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When I first saw the Grey Lady there was something about the boat that intrigued me as I looked upon the rotting hulk that lay there on its port side nearly submerged by the incoming tide.
As I waited for the tide to ebb and uncover the mortal remains of this once proud ocean going vessel I felt a strange foreboding about what I was about to encounter but at the same time I knew I could do nothing about it,only accept the consequences once I set foot on the Grey Lady's deck.
The tide slowly ebbed as the daylight faded to dusk and then the eerie but beautiful coastal night.
Eventually I managed to reach the Grey Lady and by the light of the moon and an old hurricane lamp I scrambled aboard.
What fate awaited me I didn't know but I was past the point of no return and no power on God's earth could stop the incredible supernatural events that awaited me.
Throughout the night I explored every nook and cranny of the Grey Lady trying to find some clues to her past and how she now came to be laying a wreck in the small coastal town of Conwy.
The Grey Lady's final resting place
With the dawning of a new day about to break I emerged from the depths of the Grey Lady to find that the tide had returned and the Grey Lady was again afloat and heading out into the bay.I searched the vessel from stem to stern trying to find someone or something to explain why the boat was now in good order and putting to sea but to no avail as not a soul was to be found.
I tried to turn the boat around but no matter how I tried I couldn't alter her course or stop her headlong dash out into the Irish sea.
Once out of sight of land the engines stopped and the Grey Lady started to drift on the current and into a thick sea fog where a great weariness came upon me and as I fell into a limbo like sleep I caught misty glimpses of my companions on this voyage.
I was wakened by someone shaking me and saying "come on George it's your turn on watch".As I stumbled out of my bunk in my half wakened state another crew member told me to hurry up and again called me George,it was then I caught sight of myself in a mirror and to my horror it was not me that looked back.Panic stricken I looked to my bunk where I had been sleeping to see a kit bag with the name George Goth emblazoned upon it.
I ran from the cabin and once on the deck of the Grey Lady took a few deep breathes to try to clear my now totaly confused head.The man I came to know as the skipper,Alan Jackson,approached me and told me to take over the wheelhouse and keep on the same heading as we where on,he then dissapeared below leaving me alone on the deck.
I made my way to the now deserted wheelhouse and tried to find out where I was and what I was doing here.A news paper I found had the date June 14th 1953 upon it which meant I had gone back in time 50 years as it was June 14th 2003 when I first boarded the Grey Lady in Conwy.The charts strewn around the wheelhouse purported our position to be just leaving the Meditteraenean sea and heading for the port of Casablanca in Morroco.
As the night wore on I realised that I was slowly being taken over by the spirit of George Goth and I began to feel his presence and know his thoughts,eventually it became clear to me that I had to change the course of history and free his tormented soul.
As the hours on watch in the wheelhouse ticked slowly by I became increasingly horrified by the thoughts of George Goth as he imparted the memories of his tragic last hours on earth to me and I was becoming more terrified with the knowledge of what I must do to free his eternally damned soul.
The Grey Lady at this time in June 1953 was being used as a means of smuggling contraband from North Africa to Europe and up to this point in time the most dangerous cargo carried was for the ubiquitous drugs trade,however on this trip the cargo was to be something completely different that was to have the most horrific and terrifying cosequences for all those involved.
As we docked in Casablanca the cargo was loaded immediately and within a few minutes we were under way again and as we were leaving I noticed a Holy Man watching us.
The cargo was the gold sarcophagus of an ancient Egyptian king known only in myth and legend as the most vile and tyrannical ruler of all time and supposedly vested with supernatural powers.
I knew I had to destroy the sarcophagus and the corpse that lay within before the spirit of the long dead king rose,like the Phoenix from the ashes,and wreaked a terrible and bloody revenge on all about him.Legend had it that the king must lay undisturbed for ever or all mankind would be annihilated by the curse of this most reviled of evil spirits.
