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Chapter 3: Tristan Da Cunha The enormous swells leading to the docs at Calshot Harbor were becoming increasingly frustrating for Julian Hagan to navigate. His fishing longboat was being thrown from side to side, water splashing everywhere and drenching him entirely. His attempts to sail through the stormy waters to the shore were desperately futile. As the hours ticked by and the dusk settled in, the waves were continuing with insulting relentlessness to charge the boat. Even though Julian was well familiar with big swells, this is the first one he has seen in years that frightened him deeply. In his final desperate attempt, Julian turned off the boat motor and allowed the waters to take charge. He wanted to rest a few minutes and gather himself before trying again.
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He has been bobbing up and down for some time when he finally noticed flashlights moving around on the shore. Through the misty night cover and the splashing water, he was able to discern that people on the shore have noticed his disappearance and were mobilizing to send him some help. He cursed under his breath and turned on the motor again. Julian realized that if he doesn’t find a way to get to the shore quickly, he may end up being responsible for more than just his life and his boat. As if someone above heard his silent plea, another large wave crashed on the starboard side, and thrashed the longboat towards the shore. Julian, almost completely exhausted, began to see light at the end of his ordeal. He continued to keep a tight hold on the boat’s tiller, steering the rudder towards the shore. He managed to sail another half a mile when he noticed that men from the shore were sailing their longboats to rescue him. Overrun with emotions, Julian started waiving and yelling for men to return to the shore. He kept screaming and waiving, but after a few moments he realized that they couldn’t hear him. Not really knowing what else he could do, he turned the rudder further to the right, against the current when a giant swell hit the port side and capsized his boat. The last thought racing through his mind before everything went black was Vadim.
He didn’t know how much time has gone by but an overwhelming sensation of pain forced Julian to moan. He slowly opened his eyes and the ceiling above him started to gradually come into focus. The sunlight from the window was uncomfortably bright and he closed his eyes again. His body felt beaten and lifeless. He tried to move around but the sharp pain running up and down his sides quickly reminded him to stay still. He laid on the bed another few minutes while summoning his strength, and opened his eyes again. This time, the pain became manageable and he was able to prop himself up on the pillows. Just as he was sitting up, a young lady came into the room with towels in her hand.
“Hey everyone!” she yelled into another room, “Julian is awake!” She came over and sat beside him on the bed, “Julian, you have been rescued by the fishermen last night. Do you remember what happened? Your boat capsized in that horrible storm.” She shook her head looking at him, and then continued, “Do you recognize me? I’m Martha, the doctor’s assistant.” Martha’s brown eyes focused on Julian’s, her warm hand touched his forehead and his neck on the right side. “You need to rest, but the doctor says you should be right as rain again in a few days.”
Julian tried to smile and quietly groaned “Thank you.” He wanted to ask about his little boy who was waiting for him at home, but just as he leaned towards Martha, two rugged fishermen walked in and greeted him. One of them had a big, dark red, thick unruly beard covering the lower part of his face. Julian recognized him and nodded. He has seen him around by the docks the last few days, he was one of the locals who lived on the island his whole life. The fisherman walked up to Julian’s bed and patted him on the shoulder. He wasn’t a very big man, but still looked strong and muscular. “You must be worried about your lad, mate. He is fine,” he said with a thick Tristanian accent, “My wife is looking after him at our house. My son and your boy have been playing together at the cow farm, so they get on great. My wife will bring them by later, if you want. But you should rest now and gather your strength back. Martha, here, will take good care of you.” The big beard patted Julian on the shoulder again, as he slowly backed away. Julian groaned and smiled in gratitude. “Well that’s enough for right now, out everyone, let’s give Julian some time to sleep and regain his strength.” Martha shooed the fishermen away and closed the double doors behind herself as they all exited.
