The Lantern

Sarah Walker departed the harbor in North Carolina with her husband Niel on their sailboat, The Either Oar.

She was basking in the Sun and enjoying the wind blowing through her hair. When Sarah tried to convey her excitement, she saw that Niel was transfixed on the tan duffle bag near the cabin. It had a secure lock on the zipper.

At sunset, the winds died out and they came to find that the engine wouldn't start and the radio was dead.

The first night, Sarah was awoken by an odd feeling. In the void, what looked like the glow of a lantern on a boat, caught her attention through the window. Niel was found at the helm, his eyes and mouth were wide open and his skin was a pale gray. She woke with a gasp.

On the second night, Sarah was awoken by the sound of something that dunked into the water. The next morning, they spotted a small plane. When Sarah went to get the flare gun, it was gone.

Each day that went by, they argued about the duffle bag, spoke less, and the paranoia set in more. Niel was like a zombie. Each night, the nightmares grew worse; the lantern drew nearer. The food and water were gone by the fourth day.

On the seventh night, Sarah was roused by the feeling of her blanket being pulled off of her. Niel gripped a corner of it with a red fist. Too weak to intervene, Sarah watched frozen in horror as a hellish creature of unknown form, with a large glowing yellow eye, snatched him from the cockpit and then floated away, just above the water. A putrid odor swept over their sailboat. Niel was turned horizontal and set atop a barge made up of corpses.