by Ben Hammott
Greyson followed Coleman onto the bridge and took in the carnage that was becoming an all too familiar sight. Coleman crossed to the exterior door and disappeared outside to check the monster wasn’t in the immediate vicinity.
Greyson followed Coleman’s progress through the large screen, but found himself focusing on the torn body of the man protruding through the window and the splatters of blood dripping down the glass and pooling on the console. A sign the monster hadn’t long vacated the wheelhouse. Wires ripped from the controls and smashed gauges and dials inflicted by the claws of the passing creature indicated some damage had been caused. Greyson glanced at the unmanned wheel worriedly.
Coleman reentered the bridge. “There’s no sign of it. It could be anywhere by now.”
Greyson indicated the wheel. “Shouldn’t someone be steering the ship?”
Coleman crossed to the console and checked the controls. “The ship is locked onto a heading.” He wiped blood from the cracked compass, made a mental note of the bearing and crossed to the chart table.
Greyson studied the chart as Coleman’s finger followed the red line drawn on it.
Coleman tapped the end of the red line. “We’ll reach Portsmouth in a few hours.”
“Then that’s how long we have to kill it because the monster will wreak havoc if it reaches land.”
Coleman nodded. “I’m determined to make sure that never happens.” He glanced around at the dead crew. “First things first. We need to get the survivors safely stowed somewhere. The dry food locker should be big enough for the them to fit in. It’s in the kitchen off the dining room, so everyone should know how to get there. It also has a metal door that should keep the monster out.”
He moved to the console and picked up the internal radio mike.
“This is a message to all survivors. For those of you who are unaware, the creature is on the loose again. I believe it is currently somewhere outside on one of the decks. We are setting up a secure safe room in the dry store, which is located just off the kitchen and to the right of the dining room entrance, through the door marked staff only. All surviving crew are to head to the atrium and guide the passengers to safety. May God be with you all.”
He replaced the radio mic and turned to Greyson.
“Now, before we go and check on the survivors, what is this plan of yours?”
CHAPTER 10
Kids in Danger
Fear sped Sam and Penny down the stairs onto B-Deck and along the corridor. They had heard Coleman’s message and were heading for the kitchen when they came across the creature.
Sam glanced at his sister’s face when she sobbed. “It will be all right, Penn. You know I won’t let anything harm you.”
“But you can’t fight a monster, Sam,” she said between sobs.
“Maybe not, but we can hide from it until the grownups kill it.” He squeezed her hand gently in reassurance.
“But where are the grownups? Maybe the monster killed them all?”
Sam had wondered the same thing. The ship seemed deserted. “No, Penn. There would be bodies, and we’ve seen none.”
“Not if the monster gobbled them up.”
Behind them, a door in the stairwell slammed against the wall. The crash echoed along the corridor. A deep-throated growl rumbled along the passage, increasing Penny’s fear and her sobbing. When the monster’s footsteps thumped down the stairs, Sam pulled his sister into a side door and glanced around the long narrow room they had sought refuge in. In the mirror that almost ran the length of the ladies’ toilets, he caught a glimpse of the worry that shrouded his face and the fear on his little sister’s, who shook with terror at what was coming.
Heavy footsteps pounded along the corridor outside. Sam pulled his sister into the second cubicle along and locked the door. He hugged Penny tight as the footsteps grew nearer, louder, and relaxed slightly when they moved past the toilet entrance.
The monster bounded along the corridor, but when the small humans scent faded, its claws ripped gouges in the carpet as it skidded to a halt. It turned until it picked up the scent again and nudged the door it led to with its snout.
Sam clamped a hand over his sister’s mouth when the door banged against the wall. Her terrified shaking almost brought tears to his eyes. He was determined that nothing would harm her while he was around, but she was right—he couldn’t fight the monster. The monster’s claws clicked on the tiled floor when it entered the room. Its deep, sinister breathing interspaced with an occasional throaty growl was as menacing as its presence. They both jumped in fright when the door of the cubicle next to theirs slammed open. It was searching for them. Sam shoved his sister to the floor and pointed at the gap beneath the stall wall.
Penny squirmed beneath the cubicle wall. Sam quickly followed. They pulled their feet under as the monster pushed against the door that didn’t open as easily as the last one. A forceful knock with its shoulder sent the lock flying and the door crashing open. It sniffed the air as it stepped into the cubicle.
Sam silently indicated for his sister to keep moving through the cubicles. Before he followed her, he reached up and quietly slid the lock shut. Even a few seconds delay would be worth having. He froze when the monster’s snout appeared under the bottom of the cubicle they had just fled. He stared at its eyes that looked back at him. Sam raised a foot and slammed his heel down on the monster’s head. It screeched and jerked its head back so violently it smashed through the side wall of the opposite cubicle. It roared with anger as it climbed to its feet and began destroying the cubicle walls.
Sam caught up with Penny in the last cubicle as the cracking and splintering of wood began. He grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the cubicle. She almost screamed on seeing the monster’s reflection in the mirror. It clawed and smashed the flimsy partition walls in its attempts to find them. As they sprinted for the exit, Sam glanced at the monster traveling too fast in the opposite direction to stop abruptly and attack. They locked eyes for a second. Whereas Sam saw hate and murderous intent in the monster’s gaze, the monster saw defiance and hope in his.
