25 Batten Down the Hatches

"Staff Captain, have you seen the Captain?"

I glance at the Safety Officer and turn my head to look around the room. I double-check to see if maybe the Safety Officer missed the Captain. I find four other people, not counting the Safety Officer and myself, none of them being the person I'm looking for.

"Hmmm, he went out to get an old logbook from his room, but that was a while ago," I reply.

"I'm going to see if I can find him. **Sigh** He's probably off flirting with some woman again."

"Haha! Well, that sounds like the Captain. Hi, my names CAPTAIN Hitchcock emphasis on the Captain!"

"Yep! That's the Captain for you!"

"Hahaha! Ahhhh, well, anyways, is there something you needed him for?"

"A fire alarm was pulled in one of the hallways earlier, and I asked someone to go check it out, but I can't get in touch with them anymore. So I need to report it and go check it myself."

"Well, I..."

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**Bang**

Suddenly the door to the bridge burst open. I flinch and quickly spin around. Looking at the door, I see two people I recognize the first being Eden, a beautiful girl that was hired earlier this year and the other being Audrey, a cute woman, but she's a little jumpy.

Eden's face is pale, and for some reason, she's wearing an eyepatch while Audreys complexion is green and her expression is hollow. They both awkwardly stare off into the room.

I can almost hear the gears in everyone's head-turning as they try to figure out what the situation is.

When I am about to break the silence, a childish sound rings out, "Ahoy maties!"

"Huh?" I inadvertently blurt out.

"...I'm sorry, but I just couldn't pass up this opportunity." a playful voice chuckles.

I lower my vision and discover a cute little girl who looks pleased with her antics. She has pure white skin, snow-white hair, pointy ears, and a big smile on her face. The girl's dress is absolutely covered in blood, but she acts as if she doesn't even notice. Scanning the girl I notice her holding something, I glance at her right hand, finding her holding a saber, and in her left hand, she is holding...

'A gun?!'

As if everyone has noticed the gun at the same time, the room turns deathly quiet.

"Little girl wha..."

The girl points the gun at me and swings the saber wildly, "Hold that thought! Its Captain now! I'm Hitchcock's replacement."

'Is she insane?!...wait, is she wearing the Captain's cap?'

I continue trying to figure out the situation, but the little girl begins to pout.

"Well, are you going to answer your Captain?"

The Safety Officer takes a step forward, "Listen, little girl, just calm down and put the gun away."

She glances at everyone in the room and frowns, "Avast ye! You call yourself a crew? You're an embarrassment! None of you are following proper dress code."

She hands the gun to Eden, and just as I'm about to sigh in relief, she puts the saber to her wrist and pulls it across her skin to open a wound. Blood begins pouring out, and I watch as she runs the saber through the blood to the point its almost dripping wet.

Not being able to watch anymore, the Third Officer starts to run toward the girl in an effort to stop her from committing suicide, but just before he makes it to the little girl, she speaks.

"Disgraceful! Where are your collars, you sea-dogs!?"

The girl swings the saber at the Third Officer opening up a gash on his leg. The Third Officer yells and falls to the floor. Everyone stands in shock for a moment and then starts to move to take control of the situation, but before that, something incredible happens.

The little girl again swings causing blood drops to fly away from the saber and spread across the room. The drops twist and lock together, forming rings. The rings shoot toward the people in the room and open, similar to how a collar would.

On instinct, I jump behind a desk and hear the ring, intended for me, crash into the desk. The desk splinters and wooden shrapnel flies around the room.

The girl laughs heartily, "Ha! Insubordination!? Anyone who doesn't listen to orders gets to meet my second mate Bloody Kanna."

'Who the hell is, Kanna?!'

Suddenly in front of my eyes, a thick gray mist rises from the floor. The mist at first formless begins to take the shape of something tall and thin. The smell of mildew and rust begins emanating from whatever it is.

