My Crew And I Are Stuck Aboard An Abandoned Ship | Creep Cast

This episode is brought to you by Life Lock.

It's Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and Lifelock has tips to protect your identity.

Use strong passwords, set up multi-factor authentication, report phishing, and update the software on your devices.

And for comprehensive identity protection, let LifeLock alert you to suspicious uses of your personal information.

LifeLock also fixes identity theft, guaranteed or your money back.

Stay smart, safe, and protected with a 30-day free trial at lifelock.com/slash podcast.

Terms apply.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Commercial Insurance.

Business owners meet Progressive Insurance.

They make it easy to get discounts on commercial auto insurance and find coverages to grow with your business.

Quote in as little as eight minutes at progressivecommercial.com.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, coverage provided and serviced by affiliated and third-party insurers.

Discounts and coverage selections not available in all states or situations.

Welcome back to another exquisite episode of Creepcast.

Today, we are going to be reading a delightfully terrifying tale called Me Crew and I are stuck aboard an abandoned ship.

Can you help us?

Part one of part six.

You know me, I like boats and the sea, so I'm very excited to read this story.

He found out an hour ago that this story involves British people, and he has not quit the accent since.

You might be a little more cultural this episode because I might do the whole thing in this accent.

So, this story is written by an author, uh, goes on uh Reddit as J.

L.

Goodwin 1990.

Uh, and I don't see any links on their stuff to like any books or off-site, but they are an incredibly prolific uh, no sleepwriter.

There are a ton of stories, titles like I used to love driving late at night, or I don't shower with the door ajar anymore, or my wife and I went to Las Vegas for our honeymoon.

They have a ton of stories.

And this one comes highly recommended, at least on No Sleep itself.

And also, just the premise, the title of it seemed really cool.

My crew and I are stuck aboard an abandoned ship.

And we don't do, like, I'm terrified of the sea, and I like nautical stories and like nautical horror and stuff like that.

So I am eager for any excuse.

to crack into a story like this.

So I'm looking forward to it.

I wouldn't mind if it got a little Lovecraftian in nature, is what I would say.

And I'll tell you something else too.

If this story's good, he might become Sir J.L.

Goodwin 1990 by the end of this podcast, because that's what we're going to do.

Will the author be knighted by the end of this story?

I'm very, very intrigued to see.

Be sure to continue to like and support us on audio platforms.

Thank you all for your time.

Be sure to support the author.

You know the drill.

You all are great.

Great community, and we're lucky to have you.

Just want to say one last thing as well, right off the top: is for anybody who maybe likes to listen to these on long drives or maybe likes to, you know, not maybe look at the two not-so-attractive hosts, consider going over for your eyes and your ears, audio listeners, I'm saying, and go to Spotify.

From there, these episodes are there in their entirety, and it helps support the channel.

So please go and listen there on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

And oh, do be sure to give us a five-star rating.

Thank you.

All right.

Actually,

while you were doing whatever it is that you're doing, I

was scrolling through his Reddit and I have an exciting announcement about this guy.

He is incredibly active in R/slash Creepcast.

Oh!

Well, by golly,

we caught ourselves a live live one, haven't we?

Someone

mentioned his story in our subreddit, our slash creepcast, saying the guys have to read this soon.

And the author replied and says,

I do indeed plan on eventually, when I have the money,

to do the cover art and editing justice, release it as a novel.

So he has plans to put this story that we're about to read into a novel

and seems very hyped.

He says at the the end, I'm hoping the guys will see your recommendation and cover it in a future episode.

So that's pretty cool.

I think that's great.

Here you go.

Here you go, good one.

You know what?

How about we go one farther?

If we love this story, me and Isaiah will chip in to get the cover art done for your novel.

I will.

So I'll say this:

if we like this story, we will finance it, the cover art at least, that part of it.

But if Hunter does not, if we cannot break his accent by the end of it,

All right, so I have to

finish the character.

I will finance it entirely myself.

But if he breaks at any point from here on out, we have to split it.

Challenge accepted.

So let's read.

My crew and I are stuck aboard an abandoned ship.

Can you help us?

Part one.

Go ahead.

If you're seeing this, that means the prayer that I've been making with every single ounce of hope left in my body has been answered.

Thank God.

I've been trying for the last three and a half hours to get through any way possible to the outside world with no luck.

I'm no computer expert, but the water damage my laptop has suffered must have severely screwed up the satellite link up something fierce.

Any attempt to reach any website, be it the official Coast Guard one or even most social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, have all yielded with the computer crashing and rebooting.

But for reasons unknown to me, Reddit, or I should be more specific, and say this particular page on Reddit managed to load perfectly without any issues.

So I'm asking here and now if anyone reads this for help.

For the record, my name is Nathan Rogers.

I'm 33 years old, and I am, I mean, I was the helmsman of a fishing vessel called the Point of No Return.

That is a bad idea to name a boat.

Right, exactly.

Sometimes they'll give like

warships brutal names like that.

right like the uh the ones that the um northwest passage crew were lost on were called the erebus and the terror but they were only called that because they were previously war vessels right um

right

well the terror too i just want to say great show if you haven't seen the show it is it's a great show um check it out because it's bloody brilliant

it takes a lot of like historical liberty the terror tv show does it takes a lot of historical liberties and like some of the visions or maybe stories they had or what was stalking them.

But as far as the actual like setting and timeline and like the people involved, it's actually very accurate.

Yeah, I know that it gets a bit

takes some creative liberties here and there, but actually, it's you know, it's, I believe, if I remember correctly, they wrote the entire show off of sailors' diaries based off of diaries they found from the sailors, but I could be wrong.

That's the point of no return seems like an intense name for like a fishing vessel.

Seems a bit metaphorical, probably, right?

Yeah, probably.

Yeah.

What I'm afraid is I'm going to get used to the accent and I'm going to quit thinking about it.

I'm afraid that's going to like...

Don't know what you mean.

Isaiah, at this point, I'm at my own point of no return.

Right.

I say was because currently she's thousands of feet beneath my feet and the churning surface of the North Atlantic.

And I'm getting ahead of myself.

In case anything happens to us before anyone reads this or I permanently lose connection, I should give as much of a detailed account as I can.

That way, someone might know where to find us or at least know what happened.

We left our home port of Portsmouth, New Hampshire about a week and a half ago.

Oh, they're not even British.

Their home port's New Hampshire.

Oh

my.

This is quite the

debacle.

I found myself in not sure why, but I believe this was British.

You know, you don't.

Why did you think it was British?

You just said at the beginning.

He said when we started the call, he said it in a normal voice, oh, they're British, and then he kept doing it.

I thought you had info.

I didn't.

Why did you assume they were British?

I think I might have looked into a backstory.

of a different author's story in our episode recommendations.

Well, this makes, well, you know, know,

I'm a seaman, so I'm a I'm a really a civilian of the world.

So New Hampshire, Port Town, that's fine.

I'm still British.

I have to be.

You have to be or else you're you have to spend however much money this dude's cover are.

Well,

maybe we get a deviant artist to do the art to maybe save a little

a couple of pence.

Maybe we commission a $40 artist on fiber.

That might be $20.

That might save, you know, I don't have to dig too deep into my trousers to find that.

We reach out to him and we're like, here you go.

And it's like an MS paint.

I would be insulted if he didn't use it.

Can I tell you a secret?

I'm in desperate need of medical attention and care.

I'm so old, fat, I'm falling apart at the seams.

But I don't know what doctor to use.

I don't know anything about doctors.

And that's why I use ZocDoc.

ZockDoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare high-quality in-network doctors.

Choose the right one for your needs and click to instantly book an appointment.

We're talking about in-network appointments with more than 100,000 healthcare providers across every specialty.

From mental health to dental health, eye care to skincare, and much, much more.

Probably dick and ball stuff, boys.

The nice thing about Zock Doc is that you can filter for doctors that take your insurance are nearby and are highly rated.

It's super easy to use, and you can find an appointment time that works for you with the right doctor for your needs.

Plus, Zock Doc appointments happen fast, typically within just 24 to 72 hours of booking.

You can even score same-day appointments.

Oh my god!

You don't want to admit it, but you should probably see a doctor.

So stop putting off those doctor appointments and go to ZocDoc.com/slash creepcast to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.

That's Z-O-C-D-O-C.com/slash creepcast zotdog.com slash creepcast

about a week and a half ago bound for the grand banks off the coast of newfoundland the point of no return is a long liner and our aim was mainly to catch swordfish along with cod and haddock The prime season for a good haul was coming to a close and with our haul during the summer falling short of our usual quota, we decided to make one final run to try and make some extra dough.

When we arrived, we started off hauling in many good-sized fish.

Everyone was happy.

From Jersey, it's kind of

New England with like a super strong, like

Colton Spencer, the youngest member of our crew, as the first fish was hauled on board.

But it was short-lived.

After a few days, we began to fail to catch anything.

It was as if all the fish had disappeared from the area.

With our holds not even a quarter full, Gabe, our captain, made the call to sell even farther east, to the Flemish cap.

Thanks to a few of us making the mistake of watching the perfect storm to pass the time on the trip out, a few of us understandably had reservations about going so far from any landmass, but the captain pointed out the obvious.

Boys, I wish it weren't necessary to do, he began, rubbing his thick white beard.

But it's either try the cap or go home broke.

He looked to the sky, which looked clear.

Besides, the radar says there shouldn't be any storms for the duration of our trip.

Up until now, I've never believed in the concept of jinxing, but I can't help but swear that he jinxed the hell out of us with those words.

You also watched the perfect storm.

Am I wrong?

I mean, like,

what do you mean he's the one who jinxed you?

You're on a boat called The Point of No Return, and you've watched the fucking Mark Wahlberg George Clooney movie, The Perfect Storm.

Notorious.

That's a really good movie.

I haven't seen it in so long, and it's, yeah, notorious

ship going, you know, things go a little mucky on the sea on a boat.

kind of movie.

So just want to say, can't put it all on the captain.

Just want to point that out.

Right, right.

It's partially there for it as well.

Right.

We made way for the cap and reached it about a day or so later.

To our shock and, of course, our elation, we began to haul in

a metric ton of fish.

Any apprehensiveness we had melted away like butter in a pan, and we all became infected by the thought of how much money we were going to make.

Until, that is, the dark clouds began to move in on the horizon.

I'd been at my station at the helm, and I looked out the starboard windows to see the ominous darkness rolling towards us.

What the hell?

According to the weather reports, the nearest storm was hundreds of miles away.

And yet here I was staring one dead in the face.

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

I muttered, flicking on the ship's autopilot and walking for the door that led outside.

Pushed it open, thick smell of the ocean of fish wafting over me.

Looking down at the aft deck, saw the captain helping the others ready the lines for their next drop.

Hey, Cap!

I yelled out, raising my voice to be heard above the boom box, blasting out hard rock music.

Glanced up, shielding his eyes so he could see me better.

I stabbed my finger towards the gathering storm, which occasionally flashed with lightning.

Still perfectly remember how the captain's face filled with shock and surprise as he turned to see it.

The rest of the crew turned and spotted it as well.

Oh, that's just great!

Will, another of our crew, shouted out exasperatedly, dropping the hooks and lines to the deck.

The rest of the crew let our curses and some turned to the captain, asking him questions I couldn't hear over the music.

After speaking to them for a minute, he walked over and turned off the boombox before making his way up the steps, standing beside me.

Where exactly in the hell did that come from?

He muttered, pulling his hat off his head and scratching at the tufts of gray hair that remained there.

I don't know, sir.

I admitted, watching another bolt of lightning flash inside it.

All I know is I was at my station looking around.

One minute I don't see it, and the next...

Trailed off.

I followed the man back into the wheelhouse as he walked to the radar display.

For a moment he stared down at it, then lightly began to smack at it.

Piece of shit.

What's wrong?

He gestured to the screen.

The stupid radar must be on Fritz again.

It doesn't show the storm on the radar at all.

A small wave of confusion swept over me.

I'd personally repaired the system the last time it wonked out, and as far as I knew, it had been working perfectly.

But as I stepped next to him, I saw he was right.

No storm clouds were displayed on the radar in the direction the storm was coming from.

What the?

A shiver rushed up my spine, one I didn't understand why it had.

The cabin was warm and comfortable, and yet it felt as if we just walked through thick fog.

Finding my voice, I looked at the captain, who held a thoughtful gaze.

So,

what do we do?

He took a second to answer, then sighed.

I'm not going to risk you boys in my ship.

Especially not after we have a good catch in the hold.

Start plotting us a course back to Portsmouth.

Hopefully, we'll manage to stay just ahead of the storm.

And with that, he turned and left the wheelhouse, heading back outside to help the others store the gear in preparation for our departure.

I could hear the faint sound of them yelling to each other as they rushed about, the music playing again as well.

I walked to the starboard windows and gazed out.

The storm appeared closer now, lightning flashes becoming more frequent.

A particularly bright flash came, and for a moment, my eyes locked on a particular cloud formation that had been silhouetted in it.

I blinked my eyes rapidly, the rational side of my brain attempting to wrangle in the other.

No, there's no way you just saw that.

You know full well storms play trick on your eyes.

Shaking my head, I returned to the helm, turning off the autopilot and nudging the throttle forwards, hearing the rumble of the engines increase.

I kept telling myself that I'd been seeing things.

But another shiver ran up my spine as I couldn't shake the image from my mind.

The image of a cloud formed to the shape of a human skull.

What a delightful trip.

Absolute hell.

Nothing bad happened.

Listen, let's let, I know, let's get on the point of no return.

Let's go out farther than we're supposed to, watch Perfect Storm.

storm i will say i like the uh the setup so far like the idea of being on a vessel and then having to uh having an unsuspected storm that's not being caught on your radar i don't know i like that it's fun it's a classic like ocean mystery setup i think i do yeah very like scooby-doo

we only made it about seven or eight miles west when the storm overtook us I've been on the water my entire life, and I've been fishing on commercial vessels since I was 18 years old.

I've seen many strange and sometimes unexplainable things, and I've seen my fair share of storms, some very bad.

But I'm not exaggerating when I tell you, I've never seen a storm as fierce as this one.

20 minutes after the dark gray, almost black clouds slid over my head, the point of no return was being hammered by 12 to 14 foot swells, crashing water under the deck.

The wind howled as fiercely as a banshee, and the world around us turned almost pitch black, the only illumination coming from the almost blinding flashes of lightning, which were followed by roars of thunder.

I gripped the helm with hands that had begun turning white at the knuckles, bracing my legs for each impact.

The captain stood beside me, gripping the metal railing next to the helm to keep from falling.

Just keep going!

Yelled at me.

Some of the crew stood behind us, staring out at the maelstrom with wide, frightened eyes.

It was a fear that I found infectious, for as much as I kept calm for all outer appearances, inside I was terrified.

As horrifying as horror movie monsters are made out to be, they don't hold a candle to the existential dread and terror that Mother Nature at her worst can instill you with.

Suddenly, Wyatt, one of our engineers, flew up the stairs from below.

Captain, we're taking on water somewhere, and I can't find the source!

Saw many of the crew's faces go pale, but the captain remained calmed.

All of you, get below and help Stroxy find the source and either patch it or seal it.

Then start the pumps to get the water in the boat out.

For a moment, moment nobody moved until he barked again.

Do you want to end up at the bottom of the ocean?

Move your asses!

That got their attention and they quickly followed Wyatt down the stairs to the crew quarters and lower decks.

As we crested another huge swell, I spared a glance at the radar screen.

It still showed no sign of the storm on its green screen as the line made its way around in a circle.

I shook my head, feeling a strange feeling.

one I couldn't place come over me.

But I pushed it away, forcing myself to focus.

Everyone's counting on you, Nate.

Keep your head in the game and pray to the good Lord above you make it out of this.

I shot a glance at the captain.

You really think we're gonna make it through this, Gabe?

I asked, the seriousness in my using his first name making him look hard at me before clapping a hand on my shoulder.

With a good crew and a terrific man at the helm.

Son, yes, I do.

He declared, pulling out a pipe from his pocket and lighting it.

Thick, hazy smoke filled the room as he spoke again.

I've been through far worse than this after all.

Somehow I doubted the man's words, but I tried to let them bring some much-needed comfort to me.

A large wave crashed over the bow, splashing the front windows with water and obscuring my view ahead for a few moments.

When it cleared, the world outside was again pitch black, the outer lights of the boat barely illuminating 20 feet around us.

Strong vibrations suddenly emanated from the floor beneath my feet and I shot a glance down at the metal.

What the hell was that?

My answer was given a moment later as another crew member, Andrew, ran up the stairs.

He was soaked with seawater and his eyes darted around in their sockets in panic.

Captain, the pumps are working the hardest, but we're taking on more water than we can expel.

We can't find the source of the leak either.

The captain cursed and turned to me.

Nathan, hold fast up here and keep going east.

I'm gonna go below and try to help.

Not giving me a chance to answer, he turned away, beginning to head towards the companionway stairs.

I just turned back to look out the window when the brightest flash of lightning came, turning the world around us from night to day.

It also revealed something dead ahead.

Something that made my heart almost stop.

Oh, fuck my life.

Racing towards the point of no return was a rogue wave.

Oh, fuck.

One that dwarfed all the swells around us.

My mind screamed at me that it had to be at least 30 or 40 feet high.

Enough that it blocked out the sky ahead.

CAPTIAN!

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I heard him stop from the sound of his footsteps as he dashed back next to me.

Good God Almighty!

Nate!

Turn us broadside into the wave!

Only hope is for us to roll over completely!

I turned to see him snatching for the microphone handset, which connected the wheelhouse to the ship's intercom as I began ripping the helm to port.

Whoa.

Oh my gosh.

I think I would rather be shot.

Yeah, I would just say, Captain, put a bullet in me head.

Our only option is to do a complete barrel roll.

No, absolutely.

I'm not fucking doing that.

No.

Yeah, no, no.

No, kill me, please.

Yeah.

Behind me, I heard Andrew let out a strangled scream as he spied the behemoth racing toward us.

All hands!

We have a rogue

the captain shouted into the bike.

Below, I heard the terrified shouts of the crew spring up.

I clenched the helm in a death grip as tears silently poured out of my eyes.

In my head, the scene from the perfect storm flashed.

The Andrea Gale being flipped and driven into the ocean.

I only had enough time for one quick thought.

Please, God, no.

The wave smashed into us with all the force of a dozen runaway semi-trucks.

The portside windows of the ship shattered into a thousand pieces and the freezing seawater rushed over us in a seemingly unending wave.

For a moment, my mind was unable to comprehend what had happened.

And then it began screaming at me as I felt the world begin to rotate.

We're underwater.

We're flipping underwater in the wave.

The realization horrified me and I felt certain that we would begin sinking like a stone to the bottom of the ocean.

Let a silent prayer for my death to be quick.

And then, to my astonishment, we emerged back into the world above the waves.

The shock at still being alive froze me in place, and then I looked around.

I spied the captain, locked his arms in a death grip around the metal bar next to me.

Andrew had been tossed at the back of the wheelhouse.

I saw a large gash in his head as he stumbled to his feet, coughing out water.

Instantly, the captain ran to the stairs and shouted down them.

Somebody get up here and give me a damage report!

As he did, I looked down at the screens in front of me, felt a wave of despair wash over me as I saw most short-circuited

after their meeting with the ocean.

The radar still glowed green, as the screen crackled and flickered, as though it would go out in a second.

Wyatt appeared at the top of the stairs, blood dripping from his right arm and soaked to the bone.

Give me some good news, Wyatt.

The captain yelled over the howl of the wind that screamed into the wheelhouse through the broken windows.

To me, it sounded almost more like a plea than a demand.

Wyatt shook his head.

The port side engine is dead, sir.

Starboard is still running, but barely.

Our main generator is dead, and the backup is running everything at full capacity.

Let out a shaky breath and looked at the floor before finishing.

And the pumps are dead as well, sir.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

The implication of the man's words hung like nooses around all our necks.

The pumps were dead, so were we.

It was only a matter of time before the ship filled up with too much water and foundered.

We're now running on borrowed time, I thought numbly.

When the captain spoke again, his tone was more subdued.

Go down below and tell the men to gather all the emergency supplies they can.

Food, water, first aid kits.

Have them bring the life raft up and set it down.

We'll stay with the ship as long as she'll take us.

Then we'll abandon ship into the raft.

Wyatt began to speak.

Captain, with all due respect, these waves will tell apart the...

Don't argue with me!

Just do it!

Wyatt took a step back and turned wordlessly and headed back down the gangway.

And then turned to Andrew, who had begun shaking slightly, a result of both the freezing water covering him and fear.

Andrew, try the radio and send out a distress call.

You know the drill.

For a moment, the younger man stood as still as a statue.

Then he rushed to the radio and jammed his hands down on the transmit button.

Mayday, May Day!

This is the fishing vessel port of no return.

Registration number 57306.

We're approximately,

I don't know, somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland, and we need urgent assistance.

Our ship is taking on water and sinking.

Does anyone read me?

I tuned his words out as he began to repeat, turning instead to look out the broken windows.

I didn't say it out loud, but I knew we were royally screwed.

Wyatt's right, these waves will tear the raft to pieces long before anyone reaches us.

The numbness began to spread as I was faced with the unavoidable thought that these might be the final minutes of my life.

Moments of my past flashed in front of my eyes.

Growing up as a child in Portsmouth, spending weekends at friends of my mother's in Kittery Point, visiting BG's boathouse with my mother and aunt.

My relationship with Dana, my ex.

A single image suddenly appeared in my mind.

My friends and family crowded around a cross commemorating us, crying.

The breath began to come in short, ragged gasps as I tried to force away the image.

Bing.

The sound snapped me out of the inner battle with my mortality, and I blinked for a second.

What the?

Then it came again.

Bing.

The realization suddenly crashed into me as hard as the wave had.

The radar.

Looking down, I watched the flickering screen as the line made its way around again.

This time, as the sound rang through the wheelhouse, a third time, I saw the large shape appear, and it sent a bolt of renewed hope through me.

Captain!

I've got something on the radar!

Sound of Andrew's distress call stopped as both men turned towards me.

I think it's a ship!

Instantly, the man was at my side, gazing down at the screen.

I don't believe it!

You're right!

He breathed out in an astonished tone, then he locked eyes with me.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Nate?

He asked.

I swallowed.

Gabe, right now, there isn't much of an alternative.

Looked at me for another second before nodding.

Then head approximately south, southwest, and pour on the power.

For the next 20 minutes, we crashed through the storm in silence, aside from Andrew, who returned, attempting a distress call.

Finally, he gave up.

