by Ben Hammott
Coleman nodded at Thomas. “Keep an eye on him. If he panics, shoot him in the leg.”
Coleman grinned at Eddie as he turned and headed toward the rows of crates.
Eddie nudged Thomas with an elbow. “He was only joking, you know that, right?”
Owen smiled. “Coleman is in charge and it was an order, so…”
Eddie glanced at Coleman and Owen moving through the crates and gazed around the room at the many dark areas. It was damn spooky down here. He hoped he didn’t panic.
Moving cautiously through the narrow gaps between the stacks of crates, Coleman was alert for any signs of the animal. The cargo creaked with the ship’s movements through the rolling sea and one of the bulkhead lights flickered and buzzed annoyingly. When he smelt something coppery, metallic, he recognized the scent of blood. For it to be that strong, there had to be a lot of it, which didn’t bode well for Swain’s health.
Coleman glanced at Owen who moved along the other side of the neck-high crate stack. A soft whistle attracted his attention.
Owen stopped and looked at Coleman, who pointed with his gun at the far side of the loaded pallet. It seemed he had noticed something. Owen nodded, and with his weapon leading the way, kept pace with Coleman as they inched forward.
When Coleman leaned forward and peered around the crates, he saw a sight that would haunt him for the rest of his life. What was left of Swain was barely identifiable as a human being. Scattered bones partially picked clean of flesh, lay in a large pool of blood. Swain’s head lay on its side, displaying sections of the skull where chunks of his face had been eaten.
Owen balked on seeing the carnage, turned away and spewed his last meal down the sides of the crates.
An eerie shriek rang out from across the room.
Coleman’s gaze shot toward the sound. Whatever had made it was hidden by the cargo and the darkness. Aware they couldn’t move fast amongst the crates if whatever had made the sound came for them, Coleman headed for the aisle to seek out the source of the sound. “Owen, let’s go.”
Owen, pale and scared, wiped his mouth on a sleeve and followed.
Thomas and Eddie stared across the room at the thing that had appeared and leapt across the piles of cargo toward them. It had a pale, skull-like head, large mouth and a body and limbs that were absent any hair. Thomas remained calm, raised his gun and followed the creature’s leaps. His finger squeezed the trigger. The gunshot echoed through the room, causing Eddie to jump from the loud retort. The bullet sped by wide of the creature and ricocheted off the wall. Fighting the instinct to flee the approaching creature, Thomas adjusted his aim and fired again. The creature squealed as if in pain and dropped out of sight behind some crates.
“Did you hit it?” asked Coleman, stepping into the aisle with his gun aimed across the room.
Owen kept his weapon aimed at the place where the creature had disappeared. “I think so.”
“That was no damn monkey,” stated Eddie, who had backed nearer the exit.
Coleman noticed the look of fear on Eddie’s face, but he paid the scared man little heed. He was lazy, unreliable and useless in this situation. “Did you get a good look at it, Thomas?”
“Not enough to describe what it was, but Eddie’s right, whatever it is, it isn’t a damn monkey, that’s for sure.”
“Whatever type of beast it is, we need to see if it’s dead. You come with me, Thomas.” Coleman glanced at Owen, his face was ghostly pale tinged with green. He looked like he could upchuck again at any moment. “Are you all right?”
Owen shook his head. “Not really. What do you want me to do?”
“Remain here and watch our backs.”
“What shall I do?” asked Eddie.
Coleman glared at the man. “What you’re best at, absolutely nothing.”
The insult went way over Eddie’s head. Pleased he didn’t have to confront the creature, he backed a few more steps nearer the exit.
Coleman and Thomas headed across the room.
Thomas kept his gun trained on where he had last sighted the creature as he moved toward the position.
Coleman’s flashlight focused on the dark red splash down the side of a crate. “Well, you hit it, now let’s see if it was a killing shot. You go around the side, and I’ll go over the top.”
Thomas nodded nervously and moved away.
