The Wave Sculpture

 

You know the sculpture is meant to look like the elegant curves of a wave, but something about it disturbs you. You wonder where this supposed treasure might be. Underneath the wave? Inside of it?

You take a moment to walk around the sculpture, reading the interesting excerpts about Sandgate’s history. You do a full circuit, absorbing the quotes, admiring the little fish in the concrete seemingly swimming out to sea. Hold on a moment. No, it wasn’t your imagination. The fish are moving. They’re swimming fast, swimming away from something…

You see a shadow move above you, and you look back up at the sculpture. Only it’s no longer a sculpture. The curls of the wave were actually long black tentacles—the tentacles of a monster squid that’s now rising up from the concrete. You watch in horror as the squid emerges fully from its hidden disguise. It’s enormous, bigger than the Baptist Church across the road.

You’ve got many tools inside your trunk to fight ghosts, but giant squids? You’re ill-prepared for this. You shut your eyes and wait for your impending doom as the squid raises a long tentacle to swipe at you…

But the blow never comes. Instead, you hear a horn ring out and you open your eyes to see the Bramble Spirit docked on shore. From its deck tumbles a crew of ghostly sailors, armed with bayonets and bricks and large hooks to fight the squid with.

You’ve been wrong about the whole case. The curse on Sandgate wasn’t from the Bramble Spirit. It was from the dormant killer squid, biding its time until it rose from the deep. And the Bramble Spirit has come to save the day.

The ghostly sailors are fighting hard, but you pull out your tools anyway (crystals, herbs and books mostly) and start pelting them at the squid too. The fight rages—you get slapped in the face by a tentacle and knocked hard to the ground.

But you’re on the winning side. Eventually, with a long horrible shriek, the giant squid collapses and sinks back into the ground. The fish in the concrete settle once more. The ghosts of the Bramble Spirit relax.

A triumphant Captain William Hunter emerges from the crew. He extends a transparent hand to pull you up, but it’s like touching smoke.

‘Well fought,’ Captain Hunter tells you. ‘Thanks for your help.’

‘Did you know about this all along?’ you ask. ‘Is that why you’ve been hanging around the Bay?’

Captain Hunter bows his head. ‘Back in my life, I did some things I wasn’t proud of. I wanted to repay my debt by saving Sandgate.’

You clap the Captain on the shoulder, again meeting thin air.

‘The debt is repaid,’ you tell him.

Captain Hunter smiles. ‘We’ll be off then, lads,’ he yells to the crew. ‘Until next time.’

Until next time Sandgate needs saving, you tell yourself. You’re glad to know you’ve got a ghostly sea-army out there, sailing the water, protecting Sandgate just like you do.

END.