After a few long seconds, I can tell it's a woman she seems to be of Japanese descent and is wearing a long, torn white dress. She is thoroughly covered in blood with a big gash in her abdomen. Her skin is rough, gray, and....moldy. I lower my gaze and find she is floating and partially translucent.

Involuntarily I scream, "What the hell!"

In terror, I press myself against the desk, trying to create any distance I can between me and it. The woman looks at me with bloodshot eyes and puts on a sorrowful grimace. She hovers closer to me and reaches out with a scrawny and rotten arm. I pull back, but she touches my face and a chill takes hold of my body. Her mouth opens in an abnormally wide and extended way, almost like she's trying to swallow my head.

"AAHHHHHHHHH.," she screams the most awful noise I've ever heard.

The sound is so loud and horrid I swear I feel my own brain vibrating. Her breath is so cold I feel like my face may freeze.

I feel a sharp pain as one of my eardrums burst, and blood oozes down my earlobe. Just when I feel like my eyeballs may burst, the woman vanishes into a gray mist once again.

Through the mist, I can see two bright blood-red eyes staring at me. The gray mist wraps around the figure as she slowly steps through it.

"What's the problem, sailor? Never seen a banshee before? ...Well, what humans think a banshee is like anyway." the little girl smiles, exposing two sharp fangs.

"B...b...banshee?" I stutter.

"Yes, Kanna will forever hold a special place in my heart as my first meal, which is why I used her image. Anyways let me ask you something sailor; does the prospect of nothingness scare you...?"

I feel a cold blood-drenched blade rub against my skin. She places the blade under my chin and uses it to lift my head.

The girl tilts her head and stares into my eyes as if appraising me, "...or maybe the thought of an afterlife is even scarier? I guess in the end, what's really scary is the unknown."

"Wh..what are you going to do to me?"

She purses her lips, "That's up to you, do you plan to follow orders, or do I need to bring Kanna back?"

"No ma'am, please don't bring her back!" I cry.

"Ma'am? It's Captain to you, sailor."

"Ye...yes, Captain!"

The blood leaves the saber, and I can feel it slither around my neck.

"Good, now does anyone else have any objections? If you like, you can ask for Hitchcock's opinion."

Out of nowhere, something appears in the girl's free hand. She tosses it casually into the air toward the First Officer. I catch a glimpse of the object as it, along with a trail of blood, creates a perfect arc through the bridge.

'...Captain Hitchcock...'

Seemingly out of reflex, the First Officer catches it. He stares at the object in his hand.

"AHHH!" The First Officer screams.

He tosses the old captain's head into the air in surprise and horror. The head smashes into the ceiling and falls to the floor, splattering gore over the bridge. It slowly rolls and stops in front of me. I look into the old captain's white bloodshot pupils. The look of horror on his face is something I didn't understand until just a few minutes ago.

"No objections? Well then everyone listen up! There's a very dangerous...virus spreading across the 'Moonlight' at this very moment, so don't expect anyone besides those things to come find you. If you wish to live, your only hope is to rely on the one thing that is even scarier than them." the girl pounds her chest.

"...Monsters?" the safety officer barely squeezes out a word.

Just after that, screams of terror and shrieks of pain sound from the hallway. Everyone turns and looks down the hall to find a young deck cadet bleeding and limping toward the bridge frantically. Behind him are dozens of horrific creatures. The creatures chase the man while crawling on the floor, walls, and ceiling. The man trips, and like beasts, they immediately leap on top of him and begin ripping him apart. The ones who can't get to the man continue crawling toward the bridge.

The 'Captain' slowly makes her way to the door and stares at the waves of creatures without flinching. When they are only ten or so feet away, they all stop and start screeching at the 'Captain'. I glance at the ground finding they stopped at the edge of a beam of sunlight. The 'Captain' slowly closes the door, locks it, and turns toward everyone in the room.

"They aren't big fans of sunlight. Now set sail for Anchorage!" The 'Captain' giggles.