The next time Julian opened his eyes, the room was dark with only one dim light burning on a small table by the door. He moved his arms from underneath the covers and propped himself up slightly. The bed squeaked underneath his weight and then fell silent again. He looked over at the bedside table for a glass of water. Thankfully, Martha left a glass for him. He reached over and tried to pick up the glass but the muscles in his right forearm were not obeying. The tiny glass felt heavy. He flexed his hand and tried again. This time his hand was able to grasp the glass and slowly move it towards him but not strong enough to pick it up. Julian sighed with frustration and leaned back in his bed. He sat there looking at the light glimmering and creating shadows and decided to try again. He leaned over, grabbed the glass and raised it up to his mouth. The muscles in his forearm and shoulder held and didn’t release, giving Julian some hope that he might heal fast. The water felt good inside him. It give him a little strength and cleared his mind. Julian sat back up in his bed and began to go over events of the previous night. He did feel partially euphoric that he survived, but it was too close a call.
Julian closed his eyes and began to see his boat thrashing up and down in the stormy waters. The rain and the waves were mercilessly exhausting him. A feeling of anger started to creep into his body. The more he thought about almost dying in the storm, the angrier he felt towards the Queen. “She knows that Vadim and I are on this island, and she knows how dangerous the weather can be in this part of the world. Why did she send the package to the inaccessible island instead of this one?” Julian’s mind continued to revolve in a circle scrutinizing every detail. He hoped to understand the motivation of his Queen and why she would send supplies to the wrong island. He closed his eyes and started to recall what brought him to this remote piece of land in the middle of a gigantic Atlantic ocean.
Eight long months ago, Julian was rushed to the Nemtsov palace to speak with her majesty the Queen. Zoki showed him into her royal chambers, where he found the Queen completely distraught. He kneeled beside her chair and held her hand in his as she was sobbing uncontrollably. He begged her to tell him what upset her. After a few tense moments, she relented and told him about her son. Not a soul knew that the Queen has given birth to a boy, over three years ago. Julian smiled remembering his astonishment. He didn’t press the Queen to find out who was the father, as she wasn’t sure he was ready to know. Even though the Queen continued sobbing and her thoughts were difficult to follow, he managed to calm her down enough to learn that the boy would have to be transported somewhere safe, where no one would be aware of his existence. Of course he jumped at the chance to help the Queen and offer her son his loyalty and protection. Julian never loved anyone as much as he loved the Queen, and so he agreed on the spot to take the boy and hide him. He knew the perfect spot where no one would find them.
Julian and the Queen’s four year old boy Vadim arrived on the remote island of Tristan Da Cunha. Their arrival was supported with documents from the British crown which granted them authority to stay on the island as its full and legal inhabitants. Julian worried at first that Vadim would not like the island and would miss his mother, but the boy took to the island right away. The toddler spend his days running around with other toddlers, playing with his newly acquired farm animals and attended a kindergarten school where he made lots of friends. Occasionally, though, Vadim would look away in the distance, towards the ocean and stay silent. Julian tried hard to keep the boy occupied throughout the days, so that he would be too tired to remember anything. But a month ago, when Julian and Vadim were watching a movie on the sofa, the boy quietly asked Julian if he would ever see his mom again. Julian, almost crying himself, reassured the little boy that his mother would soon come for him, but it was very important to not tell anyone about her. Julian pulled the boy closer to him and hugged him. They fell asleep that night having no idea that a stormy night not too far away in their future will change their lives completely.
Martha was gently shaking Julian’s shoulder and murmuring for him to wake up. Suddenly he opened his eyes and looked at her. “It’s alright,” she whispered, “you slept through the night just fine. I have brought you some tea and crackers, would you like to eat?” Martha’s face looked round and radiant, she couldn’t have been more than 20 years old, Julian thought. “Sure” he said in a hoarse voice, “Thank you.” He leaned forward and sat up in his bed to take the tray from the side table and put it in his lap. “Thank you for taking such great care of me. I don’t know how I could possibly thank you.” Julian smiled and looked at Martha. She lingered for a moment, and then shifted slightly to the right, away from him. He thought he noticed a momentary, troubled look that ran over her face, and started to worry. “Martha, I appreciate you taking care of me,” he began speaking to her gently, choosing his words very carefully. “Tomorrow, I will bring you a very special present from my cottage, I’ve been saving it for a special occasion. I think this qualifies as one. I won’t be in your debt for long.” he looked up at her and saw an even more worried look in her eyes.
