“How would
you like to sail around the Caribbean for three months this summer?” Monique hoped that they would say yes, this
might be the last chance for them to be altogether. Jessica would start her freshman year at
Vassar. Madison was in her junior year
and barely came home for holidays anymore.
She had all her friends in Connecticut, now that she attended Yale
University.
Bill sat on
the couch next to Monique. She had her
heart set on this family vacation. The
last one, she said, saddened that their daughters were becoming too old and
independent to want to spend time with them.
He owned his own company, very successful and that allowed him to take
three months off for this trip. The trip
would be set when he paid the deposit to get the yacht that would give them a
life of luxury on the sea, the Angela Lee. He would take a short course in navigation
and seamanship, but he had many boats before, though none as big as this. He had no doubt of his ability to do it. They had planned to cruise down the east
coast to Florida, and then, they would explore the Caribbean Islands. If they had enough time, maybe head for
Venezuela.
Bill looked
at his family and knew he was blessed. His wife was still gorgeous and sexy at
the young age of forty. Monique and the
two girls all had honey-blonde hair.
Jessica wore her hair shorter, but Madison’s golden tresses hung down to
her waist. Jessica looked like Monique
twenty years ago, bright smile, inquisitive blue eyes and a flawless
complexion. She was filling out to be
the woman her mother was.
Madison took
after Bill. She was slightly arrogant,
could be bitchy when things didn’t go her way, but she could also charm any man
with her smile. She was popular,
especially with the boys, but Bill never pried.
He didn’t want to know. She loved
her hair and refused to cut it, even though it seemed out of style now. She had the figure of a grown woman, a fact
that Bill refused to acknowledge. They
were both growing up, and after college, they wouldn’t be coming home. They would go out into the world and make
their mark. He hoped they would find
nice men to make them happy as Bill tried to do all these years with Monique.
“For three
months, floating out in the ocean with no one else?” Madison was sure that she could find
something more exciting than that.
“We’ll be
stopping at all the islands and spend time in the resorts and towns. I’m sure that you girls can find something to
do without us, as long as you’re careful.”
Monique knew that Madison would be the one she had to convince.
“I think it sounds
exciting. Travelling to all those exotic
ports and the weather will be beautiful.”
Vassar in upstate New York would be cold during the winter, so Jessica
would enjoy it while she could. It would
be nice to show up for classes on the first day with a dynamite tan.
Madison
hated to agree, but she knew her mother was adamant. She would somehow make it work. She was sure that when the boys saw her in
her new bikini, she would have no trouble in the resorts and towns. Her mother let her have her freedom, but she
hoped that she wouldn’t have to drag her little sister with her
everywhere. As much as she loved her, at
their age, the three years made a big difference. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
Monique
beamed. “I’ll make it the best vacation
ever. It’ll be memorable, trust
me.” Those words would become so true,
more than she could have imagined. Their
fates was about to meet up with the sinister fate of a ruthless man.
* * * *
Monique
couldn’t be happier than she was now. It
had been almost two months with her family on the ocean. It took a while to get used to living in such
a confined space, but the yacht was still large enough that they all had their
own bedrooms. They had stopped in many
ports of call, staying in hotels and resorts.
The girls were happy and Bill proved to be a remarkable skipper. They were getting ready to turn around and
head back up the eastern seaboard of the United States, but they decided to
spend a few days and head out toward Venezuela.
They headed for Grenada on a lovely, warm, sunny day.
It was so
nice when they got far out to sea and you couldn’t see any land along the
horizon. It was as though they were the
only people left in the world, so peaceful and tranquil. Bill set the anchor and sat on the deck with
everyone else. All three of his women
laid out in bikini’s that left little to the imagination. They had a nice lunch and it was later in the
afternoon when he saw some clouds in the horizon where they were heading. He had checked the weather report before leaving
Grenada and didn’t see anything but some minor disturbances, but far out in the
ocean, the weather could change in a moment’s notice. He got up and went to the cabin. He pulled up the anchor and took the steering
wheel. He checked the weather report
again; a squall was about forty miles off.
