Gray horizon

Gray Horizon Matt Allen Drake rubbed his eyes and stretched out of bed. The early morning doughnuts and coffee called to him from the kitchen. He went downstairs and saw his parents already eating. As he passed the counter, Drake grabbed a doughnut.

“Honey, spirits aren't stealing your grass clippings!” his mom announced.

Drakes mom was a medium which meant she could talk to dead people. Of course, his dad was terrified of ghosts and wanted nothing to do do with any spirits at all. He even made her rent out an apartment to do her readings in.

“I’m telling you, I leave the grass in bags on the side of the house and then its gone the next day,” Drakes dad argued back.

“Hey guys,” Drake interrupted.

“Yes, Drake,” his mom answered.

“Can I take the boat out by myself maybe sometime?”

“No,” his parents said simultaneously.

“See that was those damn spirits!” his dad yelled.

“Shut up, Bill,” his mom said before going back to eating her doughnut.

Drake knew this was the end of it for them but not for him...

The door came to a shut after his parents had gone on their usual bike ride and Drake ran to the phone. His hands were sweaty and he was excited. He was going to take out the boat. He quickly dialed his friends who were at their beach houses too. Twenty minutes later his friends were on the bulkhead and filing onto the boat. Drake was the captain and everybody knew that. Drake had a commanding

presence and was not exactly the hardest person to piss off. Drake and ten others were the almighty crew of the Sea Hag. The sail’s brilliant white color lit up against the the grey sky. One of his friends told Drake that they should not go out but he wouldn't listen. They sailed into the stormy horizon. Drake climbed down into the captain's quarters and sat down on the fluffy couch. Armon, his friend who also had a boat at his beach house was steering and giving orders. Armon had warned Drake about the skies.

The first raindrops hit the windows of the captains quarters. Armon rushed in the quarters to see drake asleep.

“Drake,” Armon yelled over the wind. The storm had escalated faster than they had thought.

“What i- is that s-. Is that the storm!” Drake screamed and rushed out.

They had bigger problems than just getting wet. Amy and Jen were trying to pull Kathy, who had fallen over board, back onto the boat. Rishi, Boe, Greg, and John were trying to adjust the sail which had a hole in it and the ropes were coming loose. Finally, Clyde was steering the ship for Armon. Drake immediately took over steering and started yelling out orders. Kathy was put into the captain's quarters with Amy and a first aid kit. Jen, Armon, and Clyde went to help with the sail. The skies were the darkest of gray. Drake knew they were sailing through a monsoon.

“The current is too strong for us to get out of it. We’ll have to just wait it out and try to manage,” Drake cried out. “Fold up the sail we have to go with the current or we’ll just get pulled in more.”

They followed Drakes orders and the speed of the boat heightened.

Suddenly, the boat came to a jolting stop that came with a crunching sound that threw Drake off of his post into the blackening ocean.

Drake suddenly woke up on a beach with the remains of his boat on a rock and the others sitting beside him trying to find food and make shelter.

“How long were we here for?” Drake asked.

“About a day maybe,” Armon explained.

“I was asleep... for a day!” Drake yelled with his parched mouth.

“Ya pretty much,” Armon answered.

Then Kathy pointed out something in the sky. It was a helicopter! They were being rescued.

One year after the incident, everything and everyone was fine. They had been rescued and the remains of the Sea Hag still lay on that rock. Sometimes Drake and his family go and see it just for fun and Drake gives them a tour of the island. They all knew never to sail in a storm again. The incident was over and fine but sometimes Drake still had the nightmares of the crash and always thought back to that day... a war between him and the ocean