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41 Into Tense Waters Part 2

My hand smacks against the ladder of the ship as choppy waves crash against me. Rain lashes against my back as I climb up slowly towards the lit decks above. A soldier stands above, dressed in all black, "How many are there?" Five, one tried to swim with all the creepy crawlies. "Wait, should we even be out here?" If this contract will make me retired, I don't care that we're out here. The soldier jumps as I grab his legs, I leap off and gasp for air, we plunge in deep. He punches me and I float back. He takes out his knife, but we both look to the orange glow, then at each other. We both swim towards the ladder as fast as we can. I lag behind as the water rumbles behind me, a warmth and a contradictory fear overwhelms me. I look back and the shark whooshes past fast, forcing me to spin downward. When I get my bearings, he's getting ripped apart by that thing. I swim back up to the ladder and climb up. I grab at myself to shelter me from the rain and cold. My shivering back hugs a door as I try to calm down. As my heart slows, I get inside and a giant of a woman stares at me from her seat, glaring like an animal back at me. "Hi, had to drop my armor." I shrug with a smile, "Shark." She stands up, revealing how big she really is, "Uh-huh." Shit! "I-I'm heading down to the armory." She takes out a gun, but gunshots come from below, her radio comes on, with gunfire in the background, Taking fire! Two Men! Converge below! The guy shouts, then another voice comes on, Hello, Onyx Corp. I'm back for more. Her body stiffens up and her eyes widen. She marches past me, "Another just entered break room seven."

Shit! I turn and run to a corridor, run down some stairs and a group of footsteps clunk my way. I cling to the wall as they pass me, one grabs me and I put my hands up, "Get down below, Dirt!" Dirt? He pushes me down, then runs upstairs. Catching myself, I look back at them. Dirt?

Down the many halls, I come across a catwalk, overlooking the engine room. A man shouts to my right, making me jump, "Did you kill them yet?!" He turns to me with a smile. "Scott Crawford! A nobody enlisted. Captain Victor Graves." He holds out a hand and I pull out my knife. I rush at him and yet he puffs his chest out. I go to slice at his throat, he catches my arm and twists it, the pain forces me to the floor as he holds my arm behind me. "So you're a terrorist? You seem too much of a spook." I growl, "Go ahead and just kill me!" He twists further, "I don't kill talent, plus money says we keep you alive. Heh, what is it with money? What good is paper in this economy, right?" "Shut up!"

He cuffs my arm, "The time to talk is when you're strapped to a chair." With a deep breath, I brace and desperately twist out from his hold. He sticks a knife to my back and I stiffen up. He laughs and steps back as I slowly get up, "No experience gets you dead. Where's that terrorist spark?" He could've just stabbed me. I have to be more careful, "I'm no terrorist. Carter's corrupt." He smiles, "Proof?" I growl, "He converted the crew in less than two days! Someone like that doesn't allow proof to exist." He squints, "O'Malley?" "Missing." He puts away his knife, "He was always slippery. And Kaylin?" While putting away my knife, I frown, "Corrupted." He shakes his head, "Well, let's see what you can really do." He walks away, "Where are the two party crashers?" Dirt's on them. "Record that shit."

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Verank tears a damaged door off it's hinges, then he rushes against a hellfire of bullets, knocking soldiers to the ground. I follow up and shoot them dead. He slams the full weight of the heavy door down, caving a man's helmet in. He shouts, "Yeah!" With a pat on his back, I shout, "Focus!" He quickly turns and pushes me down. Bullets ping off his makeshift shield. "You focus!" After the bullets stop, I peek out and my eyes widen with my finger so close to the trigger. The gun goes off and I barely miss Amber's head. She glares at me, "I see you hired muscle." Verank shouts, "Big bitch!" She cringes as he drops the shield. He pulls out his big cleaver and I shout, "Focus! We need to rescue them!" "Then go find them, I'll keep this bitch busy." He rushes in and her bullets bounce off the ceiling, almost hitting me. Amber punches through Verank's wild swings and he stumbles back. She looks my way, then kicks backward, sending Verank flying against a wall. She marches towards me as I steady my hand. Verank catches up and puts the teeth of the cleaver's dull side- "No!" With one motion, she falls forward to make the loudest thud. I quickly pull myself away, "Fuck!"

"Don't ever turn your back on me." I gurgle and spit on her corpse. Now, where'd Slim run off to? Thick arms wrap around my gut. What? "You'll pay for that!" She swings me up, then slams us both to the floor. She turns and through my blurry vision, she starts punching at me recklessly. I swing up and she catches my fist, then the other. I swing my head up and she slams down onto mine. "I like you." She turns her head and bites down into my ear. I bellow out a scream and with one roll, I'm on top of her. I punch at her face, but her neck- something's underneath. That's why I couldn't- She pushes me off her and we both get up. She covers her neck as I pull out my cleaver. "I really do like you. Can't wait to string you up like all the others." She checks her hand for blood, then puts up her fists. It finally clicks, "That's why you eat so much, isn't it? To hide-" She rushes in and I block the force with the cleaver. She spits blood in my eyes and I stumble back. I cleave away at where she was, then she shouts from behind me, "Shut up!" She punches the back of my head and I collapse with a smile on my face.

As I wait, the skin in my hands start cracking. I push up and turn to her, "Well, you didn't take the bait." She holds a pistol to me with a glare, "I don't have to capture you alive, so-" I flick the blade up as she starts shooting. As bullets tear into me, I kick the cleaver's handle into her. As she stumbles, I close the distance. One punch to the face sends her into a daze as I grab the cleaver off the floor. One upward swing with all my might tears open her vest like it was paper. She nods off at the impact and pain. I swing down with the sawteeth and she blocks with her arm. As before, no blood spills from her arm. She ducks down and covers her wounds. I laugh, "Don't get embarrassed now!" I lay the cleaver on her shoulder, "I'm going to start slicing!" She starts to tremble, but it's not for me. I slowly look up to a security camera. "You're afraid of being exposed for what you truly are!?" I pick up her gun and shoot it. She jumps in her skin, then looks up at me as footsteps get closer to us, "You are fucking pathetic!" She shouts as I tear the teeth across her. I quickly pick up the battered door from earlier. "Open fire!" Bullets spark and ping off the shield as I back out the hallway.