Back in the closet where Aiden was hidden, his body began to move of its own accord. His arms extended outward, fingers curling as if grasping invisible threads. With a mere thought, he reached out to the water surrounding the ship, tapping into its essence
As Luna watched from afar, she witnessed the impossible. The sea itself seemed to respond to Aiden's commands, swirling and churning.
Then, with a surge of power, Aiden directed a focused burst of energy toward the iceberg, causing it to explode into a thousand crystalline shards.
Max and Sarah gasped in awe and fear as they witnessed the spectacle
Luna, her mind racing with possibilities.
The students witnessed the astonishing display of power orchestrated.
"What the hell is going on?" Zola muttered
Flint's brow furrowed as he watched the sea churn and writhe. "I... I don't know."
Now, something was interfering, disrupting Zola's plans.
"Something's happening. " Bruiser yelled.
With a feral snarl, the trio unleashed a hail of gunfire at the churning waves, their bullets spitting fire into the distance.
But the bullets never reached their targets. Aiden sensed the incoming threat. In an instant, a wave of invisible energy pulsed outwards from the closet, freezing every single bullet in mid-air.
Then, with a soft hum, the bullets began to disintegrate.
One by one, they turned to dust.
The sound of gunfire ceased abruptly, replaced by a stunned silence.
Bruiser stared at his empty gun, his jaw slack.
Flint glanced around wildly
Even the terrified students and teachers, caught in the chaos, stopped running, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Zola, for the first time, looked genuinely afraid
Max, Sarah, and Luna exchanged incredulous glances, their minds reeling from the sheer magnitude of what they had witnessed.
Before they could react further, the thieves yelped in surprise
In an instant, Zola, Flint, and Bruiser felt themselves lifted off the ground, their bodies suspended in mid-air as if caught in an invisible grip.
Panic flashed across their faces as they realized they were at the mercy of forces beyond their comprehension.
With a subtle gesture, Aiden, from the closet, twisted the air around the three thieves, causing them to writhe in agony as their limbs contorted in unnatural angles.
Bones snapped and tendons strained as pain lanced through their bodies, a punishment befitting their crimes.
The sickening sound of snapping bones echoed across the deck as Zola's arm bent at an unnatural angle.
Flint let out a bloodcurdling scream as his leg buckled beneath him, twisting at a grotesque angle.
Bruiser was also crumpled, his body a broken mess.
With a final twist of his hand, Aiden released his grip on the three thieves, allowing them to collapse to the ground in a heap of broken and battered limbs
Their cries echoing across the deck of the ship as they were held captive by forces beyond their control.
Their faces contorted in agony as Aiden's godly subconscious exacted justice upon them with merciless efficiency.
The students could scarcely believe their eyes as they witnessed the hijackers reduced to helpless victims of their own hubris.
The students and bystanders gathered together, their eyes reflecting a mixture of shock, awe, and uncertainty
Max glanced around at the group, "Wha-."
"Is this some kind of weird cruise entertainment?"
"Did they just... break themselves?" a woman whispered
"Maybe it was the iceberg, Cursed ice, that's what it was?" a man asked
"Did... did the ship itself fight back?" someone stammered.
"A ghost?" another voice joined.
No one, not a single soul, suspected the truth – that the source of the miraculous intervention was a teenager locked in a cramped closet.
The white glow emanating from Aiden had faded completely, his wounds instantly healed. His eyelids fluttered open, revealing his usual brown eyes, but they were clouded with confusion.
A wave of dizziness washed over him, and with a soft groan, Aiden slumped back unconscious once more
This time, however, it wasn't a blow to the head that had caused him to faint, but the sheer exertion of wielding a power his body wasn't yet equipped to handle.
Luna finally remembered Aiden. Shame washed over her. How could she have forgotten him in all the chaos?
Scrambling to her feet, she fumbled with the closet door, throwing it open. Relief flooded her as she saw Aiden lying peacefully, if a little pale.