The rest of the crew aboard the Grey Lady were only driven by their greed for gold and wealth beyond their wildest dreams but George Goth had known that evil was waiting to flood humanity with plague and pestilence beyond comprehension and he alone had tried to put an end to it but failed and was destined to walk for all eternity amongst the damned knowing what fate awaited mankind.
As we sailed from Casablanca the wind started to blow and storm clouds gathered in a fiery red sky,Some kind of terrible evil was trying to escape from the sarcophagus and it was now up to me to stop it but unlike George Goth I had no option but to succeed.
George Goth had tried to get rid of the sarcophagus and the evil one within by trying to send it to the bottom of the sea but had been thwarted by the rest of the crew who had found out what he was about to do and driven by their blood thirsty greed they murdered him.
During that fateful night fifty years ago the storm had risen to such a pitch that the sarcophagus had broken free and had been washed overboard as George had originally intended but he didn't realise that over the years the seal around the sarcophagus would be eroded by the sea and the evil spirit of that vile and despicable king so long lost in legend would escape to wreak his vengance upon the earth.
After fifty years at the bottom of the ocean it was now almost time for the evil one to be unleashed upon the world and that is why George Goth had brought me here,
The Grey Lady had taken a terrible battering during the storm and when at last all was calm the Grey Lady was barely afloat and I found myself back in reality and my own time,alone on this ghost ship from a past time knowing that I had to stop the evil one,but how,I didn't know.
As the Grey Lady bobbed about completely at the mercy of the elements I knew this was the place where I had to face the most evil being to walk on God's earth.
A thick fog fell at dusk and all was calm when a slight stirring of the water caught my attention.As I watched the water started to boil and erupt into the air like a volcano spitting lava and then all was calm again.All through the night the water would start to boil all around the Grey Lady and whirlpools tossed the boat around like a childs toy in a bath and then as before all would settle into a dead calm.
Just before dawn the sea began to erupt again but this time with more ferocity than before and as I tried desperately to hold on to the Grey Lady I was washed overboard and pulled down into the depths of the ocean.
For what seemed like an eternity I was pulled further and further down,by some unknown force,towards the sea bed and just as it felt like my lungs where about to burst I caught my first sight of the gold sarcophagus.
I have never been a religious person but as I was being drawn nearer and nearer to my maker I called out to God for his help and the power that was dragging me down released its grip and I was allowed to rise to the surface.
As I emerged gasping and choking from the water it became obvious that this was to be a dangerous struggle between good and evil.
I needed help desperately to defeat what I now knew to be the Devil himself and instinctively knew that I had to find the holy man who had watched us leave Casablanca fifty years previous.
Throughout the day I worked frantically to get the Grey Lady underway again and eventually managed to get the engines running and after dropping a marker bouy headed for Casablanca.
As soon as I docked in Casablanca I made enquiries about where any monks or holy men might be and was directed to a monastry high in the mountains where sure enough I found the holy man who had seen us.After hearing my story the holy man agreed to accompany me on my quest and together we headed back to the Grey Lady and whatever fate had in store for us.
Evening saw us heading out into a fiery red sunset on a flat calm sea but as we neared where the sarcophagus lay the maelstrom of the waters started again almost impercepibly at first just as before.As the night wore on the turbulent sea tried to break the Grey Lady into pieces and although she took another horrendous pounding from the waves she held together and when dawn broke she was still able to make progress if required.
The holy man seemed instinctively to know what to do and during the day he annointed every part of the Grey Lady and prayed and chanted.
According to the holy man we would have to raise the sarcophagus and return it to its original burial ground before the Devil himself could escape and wipe out humanity as we know it.
Throughout the day the holy man and myself took turns to dive down to the sarcophagus and secure ropes to be able to raise the evil casket of doom.When the time came to raise the sarcophagus the Grey Lady's whinch creaked and groaned under the great weight but slowly the casket began to rise and through a crack in the seal between the lid and the bottom of the casket evil started to seep out causing the waters to churn and boil as before.