Captain, the rogue wave must have snapped off the radio antenna.

Still, we continued on.

I strayed my eyes against the lashing wind and rain pouring through the windows, praying to catch sight of our only chance at survival.

And then, in the flash of lightning, I saw it.

Even a few miles away from us, I could tell the ship was huge.

She rose almost imposingly out of the water, rolling up and down in the waves of the storm.

Another flash of lightning showed that her hull was black, while her upper decks were painted white.

Two large red and black smokestacks rose in the sky, almost disappearing out of sight.

I heard the captain let out a low whistle

as he spotted it as well.

She's gotta be what?

800 feet long?

I called over the wind.

Try more like a thousand.

By now, most of the rest of the crew had reappeared from the below deck.

They brought the gear the captain had ordered up and had packed it into waterproof bags.

I'd also requested that the satellite phone and laptop be brought up as well.

Unfortunately, the phone was very much dead from being submerged, but the laptop, according to Will, was able to be salvaged.

When they caught sight of the giant ship, they let out cheers and turned to hug one another.

I realized I hadn't been the only one feeling that death was breathing down our necks.

As we drew within half a mile of the ship, I realized something was off.

Captain, she's dead in the water.

Not moving at all.

If she'd been under power, it would have taken longer to draw near.

Captain looked hard, but nodded.

You're right.

She must have snapped off her mooring lines in the storm somewhere.

It's a ghost ship adrift.

Saw the crew's faces at the news.

So, what do we do now?

Kenny, the other engineer, asked.

Captain turned to them as I steered us closer.

We stick to the plan.

We draw alongside her and find a way aboard.

We transfer our equipment on board, and then we'll go from there.

The look of hope returned in some of their eyes, but I saw apprehension in their others.

I didn't blame them one bit.

Fear still coursed through my veins.

All it takes is one screw up, one mistake, and we're all dead.

The captain ordered me to move around to the ship's port side so as to give us a small bit of shelter from the storm.

He then snapped on the powerful searchlight, which thankfully hadn't been taken out by the wave and traced it over the ship.

A few minutes later, I heard him let out a triumphant laugh.

Nate!

Move us next to the middle of the ship.

There's a ladder dangling there.

He was right.

I saw the white lines and wooden steps flailing about in the wind.

Sparing a glance behind us and seeing that the ocean was beginning to creep over the back of the transom, I hastily maneuvered the point of no return over to the ladder, nudging the throttle into neutral as we drew alongside.

Sparing a glance out of the open side door, I saw Spencer and Will reaching out with boat hooks to snatch the ladder.

Yes, the two men hooked it and lashed it onto our railing.

Okay, one man at a time.

Get the gear and get up there.

Slowly, almost painfully, the eight members of our crew made their way up the ladder and onto the ship.

As I watched Wyatt climb out of sight, a sound caught my attention.

I looked down to see all of the remaining gauges die, and the sound of the remaining engine idling died away.

Crap.

Almost immediately afterwards, I became aware of a new sound.

It was one that spurred a new wave of panic in me.

It was the sucking sound of the sea rapidly flooding the point of no return.

Captain!

She's going under!

I screamed, snatching up the last bag of supplies.

I saw the man give an almost pained look as he cast a final look at the vessel he'd worked his entire life to afford before shouting at me and Kenny, last two aboard besides himself.

All right, boys, abandoned ship!

Kenny went up the ladder first, unable to wait for him to make it all the way up.

The captain and I unsnapped the ladder from our railing and began climbing after him.

We were halfway up when I heard the sucking sound increase to a fever pitch.

Stopping and screwing to look below me, I saw the point of no return bow lift out of the water as her stern slipped below the waves.

She rapidly began to sink, and I turned to continue climbing.

That was when a scream came from overhead.

I snapped my gaze up to see a body fall past me, missing me by less than a foot.

For a moment, shock kept my mind from working until I realized who I'd seen in the split-second flash of lightning.

I screamed out into the dark, but when the lightning flashed again, I saw no sign of him floating in the waves.

Only the bow of our ship as it finally slipped below the waves.

I shouted the man's name again, the wind tearing the cry from my lips and off into the storm.

Nathan, he's gone!

Came a cry from below me.

I shot a look down, seeing the captain looking up at me with a horrified expression.

Get up the ladder!

I fought my emotions for a moment, but climbed as quickly as I could for the railing.

A few moments later, both the captain and I hauled ourselves over, collapsing onto the wooden deck with sputtering coughs and groans.

When I raised my head, it was to see the ashen face of Wyatt looking down at us.

Where's Kitty?

I took in a shaky breath and shook my head slowly at him.

I saw the shock and horror flash into his face.

The same happened to all of the men standing behind him.

For my part, I simply felt numb.

Even though I'd lost my aunt to ovarian cancer in 2009, lost one of my mom's family friends to a brain tumor in 2012, I'd never actually seen someone die before.

Not in real life, anyway.

My mind was a jumble.

I couldn't think properly.

Thankfully, though, the captain stood up and spoke up, his voice shaking only for a second before hardening.

As hard as this may be for everyone, we need to get inside and out of the storm.

We'll have time to be able to grieve later.

Right now, we need to get away from the wind and rain before we catch pneumonia or hypothermia.

His word seemed to bolster everyone, even myself, and we all stood, gathering our supplies and moving to find a door inside.

After a few minutes searching, we found one.

And after snapping on the waterproof flashlights we all had, we stepped inside the ship.

Yeah, I've got to say, that was awesome.

That entire sequence of like the ship going down and the storm and them rolling and everything and having to catch the ladder.

Oh, that was so good.

You just said yeah, without the British accent.

Yeah.

Yeah, there we go.

Yeah.

No, but no, I mean,

like, I mean, you know, not every word is

that was a break, that was a break for sure.

Hopefully, I'm still in my accent, I'm still doing it, it's just, yeah, sometimes you sound like that, okay.

Not everything's a fruity, delightful piece of ginger, you know.

I don't know what I'm supposed to tell you

anyway.

Um, I that that whole thing was great, I really loved it.

Uh, the descriptions of like the captain and the file moments, watching the ship go down, like the terror of it, the intensity.

That was great, that was awesome.

And now, how cool of a concept there's a ghost ship in the middle of the ocean in the middle of this storm that they have to go on to and like can oh man that's so cool this is great this is stellar i love this

okay anyway instantly the sound of the howling wind grew fainter as we found ourselves inside a companion way of some kind it seemed like it was meant for the crew seemed more spartan and function over form than what i'd seen from the rest of the ship nobody said a word as we made our way down until we came to another door.

Will, being the first in line, reached out and opened it, and we stepped into what I can only describe as the most luxurious lounge I've ever been in.

The walls were plastered with wood that reflected back in the glow of our lights.

What appeared to be marble lined the ceilings overhead.

I saw dozens of tables and chairs, ones that had been once scattered across the room, lying overturned or on their sides.

No doubt thrown about by the storm.

Walking further into the room, I turned to the the left and aimed my flashlight at the wall.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as my light reflected off a huge face that gazed back at me.

Jesus!

Feeling my heart begin a marathon in my chest.

What?

What is it?

I heard Andrew call out.

All the men ran to me and aimed their lights at what I'd seen.

Instantly, the tension that filled the room was replaced by the sound of laughter.

Fucking hell, Knight.

Are you really that afraid of the Queen of England?

Okay, now you're now.

Well, no, no, because these are American sailors.

Are you the afraid of the Queen, Knight?

That, by the way, is like

a hand of God pull for you.

This becomes a British story after you completely made up the British part of it.

Vinny, another one of our crew, asked as he fought for breath.

I let out a shaky breath of my own as I played the light over what I now saw was a painting, one of Queen Elizabeth II.

Then I began to laugh along with him.

Good lord, Nathan, you really are a pussy.

For a minute, we all stood there, laughing and feeling the mood lighten somewhat.

The levity helped lighten the sadness that we all felt.

It was cut short by the captain's voice as a loud rumble of thunder came from outside.

All right, everyone.

Change into dry clothes and break out the sleeping bags.

Then get some sleep.

This has been one of the worst days of our lives.

We need to rest.

Tomorrow, we'll take stock of the ship and figure out what to do next.

And with that, everyone began to fan out, finding a lone corner to change in without being seen.

As I did, I approached the captain.

Gabe,

I said, tapping the man on the shoulder.

Turned to look at me and I instantly saw the haunted look in his eyes.

The poor man blames himself for Kenny.

I I wanted to say something, say that it wasn't his fault.

Instead, I told him I wanted to stay up a little, get the laptop out, and try and get a signal from the satellite connection, try and find a way to send out a call for help.

After a moment's hesitation, he agreed, gesturing towards the vast amount of chairs and tables.

Go ahead, just try and get some sleep afterwards.

I nodded, patted him again on the shoulder before turning away.

That's where I am now.

Changed into dry clothes and found a thick, cushioned armchair on its side.

Set it upright and pulled out the laptop.

Battery was, thankfully, fully charged.

I have a solar charger if it gets low, which survived.

But as I said at the start, it had to have sustained some kind of water damage because it won't let me go to many, if any, sites.

Only this one.

I'm the only one of us left awake now.

All around me, I can hear the snores of my fellow crew members, hear them rolling over to get comfortable on the carpeted floors.

I still hear the rain pounding on the roof of the great ship, hear the thunder rubble, and feel the ship lurching up and down in the waves.

Pray she doesn't hit any rocks during the night.

We don't need another problem on our hands.

There is one final thing I have to say, though I can't help but feel foolish about it.

I know that we're the only ones on board.

Otherwise, people would have already come by now.

We'd be swarmed with crew or passengers.

And yet, I can't shake the feeling I'm being watched.

I know it's ridiculous, but I can't make the feeling go away.

I feel like a goldfish with its owner staring in at me and I don't like it one bit.

I even took a walk around outside this lounge to reassure myself nobody else is here.

I know the captain wouldn't have liked me doing so but I wouldn't have been able to sleep otherwise.

If anyone reads this, can anyone help us?

We're only fishermen who've dealt with a 70 foot long liner, not a giant cruise ship or ocean liner.

Does anyone know what we have to do to get power going again?

Where we have to go?

If we can get power restored?

We might be able to get the radio on board working again and let people know we're out here.

And is there anything else important we should do tomorrow?

Anything at all you can think of?

Please let me know if anyone sees this.

Check back in the morning, see if anyone has.

Oh, and one final thing.

I don't know if it'll help, but when I went for my walk to prove to myself no one else is here, I found a life ring.

which had the name of the ship stamped into it.

Maybe someone can look to see if the ship has been labeled missing or something, which would work to try and get someone to know where we are.

The name of the ship bears the same name as a huge, almost creepy-looking painting on the wall that, in the dark, I try not to look at

the RMS Queen Elizabeth.

End of part one.

I gotta say, I gotta say, go ahead and say what do you gotta say?

I like it.

I like this a lot.

Yes, you do.

Just

the

uniqueness of the premise.

We were a fishing vessel that found this abandoned cruise ship, it looks like, but no one's on it.

And we don't know where we're at.

And there's a storm.

And I feel like there's some entity watching us.

Just got to say,

I already have a soft spot for ocean stories or nautical stuff.

And this is hitting every checking every box I have for a story like this.

It is so cool.

I'm liking this a lot right now.

It's very nice.

That name is.

I like that.

It's also setting it up to where I feel like it's setting up a paranormal angle, potentially ghost ship kind of thing.

You even get some fun, you know, it could go any direction, which I think is fun.

Paranormal, monster, you know, whatever.

It could go in so many different directions, and I'm excited to keep unveiling the story.

I thought that name Queen Elizabeth was familiar.

And I was like, what's that?

So I look up RMS Queen Elizabeth.

In 1972, while she was undergoing refurbishment in Hong Kong Harbor, a fire broke out aboard under unexplained circumstances, and the vessel was capsized by the water used to fight the fire.

The following year, the wreck was deemed an obstruction to shipping in the area and in 1974 and 75 was partially scrapped on site.

Well,

that doesn't seem too good.

Well, that's not great.

Just got to say, being on that ship now, not a good thing, I would argue.

Anyway, so yeah, they're on a ghost ship.

They're on a ghost ship at the moment, right?

They're on a ghost ship with a giant skull in the clouds looking down on them, apparently.

It did give some Harry Potter vibes there for a moment.

But, you know.

You know what?

I was thinking about that.

I was like, there's a skull in the cloud, and there's the mention before the wreck of the captain lighting a pipe.

But I'm also having so much fun with the tone of the story.

That's great.

The ship and like, Captain, we're taking on water or whatever that I'm willing to forgive it.

I'm willing to look over it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's okay if it's a a little cheesy.

I mean, they're all a ghost ship in an ocean, right?

Yeah, no, I'm having a great time with it.

All right, so we are now on to part two.

Thank God.

To say I'm relieved that the first post got through would be an understatement of massive proportions.

Even though it seems like not many people saw it, the fact that anybody did is a blessing in itself.

Gives me hope that all of us might make it out of this situation yet.

First and foremost, to the people who did see it and commented, I can't thank you enough.

Especially to the person who suggested a plan for what to do in regarding the power.

It was actually thanks to you that I was able to give the captain and the others a suggestion of what to do today.

Unfortunately, due to the fact we were so excited to get off the point of no return before she sank out from under us, we didn't bring the life raft with us.

Only the supplies we thought we'd need.

We were too caught up in the fact we had a better alternative to remember to lug it up the ladder.

I do have to confess one thing to you all, though.

When I first woke up this morning to check the comments you left, I thought people were either pulling my leg, thinking I was bullshitting you all, or that you had to be mistaken.

After all, if the Queen Elizabeth caught fire and sank years, if not decades ago, how the hell could we be on board?

Ghost ships, legitimate ones, only exist in horror films, not real life.

There'd be a mistake made here.

However, after some of the things that have happened today, I can't help but start to wonder if you're right.

And if you are, we're in a whole lot bigger trouble than I thought we were.

I'm jumping the gun though.

I should tell you what went down today.

When I first woke up, the first thing I realized was that the storm had passed.

The rain no longer pounded on the roof of the ship and it no longer twisted about in the swells.

For a moment, it was so calm that I forgot where we were, what had happened yesterday.

Then everything came crashing back to me, causing me to sit up straight in my sleeping bag.

The first thing I saw was the captain, who sat in one of the lounge chairs.

He must have woken up a while ago.

His head turned in my direction as I pulled myself out of the bag and to my feet, and he gave a short nod.

Winding my way around the sleeping forms of the others, I made my way over to him.

How long you been up, Cap?

I whispered as I picked up another chair and set it beside him.

He shrugged.

A little while now.

I was planning on waking everyone up in about 20 minutes or so, anyways.

I could still see that losing Kenny still weighed heavily on his shoulders.

The man likely hadn't got much sleep due to it eating away at him.

I decided to say something.

You

Then he slumped into the chair his body seeming to sag.

I appreciate you saying that Nathan.

More than you know.

But a captain's job is to keep his crew safe.

To get them home.

I didn't do that for Kenny, and I'm gonna have to live with that.

I wanted to argue, but I saw that no amount of it would change his mind.

Instead, I nodded and turned to look out across the massive room.

We roused the others a few minutes later, and as they opened up the supplies we'd brought to bring out some food and water, the captain reminded me to check the laptop.

Booting it up, I saw the battery was low, making a mental reminder to set the solar power charger in the sunlight outside to charge it back up.

Then I checked the post it had made.

Hope and excitement surged through me as I saw comments left below.

You guys, people saw what I wrote.

In seconds, I was surrounded as everyone crowded around me.

A bottle of water and a granola bar were shoved into my hands as they read the comments you all had left.

There was silence for a few moments, then Spencer spoke up.

That can't be right, he said softly.

He looked up at us.

These people can't be right, right?

There's no way the ship they're talking about is the same one we're on a board on board.

Wyatt answered him.

No way, Spence.

They either think we're playing with them or just spewing

I shot a look at the captain.

Cap,

you're the oldest of us.

Do you know if there was a ship called the Queen Elizabeth that did catch fire and sink?

He stayed quiet for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before answering.

There was a ship called the Queen Elizabeth that was built in the 1930s.

And it did catch fire and sink in Hong Kong harbor in the early 70s.

But

no, there's no way this could be the same one.

There's no such things as ghost ships that manifest out of nothing.

He stood up, seeming to push away any remaining thoughts of the matter from his head.

We need to be getting onto a more realistic and pressing matters, though.

We need to find a way to get power going.

Without it, we have no way to operate the radio to send out a call for help.

I point out a particular comment that gave an idea of what to do.

He leaned down, silently reading it before nodding.

He declared before splitting us up into two teams.

One team, comprising of myself, Andrew, Spencer, and Will, would explore as much of the ship as we could, while the captain, Wyatt, and the only other remaining member of our crew, a tall, muscular Italian man named Vinny, would try and find their way down to the bowels of the ship to restore power.

With the plan made, and a set of walkie-talkies given to the captain and me to maintain contact with each other, we exchanged a last good luck and stay safe, left the lounge.

Flicking on our flashlights, the four of us slowly walked back through the hallway we'd taken to get inside.

A moment later, we emerged into the bright light of day.

The sun felt nice and warm on my face, and I couldn't help but let a small smile cross my face.

It disappeared though, as my eyes looked out beyond the railing.

The endless ocean surrounded us, stretching far beyond the horizon.

No sign of land anywhere.

A small shiver shot through me as the image of our ship slipping beneath the waves replayed in my mind, along with watching Kenny fall to his doom.

I shook my head.

Snap yourself out of it, Nate.

Keep focused.

I pulled the solar charger from my pocket and set it down next to the open hatch.

Pick it up later when we came back this way.

Andrew spoke up, pointing to the row of lifeboats that hung from David's that spread out away from us.

You think those would still be safe to use?

I shrugged my shoulders.

I don't see why not.

But I wouldn't want to try and use one of those to get back to shore.

I pushed the hair out of my eyes and pushed my glasses up my nose.

Alright, let's keep moving, guys.

For the next few hours, the four of us explored both the inside and outside of the ship, occasionally stopping to radio our position back to the captain.

The Queen Elizabeth was indeed a luxury ship in every sense of the word.

The wood on the outside decks was well varnished, teaked, shining brilliantly in the sunlight.

The same was true for the miles of wood that plastered the walls of the carpeted hallways and rooms that crisscrossed the inside like a maze.

I was almost in awe of how beautiful it was.

However, there was one thing that surprised me, and I wasn't the only one to notice.

As we walked through another lounge, Will said the words that incessantly reverberated in my head.

Anyone else notice we haven't seen a single TV on board yet?

Andrew shrugged his shoulders.

Hey, who knows?

Maybe they took all the TVs off the walls for renovations or something.

Or maybe it's one of those ships that deliberately doesn't have any in order to keep the passengers from not taking part in the activities.

His words reassured me a little, but I still couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.

The entire time we'd been exploring the ship, an indescribable feeling had followed me like an annoying dog.

And to make matters worse, the feeling of being washed I'd had last night hadn't gone away.

Every so often, I would shoot a look behind us as we had walked, aiming my light back the way we'd come.

I I saw nothing, but for whatever reason, it felt like something had been there and pulled back just out of sight every single time I'd look.

As we entered what, according to the sign above the door, was the first-class smoking room, the radio on my belt chirped.

There was a layer of static above everything due to the massive amount of steel and wood in the way, but the words of the captain were unmistakable.

Nathan, we finally reached the engine room.

We also found the power source.

I heard a small trace of surprise in the man's voice as he continued.

Spencer's face scrunched up in confusion.

What in the hell was a yarrow boiler?

I shrugged my shoulders and hit the transmit button.

Can you get the power going?

There was another wave of static before he answered.

It'll take a little while, but yes.

We'll be able to get power back on back to the ship.

Just give us about 20 minutes or so.

Half an hour at most.

It's been a while since I've had to fire one of these behind the subs.

And there are 12 of them down here.

And with that, he clicked off.

Well, now what do we do in the meantime?

Will asked.

Spencer began to answer him.

I remember seeing on a map on the wall that there's a first-class gym on this deck.

The four of us could go and lift some weight until they get everything going.

Or, if we fancy a swim, there's a a swim pool as well.

Or hell, we could even.

He kept speaking, but I'd stopped listening to him.

The feeling of being watched should return, this time with a vengeance that caused a cascade of shivers to shoot up my spine.

For a moment, I resisted the urge to look around, then I cast my eyes towards a set of windows to the outside

where someone peered in at us.

On the outside of a cruise ship?

Oh, man.

Yeah, who's staying on the ship, you know?

Well, I mean, it's he's looking outside, so it would be on the side of the ship, right?

Well, I assume that he's probably, like, on a deck looking in, is what I would assume.

Oh, oh, I see what you're saying, yeah.

I only caught a glimpse of the figure for a moment before they realized they'd been spotted and yanked their head back out of sight.

But it was enough to see what looked like a small boy or young teenager.

Hey!

I shouted out, rushing over to the window.

It didn't open, but I was able to crane my neck enough to look around the corner.

The deck was empty in all directions.

But I knew I hadn't seen things.

There had been someone there.

Hey, guys,

did any of you see that?

There's no answer from behind me.

I can imagine them looking at me like I just grown two heads.

They probably think I'm nuts.

Seriously, I'm not kidding.

I saw someone out there.

They still didn't respond.

I felt a slight pang of irritation flow through me and turned back, beginning to speak.

Guys, don't be assholes.

I'm asking you.

The smoking room was empty.

My voice died in my throat, and I felt a wave of confusion wash over me.

What the hell?

I looked around, my eyes wandering to the ornate wooden bar that lined the back of the room.

There's no movement over there either.

What the hell

Did they freaking leave?

I breathed out incredulously.

The irritation I'd felt a moment ago reared its head again, and I strode to the open doors to the hallway.

Hey, assholes!

What the hell's the matter with you?

We're not supposed to split up!

My voice echoed away into the gloom, bouncing off the wooden walls and dying away, but nobody answered.

A thought suddenly entered my mind.

Oh, this better not be a prank.

This is not the time or place for that shit.

I knew that the three men loved to play practical jokes on themselves and the rest of the crew, but I would have thought they'd known better than to pull them with this predicament.

I let out a deep sigh and began to walk down the hall, my footsteps muted by the carpeted floor.

If this is a joke, I'll fucking wring your necks.

I muttered, reaching a T-junction and shining my light down it.

Empty, empty and silent.

Kept going straight, passing by a sign showing the direction of the gym and movie theater.

I remembered hearing Spencer talk about it and quickened my pace.

I expected the sound of their voice to slowly began filtering down to me.

But as I approached the door to it, I still heard nothing.