"Max! Sarah!" she called out
"We got separated during the chaos. I saw those guys chasing after him, so I hid him in here. They wouldn't dare touch a supply closet, right?"
As if on cue, an announcement crackled over the ship's loudspeaker.
The voice, calm and reassuring, belonged to the captain.
"Attention all passengers. The situation has been brought under control. There is no longer any danger. Medical personnel are tending to the injured, and we will be making our way back to port as soon as possible."
A collective sigh of relief rippled through the hallway. Outside, the sounds of panic had been replaced by murmurs of confusion and relief. The shooting had stopped. Everything seemed... normal.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"It's all my fault," she whispered, the guilt spilling over.
"I'm the one who pushed him to do the rock climbing challenge. If I hadn't been so… so competitive, Aiden wouldn't have fallen and hit his head. Maybe none of this would have happened."
Max and Sarah exchanged a worried glance.
Luna wiped at her tears,
"He hit his head pretty hard. I just thought…" She trailed off again,
"Hey, it's not your fault," Max said reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Accidents happen."
Sarah's voice gentle. "Yeah, you were just trying to have some fun. None of us could have predicted any of this."
"We should get him checked out by a medic now"
Luna nodded numbly
The principal's voice strained with suppressed panic.
"Attention all students and faculty," he announced.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the field trip has been canceled. We will be returning to the port of departure immediately."
A collective groan rippled through the students
Hours later, the ship limped back into the harbor
As they shuffled towards the waiting buses, hushed conversations erupted amongst those who had witnessed the unexplainable events on deck.
A group of boys huddled together, "Maybe it was aliens," one of them suggested
"Nah, aliens wouldn't mess with some random cruise ship," scoffed another. "It has to be something else
Minutes later, security personnel, alerted by the panicked messages from the ship, swarmed the docks. They found Zola, Flint, and Bruiser groaning in pain on the deck, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles.
The sight sent chills down the spines of the remaining crew members who hadn't disembarked yet.
Officer Rodriguez began, "Alright,"
"What the hell happened?"
Zola stammered, "We… we were winning. Then… then there was this feeling, like a pressure in the air. And then…" Her voice trailed off
Flint, his face pale and sweating, spoke next. "We couldn't move. We were lifted off the ground like puppets. And then… the pain. It felt like someone was crushing our bones with their bare hands."
Bruiser simply shook his head, unable to articulate the horror he had experienced.
"Did you see anything?" Rodriquz pressed "Anyone… or anything… that could have caused this?"
Zola then shook her head. "There was nothing. No one. Just… just this feeling."
Suddenly, Rodriguez's attention is diverted as paramedics rush past him
They rushed out from the ship, a stretcher bearing an unconscious form between them. It was Aiden, his face pale and drawn. This was the same kid Mark had been babbling about, now involved in another supernatural incident.
The coincidence was too stark to ignore.
Here, Rodriguez was faced with three criminals claiming an otherworldly encounter, and there, mere moments later, was the very kid Mark had accused of possessing otherworldly abilities, lying unconscious on a stretcher.
His mind raced. Was there any connection?
"Easy there," Rodriguez called out, "What happened to that kid?"
"Head injury, sir," one of the paramedics explained hurriedly. "We found him unconscious in a storage closet on the lower deck."
Rodriguez fumbled instantly for his phone
He dialed Officer Lewis's number. It felt like hours before Lewis picked up
"Rod?"
Lewis's voice added, "What's going on? Everything alright?"
"Not sure yet," Rodriguez admitted. "I need you down here at the docks right now."
"Is there another incident?" Lewis's voice sharpened
Rodriguez then lowered his voice further. "It's the kid. The one kid Mark was yapping about. He's here."
"He's just been brought in unconscious, and it all coincides with the story these hijackers are spinning about an unseen force on the cruise ship."
"Stay there," Lewis ordered. " I'm on my way."
Rodriguez hung up.
The pieces were slowly starting to fall into place.