Charles couldn’t help himself and reached for the light. Sure enough, through the blinding light, he saw both Dottie and Tom sitting at the table in his room. Tom held a rope in his hands, Dottie a knife.
Perfect.
He was about to speak, but she leveled the knife at him. “It’d be best if you didn’t.” So he was silent. He immediately started to look for a way out. But there was only the one door and he was sure that he’d get stabbed if he tried anything.
Instead he decided to talk anyway. “So is this what you guys do? You kill them and serve them to your guests?”
They looked confused. “What?”
“You don’t eat them?” Charles said. If he was going to die, he figured he might as well find out why.
“No. Sorry Charles. Guess again.” Dottie said.
Charles had no idea and he didn’t really plan on figuring it out. Instead he took a chance. He reached for the lamp and tossed it at Tom. It smacked him right in the face. He yelled and covered his eyes.
Charles leapt off the bed and charged at Dottie. She had the knife, but if he was fast enough, he would be able to catch her knife arm.
She swung at him and catching her was exactly what he did. She was light and overall not very strong compared to Charles. He was easily able to disarm her. He pushed her away from him and held the knife at them both. Tom was still picking shards of glass out of his face when he looked over at Charles. His face was bleeding and he looked to be in a great deal of pain.
Charles reached over and grabbed the rope. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with it, but he didn’t want it anywhere near them.
“Get up!” He yelled at them. He kept thrusting the knife at them, threatening to cut or stab them with it.
They both did as they were told. Dottie glared at him as she stood up. Charles pointed them towards the door and pushed them into the hallway.
Would he tie them up outside? He had to put them somewhere while he called the cops.
That was when he remembered the map that Dottie gave him. It had a well outside. That would work just fine. It didn’t have any doors, they could break down while he was gone. He doubted they’d be able to climb out without help either.
So that’s where he led them. Getting to the backyard was easier said than done though. The entire place was dark and Charles was trying to keep both of them in his sights so they didn’t try anything funny. Dottie was the one he was most worried about. Tom was still too busy picking glass out of his face and preventing blood from getting into his eye to do anything.
Once they got outside it was a little easier to find the well. The moon was full, giving Charles a clear path to the well.
“No. Wait!” Dottie said. She tried to turn around but stopped as Charles pointed the knife at her. “Please don’t put us in there.”
“Dot, what’s he doing?” Tom asked, covering his eye.
“He wants to put us in the well.” She said. She looked scared out of her mind.
“Oh god…” Tom said. “Please. Tie us up, call the cops, anything. Just don’t put us in that well.”
The fact that they didn’t want to go in the well, made Charles want to do it even more. “Keep moving.” He said.
When they made it to the well Charles peered over and saw something that could have been a skeleton down there. He didn’t have a flashlight and left his phone in the room. But it wouldn’t have surprised him to see a skeleton down there.
He turned back to them. “So this is where you dump the bodies then?” He asked.
They were silent. He expected as much. Their expression kept switching between complete terror and glaring at him. He ignored them and lowered the rope he took from Tom.
“Please…” Dottie said, coming up to him. She tried flashing him that amazing smile of hers. But this time it looked twisted and manipulative.
“Get in.” Charles said. There was a small breeze, just enough to make him shiver. He threw the rope over and forced them to get inside. Tom went first, but the blood on his hands made it slippery to hold the rope and he slipped. Charles wasn’t sure how far down the well went, but Tom fell the whole way. He heard the crunching of bones when Tom hit the ground.
“Please don’t do this to us…” Dottie said.
Charles ignored her and motioned to the well. Dottie got down there a bit easier than Tom did. Charles swore he could hear her crying.
He pulled the rope up immediately and began running back to his room. He wondered what was so scary about that well that two people who tried to murder him were freaking out about.
As soon as he could he called the cops. He told them what had happened and that they needed to come right away. The person on the other end seemed kind of tired, but said they would send a squad car over right away.
Charles paced awkwardly in front of the entrance to the Inn while he waited for the cops to arrive. During this time he could swear he heard the most horrific scream’s coming from the backyard, but he couldn’t have cared less, after all these people would have murdered him without hesitation.
After what seemed like hours a squad car finally came around. He answered the usual questions and did a quick test to prove that he wasn’t drunk. It was only once that was done the cop decided to follow him inside.
They went out back, with Charles pointing at the well. He told the cop that he saw bones down there when he looked. He was positive that’s where they put the bodies of all the people they killed.
But when they looked inside they didn’t see anything. Charles called their names several times, but there wasn’t any response.
Finally the cop took his flashlight and peered down the well. He immediately drew his gun and pointed it at Charles.
Charles threw his hands up and asked the cop what was wrong. The cop backed away handing him his flash light and told Charles to look inside.
What he saw dropped his jaw. There were no longer two humans down there.
Instead there were bloody bones, covered in pieces of torn flesh. All the skulls he could see had blood on their teeth.
