Horror Sci-Fi Box Set: Three Novels

by Bryan Dunn

  Then what felt like an earthquake suddenly vibrated along the entire length of the keel – and the Seraph sagged and shifted and then began to slide.

  “Son of a bitch!” Harry yelled. “The bastard’s coming off the ice!”

  * * * *

  Outside, gaping tears spread along the Seraph’s hull, steel plates buckled, and metal groaned. Racing across the ship’s bow, the heavy anchor chain rattled across the deck, sounding like a derailing freight train.

  As the stern slipped farther and farther into the sea, the chain was drawn tight, and…

  Then from somewhere out on the iceberg a groaning, popping sound filled the air as the anchor was torn out of the hole it was buried in. One of its massive flukes turned and bit down hard into the slick surface, and a wedge of splintered ice sprayed through the air…

  * * * *

  Inside the galley, the lights flickered off and on. The room filled with the terrible sounds of the hull as it scraped across the ice and slipped towards the sea.

  Amy, Harry, Dr. Rousseau, and Captain Chabot watched in horror as water began to rush past the portholes. Then they were all thrown to the floor when the ship suddenly jerked to a stop with another horrible crunching sound.

  Amy clawed her way onto her feet and tried to look out of a porthole. “Oh God, we’re under water!”

  The others pushed off the floor, staggered to their feet – and all of them immediately saw the dark water pressing in at the portholes.

  “Looks like the French navy has a new submarine,” Harry said, not taking any pleasure in the jibe.

  The glass lens in one of the portholes went ping – and it cracked. Behind them, across the galley, another porthole cracked with a loud pop, and then another. The twisting ship’s hull was distorting the porthole openings, stressing them far beyond what was ever intended.

  From between one of the cracked porthole lenses, Harry watched as a few beads of water quickly turned into a pencil-thin line that arced across the galley and soaked a far wall.

  “We’re fucked,” Harry said.

  And, bang! The glass in all the portholes failed. Water poured into the galley like it had been shot from a canon, the terrifying roar filling their ears.

  “We’ve got to get the hell out of here!” Harry yelled.

  “Monsieur McNills is right,” Captain Chabot said, emerging from his self-pitying funk.

  “Welcome back, captain,” Harry said. He grabbed his makeshift spear, then went to the chopping block, pulled out the boning knife, and slipped it into his belt.

  Freezing water pooled around their ankles and swirled up their legs as they made their way to the forward galley door.

  The captain was the first to reach the door. He knocked open the metal dogs that lined each side, spun the wheel, releasing the locks, then pushed – but the door didn’t move. He leaned forward, putting his weight into it, and heaved. Nothing.

  Harry stepped around the captain, placed his hands on the door, and pushing together, they broke the airlock free. The door swept outward against the swirling water.

  “Let’s go,” Harry said, stepping into the flooding corridor with the others following close behind.

  The team splashed down the corridor, Harry in the lead, spear raised. They swept around a corner and entered a dimly lit passageway just as an overhead light arced with a blue flash and exploded.

  They continued forward, pushing toward the bow. With each step, they were relieved to see the water receding around their ankles.

  “Where the hell am I going, captain?” Harry asked. “We’ve got to move up.”

  “There’s a stairwell at the end of this corridor. It leads to the boat deck.”

  Harry grabbed Amy’s hand, and with Captain Chabot and Dr. Rousseau in tow, they moved to the end of the passageway, entered the stairwell, and immediately raced up the companionway.

  At the top of the landing, Harry cautiously stepped out of the stairwell, knife-tipped spear at the ready – and entered the ship’s library and sitting room.

  Two deeply scarred mahogany bookcases with latching glass doors were filled with ancient-looking leather bound volumes – none of which had probably been read for decades. Overstuffed chairs that had once been arranged neatly around the room were now jumbled and stacked together against an aft bulkhead.

  After he was certain it was safe, turned and called back to the others. “All clear.”

  Amy entered the room, gripped a handrail that lined one wall and anxiously glanced around. Right behind her, Captain Chabot and Dr. Rousseau pushed inside, and they too immediately grabbed the rail to steady themselves on the slanting floor.

