Ten minutes later I was drenched to the elbow in bug guts and having a bad time. Our party was close on my heels, but only Pam seemed to not be winded.

“Come on” I called. “We can’t afford to stop moving.”

“Easy for you to say.” Rob wheezed, as he hobbled up the steps in his dress shoes and slacks. The ship creaked and groaned as it rocked gently to one side. I threw out an arm to steady myself.

The rogue rushed up the steps past me, seeming to have kept her footing. Outside the double sliding doors leading to the deck were splattered with blood. From the look of the Aftermath, it appeared the Hive Lord had come through here.

I scanned the deck, heart in my throat. But there was no sign of the bastard anywhere. Instead, the few spiderlings that had been coming to the corpses turned out the way.

“I’m getting sick of you assholes,” I growled, holding out my hand and concentrating. The magic surged through me, stronger this time. The handle of a dagger appeared in my palm and I wrapped my fingers around the cold hilt.

The blade glowed a faint yellow, and even as I watched the sands around it shifted and spun. I whipped it through the air a few times and nodded. I was getting better at this.

The first Spiderling rushed me and I had to dodge aside as its powerful jaws snapped in the empty air where my leg had been. I twisted, flipping my blade over in my palm and slashing for its head. Blue blood spurted in an arc, covering my hand. As it touched the glowing sands of the blade, it hissed and steamed.

A second spiderling turned from where it was engaged with Rob and set its angry little bug eyes on me.

“Come on then,” I snapped and the damn thing didn’t hesitate. The bug rushed forward, skittering on the wood like a demented crab. I dodged aside again and slashed for a leg which came off with a clean snick. The spiderling lurched off balance and bit at me. This time I was too slow to avoid the pincers that clamped down on my arm.

Pain lanced through my forearm as the sharp jaws drew blood. The spiderling shook its head licked a dog, and tried to throw me off my feet. I slammed my knife into the space between its head and neck chitin, cutting through soft flesh.

Ding!

You have slain Spiderling x2

Pam rushed over to me and helped me prise the dead jaws off my arm. I examined the wound, frowning. It was nothing serious, but some of the rips in my skin showed muscle. I’d have to wash and dress the wound If I didn’t want an infection.

I glanced around and saw Rob and Nat dispatching the last enemy on the deck. We were clear to move, and by the look of things, we’d better hurry. The sky was turning grey with a storm that hadn’t been there before. I could still see the tear in the fabric of reality.

Red and blue energy swirled from within and I wondered where that rift led. Into hive territory perhaps? Or maybe somewhere in the Multiverse.

Ahead the elevator leading to the VIP sat at the top fo a short flight of steps. There was a podium in front of it, presumably where the staff would check the ID’s of anyone attempting to enter.

Now it was eerily empty, the only sound the distant thunder of the brewing storm. I pulled the stolen VIP keycard from my pocket and gestured to Pam.

“Can you keep watch?” I asked. “Let us know if the Hive Lord shows his face.”

“Another party could have killed him,” said the rogue hopefully. Jack made a face. His leg was bound with strips of cloth from a torn sheet, and he was limping badly.

“Doubt we’ll get that lucky. Have you seen any more survivors? Chances are he’s picking off stragglers. For all we know they level up like we do.”

That was a disturbing thought. I glanced at the sky again as lightning flashed. The boat listed again, and I gripped the rail to keep myself upright. It was getting worse – and I knew exactly why.

In front of the elevator, a small keypad lit up at my touch. I lifted the ID and scanned it, holding my breath. The light flashed green and the doors dinged as they slid open. I arched a brow.

“So the power for the VIP section still works but not the rest of the ship?” I whistled. “Talk about priorities.”

“Who’s coming with?”

Rob stepped forward, lifting his sword in a salute.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I might be of some help locating the Captain. My father was a Merchant Marine, at this rate sailor ranks are as familiar as the back of my hand. Though, we might want to make finding the chief engineer second priority if that storm is anything to judge by.”

I grimaced and nodded, stepping aside to let him into the elevator. There were three buttons, one of which was labeled “crew”

I jabbed it with my thumb and nodded to Pam as the doors slid shut. Rob let out a breath like he’d been holding it for hours. He leaned his sword against the wall of the elevator and removed his glasses, whipping them on a clean square of his button-down.

“You got family?” I asked him, leaning against the wall. It took me a moment to realize I was still holding the glowing dagger and I released the magic before it could drain any more of my mana.

“Had,” said Rob, his smile pained. “My parents passed several years ago, and I was an only child. I suppose I should be grateful they didn’t have to live through the end of the world.” He glanced up.

“How about you?”

I ran a thumb over one of the silver scars on my knuckles.

“It’s complicated. My mother still lives in New York and I worry for her. But I have to admit she’s a fierce woman. I don’t believe she’d go down without a fight – not for a second.”

Rob nodded his head.

