Chapter 52: I Crush Everything

"What the..." I mutter, stumbling over towards the door and the person pounding against the other side of it. I open the door, seeing a familiar pair of blue eyes. "Ed? What's going on? Why's the ship rocking so much?"

"Oh, you think that was bad? You should see-never mind. You'll see it in a minute. Just come with me. This'll take every pair of hands we can get."

My hair is everywhere, I'm in some borrowed nightclothes and I'm barefoot, but I follow along outside, my sleepiness replaced with sudden worry. Out on deck, it's pouring down raining, making everything around us a blur of shadows and darkness. It's cold, the droplets hitting my skin so hard I think they might actually leave welts.

I reach up to turn on my headset, and feel nothing there but wet, tangled hair. That's when I remember I didn't fall asleep with it on my head. I let Caleb borrow it so he could talk to the kids. My eyes go wide.

Wait a minute...

Where's Caleb?

"I can see it!" A woman cries, pointing up ahead. The boat that's tethered to this one is rocking back and forth widely, but not because of the waves. No, if it were the waves, it would cause the whole fleet to rock like this.

"Get more people!" Ed commands to the two of us, and an additional man who I haven't met. Of course I haven't. These people actually have all of their appendages and limbs. "Move! Move! What ship is that?"

"It's the Fangeers!" The man replies as he helps two middle aged men, both who are missing a leg, across to this ship.

"What is she? A tug? Anything we can't afford to lose?"

"I don't know," The woman replies, trying to pull her stringy black hair out of her face. "Why is it tossin' about like that? Is it a tsunami?"

I blink... Is she serious? She must be someone who was mind controlled onto this ship, because I have a hard time believe someone from Comansys would say something that stupid, right?

"A tsunami would hit all the ships, dimwit," The man replies, and I blink again. They also realize a tsunami would've killed us all already, right?

"They may have all PhDs, but there's not a lick of common sense between them," Ed says. "At least I know I've got you at my back, Five. God, there's so much I want to ask ya. Molly... later." He looks at the other two. "Listen, that ship is tethered to this one. If it goes down, it'll drag this deck under, so we need to get over there and detach it. You with me?"

"Let's go!" I reply, while the other two only give a half hearted response, causing the taller man to clench his jaw.

"Come on, guys! We can do this! Let's get movin'!"

We rush off, the raindrops hitting the deck so hard, the sound drowns out our footsteps. The two nameless Comansys workers have trouble keeping up, and they keep losing their footing on the wet deck. I ignore their little yelps when they lose their balance. I mean, at least they have shoes on right now.

My gaze stays on the Fangeers. The water around it is choppy and harsh, and the ship is rocking side to side, sometimes rocking so violently it jerks against the ships tethered to it.

That must be why I was knocked out of bed.

The metal walkways are only a few feet away, but Ed stops and turns around before we reach it. His black hair is drenched and sticking to his forehead, and he wipes the water out of his eyes before he starts talking.

"There are grapples attached to the far side of the ship connecting that ship to this one. Myself and Runner Five will cross to the Fangeers and release them. When we do that, the walkway will collapse."

"What?" I shriek.

"But you'll be stuck over there with whatever the hell is doin' that," The girl says, pointing to the swaying ship in front of us.

"Not if you throw us a rope," He replies. "So no matter how hairy it gets, you stay here, okay?"

She gulps. "Um, sure."

"Good. Right, Five, here we go. Follow me."

I obey, following him over the walkway and to the other ship. As soon as my feet hit the deck of the Fangeers, I have to fight to keep my balance. It's rocking so violently it's nearly impossible to stay upright. Still, I follow Ed as he heads over to one of the clamps on the far end of the ship. He points over to one.

"Five, head over to that clamp and release it, and I'll get the other one."

My bare feet splash up some of the water that's on the deck as I reach the clamp. My wet hands grab it and I pull, releasing it. "I've got it!"

"Great!" Ed pulls on his clamp, but it doesn't budge. He pulls harder, but still nothing happens. I immediately start heading toward him. "Mine's stuck. It's not-"

I grab onto it, pulling as the ship jerks hard. The clamp releases, and I look at my hands, telling myself it was only because Ed loosened it up for me.