  Using the handrail, Amy moved farther into the room and joined Harry next to one of the bookcases.

  “Where to now, captain?” Harry called out.

  “This way,” the captain said, crossing the room and leading them out the main door at the uppermost bulkhead.

  Outside on the boat deck, they gathered along the port rail and saw that the ship had shifted on the ice, and had almost completely slipped off the iceberg. The anchor chain had been drawn piano-wire tight and was the only thing keeping the Seraph from a watery grave.

  “My God, the anchor chain…” Dr. Rousseau said, looking down at the chain deck. “It could part at any minute. We’ve got to get off the ship!”

  “Au revoir, doc,” Harry said. “I’ll take my chances right here.”

  “Harry’s right,” Amy said. “Out there, on the ice – we’d have no chance against that thing.”

  “What makes you think it hasn’t returned to the ship?” Captain Chabot offered.

  They all turned and looked at Captain Chabot with a, “thanks for bringing that up” look.

  Harry glanced up at the ship’s mast, then checked to make sure the boning knife was still in his belt. “I’m going to try for the bridge, see if I can get the radio working.”

  “I’m going with you,” the captain said. There was no room for argument in his tone.

  Harry stared at him, then gave a nod. “Amy, you and Dr. Rousseau –” Harry stopped in mid-sentence – his eyes locking onto a lifeboat that had been swung out over the rail but was still securely attached to its davits.

  “Captain,” Harry said, turning towards Captain Chabot. “Do you think it would be safe for Dr. Tyler and Dr. Rousseau to hide in that lifeboat?”

  Captain Chabot smashed his lips together, thinking. Then, with the surefootedness of a veteran sailor, he moved down the deck, stepped up to the lifeboat, and began to examine the lines that secured it to the davits.

  “It is safe. All the lines are in good working condition.”

  “All right,” Harry said. Then he turned back to Amy and the doctor. “Amy, you and Dr. Rousseau hide in the lifeboat. Keep the canvas pulled across the top. If we’re not back in twenty minutes, get the hell away from the ship.”

  “I don’t know, Harry,” Amy said anxiously. “I don’t think we should split up.”

  Harry went over to Amy, slipped the knife out of his belt, and held it out to her. “Here. I pity the son of bitch if it runs into you with that.”

  Amy took the knife and stared down at the sculpted blade, still unconvinced.

  Chapter 55

  Harry and Captain Chabot moved through the main salon, The journey back through the ship was much easier as the Seraph had settled into a more forgiving position when it last slipped on the ice.

  Moving as quietly as possible, the captain motioned for Harry to pass through a small door next to the ship’s bar.

  They entered a narrow passageway lined with teak cabin doors. About halfway down the corridor, one of the cabin doors suddenly swung open – and hanging on a brass clothes hook, the body of a deckhand suddenly lurched out directly at Harry’s face.

  Harry yelled. Before he had a chance to stop himself, he ran the tip of his spear clean through the dead man’s chest.

  “Shit!” Harry said. Then he staggered back, pulling the spear
out of the body.

  “Shit.”

  “Mon Dieu,” the captain gasped, his face devoid of all color.

  “Jesus,” Harry added, staring at the dead sailor. Then he reached out and shut the door, returning the corpse to its hiding place.

  “Let’s keep moving,” Harry said, stepping past the door and continuing down the passageway.

  “There. On your left,” the captain said, just before they reached the end of the passageway. “That stairway leads up to the bridge.”

  Topsides, Harry and the captain moved down an observation deck toward the bridge. As they approached the door, they both crouched down and stopped just short of the opening.

  Harry put a finger to his lips and gripped the spear. As he reached for the handle to open the door, the captain put a hand on Harry’s shoulder, stopping him. “I am still the captain of the ship,” he whispered. Then he rose, stepped around Harry, pushed the door open and stepped onto the bridge.