And when I shone the light inside, reflecting off rowing machines, stationary bikes, and other exercise equipment I didn't recognize, my exasperation grew.

Know what?

Screw this.

I said through gritted teeth, snatching the walkie-talkie from my belt and thumbing it.

Hey, Captain, you're not gonna like this, but the others quite literally abandoned me and ran off to god only knows where.

I'm trying to find them, but they've completely fucked off.

Any advice on what I should do?

Over.

Wall of static greeted me as I let go of the transmit button.

Nobody answered.

I hit the button again.

Captain, do you read me?

I'm alone.

The others have run off.

Over.

More static.

I began to fiddle with the dials, changing channels.

Interference, stupid piece of shit.

I hit the button again.

Hello?

Does anybody read me?

Over!

The static suddenly stopped.

The hallway went silent, a silence I've never experienced before, one that seemed to be alive, if that makes any sense.

Then, a voice voice suddenly tumbled from the walkie-talkie speaker.

Hello, Mason.

My eyes shot down to the radio in my hand, my breath catching in my throat.

It felt like someone had just poured a bucket of ice water down my back.

That wasn't the captain's voice.

That wasn't any of the crew's voice.

For a moment, I debated saying nothing.

And I slowly pressed down the transmit button.

My throat had gone as dry as cotton.

Hello?

My My voice coming out gaspy and ragged.

For a few seconds, there was no reply, and then came the voice again.

A man's voice, deep and low.

My heart began to thump hard in my chest, and my breathing quickened.

What the actual fuck, man?

I forced myself to hit the button again, forced my voice to come out much calmer than I felt.

Who the hell are you?

There's another stretch of silence in which I began to furiously look over my shoulders, the feeling of paranoia growing by the second.

And then my blood turned to ice as a new sound emanated from the radio speaker.

Sound of the man beginning to laugh.

Another laugh joined the first, this time a woman.

I stared at the radio as if it were possessed as more and more people's laughter began to filter out of it.

Sounding as if an entire room full of people had just found what I'd said the most hilarious thing they'd ever heard.

Fear began to fill every fiber of my being, being.

A new kind of fear different from the one I'd felt in the storm last night.

And then it climaxed as a horrifying scream.

One that sounded like a woman being brutally murdered tore from the speaker.

I practically flung the walkie-talkie out of my hand to the floor, clapping a hand over my mouth as I backed up into the wall.

As soon as the scream finished, the radio went silent.

Dead.

For a few moments, I stood there.

Hand still clapped over my mouth and staring at the radio like it was about to sprout legs and chase me.

I fought to get my racing heart, shuddering, breathing under control.

The logical part of my mind trying to make sense of things.

You're panicking, Nathan.

You're panicking, and you're panicking so much that you're beginning to experience auditory hallucinations.

When the mind breaks, it conjures up things that aren't there.

What you need to do is get outside into the fresh air.

The fresh air will do you good.

I took a deep breath, feeling myself beginning to calm down.

The fear I'd felt began to melt away like ice in spring.

I shook my head.

Yeah,

you're supposed to be the calm and rational type, Rogers.

I whispered to myself.

I let out a soft laugh and took a step towards my dropped radio, but I stopped as I felt my foot step on something.

Something that wasn't the carpet.

Looked down at the floor.

There, crushed under my foot, was what appeared to be a folder of some sort?

No, not a folder.

A crouched down aimed in my light as I picked the object up.

There was artwork on the cover.

I could see a violin, a film reel, shuffle board, and other items decorating the cover.

Big, blocky black letters in the middle of the cover read, Program for Today.

And in the bottom right-hand corner was the word, Cunnard, in curse of scrawl.

I looked at the cover as I walked over and picked the radio up, clipping it back to my belt.

Focusing my attention on it was helping me rapidly calm, and I saw to quickly flip it open and see what it said.

There were only two pages inside.

The top of the left page was adorned with the word notices, while the right page was headlined by program of events.

My eyes began to slide down them, silently reading it out, until my mind caught up with my eyes.

Wait, I didn't just see that, did I?

I flashed the light back up to the top right of the page, where the date was stamped.

Thursday, June 21st, 1956.

I blinked my eye a couple couple times, silently praying that the date would change.

I was seeing things, but no, it remained the same.

I began to feel my heart pound in my chest again.

This

makes no fucking sense, man.

For a moment, my mind flashed back to the comment I'd seen that morning about the ship having sunk decades ago.

I shook my head, tried to stay calm.

Just get the hell outside, Nathan.

Taking a breath, I turned to head back in the direction of the smoking room and froze.

The program fell from my hand to the floor.

My heart thundered in my chest, and my breathing came in short, ragged gasps.

There were figures standing in the hallway down by the T-junction.

I couldn't tell how many, but there were enough that they blocked the way back.

In the gloom, I couldn't see any features, just the dark outlines of them.

Remembering the flashlight in my hands, I began to raise it to aim at them.

That's when the light flickered out.

I was plunged into into gloom as I stared down at the light, smacking it and mentally pleading for it to come back to life, but it was no use.

The light was dead.

Realization suddenly filled me as my mind screamed at me that I'd taken my eyes away from the figures.

When I snapped my head up, I almost screamed.

They had drawn closer, packing the hallway from wall to wall.

They made no noise, at first, and then I heard the whispering begin.

It started quietly, almost to the point I thought I was hearing things, but then it began to grow louder.

I couldn't tell what was being said.

The The voices were so low it wasn't possible to distinguish individual words.

Even so, I felt a new bolt of terror shoot through me at the sound, and then my fear compounded as I saw the figures take a step towards me.

I began to violently shake as I slowly began to back away.

Then they came for me.

The figures were suddenly a blur of motion, moving far faster than any human being could.

They streamed towards me, the whispering suddenly intensifying to a fever pitch.

Caught off guard, I stumbled backwards, tripping over my own feet and falling to the floor.

My right elbow slammed into the wood paneling and I felt a bolt of pain shoot up my arm.

The figure swarmed over me, the whispering morphing into laughter, laughter and screaming.

A moment later, more screaming began.

My screams.

I raised my arms over my head, covering my face and curling into a ball.

Tears began rolling down my face, and I felt that any moment I'd be torn apart.

Nathan!

The shout cut through the

silence?

I stopped screaming but kept my arms over my head protectively.

Then I felt a hand begin to roughly shake me.

The terror returned, and I lashed out.

Get the fuck off me!

The voice came again, a familiar voice.

Hey, easy, bro, easy.

The realization made me lower my arms and open my eyes.

Three faces, etched with panic and fear, looked down at me.

For a second, I fought to find my voice.

Andrew, will

Spence

relief crossed the faces of my crewmates?

He's back,

Andrew said quietly, wiping visible sweat from his brow.

I uncurled myself and sat up, looking around.

I was lying on the floor of the smoking room.

Close to the windows, I'd seen the figure outside.

Sunlight still streamed in, landing on where I'd collapsed to the floor.

Looked up at the others.

What the hell happened?

Spencer shook his head, still looking rattled, but Andrew again answered me.

Dude, I have no fucking idea.

One minute you were talking about going to check out the other areas of the ship, the next you suddenly yelled and ran to the window.

Then you just started pulling a statue routine.

You didn't respond to anything we said.

You just stared at the ocean, not moving and not blinking, until you suddenly fell to the floor and began screaming.

Let out a shaky breath of his own.

You scared the ever-living shit out of us.

I blinked rapidly, my mind trying to make sense of his words.

Had I really hallucinated everything?

Had it all just been in my head?

I stumbled to my feet, aided by Will and Spencer.

Andrew just kept looking at me, concerned look on his face.

I took a deep breath of my own.

I'm okay.

My voice sounded far calmer and sure than I felt.

You sure?

I nodded.

I must have gotten less sleep last night than I thought.

The stress and the sleep must have made me...

I don't know.

Fall asleep standing up or something?

I could see the other two relax immediately, taking my words at face value, but Andrew continued to look at me for a moment, seemingly unconvinced.

Finally, he nodded.

The sound of static stabbed through the air, causing me to almost jump out of my skin.

Then the sound of the captain's voice rang over the radio on my belt.

We're in business, boys.

I heard him declare happily.

A moment later, I felt the floor beneath my feet shudder slightly from what must have have been the boilers coming to life.

And then the lights came on, all throughout the ship.

The smoking room became ablaze with the yellow light of what had been the incandescent bulbs, banishing away the gloom that lurked in the corners like monsters in the closet.

I began to say something to the others when a new sound began.

Music.

Music began spilling out from what had been the hidden speakers in the walls or ceiling.

It echoed all throughout the deck.

I could hear the instruments, along with the woman's crooning voice reverberating reverberating far down the hallway, likely all throughout the ship as well.

Spencer looked up the walls.

Man,

that's one hell of an old song.

Andrew nodded, still looking hard at me.

Will suddenly snapped his fingers.

I know the song.

My grandmother used to play it all the time when I was a little kid.

He began snapping his fingers again, thinking hard.

It's by a singer from the 40s and 50s called, uh, I think, Joe Stafford.

Now Andrew did take his eyes off me, looking looking over at him.

What's the song's name?

He asked, mildly interested.

Will thought for another moment before answering.

You belong to me.

As if on cue, the singing voices sang out the four words.

I couldn't help but shiver slightly at them, still feeling as if I jumped through from Kansas to Oz and then been booted back to reality.

Cleared my throat.

Um,

hey guys, would you

would you mind not telling the captain about what happened with me?

They looked at me for a moment, thinking.

Yeah, sure, Nate.

As long as you don't ever do that again.

Feeling relieved, I nodded.

Spencer spoke up.

Come on.

We should try and meet back up at the captain.

Figure out what to do next.

With that, he walked out of the room, Will following close after him.

Andrew shot me one more look.

Sure, you're alright?

I nodded.

Yeah, I'm fine.

I lied.

I raised my right arm to rub the back of my neck as he began to leave the room.

But I stopped as a throbbing pain suddenly shot up my arm.

I let out a small gasp of pain, bringing my left hand over to feel the back.

As soon as my fingers touched my right elbow, another sear of pain rippled out.

I turned and looked at where I'd fallen.

There was nothing there for me to have slammed my elbow into, and the carpet had been thick and plush, too plush to have hurt myself.

The mental image of falling back in the hallway suddenly burst forth in my mind, falling as those figures rushed towards me, whispering whispering and laughing and screaming.

Mai slowly rose to look down the now brightly lit hallway.

Even from where I could see the signs showing the location of the gym, I shuddered.

It was just a hallucination, wasn't it?

I swallowed hard, forcing the thought from my head, and hurried to catch up to the others.

We met the captain and the others back in the lounge we'd spent the night in.

They found a way to turn the music off, and for that I was thankful.

All we'd heard as we walked through the ship had been songs that sounded like they were 70 years ago or older.

All they did was remind me of the program I'd clutched in my hand, seeing the date on it.

We could tell they must have been breaking their backs to get the boilers going.

Sweat and black stains covered their faces and clothes.

The captain glanced down at his watch.

We have only about an hour or so of daylight left.

Let's try and make our way to the radio room to see if we can send out a distress call.

After that, we'll figure out where to go from there.

We all nodded and hurried after the man as he led the way.

The room wasn't hard to find at all.

Once we'd entered the upper levels of the ship, ones I could tell were meant for crew only, signs led us right to it.

My hopes of being able to get off rose with each step we took, and then were dashed as we reached the closed door to it.

The captain reached out and attempted to turn the handle, but it refused to turn.

A few of us gathered up next to him and attempted to force it to open, but it wouldn't budge a single inch.

Damn it!

It's locked!

Captain growled as he finally gave up.

Felt my heart sink.

Could see the same expression on everyone else's face.

But then the captain continued.

Okay,

that means there's got to be a set of keys somewhere on board that

can get us in there.

He rapped on the metal door with his knuckles.

So our next job is to find them.

They'll likely be in the crew's sleeping quarters, maybe in the captain's cabin.

He looked at his watch again.

That'll be a job for tomorrow.

We should head back to the lounge, get some food and water on our systems, and get some sleep.

We've done a good job today.

And finding our way through the ship now, the shares power is going to be much easier.

I felt equal parts dismay and anxiety as I followed the others back to the lounge.

And as much as I tried to ignore it, I still felt watched.

The lights didn't help one bit.

I kept looking back over my shoulder, afraid I would see the boy I'd seen in the smoking room window again.

Or worse, the shadowy figures.

Thankfully, though, I never did.

And we made it uneventfully back to the lounge where we ate our dinner, packages of MREs that had been part of our emergency supplies, and then began to settle down for the night.

I used the solar charger I'd left outside all day to charge the laptop.

As I booted it up, Will came over to me.

You truly alright, man?

Quietly asked me.

I nodded at him, giving him a false smile.

He sighed.

You know,

as much of a fucked up situation as we're in, the only good part was hearing that song again.

I haven't heard it since my grandmother passed away.

I looked up at him.

You like that kind of music?

Honestly, I like everything about this time period.

He let out a soft laugh and patted me on the shoulder and walked away to his sleeping bag.

I watched him go, then looked over at the captain, gazed around at everyone, looked over at me, and I started slightly.

I saw something in his eyes that I wasn't used to seeing

worry,

worry, and

fear.

Did he see something down in the engine room?

Also, but my prediction, by the way, is uh, what was that guy's name who just got Will?

Uh, Will 100% is gonna get like sucked into the 1950s time loop after that question.

There's no way

Monkey Paul's wish.

He is going to the abyss.

He's going to the time prison on the ship.

Just as quickly, it washed away, and he nodded at me.

I returned the gesture, and he pointed at the laptop in my lap.

It was an unspoken question.

Are you going to try sending a message out again?

I nodded, and he stood up, stretching his arms over his head and yawning before shaking his head slightly and heading for his own sleeping bag.

And now, here I am, the only one left awake again.

The captain turned out most of the lights in the lounge, something I really did not like.

So I moved over to a table that remained upright, one that had a lamp built into the middle of it, turned it on.

I now sat here typing this out, but I can't help but look up, my eyes darting around the dark, expansive room.

I'm terrified every time I take my eyes off the screen.

I'll see those figures again.

I standing in the dark and staring at me.

I wish so much that we could just jump into one of the lifeboats on the side of the ship, lured into the sea, and row away from this godforsaken place as fast as we could.

But with only about a week and a half's half's worth of food and supplies, no idea where we are, we could end up rowing directly into the middle of the Atlantic if we're not there already.

Like I said at the start, when I first started this day, I felt for sure you all had to be wrong.

That just because this ship was named Queen Elizabeth, it didn't mean it was the same one that caught fire and sank long ago.

But after what I saw in that hallway, both the program from 1956 and those

things,

things that I truly don't know whether I hallucinated or not, I'm starting to believe you might be right.

As much as my logical mind tries to tell me it's impossible, I think we might have jumped out of the frying pan of our sinking ship and into the literal fire.

And honestly, I'm beyond terrified.

I have no idea how I'm going to sleep tonight.

I think in the morning I'll see about getting myself some kind of weapon.

A chair leg, a knife, something.

May not do anything against any kind of ghost, but it might make me feel feel better, at least.

Please, if you're still there, if you end up reading this, please let me know what we should do tomorrow.

Should we try and find the keys to the radio room, like the captain suggested?

Should we do something else?

Is there anything that I might be missing here?

Does anyone know anything more about the Queen Elizabeth?

Anything that might give me a clue as to why this is happening or just to direct us to any important places?

Anything you can think of might help us.

God knows, right now, we need all the help we can get.

End of part two.

You know, I love that it's going this paranormal route.

Like, a ghost ship.

In theory, I feel like a ghost ship from a forgotten past sounds kind of corny, but it's working really well here.

I think also just showing that each person, each person kind of goes into their own hell when they basically experience these

phenomenons, these like ghosts almost, right?

So it seems like

Nathan, our main character he experienced it and so did captain is what i is what i think yeah

yeah i think it's um

i it it is a theoretically corny idea but it's played in such a way here where it's like more personal torment and like

I think I'm just so in love with the setting that I'm willing to like look over any

other

the setting is fun but I think what's important here that makes this story not go into a super cheesy or like corny area is that it's good characters.

If you don't have good characters in your story that you care about, no one's going to give a fuck.

So you can, if your characters, if you have likable characters, then that's all you need to really have to make a compelling story, to make it more emotionally tied in.

And right now, I like all the guys.

I think

all of the characters seem to be, I don't know, just well crafted.

I like Nathan and Gabe or Captain a lot.

Yeah,

every time you quote him, I imagine Captain Price from Call of Duty.

It's in my head.

But then I like the idea of Andrew being kind of skeptical of him and stuff like that.

Like it's playing it pretty well so far.

On to pot three?

The only phrase I know how to describe our current situation right now is up shit creek without a paddle.

Things have gone from bad to far, far worse since last night.

And to tell the truth, everyone now is scared out of their damn minds.

Well, almost everyone, but I'll get to that in a minute.

Before I say anything, let me again say thank you to those of you who commented on last night's post.

Despite everything that happened today, we managed to make some progress, and I can't help but think it was thanks to you all giving us some direction.

Let me quickly answer a few things that you have brought up.

First and foremost, as soon as I opened the laptop and saw the comment, I went and pulled one of the maps of the ship off the wall, looking to see if there's indeed any sort of chapel or religious gathering areas areas for us to hold up in.

Unfortunately, the Queen Elizabeth seems to never have had one built aboard her, so that idea is out.

Secondly, the reason why we set up base camp in the lounge is because it was the first place we reached when we came aboard.

It's the place we know best.

After yesterday though, and specifically with our current predicament, I'm beginning to think moving to one or two adjoining cabins might be a better idea.

Not as much room for anyone or anything to creep on us.

That being said, let me tell you what what happened today.

We were aroused by the captain just after 10 in the morning.

Come on, mate, he said softly to me, shaking my shoulder.

We've got work to do today.

Then he moved away to wake the others.

For another minute, I simply lay there, staring up at the ornate ceiling high above our heads.

The horrible mental images of the shadowy figures had followed me into my nightmares, and I dreamed of running down dark and seemingly endless hallways, the figures always just a step behind me.

I shivered slightly as I remembered the voice welcoming me, welcoming all of us aboard.

I attempted to force the image out of my head as I pulled myself from the sleeping bag and to my feet.

Once everyone was awake, we all quickly had breakfast before I broke out the computer to see what people had said.

I quickly scrolled down to the comments I saw were there as the others came over.

As much as I wanted to tell the others about what I'd seen yesterday, a small part of me whispered that none of them would believe me.

Especially after what Andrew, Spencer, and Will said they saw happen to me.

If anything similar happens to me or anyone else, I'll tell them, but not until then.

Everyone gathered around to read what you all suggested.

I could tell to them it was like a lighthouse beacon, helping guide them to safety.

I couldn't help but feel a small pang of disappointment flow through me as they again dismissed the ghost ship comments, even though I'd known it was coming.

Apart from potentially the captain to me, nobody else had seen anything out of the ordinary.

Shot a glance his way as he leaned in to read the screen, but any trace of fear I'd seen last night had been wiped away, replaced by his usual calm, calculating expression.

Well, at least people seem to agree with my idea to find the keys, he said finally, standing back up and seeming somewhat pleased.

Wyatt leaned in and pointed at another comment.

Cap, what about this person's suggestion to move from the lounge to some of the some of the cabins to sleep?

It'd be a hell of a lot more comfortable than anyone any and another night on the floor.

The captain rubbed his beard, thinking, We may have a point.

I wasn't able to get much sleep last night.

We'll move our stuff into some of the first-class cabins.

Just as the same as yesterday, we were paired off into two teams.

Captain, Andrew, and Spencer would head off to the crew quarters to try and find the keys, while myself, Wyatt, Will, and Benny would try to find any food we could add to our slowly dwindling supplies.

I very much didn't want us splitting up again, not after both what you all had said and what I'd experienced, but try as I might to say so to the captain, he remained steadfast.

We need to cover as much ground as possible, mate, he said after we dumped our stuff into some adjoining cabins near the lounge, and with that he turned and hustled the other two in his group away.

I watched them go, saying a silent prayer for them to be safe before turning to the others.

Well,

which way do we go?

Finney asked, gesturing to the many hallways that branched away from us.

I looked down and studied the map of the ship for a moment.

My eyes drifted past the maze of rooms and lounging areas before settling on a large area near the stern of the ship.

Sure, why not?

Wyatt said, shrugging his shoulders.

With our destination set, we turned and began heading aft.

Passing through the lounge, we found ourselves in more hallways that seemed to stretch on forever.

Man,

they had a lot of cabins just in first-class alone, Finney said as we passed a small setting area looking out onto the starboard side of the ship.

Then he lowered his voice slightly.

Hey, did any of you have anything

weird happened to you yesterday?

Question caused me to stop dead in my tracks.

What do you mean, weird?

Everyone stopped now.

Wyatt let out a soft groan.

Oh, come on, Vinn.

Nothing weird happened yesterday.

The captain said so.

But I could tell he wasn't being completely honest.

Will's brow furrowed.

What are you guys talking about?

Took a step towards Vinny.

Something happened to you guys down there in the engine room.

Wyatt let out another protest, but Vinny seemed to ignore him.

I don't know, man.

All I know is we were down there working like crazy to get the boilers up and running.

When I looked over at Captain, he stopped in the middle of us giving he stopped in the middle of giving us directions.

I had no idea what to do next.

Saw the big man shiver slightly before continuing.

He had the creepiest expression on his face.

It was like he'd been hypnotized to something.

The lights were on, but no one was home.

Then he just snapped out of it.

He looked absolutely

terrified for half a second, then seemed to remember what was happening and kept going.

Wyatt cut in.

That's because he didn't get much sleep last night.

He literally told us that when you asked him what was up, I swear to God, Vinny, you're making a mountain out of a molehill with this dude.

Vinny shot a slightly irritated stare at him before turning back to Will and me.

I just need to know.

Did any of you have anything weird or unusual happen to you guys yesterday i exchanged a glance with will his expression was that of a perfect poker face but the look in his eyes betrayed what raced behind them for a moment neither of us said anything i debated whether to come clean about my experience but will spoke before i did no

nothing like that nothing besides accidentally tripping over an overturned chair Yeah, that's they shouldn't do that.

That's a horrible idea.

Well, I thought that he was already going to

say that.

He's like, oh, if anybody brings it up, I'll tell them.

I wonder why he just didn't outright say, yeah, it happened to me today.

He should be like, no, this is a thing that happened.

We don't know what's going on.

We need to have all the cards on the table.

This is not time for whatever this is.

Yeah, absolutely not.

