The sun was setting on the horizon. Yellow mixed with blue, combined with the pink and purple clouds made it look like an artist’s canvas. It seemed like the perfect evening. Our sailboat cut through the water, moving towards Eastbrook with ease.

Aiden, my shipmate, had just pulled the last sail into place. He quickly tied the rope to a nearby cleat. As he did, the wind caught the sail, causing us to pick up more speed. Aiden and I were a team. On most evenings, we gave sunset sails for tourists who came to Eastbrook for their summer vacation. On this evening, we had been sent on a mission. Our assignment? Sail over to Boneyard Island to pick up two boxes that were to be dropped off at Mulberry Manor.

Boneyard Island. The very name sounds creepy, doesn’t it? Of course it does. That’s because it was once home to a band of pirates who used to patrol these waters. Looking for any ships that they could rob and plunder. The pirates had buried their treasure in unknown locations throughout. It was not uncommon to hear about treasure hunters venturing over there, looking for hidden gold. Some of the time, they did find a prize to bring back home.

On one occasion, Aiden and I did our own excursion to the island. We spent the night, but the reputation of the island being haunted did not make for a pleasant stay. There was an abandoned house, not far from the shore. We slept in that place after the sun went down. The only lights we had were our lanterns that we had brought from the ship. It was eerie, exploring that house. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere. Every door that we opened, I was sure that we were going to find some gruesome horror, like in the tale of Bluebeard. Despite my fears, most of the rooms were empty.

We found one mattress to share for sleeping. I found myself hugging Aiden tight as every shadow that creeped over the ceiling made me cringe in fear. I thought that Aiden would be freaked out about me holding him. He never said a word and he didn’t’ seem to mind. Maybe he had the same thought that I did, because it reminded me of the story of Ishmael and Queequeg in Moby Dick. Being sailors, it was one of our favorite books.

Ishmael, meaning the outcast. Did I forget to mention that’s my name? It certainly seemed a fitting one. My family was the only Muslim family in Eastbrook. Some people regarded us with suspicion and didn’t have much to do with us. I did have a few friends, nonetheless. I met Aiden in trigonometry class. Trigonometry was a difficult subject for me, but Aiden had no trouble. I was always asking him for help, and over the course of our tutoring sessions, we became good friends.

This was my second summer working with Aiden. Last summer had been so much fun that I couldn’t resist the opportunity to return for a second season. The patrons usually left big tips, so it was easy to clear a couple of hundred bucks in an evening. Sometimes, we took our money and hung out at the amusement park after we were done working.

A couple of weeks ago, Aiden and I decided to end the evening by spending some playing arcade games and riding rides. Our last activity of the evening was riding the haunted house at the end of the boardwalk. You know, the one with the pretzel cars that go around an electric track? We had just exited the ride when we saw an old gentleman with a cane coming towards us. I thought that I had spotted him several times that evening, and it suddenly occurred to me that he may have been following us.

“Are you boys looking to make some extra dough?”, he asked in a rough, scratchy voice.

He smelled of smoke and liquor. With his right hand, he put a cigarette up to his lips and inhaled. The red glow from the cigarette caused his irises to look red. Just like he had come from the pit of hell. After he had puffed the last of the cigarette, he threw it down on the ground and crushed the remains under his boot.

“Name’s Jensen,” he said extending his hand. “Word around town is that you have a boat,” he said, looking towards Aiden.

“That’s right,” said Aiden, returning the handshake.

I could tell that this guy was freaking Aiden out, too.

“If you boys would like to make some money, I’ve got a little errand for you,” he said with a smirk.

“What’s the job?”, I asked, before Aiden could open his mouth.

“There were a couple of crates that were dropped off at Boneyard Island yesterday. Need you boys to take your boat, pick them up, and then take them to Mulberry house. It’ll be a thousand-dollar payday. You boys could split the money.”

Mulberry house. Those words creeped me out more than Boneyard Island. Our house was only a couple of blocks away from Mulberry place, and I always avoided walking there by any means possible.

A couple of years ago, on Halloween, I went out with a group of friends for trick or treat. It was an awesome evening, until three or four of them decided to sneak onto the property. I told them that I would not go with them under any circumstances.

“Oh, come on, don’t be such a wimp,” said Tim with a laugh. “Besides, it might help you to score with a girl.”

“How about I just watch all of your stuff,” I responded back.

Tim was obsessed with girls. No telling how many he had laid. I hadn’t even had my first kiss yet.

“Come on, just leave him alone,” said Tyra. “If he watches our stuff, we can be sure no one will steal all of our candy.”

This helped Tim to lay off.

After a little more discussion, it was decided. I would stay near the front gate, while they took their flashlights to explore. I was to give them twenty minutes, no more. If more than twenty minutes passed, I would come looking for them to make sure they were O.K.

“You guys have your cell phones, right?”, I asked.

“Yeah,” said Tim. “We can always text you if something goes awry.”

With that, Tim, Tyra, Crystal, and Jeb opened the rusty gate and walked through. I sat down on the sidewalk, the bags of candy surrounding me. I dressed as a pirate this year, and it seemed sad that I was missing out on this treasure hunt. Still, I was a bit nervous about sneaking into Mulberry place. Not only was I apprehensive about it being haunted, but what if we were arrested for trespassing? My strict father would ground me for life.

In about ten minutes, I got a text from Crystal.

Hey, Ish. We found a small graveyard near the back of the house. None of the tombstones are marked, so we don’t know who is buried here. Tim wants to sneak into the storm cellar. He suggests we explore the house to see if any ghosts walk behind these walls.

