They emerged from the jump with a crack of thunder. From their spot at the bow, an empty sea of the deepest blue watched from below, while a cloudless blue sky peered down on them from above.
Before Liam had a chance to take in all of his surroundings, their ride was gone with another crack. Having jumped away before anyone on the ship could react. It was a smart move, and something Liam wished more noncombatants would do. Too many of them chose to stand in the path of danger. Then blame others when they were hurt.
“Heads up. This could be a trap,” Tank mumbled as she passed. Her colossal form crouched in what Liam assumed was stealth. Not that it was having the desired effect. If people didn’t know they’d arrived by the sound of the teleporter, the large Hero stomping around the deck was a great tell. If they were walking through a neighborhood right now, she’d have woken up the entire street.
“Tank up front. Then Wire and Source. I’ll take the rear,” Nudge reminded them. The group fell into position before he’d finished talking.
Liam had long since decided his location in the middle of the formation was for the best. As it was, Tank and Nudge at the two ends of the group would take the brunt of any ambush. Even with his suit, it was always smarter for Liam to avoid damage when possible. Even if that meant he had to be next to Wire and her power.
“We’re heading towards the bridge,” Nudge whispered from behind them. The group nodded their understanding. “Wire, keep your drones on standby. Only bring them out if we need them.”
Wire didn’t respond, but the robots hugging her back confirmed she’d been listening.
The bow of the ship where they were, was exposed to every window on the front of the superstructure. There were a few places for the team to hide, but not enough, so the group rushed forward. With each step, Liam was waiting for an attack to rain down on them. A gunshot or a ranged power would be the most likely. He turned his suit’s sensors to max as he moved. Every creak of the ship was evaluated to see if it was a natural sound or someone waiting to pounce. If an attack came, even a moment's notice would give Liam a chance to jump to the side.
The air canisters clinked on Liam's back. Their added weight was something he’d rarely trained with. And unsure if they'd be needed, he had to anticipate the worst. There was a distinct lack of green in the air at the moment. However it was better to have them and not use them, than be caught without.
Only when they reached the base of the superstructure did Liam allow his muscles to relax. Not even a peep had sounded from inside at their approach. So far, this looked like a textbook ghost ship.
The group huddled against the imposing structure. Now, only someone sticking their head out a window could see them. And with the lack of contact so far, Liam doubted it’d happen.
They didn’t wait to find out as Tank led them along the base of the structure. The smooth white surface, a cliff for them to hide against. Following her halfway across the ship, only the sounds of waves lapping against the hull and the team’s almost silent footsteps could be heard. The only motion, the light sway of the ship.
Still finding themselves alone, the group reached a door. Tank stationed herself next to the opening as the rest stacked up behind her. Getting into formation for the rush inside.
As Liam prepared himself, Tank suddenly held them up short. She brought her fist up then pointed at the ground in front of them. Looking around Tank, Liam spotted green gas flowing from under the door. The gas pooled on the ground around the entrance, inviting the Heroes inside, while promising it wasn’t there for anything nefarious.
Nudge patted Liam’s back, a gesture Liam assumed was meant to reassure novices. Liam had long since left that title behind. Shaking off the hand, Liam turned to tell Nudge off, only to find the Hero pointing at the gas.
Liam froze as he processed what Nudge was asking him to do. Once realization dawned, Liam dropped his head and moved forward. Not looking at anyone as he went.
Nudge wanted him to inspect the green gas. He wasn’t trying to patronize. The pressure of the mission was getting to Liam already, and they hadn’t even done anything yet. He had to get under control or this would be a long day.
Liam dropped to one knee as he moved past Tank. Cozying himself to the edge of the vapor. Now, next to it, Liam looked at the surfaces the gas was touching. Trying to find anything out of the ordinary. Everything looked to be in order. There wasn’t even peeled paint where the gas touched the ship. Whatever was in the gas, it didn’t appear to be corrosive, or at least didn’t have an immediate effect.
Liam moved a hand towards the gas, only to stop right before the substance. His suit would protect him, yet there was a doubt in the back of his mind. Something he was finding difficult to push aside. What if they designed it to eat through his suit? Some kind of selective etch he hadn’t heard of before.
With a shake of the head, Liam banished those thoughts and slid his hand into the gas. From the back of his hand a compartment opened and a little reader popped out. It was something he’d made to look for drugs and explosives, yet today it would do something else.
With the sensor submerged in the gas, Liam waited as it worked. Both Raman and Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy chugging away. Comparing the gas to a database of known chemicals. While the device wasn’t anything revolutionary, its miniature size made it unique.
While the sensors were still processing, Liam pulled out a little ball and rolled it into the gas. The ball bounced off the door and came to a rest in the center of the green patch.
Thirty seconds later and the reading finished. The gas was a mixture of molecules. A cocktail unlike anything in his system’s database. Complex to a degree he couldn’t imagine. Whatever this was, all Liam could say was it wasn’t natural.
Liam relayed his findings to the rest of the team. Speaking into his radio in a whisper.
“The gas isn’t anything I’m familiar with,” Liam said.
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“Will our suits hold up to it?” Nudge asked.
Liam reached out and picked up the ball. It was still air tight. With no damage to the protective layer.
“No problem on that front. We should be fine in there.”
“Good. Let’s keep moving.”
Without hesitation, Tank reached over Liam’s back and twirled the hatch on the door. The well oiled wheel spun without a sound, disengaging the lock. Liam scooted back behind Tank, as she opened the door a fraction of an inch. From the crack, more of the green gas spewed forth, covering the team in its hazy mist. The others, having heard Liam’s declaration that their suits would protect them, didn’t back away from its advance.