"There she goes!" He yells as the walkway collapses. "We won't be crossing back over that."

We wait for a moment for the ropes to be tossed over to us, but I look up at the falling drops of water that splatter on my face. My eyes narrow. Through the dark rain I see something-something big, something above us.

Something that's about to come crashing down onto us!

"Look out!" I yell, pushing Ed out of the way as it slams into the deck, landing just where we'd been standing. "What the hell?"

"What is that?" He questions, and I narrow my eyes. At first, it looks to be maybe a piece of the ship that was torn off from the jerking and rocking, but now... I think it's... my eyes widen.

"Jesus on a boat..."

"It's a huge-it's a tentacle!" He pulls me up, frantically looking over at the next ship. "Wait, where are those guys goin'? Come back! We need you to throw us a rope!"

They're already gone, having run off in fear after seeing what almost just crushed us. Ed looks over at me, eyes wide and fearful.

"Wanna stay here, Five? No? Didn't think so. We're only gonna get one chance at this."

My heart stops in my chest. "One chance at what?"

"When the deck rises, leap for your life, then run for your life."

I blanch and then swallow thickly. "What?"

"We have to. It's our only chance."

I stare at him for a moment, but then do my best at swallowing my fear and take a step forward.

"Not yet. It's too far. Wait for it... wait for it. Jump!"

We take a running start and jump. I see my life flash before my eyes in a single split second before we hit the deck of the next ship. I slam into the deck, rolling before coming to a stop. A groan leaves my lips, knowing that every muscle in my body is going to ache tomorrow from that. I glance up just in time to see half of the Fangeers go under, the mass of tentacles-I can see there's more now-dragging it down.

I did not sign up for this shit.

"Five!" A hand grabs my arm, pulling me up, and I'm met with blue eyes and red hair.

"Caleb? What're-what're you doing out here?" I question, wiping at my busted lip that I received from smacking myself in the face when I rolled onto the deck.

"Helping. Are you okay? Do you know what's going on with Fangeers?"

"Five!" Ed calls. "Come on. Caleb, you too! It's not safe out here! Hurry!"

I grab Caleb's hand, pulling him along as I follow Ed. Good Lord, what... that can't be what I think it is, right? I mean, that's only something you see in the movies...

Right?

The cold seeps into my bones. My t-shirt and pants are soaked through, and my hair is keeps slapping against my neck, causing shivers to run down my spine.

"Just in here," Ed opens a door, ushering us all inside. "This is the bridge."

I let out a sigh of relief at being shielding from the rain, but the relief fades when I look up and see the people in the bridge with us. Albert taps his foot nervously, looking up when he hears the door shut. A blonde woman with sunglasses stands quietly beside him.

"Albert, me and Five detached the Fangeers, but whatever got ahold of it, it's big enough to drag down the entire fleet one ship at a time." He looks at me nervously. "It looks like-well, it looks like a giant squid."

"A squid?" Caleb repeats, eyebrows raising up to his hairline. He looks over to me, and I nod in confirmation.

Albert hums, before gesturing to the woman beside him. "This is Dr. Holly Fransworth, our research leader in marine biology."

"If you call it research under these conditions," She says as she adjusts her sunglasses.

"These people are Ed Harrison, Runner Five, and Caleb Shelly. Could you advise us in dealing with this um... is it a squid?"

She scoffs. "It's very unlikely to be a squid. Such creatures inhabit the deepest waters. They're skittish and solitary. They do not attack ships. While we have accounted one that reached forty-three feet in length, that is hardly enough to-"

"Look. Right over there, comin' out of the water-it's a giant squid!" Ed exclaims, causing the woman to sigh and take off the sunglasses, revealing white irises.

"I can't look over there. I'm severely vision impaired. I can barely see you."

He blanches. "I-I-I... I'm sorry."

She puts the glasses back on. "If you could describe the scene..."