Their conversation was interrupted by a noisy bang coming from the front room. Doctor Basil stomped his tired feet and grunted in the most unflattering and loud manner. “Where is my patient girl?!” he called into the house and the rigid notes in his voice made Martha jump. She quickly walked out of the room to greet Dr. Basil and closed the door behind her. Julian shifted uncomfortably in his bed, not looking forward to meeting the loud Doctor. As the dialogue between the doctor and his nurse continued in the front room, Julian decided to nibble on his crackers and sip his tea. The food spread warmly in his stomach making him feel stronger and more alert. He started to have hope that he might walk home by night fall and possibly see Vadim, who must have missed him terribly. Julian’s deliberation was disturbed as the voices in the front room grew louder. The dialogue turned into an argument mainly by Martha protesting. Julian heard her saying, “but patient needs more rest” and “patient needs to recover.” “NO, NO, No dear girl! I firmly believe…” the doctor’s voice trailed off and their conversation decreased to a whisper.
Suddenly, Julian felt a sharp pang underneath his right ribs. Usually, his body was pretty diligent about letting him know that something is terribly wrong. Julian remembered the worried look in Martha’s eyes and desperately wanted to know if whatever it was had anything to do with him or Vadim. The second sharp pang underneath his right ribs came on as unexpectedly as the first and made Julian wail with pain. He clutched on to the bed railing to steady his breathing and realized that surviving the storm was only the beginning of something big.
Doctor Basil knocked on the door and unceremoniously walked in before Julian had a chance to answer. “This lad looks fine to me.” The doctor joked, “Let’s take a look at your wounds old boy.” Doctor Basil grunted as he pulled up a sturdy stool and sat himself down besides Julian’s bed. “I heard you cry out lad, so let me see what needs to be done. I think you have several fractured ribs, let us see…” Julian threw a suspicious glance at the doctor while still trying to steady his breathing. Doctor Basil was older than Julian anticipated. Judging by first glance, Dr. Basil was in his late seventies and yet he moved and sounded rather younger than the wrinkles on his face and the grey hair on his balding scalp would have one believe. Doctor Basil lifted Julian’s shirt and gently touched around the ribs and around right side of Julian’s torso, avoiding the most painful points. “Well, old boy, I think you will live” he grunted somewhat loudly, “but this internal wound needs tending to.” Dr. Basil touched Julian’s side again. His cold fingers were moving quickly along Julian’s ribs and pressed too hard on his bruises. Julian cried out in pain and started panting. “Martha, be a dear and bring me my tools. Also some water and towels, let’s bandage his ribs and allow them heal. He is suffering from several fractures, but nothing appears to be broken. He should stay in bed a day or two.” Martha walked over to the door, and left the room to get Dr. Basil’s suitcase of medicines.
Julian propped himself up on the bed and looked at the doctor inquisitively, “Urgh” he groaned and paused for a brief moment, “Dr. Basil, I heard you and the nurse speaking loudly in the other room. Did that have anything to do with the island, or the bad weather we’ve experienced recently?” The sharp, throbbing pain in Julian’s right side flared up again and he continued rather loudly, “I apologize for being inquisitorial, but…” Dr. Basil threw a sullen glace at Julian, got up from his stool and walked over to a rusty, old cupboard. He opened a small cupboard door and retrieved two small glass jars, “If I were you, I would not concern myself with anything else but getting back on my feet again. You are not a local, are you?” Dr. Basil turned around and glanced at Julian inquiringly. “You are correct, doctor. My name is Julian Hagan and I came to this island with my son, Vadim, 8 months ago. We were planning to make a new life for ourselves on Tristan da Cunha. I know there has been some volcanic activity in the past, but not for decades now.. Is that what you were talking about with Martha?” Dr. Basil turned half way and searched Julian’s eyes with a careful, analytical gaze. “I am making you a healing potion which we often use here on the island, it smells rather unpleasant, but it will heal you faster. I use extracts of horsetail, comfrey and arnica montana as the base and then add some plantain leaves and poppy seed on top of it.” Doctor Basil brought over a glass with a suspicious looking liquid inside of it to Julian’s bed and handed him the drink. While Julian was looking down inside the glass, debating if he should swallow the contents, Dr. Basil walked over to the other side of the bed and sat back down on the rusty, old sturdy stool.
