--POV Admiral--

I enter the conference room, finding our two guests as well as many sailors who will have the responsibility of assisting with the mission.

I glance around the room, 'I guess it would be more appropriate to call this a war room rather than a conference room right now.'

"It's nice to meet you, Admiral." Congressman Miles and I exchange handshakes.

"Hello, Admiral. I am Diplomat Mio; it's nice to meet you." Diplomat Mio and I also exchange handshakes.

"Likewise, it's nice to meet you both. Congressman Miles, I know you're concerned about how all this will affect your district of Alaska, and I assure you we will do everything we can to limit the damage this incident has on the Alaskan people. Diplomat Mio I know the country of Japan also has a vested interest in this matter and wish for the girl to be captured alive for joint research purposes, and we will do our best to take her alive if possible. We consider her extremely dangerous."

I turn to the many sailors who are waiting on standby, "Listen up. Everything that is about to take place is top secret. We do not know what we will find onboard that ship, although if even half of what we've heard is true, it will be...well, let's just leave it at that. Anyways, if anyone does not wish to be here, speak now or forever hold your peace."

The room remains silent, "Very well. Are the black hawks ready to fly?"

"Yes, sir. All five teams Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo, are prepared and ready for exploration of the 'Moonlight.'"

"Great. As you just heard, there are five teams; each team is made up of one Lieutenant and five Petty Officers. Four teams will infiltrate the 'Moonlight' at different locations while Echo team will hang back in case an emergency evacuation is needed. Let's get started."

With that, I take my seat at the end of the table, and the large projector begins to play the live feed.

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--POV Alpha-1 or Lieutenant--

I look over the deep blue ocean and stare at the sunset shining with vivid shades of red and orange.

I hear the youngest of the Petty Officers speak, "Lieutenant, oh sorry, I mean Alpha-1, what do you make of this mission? This whole thing just seems...not right."

"I don't know Alpha-6; we aren't meant to ask questions, just follow orders."

The petty officer nods, but in my head, I can't help but agree with him. For the first time in my military career, my instincts are screaming for me to stay as far away from that ship as possible. However, that's obviously not how this works.

Suddenly I hear the pilot yell, "Alpha-1! We're coming up on the 'Moonlight' now. Prepare to rappel on my mark."

I raise my voice, "Alright! Our drop location will be near the bow of the ship, and our primary role is to locate the girl and retake the bridge. The mission and your own safety take priority over everything else!"

"Mark! Go!" the pilot again shouts.

"Move! Move! Move!" I yell at the five Petty Officers

All at once, the six of us quickly descend from the helicopter. It is only a moment before our feet hit the deck with a thud, and we detach ourselves from the helicopter. We quickly form a perimeter and access our situation.

"Alpha-2, can you see anyone in the bridge." Alpha-2 lifts his binoculars.

"Sir, I think I see the target...but you should take a look to confirm."

"Okay, hand me your binoculars."

I take the binoculars and point them to were Alpha-2 was looking, "Alpha-2, nothings there."

"Eh? But I swear someone was standing there in a black skull mask."

"Let's just..."

**Pshhhhh**, suddenly, a noise rings out from the ship's intercom system.

"Hello, this is...**sigh** First Hostage Audrey here with an announcement per the Captain's request. We would like to welcome our newly arrived passengers to the 'Moonlight' cruise ship. We here on the 'Moonlight' strive to accommodate all of our passenger's needs; however, we would like to remind the new arrivals that although we allow check-in at any time, you may never check-out without the Captain's permission. Thank you, and please enjoy your time on board the 'Moonlight'..."

'...did they know we were coming? Not good.'

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"Alpha-1, in front, that's her!"

I raise my weapon and point to the area indicated by Alpha-2. What I find is a short person wearing a black skull mask, long coat, and a bloody partially shredded dress. The young girl, I assume, stares at us and tilts her head slightly, she raises her hand and places her finger over the mouth of the black skull mask.

I hear a small sound, "shhhhhh", followed by a childish laugh. The girl completely ignores the assault rifles pointed at her and simply turns around and skips into the depths of the ship giggling.

I glance toward the petty officers and motion for us to pursue. Together we enter the deserted hallways of the ship. What we find are walls covered in bloodstains and flickering fluorescent lights while the floors, on the other hand, are littered with loose and torn clothing. Strange noises echo from the bowels of the ship, and all six of us give each other knowing looks.

'I can't help, but think it would be more suitable to call an exorcist or priest rather than soldiers.'

At the end of the hallway, I can see the girl wave and turn the corner.

Seeing this, I decide it would be best to contact command, "Come in command. Please advise on current actions."

"Alpha-1, Bravo team is currently tied up with a survivor, so continue the pursuit, and Charlie team will rendezvous with your team."

I suppress my urge to sigh "Understood."

