"Then the sea monster rose up from the depths and....", Finn clapped his hands together like giant jaws. "CHOMP!!!! No more boat!"

     "Aaaaah! Finn! Stop it!", Eko exclaimed covering her ears and scowling at her brother.

     "Where is the sea monster now?", Kai's eyes were wide with a mix of fear and awe.

     "In its lair... waiting for unsuspecting boats to pass by... that's when it will rise again, and... ATTACK!!!", Finn had moved around behind Kai. On the final word, his hands shot out and he lifted Kai off the deck. Kai shrieked and squirmed.

     "PUT ME DOWN FINN!!!", Finn only laughed and began to tickle Kai.

     "No! No no no!!! No tickling!!! Aaaaah!!! Raela!!! Help!!!!", Kai yelled through his laughter.

     Raela rolled her eyes and laughed as she set down the book she had been reading. She ran up to Finn and tickled his sides. Finn put Kai down and started toward Eko.

     "No!! Raela, save me!!", Eko shrieked and ran to Raela.

     Raela lifted the seven-year-old into her arms and scowled playfully at Finn. "No more torturing your siblings Finn. Let's go inside and get you two ready for bed. It's nearly dark.", Raela said, walking across the deck and opening the door to the cabin.

     Kai looked off the bow of the sailboat, looking into the dark blue water.

     "Come on, Kai!", Finn called, holding the door open for him. Kai left the bow and ran into the small cabin.

     Eko was sitting on one of the little benches by the porthole. She watched the sky darken as the boat gently rose and fell on the waves.

     "Look! An island!", Eko said excitedly.

     "What? Where?", Finn frowned as he came to join his sister at the small window.

     "There!", Eko pointed to a dark mass on the water silhouetted against a quickly darkening sky.

     "No, that can't be an island. It must be a cloud that's just low on the horizon.", Finn said, double checking his navigational chart just to be sure. "There's no island near us right now."

     Raela walked over with two plates of macaroni and cheese for Kai and Eko. Kai took off his life vest and sat down, devouring his dinner.

    "Do you want me to take off your life vest too?" Finn asked Eko.

     "No!!!" Eko protectively crossed her arms over her chest making the buckles inaccessible.

     "Why? You're safe in here. You can't fall off the boat when you're inside.", Finn pointed out.

     "But...", Eko lowered her voice as if worried someone or something would hear her. "But what about the sea monster?"

     "Finn was just making that up to scare you.", Raela said, "But you're welcome to keep wearing the life vest if you want to."

     Eko nodded and finished her dinner then climbed into her hammock, still wearing her life jacket. Kai laughed at his sister as he climbed into his own hammock.

     "Goodnight, you two," Raela said. She walked over to Eko and pulled the blanket over her.

     "Raela?" said Eko.

     "Yes, what is it?" Raela asked.

     "Are you going to marry my brother?" Eko whispered excitedly.

     "Where did this idea come from?" Raela asked.

     "Are you?" Eko repeated.

     "I don't know. Maybe you'll have to ask him." Raela smiled.

     "Awwww... I want you to!" Eko said. Raela laughed and finished tucking Eko into the blanket.

     Raela turned off the main lamp, leaving the cabin in near total darkness. Slowly, Kai fell asleep, then Eko. Raela and Finn climbed into their hammocks and fell asleep soon after.

     The boat rocked slightly on the waves. Everything was peaceful.

*******

     CRASH!!! Everyone was awakened by the deafening thunderclap. Rain splattered against the portholes.

     "It's the monster!" Eko screamed, jolting awake.

     "No, it's not. It's a storm. Hold on." Finn said, leaping out of his hammock and making his way over to the door to the cabin. This was easier said than done as the boat rolled and rocked on the churning waves.

     Raela got up quickly and began to tie down their belongings so that they wouldn't get thrown around by the storm.

     "What are you doing?" Kai's eyes were wide.

     "I need to try to turn the ship. I need to angle it into the waves, otherwise, it will capsize!" Finn said, tying a rope around his waist and attaching it to a metal loop in the wall before throwing the door open and running onto the deck. Immediately he was hit with a ton of water as rain and ocean water swept onto the deck.

     Finn ran to the mainsail and grabbed the sheet, trying to angle the sail so the ship would turn into the waves. He tied off the rope and then ran to the rudder, trying desperately to turn the bow into the waves.

     "Finn!" Eko yelled from the cabin of the ship. She was clinging to her blanket. Her eyes were wide and afraid. She did not like seeing her brother so frantic and in danger.

     "I'll be back in a minute, Eko!" Finn shouted over the roar of the storm.

     The ship began to turn. It rocked dangerously. Lightning flashed. A wave rose up. Finn wrestled with the rudder and the bow angled into the wave. The bow rose up and then dipped down as it reached the top of the wave and began to slide down the other side.

     A huge wall of water swept over the deck and Finn gripped the rudder with all his strength to keep from getting swept off the deck. He was very glad he had tied himself to a rope so he wouldn't get lost in the churning ocean.

     The ship rose up until it seemed to freeze with the bow directly above the stern, but then somehow it began to level out as the waves swelled and shifted, lifting the stern and lowering the bow. Another wave rose and smashed over the bow. It washed across the deck.

     Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. Waves roiled.

     Something hit the hull with a loud hollow thud.

     Then, there was a scream.

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading my story The Ghost of Harp Island! I'd love to know what you think so far! Please leave a comment about your thoughts!