Free EXOSKELETON II: Tympanum by Shane Stadler

Horace explained, “and you’ll then find that some of the details of Cook’s Antarctic adventures have been overlooked.”
    “ You wrote the monograph on the Cook expeditions,” Sylvia blurted. “I’ve seen it.”
    “Yes, I published it in 1964,” Horace said. “In December of ’63, I’d discovered something in Cook’s captain’s log that didn’t have much meaning to me at the time, more than a half-century ago.” Horace smiled and rubbed the white stubble on his chin. “My, the time has passed.”
    “Does it mean something now?” Daniel asked, leaning forward in his seat.
    “Patience, Daniel,” Horace said as he smiled and raised his hand. “Cook’s ship hit something, probably ice, and was damaged. They were dead in the water for two days while conducting repairs. They were fortunate to have calm seas at the time, since they had to get under the hull – an extremely dangerous operation in the icy waters.”
    “They had to go into the water?” Sylvia asked, and seemed to shiver.
    “They’d devised means for handling such a situation, but a person could only stay in the frigid water for a minute at a time,” Horace explained. “But it’s fortunate that this incident occurred. You see, while the men were under water, they heard a noise.”
    “What do you mean, like an animal?” Daniel asked.
    Horace shook his head. “Mechanical, like a knocking sound,” he replied. “The sailors who’d worked in the water described it as a repeating pattern of sharp noises – painful to the ears.”
    Daniel wrung his hands. “Could it have been someone on the ship making the noise?”
    “The crew was spooked, so Cook ordered everyone to the deck to make sure no one could do such a thing,” Horace replied. “It would only take some prankster with hammer, although it might be hard to mimic the noise as it was described. Once everyone reported on deck, the repairmen were lowered into the water one-by-one to see if the noise persisted. Cook himself did it.”
    “And?” Daniel asked, intently.
    “It was there,” Horace chuckled, seemingly in response to Daniel’s captivation. “Soon the repairs were complete, the wind came back, and they sailed away.”
    “Were the sounds confirmed by anyone else?” Sylvia asked.
    “Two years later, the Royal Navy sent a ship to the area and the noise was gone,” Horace said. “They’d checked again a few years later. Again, nothing.”
    Horace rubbed his hand over his head and took a breath. He continued, “You both have done enough research to know how unrelated events could turn out to be connected. And this observation by the fabled Captain Cook is connected to the present.”
    “How so?” Daniel asked.
    “Well,” Horace said as he leaned back in his chair. He put his hands behind his head and grinned. “The noise has returned.”
     

CHAPTER III
    1
    Saturday, 9 May (7:03 a.m. CST – Chicago)
     
    Will’s gut was as heavy as lead as he got into the SUV and started the long drive south. He had no appetite, and coffee only made his stomach burn. Being the weekend, at least he wouldn’t have to fight traffic on his way through the city.
    The sun shone brightly on the left side of his face as Interstate 57 South took him out of Chicago towards Memphis. He put on his sunglasses and turned off the scratchy AM radio, leaving him with only his thoughts and the sounds of tires and wind.
    He and Denise had grown much closer than he’d realized, and leaving her behind was more difficult than he’d imagined. After his fiancé had deserted him, he thought he’d never trust anyone again. Denise was different.
    The night before, she’d made dinner for him in her apartment. Afterwards, they split a bottle of wine and talked until well after midnight. She’d expressed her feelings without holding back, and he told her how he felt. There were many tears.
    He’d explained why he had to leave – that she and Jonathan would be in danger if he stayed. Although