Ace walked down the hallway, phone clutched in his hand, waiting for some kind of creature to rear its ugly head.
The hallway he was in was quite empty. There were no suites, but simply an elevator, some public bathrooms, and a bench. The hallway led to a lobby, and the trail of blood continued.
I should just head back before I get too far, Ace thought.
He turned around to head back, but he was greeted by a man. He exited a bathroom, and wiped his wet hands on his pants. He wore a pale green dress shirt, black pants, and fine shoes. His black hair was slicked back, he had a fine watch, and for some strange reason, he was wearing sunglasses while indoors.
"Are you okay", Ace asked. "Were you hiding inside?"
Billy chuckled. "What's there to hide from," he asked. "I have nothing to fear."
Ace noticed his hands were strangely close to the side of his body, like he was about to reach for something. He looked down at his shoes and saw specks of blood on them. He did this, Ace thought. He has a gun.
"Come with me," Billy cooed. "I can take you to the others."
"Other people like you, or other people on the ship," Ace asked.
"Why you gotta be like this," he drawled. "Why can't 'ya just go along with the game?" Quickly he got out his gun from his back pocket and Ace simply blinked away. He appeared behind him, and Ace gave him a swift kick to his balls.
Rosenbaum was wrong. He could cheat in the field all he wanted.
School had finally prepared him for the real world.
Billy cried in agony, and accidentally shot his gun. It clattered to the ground and Ace quickly picked it up before he could reach for it.
"What a cheap shot, you fucking bitch," Billy rasped.
"I won't shoot you if you tell me where the others are," Ace said. He was lying. He didn't have it in him to shoot him, but he wanted to at least know what to do next. Billy was strong, but he was stupid and believed him, and quickly opened up.
"Go to the ballroom," he groaned. "They're all there."
The man knew that it was the truth, but it was also a lie. The hostages were all in the ballroom, and soon Ace would get his wish. Ace pointed the gun at him, as he laid on the ground.
I can shoot him since he told me, but I'm a little nervous, he thought. What if I just brought him with me?
"Get up," Ace grunted.
The man stood up, pretending as if he were scared, and put his hands in the air.
"Let's go," Ace commanded.
The man gave him a leg sweep once Ace approached him and he fell to the floor, the gun again out of reach. Ace panicked as his bluff of strength had been called, and he blinked, escaping back to his meetup point with Fenton.
"Pussy," Billy scoffed. "All talk and no game, as usual!"
He put the gun in his back pocket and adjusted his sunglasses, as they felt like they were slipping off. Billy however, was finally excited. He had found something to do, worried that his job would be too easy. He wandered the ship trying to find Rikka for his boss, but he couldn't find her, as he easily got lost onboard.
In that moment he changed his mind and made Ace his new target.
Fenton quickly walked down the hallway, eager to finish the task at hand so he wouldn't be alone. This is how people die in horror movies, he thought. They all split up and get picked off, one by one. He followed the trail of blood as it turned into small shoe prints on the floor, and he turned right. He saw Candice, her feet covered in blood that certainly wasn't hers with an arm in her hand and a body on the ground.
There was blood on her mouth and chin, and the arm was missing all its fingers. Candice looked at him, nonchalantly, chewing, the sound of bones crunching in her mouth the only sound filling the air. She spat out a finger nail and snickered as Fenton peed himself. What a bitch, she thought. I have no idea why Ace is his friend.
Fenton did not see a woman.
He saw a monster.
It had two large grotesque horns, and a singular, red, giant eye. It had plenty of skin, and it sagged onto the floor. Where feet should be, there were cloven hooves, and it had a long tail, naked without fur, only with skin, further adding to its alien look. It had two small wings, on its small body, both of them the color of flesh, but with red tinted on the ends. It smelled like rotting eggs and it stood upright, like a person.
The monster said some words but Fenton was too terrified to think, to even move.
Candice looked at him, considering what to do. Ace will be upset if I kill him, she thought. If I let him live no one will believe him. Just pretend like nothing happened. She stared at the arm, her favorite part of her meal finished, and she threw it to the ground like a toddler refusing to eat its vegetables.
"'Sup", she grunted, trying to pretend as if she wasn't caught in the act. Suddenly the monster no longer looked like one, and instead Candice took its place. Fenton's eyes went wide. She was never alive to begin with, he realized. Never human.
Fenton promptly turned and ran.
Fenton was panicked he didn't realize he was running in the wrong direction, nor did he think to ever call Ace. He ran, and when he turned a corner he bumped into Harmonia.
"Hey," she shouted. "Be careful!" Fenton shaked, afraid that he had run into Candice again, but calmed down once he realized it was Harmonia. "It's just you," he sighed. "Thank goodness." "Yeah, that's the problem," Harmonia whined. "Candice ran off for no reason! What's wrong with her?"
Fenton shook his head rapidly, his black shaggy hair shaking along with it. "Stay away from her," he whispered. "She's a monster." Harmonia huffed and crossed her arms. "I know you don't like her, but that's a little much, don't you think?"
Fenton grabbed Harmonia by the arms and she let out a small yelp. "I saw it," he whispered. "She had, she had one eye, and, and she had horns, and-" "Fenton let go," Harmonia shrieked. "What is your problem!?" She shaked and Fenton finally let go of her.
He left bruises on her arm where he grabbed her and he immediately felt bad.
"I'm so sorry," mumbled. "I was just scared of her. Of it."
"Fenton, this is serious," she shouted. "I saw a bunch of bodies and no one is answering the radio!"