  Harry followed the captain inside, and both them stood in stunned silence as they looked around the ruined interior. The helm was completely smashed. The floors and walls were coated with blood, and all the controls and electronics were rent beyond use.

  “The radio, captain… Where’s the radio? Harry asked, trying not to slip on the blood-soaked floor.

  The captain crossed the bridge and stepped up behind the body of the young officer slumped over the ship’s radio. He lifted the officer, pulling him back into a chair – and as he began to pry the headset from his rigor mortised fingers…

  They froze as a scraping sound echoed up toward the bridge. Captain Chabot released the officer and tuned to Harry just as the air filled with an acrid stench.

  “Smell that?” Harry whispered.

  As the captain nodded, yes, there was a sound outside the bridge. The creature was suddenly there standing right in the doorway!

  It was a hideous sight. Its hair was matted with fresh blood, and strips of torn flesh hung from its fingertips.

  “Fuck me!” Harry yelled, leaping forward and launching his spear directly at the center of the creature’s chest.

  The spear flashed through the air, missed its mark, and stuck the creature in its left shoulder, sending the knife blade deep into its muscle.

  The creature screamed out in pain. Then it reached up, snapping the handle in two and leaving the knife buried in its flesh.

  “This is bad,” Harry said, nervously stating the obvious.

  Captain Chabot leapt forward, grabbed Harry’s arm, and pushed him towards a door on the opposite side of the bridge. “Quickly, out that way.”

  Harry rushed across the bridge and hauled the door open. Then he looked back – and realized the captain wasn’t coming.

  “Captain!” Harry yelled out.

  But the captain ignored him, keeping his eyes locked on the creature. Then without warning he exploded forward, throwing himself directly into the arms of the advancing beast.

  “No!” Harry screamed. But the captain was already beyond hearing.

  The creature’s claws sank into his flesh and its mouth closed around the captain’s neck. Quick as the falling blade of a guillotine, Captain Chabot’s head rolled free of his body.

  Harry flew out of the bridge, pounded down the observation deck, came to the companionway, and threw himself down a flight of stairs, his feet beating out a desperate tattoo as his shoes glanced off the metal treads.

  He spilled out onto the boat deck and sprinted toward the lifeboat…

  “Amy! Amy!” Harry called as he skidded up to the railing.

  The canvas stretched over the lifeboats was torn back and Amy and Dr. Rousseau popped up.

  “Harry… Are you okay?” Amy asked, obviously relieved to see him.

  “Where is the capitain?” Dr. Rousseau looked anxiously past Harry, scanning the deck beyond.

  “He went down with the ship, doctor,” Harry said, then swung a leg over the rail and dropped into the lifeboat. “Come on, help me lower the boat. We’ve got to get away from the ship.”

  Harry and the doctor released the lines that ran up to the davits at the bow and stern. As,they let the lines slip through their hands, the lifeboat slowly moved down the hull towards the ocean below.

  Amy stripped off the rest of the canvas cover and as the lifeboat slipped past the last row of portholes that lined the hull – it rocked violently and jerked to a stop!

  Seconds later, from directly above them, the air exploded with a half-human shriek…

  Amy screamed. All heads snapped up. They watched in horror as the creature began to smash and tear at the davits, fouling the lines.

  “Goddamnit!” Harry yelled.

  The lifeboat fell another ten feet, slamming to a halt against the hull and shearing off an oarlock with a loud crack.

  Five feet directly in front of the lifeboat’s bow was an open cargo door.

  Harry scrambled forward into the bow, then turned to Amy and Dr. Rousseau and said, “Hold on.” He placed a foot on the rail of the lifeboat, swung out, reached up – and gripping edge of the cargo hold with his left hand, pulled himself forward and somehow managed to tumble into the opening.

  “Harry…” Amy called out, hoping he was okay.

  A moment later Harry appeared in the cargo hold door and reached a hand out to Amy. “Toss me a line. I’m going to pull the boat over so you and Dr. Rousseau can get out.”

  Amy leapt into the bow, coiled a line and threw it to Harry, who snagged it by leaning farther out at the last moment.