I felt a wave of surprise shoot through me.

The entire time I'd known Will, I'd never known him to deliberately lie.

He was someone who always told the truth, even if it ended bad for him.

Where the hell did this side of him come from?

There, see, all is as well as it can be, Wyatt said triumphantly.

Happy now, then?

I saw him study our faces for another moment before shrugging.

All right, guess it really was nothing.

And with that, turned and began walking down the hall again.

I spared another glance at Will, but he simply shrugged at me and turned to follow them.

I stared after him for a moment, unable to move, until a familiar shiver shot up my spine.

One that indicated I was being watched.

I swung my head around, looking behind me back down the hallway.

Nobody was there.

Nobody I could see anyway.

Feeling another shiver pass through me, I turned and jogged to catch up to the others.

We found a set of stairs that, according to the sign next to them, led down to the restaurant deck from where we were on the main deck.

Heading down a few flights, we found ourselves on yet another landing.

Will suddenly let out a small laugh and pointed.

Hey guys, check it out!

Across the landing from us

was what looked like a small booth.

Glass and metal bars separated the person who sat inside from everyone outside.

Looking up, I saw a sign hanging over the window.

Purser's office.

That must be where you drop off any paperwork you need to travel aboard, along with valuables you want locked in the ship's safe.

Wyatt said.

He let out a laugh.

You think there's anything valuable still in there?

Jewelry, cash, shit like that?

I turned to him, feeling a bit astonished.

You're joking, right?

Hey, we're alone aboard on here.

If you took anything, I don't think anyone would know, he said, grinning slightly.

Yeah, until the ship gets brought back to dock and the owners discover shit missing from their dumbass.

Benny said in a displeased tone.

Now it was Wyatt's turn to give him an irritated look.

He's just kidding.

Geez.

He looked down to the floor.

For my part, I gave him a long look, then looked over at the purser's office again.

I don't think it'd be anyone on land who'd be pissed if we stole anything, I thought.

Before one else could say anything, the radio let out a squawk.

My heart momentarily began to thud in my chest.

For a moment, I was terrified I'd hear the man's voice from it again.

Instead, the elated voice of the captain came.

A feeling of relief washed over me, and I pulled the walkie-talkie from my belt and thumbed it as I saw relieved smiles cross the others' faces.

That's terrific, Cap.

You want us to head straight to the radio room?

The man spoke again, a sharp burst of static masking his voice.

Say again.

Now the man's voice came in loud and clear.

Negative Nathan.

Might still need some supplies.

We don't know how long it'll take for anyone to reach us, but we're going to begin running low on food soon.

Go check out the restaurants like you were planning and come meet us.

Wyatt's face fell at his words, but I saw the other two nod at me.

Roger that, Cap.

We'll try and be quick as we can.

Over and out.

And with that, I clicked off.

Come on, guys, this way.

I said, pointing to a sign at the start of the left hallway.

Veranda Grill, this way.

Four of us made our way down the hallway.

A porthole stood open halfway down it.

As we passed it, the smell of the ocean filtered in.

I slowed to take a deep breath of it, letting it invigorate me a bit.

It froze.

I didn't just just see that.

I did not just see that.

But I knew I had.

As we passed the porthole, I'd shot a glance out, hoping to catch a quick glimpse of the relatively calm waters, and I'd caught a split-second glimpse of someone walking past it.

It had been too quick to see anything besides a blur, but it had been enough.

I felt the fear of yesterday return.

Oh shit, not again, man.

My heart raced in my chest, and I felt a lump in my throat.

Hey, you alright, Nate?

The voice snapped me back and I looked up to see the others had turned to look at me.

All of them were confused expressions on their faces.

I thought to find my voice for a second then spoke trying to sound calm.

Yeah, sorry about that guys.

Will cocked his head at me, giving me an odd look, but didn't say anything.

Fusing the urge to look out the porthole again, I started walking, pushing past them to begin leading the way.

Come Come on, let's go get this over with.

For a moment, I heard nothing behind me, and then I heard the others follow.

Holy freaking shitballs,

Wyatt breathed out.

That's

wow.

We stood at the entrance to the restaurant next to a small sign that read, please wait here to be seated.

For my part, I couldn't blame him for such a reaction, even after what just happened.

I couldn't help but feel an awe of the expansive room in front of us.

Like the rest of the ship, wooden paneling covered the walls.

The only difference was that in here, squares of tiles of aquamarine had been indented into them.

Some had ornate shapes, and across the room, I saw a massive painting or stitching of what appeared to be a woman clad in ancient Greek or Roman clothing.

Below her, four horses reared up as if to charge, while several men seemed to hold everything up in the midair.

Tables with expensive-looking tablecloths littered the room, the sea-green upholstered chairs around them almost inviting people to come and sit in them.

Shooting a glance to my right, I saw a huge grand piano set against the far wall and a huge aquamarine curtain covering what must be a window to the stern deck.

I don't even want to imagine what it must have cost to eat in here, Vinny said, causing everyone to laugh softly.

You're not joking, I replied, then pointed across the room at a metal swinging door.

Look, there's the door to the kitchen.

Winding our way through the sea of tables and chairs, we reached the door and stopped in front of it.

I turned back to the others.

All right,

Benny called holding up a large white bag.

Let's something, at least.

Continuing on, we pulled out more than a few ingredients, but nothing we could immediately eat.

It It got worse when we opened a giant fridge and saw nothing but items like butter and milk inside.

Damn it!

Wyatt suddenly yelled, slamming the fridge close with a slam.

He leaned back against the door, leaning his head back.

Then he spoke softly.

Look, man, if they were at port when the storm ripped her away, it stands to reason there might not have been much in the restaurants.

We still have the holds and the meat lockers to go through.

At least we found some things.

Wyatt's eyes snapped open and he glared at the man.

Oh, yeah?

I realized the situation must have been eating heavily at him, and it was finally bursting out.

Benny narrowed his eyes and took a step towards him, clenching his fists.

Hey, fuck you, man.

At least I'm not the dumbass who thinks about robbing a ship when we should be searching for food.

The two of them began to shout at each other, their voices filling up the room and bouncing off the metal walls.

I shot a glance at Will, Will, who wore a helpless expression on his face.

Finally, it got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore.

Shut up, both of you!

I screamed out at the top of my lungs, feeling my own anger flare up at their petty squabbling.

I stood there, breathing in deeply as the two went dead silent, turning to look at me with

slightly astonished looks on their faces.

I'm not someone who yells often.

Usually I'm quiet and calm.

When I yell, people take notice.

For a few moments, there was nothing but silence in the kitchen as we all stared at each other.

Looks of shame and guilt felt over Wyatt and Vinny's faces, and I saw them open their mouths to speak, likely to apologize.

Whatever words they might have said, died away as a sound suddenly sprang up behind us, back through the metal door.

The sound of a piano began to play.

That wasn't the sound that caused all of our faces to go pale, though.

That made the blood in my veins turn to ice and a gasp to escape my lips.

No, that was because, along with the piano, came the sounds of people talking and laughing softly.

Occasionally, the sound of cutlery or glasses being picked up and put down punctuated in between.

My breaths began to come in short, ragged gasps as I slowly turned to look at the swinging door.

Vinny was the one who spoke first, his voice barely above a whisper.

Fuck.

I turned back to look at him.

His mouth hung wide open, his lower lip trembling slightly.

The sight frightened me more than the sounds emanating from back the way we'd come.

Vinny isn't someone who spooks easily, after all.

Then again, this isn't exactly your normal level of creepy shit.

The sounds continued.

I heard what sounded like a woman let out a particularly loud laugh.

Wyatt spoke up.

Um,

what do we do?

The unspoken answer was one I've been trying to avoid in my head.

Aside from the door, there's no other way out of the kitchen.

I forced myself to take a step towards the door.

Nate, what the hell are you doing?

Vinny hissed at me, but I ignored him, taking another step forward.

With each step I took, the feeling of terror I'd had yesterday returned, rearing its ugly head to begin tearing apart my insides.

I pictured dozens of shadowy figures waiting just on the other side of the door, waiting for us.

Waiting for us to step out so they could rush us.

But it was either set in the kitchen until the sounds went away, if they go away, or open the door and peek out.

By the time I stood next to the door, my heart felt like I had just finished running a furlong, and sweat rolled down my face.

God, please, don't let it happen again.

Don't let them be there.

Slowly, I reached out with a trembling hand, watching as it made its way to rest on the metal, which felt shockingly cold to the touch.

I turned and gave one last look at the others.

They looked absolutely petrified.

As I began to turn back, a new sound came.

This one louder, almost ear-piercing.

Toot.

I ripped my hand away from the door, clapping both over my ears as they threatened to burst.

What the shit?

It continued for a few moments, and the realization slammed into my brain what the source was.

It's the freaking ship's horn.

Then it ceased, dying away, but leaving the sound echoing in my head.

Slowly pulled my hands away, looking up to see everyone else doing the same.

That's when I realized everything had gone dead silent.

Sounds of the piano and the people no longer came from the other side of the door.

It was as if they'd never even been there in the first place.

Turning, I saw the others had realized it as well.

Wyatt suddenly strode forward, pushing past me and slamming his shoulder into the door.

Flew open, softly hitting the wall behind it with a thunk, revealing the empty restaurant.

As empty as it had been when we dinnered.

For a moment, he simply stood there as we gathered behind him and looked out.

Then he took two steps into the room.

No.

No, there's no fucking way.

He softly muttered to himself.

He swung around, an almost wild look in his eyes.

I mean, you all heard that too, right?

Slowly we nodded.

His eyes darted around as he looked at the floor.

That's freaking impossible.

We're alone in the ship.

But there were fucking people out here.

People talking and shit.

There was a fucking piano playing.

He suddenly swung around, raising his arms and screaming into an empty room.

What the fuck is going on?

The three of us slowly left the kitchen.

Benny went to stand beside Wyatt, trying to calm him down, but I could see that the experience had, for lack of a better phrase, royally screwed up the man's brain.

That wasn't even half as terrifying as what I saw yesterday.

Thought made me snap my head up and look around the restaurant, half expecting to see the shadowy figures emerging from the corners, but nothing stirred.

The radio on my hip squawked.

I reached down, trying to steady myself, took a deep breath, and thumbed the walkie-talkie.

I'm here.

What's up, Cap?

The man's voice came again.

I noted with a ping of surprise that there was a trace of anger in it.

I looked up from the radio, seeing that everyone had turned to look at me.

Saw the same expression of confusion and worry as I must have had on my face.

I hit the button again.

We're on our way.

Sparing a last look around the restaurant, I motioned for the others to follow as I hurried for the hallway.

So you tell me that none of you managed to get inside the radio room and rip out the microphone?

The captain demanded, the veins in his neck bulging out from barely disguised rage everyone stood in front of the radio room

which now hung wide open the metal door swinging slightly letting out soft creaks i looked inside seeing the ancient setup sitting along the left wall of the room my eyes ran over all the equipment stacked neatly on top of each other finally coming to rest on the place where the microphone used for transmitting radio call stood I should say where it should have stood.

Instead, the space lay bare, and I saw that it hadn't been gently pulled out of the system either.

Freight and snap wires hung from the jack still hooked into the radio, showing someone had ripped it out with great force.

I finally found my voice.

No, no,

none of us would ever do that.

Not when we want to get off this ship.

Shot a glare at all of us and shook the keys in his hand for emphasis.

So you expect me to believe that while we went to hunt for these, that the room just happened to unlock itself and the microphone just happened to tear itself out and walk away.

Vinny spoke up.

Look, Cap, Nate's telling the truth.

We were nowhere near here, and

none of us would sabotage a rescue like this.

The man's eyes snapped up to look at him.

I saw Spencer shoot an accusatory look at us.

Then where exactly were you?

Considering that the captain called you over 20 minutes ago and told you to meet up with us right away.

A wave of confusion washed over me.

What the hell are you talking about, Spence?

He rolled his eyes at me.

Oh, come on, dude.

Don't give me that confused look, bullshit.

The captain raided you and said we found the keys.

When you asked me if you four should meet up right away, he said yes.

Then, you said that you guys were on your way and you'd meet us here.

A mix of shock and further confusion began to rise in me as I saw Wyatt and Vinny exchange puzzled looks.

No, that's

that ain't right.

Wyatt finally said.

Nate asked the question, all right, but when the captain replied, he told us to keep going and search the restaurants for food and supplies.

The captain turned an incredulous eye on Wyatt.

What restaurants?

Nobody ever said anything about restaurants to me.

I just said to try and find some food and supplies.

Everyone began to argue, but the sound was drifting away from my ears as my mind raced.

He's right.

He never said anything to me about restaurants before we split up.

Just supplies.

Shiver shot up my spine as another dot connected.

And I never said anything about the restaurant when I replied to him.

He was the one who.

The realization slammed into me like a truck.

I felt all the blood drain from my face as a simple but terrifying conclusion came to the surface.

That wasn't the captain.

Everyone stopped arguing to stare at me.

What?

Andrew asked, seeming confused.

I slowly turned to look at the three who'd been with me, quietly repeating myself.

That wasn't the captain who was talking to us.

I saw the realization slam into wide and Vinny's faces, saw their faces turn as pale pale as mine was.

Fuck no.

Wyatt whispered, his eyes beginning to frantically dart around in their sockets.

Somebody want to explain to me just what the hell you're saying?

Captain demanded, but I didn't answer.

I stared at the shocked and frightened faces of my crewmates, my two crewmates, forced my voice out in a squeak.

Where's Will?

Everyone went silent as they began to look around.

Then they began to call his name.

Finally, everyone began to run around, searching for our missing friend.

Spencer dashed up the stairs to the bridge, returning later to confirm it was deserted.

Panic began to well up inside me as he moved from the bridge back down to the promenade deck.

The guy was here not even five minutes ago.

How the hell did he slip away?

Will

I heard the captain call as he led the way to the main lounge, which stood as empty as it had when we left.

He looked around, look of panic on his face.

Where the hell did he go?

As he continued to run for the other end of the room, a thought slowly began to push forward in my mind.

For the life of me, I still can't explain why it came to me, but the more it persisted, the more I became convinced I was right.

Veronda Grill!

I shouted out.

Everyone turned to look at me.

Realizing most of them didn't know what I meant, I stabbed towards the aft section of the deck.

The restaurant we went to!

White and Benny's faces changed as their minds clicked.

Moments later, the three of us were racing down the hallways, the others struggling to keep up.

We took the stairs down to the restaurant deck two at a time, the marble steps threatening to fling our feet out from under us.

Reaching the landing, we sprinted past the purser's office and down the hall.

I didn't even spare a glance at the still open porthole.

I didn't look at anything until we reached the entrance to the verandah grille, where I stopped dead in my tracks.

Would you stop running?

The captain began, but his voice died away as he heard it as well.

Everyone stood as still and silent as a statue, listening.

There were voices coming from inside the restaurant, just out of sight around the corner.

I felt my pulse quicken and my heart began to pound again.

The first voice I instantly recognized as Will's.

The man's snorting laughter was unmistakable, but it was the second voice, a woman's voice, that, for yet another time that day, froze my blood in my veins.

Like Will's voice, the voice spoke too softly for me to be able to make out any specific words, but it was loud enough.

I was able to make out one specific detail.

The woman spoke with a clear British accent.

Redeemed.

No, no, now that makes it weirder because it's a crew of British men being like, was that woman British?

No, no, no, no, no, no.

It should have been saved for this.

It should have been saved for this scenario.

Shut up.

Shut up.

I'm tired.

You are you are no, absolutely not.

Okay, shut up.

Quit.

What the actual fuck

Andrew managed out.

I slowly turned to look at the captain.

His face had turned white as a sheet.

I saw his lower lip quiver slightly.

Then it set and he strode forward.

Captain, no.

I whispered, reaching out to snag his arm, but he tore himself out of my grip and walked into the restaurant.

Instantly, the voices stopped speaking and he simply stood there, staring at something out of sight.

Then he gestured for us to come and join him.

We all walked quietly to stand next to him.

The restaurant was empty, looking exactly as it had when we'd left, with one exception.

At a table near the piano, Will sat with his back to us.

He didn't turn around as we entered, simply continued to sit and stare at the wall.

Everyone exchanged a look.

The captain led us over to him.

As we approached him, I suddenly became aware of a smell which hung in the restaurant.

One which was impossible to miss.

Perfume.

It grew stronger as we stepped next to him.

For a moment, I was terrified that we'd see him dead, his mouth wretched open in a silent, unending scream.

Instead, to our surprise, a happy, content smile adorned his face.

His eyes were glazed over, almost as if he were drunk or hypnotized.

Will

the captain finally asked, his voice low and gentle.

At his words, he swung his head to look at all of us.

Oh, hey, guys.

He said, his voice sounding almost like a character in a cartoon who'd been struck by Cupid's arrow.

Wyatt spoke up.

Dude, where'd you go?

You scared the hell out of us.

Will shrugged his shoulders.

I'm sorry about that, everyone.

Just I just met the most wonderful woman.

He let out a content sigh.

A chill ran up my spine at his words.

What woman?

I managed out.

He smiled.

Her name's Diana.

She's an actress, a singer, so intelligent and interesting.

God,

what a woman.

Then he turned more towards us, exposing the other side of his face.

If I hadn't felt so mentally fried, I might have gasped.

There was a red lipstick mark on Will's right cheek.

The kind you get when a woman wearing it kisses you.

It stood out clear as day, and even from this distance, I could still see it looked

wet.

Will's smile grew.

She likes me, you know.

He declared, looking like the happiest man in the world.

In any other situation, it'd be a sight that would warm my heart and make me happy for the man.

And this situation scared the ever-loving shit out of me.

Okay, this is too fucking creepy.

Spencer finally said, his voice trembling slightly as he looked around the restaurant.

You're not kidding, man.

I silently said.

The captain turned to us where he now clearly etched on his face.

Does anyone know what the hell is going on?

It's time to come clean and tell him.

Tell all of them them the truth, I forced myself to speak.

Others seemed to fight what I was saying.

I saw Spencer and Andrew didn't believe a word I said, or at least didn't want to, but I saw that the captain did.

When I finished, there was a long silence.

Then the captain spoke.

I'm not entirely sure I believe all this, but this is the actual Queen Elizabeth.

And we're aboard an actual ghost ship.

But this...

He gestured to Will's still smiling face and the lipstick on his face.

This

is all I need to see to make up my mind.

He looked over at me

We have over a week and a half's food and water left We're going to gather it up and lower one of the lifeboats We're gonna row the fuck away from the ship as fast as we can and we're going to pray we make it back to land at his words Will's face suddenly turned worried

No

no, I I don't want to leave

Not after meeting Diana I want to stay

The captain grabbed Will by the arm and hoisted him to his feet.

Frankly, son, I don't give a damn what you want.

We're leaving now.

The younger man began to protest and struggle, trying to wrench himself out of his grasp, but the captain was stronger and he pulled him towards the exit.

He was almost shouting as we entered the hallway.

Get the fuck off me!

I don't want to fucking go back to that shitty, fucked-up world that's 2023.

I want to stay!

She said I could stay.

That's my dream to stay forever in the 1950s.

It could be real.

I felt a chill at his words, but continued following the captain.

We just reached the bottom of the stairs when a huge vibration surged up through the floor into our feet.

It was so strong that I nearly fell on my ass.

The hell was that?

Vinny spoke the same words aloud.

A new sound began filtering up from beneath our feet.

A deep, low-pitched hum that slowly began to intensify.

I suddenly saw the captain's face pale even farther than it already had.

He breathed, then began tearing up the stairs, dragging Will behind him.

As we followed, I suddenly realized why he reacted the way he did.

When I was a little child in the 90s, I traveled aboard a cruise ship with my aunt and uncle, and I clearly remembered the noise the giant engines made as they powered up before we left port.

The engines are starting.

Everyone raced for the nearest door to the outside deck.

I prayed that I was wrong, that the ship would still be dead in the water when we emerged outside.

I wasn't.

When we emerged on the deck in the fading light, it was to see that the ship had begun moving, accelerating far quicker than I thought such a huge ship ever could.

The water at the stern stretched out behind us in a foam, churned up by the ship's huge propellers.

As we stood on the deck, I felt a sinking, hopeless feeling fall over me.

We can't escape in a lifeboat now.

We'd be sucked under and torn apart.

Slowly, silently, everyone turned away from the sight, unsure looks in their faces, except for Wills,

wore a grinning, ecstatic look.

We're back in our cabins now.

We've partnered up, each having three or four people per room.

Nobody wants to be alone now.

The captain took Will into his room, refuses to let him out of his sight.

The doors are firmly locked, though I doubt after what I've seen, if they truly want in, they'll find a way.

And the fire axes we've brought into the rooms with us won't do a damn bit of good.

Somehow, the others have fallen asleep.

Spencer and Andrew on the giant bed, Wyatt on the floor with a blanket and pillow.

I think I'm the only one still awake.

The ship doesn't want us to leave.

Enough to fire up its own engines to take off or where?

I don't know.

I'm terrified.

I don't know what's going to happen to us.

I want to ask you what we should do now, but I don't know if any of you would have any idea of what to do in a situation like this.

And yet, I have to.

It's the only shred of hope I have left.

So please, what should we do?

How can we attempt to stop the ship?

How in the hell can we defend ourselves against things that are already dead?

And what the hell's happening to Will?

And did that woman he spoke of, Diana, what did she do to him?

I was about to finish, but I have to tell you of two final things.

Two things that scare me almost more than anything that's happened today.

The first is that I hear music.

Not music over the intercom, but actual live music.

Filtering in through the door and walls.

It's an old song, one I recognize.

Song my grandmother used to listen to constantly.

A big band song called In the Mood by Glenn Miller.

Worse, it said I hear voices.

I hear laughter, and occasionally, I hear screaming.

But that's not the part that scares me the most.

That fills me with an existential dread.

As I was sitting here typing, something was forced under the door.

When I flicked on my flashlight with shaking fingers and aimed it, I saw one of those programs like the one I found yesterday.

When I went over to it though, I saw it was different.

A smiling cartoon octopus stared up at me from the corner.

One that was playing a trumpet and violin, stinnacles holding the same objects that had been on the other program.

When I flipped it open with shaking hands, I saw two things that made me want to scream.

The first was the date in the upper right-hand corner, Wednesday, December 6th, 2023.

Second was what was on the left-hand page, under the notices bulletin.

We would like to welcome aboard our newest passengers, Gabrielle Lerner, Wyatt Strotsky, Vincent Gaetano, William Jenkins, Andrew Weber, Spencer Michaels, and Nathan Rogers.

