The ship's bridge was larger than expected. Two high-backed black chairs faced a large control panel and a set of square windows out of which the sea was visible.

The surface was churning like a gas station slushy machine. I was no nautical expert, but all the flashing lights on the control panel looked like bad news. The new Captain and what was left of her crew had taken over and I watched helplessly as they did their thing.

“Hey Zade,” said Pam from somewhere by the door. “We got company.”

She was right. As if sensing the sudden change in the air, Hive Warriors were emerging from the ship. A small swarm of half a dozen spiderlings burst from a nearby stairwell. When they spotted they chittered angrily and rushed forward.

“Just keep them off of us,” called the Captain over her shoulder. “We need you to buy us time.”

“Easier said than done,” muttered Jack as he took up a place between Rob and I. I rolled my shoulders and readied myself for battle.

“This is it,” I said. “We either hold them here and give the crew enough time to act, or we’re well and truly fucked.”

I ducked aside as the spear of a Hive Warrior sailed neatly over my head. He shook his fist at me and I gave him the finger. Not today, you buggy bastard.

Holding out a hand, I managed to summon my sand dagger before the wave of spiderlings hit us. I hacked and slashed, careful to avoid the powerful jaws of the spider in front of me. I managed to get ahold of one of its spiny forelegs and jerk it off balance, slicing into the meat of its throat.

Unfortunately, the aforementioned Hive Warrior chose that moment to strike. He swooped down on me like a bat out of hell, and I was too slow to dodge aside as he struck. The world spun and I landed on my back on the deck as the warrior raked sharp claws across my already injured forearm.

I grunted in pain and managed to land a punch to the eye that had him reeling. He buzzed angrily, wings flaring as he barred his mandibles. Moments later, a crossbow bolt slammed into his head from behind.

Pam gave me a nod as she ran past. More Hive Warriors emerged from the sides of the ship, flying above and trying to rain spears down on us. My heart was pounding and I was painfully aware of my mana pool’s slow drain as I maintained my Sand Dagger.

I couldn’t maintain this pace forever. Looking around I saw that the others were locked in a similar struggle. Jack was on his back, kicking at a spiderling with his uninjured leg. I dashed over and slashed it in the back of the head.

Ding!

Ding!

I ignored the notifications now cluttering the corner of my vision and focused instead on dispatching the Hive Warrior in front of me. He was level 7, and bigger than some of the others. When I moved forward he moved back, keeping his spear between us.

Great, he was like one of those annoying video game mobs that was stronger than all the others for no apparent reason.

“Alright you,” I said, circling him. “I got your number.”

When he moved, he came on quickly. His spear thrust for my head and I had to nearly pop a squat to avoid getting impaled by the thing. I tried to lunge forward but he spun, keeping his torso facing me as I moved.

Smart, if you’re fighting an opponent who fights fair. I’m from the Bronx.

“I surrender,” I said, throwing up my arms and releasing the hold on my magic. My Sand Dagger winked out of existence and I was left open and vulnerable. The Hive Warrior clacked his pincers together, and after a moment I realized he was laughing.

He stepped forward whirling his spear in his hand and preparing to deliver me to my maker. I shot him in the head with a Sand Spike.

Ding!

You have slain Adult Hive Warrior level 7

You have progressed to level 5. 2 skill points are now available.

I panted, scanning the deck for enemies. Most of the Hive Warriors that had emerged had be slain, but there were still a few Spiderlings left to take care of. I brought up my stat window on the fly and through a point behind magic, and another behind strength.

Zade Russo

Hunter Rank: H

Class: Sand Mage

Skills Learned: Sand Spike, Weapon Summoning

Strength: 5

Agility: 6

Dexterity: 5

Magic: 7

Wisdom: 0

Unused skill points: 0

It would have to do for now. I snatched up one of the spears stuck in the deck and catapulted it towards the nearest spiderling. The blade caught it in the side and the creature screamed. Rob ran forward to relieve it of its head.

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“Nice work,” I said, nodding to the bug corpses around him. He smiled and dabbed at the sweat on his forehead.

“It’s getting easier,” he said. “I don’t know how I should feel about that.”

The others were gathered around Jack and for a moment I feared the worst. But the guy was still alive, leaning back against the railing of the ship and breathing hard. When he saw me, he smiled.

“Still alive Russo?, he asked, closing his eyes and wincing as Pam pulled at his bandage. It was soaked.

“Something like that.”

The closer I got the clearer it became that his leg had gone from bad to worse. For one thing he was as pale as a sheet, and his lips had turned an unnatural shade of blue. Flesh hung off of his leg, and there was a deep gash from the bottom of his calf up through his thigh. I swallowed and rubbed a thumb across my nose.

“How bad is it?” he asked, his smile fading to something more distant. I squatted down beside him and pretended to consider.

“Well,” I said, “I’m no doctor but you’ve lost a lot of blood. Last time I checked you were supposed to keep that stuff on the inside.”

“Idiot,” his lips twitched but his eyes were distant. “I figured this was it. I don’t think I was ever supposed to make it out alive.” He admitted, shifting his weight and grimacing.

“I’m not cut out for this sort of thing. But you?” He laughed and shook his head. “You’re a natural.”

“Don’t talk like that,” I grumbled. “You’ll Jinx it.”

He shrugged then looked like he promptly regretted the action.

“There’s got to be a healer on board this ship,” I muttered, turning to look over my shoulder. “Are you telling me that there really isn’t a healer class around? What about one of the crew?”

“There’s no one.” Pam’s voice was so quiet I almost didn’t hear it. I turned toward her and frowned.

“That can’t be right. No, I won’t accept it.” I stood. “There were some survivors in the VIP area, we can-“

“Zade, he’s gone.”