"Scary tentacles, giant eyeball, big head like the pope. A massive squid has grabbed the boat. It pulled half of it under and now it's just tearin' off huge chunks."

"I really don't think it can be a squid. Perhaps the waves have cast up some seaweed."

"Seaweed?" I scoff. "Look, I know you're smart and you have all those diplomas and PhDs and stuff, but I know what I saw, and that was definitely not seaweed. That tentacle nearly crushed me and Ed."

"The Wailer over there has a harpoon station," Albert speaks up. "Would you accompany us, Dr. Fransworth?"

She nods curtly. "Of course. Perhaps you could assist me, Runner Five? I can move quickly, but you may have to stop me from going over the side."

I grab her hand, but I stop after just a step towards the exit to look at Caleb. "You should probably stay here."

He blinks, a confused look appearing on his face. "What?"

"You should stay here... where it's safe."

"I highly doubt it's 'safe' here."

"Safer here than outside."

"You do realize I'm older than you, right?"

"You do realize I'm a runner and you're not, right?"

He frowns. "I'm not a kid, you know."

"I do, but I also know you're not a runner. You're a scientist. And you're my friend-my friend that I want to keep safe. Stay here."

"But-"

"Just do it, alright?"

I don't give him time to answer before pulling Dr. Fransworth outside, into the rain.

•

"Okay, Professor, we've reached the harpoon station," Ed yells over the wind and rain that has only slightly lessened in its ferocity. "There's a clear view across the water. That's definitely not seaweed we're lookin' at."

Dr. Fransworth takes off her sunglasses, squinting to see through the rain and shadows. "Hmm... perhaps some plastic sheeting has become loose? It could be flapping in the wind."

It takes everything in me not to facepalm at this woman's stupidity. It's clearly a tentacle-multiple tentacles if I'm honest. It's not even that far away. How does she not see this?

People and their stubbornness.

"Honestly, I know I'm not a marine biologist, but that thing has fins; It has eyes; I think I can even see his beak."

She bites her lips. "That's... Albert?"

The older man shakes his head. "I don't know what it is, but it's a living creature. Harpoon, are you ready?"

A young man gives us a thumbs up from the station, his dark eyes trained on the... thing. "Yes, sir."

"Fire!"

The harpoon is fired, shooting through the air, and my heart skips a beat as I see it fly right between the tentacles, missing completely.

"Really?" I shout, but the sound is hardly heard over the squid ripping through the Fangeers.

"Giant squid are rarely sighted. They've learned to avoid ships," Dr. Fransworth says, narrowing her eyes and tipping her head to the side in curiosity.

The young man at the station speaks. "If we could just-ah!"

He lets out a shrill scream as a tentacle reaches over and grabs his head. It's been caught between some sort of suction pads with hundreds of super thin... what are those? Lines?

Ed describes the scenes to the professor, and she clicks her tongue. "Ah, the suction pads have hundreds of tooth suckers, you mean?"

"Yeah."

I cringe as it rips the poor man's head off, the body collapsing in the harpoon station.

"It's-it's eating it," Albert says, and I taste the bile rising up in my throat.

"Feeding tentacles. Quite extraordinary. I take it back. This is a squid."

"That's not good," I say, and I open my mouth to say more, but I'm suddenly slammed into, hitting the ground just as another tentacle swipes by. It takes a second for my brain to process what just happened.

A second later and my head would've been in between those teeth suckers as well.

"Are you alright?" Caleb asks, and I stare at him in shock for a split second before glaring at him.

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Saving your life, apparently."

"I told you to stay in the bridge."

He simply grins at me. "Good thing I didn't listen, or else you'd be squid food."

Ed grabs my arm and Albert grabs Caleb's, pulling us both to our feet.

"Back to the bridge," Ed says, "quickly."

I grab Dr. Fransworth and lead her off, my mind racing at the fact that a giant squid just happens to be attacking these stupid boats the night I decide to stay on this ship.

What a freaking coincidence!