We hope you enjoy your stay with us.

God help us.

End of part three into part four.

Definitely taking a shining route for sure, which I'm enjoying.

Maybe not specifically, because like my idea of the shining was it was all about like Jack's mental break, like the members of the hotel hotel were convincing him to murder his family, right?

This seems more so like everyone's screwed like maybe they're pulling in

Will I think it's a doctrine, but it feels one by one is what I'm thinking But what I think is that yeah, it's going to lure you in and I think it's going to make you

not want to leave like it's going to basically yeah Yeah, it's going to tantalize you to stay like I'm guessing all these other souls were Oh, there's an example.

There's a horror example.

I know there's several about like a place where you die and your spirit doesn't doesn't leave, right?

I mean, it's a form of purgatory because what I'm reading it right now is that I think that maybe they died

during that wave, like when the ship.

Oh, that's an interesting idea.

Yeah.

That's what I'm saying.

Maybe they just.

That's kind of what I've been thinking in that this is like the ferry, the ferryman, basically, is like it's they're on it, and now that they're on it, now it's going to start moving.

you know

what is oh uh pirates of the caribbean 3 right you flip the ship and you're in the you're in the underworld right you're on the other side it's been a long time since I've seen Pirates of the Caribbean 3 so I'm not really sure

Well no you remember the scene where like they have to go get Jack from the afterlife so they flip the boat by running back and forth across

it I don't the only thing I really remember about that series is Will Turner continuously saying that's my dad That's Bootstrap.

Okay, Bill.

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

Those movies are incredible.

They are great.

I'm not saying they're not.

I'm just saying you sort of pulling it down a little bit with that.

No, I'm not.

But there is a scene in the third one where they have to go into the afterlife and you do it by flipping the ship at sunset.

So they like flip the ship by running back and forth.

The point I'm making is that similar here, maybe the ship flipped, they all died and they're in this afterlife.

And everything that's happened since then, like coming across the Elizabeth, was a part of that.

Or the figure in the clouds or whatever is just kind of like a vessel that this ship, that this Queen Elizabeth ship travels through.

Who knows?

But as mentioned with the earlier parts, this is great.

This is so much fun.

There's not a lot, like, and I understand why, but there's not a lot of horror stories we read that just want to have fun, right?

Like, a lot of them are so, and they're good stories.

I'm not saying they're not, but a lot of them are so like,

it has to be a home invasion or it has to be like, there's this one scary monster.

It needs, it takes itself seriously, and a lot of them deserve to be taken seriously.

Uh, but this one's just like fun.

Like, you have a crew of like salty sailors who are aboard a ghost ship that burned down in the 1970s.

Like, that's great.

Yeah, no, I think it's a lot of fun.

I think, once again, it's just strong characters, good conflict that's happening that's keeping us engaged.

And I think that it's like the cherry on top is the paranormal ghost ship that's happening.

Like, that's the thing that is making it so sweet.

But really, at its core, it's a fun, isolated, uh, basically desert island kind of uh

meme, you know, people stuck together, you know, fighting for survival.

There's fear building, anticipation, and now one of them's gone absolutely mental.

It's it's doing very well.

Uh, I'm stoked.

I couldn't be happier with where it's at right now.

So, part four:

The Captain is dead.

Oh,

well, that's the way she started off.

Oh, my God.

Oh, no.

Oh, that's so rough.

No, I'm sorry.

Come back.

I love the captain.

He was such a cool character.

He was like, I imagine him as like Captain Price.

Oh, no.

I have a feeling

we're not.

This isn't the last we'll see of him, though, I think.

You think it'll be a ghost or something like that?

I think so.

I think it's going to be a Jack Taurus situation, like the Shining.

I don't know what the fuck his last name is in that movie.

A book?

When we first started today, the seven of us were thoroughly creeped out, terrified of what might lie in wait for us as we woke in our cabins.

Me especially, after hearing the music, voices, and screaming filtering in from down the hall, and the very lounge we'd slept in for the last two nights.

But I never imagined that when the day would end, there would be two less of us.

Three, technically.

As hard as it may be to concentrate on anything but that horrible fact, I'll try and get to what you guys have said and commented.

To say I appreciate everything you've suggested, to say all of us are thankful would be a massive understatement.

I feel like you guys are what's helping me to cling to the last vestiges of sanity remaining in my mind.

To the people who have commented about making it to either the engine room or the bridge to try and stop, sabotage, or even change the course of the ship, that was the very idea that the captain came to us with when we gathered.

But as I'll explain in a minute, it seems the...

I don't know what to call them, ghosts, entities, evil spirits, hell demons, for all I know, anticipated the move on our parts.

So I'm sure, like, this is part of the thing, like the ARG interacting with the comments and stuff like that.

But I never get that from these stories because every time I scroll the comments, the first five are like, have you thought about killing yourself?

Thank you for the writing tip.

Thank you.

You really did give me a like

to be guided by.

Yeah.

Yeah, no.

I mean, you know,

for the context of this

story and it being on no sleeper, it's fine, but I always just wish these weren't in this.

I just wish it would just get me in more, you know?

Just rip it out of.

Yeah, you know, sometimes it's nice.

I think that, but now after we've done so many, I'm just like, I just, I don't know.

Like, I'm more compelled by the story than it is to keep up the visage that this is, like, real.

yeah yeah and thankfully it seems to just be the first couple and last couple paragraphs um but i'm with you you know i just did you know to be fair i mean the no sleep rule guidelines for posting here are like

cutthroat so i mean he i mean i wouldn't be surprised if they have to include it in every segment that they do you know yeah yeah there's a good chance yeah yeah

Salt was one of the few ingredients we didn't seem to find in the veranda grill, though from what what the map of the ship shows, there are numerous more restaurants on board.

So we're going to keep our eyes open for it.

I just hope you'll be right about these things being unable to cross it.

To the person who mentioned the Morse coat transmitter, I'd forgotten to mention last night that it had been torn out along with the radio microphone.

These things very much do not want us trying to call for help.

We're most definitely not splitting up anymore either.

Knowing what we do now, it's just too dangerous, even if it means more slower going.

But I should get on and tell what happened.

The four of us were woken up by several rapid bangs on our cabin door.

After seeing the program which had been shoved under the door last night, I was only able to catch small spurts of sleep.

Ones that were all interlaced with horrendous nightmares of dozens, hundreds, thousands of the specters outside pressing up against our cabin, asking us to open the door and inviting us to the party down the hall before bursting into laughter and screams.

So when the knocking began, I shot up from where I'd been curled up on the room's love seat, my clouded, half-asleep mind filling with panic and terror.

They're here.

They're here for us.

However, the voice on the other side of the door filled us with a momentary sense of calm.

It was the captain's voice.

But, remembering what had happened with the walkie-talkie yesterday, Wyatt shushed us and crept to the door, putting his eye against the people.

He stood there for a a moment, pulled away, a look of relief in his eyes.

It really is him.

He breathed out before unlocking the door.

Instantly, the captain strode in, followed close behind by Vinny.

For a moment, the relief returned, till I realized that they were alone.

He answered my unmasked question before I was able to open my mouth.

Will's gone.

He put a hand over his face, taking a deep breath before continuing.

I don't know how he managed to slip out without waking me, but when Vinny woke up a few minutes ago to use the bathroom, we found our cabin door unlocked and standing open.

There's no sign of him anywhere.

The man's words hung and the tension and dread filled the air.

Every single one of us knew exactly where he'd gone.

He's gone off to find that woman again, Diana.

Finally, the silence was broken by Andrew.

So, what do we do?

A pained look crossed the captain's face.

it's not already too late, but another part thinks we should try and find any way to either stop the ship or sabotage the engines.

He looked over at me.

Nate, have you checked the computer to see what those people have said?

I shook my head and began to turn to boot up the laptop when I caught sight of the program lying on the floor.

I knew if I showed it to them, the already palpable fear infecting our group would grow.

But at this point, hiding anything might end up being a fatal mistake.

They need to see it.

I cleared my throat.

Um, sir, before I do that, there's something you all need to see.

I picked up the program and handed it to the captain.

Everyone crowded around as he flipped it open.

I saw the men's faces turn pale as they read the notice inside, saw their own names written there.

Andrew let out a shaky breath.

Okay,

I think me starting to turn into a believer of the whole ghost ship idea.

After that, we quickly broke out the laptop and checked her comments.

After reading them for a few moments, Wyatt pointed, smiling slightly.

Cap, looks like they have the same idea you do.

About either taking control of the ship or straight up sabotaging the engines.

The captain stared for another second at the screen before nodding.

Then that settles it.

We head first back for the bridge, and if that doesn't work, the engine room.

He gazed seriously around at all of us.

From now on, we don't split up from each other at all.

It'll mean things will be done slower, but in my personal opinion,

it just might be safer.

Shut a glance back at the open door to our cabin.

Especially with Will being who knows where on board.

Putting away the laptop, I quickly took a moment to set the solar charger on the lip of the porthole to gather a charge.

The laptop's battery had gotten precariously low, and the six of us moved out in the hall, closing the door behind us.

We now carried three fire axes we'd taken from ready emergency boxes scattered around the ship.

My head swung on a swivel as we passed each T-junction, half expecting something, or now someone, to lunge at us from around a corner.

The silence, only broken by the low throbbing sound of the ship's engines rising from far below us, didn't help the tense atmosphere that had fallen over us.

I didn't know if I was more afraid of running into the ship's inhabitants again or our own colleague.

So

what's the over-under

that one of them has a hallucination and kills another one with an axe?

I mean

I would say it's it's got to be the

under, right?

No, I mean probably the over.

I mean I think that it more than likely that's going to happen.

So the over.

I agree.

I agree.

I think it might my money says it's that's how the captain dies.

That's my prediction.

My prediction.

When we reached the door to the lounge, however, all thoughts evaporated in my my head as we froze, staring into the room.

It still looked the same as it had yesterday, with two large exceptions.

The first is that the raised section of floor near the back of the room where a band would play, one that was desolate and empty when we'd arrived, no longer was.

Even from across the room, I saw instruments set up on it.

Violins, trumpets, bass, a drum set, and more were set up as though they'd just been put down by a band.

Realization flashed through my mind.

The music I heard last night wasn't a hallucination.

It was real.

The second noticeable change of the room was the clear after remnants of a party.

Confetti and balloons, which had lost the helium needed to keep them afloat, littered the dance floor, and on a few tables we could see half-empty wine and cocktail glasses.

They had themselves one hell of a shindig last night.

Vinny said softly.

I shot a glance at him.

The look on his face mirrored the emotions I felt.

In any other situation, the scene would have been one to feel happy about.

People celebrating something.

Here now, though, it evoked the sort of dread and fear that one would get stepping into a haunted house.

The captain shook his head slowly, the gesture to us.

Come on, let's keep moving.

And moving quickly, we crossed the lounge, kicking balloons out of our way before heading to the bridge.

What the hell?

Spencer exclaimed as we stood in front of the hatch which led to the bridge area of the ship, which yesterday had stood wide open, held in place by the metal hook which had been set into an eye swivel on the wall.

But now, as we stared in disbelief, it had been tightly shut.

Not just shut, but locked.

Try as hard as we might, to the point our hands turned red and stung from exertion, the handle refused to spin.

You've got to be fucking kidding me, Andrew muttered as the captain began patting at his pockets.

His head snapped up, his eyes wide as he realized something.

The keys are gone, he said before shaking his head.

Will must have lifted them from me before he snuck out.

The realization that we've been effectively blocked from reaching the helm caused the hopeless feeling we'd had yesterday, seeing the ship moving to return.

I let out a sigh and put my back to the hatch, resting my head on the cool metal.

After a minute, we slowly made our way down to the bowels of the ship.

I already knew full well what we'd find, but we still followed the increasingly hunched shoulders of the captain down the narrow, grated steps, flicking on our flashlights as the incandescent bulbs over our heads became fewer and farther between.

When we reached the hole and rounded the final corner, I saw what I expected.

The metal hatch, above which the words engine and boiler rooms were stamped, was closed.

Wyatt suddenly burst into a sprint, pushing past the captain to the door where he frantically, almost hysterically, began yanking on the handle.

It's as if he hoped he'd be able to wrench it open by sheer will, but it remained steadfast.

Finally, he stopped and began kicking the door.

Fuck you, you stupid fucking ship.

He screamed, his voice bouncing off the grated floor and pipes echoing away in the gloom.

And fuck all of you dead, ancient last century ass ghost.

He collapsed to the floor, beginning to cry softly.

I couldn't do anything but watch, stunned by the man's apparent mental breakdown.

Andrew, the captain, and Spencer moved to comfort him, leaving me and Vinny standing in the hallway.

I shot a look to my left, seeing another closed and likely locked hatch.

The sign above this door declared it the auxiliary machine room.

Sign, I placed my head in my hands.

They knew we would try this.

They knew, and they got ahead to cut us off, likely with Will's help.

I was just trying to calm myself when the sound, one that was almost so quiet I missed it, reached my ears.

I froze in place.

A massive shiver racing up my spine at the call.

It was replaced by a steady stream of chills as my eyes widened behind my fingers.

For a moment I waited, barely breathing as I strained my ears to hear.

My heart was doing the major inside my chest.

All I could hear was the soft hissing of the pipes that ran alongside us and over our heads in the ceiling, along with the soft voices of the men ahead of me.

I forced myself to let out a deep breath, trying to relax.

You're hearing things, buddy.

It's just the pipes.

Nothing more.

They're not down here with you.

I was just beginning to believe it when it came again.

And this time, it was unmistakable.

It was the man's voice I'd heard on the radio on the second day aboard.

The one I'd heard through the radio.

It called out to me in a mocking, sing-song manner.

Without seeing anything, I knew the owner of the voice was smiling.

Not a pleasant smile either.

I slowly stood up straight, pulling my hands away from my eyes as my breath became ragged and shallow.

Then, just when I thought it was impossible to feel any more frightened, the feeling of being watched came again.

Now, from directly off to my right, another chill shot through me as I realized where I was standing.

Standing almost directly in the middle of a T-junction.

Oh shit.

Swallowing hard, I slowly turned, aiming my flashlight with shaking hand down the hallway.

I almost screamed.

The shadowy figures were back.

They stood at the end of the hallway underneath the sign labeled Water Softener and Air Conditioning Plant.

I couldn't tell how many there were, but they packed the hall from one side to the other, standing just out of reach of my flashlight's beam.

Horror and dread filled every crevice of my body and I felt myself begin to shake.

I attempted to speak, but the voice seemed to catch in my throat, and then they took a step forward.

The horror I felt increased as I saw the overhead lamp wink out, pledging the next section into darkness.

I found my voice struggling to pass a single word over my lips.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vidney turn and look at me.

The slight curiosity on his face immediately melted as he caught sight of the expression I wore.

Nate,

what the hell's wrong?

he asked.

Faintly, I heard the others stop talking, as well as them slowly began to make their way back to me.

I kept trying to force more words out.

I have to warn them, my mind screamed at me.

But it was as though I'd lost my grasp on the English language.

I felt Benny step next to me and saw his flashlight aim down the corridor.

And then I felt him go stiff as a board as he caught sight of what I'd seen.

Oh, shit.

And then a little louder.

Guys.

But now the rest of our group had reached us, and everyone collectively aimed their lights down the hall.

I heard Wyatt suddenly began to hyperventilate as the figures took another step forward.

Another overhead light went out.

Jesus.

The captain whispered.

Spencer said nothing, but I knew he had to be scared shitless.

Finally, face to face with what he denied about until now.

As a third light went out, I finally found my voice again.

Gabe!

I felt the captain put a hand on my shoulder.

What is it, Nate?

I swallowed hards and spoke the words I knew in the marrow of my bones to be true.

The next moment, all of us were turning and sprinting back the way we'd come.

Behind us, I more felt than heard our pursuers give chase, and I heard a noise that chilled me to the bone.

The sound of the overhead lights just behind us, not just clicking off, but shattering in their housings.

The metal halls rang out with our screams and shouts as we urged each other to move faster, reaching the stairs and beginning to climb.

Move your asses, everyone!

The captain shouted as he dragged Wyatt off the top of the stairs.

As we climbed, my eyes flashed to the metal signs indicating what deck we were on.

We passed G deck, then F deck, making our way up.

As we reached the top of the landing, I spared a look down, and this time, I did scream.

The figures were swirling up after us.

Some didn't even touch the floor, flying through the air in pursuit.

I heard the whispers, laughter, and screaming I'd heard when I'd been cornered by the gym.

This time, however, the voices somehow held even more malevolence than they originally.

They're angry.

They're downright pissed that we just tried to sabotage the ship.

I raced to keep up with the group.

We just reached E-deck when a loud clanging sound came from above us.

I reached the bottom of the next set of stairs when the others had gathered and looked up and almost screamed again.

More shadowy figures were swirling down from above.

above towards us.

We were trapped in a pincher moment.

No way to escape.

For a moment, the existential dread I'd felt facing the rogue wave that night came again.

And I felt sure this was the end of us all until Spencer let out a cry.

Look there!

Spinning around, I saw a closed hatch standing a few feet away from us.

The sign above it read Cargo Motor Car Hold.

I was the closest to it and leapt for it, my hands locking around the handle and praying that it wouldn't be locked.

To my relief, though, the handle spun and the hatch swung open.

Come on!

I yelled, moving out of the way to let the others in.

As soon as the captain dragged Wyatt through, I slammed the hatch closed as I heard the man's voice ring out again.

You're only delaying the inevitable, gentleman.

I felt someone slam into the hatch next to me, turning to see Vinny begin locking the hatch.

Reaching up, I did the same on my side.

Not a moment too soon either.

As soon as the last lock had flipped into place, something slammed into the hatch with the force of a speeding freight train.

The two of us let back as the banging continued for a few seconds.

Then abruptly, it stopped.

An eerie, unsettling silence fell over the hold, and after fighting to get my breath back, I turned to look into the room.

Crates and other large boxes rose high around us, seeming to go on forever.

Directly ahead, my light glinted off something powder blue.

Focusing my light, I saw it had found what looked like an old mid-50s Cadillac convertible.

The top was down, and I saw a matching blue leather interior, excellent with white stitching.

For a moment, everyone fought to find their breath, then the captain spoke.

Okay, boys, we need to find a way out of this hold and back up to the upper decks.

Try and find another exit.

There has to be one.

Trying to stay as close to each other as we could.

We began to move across the huge fold to find it.

I stopped as I reached the Cadillac, reaching out and putting a hand on the quarter panel.

The cool metal felt nice against my sweaty hand, and I was suddenly overcome with the feeling that I was about to collapse.

My legs felt like jelly under me.

I need to sit for a minute.

Sliding down, I put my back against the car and slid to the floor, putting my head in my hands.

I felt myself begin to shake as the image of the figures chasing us replayed in my mind.

Get a hold of yourself, Nate.

You're okay.

You're okay.

Just keep it together.

I whispered.

Suddenly, a voice came from nearby.

Dude, you okay?

It was Vinny.

Not wanting him to see my fragile mental state, I chose to keep my head in my hands and nodded.

Yeah, yeah, just uh

I just needed a few moments to collect myself after that.

I mumbled through my fingers.

Vinny replied after a moment.

I get that, but you shouldn't split up from us.

It's not safe.

You know that by now.

I sighed.

He was right.

I know, man.

I began before letting out a shaky breath.

Just...

I honestly don't know if we're gonna get off the ship alive, and that scares me.

Speaking the truth, it felt like a massive massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

I felt the car rock slightly, indicating he leaned against it.

He let out a deep breath.

Honestly, Nate, I've had the same thought.

For a moment, the man's words comforted me, knowing someone else felt the same.

Then he continued.

But, I mean, maybe it won't be so bad.

And another one bites the dust.

Vinny is gone.

Goodbye, Vinny.

Speaking of another one biting the dust, there's six of them, right?

Or seven counting our narrator?

Right.

So

Vinny's about to die, or he's going to be the next Will, the same thing that happened to him.

But the line Vinny said where he was like, you shouldn't walk away from the group like that.

Did our narrator walk away?

And that's what caused his hallucination early on?

I think.

Because I figured that was...

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

Confusion washed over me.

What?

Vinny's voice came again.

Oh, man.

He let out a sort of laughter.

But it hadn't sounded like the...

Thank you.

But it hadn't sounded like the way I knew Vinny laughed.

His laugh was a deep, booming laugh.

This one had been short and nasally.

Another chuckle came.

The realization suddenly flashed through me as I remembered the radio call yesterday.

They can imitate our voices.

Oh.

A fresh dose of fear coursed through my veins as I slowly pulled my hands away from my head, suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable, realizing just how stupid I'd been.

But there was nobody there.

I mean,

after all,

it is inevitable.

Oh, so hold on.

So, Vinny didn't make it then?

No, I don't think so.

I think that they probably got him and they're imitating him now.

So, for one, that's really cool.

Because Will could have been like that the whole time yesterday or whatnot.

And anyone could be like that at any point.

You constantly have to do a head count.

But also,

do you think everyone else can see him or just our narrator?

It's just in his head.

I'm guessing that everybody can see them, but I think there's because we're through the POV of the narrator, that it's just more prominent to him.

The way he sees it, yeah.

But we've seen, or we've heard that the captain also went into like a trans-like state as well, or hypnotic state.

So I'm guessing that everybody's feeling it, but I don't think everybody is fully telling each other what they've seen or what they, you know, feeling it.

Yeah, everyone's being way too bravado, tough guy about this, and it's getting it's making everyone confused and die.

You know, that also,

I think if you admit it, you believe it.

So I think by trying to not, that's also true i think that you also are just trying to deny its plausibility and keep yourself a bit sane and not scare yourself it's like if i acknowledge it then it becomes real right right so if i don't think about it then it's all figurative until then yeah yeah

the voice came directly over my head i began to violently shake began to hyperventilate as i heard all pretext to my crewmate's voice melt away I was terrified to look up, but I couldn't help myself.

Slowly, feeling as though I were about to die of a heart attack at any moment, I craned my neck to look above me.

A pair of eyes stared down at me, peeking over the side of the Cadillac's hood.

One that held both amusement and malevolence to them.

The next few moments are nothing but a blur to me.

The only thing I can remember is hearing my own shrill screams, that and blindly running away as I heard the confused, terrified shouts of the others as they attempted to chase after me.

I didn't even become cognizant of anything until I found myself in an unfamiliar foyer.

Snapping back to reality.

Oh, there goes gravity.

Oh, snapping back to reality.

I looked around.

I could hear the others' voices filtering up from below, calling out my name.

Okay, our narrator's got to keep it together.