ABOARD THE SS VICTORIA
CHAPTER ONE
The wind of helicopter’s rotor beats harshly against the waves of the ocean beneath it. They were flying low, below the radar as ordered.
Kate felt the spray of ocean water against her face. It was both refreshing and annoying at the same time. It kept her aware of her surroundings, but no matter where she moved on the helicopter she was getting water on her. She eventually gave in to cleaning her face every few minutes.
“Target is nearly in sight.” Said the pilot’s voice over their headsets. “We should be within drop range in fifteen minutes.”
Kate gave a silent thanks. She was used to rough flights, but flying this close to the water sent the turbulence through the roof. She was more than ready to get on board this ship.
“Let’s go over the details real quick.” Said her leader, Terrence. He was a huge, burly man with dark skin and a mean looking smile. He was dressed in tactical gear like Kate was.
He opened up a small binder and flipped through some the pages. They were laminated, Kate noticed. Someone had thought ahead on this one.
“Okay, so we’re looking for the S.S. Victoria. She was a cruise ship that disappeared near the Bermuda Triangle a two days ago.” He smirked at everyone on board. “Tell me if you’ve heard this one before.”
They all cracked a smile at the very least. Terrence continued on.
“Alright. So. The ship was spotted just of the coast of West Africa early this morning. We’re currently flying towards her last known location. There has been no contact with any of the ship’s crew since it disappeared. The hope is that we find the ship before it runs aground.”
“The goal is to see if the ship is still intact. If so we’ll go aboard, see if anyone’s still alive. We’ll report back our findings. After that we’ll leave the ship to be collected by the company. Our main goal is to search for survivors.”
>
Kate did her best to pay attention to his briefing as the water sprayed into her eyes. She hoped they were nearing the ship.
Another message came over the headset. “There’s something coming up ahead. I think it’s the ship.”
Kate caught Terrance’s eye. “Alright everyone, show time.”
Kate looked out at the ocean. She could definitely see something. It looked too big to be a rock formation and it definitely wasn’t an animal. They might actually have reached the ship. Finally!
Terrance handed Kate her rifle and she slung it over her shoulder. She checked the ammo cartridge and chambered a round. She grabbed a helmet off the rack and strapped it over her head. It had a tri-light set up for night vision. Since the ship was no doubt out of power, they would need the lighting.
“One minute out.” Said the pilot.
Terrance finished checking his gear. “Everyone clear on the plan?” Everyone nodded. “Good. Get ready.”
Kate pulled a hook from the side of the helicopter. It was tied to a cable strong enough to lift several hundred pounds if need be. She hooked it to her belt and prepared herself to jump down to the ship.
She saw the ship appear below her. She waited for the order to go. With the doors open it would be impossible to hear someone talking to her. Kate looked over at Terrance. He held a hand out and counted down from five with his fingers.
On the final count Kate jumped. Along with the rest of the team, they descended down towards the ship.
They landed perfectly on the deck and unhooked themselves. The cables returned to the ship.
“I’ll circle around and look for a better place to land.” The pilot said over the headset. “Best of luck guys. See you on the other side.”
The pilot cuts off as he flew away and out of range of the crew. They now only had themselves to worry about.
There were six of them in total. Enough for three teams of two. That’s the formation they would be following for the duration of the mission.
“Alright everybody. Let’s do this fast.” Terrance said. He took point and led the group through the first door.
It was immediately apparent that something other than a power failure had happened on this ship. The smell hit them square in the face. It was the kind of odor that choked you, made it impossible to breathe.
“What the hell is that?” Kate asked, coughing through her words.
“I have no idea.” Terrance said. “But let’s just hope it’s rotting food and not rotting people.” He said.
“But haven’t they only been like this for a few 48 hours?” Kate’s partner Jake said. “It takes a lot longer than that for food to go that bad…”
“Let’s just hope it’s food.” Terrance repeated.
The further they went into the ship the darker things got. Without an order, they all began to flip on the flashlights and laser sights attached to their rifles.
“Alright, we need to split up and cover as much ground as possible.” Terrance said. “Laurence you two take the mid-level. I’ll take Connor and go top. Kate, you and Jake have the bottom. Be careful guys and keep in contact. If you guys find anyone, radio and we’ll head over to help you.”
“Roger that, sir.” They all said and began splitting up.
Kate took the lead between the two of them. The ship was dank and smelt of old water. She wondered if the lower levels were flooding. If that was the case, then the mission’s timetable would go so much faster.
They made their way down as far as they could, with the goal of making their way upwards as they searched.
The first thing Kate noticed on their way down was that the ship was not flooded. There were definitely some leaks here and there. The ship had suffered structural damage, but it wasn’t anything to be worried about just yet.
As Kate stepped forward the ship would grumble and echo throughout the empty chambers.
“Careful now.” She said. “We need to be careful how much weight we put on these lose parts. We don’t want any accidents now”
“Got it.” Said Jake.
CHAPTER TWO
They continued on carefully, scouting each room individually. They split the rooms down the middle, with Kate taking the rooms on the left and Jake the rooms on the right.