The monster’s frustrated screech heralded their entry into the corridor and faded as they rushed along it.
The monster bounded across the room and out the door. It smashed into the wall in its haste to catch the fleeing humans it glimpsed disappearing around a corner. It picked itself up and rushed after them.
*****
Greyson had no idea where the monster was or which direction he should head in. Though he was scared to death at encountering it again, he knew he had no choice. The monster had to be killed before the ship reached port. It had managed to kill half of the passengers and crew in such a short space of time; he could only imagine the carnage it would wreak if it escaped from the ship onto heavily populated land.
The monster’s roar brought Greyson to a halt. He stared ahead at the sound of approaching footsteps. His plan didn’t seem so well implemented now he was about to come face to face with it again. He glanced at the weapon held in his shaking hands. Though it might slow the creature down, it wouldn’t kill it. He retreated a few steps when the monster roared again, much closer now.
Awareness that the monster was about to appear around the corner and see him drove away his last vestiges of bravado. He was a sitting duck in the corridor. Greyson looked for a hiding place. He rushed for the cupboard a few steps away, slipped inside and softly pulled the door shut. Hoping the monster wouldn’t hear his rapidly beating heart that threatened to leap from his chest, or smell his fear, he peered through the door slats as the footsteps drew nearer. A boy and a girl sprinted past. Surprised by the children’s appearance, he went to open the door. The monster’s shriek froze him. The floor vibrated from the monster’s bounding strides along the corridor. Greyson held his breath when its dark form passed by only inches away. The girl screamed. The monster roared. Fear and shame for not helping washed over Greyson, but what could he do? The monster was too powerful for one man to
fight.
Sam turned when his sister screamed, and her hand was pulled from his. She had tripped and fallen. He glanced back along the corridor at the monster running toward them. It would reach them in a few bounds. He was about to snatch up his sister when he noticed something behind the monster, a man.
Greyson knew he would never be able to live with himself if he didn’t try to help the children. He stepped out of the cupboard and shouted, “Hey, monster, why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”
The monster skidded to a halt and turned.
Worried he would hit the children if he fired the weapon, Greyson grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall.
The monster stared at the human it decided was a bigger threat than the small humans and rushed at him. Greyson turned and fled. As soon as he had rounded the corner, he pressed his body flat against the wall, raised the fire extinguisher in two hands, and wondering what the hell he was doing, listened to the approaching thuds of the monster’s footsteps.
The monster rounded the corner, saw a flash of red and then pain exploded in its head when something struck its face.
As the monster fell backwards, Greyson moved nearer, slammed the extinguisher at its head again. He was rewarded by the satisfying crunch of bone. When he raised it for a third blow, a claw lashed out and ripped it from his grasp. As the extinguisher clattered along the corridor, Greyson stared at the monster’s crushed face reforming magically before his eyes.
“Quick, mister, before it recovers.”
Greyson glanced at the boy beckoning him urgently to join him along the corridor and rushed toward him. “Are you both okay?”
The boy nodded and glanced worriedly back along the corridor. “But we won’t be if we stay here.”
Greyson glanced back at the monster staggering to its feet.
Sam grabbed his sister’s hand. “Come on, Penn, we need to keep running.”
“I can’t, I’m too tired,” moaned Penny.
Greyson scooped up the girl. “Let’s go.”
As they fled, Penny looked at Greyson. “Mister, are you going to kill the scary monster?”
Greyson forced a smile. “I promise you, it is something I intend to try, but first I need to get you two somewhere safe.”
CHAPTER 11
Monster Hunt
After stowing Sam and Penny with the other survivors in the kitchen’s dry store, Greyson setoff in pursuit of the monster again. The fate of the children and the faces of the frightened passengers and crew had reinvigorated Greyson’s determination to put a stop to the monster’s bloodthirsty rampage. This time, if it could be avoided, he would keep out of the narrow confines of the corridors.
Greyson cautiously made his way along the promenade deck toward the external dining room door. He peered through the large windows designed to allow diners to take in the seascape as they ate. Even though some of the tables and chairs had been relocated to the bar and the bodies had been removed and stored in one of the kitchen’s large cold rooms, the blood-splatters, broken crockery and disarray remained as evidence of the carnage that had recently invaded the passengers expected pleasant voyage.
Greyson forced his way through the buckled doors and glanced around for signs of the monster. Though he was glad to find it absent, it would have made his terrifying task easier if it had been there. The gun he aimed at the far door shook in his trembling grip. Broken crockery and glass crunched beneath his feet as he made his way through the chaos. Though Coleman had volunteered to carry out this part of the plan Greyson had concocted, Greyson had insisted he should be the one to draw the monster out. It wasn’t bravado that had prompted his decision, but guilt about all those who had suffered because he had brought the monster aboard. Even though the stowaway was responsible for setting it free, it brought Greyson little comfort.