“Our island experienced an erupting volcano last century as many local people will tell you. I was a very young boy back then, but still remember the panic and chaos that eruption brought to our town. Every last one of us had to be evacuated from the island because we did not think we could survive it. And now, it seems history is repeating itself once again.” Dr. Basil’s voice trailed off. He sighed and looked at Julian with a blank stare. Uncomfortable silence fell in the room until Martha walked in with Dr. Basil’s medicinal bag.
“Where have you been so long, Martha?” He fidgeted annoyingly on his stool and took his bag from Martha. “Drink all of that potion, old boy, it will give you strength. All of us will need our strength soon, to face what’s coming.” Dr. Basil was rummaging around in his bag when he found what he needed and looked at Julian again. “Turn to your left, more.” This time Dr. Basil’s voice sounded displeased. “Good, now I will put this ointment on your ribs and Martha will bandage you up.” He grunted to his nurse standing behind him, “Martha! Don’t just stand there, help me with the bandages.” Martha obediently walked over to Dr. Basil’s side and helped him bandage Julian wounds.
Julian looked somewhat contritely at Dr. Basil, wondering. He quietly debated if he should push the doctor to respond to his question or if he should wait until the morning and find out for himself from other locals. Julian’s sense of urgency prevailed and he resolutely looked at Dr. Basil. “Dr. Basil, I appreciate everything you have done for me. I know that I am knew to the island and you have no reason to trust me. But I worry about my son, and I want to know if he is going to be safe living on this island.” Julian Hagan looked defiantly at Dr. Basil, simultaneously pleading and threatening the doctor with his gaze.
“Fine,” Dr. Basil looked at Martha and then at Julian, “I suppose you will find out sooner rather than later anyway. When you heard us speaking before, it was about the super storm you survived the other night.” Doctor Basil shifted on his stool and looked out of the window. “I was part of the island council meeting this morning,” he continued. “We have not seen a storm like that in over 40 years. The council members think the storm was caused by an underwater earthquake.” Julian leaned forward closer to Dr. Basil. “Where was the epicenter, doctor?” he asked in a raspy voice. “They think it was a hundred miles west of us, old boy.” Dr. Basil shifted on his stool. “One of the council members is a seismologist, Emma Green. She has lived on the island all her life and she studies earthquake activity. According to her charts, and of course they would have to be verified, there have been several underwater earthquakes in the last 30 days. Some were small, some were rather big. But this last one registered as a 6 on the magnitude scale. Emma thinks the earthquakes are increasing in their intensity as well. Something to do with titanic forces at work.” Dr. Basil threw a tired look at both of his listeners.
After a few moments of silence went by, Julian spoke first “Do you think that means that Tristan volcano is waking up?” his voice got higher as he spoke. The doctor didn’t have a chance to respond as he saw the lamp next on the bed side table move back and forth. He managed to let out a viciously loud grunt, “Get under the table!” Within moments the rusty old cupboard in the room moved and fell right beside Martha, who barely jumped out of the way in time. Julian sprung out of bed and in two large jumps found himself crouching next to Martha. He pulled her underneath an oak table in the corner of the room with such force that she thought her arm would come out of its socket. The whole room was shaking with unimaginable force as if a loud train was running right next to it. Dr. Basil managed to make his way underneath the oak table before the room split in half. The three stunned people crouching underneath the table saw the cottage break apart in front of their eyes.
“Hey everyone!” she yelled into another room, “Julian is awake!” She came over and sat beside him on the bed, “Julian, you have been rescued by the fishermen last night. Do you remember what happened? Your boat capsized in that horrible storm.” She shook her head looking at him, and then continued, “Do you recognize me? I’m Martha, the doctor’s assistant.” Martha’s brown eyes focused on Julian’s, her warm hand touched his forehead and his neck on the right side. “You need to rest, but the doctor says you should be right as rain again in a few days.”