  Harry gathered up the line and immediately hauled the lifeboat over until it rested at the edge of the opening. “Okay, come on.”

  Amy reached out, took Harry’s hand, and he hauled her into the cargo hold.

  Dr. Rousseau scrambled forward into the bow and just as he reached out to take Harry’s hand…

  The creature ripped the davits out of the ship’s deck, sending the lifeboat plunging downward.

  The doctor yelled out. “No!”

  Harry’s hand flashed down, clamping around Dr. Rousseau’s wrist, holding him swinging in midair as the lifeboat splashed into the ocean below.

  Above them, the creature screamed in frustration and broke apart the railing as Harry dragged the doctor up and into the cargo hold.

  Dr. Rousseau sat resting on floor, shaken and out of breath from the close call. When his breathing finally slowed and his heart stopped thumping, he looked up at Harry and smiled. “Merci, Monsieur McNills. You saved my life.”

  Harry returned the smile, nodded, and then looked up toward the sound of the creature attacking the Seraph’s boat deck. “Don’t thank me too soon, doctor. It may only be a temporary stay of execution.”

  “Where are we?” Amy said looking around the dimly lit cargo hold.

  “This is a storage area. The ship’s laundry is through that door,” Dr. Rousseau said, climbing to his feet and pointing toward an airlock. “That is the only way out of this compartment.”

  Chapter 56

  Harry was the first through the door as they entered the ship’s laundry. The large, open compartment contained two industrial-sized washers, both of which were badly eaten by rust, a large front-loading dryer, stacks of bags filled with soiled uniforms, and corroded, water-stained walls. A toppled soap bin had coated the floor with a dusting of white detergent.

  Harry reached down and lifted a laundry bag to clear a path across the room. From somewhere above on the main deck, the creature’s hideous scream echoed through the hull.

  “It’s coming, Harry,” Amy said, stepping up behind him.

  Harry pitched the laundry bag out of the way, crossed the room to a louvered door, yanked it open, and jumped back when a blood-soaked deckhand slumped down the last few stairs and landed next to his feet with a wet thud. A steady stream of blood flowed from the end of a steel pipe that protruded out of his ribcage.

  “Shit,” Harry said. Then he leaned into the stairway, but it was too dark to see where i
t led.

  “That is not the way,” Dr. Rousseau said, “It is a dead end. Over there,” he pointed to another airlock at the far side of the room, “That is the way out.”

  Harry pushed past more spilled laundry bags and made his way over to the rusted but still working airlock. He gripped the wheel at the center of the door and spun it. The locks retracted and he swung the door open.

  Through the open door, Harry stared at the Seraph’s half-flooded machine shop. Like every other section of the ship, the room was in disarray: pipes, steel stock, grinders, cutting tools, welding tanks, and anything else not tied down lay strewn around a couple of heavy work benches.

  Harry passed through the door with Amy and the doctor following close behind.

  “Those steps, there,” Dr. Rousseau said, pointing to a companionway opening where a narrow set of steel mesh treads led upwards at a steep angle. “That’s the way up to the main deck.”

  As they crossed the room to the stairs, Harry suddenly stopped, and staring out at the flooded section of the shop said, “Wait a minute. I’ve got an idea,” Before either Amy or Dr. Rousseau had a chance to respond, he shrugged off his parka and began to strip to the waist.

  “Harry…” Amy said anxiously as he continued to undress down to his underwear.

  “Harry, are you crazy?”

  He flashed a smile. “I thought we settled that last week.”

  “What is this all about, Monsieur McNills?”

  Harry stepped into the flooded machine shop, and just before he dove into the water he said, “Be right back.”

  He fought the desire to scream as the icy water slipped over his chest and his head disappeared beneath the surface.

  Amy and Dr. Rousseau watched as Harry disappeared beneath the surface.

  Pumping his arms and legs, he swam to an airlock at the far side of the room, turned the handle, and bracing himself against the floor, opened the door to the flooded room beyond.

  Harry swam through the airlock, popped up on the other side and was now in a room where a broad staircase led to the main observation deck.