He screams way too much.

He's running.

He's sprinting.

Like, I understand this is a stressful scenario, but you're making things way more complicated.

There's one segment back there where I think he said he was about to scream like five times in a row.

Like, he's, I'm fully imagining like.

i'm gonna do it

i'm fully imagining like shaggy levels of like oh let's get our narrator is definitely the kind of guy to run in place for a couple seconds before being able to actually move yes yes a hundred percent and it makes that noise it's like

lights winding up yep yep

what just happened

swallowing i turned and looked over the railing I could see the flashlights wildly aiming around.

I swallowed then yelled.

Here!

I'm I'm here!

A light flashed up, hitting me in the face, momentarily blinding me.

I found him!

I heard the captain's voice call.

Nathan, stay right where you are.

We're coming up.

Alright.

I called back down, took a step back, aiming my light to see where I was.

My light flashed off the sign which declared I'd somehow dashed all the way up to C-deck.

Three decks?

Then the image of the eyes staring down at me swam forward in my mind.

Began to shake again, hearing the thing's voice imitating Vinny echo inside my head.

Trying to calm myself, I took a few steps into the middle of the foyer, aiming my light around.

It reflected off another sign, one that stuck out from the wall.

First-class swimming pool.

Beneath it were a set of double doors which stood open, the light inside spilling out into the landing.

I couldn't see much inside, so I took a few more steps until I could see clearly.

I blinked a few times.

Am I seeing things?

I wasn't.

The swimming pool was packed.

I saw people in old-style bathing suits swimming in the pool.

A woman wearing a bathing cap swam by heading left doing the butterfly stroke.

The happy cry of children laughing could be heard.

And two suddenly flashed by the doorway as they chased one another.

I realized music filtered out from the room as well.

Old swing music, which was playing from an intercom inside.

None of that was what catched me.

None of that was what caused me to gasp.

It was who I saw standing across the other side of the pool.

I struggled to find my voice before calling out.

At my call, he turned to look at me.

A huge grin spread across his face and he raised an arm to wave at me.

He looked nothing less like the happiest man on the planet.

And he wasn't alone.

A second pair of eyes had turned to regard me at my call.

A pair of blue, almost sapphire eyes.

Ones that, for a moment, made me feel as though I were falling under some kind of spell.

Platinum blonde hair bobbed around the shoulders, and voluptuous lips pulled back into a smile.

One that held equal amounts of warmth and eeriness to them.

She wore a white turtleneck and slacks that accentuated her figure, and a bracelet dangled from one wrist.

The lips contorted into a smirk as she snaked an arm around Will's shoulders.

shoulders.

One eye closed in a wink.

I'd never seen the woman before, but instantly I knew who she was.

Diane.

Do you want to explain what the moaning is that you were doing during that whole paragraph?

Excuse me?

Okay.

Then the doors to the pool slammed shut on their own.

Will!

I screamed, sprinting for the doors as I heard the others reach the landing.

I heard them call out to me, but I was ramming my shoulder into the the doors, trying desperately to get them to open.

What's happening?

I heard the captain cry out.

Will, he's in there!

I screamed.

Instantly, the others joined me in pushing.

After a moment, the door suddenly swung inwards, almost sending us into the pool.

I froze, feeling a wave of shock flash through me.

The pool was empty.

What?

No, no, he was there.

He was there, and there were dozens of people in here as well.

I began blabbering out.

There were people, and there was a woman next to him.

I swear it had to be the one he was talking about.

Diana.

Then the door slammed shut.

I trailed off, looking at the others.

Some held frightened expressions on their faces, but some, like Andrew and Spencer, I saw confused, disbelieving looks on theirs.

I felt a wave of anger flash through me.

I'm not crazy, I suddenly began screaming.

I'm not fucking crazy.

So don't you dare look at me like that.

Not if the hell we just went through down below.

Instantly, I saw reality crash into them.

Looks of guilt and shame passed over their faces.

They know they're in the wrong cure.

Saw Spencer begin to open his mouth.

Okay,

from everyone else's perspective, they ran through the porthole, and then our narrator starts freaking out and screaming and sprints away.

And then they find him three stories up, and he's like, But Will was here, and Diana, and the party.

And

I would tie him up.

I mean, he's definitely the most, he feels the most manic out of all

by far.

He seems to be like, sure,

him and the captain happened simultaneously on the first day or the first full day on board.

But, like,

even then,

the captain got a hold of himself, at least outwardly.

Makes me think that Nathan's going to kill the captain is what makes me think.

Oh, I didn't even think about that.

That's a pretty good.

Well, I don't know.

If he killed the captain, would they still give him his laptop and let him type out the story?

Well, that's the thing is that if he kills him, if he kills the captain and another person who like

if he does it and the other person who stays alive doesn't realize that he's done it and even Nathan himself doesn't realize he's done it, then maybe.

I see what you're saying.

I got you.

Like in one of his deliriums, he does it.

Right.

Nathan definitely seems the most susceptible.

But I was cut off as why I began to scream behind them.

You know what?

Fuck this.

The others turned to see him running for another of the red boxes, which contained a fire hose and axe.

To my shock, he punched straight through the glass with his bare hands, something that should have broken them.

But somehow, he yanked an axe from it without a glance at his shredding and bleeding hands.

His eyes danced wildly around in his sockets, and I instantly recognized that he'd gone off the deep end.

He began to scream again, both at us and around him in general.

Fuck this man.

I've had it with these fucking- with these fuckers dicking us about and trying to drive us insane before they kill us.

You fuckers want to get out uh you fuckers want to get it on with me?

Well, that's fine, because I'm coming for you.

And with that, he turned and bolted up the stairs for the upper decks.

We just let that guy go.

Wyatt, wait!

The captain yelled, but he was already out of sight.

Come on out, you 20th century shithels.

I heard him scream.

The captain turned to us.

Come on, we can't let him get too far away from us.

We all began sprinting up the stairs, following the man's voice as

ranted and raved about wiping them all out.

He really has gone over the deep end.

He's yelling about killing already dead people with an axe.

Pursuing Wyatt, we reached the promenade deck and stopped on the landing.

Wyatt had stopped screaming.

The entire ship had gone dead silent.

Not just dead silent.

A deadly silence that held the worst connotations to it.

Oh, oh no, I thought.

I saw the same realization reflected in everyone else's face.

I swallowed.

Wyatt?

I called out, my voice muted and bouncing off the carpet and wooded paneled walls.

There was no answer.

White, buddy, talk to me.

Where are you at?

Andrew yelled out, still nothing.

And then, slowly at first, a new sound began reaching us.

The sound of sobbing and mumbling.

Please.

Please.

I'm sorry.

Please, not that.

Wyatt?

Come on.

The captain urged us leading the way down the hall towards the lounge.

The door still stood open, and I could see the balloons and decorations still on the floor.

As we drew close, my blood turned to ice as I heard Wyatt began to scream, half angry, half terrified.

No, no, you're not doing that to me!

The captain yelled out.

Wyatt!

We're coming!

He was the first to reach the doorway.

The axe suddenly swung around from the right side of the doorway faster than I thought possible.

In that horrible split second, my lips began to yell out a warning, but it was too late.

The axe buried itself into the captain's stomach, stopping the older man dead in his tracks.

I heard him let out a strangled cry, more of a gasp as he doubled over.

The axe pulled out of him, blood spilling to the floor from the man's wound.

A moment later, White emerged from around the corner, a wild, insane rage plastered on his face.

I got you, you fucking ghost.

He screamed in the captain's face.

I saw him raise the axe again, this time high over his head as he screamed again.

Bleed, you shitter!

I saw Vinny and Andrew begin rushing towards him, trying to stop what they saw was coming.

But again, I saw it was too late.

I closed my eyes and turned away quickly.

I didn't want to see the axe flaming at the captain's head.

Head of the man who'd taken me under his wing and kept me from going broke.

To help pay for my aunt's funeral when she passed away, I couldn't bear to.

But I heard it, and it's a sound I'll never be able to forget.

Horrified silence settled over the room, and I turned back, feeling like I was about to vomit as I saw the axe buried into his skull.

He lay on his back on the floor, a rapidly spreading pool of blood beginning to surround him, staining the carpet.

Wide, horrified eyes stared unblinkingly up at the ceiling, and his mouth was frozen open in shock.

The man was very, very dead.

Swung my gaze up.

Finny and Andrew had frozen in place, their arms still stretched out as if to still try to stop the atrocity that had just occurred.

Spencer clapped his hands over his mouth, his face white as a sheet as his body shook uncontrollably.

My eyes lifted to the blood-splattered face of the captain's murderer.

The look of insane rage and bloodlust lingered in Wyatt's eyes for another moment.

Then I saw it die away.

Saw him snap back to reality.

Hope the gun's

He asked in a whisper, looking down at the corpse.

His breathing quickened, and he lifted his own hands to stare at them, as though he were just beginning to comprehend what he'd done.

His eyes lifted to us, and I saw the panic begin to reappear in them.

I didn't know it was him.

I ran into the lounge and I was completely surrounded by them.

They said they were going to kill me, torture me for eternity for thinking about stealing from the the purse's office.

They called me a coward for crying and breaking down.

Dared me to attack them.

His voice rose to a scream.

Then they said their leader was coming in.

And I heard the most horrible voice coming from the hallway.

I swing for my life.

He cut off, beginning to shake as violently as Spencer was.

He looked directly at me.

I'm sorry.

Then he turned and began sprinting through the lounge, towards the companion way we'd taken to get inside the first night.

We remained frozen for a moment then began to chase after him white wait

finney shouted at him white's terrified hysterical scream flew back at us as he rounded a corner fuck you i'm not staying on board the ship i'll swim home if i have to he slammed into the final corner and a new horrific realization hit me i remembered what i thought about the lifeboats when queen elizabeth had begun moving will be sucked under and white don't i screamed out as we reached the corner, but it was too late.

I caught a split-second glimpse of Wyatt flinging himself over the railing.

Then he was gone, out of sight.

None of us heard a splash.

We ran to the railing and peered over.

For a moment, we saw nothing.

Then Wyatt's head broke the water's surface, coughing out waters.

He began to thrash.

attempting to swim away from the ship.

Then he was pulled under.

The fuck!

Spencer yelled, then began running for the stern of the ship, Vinny, Andrew, and I right behind him.

Part of me prayed that he would miss the propellers, that he'd be spat out in the back of the ship.

Drowning would be a less painful way to die than this.

But as we reached the stern railing, I felt despair and horror flood into me.

Seeing the dark red stain emerge from beneath the ship, spread out with the foam which drifted behind us in the ship's wake.

We stood there for a long time, staring out of the water as if doing so would return our lost crewmate, our lost friend.

Could have been their minutes, could have been their hours.

All I know is, the next thing I knew, I was looking up to see the sun beginning to set on the horizon.

None of us knew what to do.

We were numb.

Numb and unable to function.

So we did the only thing we could do.

We went back to our cabin and locked the door.

That's where I am now.

There's only five of us left now.

Others have, for the life of me, I don't know how, managed to fall asleep.

I can only guess how much mental and physical energy was that from them, to the point they couldn't stay awake, even if they wanted to.

Me?

I'm too afraid to sleep.

Afraid I'll dream of the horrifying things I've seen today.

Of the figures, of the voice, the eyes staring hungrily down at me from the hood of the car in the hold.

Of Wyatt, either driven insane or hallucinating.

A false image brought on by these ghosts plunging the axe into the captain's body.

And of him disappearing into the water, of him being sliced to pieces by the giant propeller blades.

The ship is doing everything it can to drive us insane.

Have us kill each other.

Or just flat out take us.

It's already taken Will.

I know he's lost now.

There's no way to bring him back.

He's one of them now.

It makes me realize something.

I said that there is only five of us left, but in reality, there's only four.

for how much longer though i don't know the compass half of my supply spins around non-stop i can't even tell which direction we're heading in and i don't know how to position our location by the stars the only person who knew how to do that was the captain and he's dead

all i know is this i'm not going to roll over and let the ship take me I'm going to fight and try to find a way off to help get myself and the others back home or die trying.

Will might have wanted to stay in the 1950s forever, but I wanted to go back to the peace and normality of 2023.

Compared to this hell, the relative peace and normality, anyways.

I don't know, though.

Do any of you guys have any ideas, any ideas at all of what to do now?

Even if it's the dumbest idea in the world, I'll take it.

Anything's better than just letting the hopelessness overwhelm me.

Just please give us any direction to take that might help us get off this damn ship.

Please.

the music started again i hear it filtering through the walls a different tune now but again one i recognize sing sing sing by benny goodman it's not the worst part though someone began softly knocking a few minutes ago on the cabin door then began calling in asking for us to come and join the party the voice that asked it was wills and then another voice joined him a woman's voice one that asked the same question with a british accent and finally a third voice.

One that made me want to break down in tears.

The captain's voice.

The implications pierced my heart and soul like a dagger.

To Will, the ship was, is heaven.

A place where he can eternally spend frozen in time period he wanted to go back to.

To me, it's hell.

End of part four.

As we dive deeper down the rabbit hole into part five.

so I like this it's a lot of fun something something I like about this that a lot of like set piece horror doesn't do because we'll read a lot or you'll see a lot of movies about like a horror movie set in I don't know a shopping mall a farm whatever

is they're not unique enough with the kills a lot of the time like they don't use it to their advantage but so far we've had one person uh get murdered by an axe we've had one person succumb to the demon's temptation we had another one get like physically captured or overwhelmed by them in the staircase.

And then we had someone jump off the boat and get crunched up by a propeller.

Like, that's that is utilizing your setting.

Right.

And it's excellent.

I love it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

This is, this is an incredibly fun story to me to Will to the captain to everything.

Like, it's, I'm having a great time.

Got to say, um, good one, it's looking pretty good for uh, me and Hunter paying your uh book cover as soon as I get Hunter to break.

So, oh, I plan

on, I've broken,

Have you?

I think I have, yeah.

But I will keep doing the voices.

Okay, all right.

Part five.

So I've got good news and bad news.

Good news is we have a plan.

If all goes as smoothly and precisely as possible, tonight will be the last we spend on this god-forsaken ship.

I'll tell you about that in a minute, but as uncertain as we might be, seems like the only chance we have of making it out alive.

The bad news is, what started this morning as four of us it's now ended as three

so this is one of those good news bad news good news we got a plan bad news one of us is dead

also like

does this sound like a heaven to you because to me this just sounds like torment like being in one place for eternity but it's just like a place like a party you know yeah i mean you could say that about heaven though you know

you could you could say that being being in the same kind of paradise, like a party is a fun thing that's like,

but here, okay, here's, here's the difference, though, to me.

With heaven, it's like you are like an altered form of yourself.

You're like a different creation, and you're among like infinity, like infinite creation.

So there's always something else.

To be on a boat from the 1950s forever, I feel like I mean, that is just like a purgatory.

Yeah, it'd be like, yeah, I think that it's disguised as, you know, a lavish,

you know, a lavish forever.

You know, it shouldn't be too bad, but no, I think the mundane nature of it would, it would get, it would get boring very quickly unless you're just like, you know, you restart every day and you don't realize that you've died or something.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I can't help but feel consumed with guilt because the only reason that is is because I made a stupid mistake.

A grade A dumbass move that most people would yell at a character in a horror movie for doing.

Shit.

Let me get to what you've said first and foremost.

I feel myself beginning to precariously dangle near to insanity.

Focusing on your comments will help keep me going the way of Wyatt.

Mentally breaking.

To the person who made the biggest, most detailed comment, many of the ideas you suggested, along with others, and what is going to ultimately go into our plan, so for that, thank you.

Fortunately, your idea about crossing out our names in the activity program, as good as an idea as it was, is impossible to do.

When we returned to our our cabin to hole up for the night, I noticed that it had been taken.

Whether that's because an action like that would have worked or not, I don't know.

As much as the idea of dropping the anchor seems like a decent idea, none of us dares tread down into the crew decks and bows of the ship again.

Not after yesterday.

As for the idea of holy water, while I may consider myself a believer, it's been many years since I've stepped inside a church, let alone kneel down and prayed.

Any power of faith I might have is so damn weak it'd effectively be like flicking the nose of a hungry tiger and hoping it'll make it go away.

And the others, as far as I know, are not the religious types.

But there's others who have said things I appreciate.

But I should

and need tell you about today.

When the four of us first woke up, nobody said a word.

The first few days aboard, we'd all gathered round and discussed aloud what the plan for the day was.

Now, though, after the horrific and soul-destroying things we saw yesterday, any attempt at conversation seemed pointless.

Without any prompting from anyone, I booted up the laptop, hoping against hope that someone might have an idea which would germinate into an escape plan.

I felt the numbness which had settled over me lift somewhat as I scrolled through your comments.

My eyes flickered over the suggestions, and I began to open my mouth to call for the others to join me.

But I shut it just as quickly, seeing the comment one of you made about the specters likely listening to us.

I silently cursed myself at the realization hit me, they're right.

They've likely been listening to us the entire time.

It's been out they've managed to always stay a step ahead of us.

Just because we can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.

The thought made me cast a wary and somewhat paranoid eye to the far corners of the cabin, once that filled with shadows that even the bedside lamps couldn't banish.

The mental image of a grinning face slowly appearing out from the gloom swam forward in my mind, and I felt myself beginning to breathe quicker.

I forced it away, willing myself to calm down.

Instead, I snapped my fingers and beckoned the others to join me.

Putting a finger to my lips, I pointed to the screen.

The others crowded around me and read as I silently scrolled past the suggestions.

Then, fumbling around for a moment, I found some stationary, likely once used to send letters while aboard, along with a pen.

I hastily scribbled down a message and passed it around to the others.

Any these ideas seem good to you?

After a moment, the three of them took turns writing things down quickly before sliding the paper back to me.

Bending over, I saw the ideas about jumping from the stern of the ship, ejecting as many lifeboats as possible to use, and even feigned insanity to throw chairs and tables overboard to use this flotation were all ideas they liked.

Okay, now we're getting somewhere, I thought, feeling a little lighter, until I saw the final thing my crewmates had written.

The idea of burning the ship, making her catch fire like she did in the 70s.

Yes, let's burn this thing down.

I feel like

I know they're in dire straits, but to be like, okay, plan A, we jump off the ship, but we throw off chairs and we'll use those after we jump off the ship.

Yeah, I mean, like the current stuff and the speed of what you're doing, but I mean, I don't know.

I mean, I'm at the spot now where I'm just kind of like, I would rather just die than, I guess, just be like 20 minutes.

Well, yeah, I guess.

I don't hate the idea of just being like, fucking.

But what you hold on, but what if you die

and then you just still are stuck on the ship?

Then at least I feel like at least I know that I tried something other than just sitting there waiting for something to kill me.

So you're in eternity with like your

Diana, your blonde-haired lady, and after like 2,000 years, you're like, well, at least I tried to jump.

Yeah.

At least I did something.

Yeah, at least I fucking tried something.

My body's on the ocean floor right now.

I looked up, arching my eyebrow and gesturing to the line.

I saw Andrew and Spencer immediately nod enthusiastically.

Vinny, however, looked unsure, as unsure as I felt inside.

Wait, isn't Vinny dead?

No, Wyatt is.

I thought Vinny was the guy that was the ghost.

No,

that's Andrew.

No, Andrew's here.

I saw Andrew and Spencer.

No, Will.

Will was the guy who ran off.

No, Will's the guy who ran off with Diana.

I'm saying the one who, when they were in the room with the car, who turned out to be a ghost.

Yeah, that was Wyatt is the one who stabbed the captain.

And he was like, no, look, okay, you're gone.

I don't fucking know.

I don't care.

I just want this to be done immediately, please.

No, you know what?

Just for that attitude, I think I'm going to draw it out a little bit longer.

Vinny, however, looked unsure, as unsure as I felt inside.

I remembered that Wyatt had babbled to us before throwing himself overboard.

If they got that pissed off to serve as a suggestion to rob them, and even more about trying to sabotage the engines, what will they do to us if we try and set the ship on fire?

My heart of hearts, I knew it was a bad idea.

I knew that as the captain's second in command, I was de facto leader now, even if the ship I would have been leader of was long gone.

But I also knew that if I tried to force the others away, there might be another fight, one that could clue our host aware of our intentions.

So instead, I quickly jotted down another note.

I honestly don't know if trying to burn the ship is a good idea, but I'll put it to a vote.

If you want to burn the ship, write an X beneath this.

If you don't, draw a circle.

Quickly, I drew a circle and passed the paper to them.

Andrew and Spencer scribbled their answers down instantly.

Finny took a while longer, all the while shooting glances at the others who gave him almost judgmental eyes.

Finally, he took the pen and jotted his answer down, passing the paper back to me.

Three X's stood beside my circle.

Shit.

I took a deep breath and looked at them.

I knew I'd been right.

Any attempt to dissuade them would make things worse.

But was making things worse now, worse than what might to come?

I didn't have a chance to ponder that for long as I saw the others regarding the map of the ship.

Andrew's face lit up as he tapped the half-moon-shaped room at the very front of the promenade deck, one that was marked Observation Lounge.

He tapped at the label below it, cocktail bar.

I knew what they wanted to go there for.

Alcohol, which they could make into Molotov cocktails.

I shut the laptop down and closed it up as they stood, moving to the door as quietly as possible.

As they did, the memory of being called to through the door suddenly forced its way to the front of my mind.

I remembered hearing the three voices calling to me.

First, Will.

You guys have got to come out and come to the party.

You'll see you've been afraid for no reason.

Everyone here is so damn nice.

Trust me.

It's so much better than going back to the world you came from.

Then the woman, Diana.

How about out, boys?

You have

I like how every character in the story gets a British accent because

I refuse to give the actual British character a British voice.

Then finally, the words that had followed me into my dreams, my nightmares.

Those of the captain speaking directly to me.

left.

I know it hurt you to see me die, but I'm okay now, I promise.

Please open the door and come have a drink with me.

It's funny to imagine, like, this old soggy captain, like, pressed up against the door, like, Nathan, Nathan, I'm sorry, Nathan.

You gotta take me back.

Could you also send a picture of you with your pants down?

What the fuck are you talking about?

You know that?

okay where my bit was going in my head is there's that you know that thing that's like can you send a picture of you

like from the front from the back one you know what i'm talking about where it's like

all right

i didn't know whether it truly had been the man i'd looked up to for so long or just another facsimile to torment me i don't know which would be worse

I was snapped out of my thoughts as the sound of the cabin door being unlocked reached my ears.

Looking up, I saw Andrew peek out the small opening before looking back and flashing the okay sign.

