[mookiemookie]

"Let's GO, officer cadet!" The instructor yelled impatiently as Mookie struggled up the rope. The shouts of his crewmates had a tone not of encouragement, but more of frustration. There would be much running in store for everyone if Mookie did not make it to the top of the rope. His breath came in grunts and gasps as he slowly put one hand over the other and....

...his hand hit flat rock. Mookie slowly lifted himself up onto the ledge and plopped himself down in the alcove to take a breather. The memory of that day climbing the rope at the Royal Naval College seemed to be a million miles and years away. His arms ached much the same way though, this evening in Finland. However this time, he had much better motivation than the threat of running a few laps. His very survival was at stake.

As he lifted his head up, he took survey of his surroundings. The rock walls were crumbled, but as Mookie ran his hand across them, he saw that there were intricate carvings in the rock. What the meaning of them was was beyond him. He was no archaeologist. Just a Royal Navy officer caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Some time later, Mookie finally had reached the top level of the lighthouse ruins. The view was incredible. He could see for miles in each direction. There was Castle Collinswood and the POW camp. He could make out tiny figures entrenched along the beach past the POW barracks. There was the nunnery that he had overheard others talking about in the camp.

The sun was setting across the sea to the west. Glitters danced across the waves. There were no ships in sight. Undiscouraged, Mookie began to search for something that would be of use to him...