As the coffin left the water all became calm and after endless hours of intensive labour the coffin now lay on the Grey Lady's deck but from a slight crack in the seal around the casket an evil smelling purple haze filled the air.
After lashing the sarcophagus to the deck we started the journey back to port.The holy man became agitated and worried so went to check on the sarcophagus and found that the crack in the seal had widened and the foul purple haze was now pouring out like steam from a kettle.As he told me of his findings a great explosion ripped through the air as the sarcophagus exploded and unleashed the Devil himself after more than 2000 years of incarceration.
A vasr plume of smoke from the explosion hung over the Grey Lady and all went as quiet as the grave untill the sound of a thousand wailing banshee's filled the air and the most violent of storms hit the boat and pounded mercilessly at her trying to send her to the bottom of the ocean along with myself and the holy man.
After what seemed an eternity the rageing sea's calmed as the storm moved off and the holy man told me that we must follow the storm because that is where the evil one would be in the very eye of it waiting for us.
With the Grey Lady's engines at full stretch we started to enter what had now become a virtual hurricane and as wave after wave hit the Grey Lady I thought it would be its last but after every battering the Grey Lady ploughed on through carrying us to our rendevous with evil.
For endless hours the Grey Lady valliantly fought her way through the storm until we entered the very eye and this is where the battle with the evil one was to take place.
The confrontation with the Devil himself was about to start and in the distance as the storm subsided we saw him stood on the bow of of an ancient but mighty galleon ressurected from the depths,still covered with grime and silt from laying on the sea bed for centuries,and crewed with the long lost souls of the vile and despicable pirates of the high seas.
The holy man told me that the storm had abated because the evil one was becoming weak and in need of a new body to become fully ressurected and it was now that we had to attack and destroy him once and for all eternity.
Not knowing how we would destroy him I pointed the Grey Lady at the galleon and opened up the engines to full power,as we neared the ship a volley of fire from the old cannons started to explode in the sea all around us several of which hit the boat smashing timbers and sending debris high into the air but the Grey Lady kept on her course straight into the jaws of hell itself.As we got nearer to the galleon the holy man told me to turn the boat around and retreat and as we did so the cannon fire stopped.
Once far enough away we started making what repairs we could to the now badly damaged Grey Lady
The holy man knew that the Devil's power would get weaker every time we attacked the galleon and told me that we would have to run the gauntlet many times before we could board the ship and engage in mortal combat with the evil one,so throughout the day we attacked and retreated many times before at last we approached the galleon with no opposition.
The holy man said it was now time to board the ship and seek out the evil one but that it was also the most dangerous of times because he would be fighting for his very own eternal existance and although he was in a weakened state,and in need of a new body in which to reincarnte himself,he was still a powerful force to be reckoned with by a mere mortal being.
As we neared the galleon the holy man annointed us both with holy water and gave me a religious cross which I put in my pocket.When we boarded the ancient pirate ship all was as quiet as the grave when suddenly out of hatches and doorways came a dozen or more skeletons of long dead pirates who immediately started to attack us.
Picking up a broken timber I swung at the first skeleton smashing it's rib cage and severing it's spine and as it crumpled to dust before me I picked up it's fallen cutlass and laid into the other skeletons as hard as I could aided by the holy man who,for a religious person,was now fighting like a man possessed.
Just before the last demon pirate fell and crumpled to dust I caught sight of the evil one and as I turned to face him he unleashed a great fire ball which crashed into the decking setting fire to the once majestic but now derelict and rotting galleon.
I started towards my enemy but as quickly as he had appeared he vanished.
With the flames starting to burn up the masts and rigging the holy man and myself began searching the vessel from stem to stern but to no avail the Devil himself had literally dissappeared into thin air.As we emerged onto the burning decks we spotted the evil one on the deck of the Grey Lady drifting off to the port side of the galleon and as he stood there he beckoned to us to meet him in one final battle to the death.
