Tale of the Eternal Sea

By Dane Clark Collins

A mythic adventure on an endless sea. A surreal horror about the search for eternal life.

 

When a shipwreck leaves a small band of survivors adrift in a fog-shrouded sea, they must rely on their wits and strength to find their way to a mysterious island. Among them are a father and daughter, each with their own secret agenda. But when tempers flare and one of the passengers takes lethal action, the daughter is left alone to find her own way. As she drifts across the endless sea, a strange new world begins to emerge, one filled with secrets and danger, and the daughter must face a daunting challenge that will test the limits of her courage and resilience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dane Clark Collins
• Release date: Jan 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215218709

Dane Clark Collins

Dane Clark Collins is an author and musician who currently resides in Nashville. His stories are sometimes fantasy, sometimes science fiction, sometimes horror, usually a mixture of those, and always a little weird. Dane is a musician whose music varies widely but tends to lean toward psychedelia and atmosphere—perfect accompaniments for his fiction. He releases music under the moniker Inhuman Genome on all major streaming platforms. Learn more about Dane's projects, read his creativity blog, listen to his music, and sign up for his newsletter at: daneclarkcollins.com creativegrimoire.com

Book preview

1

Ilook down at my reflection in the water just before it scatters into thousands of pieces as the cracked oar splashes through it.

I look at the other five survivors. They all seem lost in thought. Or we’re growing despondent from malnutrition. The boat is damaged around the bow gunwale, but the damage is above the water, so we’ve stayed dry and afloat. The adults take turns rowing—at least, that’s the idea. Roddy has insisted on rowing for the past several hours and seems intent on continuing.

My father makes a sound in his throat, breaking the silence. Has anyone ever seen water this still on the open sea? No one answers, but I see the fear in their eyes. This isn’t normal.

Roddy stops rowing and glares at my father. "What was it you said, Professor? I can hear the contempt in his trembling voice. He wants to yell, but the eerie silence of the sea has made us all wary of making too much noise, so it comes out in a whisper. When my father doesn’t answer, Roddy kicks him in the shin with the heel of his boot. Come on, mapmaker, what was it? What did you say?"

I told you I teach cartography. I never said I was a mapmaker. My father is neither a cartography teacher nor a mapmaker, but I say nothing.

If you can teach it, you should be able to do it.

I can. You misunderstand me. I wasn’t wrong about the direction.

I don’t care. Just answer my question. What did you say?

I don’t know what you want me to tell you.

I’ll remind you, then. You said that if we kept that star on our port side and never changed course, we would find land.

Yes. It’s the only way I know to stay oriented. That star is the only consistently visible frame of reference in this fog. Keep it to our port side, and we’ll reach land. But without knowing our speed or distance, I can’t guess how long it will take.

Maybe there was land closer in another direction.

You had no better ideas. This was our best chance.

What chance? Where the fuck is the land?

What choice do we have now? We keep going.

Maybe our bearing was off, and we missed it. The land you claim exists could be well behind us by now.

We have to maintain this bearing. We’re still in the fog. We can’t change course now. There was growing desperation in my father’s voice.

Roddy stopped rowing and stared into my father’s eyes for some time. Why are you so determined, and what does this fog have to do with our direction?

Please, Roddy. Just keep going.

"You know what I think, Professor? I think you’ve lied to us, and I think you’ve gotten us all killed."

Again, no one else was offering any ideas. Our food was at the bottom of the ocean. What would you have done differently?

Roddy says nothing, but I see hatred in his glare.

"What would you have us do now,