I'm shaking. My teeth are chattering, and my skin is covered in goosebumps. This is just my luck, isn't it? I wonder if this is God's way of keeping me in shape. Like, if it was a normal non-apocalypse day, I could choose not to go running, but seeing it's the apocalypse, it's a life-or-death situation, meaning I run or I die.

We reach the bridge, rushing inside and closing the door, making sure it's shut tightly. I'm breathless, panting, red in the face. This is not what I signed up for.

The fear in everyone's eyes is overwhelming. I'm sure my face mirrors the look of terror on everyone else's. That thing just killed a man without even trying and is destroying a ship in mere minutes. In only a couple of hours the entire fleet will be destroyed, along with everyone here on it.

Shit. Shit. Shit. What do we do? What do we do?

I receive no answer-not from Sarah, and not from Archie. Looks like I'm on my own on this one. No whispers are going to help me now.

Dr. Fransworth begins pacing back and forth, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed. "What could've caused such a change in behavior?"

"Infection maybe?" Caleb pants. "Brain damage?"

"Where's the flare gun?" Albert asks, and the redhead raises a brow at him.

"Under the console."

"I don't think a flare gun will stop something the size of a giant squid," Dr. Fransworth frowns, and I find myself nodding in agreement.

"Slowing it down would be a start. That thing will drag us to the bottom if we don't stop it. It's already destroyed the Fangeers, and now it's completely wrapped around the Sea Fairy. Open the door, Caleb."

I open my mouth to tell Caleb to not do that. Because even though I know very little about giant squid, I think shooting it with a flare gun would only anger it, which would cause it to be more aggressive in its behavior instead of slowing it down. Too bad he's already got the door open.

Albert aims the flare gun at the creature. "This is for... what was the name of the man who lost his life again?"

"Harold?" Dr. Fransworth guesses, and Caleb shrugs.

"Wilson?"

He huffs. "This is for... this is for you, tentacle face!"

"Albert," I start, "I really don't think this is a good i..." He fires the flare gun, "...dea."

"Nice shot," Ed praises as the flare hits the squid right in the beak.

Everyone visibly pales when the creature lets out a loud, angry shriek.

"Please tell me that's its death scream."

"I uh, it doesn't really look injured. It just looks really angry-furious really."

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

Curse me for being right.

"At least we've answered the question of whether giant squid use sound to communicate," Dr. Fransworth says calmly, which earns a glare for me.

"Oh, yes. What a great discovery. Maybe we can post our research on Roufflenet just before this things kills us all!"

She scowls in reply. "Something radical has changed its behavior."

"Like?"

"I don't... I wonder... is Dr. Meyers still onboard?"

"Yeah," Ed answers, "she went-"

He's cut off by the loud sound of metal crunching and ripping apart, and when we look outside, we see that the squid has moved on and grabbed ahold of a different ship in the fleet.

"Oh no," Albert mutters, and my stomach churns. I hate that phrase. I really, really hate that phrase.

"What? Is that boat important?"

"It's one of the central ships." He looks over at me. "If that goes under, we all go under."

"I need to speak to Dr. Meyers right now," Dr. Fransworth urges.

Ed nods. "Right. Come on, Five. Let's go find her."

"Yeah." I look back at Caleb. "Stay here and don't go outside."

He huffs, causing me to growl warningly.

"I'm serious. None of you should go outside." I send them all a warning look, knowing that the look will come across better than me using a line from 'The Office', even if it's true.

Because if anything happened to Caleb I'd kill everyone in this room and then myself...

I look at Ed. "Let's go."

•

"Thank God you're back!" Albert exclaims as Ed and I drag Maxine into the bridge.

"Maxine, you know the professor, right?" Caleb asks, and the dark skinned woman nods.

"Hello, Holly. What's your thinking?"

"Highly irregular behavior for a squid. The level of aggression is quite out of character."

"You don't think it's being mind controlled?"

She shakes her head. "Seems a leap too far, doesn't it? No other species has been observed to respond to the tones, and territorial considerations are out. They live in the deep."

"Maybe something's attracting it, or perhaps an infection?"

"That's what I was thinking," Caleb pipes up, but then his brows scrunch together. "But what type of infection would cause this sort of aggression? I mean, the zombie virus has been ineffective on animals."