She was right. Jack was leaning against the rail, hair stirring in the stormy wind. He had a smile on his face and the sight hit me hard. I wanted to say something but somehow anything I could say felt cheap.

The ship shuddered, metal groaning as something bumped against the hull. I stood, gripping the rail as I stared out to sea. All around us the water frothed and stirred. It was a terrifying sight and if it weren’t for the size of the ship itself, the sheer scale of the thing would have been lost on me.

As it was now, there could be no mistaking it. This thing was enormous. From deep below the water something stirred. I could see it now, flashes of a dark shape moving just below the waves. I gripped the rail as the ship lurched again, nearly tossing me overboard.

“Shit,” said Pam, grabbing the rail with one hand and Jack’s limp arm with the other. The ship began to list sideways, throwing us against the rail. An Umbrella tumbled past and into the churning mouth of the ocean below.

That’s when I saw it. It rose from the depths like a nightmare. A giant purple tentacle shot from beneath the surface, spraying salty seawater in a mist around it. I shielded my eyes against the sudden downpour, and what I saw was my death.

The Tentacle was a deep dark purple that seemed to shimmer in the light. It was large enough that it could have wrapped itself around the entire cruise ship and pulled it under. Huge pulsating suction cups glistened with water. Each one was the size of a man.

Pam laughed as she clung to the rail beside me. She sounded crazy, but maybe we were all a little crazy just then.

“We’re dead,” she said, shaking her head. “There is no way in hell. Who.. who could ever contend with that?”

Salty spray plastered my hair to the side of my head. The ship righted itself with a loud groan and Pam dropped to a knee.

“All this time,” she said, still laughing. “I could have died in the line of duty. Do you know how many times I came close to staring death in the face? I thought I’d die in that city. And yet, here I am about to be swallowed by fucking calamari.”

I opened my mouth to respond but the sound of splintering wood behind me made me whirl. The Hive Lord had landed on the upper deck at the other end of the ship, his spear leaving a smoking hole in the deck. He rose to his full height, some ten feet tall, and I noticed with some satisfaction that one of his wings was crooked and torn.

It seemed someone had given the bastard a run for his money. Wish I could shake their hand. The Hive Lord craned back his head.

His ant-like eyes took in the giant tentacle above us and he made a croaking sound deep in his throat.

“That’s right you filth,” said Pam, shaking her fist at him. “You’re gonna die here like the rest of us.”

Several Hive Warriors gathered around him, casting agitated glances all around. It seemed we were the least of their worries. I frowned, glancing up at the sky. The rift that had been there only moments before was now closed. The only sign that it had been there before was a thin pink line that ran across the stormy sky like a scar.

“They’re stuck,” I whispered as I watched one of the bug warriors hover above the deck. His wings fluttered but after a few moments, he had to land. This time the laugh came from my own mouth.

“They can’t go back where they came from, and they aren’t good at flying – just hovering. If the ship goes down then they’re just as screwed as the rest of us.”

“Well, it’s the little things.”

Pam took a seat beside me and propped her chin on her knees.

“You’re not so bad for a cop,” I said. “Don’t tell anyone I said that.”

She sobered quickly.

“You’re Zade Russo, aren’t you?” she said, surprising me. “Dante Russo’s son?”

I stiffened a muscle working in my jaw.

“What’s it to you?”

She smiled and threw up her hands.

“I’m sorry. It’s just, that back when I was on the force Dante Russo was a household name. He was a bit like the boogeyman – a story that made greenhorns shiver. He was a bad man, your father, even when he was alive. But you’re nothing like him.”

I nodded, unwilling to say anything more. My father was the last thing I wanted to think about when I was on the brink of death. Another tentacle shot from the water and I watched as the boat turned. I knew on the bridge, the Captain was doing everything in her power to avoid this fate.

But cruise ships were never built for speed. We turned slowly and as the rain began to fall I wondered if we really ever had a chance. One of the tentacles shot out, curling around the front of the deck with a heavy thud that echoed through the ship. The weight of it made the whole boat rock forward.

It was the end all right. More tentacles erupted from the water around us. It might have been a scene from a movie if it wasn’t for the horrible fate that awaited us.

“Do you think it will be quick?” asked Pam. I didn’t respond. I was too bust staring at the Hive Lord and his glowing spear. As I watched the Hive Lord gripped his spear and both hands and ripped a tear in the fabric of reality. I shot to my feet.

“It’s a portal,” I said suddenly and Pam looked at me like I was crazy.

“What?”

“That tear in the sky,” I said, waving a hand. “It was a portal. A gate to wherever it is they come from.”

I pointed as one of the Hive Warriors strode forward and, without a backward glance, stepped through the open tear in the fabric of time and space. He disappeared, replaced by nothing but swirling red and blue.

“come on,” I said. “This is it. Our ticket out of here.”

Pam stood her eyes sliding from the portal to the others.

“We’ll never make it.”

“We have to try.”

I waved a hand trying to get the attention of the others. Nat and the rogue were staring up at the tentacles in horror but Rob noticed me.

“Listen,” I said as I approached. “There is a way off this ship but we need to move now. Tell the crew..”

And I explained the plan to them. Rob’s eyebrows rose so high I thought they might fly off his head.

“But there must be dozens of them over there,” he said, gesturing to the mass of Hive Insects that had gathered on the other side of the ship. From this angle, I doubted he could even see us. And if he did, he didn’t consider us a threat. After all, he had far bigger problems.

“It’s a chance,” I said. “And I don’t know for sure. We could be walking into the middle of a giant ant hill for all I know. But it beats being eaten alive by a Kraken.”

Nat nodded.

“It’s insane,” she said. “And I doubt we’ll make it. But what do we have to lose?”