Coleman climbed onto the nearest pallet and moved toward the splash of blood. When he was almost at the gap where the creature had fallen, he glanced at Thomas and nodded. The two men rushed forward with their weapons held ready to shoot anything they found there. Except for a small patch of blood, the gap was empty.
Hoping the creature had been killed, Owen’s watched his two companions. His head spun toward the scampering sound that grew louder, nearer. Something was on the move and heading straight for him. He glanced at Eddie for support who, on hearing the sound, physically trembled. He would be of no use. Owen backed away from the crates with his gun following the scampering of something unseen moving between them. The sound stopped. Owen’s light searched for the creature as he sidled to the right and forward until he was able to see between the crates. There was nothing there. Eddie screamed. Thinking the man was being attacked, Owen turned.
Eddie raised his arm shakily until it pointed at something past Owen.
Something scraped on a wooden crate behind him. Owen cursed as he spun. Something small, dark and evil, brandishing bloodstained teeth and claws, leapt at him. He pulled the trigger three times before the monster slammed into his chest. As he fell, the creature’s claws savagely raked Owen’s face, neck and chest. The gun slipped from his hand when he struck the floor and skidded across the room. He felt warm blood gushing from his wounds and heard the grunts of the thing responsible as it tore off chunks of his flesh. Owen saw the only person who had the chance to save him, drop his weapon and run for the door. As his eyes closed for the last time, he saw Eddie open the door and rush through it.
Shots rang out. Splinters burst from the wooden crate beside the monster when the bullets struck. It glanced at the fast approaching humans and abandoned the bloody remains of its latest victim. It bounded across the top of the crates and dived out the door Eddie had left wide open.
Puffing and sweating heavily, Eddie reached the end of the corridor and paused to catch his breath. Gunshots from within the cargo hold gave him some hope the creature had been killed. The thud on the floor and the growl that rumbled along the corridor turned his head. He screamed on sighting the monster and sobbed when it bounded toward him. He climbed the stairs and goaded his unfit body to move faster than it was able. Paw thuds drew closer. A snarl too close for comfort opened his bladder. The monster leapt. Its claws dug into Eddie’s soft pudgy flesh.
Eddie shrieked as he crashed to the stairs. Teeth cut into his lips when they shattered on impact with the edge of a step. Pain wracked his body as claws frantically ripped through clothes and skin. He turned his head, gazed into the monsters evil eyes and screamed.
A gunshot echoed along the corridor. The monster screeched when a bullet grazed its neck. As the second gunshot rang out, it ran up Eddie’s body and dug a long sharp claw into one of his eyes when it leapt onto the stairs. From his remaining good eye, Eddie glimpsed the monster turn the bend in the stairs and disappear. Someone touched his shoulder and turned him over.
“Hold on, Eddie, we are going to get help.”
It was Coleman. Eddie knew he was beyond help; too many arteries had been severed for the inadequate medical staff aboard to fix. Coleman’s face appeared in his blurred vision. Eddie grimaced weakly. “Kill it!”
Coleman nodded. He stood and shook his head at Owen.
Owen looked at the rips in Eddie’s skin and wondered how the man was still alive.
“Come on, Owen, we need to get after it before it attacks someone else.”
The two men left Eddie to die alone and chased after the monster.
The creature reached the top o
f the stairs and shot glances left and right along the short corridors that disappeared around corners and led the length of the ship. It headed right, turned the corner and rushed past doors on either side.
The maid gave the passenger cabin she had just cleaned a final glance to check all was in order. Satisfied it was, she pushed the cart loaded with cleaning equipment, clean towels, sheets and everything else she might need to service the rooms, into the hall. The cart was yanked from her hands when something crashed into it. Cleaning liquids, sponges and soaps spilled from the cart as it shot along the corridor and tipped on its side. Believing a passenger hurrying through the corridor had collided with the cart, the maid rushed out to help and hoped they weren’t injured; she should have checked the corridor was clear.