Like that, the group waited. Listening for anything coming from within the ship. Second after second they stood there, yet the inside remained quiet. Only the gas moving in its silent way.
After thirty seconds, Tank turned on a flashlight connected to the side of her helmet. Looking at Nudge, the pair nodded and Tank pried the door open a few more inches. Liam hunched over, ready for something to jump out. Only for Tank to continue opening the door wide enough for her form to slide inside. The rest stayed behind as she moved into the dark. Waiting for word from the one inside. After what felt like an hour, Tank’s hand reached back through the crack and waved them to follow.
Liam was the next to enter, doing so, his own flashlights blinked on. The dark of the hallway triggered the photodiodes around his suit.
The shapes that were illuminated before Liam made him wish his lights were off. If he was in the dark, then he could pretend this scene wasn’t real.
The people, or what had once been people, were on the floor. Their bodies distorted and contorted in ways people should never be. For some, their skin had bubbled off, exposing their innards to the air. While others had broken bones, or were bleeding from their eyes. A third set had odd protrusions forming under their skin. All of it tinged with green as the gas played its way around the bodies.
The display would fit into a B rated horror movie, yet there it was. Taunting him to declare it fake, even if that wasn’t possible.
Liam turned, sounding a warning to Wire before she ventured in.
“Be prepared, it’s not pretty in here,” Liam said.
“I can handle whatever it is,” the younger Hero replied. Pushing past Liam, she entered the hallway.
Just through the threshold, her arm reached out to the wall. Her body crumpled against it a second later. This was her first actual mission. The scene, her baptism to the life of a Hero.
Liam’s own fight at the bank played back in his mind. He’d seen blood and death that day, but it was nothing like this.
“Who… why?” Wire asked.
The words were quiet, in an otherwise motionless world they carried down the hallway. Begging what had once been people to answer.
“Some people are screwed up. Just use this as motivation to stop whoever is doing it,” Tank replied. The larger woman didn’t turn away from the scene, as if daring it to prove it wasn’t real. And prove to herself that she could overcome it.
“I’m going to rip them apart when I find them,” Wire said with blood lust creeping into her voice.
“I like the sentiment, but we have to take the perpetrator alive,” Tank said. “The why is as important as the who in this case.”
“Enough talking. Let’s move out. Source, which way to the bridge?” Nudge asked as he entered the hallway. He didn’t even blink at what was there.
The door closed behind Nudge. Leaving the group, and what had been people hours before, in the glow of their flashlights.
Glad for the distraction Nudge’s orders brought, Liam pulled up the ship’s schematic on his HUD and flipped through them. Having never been on a cruise ship before, it took a moment for Liam to orient himself, but he soon found their location and calculated the shortest route to their destination.
“We’ll take the second turn on the left,” Liam answered. He was already planning alternate routes by the time they started moving. If they came upon something blocking their path, Liam would find a way around.
The group followed Liam’s directions and moved forward. Each step brought fresh horrors to the nightmare that was a cruise ship.
Nearing the bridge, the bodies that’d been tormenting their travels thinned. Then, rounding a corner, they were gone. There were still clear signs they’d been here. Blood pools on the ground testifying to that, yet the people themselves were missing.
Tank signaled the group to stop. Nudge and Wire turned to guard the way they’d come from while Liam and Tank inspected what was in front. Tank was the first to find the next gruesome discovery. Blood stains leading away from the pools of blood. The bodies had been moved.
Pointing out the discovery to Nudge, their leader made the call for the group to follow the drag marks.
From there the group’s already careful pace, ground slower. Each step taken with care. When they arrived on the ship, they knew something had happened here. Seeing the bodies only confirmed their suspicions. But knowing someone was moving the dead bodies was something else. It meant the perpetrators hadn’t left.
During their entire walk Liam felt like something was watching him. Every door or hallway they came to, he expected a figure to jump from within. The voids of darkness ahead of their lights could hide anything. It got to the point where Liam was hoping it’d happen. Anything to get rid of the itch crawling along his spine.
While Liam was struggling with the idea of eyes on his back, the trail in front of them changed. With each corridor, more blood trails joined the one they were following. Until the trails became a stream of dragged blood.
The group looked at each other, deciding if they should continue. Nudge took up the mantle of leadership and decided. They’d press forward.
The group followed the stream until they reached a hatch. Liam’s map of the ship labeling it as a doorway to the outside. The group looked at it and the path they’d just traveled. Thoughts swirling through each of their heads.
Wire moved up to Liam, pulling herself into a fight stance when she got there. One designed for the two to work in tandem. Both putting as much into protecting themselves as the one at their back.
Nudge followed the younger Heroes move and walked up to Tank, gesturing to one side of the door. She nodded and complied. Moving into position as Nudge himself readied to bust through.
Breath left Liam as he watched Nudge move. Like it was in slow motion, Nudge neared the door and whatever lay beyond. Then, with a flurry of motion, the man charged forward, clearing the door as Tank threw it open at the last second. The light covered walkway beyond was bathed in blinding white. Liam got a glimpse then Tank blocked the view as she darted after Nudge.
Liam heard a scuffle of feet from beyond the curtain of white, then quiet. He waited with Wire at his side. The desire to join the others coursed through Liam, but he understood his own responsibilities.
After an eternity, though his HUD disagreed as it displayed 20 seconds, the two Heroes stepped back through the light. Nudge grumbling as he came, “Lets head back.”
“Why? What did you find?” Wire asked.
Liam stayed where he was. Knowing better than to break formation as he’d looked deeper into the ship.
“The trail ends on the balcony.”
“The bodies are out there?” Wire asked.
“No, the trail ends at the railing.”
“How could that be?”
“They were pushed into the ocean,” Nudge replied.
“Or something carried them away,” Liam said.