"Besides that lynx," I mutter under my breath.

"Do you discard any other waste? Byproducts of you serum, for instance?" Maxine asks.

"No. No-ah... oh dear," She pauses, and I internally groan. "Well, you know that our serum produces physical deterioration and often a section of limb will simply fall off."

She smacks herself in the forehead. "Oh, tell me you haven't been-"

"They've been throwing the debris overboard," Dr. Fransworth says, and my jaw drops.

These Comansys people are idiots.

"For safety reasons, I stopped them."

Maxine scoffs and rolls her eyes. "So you introduced meat laced with psychoactive ingredients into the squid's food supply?"

"I did stop them about a week ago," She says defensively.

"So you hooked the squid on a drug which causes mental enhancement and psychical breakdown..."

Her eyes widen. "Ah, and-and then we cut off its supply."

"So it's furious and is tearing the flotilla to pieces for a fix." Maxine sighs, and I can't help but wonder how she managed to stay around these morons for so long. She must've been in those cryo-freezers for a majority of her time here. "Right. Here's the solution. Collect as much as the serum as you can spare. Albert, have you got a spare boat?"

"I think so." He heads over to the console and presses a few buttons before speaking into the microphone. "Edgmast Tae. Tae, answer me."

"I hear ya, Albert," One of the crewman answers.

"I need a speedboat prepped right now."

"Rodger that. Give us five minutes."

Maxine clicks her tongue in satisfaction. "Good. Then you can get in the boat, trickle the serum into the water to lure the squid away, and blow it up when it's at a safe distance."

Albert grins widely. "Very good, Maxine. That should work. I'll go over to the Edgmast Tae to get the speedboat."

A loud roar comes from the creature, shaking me to the core. Albert looks over at me. "Ed, Five, can you pick up the serum and meet me there? Quickly."

"We're on it. Come on, Five."

I roll my eyes. 'Come on,' He says, as if I'm slower than him. If I knew where to go, I would be the one leading the way, but I don't, seeing that I've only been here for twenty-seven hours. Plus the hallways in this place all look the same. It's all bland and gray besides the few paintings and drawings that I see every once and awhile. None of them stick out enough for me to remember them though.

I follow Ed to the labs, and in said labs are multiple Comansys scientists, all afraid and confused. Their questions of 'What is happening?' and 'Has Diana found us?' blur together. I can hear it in their voices-the terror. They truly are afraid of this woman...

Thankfully Ed silences them within a few moments.

"We need as much of the mind-control freeing serum as you can spare," He says. "As fast as you can."

"But-" One starts, but I cut him off in an instant.

"There's no time to explain. Either you get us that serum, or we all die. Move!"

That seems to get them into gear. The scientists all rush around, grabbing vial after vial, putting them all in a small cotton pouch. As I watch them all scurry about, I can't help but wonder... If that squid can get addicted to this drug after eating it for months... won't the people receiving it become addicted as well, and if taken off this weekly drug, go through withdrawals?

I guess having it injected is different than eating rotten meat laced with the serum, but still...

What type of consequences will the people of Comansys have to face if they are taken off the drug? I know they need it to keep themselves freed from mind control, but if they found a different way, would it help, or only hurt them since they've been taking this week after week for so many months?

"Here," A scientist says, handing over the bag to me. I take it from her, giving Ed a small nod in sign to lead the way, which he does.

Again we go through the hallways, but when we reach the exit and head out onto the deck, I see that the rain has stopped. Still, dark clouds cover the sky, and I have to make sure I don't slip because of the wet wood. The cold water again reminds me I have no shoes, and if I could get sick, I most certainly would already have pneumonia.

When we reach the Edgmast Tae, Ed and I find the speedboat already waiting. Dr. Fransworth, Maxine, and Caleb are there as well. I can see the slight worry in Caleb's posture, but there's a smile on his face-it's the one he wore whenever I came back from missions safely.

I pray he's not celebrating early.

