Chapter Text
Norman and Ray did not see this coming—an unexpected honeymoon spent in an unknown island—naked, frustrated and cold.
They had not known what date and what day they miraculously drifted into its coast. But they could recall that on September 1st year 2052 they sailed in a cruise ship owned by the Carlisles in the middle of the Pacific.
It was gargantuan in size on its maiden voyage and had the readiness to cater the needs of their family members and friends as they awaited the fated setting of the sun on September 3rd—the date that marked a huge turn for everyone's relations in that vessel most especially for Norman and Ray’s
It was the day the two would have binded each other in a nuptial knot.
Some people would see a wedding as a joyous or romantic occasion. But joyous or romantic never dawned on Norman and Ray when it comes to such. It was more of a business deal or fusing of powers
Their families—the Ratris and the Carlisles—have been very good friends. A camaraderie that stemmed for hundreds of years. Each family had distinct power over society and the business world. To merge the families into one by marriage of the future heads would exalt their ancestors.
They can imagine such ancestors with their ghastly faces filled by broad grins while throwing a party in the underworld so huge that even Hades would care to join and dance the tango with his Queen. The trembling, vengeful souls would bounce and twirl to an undead beat. And while they do so, Norman and Ray would feel thousands of pin pricks jabbed against their throats when they say the wedding vows they really never meant.
They’d be miserable with the business deal and fusing of powers but that’s just how it is.
It was all for their best interests as they were told.
Yet it was unbearable. The sound of the orchestra that played that day for the wedding march was a banshee-like shriek—ear splitting and incomprehensible. The walk to the isle gives off the sensation of stepping on blue molten lava that feasted on wandering souls. And the one step towards the priest was similar to a leap towards the farthest perilous joints of earth’s core.
“ We have gathered here today…to witness the union of Norman Minerva-Ratri III and Ray Charles- Carlisle ”
Their faces were dull and stony. The words had certain venom that rendered them paralyzed in an unshakeable terror inside.
Any God or any force out there that would show any mercy. Undo this fate? Their minds chanted in unison as they made eye contact. Ocean blue to steel gray eyes.
“ Do you, Norman Minerva-Ratri III take Ray Charles-Carlisle as your lawful wedded husband. To love and to hold. For richer and for poorer in sickness and in health till death do you part?”
‘I don’t’ said his mind. Then he felt that intense gaze bore on him. At the crowd, his father, James Ratri sat. There and then he came back to that boy again. The devoted one. Norman can’t disappoint him. He’ll have to be a perfect son.
“ I do”
Ray’s frown that day could’ve killed everyone on that ship if logic of the world would permit. When will Norman ever defy that father of his?
“ Do you, Ray Charles-Carlisle take Norman Minerva-Ratri III as your lawful wedded husband. To love and to hold. For richer and for poorer in sickness and in health till death do you part?”
‘Over my damned dead rotting body!!!’ His furious psych screamed. And then he felt it. A chill that crept upon his spine. At the crowd, his mother, Isabella Carlisle, flashed them both that calm countenance. To many it may be harmless but not the people who know her very well. Her gazes bore a dangerous force that cannot be taken lightly. Disobey her and Ray albeit being her only son will have a train wreck of a life. Norman will be no exception.
That day, as the sun descended down and had kissed the horizon, Norman and Ray prayed they be free from this misery.
They love each other, yes, but as inseparable brothers.
They never wanted the drastic change.
They never wanted a fate so cruel.
A fate with no freedom from the very beginning.
‘There’s no way out this...' the bitter realization that dawned on Ray. He ended up stifling his curses in the end. He gritted his teeth in frustration and opened his mouth to speak. Isabella, among the onlookers saw the surrender in her son’s eyes. A triumphant smile crossed her features.
“I—“
Then something happened, something puzzling no one would ever have foreseen at that deck. Something that somehow answered their pipe dream for freedom.
“WHIRLPOOL!!!!” screamed the entire ship’s crew
It happened in an instant. The vessel violently shuddered as a maelstrom, half a kilometer in diameter and expanding, swooped the entire ship in a swirling motion.
Everyone screamed in panic, grabbing hold of anything they could access at the area.
Then the ship tilted alarmingly and set everyone at the edge.
Children cried loudly, adults were in a frenzy of terror. And the supposed to be newlyweds landed against each other, hit their heads hard on the cold wooden floor and rolled across the deck.
Whilst the sun completely set, Isabella’s frantic scream of their names was the last they heard as the two fell to the raging waters below.
Norman let out a bitter smile as he threw the kindling to feed the puny camp fire they’ve set. The faint crackle somehow calmed his senses and slowly his mind lingered back to what had occurred an hour ago.
He had awoken to the intermingled rustling of trees and soft hum of ocean water brushing his toes. His throat was sore, lips cracked from dehydration. His body limp against the fine white sand of the island’s shore. For a moment, Norman’s blurry gaze landed on the moon that illuminated the pristine coast. His mind was completely void of thought.