Julian tried to smile and quietly groaned “Thank you.” He wanted to ask about his little boy who was waiting for him at home, but just as he leaned towards Martha, two rugged fishermen walked in and greeted him. One of them had a big, dark red, thick unruly beard covering the lower part of his face. Julian recognized him and nodded. He has seen him around by the docks the last few days, he was one of the locals who lived on the island his whole life. The fisherman walked up to Julian’s bed and patted him on the shoulder. He wasn’t a very big man, but still looked strong and muscular. “You must be worried about your lad, mate. He is fine,” he said with a thick Tristanian accent, “My wife is looking after him at our house. My son and your boy have been playing together at the cow farm, so they get on great. My wife will bring them by later, if you want. But you should rest now and gather your strength back. Martha, here, will take good care of you.” The big beard patted Julian on the shoulder again, as he slowly backed away. Julian groaned and smiled in gratitude. “Well that’s enough for right now, out everyone, let’s give Julian some time to sleep and regain his strength.” Martha shooed the fishermen away and closed the double doors behind herself as they all exited.
The next time Julian opened his eyes, the room was dark with only one dim light burning on a small table by the door. He moved his arms from underneath the covers and propped himself up slightly. The bed squeaked underneath his weight and then fell silent again. He looked over at the bedside table for a glass of water. Thankfully, Martha left a glass for him. He reached over and tried to pick up the glass but the muscles in his right forearm were not obeying. The tiny glass felt heavy. He flexed his hand and tried again. This time his hand was able to grasp the glass and slowly move it towards him but not strong enough to pick it up. Julian sighed with frustration and leaned back in his bed. He sat there looking at the light glimmering and creating shadows and decided to try again. He leaned over, grabbed the glass and raised it up to his mouth. The muscles in his forearm and shoulder held and didn’t release, giving Julian some hope that he might heal fast. The water felt good inside him. It give him a little strength and cleared his mind. Julian sat back up in his bed and began to go over events of the previous night. He did feel partially euphoric that he survived, but it was too close a call.
Julian closed his eyes and began to see his boat thrashing up and down in the stormy waters. The rain and the waves were mercilessly exhausting him. A feeling of anger started to creep into his body. The more he thought about almost dying in the storm, the angrier he felt towards the Queen. “She knows that Vadim and I are on this island, and she knows how dangerous the weather can be in this part of the world. Why did she send the package to the inaccessible island instead of this one?” Julian’s mind continued to revolve in a circle scrutinizing every detail. He hoped to understand the motivation of his Queen and why she would send supplies to the wrong island. He closed his eyes and started to recall what brought him to this remote piece of land in the middle of a gigantic Atlantic ocean.
Eight long months ago, Julian was rushed to the Nemtsov palace to speak with her majesty the Queen. Zoki showed him into her royal chambers, where he found the Queen completely distraught. He kneeled beside her chair and held her hand in his as she was sobbing uncontrollably. He begged her to tell him what upset her. After a few tense moments, she relented and told him about her son. Not a soul knew that the Queen has given birth to a boy, over three years ago. Julian smiled remembering his astonishment. He didn’t press the Queen to find out who was the father, as she wasn’t sure he was ready to know. Even though the Queen continued sobbing and her thoughts were difficult to follow, he managed to calm her down enough to learn that the boy would have to be transported somewhere safe, where no one would be aware of his existence. Of course he jumped at the chance to help the Queen and offer her son his loyalty and protection. Julian never loved anyone as much as he loved the Queen, and so he agreed on the spot to take the boy and hide him. He knew the perfect spot where no one would find them.
Julian and the Queen’s four year old boy Vadim arrived on the remote island of Tristan Da Cunha. Their arrival was supported with documents from the British crown which granted them authority to stay on the island as its full and legal inhabitants. Julian worried at first that Vadim would not like the island and would miss his mother, but the boy took to the island right away. The toddler spend his days running around with other toddlers, playing with his newly acquired farm animals and attended a kindergarten school where he made lots of friends. Occasionally, though, Vadim would look away in the distance, towards the ocean and stay silent. Julian tried hard to keep the boy occupied throughout the days, so that he would be too tired to remember anything. But a month ago, when Julian and Vadim were watching a movie on the sofa, the boy quietly asked Julian if he would ever see his mom again. Julian, almost crying himself, reassured the little boy that his mother would soon come for him, but it was very important to not tell anyone about her. Julian pulled the boy closer to him and hugged him. They fell asleep that night having no idea that a stormy night not too far away in their future will change their lives completely.