At first, the maid wasn’t sure what she was looking at when the small, dark figure freed itself from the towels and sheets that had fallen upon it, but when it was uncovered and bared its teeth in a vicious, evil snarl, she knew it was nothing she wanted anything to do with. She screamed and dodged back into the room when it bounded toward her. She slammed the door shut and was knocked back when the monster struck. She stumbled but kept to her feet and rushed at the door when a claw reached around the edge. She slammed her shoulder against the door. The claw disappeared before the door crashed into the frame. She shook with terror as she turned the lock and kept her weight pressed against the thin barrier between her and the monstrosity outside. Gunshots blasted out in the hall. The monster thudded away along the corridor. She let out a relieved sigh as she slid to the floor and started crying.
Coleman and Owen turned the corner in the corridor and saw the monster at the door. They aimed and fired one shot each. Both were dismayed to see the monster dodge the deadly bullets. It had uncannily fast reactions. They readjusted their aim, but the monster leapt onto the wall, tearing out gouges with its claws and jumped from wall to wall, making it impossible for them to aim fast enough. They sped along the corridor after it.
Accompanied by screams from those humans it encountered during its rush through the ship to be free of the two in pursuit, the monster arrived at the main staircase that wound up to a higher level. Ignoring the screams of a woman and a few fainting bodies, it glanced behind. It was pleased to see it had distanced itself from its pursuers.
Thumping and slithering directed its gaze at a fainted female in a blue dress fainted sliding down the steps toward it. It leapt upon her unconsciousness form when she reached the bottom and started feasting. Screams of horror from the shocked onlookers failed to divert it from its meal. It felt the strain on its skin as its feasting body steadily outgrew it. It would need to find somewhere quiet and secluded to transform. It ripped a final piece of flesh from the woman’s thigh and dived for the double doors.
Three men, unaware of the danger they were about to face, pushed open the dining room door and stepped through. They froze in fright at seeing the monster and were then knocked back through the doors when it barged into them. The creature tripped and tumbled across the floor. It crashed into a table, knocking chairs aside and spilling the table over. Crockery and tableware crashed noisily to the floor. It climbed onto its four limbs and roared loudly. The room fell to silence for a brief shocked moment before the screams and yells of alarm erupted.
The monster jumped onto the nearest table speedily vacated by its four occupants and scattered the morning tea service the passengers had been enjoying. It sniffed the triangles of various flavored savories, before sending them flying across the room with a flick of its claw. The monster leapt from table to table and fleeing human to fleeing human, leaving a trail of chaos and wounded in its wake as it searched for a way out. It headed for the door where sunlight streamed through. A woman in its path froze on seeing the monstrous form heading straight for her. The creature snarled, and with claws extended, leapt upon her.
Enjoying the warm breeze blowing off the ocean, Greyson stretched out lazily on the steamer chair. He sipped his coffee that was a bit strong for his taste, as he listened to John Henderson bragging about the time he had shot a charging lioness with one shot while on an African safari. Greyson was only half listening, his thoughts on the forthcoming Maya exhibition, which he was certain would be spectacular with the addition of golden relics. Their artistic workmanship far surpassed any previously discovered Mesoamerican relics. They would make him as famous as Howard Carter when news of the fantastic discovery swept around the world. Of course, he would ensure Kramer received his fair share of the credit, not that the man seemed to mind one way or the other. The search and the discovery was what interested him; what came after was fallout he would rather not be involved in. Kramer’s attitude ideally suited Greyson’s opposing view of seeking fame and recognition for his work at every opportunity, even if not always exactly deserved. But then again, he had been there when the wondrous treasure hoard had been discovered, so it was only fair he should receive half the credit, or more.
When screams and yells pulled Greyson from his pleasurable thoughts, he directed his confused gaze upon the people rushing from the dining hall. Some were so eager to escape some dire threat they almost spilled over the rail into the ocean.