It was too late to turn back and it still didn’t look bad. They would only catch the very edge of it. The yacht was large and he didn’t expect any
trouble.
“Everything okay, Bill?” Monique
saw him take the wheel.
“Just a
little storm coming up. We’ll probably
miss it, but we might get a bit of the rain.
Nothing to worry about; we’ll head to Caracas instead of Port of Spain.” He tried to calm her fears.
The darkness
approached faster than usual. The sun
was blotted out by the dark clouds and the sea began to grow choppy.
“Are we
okay, Dad?” Madison grew nervous. They had been lucky for the last two months,
always having good weather. She hoped
their luck didn’t run out.
“Yes, but we
need to be prepared. Make sure the life
jackets are out and also the lifeboat.
Find the flare gun.” He saw her
become worried. “It’s just a precaution,
just like we do when there is a hurricane approaching at home. We’ll be fine.”
The waves
began to crash onto the bow of the boat as it churned in the water. The wind picked up, and it began to rain,
first lightly, but then it was harder.
The girls went below, but Monique stayed at his side. The fog began to thicken as Bill cut the
speed to a crawl, but even without the engine pushing the boat, the waves
propelled it forward. * * * *
Less than
twenty miles from where Bill and his family were fighting the growing storm in
the Angela Lee, Michael was
interrupted.
It was high
on the atoll, a mile from the beach, but to get to it was up a winding path in
the jungle that was perilous and difficult, even for an experienced and fit
person. At the end of the path, there
was a lush valley, overgrown with primitive flowers and exotic bushes. In the center of
it, out of place in such a desolate location, stood a rambling one-story, white
building that spanned a city block. It
wasn’t a crude wooden building but was made of polished stone. There were three other small cottages. Two of them housed electronic equipment that
was highly developed for a modern city, never mind being on a small island.
The island
and its buildings were the project of a determined genius that turned his back
on society. He had made his money at a
young age but struggled to keep it. Many
tried to take it from him, legally or illegally. Five years ago, he gave up on society. He bought a tramp steamer in the Philippines
and used it to transport workers and materials to build his palace in the
middle of nowhere. He had a vision that
few would understand, but over the years while completing his project, he met
many wealthy men and women. These were
people that had such vast amounts of money that society could not cage their
desires, beyond the law; they sought out enforced servitude on the unfortunates
and committed the most heinous perversions on their helpless prey.
Michael sold them on his plan for Slave Island.
There would
only be Masters or Mistresses and slaves.
He was just beginning to acquire the requisite slaves to serve the
Masters. That is why the electronic
equipment was so important. The atoll
wasn’t on any maps and the electronic equipment wreaked havoc on any equipment
that tried to find it. Off the shipping
paths, few would draw close to it unless Michael wanted them. The atoll was shrouded in fog most of the day
and night, hiding the sharp rocks that littered the only beach. His electronic equipment could draw in any
unlucky sailor that followed their compass blindly. Radio transmissions were turned to static and
garble. Once in his grasp, their boats never made it to the beach. The rocks and heavy surf turned them into
splinters of wood and fiberglass. The
only unknown was if any of the passengers could survive.
Michael just
turned fifty years old. He was six feet,
thin but muscular. His brown hair turned
to graying over the years, but it was still
abundant. His eyes were dark blue,
almost black, cold and foreboding. His
smile could charm any woman, but he rarely did.
His lips turned more to the snarl of a sadist.
“Sir, a boat
approaches. The Angela Lee. A lovely 75-foot
Azimut.”
Cedric had run over from the electronic hut, out of breath but excited
at the prospect.
“Is the
storm picking up?” He hoped that he
might find the first captives for Slave Island.
“Yes,
Sir. The Angela Lee’s heading away from us, but I can draw her in.” Cedric wanted to prove that he was
invaluable. He didn’t have the money
that others would pay for the pleasures on the island, but he hoped that
Michael would reward him with some of the more delectable creatures that he
would capture.
“Yes, get
the crew ready for visitors. I hope
we’ll get a good catch.” His cock
hardened at the thought. The storm
season was upon them, and he hoped for good luck and bad weather.