Shortly thereafter, I heard someone screaming. I jumped up from where I was sitting and listened to see if I could hear anything else. Maybe that had just been my imagination. I looked through the gate, and I could see the flicker of flashlights getting closer. In just another minute, Tim, Crystal, Tyra, and Jeb ran through the gate. They were all out of breath.

“It was him,” Tim said, after he had a chance to catch his wind.

“Who?”, I asked.

“Old man Vincent. I went upstairs to explore the upper rooms. The one at the end of the upper hallway must have been his bedroom. I looked around for a minute, and then I felt an evil presence behind me. I turned around and there he was. Sitting in a rocking chair in the corner. I screamed and ran down the stairs. I kept looking behind me, sure that I was being followed, but there was no one there,” he said with a shaky voice.

“And look,” said Tyra. “I found this.”

She held up a medallion hung on a gold chain. It was in the shape of a pentagram. The medallion had red ruby stones that surrounded a goat’s head in the center. Even though I was not of the Christian persuasion, the thing creeped me out. I didn’t want to touch it.

“I’m keeping it,” said Tyra. “Little piece to prove we were here.”

I never spoke about the incident to anyone else but Aiden. Aiden didn’t like Mulberry Manor any more than I did, and I was pretty sure he wasn’t crazy about dropping these crates off in the basement after dark.

We loaded the crates onto the boat at 8 pm. The crates had been left in the abandoned house near the shore. You know, the one Aiden and I spent the night in?

“Who the hell delivered these?”, I asked.

“No idea,” said Aiden.

The crates were heavy and cold to touch. We had to take several breaks on getting them from the house and onto the boat. The last crate we carried seemed a little heavier than the other one. Almost as if there were…something extra inside.

We didn’t stick around after we had picked up our load. In fact, I kept looking back at the boxes to make sure that they hadn’t moved. Technically speaking, I knew that they were heavy, and it was unlikely that they would move on their own. A few glances back told me that I was correct.

I looked down at my watch. Eight-thirty pm. The last bit of sun hovered just above the blue water. I watched as the remaining circle got smaller until eventually, it was gone. We pulled down the sails and tied the ropes. The lights of Eastbrook were in view as we got ready to start the motor and go into the docks.

Suddenly, we heard thunder in the distance. Flashes of lightning lit up the clouds. A storm was coming, and it was coming quickly. In fact, the storm clouds were moving at rapid speed, as if being commanded by a supernatural force.

There were a few more claps of thunder, followed by more lightning.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I looked over at the crates. One of them had shuffled out of place. No way. The banging must be coming from inside of it. Oh fuck.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

This time I saw the crate move with my own eyes. Aiden ran to me, eyes wide with horror.

“Ish! Ish! What the hell is going on?”, he asked, with panic in his voice.

“No idea,” I responded.

I moved closer to the box and put an ear up to the wood. As l listened closely, it sounded as if there were something growling inside. Aiden had picked up a crowbar and held it across his chest defensively.

In the next moment, there was a ripping sound. Something had torn through the wood on the top of the box. As I continued to stare at the gaping hole, a claw with long, sharp nails emerged. Nails that were like razors. There was another ripping sound as the creature climbed out of the box and onto the ship.

It was hard to make out its features in the darkness. Lightning flashed again, giving us a momentary glimpse of the horror that stood before us. It had scaly skin with wings that were now fully opened, making it look like a giant, human sized bat. Sharp, razor- like teeth protruded over its lips. One word came to my mind. Vampire.

Aiden screamed and swung the crowbar with all his might, but the creature was too swift for him. It caught the crowbar and tossed it into the water. Frantically, I looked for anything else we might use as a defense.

I delayed too long. The creature had been eyeing Aiden, and before I could take another breath, it was on top of him. The scream that pierced the air curdled my blood. The monster had penetrated Aiden’s throat with its teeth. Aiden arched his back, as the bat-like thing held Aiden in its arms like a lover. I could see its throat moving as it drained Aiden’s life blood away.

Wait. What was that over there in the corner? Whatever it was, it was glowing and giving off an eerie light. I moved closer to see what it was. It was a cross. Someone had dropped a necklace on the ship. It had been lying here unnoticed by anyone until now.

Why was it glowing? Was that because it had some magical power that I might use to ward off this abominable creature? Only one way to find out. I snatched up the necklace and held the cross out in front of me. The creature was still occupied with Aiden, so I crept quietly behind, and placed the metal cross onto the creature’s neck. There was a hissing, crackling sound as the cross contacted its skin.

The creature backed away from Aiden and howled in pain. It turned towards me, as I attempted to back away. The cross had fallen to the floor of the ship and there was no way that I could reach it now.

Suddenly, I felt pain shoot through the side of my jaw as the nails from the creature’s claw sliced through the side of my cheek. It took another swing at me, this time contacting the side of my face. The force of the blow knocked me over the side of the ship. It was the shock of hitting the water that kept me from passing out. Lucky for me, I could swim. We were about two hundred meters from shore, but I was pretty sure I could swim that far if I had to.

The storm had picked up in intensity and the waves were getting bigger. There was nothing I could do for Aiden now. It was at the vampire’s mercy. The light from the cross was still emanating from the ship’s deck, creating an eerie glow. In the ghostly light, I saw the name Persephone inscribed on the back of the boat. The waves were moving the boat further away from me, closer to the beach.

Persephone. In ancient mythology, she had been dragged to the underworld and became the spouse of Hades. Persephone. Bringer of destruction. I prayed to Allah that he would protect the people of our town. Prayer was our only hope.