Pulled the door all the way open, leading the way, stepped out of the room.

Spencer immediately followed behind, then he gave me a last pained look before gesturing for me to follow.

After a moment, I did.

The hallway was deserted as we slowly made our way towards the staircase to the upper decks.

As we walked, I noticed with growing unease and yes, dread, that there seemed to be more signs of life on the ship than there had been when we first arrived.

Sets of period shoes ranging from men's wingtips to women's high heels had been left out in the hall next to the closed cabin doors for someone to come and shine them.

Ashtrays were passed contained cigarette butts and as we stepped onto the landing, I saw a sign on the concierge desk that read, sorry, we've stepped out for a moment.

We'll be back shortly.

It is like the ship is slowly coming back to life.

Like the ghosts on board are becoming more active the more the ship steams along.

The thought caused another another shiver to shoot up my spine.

I couldn't understand why I'd had the thought.

Not right at that moment, anyways.

Climbing the stairs until we reached the landing to the promenade deck.

I've been looking down the steps as I climbed, lost in thought when I accidentally walked straight into Vinny's back.

I stumbled backwards a little, feeling as though I were about to begin tumbling back down the stairs like a scene from a comedy movie.

My nose painfully throbbed and I shot a look up.

All three men had come to a dead stop, looking down the hallway to the right at something I couldn't see.

Despite our situation, a pang of irritation bubbled up inside me, and I pushed past Finney, beginning to speak in a whisper.

Why the hell did you guys?

But my words died in my throat as I saw what they'd been looking at.

Or, to be more precise, what they weren't looking at.

The captain's body was gone.

From where we stood, we could plainly see the entrance to the lounge where he'd been killed.

We could even see the bloodstain, which still stained the carpet.

A mop and bucket standing next to it, as if someone had been about to try cleaning it up.

But the captain's body no longer lay there, and to make matters worse, there didn't appear to be any sign he'd been dragged off.

As if he just vanished.

Dread and tension permeated the air as we stared, and I felt the biggest chill yet run up my spine.

He has had a lot of chills run up his spine, hasn't he?

So many.

It's a very cold chill.

It's a cold, chilly, chilly ship.

This ship is freezing.

Felt the chill run up my spine as I imagine the man's bloody corpse standing on the other side of the cabin door and knocking.

A smile on his face.

Isaiah, I have a question.

Do you think he's going to scream and run at any point in this?

I don't know about that.

I would be more likely to say I think he'll run and scream.

Oh, okay.

I think the order chills up his spine, though.

Yes.

So here's the order of events I think I'll have it.

I think he will see something and he'll almost scream.

Oh, true.

But then

he'll choke on his words and he'll almost scream, but then he'll see something else.

And that will cause a chill up his spine that causes him to run.

And then he'll scream as he's running.

Yeah, okay.

That's what I think will happen.

That thing seems correct.

That's my call.

Yeah.

Come on.

Andrew finally whispered.

The move forward, heading for the bow of the ship.

As we followed the signs to the observation deck and cocktail bar, I began to feel sure and sure that this wasn't just a big mistake.

This was going to be a fatal one.

Along with it came a new feeling, a new thought.

How the hell am I just playing along with this malarkey?

The captain chose me because I always knew what's best.

I'm laying him down by doing this.

That thought was what decided for me.

Picked up the pace and sped past the three, coming to a stop in the middle of the hallway and shooting my arms out to the side to block the way.

I spoke, my voice low.

Guys, no.

That's such a light put off of, like, don't burn down the ship that we're all on.

Stop it.

Guys,

think this through.

Let's talk about this.

No.

I saw a surprise enter Vinny's face.

And on Andrew and Spencer's, I saw irritation, even anger flash.

Get the hell out of the way, Nate.

Spencer hissed, shook my head.

No,

you miss his worst idea in the long, sad history of the world.

Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, damn it,

If you keep doing that voice, I'm gonna look I'm I'm enjoying myself.

If you do that voice,

me and the audience are gonna immediately lose it.

It's gonna fall out of favor.

Gotta get lock in until the next shot.

Alright,

here, all right.

No,

I hate you so much.

No.

Oh, gosh.

Doing this is the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas.

We don't know what they'll do if we try and set the place on fire.

Andrew's nostrils flared.

I don't give a fuck what they think of us burning their precious ocean liner to embers.

We're doing it.

Now get the fuck out of my way before I make you move.

Veins popped out of his forehead.

I could see any rational side of him had been overtaken by emotion.

He wasn't thinking.

He wanted to lash out one final time at them for the deaths of our crewmates.

I knew what would come next, but I didn't budge.

Instead, shaking my head and standing standing my ground.

Even though I anticipated it, the punch still caught me half by surprise.

I didn't realize just how strong Andrew was, with how wiry of a build he had.

I crashed into a heap on the floor, my head smashed into the wooden wall as he loomed over me, fistballed as if ready to take another swing at me.

He leaned down and got right in my face, spit striking my nose and cheeks as he spat at me.

Stay the fuck out of my way.

This is being done,

whether you like it or not.

With that, he strode past me.

Spencer only stopped to spit at me before following.

I looked up at Vinny, feeling a small trickle of blood begin dripping from just above my eyebrow where Andrew's ring had caught me.

Please, don't.

For a moment, he looked like he wanted to agree with me.

Then he shook his head, his shoulders slumping as he succumbed to the peer pressure of the others.

I'm sorry.

He whispered softly before following after them.

That's funny how he went from like, the captain shows me.

I'm the new captain.

Like, men stop.

And now he's like on the ground, bleeding.

He's on the ground, like, gosh, no.

Gosh, no, please.

Don't do that.

Don't do that.

What if the ghosts are mean to us?

No.

I turned and watched him hurry down the hall before disappearing out of sight around a corner.

I fought the urge to scream after them.

As angry and hopeless as I felt, I didn't want to bring the spectral horde their way.

You stupid facts.

I whispered quietly to myself before slowly hauling myself to my feet.

I stood there, trying to calm myself for a moment.

Felt almost impossible to do, and in the heat of the moment, I made the grade A mistake I will forever regret, the one that will eat away at my soul forever.

I didn't follow after them.

Instead, I turned and stalked away in the opposite direction.

The rational side of my brain screamed at me how dumb an idea this was.

What are you doing?

You're not supposed to split up.

This is leaving you so damn vulnerable and open, but I didn't care.

The anger that consumed me silenced my inner warnings, and I walked back onto the landing.

I stopped there, breathing heavily.

I again cursed the others.

As I stood there, trying to compose myself, a familiar but most unwelcome feeling washed over me.

A massive shiver shot up my spine.

Ah, there we go.

Another shiver up the spine.

That's one for the bingo card.

The lights are so cold on the it's so cold on mate it is frigid did i feel like i'm up in wedge five degrees fahrenheit it's like i'm it's like i'm traversing the atlantic ocean because it it's so chilly washed away by a surge of fear and terror good soda

oh hell dude slowly i turned to look behind me and i felt my blood run cold still cold it's getting cold at what i saw my blood run cold i'm frozen

i'm frozen still i cannot move i keep feeling these chills up my spine why don't you put on a jacket dude oh god i can't it's so cold

this scene of him like stamping like he's on a ghost ship where like you can get trapped in hell and he's like oh i know i shouldn't go off by myself but i'm just so upset i'm just so i'm just so i'm just so meekish and vulnerable right now like i don't i don't care if that dude like killed your family.

Like, don't be alone on the ship.

He's mad because they're not following his ideas.

But I'm not thinking right because I'm so chilly.

Oh, that's right.

I forgot how cold he was.

I'm shivering.

Yep.

Standing almost directly on the spot where the captain's body had been lying, in the middle of the bloodstain, was one of the shadowy figures.

It stood dead still, and even though it had no face, I could tell from the feeling I'd had that it was looking directly at me.

Then a new fear began to flood into me, one that came with a thought that, try as I might, I couldn't push away.

What if that's the captain?

I let out a gas, feeling my heart begin to beat harder in my chest.

I couldn't take the thought that I might be about to be attacked by the spirit of the man I'd looked up to as a father figure.

So I turned and hurried into the opposite hall, heading in the direction of the stern.

The feeling of being watched intensified as I hurried down the hall, and I mentally cursed myself for letting my emotions lead me into such a dangerous spot.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I shot glances over my shoulder, feeling that at any moment I'd see the figure shoot around the corner in pursuit of me, or worse, see all of them appear, trying to find someplace I could duck into to potentially hide.

A sign appeared, hanging down from the ceiling with an arrow pointing to the right.

Theater.

Not knowing where else to go, I jogged right until I saw the large door with an identical sign above it.

Yanking open the heavy door, I jumped inside and pulled it shut behind me.

Trying not to breathe loudly, I pulled back on the inner handle as hard as I could, seeing with a sinking feeling that there was no lock on this side of the door.

Not like it would do much good if they went in here.

But as the moments ticked by into minutes, nothing came.

No force ripped the door out of my hands.

I began to breathe a little easier, feeling my heartbeat begin to slow as relief swept over me.

Feeling safe that I wasn't about to be swarmed, I finally turned around to look at the room I'd entered.

I found myself staring past past red drafes which had been pulled back.

In the low light, I saw dozens, no, hundreds of empty red seats stretching out away from me towards the back of the room, and blue carpeting covered the floor.

I only had a moment to look at the ivory white walls before I froze, realizing something.

It should have been dark, almost pitch black in there.

There was no windows to the outside, meaning it should have been like trying to walk around with your eyes closed.

But it wasn't.

And my eyes flickered up at the back wall.

I realized why.

The projector was playing.

I suddenly became aware of sounds playing from the speakers on the walls.

A lump formed in my throat and even though every fiber of my being told me to leave, I instead stepped from the entryway into the theater itself, taking half a dozen steps or so until I was halfway up the far right aisle.

I turned to look at the screen.

A movie was indeed playing, and not knowing what else to do, I sat down in one of the seats.

I could tell the movie was old, both by the fact that it was in black and white and the scene of what had to be London in the mid-50s.

I'm just

a city.

What if he sat down and he was like, I could tell the movie was old because it was a Disney movie, Sandra Bullock, the blind side.

I could tell it was old because it was appropriate for Sandra Bullock to play a Southern woman

taking in an inner city youth and stealing from him.

Have you heard that?

That story that that guy

has come out and he's just like, yeah, they fucking stole money.

Well, the craziest thing

to me about it, because it was like the family stole the rights to the story or something like that.

The craziest thing to me is how he's depicted, especially in the movie, where in real life, he was, I think they like adopted him when he was like 14, 15, and he was already like a pretty good football player.

And they just kind of like helped him get into a good school.

But in the movie, it's like he's so stupid, he doesn't know what football is.

So the eight-year-old white kid has to explain to him how football works.

Not only that, but in the movie, yeah, they're like, like, oh, well, we'll help him get, like, in real life, I think that like.

First off, I don't think that he was a fucking moron.

And then also, too, you think he was, he was a big kid, athletically gifted.

gifted to where i think that they just saw this kid and they're like oh you want you just live with us and we'll just like basically like i i i seriously feel like he could have gotten into like those schools without their help oh yeah almost almost certainly like

i

the

real story

that's a fucking horror film right there blind side the real the real blind side the real the real plot of it yeah oh you can stay with us don't worry um

now the current i it's it's wild to me to be like imagine you adopted like a kid who sure was from a troubled background, but he was like fine and like, you know, you you like took care of him and stuff.

And then when it's time to make the movie, you're like, what if we make him stupid?

All right, now Michael.

What if we decide he didn't know anything?

Now, Michael, I'm going to take 20% of your revenue for the rest of your life.

But then also...

We're going to make a movie about you, and you're basically going to be radio.

But

not i'm not like radio sure y'all

whatever you say sling blade yeah exactly

what do y'all got to eat back there

there's like there's that scene because like the whole movie it's like oh he actually has a heart of gold because the whole the character in the film is like too dumb to say things like there's the scene where like He gets into a car wreck and he sticks his arm out to say they make him seem like a fucking mutant where it's like he sticks his fucking arm out like I don't know the thing catches a car crash.

Yeah, exactly.

Where I'm like, what the fuck are you saying about this kid?

He's like the elephant man.

And he can't freaking be like, he can't be like, oh, I'm injured, my arm hurts because I was trying to take care of the kids.

And then she has to come.

You're like, what the fuck are you talking about, dude?

Was keeping him safe.

It's like, what?

Is it morally sound to put this kid into a contact sport?

I will say this.

Is If I was living to let this kid play football, if I was on a 1940s British cruise liner, a ghost cruise liner,

and then I went in and the only movie that played was Blindside,

I'll tell you right now, my spine would be officially chilled.

Was Blindside just on your mind?

I don't know.

Honestly,

I wonder.

I have no idea where you pulled that from.

I wonder when Blindside isn't on my mind.

You know what I think?

I think of Sandra Ballock's southern accent a lot, I think is what I think.

And I keep thinking about that.

You're going to go to Bama.

I don't remember the accent.

You're going to Alabama State, Mike.

I do remember that.

Bama.

You're going to Bama.

You're going to Bama.

And he's like, I want to go to Ole Miss.

She's like, you're going to Bama.

Something like that.

I don't fucking know.

Also, I was just thinking, I'm like, that movie was just insufferable.

Also, like, what is it, Tim McGraw or somebody?

It's either Tim McGraw or Keith Urban.

It's like another country music star just plays the dad, and he's just like, all right.

Really?

Sure, I guess this person, yeah, I'm 100% positive.

Here, let me look it up.

Oh, yeah, Tim McGraw.

He's sitting there, he's just like, Sandra Bola comes home, she's just like, By the way, this boy is staying with us, he's gonna live with us forever.

And he's like, Okay,

you're the boss, ma'am.

You're like, Wow, that's some interesting concept for the story.

You know what?

Happy wife, happy life, whatever you say.

What the hell?

Are we just gonna let this random stranger live with us?

You realize he's gonna go to old miss.

Here, he's gonna go, Bama.

He's like, Oh,

there was that whole era of like

the white savior films that happened for a while, you know.

I think still one of my favorites is God's Not Dead.

Don't get me started.

I love that

film.

I grew up evangelical, like, well, maybe not even adjacent to evangelical stuff.

So that movie was like all anyone talked about.

That was a big deal for us.

That was like.

Oh, was that a win?

Well, to those around me.

You know what?

Actually, that's true.

He's not dead.

You know what?

When you put it that way, he's not dead.

You know what?

He isn't dead.

Was there a white savior thing in God's Not Dead?

I mean, I don't know.

It's just like one random kid standing in the back.

I mean, it's just a guy

other than their depiction of Jesus.

It's literally just a guy.

Yeah, exactly.

It's just a guy, like a science teacher, just being like, that's why I think it's kind of cringe if you believe in God.

And like a kid in the back stands up and he's just like, i disagree

that's

the movie

there

there was uh a lot of that growing up where like

it was drilled into my head for so long like when you

like when you get out of like churches and like christian schools because i went to christian school growing up it's like they're gonna hate you

you're gonna like you're gonna be the enemy everyone's gonna be like like i see tick tocks about now where people are like what i i thought the world would be like uh outside of church and it was like oh you want to go to you want to shop at the starbucks uh well you have a cross on your necklace social security if you can escort

you had this idea you're going to be like super persecuted so like that was me that kind of gave it that was me i was the guy i was the guy persecuting people i said uh hey freak

get out of here That's what I said.

You, you what?

And I'd be like, everybody, let's pants this guy.

Let's rip off his his diaper, is what I would say.

But no, the idea of a college professor being like, write down on a piece of paper that you renounce your religion is insane.

Well, I will say,

I will say, it would have been, I'm like, it would have been

the lawsuit should have happened, but he's just like, no,

I'm not going to, I'm like, go and sue this man immediately.

Yeah, just like, this is insane malpractice.

You just, you just got

a massive payday, my friend.

Yeah, you just got rich if you put in your card.

Quite literally, pass go, is what I would say.

I'd visited the city in 2004 as a teenager, and I instantly recognized Trafalgar, Trafalgar Square, as different as I was seeing it now.

The scene began to follow a woman in a trench coat, who always walked with her back to the camera.

She got into a cab and was shortly dropped off.

As she walked, I suddenly noticed something.

The woman had very familiar platinum blonde hair hanging down to her shoulders.

Instantly, the little curiosity I had vanished, and I felt a heavy pit begin to form itself inside my stomach.

But it was as if I had been paralyzed.

I could do nothing but watch as the scene continued, the woman reaching a door and attempting to open it before hiding as what looked like an old thunderbird rounded the corner.

As another woman got out and the music began to swell, I felt my heart begin to thump in my chest.

dread washing over me in waves.

Not because of the tension the movie was clearly trying to give off.

It was because I felt sure of who I was about to see.

And as the blonde woman reappeared again, pulling a revolver from her purse and aiming it at her, the camera changed, revealing her face, and she began to fire.

I let out a strangled scream.

He screamed so much.

Dude, fuck it.

Fuck Nathan.

Why are you such a shit?

You're looking at a screen.

You know where you're at.

You're watching a movie.

You know what it is.

And you're like, oh.

Now, I wonder when he screamed, though,

did he officially

spine get officially chilled?

Did he get a chill?

Did he he get a chill?

Did he stop another scream while letting out this one?

I was starting to get my scream.

I started to get a chill.

I stifled the...

Did he think about running?

He could have.

Yeah, he's like, my fire flight kicked in, and I began to run out of the theater.

It was her, the woman who Will had spoken about in the restaurant.

The one I'd seen with her arm around him in the pool.

Diana.

You know, this was my proudest moment as an actress.

I felt the blood drain from my face.

The voice, sultry one, with an unmistakable British accent, the same one,

the same one I heard calling to us through the door last night, hadn't come from the speakers, come from directly behind me.

Feeling my body begin to shake as fear and adrenaline surged through my system, slowly turned and looked behind me.

And a pair of sapphire blue eyes gazed back.

That did it.

I leapt out of the chair, spinning to face the woman as she rose from her own.

She gestured to the screen where the movie continued to play.

Actually went to the big film festival in Cairns because because of it.

I felt on top of the world.

She let out a small snort of laughter.

Of course, I didn't realize that that was the highest

I'd ever bloody be.

I said, bloody at every sentence.

The wistful.

I'm British.

The wistful look left her eyes and focused on me.

Will's told me a lot about you, you know.

Said a lot of good things.

Every fiber of my being was screaming at

every fiber of my being was screaming at me in a run, but it was as though I'd once again been paralyzed.

I couldn't move, I couldn't even speak, only stand and stare.

That's when her face changed, instantly turning from the half-warm, half-eery smile to ice.

You're right, you know.

Your friends are making a big mistake with their plan.

Them trying to set fire to the ship isn't going to work.

All it's going to do is make us mad.

My eyes went wide as the realization hit renewed horror filling me.

They know.

You know how we get when we get angry, Nathan.

I finally managed to take a step back, seemingly able to speak again.

The words of one of you that I'd often seen flashed through my mind.

of asking these ghosts, demons, whatever, a question.

My mind still screamed at me to run, but the slight hope that I could reason with them, perhaps convince them to let us go, was too much.

So, I asked, my voice trembling.

What the hell do you all want?

Instantly, I realized how dumb my choice had been as Diana began to laugh.

Small snickers at first, then blossoming into loud giggles.

They stopped as she smiled at me, one that, despite the fact it made her look strikingly beautiful, made me feel as though I wanted to scream.

We want you, Nathan.

We want all of you.

She took a step forward.

I took a step back, my eyes flickering to the exit behind me as she spoke again.

You think the past just dies?

It doesn't.

It just melts away into what I can only describe as another reality.

A beautiful one.

Where nothing ever ages.

Nothing ever changes.

One where we all stay.

Where everything as it was stays.

She closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly.

But it it gets lonely.

For all of us, the only bad thing about nothing ever changing is that we never see any new faces.

New people to meet.

Just the ones where we came.

The ones who've

died.

Her eyes flew open again, locking on me.

I'd just begun to take a step back when I again felt rooted to the spot.

But we're able to come back, you see.

Thanks to the fact that this ship's sister still exists in your world, your time.

It gives us the ability to come back, to find new people to join us in ours.

Her face suddenly contorted into the most wicked, evil smirk I've ever seen in my life.

And we're always looking for new people to join us.

Her words stabbed into my soul, filling me with horror the likes I'd never felt before.

In that instant, I knew there was no reasoning with them.

There was no bargain that could be made for us to leave.

They would never let us leave.

They wanted to take us back to where God only knew.

And they'd done it to countless other people.

How many people lost at sea is due to them?

I let out an involuntary gasp as I finally managed.

You know what?

If I know anything about my boy Nathan, I know he's working up a scream.

If I, you know, shot in the dark, if this man gets a noise out,

it either is a scream or it's working its way through his screen.

He likes to talk to himself.

He likes to scream out loud.

That's what he likes to do.

Yeah.

And run and get cold.

i let out an involuntary gasp as i finally managed to take another step back and froze see cold chilly my blood turned to ice in my veins see as the realization hit me and i finally did scream

i finally did scream because diana's eyes weren't the only ones on me anymore there were hundreds of eyes hungry eyes that occupied every seat in the room I turned and ran, ran for the exit as every person in their seats melted into the horrific, shadowy figures that had chased, terrified us,

that chased and terrified us ever since we'd come aboard.

The whispering, laughter, and screaming which had plagued my nightmares was so loud in my ears, I felt as though my eardrums would burst and began bleeding.

I let out

the shrillest

high-pitched scream

The way the sentence ends

I let out the shrillest most high-pitched scream I ever have in my life

My arms stretched

My arms stretched

my arms stretched

I let out the shrill

gosh I let out the shrillest most high-pitched scream I ever have in my life my arms stretched out and reaching for the door into the hallway so he's like a full scooby-doo

he is literally

Doing the fucking the Fred Flintstone yabba-dabba-doo and like running in place and dead sprinting off.

If Nathan at this point ate an eight-foot-tall sub in one bite, I would not be surprised.

I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask you something.

Do you think in the story

there is going to be a Scooby snack-esque item that gives him courage to stand his ground?

Because isn't that what the whole thing they do with Scooby-Doo?

Basically, like they lace one small Scooby snacks and it gives them

it's like, I'm not going in there.

What if, would you do it for two Scooby snacks?

Yeah, yeah.

What about two?

Okay.

Whatever the fuck.

Like, Scoob.

I think you're right, but I don't think it will be an item.

It will be like an emotional thing.

Like, you'll remember the capital.

It might literally be a dog treat.

I don't know.

That'd be great.

Okay.