Martha was gently shaking Julian’s shoulder and murmuring for him to wake up. Suddenly he opened his eyes and looked at her. “It’s alright,” she whispered, “you slept through the night just fine. I have brought you some tea and crackers, would you like to eat?” Martha’s face looked round and radiant, she couldn’t have been more than 20 years old, Julian thought. “Sure” he said in a hoarse voice, “Thank you.” He leaned forward and sat up in his bed to take the tray from the side table and put it in his lap. “Thank you for taking such great care of me. I don’t know how I could possibly thank you.” Julian smiled and looked at Martha. She lingered for a moment, and then shifted slightly to the right, away from him. He thought he noticed a momentary, troubled look that ran over her face, and started to worry. “Martha, I appreciate you taking care of me,” he began speaking to her gently, choosing his words very carefully. “Tomorrow, I will bring you a very special present from my cottage, I’ve been saving it for a special occasion. I think this qualifies as one. I won’t be in your debt for long.” he looked up at her and saw an even more worried look in her eyes.
Their conversation was interrupted by a noisy bang coming from the front room. Doctor Basil stomped his tired feet and grunted in the most unflattering and loud manner. “Where is my patient girl?!” he called into the house and the rigid notes in his voice made Martha jump. She quickly walked out of the room to greet Dr. Basil and closed the door behind her. Julian shifted uncomfortably in his bed, not looking forward to meeting the loud Doctor. As the dialogue between the doctor and his nurse continued in the front room, Julian decided to nibble on his crackers and sip his tea. The food spread warmly in his stomach making him feel stronger and more alert. He started to have hope that he might walk home by night fall and possibly see Vadim, who must have missed him terribly. Julian’s deliberation was disturbed as the voices in the front room grew louder. The dialogue turned into an argument mainly by Martha protesting. Julian heard her saying, “but patient needs more rest” and “patient needs to recover.” “NO, NO, No dear girl! I firmly believe…” the doctor’s voice trailed off and their conversation decreased to a whisper.
Suddenly, Julian felt a sharp pang underneath his right ribs. Usually, his body was pretty diligent about letting him know that something is terribly wrong. Julian remembered the worried look in Martha’s eyes and desperately wanted to know if whatever it was had anything to do with him or Vadim. The second sharp pang underneath his right ribs came on as unexpectedly as the first and made Julian wail with pain. He clutched on to the bed railing to steady his breathing and realized that surviving the storm was only the beginning of something big.
Doctor Basil knocked on the door and unceremoniously walked in before Julian had a chance to answer. “This lad looks fine to me.” The doctor joked, “Let’s take a look at your wounds old boy.” Doctor Basil grunted as he pulled up a sturdy stool and sat himself down besides Julian’s bed. “I heard you cry out lad, so let me see what needs to be done. I think you have several fractured ribs, let us see…” Julian threw a suspicious glance at the doctor while still trying to steady his breathing. Doctor Basil was older than Julian anticipated. Judging by first glance, Dr. Basil was in his late seventies and yet he moved and sounded rather younger than the wrinkles on his face and the grey hair on his balding scalp would have one believe. Doctor Basil lifted Julian’s shirt and gently touched around the ribs and around right side of Julian’s torso, avoiding the most painful points. “Well, old boy, I think you will live” he grunted somewhat loudly, “but this internal wound needs tending to.” Dr. Basil touched Julian’s side again. His cold fingers were moving quickly along Julian’s ribs and pressed too hard on his bruises. Julian cried out in pain and started panting. “Martha, be a dear and bring me my tools. Also some water and towels, let’s bandage his ribs and allow them heal. He is suffering from several fractures, but nothing appears to be broken. He should stay in bed a day or two.” Martha walked over to the door, and left the room to get Dr. Basil’s suitcase of medicines.
