Six Feet Underneath

I awoke with a glistening light in my face. A flamingo colour painted the sky, making for a beautiful sunrise. The sun brought some happiness after so much sorrow. I raised my arm to block the sun's rays as I saw a figure approaching; it was the medic.

"Hello Gregory, do you know where you are?"

"I am...in the...jungle?" I replied, hoping I was right.

The medic nodded in agreement and proceeded to check my wounds. He undid the bandages that were now stained red and took a look at my leg. I still saw a deep cut, but it seemed better.

"The wound seems to be healing, which is a great sign. I will-" the medic said, right before I cut him off.

"Richard, right? your name is Richard?" I said, remembering back to when I was recruiting him.

"Yes, it is. You remember things, that's good," he replied, with a smile spreading across his face.

I swallowed and said: "How is the crew? Are they okay?"

"They aren't dealing with the loss that well, but besides that, they're alright," he said while wrapping my injury with a clean cloth.

"Robert will be happy to know you're well," said Richard, finishing off the bandage with a knot.

"Yes, indeed he will," I responded, blankly staring at the heavens.

"How many.....did we lose?" I said, turning my focus to Richard.

"Too many. Let's not lose one more, get some rest,"

Richard left my side to attend to other crewmen in need. My eyes fixated onto another person coming towards me. As the image became clear, I saw Robert. Hoping that we could put this morning behind us, I said: "Hello Robert, it looks like a promising day, don't you think?"

"Yes, it does. How are you?"

"I'm fine. How bout you?" I replied while switching my focus back to the morning sky.

"Great. Do you know where Mr. Spectacle is? I've been looking for him all morning," Robert said, hoping that I knew his whereabouts.

"No, I don't know where he went. Perhaps he has gone to search for the beast."

"Hmm, I don't think so," he said, with a puzzled expression.

"Imma' go look for him, okay?"

"Okay," I replied, placing my sore arms behind my head.

As Robert left, I decided to try and get some shut-eye like Richard said. "Too many, now get some rest" I remembered as I tried to fall asleep. But the more I tried, the more awake I became. It seemed as though my brain wouldn't let me sleep any longer.

"The sun's out, maybe that's why," I thought to myself as I opened my eyes. I realized that trying to sleep in daylight would be futile, so I thought about this morning.

This strange creature came and attacked us for no apparent reason. "Why?" I asked myself, hoping that somewhere deep inside my head there was an answer. It somehow took out half the crew before finally fleeing the scene. This beast was nothing short of a killer and needed to be hunted. I knew that nothing would be done to this beast as some more pressing issues were at hand.

A more puzzling thought came to mind; where was Mr. Spectacle? I hoped that he didn't have a tragic death like all the others. As far as I know, nothing of him was found; no limbs were found or glasses were crushed.

It made me wonder if Mr. Spectacle was still out there, possibly living somewhere in the unknown. "But...what if he knew this was going to happen? What if...he orchestrated this entire thing?" I thought as my brain became tired from the seemingly ludicrous ideas.

From the beginning, Mr. Spectacle seemed strange. He was happy, despite the chaos. Perhaps these were just thoughts, and my brain wasn't working right, but still, the question remained: What if?

I knew that they were ridiculous ideas, but the percentage of truth behind the mystery is what scared me. If it was true, it meant that we had the culprit amidst our ranks, controlling our every move, making sure that we were perfectly aligned for this trap. I decided that I would quit thinking about false ideas and once again try to sleep.

I managed to knock myself out and get the rest I needed. After some hours, I woke up to the sound of shovel nearby. It dug deep into the ground, and came up, piled high with red soil. I looked to my left side to see one of the crewmen digging a grave.

"Who's that for?" I asked, turning my head to the saddened fellow.

"Who do ye think? Hm? It's for all the bloody men that died. Don't you remember?" replied the crewman bluntly.

"Of course I remember, but I meant in specific."

"Really? Why would you ask that in a time like this? There are parts everywhere for god's sake! Just shut up and let me do my work, will ya?" He said, sticking his foot on his shovel so it would go deeper.

I turned my head in the other direction, trying to get away from the angry sailor. I saw three other crewmen digging holes. All depressed from the incident, I attempted to get up and help, but, I remembered that my leg was not in the best condition. I managed to stand with the help of a nearby stick.

I then walked to the central area where Robert, Richard, and Henry were sitting, sorting which part went where.

"Hey guys, can I help with something?" I said, raising my eyebrows, and hoping that they had something for me to do.

"Gregory! You're up! Great, if you can, could you help sort the bodies? I know its a gruesome job, but the others have a...how shall I put this, a connection to the poor souls?" Henry said, resting his elbow on his other arm.

"Uh...sure, where do I start?" I said, right before I got to work.

I continued helping Henry sort what was left of the men before taking them to their graves. In total, there used to be fifty men, and now, there were only twenty. The ceremony for the men had just begun, and I found a nice patch of grass to lay on, not stained by the blood of the crewmen. Henry was speaking for the entire crew.

"Today had a very tragic beginning, many of you lost your friends, and all of us lost a captain. Mr. Spectacle was a true leader in every aspect; not only a great commander but also our friend in these harsh times. He shall always be remembered along with Jeremiah and all of the other deceased victims. I know that these times are difficult, but if we fight through the pain, we will accomplish the one goal we all had in mind; saving planet Earth.

Our friends died for this cause, and if we figure this mystery out, then we can all have some relief that we did something in their names. So I ask you not only as your new leader, but as your friend, to join me and fight this horrid jungle; fight, and you shall avenge everyone you have lost," Henry said, looking at each crew member, inspiring them to continue forth with the mission.

The team cheered the new captain, and all stood up feeling encouraged. Mr. Spectacle may have been the strangest man I have ever met, but he still was an excellent captain. I smiled at Henry showing my support as he went to pack up. I stood from my sitting position and struggled my way to the center once again. I helped pack the things we needed despite my current health.

We headed off back into the dangerous jungle, all encouraged by Henry's speech. As I steadily walked further into the jungle with the help of my trusty stick, I heard a crack of thunder. A storm was coming, and I hoped we would be safe.