“If they’re anything like you, then I would like to think they are doing just fine.”

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. The rush of salty air was as pleasant as the soft music playing from down the hall. Unlike below the carpets were plush, and the walls lined with paintings of the ocean.

To the right was a set of glass doors that were propped open with a wedge. The metal plate on the wall read: Crew common room. I strode forward and popped my head it. The room was nothing more than a couple of tables and chairs and a small mess in the back corner. What’s more, it was completely empty.

“That’s… weird,” I said, walking past the common room to one of the crew cabins. It was ajar but looking inside revealed a few well-made bunks that seemed like they hadn’t been slept in. Rob walked down the hall to peer in another open room. He turned and shook his head.

“They’re all empty,” he said, slowly.

I frowned and scrubbed at the five o’clock shadow on my chin.

“Well if the crew isn’t in the crew quarters then where…” I trailed off as I glanced down and saw the stain on the bottom of the wall. Red, not blue.

Rob followed my gaze and knelt to examine the now-dry red stain on the wall. He gripped something and pulled it free with a grunt. It looked like some sort of bug appendage.

“Shit,” I said. “So the Hive got in here too. The crew must have retreated to another floor. Come on,”

Rob and I jogged the length of the carpeted hallway, shouldering a white door that led to a small staircase. The trail of red blood brought us to the third floor. The one labeled: Suites. I glanced at Rob and he adjusted his glasses on his face.

“I’ll go first,” he said. I held out a hand to him.

“Give me a second.”

Bringing up my stat window I took my remaining skill point and put it into dexterity. With my ability to summon weapons, and the way my sand powers seemed to function, an agility build with a focus on mana seemed the way to go.

First, we had to survive getting eaten by a giant Kraken. A feat that I hadn’t yet figured out how to pull off. I nodded to Rob and together we burst out into the hall.

Something shot past my head and buried itself in the wall behind me. I spun and saw an arrow quivering at ear height.

“Well damn it Susan,” snapped a man wearing a sunhat and an irritable expression. “I told you to wait before you shot.” He was wearing a pair of slacks and a t-shirt, and I couldn’t help but notice the sword slung over his back.

“Sorry,” said Susan, lowering her bow. “We thought.. well…” she gestured lamely at the carcass of a spiderling lying nearby. I didn’t have time to waste on chit-chat.

“I’m looking for the Captain,” I said. “Have any of you seen him?”

The man frowned, eyes sliding from my hoodie to my pair of beat-up sneakers.

“How did you get in here?” he asked, ignoring the question. I resisted the urge to grind my teeth.

“Look,” I said. “In case you haven’t noticed we’re in the middle of the goddamn Apocolypse. A Kraken is on the way to sink this ship and kill everyone on board so if you don’t fucking mind,” I stepped forward cracking my neck.

“Where is the Captain?”

“I think you’d better tell him, Steve,” said Susan softly, looking at the ground. Steve shot her an irritated look but when I took another step forward he threw up his hands.

“All right all right,” he said, the wind clearly going out of his sails at the threat of violence.

“Listen the man came up here in a hurry. He was agitated, and said something about trying to contact the Coast Guard and the Navy and getting no answer. He said the lines were dead and started saying something about a system.”

He shook his head.

“He was clearly disturbed. Locked himself in that room and told us not to disturb him.”

“And you left him there?” asked Rob dubiously.

Steve shrugged.

“What was I supposed to do? He’s the Captain.”

A few others poked their heads out of the nearby rooms watching as I strode past Steve towards the door. I raised a fist and banged on the door several times.

“Captain,” I said, raising my voice to be heard. “I know you’re in there. We’ve secured the main deck and-“

The door creaked open. It was dark inside and the air was stale. I flipped on a light switch and paused when I saw the corpse on the bed.

“Hey Rob,” I said, without turning my head. “Can you Identify the Captain?”

Rob walked over, lowering his sword and giving me an odd look. When he stuck his head around the door his eyes widened.

“Is that him?” I asked. Rob swallowed audibly and nodded. I sighed and turned to look down the hall. I recognized one of the crew's pressed white uniforms and pointed at the woman wearing them. She looked like a deer in the headlights.

“What’s her rank?”

Rob adjusted his glasses, squinting.

“Uh,” he said. “I believe that is the First Mate.”

“Congratulations,” I said. “You’ve just been promoted.”

The ship gave an almighty lurch as something large struck the hull. The florescent lights in the hall blinked and dimmed.

"You don't happen to have a protocol in teh event of a Kraken attack do you?" Asked Rob hopefully. The woman shook her head.

"I can steer the ship," she said. "But-"

"Then that will have to do," I said. "Get what and who you need. I don't know about you, but I don't intend to die here."

The woman hesitated for a long moment then her expression became resolute. She drew herself up and turned to some of the crew members now loitering in the hallway.

"Let's get this ship back underway."