--POV Delta-1--

"...Thank you, and please enjoy your time on board the 'Moonlight'..."

"Delta-1, what was that announcement about?"

"I'm not sure Delta-3, but for now, it doesn't matter we have a mission to complete. According to reports received before communication with the ship ceased, the target was reportedly staying in the room below us. We have the responsibility of searching the room, and then we'll start searching for survivors. Understood?"

The five Petty Officers give me a firm nod, "Good. Then everyone, prepare to rappel; we are going to enter from the balcony."

Quickly we tie the ropes to a secure location and descend to the balcony below. We form a perimeter around the sliding door; I move to break the lock only to find someone already effectively destroyed it. I frown, but we can only continue with the mission.

As quietly as possible, I slide open the door, and my nose is instantly struck with a foul stench. I take a step forward, **pop!**, I freeze and look toward my feet to see I stepped on a package of chocolate koala's.

'Did she leave that there on purpose!? No, no, I'm overthinking things.' I motion for everyone to continue, but before that, a noise comes from the radio.

"Delta-1, this is command, we just wanted to inform you that Alpha team has spotted the target. Both Alpha and Charlie teams are in pursuit. Please proceed with examining the room and then immediately move to the secondary mission of searching for additional survivors."

"Roger," I respond habitually.

Having regained some of my composure, I move to slide the curtains out of the way, revealing a scene straight out of a nightmare. There I see five white corpses hanging from the ceiling; with the sliding door now open, a draft enters the room, causing the bodies to sway back and forth slowly. Gradually the bodies turn to face the sliding door, and their empty gray eyes stare into our own.

One of the younger Petty Officers instantly vomits while two of the others almost turn to run before they regain their wits. I turn and give the five young soldiers a nod and slowly walk into the room.

The smell intensifies, and I swallow the bile in my throat, "Search the room and let's get the hell out of here."

Around half an hour passes, and no one has spoken a single word since we entered this hell hole.

When we are preparing to leave a panicked message comes over the radio, "Delta-1, we are ending this mission effective immediately and are requiring immediate evacuation. Please, go back the way you entered, Echo team is moving to evacuate Bravo team, so you'll leave on the helicopter you arrived on."

"Did something hap..."

Before I finish my sentence on the other side of the door, the sounds of something like a stampede fills the room.

"Mother!? Where are you?!" I hear someone screaming.

Everyone in the room holds their breath, obviously realizing this situation is irregular. The walls and door creaks as the, whatever it is, barrels down the hallway. No one talks; we all just stand there, staring at one another until the sound disappears.

Delta-2 breaks the silence, "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know, and right now, I don't care. There's no way we are going out there; we are leaving the way we came." I reply.

Moving swiftly, we head back out the sliding door to the ropes we left hanging over the balcony. The sun has almost completely disappeared at this point. The once beautiful sunset is gone, and instead, the moon shines brightly.

"Delta-2 take the lead I'll follow behind."

Delta-2 nods and begins to ascend, while the rest of us follow. I glance at the moon for only a moment and then turn my head upward. My heart hits my throat when I see a person in a black skull mask and a bloody dress standing on the rail watching us.

**grrrrrrrrrr**

The person that appears to be a young girl puts her hand over her belly, "This is good timing; I was actually a bit hungry."

A childish laugh rings out over the ocean as she reaches down and cuts the rope securing Delta-2 to the rappelling line.

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I can't help, but scream out in my mind, 'Where did she come from!? And did she just cut that with her fingernails?'

"What?! Who!?" Delta-2 yells in surprise as the girl yanks the rope and grabs his collar.

It only takes a second before Delta-2 disappears over the rail.

"Shit, move! We need to retrieve Delta-2!"

As fast as we can climb, we race up the ropes and jump onto the deck of this floating hell ship. I hurriedly swing my head about until I find Delta-2 and the girl. However, what is most surprising is the two things lying next to the girl.

"Is that Alpha-1, and what the hell is that creature?" I inadvertently mutter.

Next to the girl is Alpha-1 and the corpse of some kind of awful looking creature. The girl ignores us, and in the light of the moon, I see the girl lift her mask, revealing a small set of lips along with an eerie smile. The little girl bends Delta-2's head back and moves her mouth to Delta-2's neck, exposing two razor-sharp fangs.

"Wait, what are...!?" The girl bites, and Delta-2 freezes up immediately.

"Stop!" I yell and raise my rifle.

The little girl spins herself around using Delta-2 as a shield while she continues to bite his neck. The color quickly starts to leave Delta-2's face, and just when I am about to try and move closer, the girl stops. She pulls her jaws away from Delta-2's neck, and a drop of blood leaks from the corner of her mouth.