Julian propped himself up on the bed and looked at the doctor inquisitively, “Urgh” he groaned and paused for a brief moment, “Dr. Basil, I heard you and the nurse speaking loudly in the other room. Did that have anything to do with the island, or the bad weather we’ve experienced recently?” The sharp, throbbing pain in Julian’s right side flared up again and he continued rather loudly, “I apologize for being inquisitorial, but…” Dr. Basil threw a sullen glace at Julian, got up from his stool and walked over to a rusty, old cupboard. He opened a small cupboard door and retrieved two small glass jars, “If I were you, I would not concern myself with anything else but getting back on my feet again. You are not a local, are you?” Dr. Basil turned around and glanced at Julian inquiringly. “You are correct, doctor. My name is Julian Hagan and I came to this island with my son, Vadim, 8 months ago. We were planning to make a new life for ourselves on Tristan da Cunha. I know there has been some volcanic activity in the past, but not for decades now.. Is that what you were talking about with Martha?” Dr. Basil turned half way and searched Julian’s eyes with a careful, analytical gaze. “I am making you a healing potion which we often use here on the island, it smells rather unpleasant, but it will heal you faster. I use extracts of horsetail, comfrey and arnica montana as the base and then add some plantain leaves and poppy seed on top of it.” Doctor Basil brought over a glass with a suspicious looking liquid inside of it to Julian’s bed and handed him the drink. While Julian was looking down inside the glass, debating if he should swallow the contents, Dr. Basil walked over to the other side of the bed and sat back down on the rusty, old sturdy stool.
“Our island experienced an erupting volcano last century as many local people will tell you. I was a very young boy back then, but still remember the panic and chaos that eruption brought to our town. Every last one of us had to be evacuated from the island because we did not think we could survive it. And now, it seems history is repeating itself once again.” Dr. Basil’s voice trailed off. He sighed and looked at Julian with a blank stare. Uncomfortable silence fell in the room until Martha walked in with Dr. Basil’s medicinal bag.
“Where have you been so long, Martha?” He fidgeted annoyingly on his stool and took his bag from Martha. “Drink all of that potion, old boy, it will give you strength. All of us will need our strength soon, to face what’s coming.” Dr. Basil was rummaging around in his bag when he found what he needed and looked at Julian again. “Turn to your left, more.” This time Dr. Basil’s voice sounded displeased. “Good, now I will put this ointment on your ribs and Martha will bandage you up.” He grunted to his nurse standing behind him, “Martha! Don’t just stand there, help me with the bandages.” Martha obediently walked over to Dr. Basil’s side and helped him bandage Julian wounds.
Julian looked somewhat contritely at Dr. Basil, wondering. He quietly debated if he should push the doctor to respond to his question or if he should wait until the morning and find out for himself from other locals. Julian’s sense of urgency prevailed and he resolutely looked at Dr. Basil. “Dr. Basil, I appreciate everything you have done for me. I know that I am knew to the island and you have no reason to trust me. But I worry about my son, and I want to know if he is going to be safe living on this island.” Julian Hagan looked defiantly at Dr. Basil, simultaneously pleading and threatening the doctor with his gaze.
“Fine,” Dr. Basil looked at Martha and then at Julian, “I suppose you will find out sooner rather than later anyway. When you heard us speaking before, it was about the super storm you survived the other night.” Doctor Basil shifted on his stool and looked out of the window. “I was part of the island council meeting this morning,” he continued. “We have not seen a storm like that in over 40 years. The council members think the storm was caused by an underwater earthquake.” Julian leaned forward closer to Dr. Basil. “Where was the epicenter, doctor?” he asked in a raspy voice. “They think it was a hundred miles west of us, old boy.” Dr. Basil shifted on his stool. “One of the council members is a seismologist, Emma Green. She has lived on the island all her life and she studies earthquake activity. According to her charts, and of course they would have to be verified, there have been several underwater earthquakes in the last 30 days. Some were small, some were rather big. But this last one registered as a 6 on the magnitude scale. Emma thinks the earthquakes are increasing in their intensity as well. Something to do with titanic forces at work.” Dr. Basil threw a tired look at both of his listeners.
After a few moments of silence went by, Julian spoke first “Do you think that means that Tristan volcano is waking up?” his voice got higher as he spoke. The doctor didn’t have a chance to respond as he saw the lamp next on the bed side table move back and forth. He managed to let out a viciously loud grunt, “Get under the table!” Within moments the rusty old cupboard in the room moved and fell right beside Martha, who barely jumped out of the way in time. Julian sprung out of bed and in two large jumps found himself crouching next to Martha. He pulled her underneath an oak table in the corner of the room with such force that she thought her arm would come out of its socket. The whole room was shaking with unimaginable force as if a loud train was running right next to it. Dr. Basil managed to make his way underneath the oak table before the room split in half. The three stunned people crouching underneath the table saw the cottage break apart in front of their eyes.
