Ch. 2, - the Powers Family Cruise

Matthew Powers loved to sail.  It was not a family passion, but his, and he passed it on to his kids.  His parents, his brother, his sister - none were sailors.  But Matthew Powers loved boats and when the family came around, he shared that love.  For their part, the parents, siblings, nephews, and nieces enjoyed it as long as Matt was at the helm.

So it was early in the summer of 2018 that Matthew had rented a large boat.  He and his wife Melanie had their boys, Dean (16), Eddy (14), and Ben (12).  And Matt’s older brother Rob and his wife Candy came along with their sons, Igor (16), Henry (12), and daughter Merone (almost 10).  Ten of them on the boat was a bit tight, but they were enjoying a night cruise on the Chesapeake Bay.  They had been out for about an hour.

“What’s that?”  Ben was pointing at a strange light that was beneath the surface. 

Matt began to turn the boat about.  “I am not sure.  Let’s check it out.”

“Let’s not.”  It was Candy and she was uncomfortable.  “Don’t you remember that story about a U.S. submarine surfacing and smacking right into a Japanese fishing boat, killing all aboard?  That was a few years ago.”

“I promise you,” Matt said, “That is not a submarine.”

“Then what is it?”  Melanie asked.

“We’ll just take a quick look.”  Matt was trying to sound calm, but he couldn’t hide his uneasiness.  But, he did not know why he felt uncertain, so he plodded on. 

The boat came over a submerged, extraordinarily bright yellow-greenish light deep in the bay.  The area of illumination was roughly 100 sq meters.  The source of the light could not be determined.

The six kids were fascinated. 

“Cool,” Henry exclaimed.  Merone and Ben were pointing and smiling. 

With all six on the same side leaning over, the boat began to tilt.  “Could you guys back away from the edge of the boat, please.”  Candy said.  It wasn’t a request. 

“Guys,” Melanie added, but before she could get another word in, something bumped the bottom of the boat, hard.  The boat lurched and dipped.  All six children were jettisoned into the shimmering deep.

“Merone,” Candy screamed forgetting that her nine-year-old was on a swim team and won every race she entered.  Rob moved quickly to the edge.

“No,” Matt started.  “Wait. Rob …” 

Too Late.

He, like the children disappeared into the shining brilliance beneath them. 

Now Candy was leaning over the boat.  “What do we do?”

Melanie was moving toward the edge with a life ring.  Within a few seconds, all seven emerged and seem OK. 

“Is it hot,” Matt asked. 

“No,” Rob responded.  “It feels really good.”

“What do you see down there?”  Melanie asked.

“Nothing but blinding brightness,” Dean answered.

Matt lowered the rope ladder.  Despite their worries, the group stayed in that spot over the underwater light for over an hour.  Matt tried calling the coast guard, but his radio suddenly failed.  He got nothing but static.  He marked their coordinates and kept trying.  They watched the water for any sign, any indication of what might be happening.  Nothing changed.  Matt kept trying the radio.  No luck.

Finally, they left. They sailed away and as the brightness shrank from view, Matt tried again and finally the radio worked -  in fact it was perfect, as if there had never been a problem.  He reported what they saw.  No, the coast guard responded, no one else has filed such a report.  Yes, they would check it out. 

After the group returned to the marina, they drove to urgent care.  The six kids had a slight glow about them.  For unknown reasons, the light did not stay with Rob the way it did the children.  He felt like he had been swimming in saltwater.  Actually he felt fresh, strong, better than he had felt in a long time.

The children felt odd.  Igor and Henry both had sense of explosiveness within them.  Merone felt it too.  Each of the three, in different ways, felt like they wanted to run 100 miles at a sprint.  Each felt like they were ready to jump out of their skin.  Dean, Eddy, and Ben had a sense of heightened awareness.  They were hearing and seeing and smelling everything.  It was like their senses were all operating with super-powered ability. 

The doctor at the urgent care office was utterly confounded.  He did not know how to react to this odd turn of events.  He released the children with no treatment plan.  What was there to treat?  But, Candy, wondered, what is that glow.  It was fading.   But why did it not stay with Rob the way it did the kids?

As they were leaving the urgent care, Ben noticed the caulking around the windows peeling.  The windows were across the room, a good 20 feet from him.  He looked at the peeling caulking.  He tilted his head and looked again.  He furrowed his brow in concentration and held his right index finger out in the air.  He made a motion as if he were painting a vertical line in the air with his index finger.  Melanie and Candy watched and glanced toward the window to see the caulk re-attach with a fresh coat, as if Ben were re-caulking the window just by waving his hand in the air. 

Melanie and Candy looked at each other.

[Next - Kid Heroes]