Then the haze was gone a millisecond later when a strong sea breeze rendered his body shivering from the cold. He began to sit up, only to fall on his back. He suddenly remembered the sharp intake of labored breathes and his struggle to swim. The wedding, the ship, they fell and Ray was—
Panic rose, his blood ran cold. Norman quickly turned his head from left to right now hyper aware of his situation and environment before he saw his best friend less than 30 feet away and in the same state as him. His lips began to quiver and his eyes watered. Who would have thought they’d survive against the ocean’s death grip—the force that render many great ships to oblivion.
Ray was looking at him and had managed to croak out almost an inaudible sound.
“Nor…man…”
They crawled their way to each other. Their damp tuxedos—which Isabella ironed to perfection before the ceremony—was now slightly torn and covered with sand. It was no time to be conscious about a dead woman’s handiwork though. Every muscle in their bodies ached and protested but they both yearned to see if this was no illusion. Eventually they had grabbed on each other’s shoulders and began to sigh in relief.
Ray tried to clear his throat and said “water…”
They lay shoulder to shoulder for a moment before attempting to sit up and stand. The first few attempts was futile but they manage to wobble and straighten their posture. Their eyes then landed on the thick forest up ahead. Ray pointed at it and Norman nodded.
As children they joined summer camps—Ray deemed it essential for survival—and learned a thing or two about searching for fresh water. Their experience paid off as half an hour later a stream came to view. They practically scrambled and stumbled on the water to quench their thirst.
Afterwards they began to dismantle all of their clothing. Norman and Ray weren’t so much as embarrassed by such an act. Seeing each other naked from boyhood to the present is like a daily routine. Plus they do not want to risk hypothermia in the middle of nowhere.
Ray had removed his top and unzipped his pants when he saw an object poking out of the pocket. He looked at it in wonder before a knowing look graced his features. He gasped and quickly called out to Norman.
“ Our ticket out!” Ray exclaimed with a wide grin as he hoisted his find up in the air.
It was a Morse pen. A pen designed by the Ratris and created by the Carlisles with their sophisticated engineering. It tells coordinates of any area in the world—may it be miniscule—and was used widely to ease travelling. With such an object, no one would get lost with its unmatched accuracy and life-ready make up.
To see such a thing brought out a smile from a naked Norman and his mind was at ease.
They hastily twisted and pulled the pen lid to reveal the island’s coordinates.
Their smiles faltered just as soon as they came.
‘Unknown’. No coordinates on the hologram. At first they thought it was broken but a clear inspection for any defects told them otherwise.
Alarms went off their heads. Just where is this place if the pen can’t tell?
The anxiety hang thick in the air. They could feel it creeping in their bones, crashing them towards the cruel realization that they are in fact stranded and will be forgotten in this deserted island.
Their minds contemplated the next move as they absently hanged their clothes on a lush bush, nestled themselves on a spot a few paces from the stream and rubbed stones to set ablaze the dried leaves they have gathered.
Once the fire had started, they huddled close. Only the forest let out its usual nocturnal racket for a while.
“ Isn’t this terrific Norman? Here we are naked, frustrated and freezing on our supposed to be wedding night. Our relatives are probably bloated and feasted upon by fishes somewhere.”
Ray let out an evil chuckle as he began to break the tense silence that engulfed them both.
“ Serves them right for forcing things upon us they couldn’t do themselves. Damn selfish pricks.”
As he rumbled, a memory he buried suddenly popped in his head. A time when Isabella pointed a gun at the girl he had loved and pulled the trigger. He found a sadistic pleasure of seeing his own mother rot to the abyssal ocean depths suddenly but before his morbid thoughts could go any further, the spell was broken when Norman began to speak
“Let’s build a boat and head right back to civilization”
The idea of building a boat and set sail to unchartered waters where a Morse pen couldn’t even monitor is as grim and risky as walking blind folded on a string atop pointed sharp rocks below a cliff. But it was better than not trying. Ray mused and sighed.
“ Well then, first thing tomorrow let’s scour this whole island and look for any available materials we could use. I don’t feel like roaming around these woods naked and chasing boars forever if there are any.”
Norman let out a small chuckle at the image of running around like cave men in the prehistoric era.
Ray snorted and then excused himself to pee. He decided to go to the shore to look for a spot. His eyes surveying the white sand and at the rocks partly submerged by sea water. Knee deep, he estimated. He walked towards them. He was so confident with his strides, he didn’t notice a pink sea urchin despite the light that the moon provided. It sent him to his demise as he stepped on it.
He screamed
“ WHAT THE FUCK?!!!!!”
Norman was at his side in a second as he landed back first on the sand.
His bellows of curses covered quiet a distance and unbeknownst to them, it all reached a certain rock where two of the locals—having chubby cheeks and small tail fins—were currently braiding their hairs. They gasped in surprise at the sound, looked at the shore and hid under the deep waters in a flash.
“ Hey Carol… those… those were humans right?”
“ I think so… one of them sounded like a strangled sea gull though…hey… why do they have sea pens in between their legs?”
“ I heard humans are part greedy so they must have stolen it from the reef! Let’s go tell Emma!”
And the two disappeared further into the water.