Albert's already in the speedboat, and I toss him the serum. He opens up a vial and drives off, pouring it into the water as he passes the boat the squid is currently trying to demolish. It doesn't take it long to start following after him, desperate for the drug it's so addicted to. I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"It's workin'," Ed laughs. "Nice one, Maxine. It's actually working."

Dr. Fransworth squints in frustration. "For goodness sake. Someone, please, tell me what's happening."

"The boat's putting on a burst of speed to get a bit of distance from the squid," Maxine says, watching as Albert continues to pour vials of the serum into the water, with the squid following. My heart rate picks up as I keep watching the squid chase after the boat. Albert continues for a minute or so before stopping. "Albert's standing up-oh, h-he's a bit wobbly in his feet. It looks like he's got a... what-what is that?"

"I think it's a grenade launcher," I reply, and a second later he launches the grenade at the squid. Everything goes silent for a mere second before a loud boom echoes into the air. Fire goes up and I see droplets of blood rain down into the sea. I take a step back and let out a deep breath.

"There she goes!" Caleb shouts, grinning widely.

"Maxi! Maxi, are you alright?"

We all turn to see Paula rushing toward us, skin paler that normal because of worry.

"They kept me on the other boat. I couldn't get to you."

The taller woman laughs. "I'm fine, darling."

"She's better than fine," Dr. Fransworth praises. "She's the woman of the hour. Her quick thinking saved us all." She pauses. "Dr. Meyers, I've been-well, I've been asked to ask you something."

She raises a brow. "What?"

"Well, the Meyers Spray had been a big influence on our work here, and today you showed just what a valuable mind you have. If you return to shore, you will have to go into stasis, yes? You all will in order to be protected from the mind control. Stay here. Join our research team. Our serum will protect you. Think of it. We could find a cure."

"No way," Paula spats, glaring at the woman.

"Of course, the offer extends to your friends here. Mr. Shelly has helped us a great deal when awake."

I laugh. "You're joking, right? There's no way any of us are staying here. I mean, thanks for the offer, but no thanks. Abel needs us."

Caleb rubs the back of his neck nervously. "Actually-"

"I've been thinkin' about that," Ed interrupts. "If I go back to Abel, I-Paula, have you seen Molly?"

She nods. "Yes, she's well-happy and healthy. They have that zombie repellent device in the children's dorms, so she's safe. But I'm afraid I don't know much more. I don't um... I avoid spending time around the kids, in case I cut myself. Any of the blood... I couldn't live with myself if I hurt them."

"W-what if I hurt Molly?" He asks, voice cracking slightly. "What if I couldn't stop myself? Albert says mind control makes you feel on top of the world? What if I hurt my daughter and I-I like it?"

"Yeah," Maxine sighs, "I uh, I have the same thoughts."

I blink, then look at Caleb. He can't look me in the eye.

"They need a good mechanic here. I'm useful. At least here I can do some good and they'll look after Molly at Abel. Just make me safe again for my daughter."

Dr. Fransworth sweeps her white eyes over to us. "What about it, Dr. Meyers? Mr. Shelly? We all do work well together."

"Tell her, Maxi. Then we can get out of here." Paula's face falls when Maxine stays quiet. "Maxi?"

I look at Caleb. "You can't seriously be considering this."

"I can't take the serum," He says. "We've not tested it, but weighing it out... the risks are too high, so I have to go into stasis. But you know I can't stay in those freezers like most people. I have to get out. I have to wake up. If I wake up in Abel, Diana will get me. I can't..." He looks down at his feet. "I can't let her have my mind. I won't. I'm sorry."

I stare at him in surprise. "Caleb."

"Yeah," Maxine agrees. "I'm no good to humanity locked in stasis, Paula. I'm no good to you and I-I'm a danger to you when I'm free."

She shakes her head. "No."

"If I can do something-if I can contribute-"

"No, Maxi! No. Don't say it. Don't."

"Yes. Yes, we'll stay."

A/N: Not the ending you were hoping for, huh? Hey, would you guys mind praying for me? I'm getting my wisdom teeth removed today. My little sis is too. Thanks!

Don't forget to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!