Greyson pressed his face close to the glass panel of one of the doors that opened onto the foyer and peered through. It was empty of life. He was about to venture into the atrium when a dark shape passed the doors. He dropped to the floor and froze. Had it seen him. His eyes darted across the room to the doors he had entered. They seemed impossibly far away.
The monster, confused by the absence of humans who had previously been in plentiful supply, had returned to the area where many of them had gathered before. Disappointed to find it deserted of food, it stopped, turned its head toward the dining room and sniffed the air. Uncertain if the human scent was fresh or lingering from the past occupants, it stepped nearer the entrance and nudged its snout against the door. Its warm breath fogged the glass as its evil eyes scanned the room. Such was the monster’s strength, that when it applied pressure on the door to open it, Greyson was pushed along the floor with it. The monster poked its head through the gap and looked around the room.
Greyson tilted his gaze at the frightening spectacle. The bottom of the monster’s head stretched into the room; if it looked down he was a dead man. He prayed it couldn’t feel his trembling body vibrating through the door. He fell back when the monster withdrew, and the door swung closed. He lay there for a few moments listening to the monster’s footsteps retreating across the foyer before letting out the breath he had been holding. As he shifted into a crouch, the gun barrel scraped on the floor. Greyson froze. He expected the monster’s footsteps to rush at the door to investigate the sound, but when that didn’t happen, he slowly raised his head and peered through the window. The monster’s face was pressed against the glass looking straight at him.
Spilled onto his back when the monster barged through the door, Greyson rolled, jumped to his feet and rushed for the far exit. The monster’s bounding footsteps were close behind. Greyson dodged around some of the remaining tables in an attempt to slow it down, but the monster knocked them aside as if they were made of cardboard. He risked a glance behind. The monster was so close, one bound from its powerful legs and it would be upon him. He dived under a table when the monster sprung. It slid across the top and crashed to the floor, cutting off Greyson’s route to the exterior door. Greyson rolled away and jumped to his feet at the same time as the monster regained its footing. He aimed the gun at it and fired. The monster shrieked when the bullet embedded in its chest. Greyson sensed it was more from annoyance than pain. The monster picked the table up and threw it at its attacker.
When Greyson raised his arms to fend off the missile, the table knocked the gun from his grasp and toppled him to the floor. The table landed on top of him. He crab-crawled from beneath, turned, and crawled under another table. The monster landed on the tabletop, poked his head over the edge and snarled at him.
Greyson’s eyes searched for the gun and found it too far away to be of use. He snatched up a broken chair leg and thrust the sharp, splintered end into the monster’s face. This time its shriek was filled with pain. It tumbled off the table and landed beside Greyson, who quickly dodged the scythe-like claw that lashed out to rip his flesh, climbed to his feet and backed toward the door.
The monster glared in hatred at the man it would make suffer when he was within its grasp. The human’s death would be slow and painful. It gripped the wooden leg with a claw, pulled it free of its flesh and tossed it aside. The blood seeping from the wound began to slow as its body started the repair process. It growled at the human and rushed forward.
Greyson turned, barged through the doors and sprinted along the promenade as fast as his trembling legs would allow. He hoped Coleman was set up and ready, or the plan would fail and they would all likely die.
Coleman stared out through the window of the cargo crane’s small cab and wondered if Greyson had located the monster yet or if he was still alive.
“Get ready, it’s coming!”
Coleman looked toward the shout. Greyson appeared at the end of the promenade running as fast as he could. The monster in pursuit skidded around the corner a short distance behind. As his eyes followed the monster’s progress, Coleman rested a hand on the control he needed to activate at the correct mom
ent. He would only get one chance.
Greyson glanced behind when the monster skidded around the corner and crashed into a stack of crates, giving him the precious few seconds he sorely needed. He changed direction and headed for the center of the open deck where a tarpaulin had been stretched out. He stopped dead in its center and breathing rapidly turned to face the oncoming threat.
The monster slowed when it approached the human who no longer fled, but bizarrely, stood there, as if waiting for something. Its head moved from side to side searching for danger. It knew from experience how crafty humans could be. When it detected nothing that caused it any concern, it approached its prey.
Greyson’s fear screamed at him to flee when the monster came nearer. Aware of its incredible speed, he worried if he would be able to avoid its attack when it came, but it was imperative he stayed until the last possible moment for the plan to work. The monster bent its back legs in preparation of springing on the human and leapt with claws reaching for its prey. Greyson dived to the side when the monster’s feet left the ground. The monster snarled at the human’s lame attempt to avoid its fate. It landed on the tarpaulin, and as it turned, it dragged the cover with a claw. Something glinted, distracting its gaze from the fleeing human. It shrieked in dread when it saw the gold net beneath the cover. It sensed a trap and was about to dodge away when something struck its head, sending it crashing to the deck. It screamed in pain when its wrist became trapped under the edge of the golden cage that had dropped from the skies. The flesh smoked when the cage cut through it. It jerked its severed limb away and screamed again when it fell against the golden bars that trapped it. Lines of flesh down its back smoldered. It moved away and kept to the middle of the cage. It glared at the approaching human. They had tricked him again.