Unfortunately the first floor they checked was a bust. They found nothing but abandoned rooms and clothing. Most of which were suffering from water damage.
“Do you think we’ll find anyone down here?” Jake asked. “Doesn’t make sense to assume that they all went to the largest room on the ship?”
“You’re probably right.” Kate said. “But it’s better for us to be safe than sorry.” And so on to the next floor they went.
The cruise ship had roughly twenty floors. Each one was roughly the length of the entire ship. They were thorough in clearing out each room, so it took about fifteen minutes per room. Kate didn’t do the exact math, but either way it meant they were going to be on this thing for a while.
The pace changed slightly when they moved up a floor. This time they could hear something moving around.
“Animal? Maybe?” Kate said. Whatever it was seemed to be bouncing off the walls.
“Who brings their pet on a cruise?” Jake asked.
Kate shrugged. “I don’t know. Rich people?”
“Which room is it in?” Jake asked.
Kate pointed ahead. “I think it’s that one.” They moved quickly. Kate took up a position against the wall across the door, rifle ready. Jake had his hand on the door handle, ready to go on Kate’s command.
She gave the nod and Jake pulled the door open. Kate went inside, her flashlight quickly covering every inch of the room she could see. Jake came in behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there. He cleared the bathroom and the closet before returning to the main part of the room.
There were clothes everywhere, but no sign of the noise they were hearing. “Maybe it was some of the wreckage moving around?” Jake said, looking around confused.
Kate didn’t agree. It didn’t make sense. What they heard sounded like something living was in this room.
Then they heard breathing. It was soft and low, kind of like a cat’s purr. Kate and Jake rechecked the whole room, looking under piles of clothing and stacks of junk trying to find the source.
It wasn’t until Kate noticed the slightly of rising and falling on the bed that things began to change. She saw the blanket carefully rising and falling, like someone was asleep underneath it.
“Is anyone there?” Kate asked. “We’re here to help.”
“Maybe they’re unconscious?” Jake said. “We should radio back.”
Kate nodded. Jake turned away for a moment and sent a message to the rest of the squad. He relayed their location and what they were dealing with.
“Roger that Jake. We’re on our way.” Kate heard Terrance say over the headset. In the meantime, they had to figure out what was going on with the person they found. Were they dead? Sick? Injured?
“Sir? Ma’am?” Kate began saying. “We’re here to help. We’re going to get you off this ship.” Kate moved towards the bed and reached for the blanket.
“Careful.” Jake said, holding his gun ready.
“You don’t need to shoot them.” Kate said, pulling the blanket off.
The rest happened so fast. There was a screech and something lunged at Kate. Whatever it was began clawing at her face, tearing the helmet off and throwing it across the room. She couldn’t see, but she managed to grab its arms and hold off its attack for a moment.
But then she felt its head crash against her nose. It spat at her and tried to bite at her with its teeth.
Finally she heard two shots and the beast screamed, swung around and made its way towards his new attacker. Jake took a few more shots of which the last one hit the beast between the eyes. It fell to the ground and was dead instantly.
Kate took in several deep breaths and tried to calm her nerves.
&
nbsp; “Are you alright?” Jake asked, coming over to her.
She nodded and continued trying to breath. Kate felt blood coming out of her nose and several scratches on her face. Thankfully the armor she was wearing protected the rest of her body.
“I can’t see.” She said. “Help me find the helmet.”
They searched for a moment before finding it on the floor. The strap had been torn off completely. Even so, it was a tight enough fit that if she didn’t move too fast it would remain still.
Kate turned the lights back on and looked over at her attacker. It was still human shaped, whatever it was. She turned it over with her gloved hands, examining the body. It was human, or at least used to be. There were sores all over its body. It looked like it had been exposed to intense amounts of radiation.
“Where would a cruise ship come into contact with radiation?” Jake asked her when she told him what she’d been thinking.
She shrugged. “I have no idea. This might not even be radiation poisoning. We won’t be able to tell for sure until we get the body back into the chopper.”
The rest of the crew had arrived. Kate informed Terrance of what had happened and that the only thing that took it down was a shot through the brain. He took his own look at the body.
“I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m glad you’re okay though.” He shook his head as he looked over the limp corpse. “We heard similar noises on our section, but we hadn’t gotten a chance to check it out before we got your call. There’s probably a lot more of these… things than we think.”
“What do we do if that’s the case?” Kate asked. There was more creaking from the ship. Kate suddenly felt the need to apply more pressure on her legs to keep herself righted.
“We’re tilting!” Kate called out. She immediately went towards one of the walls and braced herself.
“Brace yourselves!” Terrance yelled. Everyone followed Kate and got against the wall. There was more creaking, it echoed through the halls of the ship. Then gravity took hold and Kate could feel her weight falling against the wall.
Kill or be Killed (Horror Series): Three in One Box Set (The Collection of Horror Series Book 1) Page 2