Using her little tongue, she licks the blood away; she points at Alpha-1 next to her, "Well, I was going to use this guy, but as you can see, he's a bit broken, but luckily I happened to notice you guys. Oh, and don't worry, he's still alive...both of them."

I suppress my urge to yell, "What is it you're trying to do here, little girl?"

The girl pulls her mask down once again, covering her mouth, "What am I trying to do? Whatever I need to obviously. Anyways, Mister, lets trade you can have this guy with one arm, and I'll take this one."

"You think I'm just going to give you one of my guys?"

"It wasn't really a choice I was just trying to be nice and make it seem like you had one." The girl holds Delta-2's paralyzed and pale body using it as a shield.

"If you think for a second, I'm going to let you take him..." Suddenly I hear the sounds of screeching coming from the inside of the ship.

"Oh, it looks like they're coming you should leave." The girl chuckles and starts to stroll away while dragging Delta-2's legs across the deck.

I hear command over the radio, "Delta-1, the helicopter will be at your location within the minute take Alpha-1 and leave."

"But!"

Command interrupts me, "Delta-1, this is an order."

"Damnit! Everyone, when the helicopter arrives, board it as rapidly as possible."

"But sir!"

"It's an order Delta-3! Just do it."

"With all due respect, sir, its a shit order," Delta-4 says.

I ignore Delta-4 and control my urge to go against orders myself. I move to pick up Alpha-1 and begin looking over his injury. Where his arm once attached is a layer of some type of stiff red material.

'What the hell is this stuff?' I don't have time to investigate further before the helicopter arrives.

I sigh and begin signaling the helicopter. In order to load the unconscious Alpha-1 and also leave quickly, the helicopter is forced to lower itself near the ship. I can tell the pilot is struggling considerably, trying to match the ship's speed and movement is very difficult, but with our training, we manage to load everyone despite the not so ideal conditions.

As we pull away, I hear screeching and turn back to see hundreds of horrific spiderlike creatures storming onto the deck of the ship. In disbelief, the five of us stare at the awful and strange scene as it slowly shrinks in the distance.

Remembering the injured Alpha-1, I move to continue evaluating his condition, 'I don't know how this guy is even still alive...Eh? What's this?'

I take a closer look at the mysterious red material to find it has begun to lose its hardness, and blood is beginning to seep from Alpha-1's wounds again.

"Pilot radio medical and make sure they are waiting for us at the landing zone! Also, bring us down as quickly as possible, or Alpha-1 won't make it."

"Roger, medical should already be waiting for us. We'll be on the landing pad with the next couple of minutes."

Turning my attention back to Alpha-1, I notice his body has grown extremely pale. Suddenly, his body begins convulsing violently, and his limbs begin to twist strangely.

"What the...!"

With a thud, the helicopter hits the landing pad, and at the same time, Alpha-1 shrieks and launches himself toward my neck. I feel him rip into my flesh as I fall backward, and blood spews from my neck. I grip at my throat, trying to stop the flow of blood, but my consciousness begins to become hazy, and I quickly find myself laying in a puddle of my own blood. I can feel my body begin to shake uncontrollably before a strong feeling of hunger overtakes me. The last thing I hear is the screaming of my teammates and the screeching of Alpha-1.

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--POV Bravo-1--

"...Thank you, and please enjoy your time on board the 'Moonlight'..."

I turn toward my team, "Ignore that message Bravo team; it is obviously just meant to intimidate us."

"But Bravo-1, that girl said she was a hostage."

"That may be, but our mission is to get to the controls in the engine room. If we find any survivors on the way, we'll do what we can then."

"...Yes, Sir."

"According to the schematics of the ship, the quickest way to the engine room is through the lobby."

"Is there not a back entrance, Bravo-1?"

"There's an emergency exit, but it should be locked from the inside. We will be able to leave through it, but not enter. Anyway, no more questions, for now, lets advance."

We open the heavy door with a loud creak, and immediately I recognize the horrid stench of hell. When I peer down the hallway, I find a place that matches the smell. I can almost feel the nervousness from the young Petty Officers; this is an abnormal situation, we all knew it, but now we see it's beyond even our wildest imagination.

I try to act unfazed for the others, "Come on, let's push on."

We make our way through the dank and bloody hallways and quickly find ourselves in the lobby.

Suddenly I hear the sound of a young girl's voice, "Hello, are you here to help us?"

All six of us point our guns at the location of the voice. There stands a beautiful young girl with golden hair and an eyepatch.