"I know," he mumbled. "I'm not lying. I saw what I saw."
Harmonia studied his face, fearful and anxious and she pretended to believe him, only so they could move forward. "I think we should go back to Rikka's room," Harmonia sighed. "This is dangerous. We need to call for the Union to come before more people get hurt."
Fenton nodded, his head now clearing up now that someone else was around, thinking straight. "You're right," he mumbled. "Let's just be careful to avoid anything else on the way back."
They walked down the halls, trying to avoid any more grotesque piles of bodies and trails of blood. They, of course, did not last for very long, as they soon came up Billy.
"Good afternoon y'all," he drawled. "How may I be of assistance?"
Fenton saw his aura, angry and murderous, yet excited and playful. He looked down and noticed the small bit of blood on his shoes. Is he the one who did all this, Fenton wondered. Or was it just Candice?
"Oh gosh," Harmonia exclaimed. "A person! Are you okay!?!"
Fenton leered at her.
Is she too stupid to notice that he is way too calm right now, he wondered. Am I the crazy one?
"Of course I am 'darlin," he sneered. "What are you two fine folks doing wandering these said here halls?"
He talks weird, Fenton thought. Is he drunk?
The man approached them, and he grimaced.
"Smells like piss," he commented.
Fenton looked away, hiding his shame.
"Forget that," Harmonia pleaded. "You need to hide! There are pirates, or robbers, or someone, on the ship, they're killing people!"
"Oh I know sweetheart," he drawled. "I just so happen to one of them." He took out his gun and pointed straight at her, and she yelped in surprise
. "Please don't," she begged. "I'm a good person."
"Oh sweet honey child, we all think we are, but that's so far from the truth."
Fenton's eyes glowed purple, and the gun jerked to the side. Billy never let go, so instead he dragged along with it. "I'm not dying here," Fenton snarled. "I worked too hard to get here." He glared at Billy while he put pressure on his arm.
Instead he kept firing, trying to shoot them. Harmonia screamed, suddenly the one who wasn't thinking straight. Finally Billy let go of the gun, as he already emptied all its bullets.
Fenton held out his hand and the gun flew right into it. He shot, but nothing came out.
"I wouldn't give you a loaded gun, idiot," Billy jeered.
Don't let him get to you, Fenton thought. Don't die here.
Fenton screamed as a sudden headache came on from pushing his body to its limits. Harmonia screamed louder, gripping her long hair, not sure what to do, overwhelmed by it all.
Fenton's aura took shape, growing in power so that even the untrained eye could see it. It curled, a purple miasma on the floor. Billy backed up, still on the floor, trying to get away. Fenton's entire body shook, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"You're dying here," Fenton rasped. "Not us."
Billy got up and ran, now as useless as a newbown against an astral without a weapon.
The miasma took shape into a gigantic snake. It slithered down the hall, quickly chasing Billy. It lunged for him, and it missed, as Billy dodged at the last moment.
It crashed into the wall, leaving a giant crack in it. It continued, slithering and curling, faster than any animal should be.
Harmonia stood behind Fenton, knowing that she was better off at this point staying out of the way. It was quite ridiculous looking, as Fenton was five foot six, and Harmonia was two inches taller than him, wearing wedges as well, thinking that she could hide behind him.
She couldn't stand for very long behind him as Fenton followed pursuit, once Billy ran down the next corridor.
Idiots, Billy thought. If I can keep running to the ballroom they're dead.
Fenton was already exhausted from the energy he had already exerted, so it was hard for him to keep up. Billy however was running like a fire was lit under his ass, especially since the threat of death was very real and quickly approaching.
Down the halls they chased him, and Billy laughed nervously the closer they got to the ballroom, wondering if he would really make it alive. He came to the stairwell and simply fell down, too focused on getting to the ballroom than paying attention.
Fenton huffed and rasped at the top, exhausted and light headed, feeling like his head was vibrating. The snake faded away and Billy grinned, knowing that he had won.
"So much for your stupid ability," he sneered. "You people think you're better than us, with your flashy lights and money."
Fenton held onto the railing as if it were his best friend, trying to stay horizontal from the ground. Their abilities were limited by how strong their bodies were, controlled by the Neuman gland in their head.
Over use would shock their brains and give them a stroke, and Fenton was quite close. His vision was blurry and the world was spinning as he held onto the railing.
Harmonia looked at Billy and suddenly realized that she too could fight. Her eyes glowed hot pink and she shivered.
"Fenton, do you like me," she asked.
"What the fuck does this have to do with anything," he barked.
"My power is stronger the more people like me," Harmonia mumbled. "Do you like me?" Fenton nodded.
"Harmonia I will worship the ground you walk on if we make it out of this alive."
His words were true, and Harmonia grinned as she became stronger, her eyes much sharper, the world different through her eyes. She slowly made her way down the staircase and Billy trembled as she approached him, knowing that his plan had failed. Her wedges clacked with every careful step she took, not wanting to trip on her way down.
I just need to open the doors, Billy told himself.
He scrambled to his feet and Harmonia chased him, giggling, as if they were playing tag. He screamed, his life flashing before his eyes, as a woman in hot pants and an open back shirt chased him.
Her wedges made her slow, and Billy was still a fast runner. Fenton huffed as he came down the stairs, his eyesight blurry and his head pounding.
I think I have S-Syndrome, Fenton thought. If I keep using my ability I'm going to get a stroke.
Billy lunged for the door and pushed right through it. Harmonia and Fenton followed right through, right into his trap.
They halted, as many guns were suddenly on them.