The galleon was now almost totally in flames so the holy man and myself had no option but to jump overboard and swim for the Grey Lady.
Just as we entered the water the holy man was dragged under and I was left alone to face my cursed enemy.
As I swam to the Grey Lady the galleon exploded showering millions of pieces of debris upon the sea so gulping in a great lung full of air I ducked under the surface into relative safety from the shower of lethal slinters.Whilst under the water I spotted the lifeless body of the holy man and as I swam towards him I noticed a slight movement of his fingers so I immediately got him to the surface where he coughed and spluttered as he slowly came back into the land of the living.
Everything around was calm when we surfaced and as we made our way to the Grey Lady she looked in a very sorry state and barely afloat after the galleon had exploded sending shrapnel ripping into her already badly battered hull.
I saw no sign of life on the Grey Lady and as I pulled the still almost lifeless holy man aboard the boat everything was still worryingly quiet.
I searched the boat and found no trace of our enemy and attended the best I could to the holy man and tried to get him comfortable in one of the now shattered cabins.
Thankfully the Grey Lady's engines fired up and we started making our way back to port to get the holy man back to the safety of his monastry where he could recover from his ordeal.
The holy man was very weak and when he did manage to speak what he said horrified me more than anything I had encountered up to this point in time.
He told me that my only hope of survival was to kill him now because when he was under the water the Devil had entered his body and soul and was now regenerating himself within the holy man's own body.After all that we had come through I could not even contemplate doing as he asked and decided to make best speed to the monastry to try and help the holy man,to whom I owed so much.During the rest of the voyage and the journey to the monastry the holy man begged me to end his life and that of the evil one now growing stronger within him but it is something I could not do.
Once back at the monastry the holy man's fellow brothers started chanting and reading ancient scriptures which had the effect of calming the holy man.
The Devil could not regenerate himself because of the chanting and reading of scriptures and so would have to leave the holy man's body and seek another in which to manifest himself.
Suddenly the holy man started to thrash about and writhe in agony as the air filled with a putrid purple haze and the evil one was cast out once more to seek another victim.
Due to using most of his powers and not being able to regenerate himself the Devil was now at his most vulnerable and it was now or never that we would have to try and end his very existance.
The holy men withdrew from the scene and I was told that because George Goth had chosen me to fulfill the quest he started it was now up to me alone to finish off the evil one in mortal combat.
All around the monastry where old suits of armour and weapons from years gone by and the Devil wasted no time in arming himself with a mighty broad sword and attacking me.I quickly armed myself with another old sword and the battle started in earnest with the Devil swinging and stabbing at me with nought but hatred in what heart he may have had,
We both fought tirelessly throughout the monastry leaving a trail of destruction in our wake until I stumbled and fell to the ground letting go of my weapon.As I lay on the floor the evil one appeared above me with his sword poised to deal the final blow.
As I prepared myself for certain death I heard the holy man calling to me to use the power of the cross he had given me before we had boarded the galleon and as I felt it still in my pocket the Devil hesitated enough for me to pull it out and throw it dagger like into his chest which sent the evil one reeling and crashing to the ground where just like the skeleton pirates he crumpled to dust and a thick evil purple haze filled the monastry.When the haze cleared there was no sign of the evil one.
After resting for several days I returned to port and the Grey Lady, she was in a terrible state but still afloat and her engines worked so I decided to sail her back to her final resting place of Conwy.
As I neared the tiny harbour of Conwy a thick mist appeared just as it had when I set out on this adventure and again a great weariness came over me and I was forced into a deep sleep.
When I awoke the Grey Lady was once again beached high and dry in Conwy laying on her port side waiting for yet another tide to flow in and continue its slow errosion of this once fine vessel.
As I walked away from the Grey Lady I got an eerie feeling that all was still not over and as I took one last glance back at the Grey Lady I thought I saw a slight purple haze above the decks which vanished as soon as I saw it!!!!
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