If you ask my mom, I left the Navy because I’d served my time and wanted to start fresh. If you ask the government, I left the Navy due to severe PTSD from a training accident. But if you ask me, I’d have a much longer and stranger story to tell you. One that’s been dragging on my mind enough that I finally decided to post it here.
I joined the Navy right out of high school, I didn’t have a clue what it really meant, I just needed a paycheck. After training, I was stationed on a ship that I’ll call the USS Demeter. At the time, we were positioned out in the South China Sea, something about power projection, when we were informed that we were to pick up a payload from Japan and transport it to San Diego. We weren’t told what we were transporting but that was nothing strange, everybody knows that nations often have secrets they need to protect. The handoff was a bit strange, none of the Japanese crew would look us in the eyes and there was a palpable sense of unease in the air, but everything went smoothly and we were underway shortly.
My buddy Jackson always had information he shouldn’t have. He had a way of making you drop your guard and tell him anything he wanted to know without even realizing it, so he often had information ahead of everyone else and he wouldn’t mind sharing if placated with booze. He was in his quarters with a somber expression that quickly lightened when I threw him a beer, but he didn’t start talking till I slid over the whole pack.
“Hey Tommy, how you been?”
“I’ve been pretty good, you”
“I’m alright but this new deployment seems pretty sketchy.”
“How so?”
“Well I don’t know anything about it, nobody does.”
“Dude it’s the Navy, when are we ever told anything?”
“It’s just that every other time we’ve changed the station, I’ve known everything well in advance. I don’t like this at all.”
“Lighten up man, we’re going to San Diego. I’ll take sunny skies and sandy beaches over this metal coffin any day.”
“Guess you’re right. I’m sure I’ll learn something soon.”
I left his quarters to head down to the engine room where I was stationed when I noticed a strange fog creeping out of the cargo bay. Naturally, I go to raise the alarm about a possible gas leak when I saw a shape moving through the mist, almost like a dog. I felt an odd dread fill my bones as I sprinted away as fast as I could but I felt sluggish and uncoordinated which caused me to trip over my own feet, landing disgracefully in a pile on the floor. In the second I took to recover, I noticed a distinct human silhouette making its way toward me. Three weeks later I woke up in the hospital, covered in bandages and that was all I could remember at the time.
They told me I was the only survivor, that everyone else died in a tragic gas leak and that I was spared by the virtue of passing out next to an open vent. They gave me a purple heart, told me to ignore the scars, and shipped me back home to my mom. I happily accepted my honorable discharge and tried to move on with my life but that came to an end when the memories started to come back.
The Navy still thinks I don’t remember but oh God I remember. I remember the sight of blood everywhere, I remember the screams of my crewmates as they were torn limb from limb, I remember the scent of blood thick in the air, I remember the taste of blood on my tongue, I remember the excitement pulsing through me, I remember the feeling of their flesh giving way beneath my teeth, I remember the look in Jackson’s eye when I held him down and bit out his throat. I’m not sure what was on the ship to cause what happened and I don’t think I want to know. They sank the USS Demeter somewhere off the continental shelf so nothing on that ship will ever be seen again. I guess I should feel better with that mysterious payload so thoroughly disposed of, but I don’t.
I can’t stop thinking about that taste, it was like nothing I’ve ever had before, all food tastes so bland now. I don’t want to give in, I really don’t, but I can feel my thirst growing stronger.