We continue down the hall, and the smell of rot fills our noses. When we think we may have lost the girl, the sound of a piano and humming begins to reverberate down the hallways. We follow the sound and eventually find ourselves at the entrance to a restaurant. The girl's unnaturally beautiful voice plays through the speakers of the restaurant, and between the notes of the piano, the girl begins to sing.

~~The human world shall fall.~~

~~And from the dust, we'll come.~~

~~The Age of Man shall end.~~

~~And from the remains, we will build anew.~~

~~So comes the Age of Blood.~~

I peek around the corner to find a horrific picture. Under the flickering lights, I find the black skull girl playing the piano, but that's not what is scary, what's horrifying is the girl's audience seems to be dozens of half-eaten corpses. The stench is so great it nearly makes me vomit. However, the girl completely ignores the horrifying scene and continues to hum and play the piano.

~~The human world shall fall.~~

~~Their buildings crumble into ashes.~~

~~They try to overcome.~~

~~But the inevitable cannot be prevented.~~

~~So comes the Age of Blood.~~

Suddenly, I nearly jump out of my boots when I hear the sound of gunfire from the hallway behind us. I see Charlie team racing toward us; they have looks of terror covering their faces. They fire wildly behind their backs as they sprint down the hallway. What chases them is dozens of pale spiderlike creatures straight out of a fever-induced nightmare.

"Run! Run! There are hundreds of them!" Charlie-1 cries.

For a second, I sit stunned before regaining a small bit of my composure. I turn around to find the little girl is gone, and only the faint swinging of the restaurant's kitchen door remains. I can hear the sounds of things being hurled around behind the kitchen door, and from my back, I can hear the sounds of screeches from the creatures.

"Quick into the kitchen!" I yell.

All twelve of us run toward the door and slam into it. The door hardly budges at all, and in a panic, I glimpse through a small window built into the kitchen door. What I see is a chain tied around the door handles, and along with the chains a refrigerator, chairs, and tables are all also thrown against the door. When I move my sight upward, I see the small girl standing on the kitchen counter. We both stare at one another before the girl does a small twirl and performs an elegant curtsy. She hops down from the counter and skips out another door in the back of the kitchen.

Seeing ourselves in a bad situation, I take the lead, "Charlie team set up a perimeter. Alpha-2 and Alpha-3 work on getting this door open somehow."

The once deserted hallway now just looks like a moving wall of flesh barreling toward the restaurant.

"Command, are you seeing this shit?!"

"Y..yes, we are watching! Just try to escape. We are already preparing Echo team to assist in an evacuation."

I scream through the radio, "Evacuation!? How are we supposed to get out of here!"

**Bang! Boom!**

The sounds of gunfire, along with the smell of gunpowder, fills the room as the bullets tear into the flesh wall howls of rage ring out from the creatures. A few of the creatures fall from the walls and ceiling and convulse on the floor before finally dying completely, but it doesn't seem to make a difference; their numbers are far beyond anything I could have imagined.

The creatures don't hesitate for even and second at the death of their comrades as they simply burst through the partly closed door of the restaurant and start to climb along every surface in the room. We barely manage to hold our own when the loudest noise I've ever heard assaults my ears.

**Click. Click.**

"Hurry! Hurry! Reload." I hear some of the men scream.

The creatures keep their momentum start to drag members of Charlie team into their swarm. Their haunting screams only last a moment before the sound of breaking bone takes its place.

"Mother! Mother! Are you in here? I'm so lonely, and I know I heard your voice!"

"...Who was that?" I hear Alpha-6 mutter.

The group of creatures splits as a large one makes its way through. Other than being larger than the others, the only other significant difference is an ornate looking symbol carved into its forehead.

Before I'm able to process the situation, Alpha-6's leg gets snatched by one of the creatures. I reach out my hand and grab onto Alpha-6, barely preventing him from being completely pulled into the swarm. However, the creatures don't care; they start eating Alpha-6 leg first.

"Ahhh!" Alpha-6 screams.

From the edge of my vision, I see the movement of the largest of the creatures as it brings its pair of claws down onto my arm, severing it from my body. My arm, along with Alpha-6, gets dragged into the swarm of creatures.

The horrifying creature gets inches from my face, "Where is she? Where is she?... Who are you? Where's Mother?"

In shock, I answer, "...If you mean the monster in the mask, she went that way." I try to point with my arm only to realize its gone.

"AHHHHHH! Mother, I'll find you." it shrieks.

The creature approaches the door and begins to slam into the door continuously. I watch in a daze as the rest of Alpha team is being overrun and ripped to shreds.

Finding it useless, the larger creature turns to the others, "All of you come with me! We're going to find, Mother."

The swarm of creatures, along with the big one, leaves together. I sit on the ground and glance around the room, finding myself surrounded by the mutilated bodies of my former comrades. Behind me, I hear the rustling of chains and the movement of objects.

I feel a small pair of hands grab onto my collar and begin dragging me away, "Sorry, Mister, but I think I can use you."