawk-eye replied and hugged the rail, hoping it would not come loose and give away. The deck was soaking wet, making it very slippery. Hawk-eye attempted to try to go down below but his shoe slipped as soon as he tried to stand up. "It's impossible!" He said. The waves were tossing them around like a beachball. All the swaying and sudden jerks made Hawk-eye feel ill. But he knew that if he let go of the rail, he would die. He squeezed his eyes shut and held on to the rail with all his might. His arms were growing tired and sore--but still he held on. He kept hoping it would end, but to him it lasted forever. The wind whipped in his ears and the waves crashed into the ship and sent water flowing onto the deck. Sailors tried to bucket out all the water but after awhile they gave up.22

"Man overboard!" A sailor yelled.23

"There's nothin' we can do about it!" Another yelled back. One sailor broke into bitter tears as he held onto the rail mumbling words that Hawk-eye couldn't hear.24

"R-r-rock ahead, captain!" A sailor managed to say.25

"Oh, god. Please, no." Hawk-eye heard the captain mumble. Hawk-eye knew then, at that moment, that his life was over. Hawk-eye opened his eyes to look out into the ocean. There! In the distance, he saw an island. But he knew he'd never be able to make it there. He heard some of the sailors curse and mutter under their breath. Hawk-eye couldn't breath, as if he had forgotten how to. He just stared at the huge rock that was coming closer by the minute. A few of the sailors started to sob as they neared it and a few others jumped overboard. The captain watched all of this with a heart full of grief. Now the 'rock' seemed like a mountain to Hawk-eye. It was but 12 feet away now. He looked up at it, full of awe and terror. Suddenly, a wave came, it was much higher than the ship. It crashed into the ship and most of the water went flying over to the other side of the ship. Despite how hard Hawk-eye tried to grip the rail, the water made the rail slippery and he was so sore, he couldn't hold on anymore. His hands gave away and when the water fell back into the sea, Hawk-eye went too.26

The captain watched as Hawk-eye was swept away by the wave. Sometimes stabbed at the captain's heart. He was in such a terrified state, watching his ship and all his men--all helpless against the power of the ocean. He looked up, the last few moments that his heart would be beating were passing now. He gasped as he looked up at the mountain that his ship was about to hit. There, rested on top he thought he saw an angel. She had a glowing brilliance and she was weeping. Two other angels, that had dim, grey, dull auras were by her side. One held one of her wings in his hand and the other held her other wing. That was the last thing that the captain saw. Then the ship crashed into the pointed edge of the mountain. The wood cracked and shattered, sounding like a paper boat being smashed under the foot of a man. Water seeped into the holes, and in moments the ship was sinking. The captain could hear the screams and crying of the people below, but there was nothing he could do for them now. He sat as high in the ship as he could, until that too sunk. He went down with the ship, where he drowned.27