Concerned by what was taking place, Greyson and his companions climbed to their feet. When Greyson noticed the look of terror spread across Sybil’s face, he turned to find out what she had witnessed. He stared though the large window at the chaos that reigned in the dining room. Tables, chairs, plates and people flew in all directions. Suddenly, a woman with her dress ripped wide open, breasts hanging free, slammed against the thick glass. Her mouth opened wide to emit a terrified scream the thick glass barely muffled. Blood ran from a deep wound that stretched from her neck, between her naked breasts and ended at her naval. Just as suddenly as she had appeared, she was yanked away from the glass. The shocked onlookers caught their first glimpse of the monster responsible for the chaos. They watched in horror as it fed on the poor woman, whose useless attempts of fighting it off with slaps of frail arms ended when life departed her, and she flopped to the floor.
The monster casually gazed at the window while it chewed and locked eyes with Greyson briefly. It snarled and leaped away when gunshots muted by the thick windows, rang out. One struck the glass, cracking it.
Greyson’s eyes followed the monster that fled across the room until it disappeared amongst the crowd of panicking passengers and crew trying to escape the carnage. Ashen faced, Greyson slumped on the steamer chair. He was unable to comprehend what he had seen—a living, breathing Maya god demon come to life and once again among the land of men. It didn’t bode well for their continued existence.
CHAPTER 8
Carnage
Coleman and Owen pushed through the crowd of panicked passengers and fought their way through the lobby. They were greeted by chaos and carnage in the dining room. People ran hither and thither as if unsure in which direction to flee from the monster, which had moved so fast and so erratically, its route was impossible to predict. Those who had passed too close, were attacked and, if they had survived the encounter, suffered serious wounds.
When Coleman spotted the monster feeding on an unfortunate soul across the room, he rushed toward it. As he raised his gun to fire, a man dragging a frightened woman along by the hand stepped into his path.
“Get out of the way,” Coleman shouted, noticing the terrified expressions they both wore.
The couple took one look at the gun aimed in their direction and veered to the side.
Coleman fired.
At the sound of the gunshot, the monster leapt from the corpse it had been devouring, snarled at Coleman and rushed across the room.
Coleman’s weapon followed the monster’s route, but he was unable to fire in fear of hitting the panicked passengers who constantly blocked his view. He lowered the weapon and sprinted across the room with Owen close on his heels.
Those who failed to get out of the monster’s path to the twin doors leading onto the dec
k were knocked aside. They crashed into tables, tumbled over chairs and tripped over the dead, dying and the fallen.
Determined to escape, the monster crashed into the doors it had expected to swing open and rebounded back into the room. It stared at the doors and smashed into them again. Glass cracked and frames buckled when the doors were forced to open in the wrong direction. The monster rolled across the deck and spilled an old woman from her wheelchair. The distraught woman stared at the beast and screamed. The annoyed monster grabbed the hysterical woman from the deck, bit her face to silence her piercing screams and tossed her overboard. Onlookers, some frozen in fear and others screaming, watched the monster flee along the promenade.
*****
Penny and Sam were enjoying their adventure on the large ship and had wasted no time setting out to explore. The lifeboats set along the sides of the ship had proven too tempting to investigate as a possible secret hiding place. They had chosen one as a temporary home and stole blankets to line the hard floor.
The turned-back corner of the lifeboat’s canvas cover allowed light inside, highlighting Sam and Penny’s excited faces as they tucked into the cake and orange juice taken from the dining room.
Sam gazed around the boat’s interior. “Cushions,” he said.
Penny swallowed the chunk of rich fruitcake and looked at her brother. “What?”
“We need some cushions to sit on. I saw some in one of the grownup rooms that we could use.”
Penny eyes twinkled mischievously. “We’re going to steal them?”
“Well, no, we’ll borrow them and put them back when we don’t want them anymore.” Sam noticed Penny’s excitement fade. “But, of course, that’s what all robbers say, but really it’s stealing. If we get caught, we might go to prison, but I ain’t worried.”
Penny’s excitement was back. She was thoroughly enjoying the adventure now they were on their way to England and their aunt, who she remembered as a kind lady with two children a little older than them.