My arms stretched out and reached to the door of the hallway.

I slammed into it with all my might and bounced off it, crashing back onto my ass on the floor.

What the hell?

I stumbled to my feet, running for the door and slamming into it again.

And just like the first time, it didn't budge at all.

No!

I screamed out, ramming it a third time, but the metal refused to give.

It was locked.

I froze, my body beginning to violently shake as the voice reached me.

A voice I knew well.

a voice which had called to me through the door last night, along with Diana and Will.

I slowly turned to look behind me.

All the shadowy figures stood less than 10 feet away from me.

The whispering, laughter, and screaming had stopped, allowing the speaker to be heard.

One of the shadows took the first step forward, and then it spoke again.

It's time for you to join us.

I turned and began hammering on the door as the captain's word echoed in my ears, sheer terror fueling my screams.

Somebody opened the fucking door!

I began to cry.

This is it.

These are the last moments of your life, all because you screwed up.

You're dead.

My mind began to shut down, trying in some physical reaction to spare me the horror that was about to happen to me.

Night?

I snapped back to reality.

That's dude.

Okay.

So many.

Alright, I'll give you one.

I'll give you one.

But the third time of making me think about Eminem in the middle of a ghost story.

The main influences for the ghost ship story was

gump.

I snapped back to reality as the voice came from the other side of the door.

For a moment, moment, I thought I'd finally snapped like Wyatt had.

Then the voice came again.

Nate, are you in there?

It's Vinny, my mind screamed at me.

I began furiously pounding on the door again, seeing out of the corner of my eye the figures began to sweep towards me.

Vinny, unlock the door for God's sake.

I heard the sound of him beginning to fumble with the lock, shot a glance over my shoulder and scream.

I shot a glance over my shoulder and screamed again as I saw the figures less than a foot away from me.

Now in my head,

it's like a Oni plays animation of like, ah!

The door wrenched open and I was suddenly falling forwards, crashing to the floor and feeling pain as the abrasive carpet tore at my hands and elbows.

For a moment I was unable to think, the realization that I'd been saved causing my brain to short circuit.

Until the horror of realizing where Vinny stood smashed into me like a brick wall.

I flipped around, my eyes wide as I screamed at my friend.

Vinny, get away from the door.

But it was too late.

The only way I can describe what happened in those next moments is that it happened exactly like the scene in the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill.

The one where Chris Katan's character opens the basement door to let the others out and is snatched and dragged into the evil mass inside.

That's what happened to Vinny.

I kind of split second look of the horror on his face as he saw the figures reaching out to grab him.

The next, he was gone.

Yanked inside the theater, the door slamming shut behind him.

I screamed helplessly, reaching out a hand as if I could pull him back through the door with sheer will, but nothing.

The ship became deathly silent again for a moment, but only for a moment.

The sound of racing feet suddenly sprang up from behind me.

I spun around, beginning to frantically crabwalk backwards as my mind screamed at me that the figures were now coming for me.

Instead, I felt a wave of shock as Andrew and Spencer flew around the corner, terrified looks in their eyes.

Night, get the fuck up!

Spencer screamed at me, reaching out a hand and almost tearing my arm out of my socket as he wrenched me to my feet.

Run!

I didn't question him, I just ran.

I ran after the two as the ominous, terrifying sounds of whispering, laughing, and screaming began filtering down from the hallway they'd emerged from.

It scared me almost more than anything in how pissed it sounded, more than when they caught us trying to sabotage the engines.

We sprinted for the stairs, taking them down two at a time and only able to think about staying a step ahead of our pursuers i don't know how long we ran only that i was only able to keep going from the sheer amount of adrenaline that kept filling me that and the image of vinny being dragged to the theater to fate i can only pray was quick we headed for the only place we knew our cabin we slammed inside shut it locked it and proceeded to pile as much furniture in the room against it trying to make what was likely a feudal barricade but one nonetheless

it was the only thing we could think to do.

When we finished, I turned to the two men.

What the fuck happened?

I demanded.

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

Andrew spoke, his voice shaking.

We

got to the observation lounge, found a shit ton of alcohol at the bar, and started making Molotovs.

We were halfway done when the voice came.

The voice we heard the stairs that day.

We turned, and we found ourselves staring at him.

Who's him?

I pressed.

Him.

The captain of the ship.

He was dressed in an old captain's outfit.

He wagged a finger at us and said it wasn't worth trying.

That all would do is make them do it to us.

What they did to Wyatt.

So we lit and threw a bottle at him.

At the floor.

Spencer spoke up.

Nate, it did nothing.

It hit the floor and lit up for a second, and then it...

Well, it was...

It was as if it reversed.

the flame disappeared and then he said he was angry His eyes turned black and we ran Look down at the floor unable to speak anymore There was silence in the room for a while What happened to Vinny?

Andrew finally asked my eyes flashed up to him I felt the heat of rage burn in my stomach.

I wanted to scream at him strike him like he'd done to me, but I held it back as I saw the look in his eyes.

He was broken.

So I simply answered.

He didn't make it.

In my words, I saw both men's shoulders slump.

We're not getting out of here alive, are we?

Took a deep breath and spoke, a voice calm and authoritative, like the captain had always spoken.

We're getting out of here tomorrow.

We're going to plan.

And tomorrow, we're getting off this damn ship.

We're going to die trying.

I did say the last part out loud, but I didn't have to.

And so, as the sun began to set again on the horizon, we planned.

They're asleep now, both passed out on the bed, but not after each went into the bathroom for a few minutes.

Heard them softly crying to themselves.

Part of my heart felt for them, but another still burned with the fire and hatred of a thousand sons.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, where did that come from?

If it hadn't been for their hair-brained idea, everything that happened today wouldn't have.

It was your idea.

Didn't you make the okay, whatever.

If Andrew hadn't punched me, I wouldn't have swarmed off.

If he hadn't punched me, I wouldn't have swarmed off.

Unable to think straight.

I would have gotten to that theater and Vinny would still be alive.

This dude sucks.

Yeah, I hate Nathan.

He's so annoying.

But as much as it kills me inside to say, I'm as much to blame as they are.

No, Nathan, you are more to blame.

There's a crumb.

There is a spreckle.

Yeah, here's your crumb, peasant.

Did I tell you the other guys cried everyone?

Crumb of accountability.

But they cried.

That's the more important factor.

I should have been more level-headed.

I should have shouldn't have let my emotions get the best of me.

And part of me, part of me thinks I should have just let the figures take me.

That would have been best for everyone.

Instead of him ending up as a sacrificial alternative for me.

Benny, I'm so sorry.

I'm so, so sorry.

I'm staring out the porthole now as I type this out.

I watch the moon rise in the sky and glimmer off the waves.

It's all I feel like I mentally can do now.

But I know I have to pull myself together before dawn.

If I want to have any chance to escape off the Queen Elizabeth alive,

there's no choice but for it to be tomorrow because, as I said here, typing this, another program was jammed underneath the cabin door, flying under our barricade.

When I flicked on my flashlight, I saw that someone had written in black ink at the bottom for Nathan only.

When I flipped it open, I noted two things.

The first is that the date on this one doesn't say 2023 like the last one.

The date says Monday, June 25th, 1956.

Second, it's the first notice at the top of the left page: page.

Two days until arrival in New York City.

If you have not already bought your travel papers in the pursuer's office, please do it no later than 4 p.m.

tomorrow evening.

Thank you.

I honestly don't know if the words that Diana told me are true or not.

About the past ever dying, simply moving to a different dimension when it changes.

Where the world stays stuck forever in one time period, endlessly repeating over and over for eternity.

But I honestly don't want to know.

The idea of such a world horrifies me almost worse than everything we've been through.

And I think if she's right and we don't escape tomorrow, the New York City we'll arrive in won't be ours.

So I'm going to try and rest.

The music's beginning again from the lounge.

Not a big band song this time, but a slow love ballad.

A song my grandfather used to sing to my grandmother.

Earth Angel by the Penguins.

As much as I dread the nightmares that are going to come, seeing Vinny be taken, I need my rest.

I need as much of it as I can get.

If we're going to carry out our plan, dump all the lifeboats off the starboard side of the ship, then leap off the stern far enough away from the propellers where we won't be sucked in and swim for them.

Hopefully, make it back to land.

I'm not going to ask you guys for advice this time.

This is the one time I don't think you can help us.

I can never thank you enough, all of you.

You've helped us, kept us going when we didn't have any clue what to do.

You've given us the hope to keep going, tiny connection to the world, to sanity, and everything good.

You're all wonderful people, and I'm indebted to you for life.

But now,

now is the part we have to do on our own.

But if we don't make it, thank you for help giving us a fighting chance, at least.

I do ask you one thing, though.

Please, wish us luck.

All right, final time.

Alright,

final part.

It's finally over.

As I sit here typing these words out on the laptop with the ocean spray splashing my face, I almost can't believe it.

The last few days have felt like nothing more than one long continuous nightmare that I can never wake from.

It's what I imagine it must be like for someone in a coma, locked in endless sleep.

But it's over.

The nightmare is over.

Before I tell you what happened, let me just say one thing to all of you reading this, all of you who did all you could to help me and give me advice.

I know I've said it so many times now that I probably sound like a broken record, but I need to say it one final time.

Thank you.

I'll never forget any of you for everything you did for me, and if I can ever return the favor, I will.

That being said, it's time.

Time to tell you what happened.

When the three of us woke up, it was still dark out.

According to my wristwatch, it was only a little after six in the morning.

None of us said a word to each other, only exchanging nervous but determined glances as we packed the things we thought we needed into a single bag, including all the food and water we had left.

As I shoved the final things in, Andrew came up beside me, holding out another sheet of paper on which he'd written something.

Nate, I'm so, so sorry about yesterday.

I read the note and looked up at the man's somber face.

I still felt the angry heat in me, but I pushed it down and simply nodded at him.

Now isn't the time to hold a grudge, regardless of whether it was deserved or not.

I took the pen and wrote a message back.

Let's just focus on getting out of here.

Nothing else matters.

He read it and nodded, seeming a bit relieved.

I cast one final look at the program which had been shoved under the door last night.

It lay on the room's writing desk, the declaration of reaching port staring up at me like a tombstone.

Freedom or death, I thought.

One of them happens today.

Stealing myself, I motioned to our barricade, which had gratefully managed to hold through the night.

Tried to remain as quiet as possible.

We pulled the chairs, nights, hands, and other items away until the door was clear.

Took a deep breath, feeling a mixture of fear and anticipation be unrising.

Then reached out and took the doorknob in my hand.

I looked up, locking my eyes with Andrew and Spencer.

They slowly nodded at me.

Here we go.

I turned the knob, pulling the door open.

In silence, we crept down the hallway.

Looked as deserted as always, though the shoes still sat next to the cabin doors.

I became aware of one difference from yesterday, though.

Something that made the fear and uneasiness increase.

The ship was no longer silent.

The intercom had been turned on again sometime during the night.

As I listened, I realized the first ever song that had played when we'd powered the ship up was filtering out from the speakers.

You belong to me.

I shivered slightly, but listening to the music strengthened my resolve.

Yeah, see about belonging to you.

Making sure the bag over my shoulder didn't make any sound, we entered the landing.

The first thing I noticed was that a sign had been set up next to the floor's concierge desk.

I stopped for a second to read it.

Horse racing racing sign up.

Next to it was an open ledger, inside which many people had signed their names,

along with their cabin numbers.

My eyes flickered down the list, seeing many names that I didn't recognize.

Ones of people who had passed from this world decades ago or longer.

And then I froze.

It felt like someone had dumped the frigid sea water down my back.

My eyes read and reread the last three names on the sign-up list.

I saw Will's name, the captain's name, and Vinny's.

Wait a minute, that means that Wyatt isn't trapped, right?

Fighting Kenny?

Yeah, maybe.

That means that it's.

Okay, so we're back to your plan, Hunter, of throwing ourselves into the ship repeller.

It works.

Thank God.

I closed my eyes and turned away from the ledger, feeling as though my emotions were about to overwhelm me.

Seeing his name, knowing that all three of my crewmates were among them, shattered a a piece of my soul.

Especially because I knew there was nothing I could do for them.

Not now.

Someone patted me on the shoulder, and I opened my eyes, turning to find Spencer standing beside me.

He wore a grim expression on his face and looked from me to the ledger,

having seen the same horrific sight I had.

For a moment, I did nothing.

Then I nodded at him, turning to follow him and Andrew up the stairs.

The lifeboats were hooked up on the promenade deck, which is where we were heading.

The plan was to hide the bag of supplies near the stern railing of the ship behind a few of the giant cleats used for mooring.

Then ready all the lifeboats on the starboard side of the ship to drop.

Normally, they would slowly be lowered from the davits via steel cables, but I had noted there was a sort of quick disconnect switch, which would allow the small boat to simply free fall to the water.

All of us knew damn well that the moment the ship's inhabitants realized what we were doing, they would send everything they had after us to stop us.

And that meant the second we launched the last of the lifeboats, we would have to quite literally run for our lives to the stern, snatching up the supplies before leaping overboard.

From there, it was simply a matter of making it to one of the lifeboats, climbing inside and rowing like mad away.

The idea conjured up an image from an old horror 80s horror movie I'd seen about a possessed ship of it

turning to run down its escaping prey.

It was replaced by the horrific sight of the Queen Elizabeth coming about to do the same to us.

I pray to God that doesn't decide to do that, because we'll be sitting ducks.

Shaking the thought and image from my mind, we reached the top stairs of the promenade deck, looking around.

The music continued to play, the song changing to Mr.

Sandman by the Chardettes.

Aside from that, though, the ship was silent in the gloom, which meant that they hadn't caught onto our plan yet, and that gave us more of a fighting chance.

I spared a split-second glance at the captain's bloodstain, then turned towards the opposite direction.

I'm doing this for you, Cap, all of you.

Come on.

I whispered the first words any of us had uttered that day.

Motioning to them, I knelt down into a crouch and slowly began moving down the corridor, two following close behind.

As we reached a corner, a sign hanging overhead pointed in the direction which showed the way to the outer deck, something filtered out from down the hall in the other direction, in the direction of the theater.

It was a sound of laughter.

Not eerie, sinister laughter, but the genuine, infectious laughter of people who have been bowled over by something hilarious.

Even still,

the sound sent chill after chill down my back.

They're watching a movie, I realized.

For a moment, I wondered if our lost crewmates were sitting beside them, watching.

I shook my head.

Knock it off, Nate.

I jerked my head, putting my finger to my lips as we reached the door outside.

Feeling my entire body tense up, I reached out, grabbing the handle and slowly pulling it down.

It opened, the smell of the ocean immediately rushing into my nostrils in the hall.

Moving quickly, we stepped outside and closed the door behind us, Andrew easing the door shut as quietly as he could.

Then he finally spoke, his whisper almost torn away by the whipping wind.

All right, let's get the supply bag down to the stern and get ready.

This place is going to pop off when everything starts.

Spencer nodded.

Let's do it.

Together, the three of us descended a few sets of stairs until we reached the stern deck.

Thankfully, it seemed as deserted as the rest of the ship.

Moving quickly, we scuttled over and set down the bag.

Step one was complete.

As we slowly began to back away, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up.

I froze as the shiver,

which came with the sensation of being watched, passed over me.

My heart began to beat hard and fast in my chest.

Shit.

Swallowing, I slowly turned and looked at the mass of decks over our heads, expecting to see a shadowy figure staring down at me.

No one was there.

What'd you see?

Andrew hissed at me, stared up for a moment longer before shaking my head.

Nothing, nothing.

I just thought we were being watched for a moment.

Their faces paled slightly at my words, but they nodded.

Come on, let's get back upstairs.

We need to prime the quick release on the lifeboats.

Then do one final check to make sure they're not near us.

Then we do it.

So the color began to come back to their faces, the fearful looks melting back into the determined ones they had until now.

I shot a look off the side of the ship.

The sun was beginning to raise itself over the horizon, the orange glow giving way to the yellow glare as it looked to be pulling itself out of the sea.

Turning back, I jerked my head forwards.

Let's go.

We made our way back up to the promenade deck and began readying our potential escape vessels to drop.

It was extremely, almost painfully slow going, especially trying to be quiet.

Some of the hinges had formed patches of rust, making the davits hard to swing out and the levers even harder to raise.

But eventually, every single lifeboat on the starboard side of the Queen Elizabeth dangled high above the water, which moved by below.

The three of us stopped for a moment to wipe our brows, and we allowed ourselves a small smile at our accomplishment.

We might actually make it out of this.

We might actually pull this off.

The thought sent a surge of hope, almost giddiness, to flow through me.

When I get back home, I'm going to literally kneel down and kiss the ground beneath my feet and I'm never setting foot on or in the ocean again.

Now came the final task, making sure that the coast was clear and that we hadn't been spotted and swarmed.

None of us had discussed this portion of the plan yet, mostly due to the fact of what it entailed.

One of us had to sneak back inside the ship and give a last look, signaled to the others to begin releasing the lifeboats.

None of us wanted the less than envious task.

I didn't blame the others for not volunteering, but after seeing that neither of them were going to step forward, I sighed.

All right, I'll do it.

Simultaneous looks of guilt and relief entered the other men's eyes, and after a moment in which I saw them inwardly fight with themselves, they nodded.

I began to turn away when Spencer spoke.

Hey, Nate.

I looked back, seeing the barely disguised fear on his face.

Not fear for him, for me.

Yeah?

I asked, took a deep breath and answered.

Stay safe, man.

Please.

A small bit of gratitude of the gesture flooded me, and I nodded at him.

Just be ready for my signal.

With that, I opened the door and slipped back inside.

Tension filled every fiber and sinew of muscle in my body as I crept forwards, hearing the pounding of my heart inside my eardrums as sweat began trickling down my face.

Everything seemed the same.

The music still played over the speakers, and the ship still remained silent.

I didn't hear the laughter anymore, but that could have just but that could just just be because whatever film they were watching wasn't in the middle of a funny scene right now.

At least, I hoped.

Took another few steps towards the T junction ahead, straining my ears for any abnormal sound.

Still, it remained quiet, but they really don't know what we're up to.

Keeping my breathing as quiet and shallow as possible, I finally reached the T junction, taking a single deep breath before stepping out into the middle of it.

I cast a look in all directions I could see.

Nothing moved in the stillness.

Time to leave.

I turned and gave the two faces in the door's porthole a thumbs up, then crossed my arms and made a slicing motion.

Both them burst into elated grins and disappeared, dashing to began dropping the boats as I turned to joy them.

Nice try, Nathan.

The voice from over my right shoulder froze me on the spot, my feet rooting themselves to the floor.

Every ounce of hope and happiness I had was sucked away from me like a loved one in the grip of of a tsunami, replaced by the mixture of horror, fear, and dread.

Oh

fuck.

My breathing became ragged and I felt tears begin to spill from my eyes.

Slowly I turned my head to look behind me.

Will stood there, looking as alive and human as he had the last time I'd seen him, next to the pool.

He cocked his head, slowly giving it a shake as a sad, pitying smile played over his lips.

It was a valiant effort.

I'll give you that.

You've impressed me.

He jerked his head towards the door leading outside to the last hope of my salvation.

Bird brains, especially getting those two bird brains to work together with you.

A second voice spoke up to my right.

But the game's over now, darling.

My head swiveled to see that Diana now stood between me and the exit.

And she wasn't alone.

It looked like at least a dozen men, women, and children stood beside and behind her, all wearing clothing from the mid-20th century.

They all wore amused smiles on their faces, their eyes fixated on me.

Behind them, I could hear the dull thunk of the lifeboats being released.

My dear boy, Nathan

The biggest chill yet ran up my spine, and I slowly turned around to find three of the four hallways packed with people.

Hundreds, no thousands, were stretched away and out of sight, wearing not only old clothing, but crew uniforms as well.

They're all here.

Then my eyes fixated on the man who'd spoken.

Spoken with the voice I'd heard through the radio that second day, welcoming me aboard.

He was dressed in a captain's uniform, a white cap setting atop his head.

I knew instantly who he was.

It was the man that Andrew and Spencer had seen.

I tried setting on fire and then running from the captain of the Queen Elizabeth.

He smiled an ear to ear smile that reminded me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

Only this grin wasn't going to be followed with raising any philosophical points or trying to cheer me up.

This grin held a wicked hunger, and it made me feel as though I were staring at the devil himself then two figures stepped out behind him two figures that made the blood drain from my face the captain spoke again i think you know what you have to do now everyone

and i finally wrenched my mouth open and screamed

why why would you

he's scared

I know, he's scared.

He's so scary.

Scream was all the air in my lungs as I watched him, Vinny, and the captain, my captain, and all of them melt into the shadowy figures that had stalked to pursuit us from the day we'd stepped aboard.

I didn't wait for them to make a move.

I turned and ran.

I ran in the only direction that was available to me, back down the hallway that led to the lounge and the stairs.

Sparing a glance behind me, I screamed again as what I can only describe as a maelstrom flew after me.

The maddening whispers, screams, and laughs emanating from them melting together into what I can only assume is what hell itself sounds like.

Running faster than I ever had in my life, I reached the landing and made a dash for the stairs, but I'd only taken a few steps down when I heard even more of the infernal noise rising up from down below.

I peered over the banister and down the space between the stairwell, and I felt a new surge of terror as I saw even more swirling figures surging up the stairs.

Shit!

He yelled, turning and sprinting back up the stairs.

I emerged back onto the landing just as the figures which had originally started chasing me entered.

Black, soot-like arms reached out to snatch me and I ducked, managing to dodge them with less than an inch to spare.

I ran towards the open doors to the lounge, my momentary thoughts of running for the observation room squashed, as I heard yet still more whispers coming from around the corner of the hallway to it.

I had no other choice aside from turning around and letting them take me, and that was not happening.

I burst into the lounge, almost tripping over one of the chairs that still lay on its side and racing forward the crew hallway we'd first entered the ship from.

As I made it to the center of the room, I could see it, the door hanging slightly open.

I have to make it.

It's my only way to escape.

A momentary surge of hope filled me as I reached it, heaving it open, and then died as a shadowy hand thrust out from the darkened companionway, trying to snatch me and pull me in.

I stumbled backwards, almost falling as I turned to run the other way.

Panic and fear that was slowly driving me now as I made it to the middle of the room and skidded to a stop.

I was completely surrounded.

Spun around in a circle, feeling the strongest wave of horror burst forth as I saw the shadowy figures had made a circle around me.

There was nowhere left for me to run.

I began to shake uncontrollably as I watched them slowly close the circle more.

Tears began to fall from my eyes as the grim reality of my situation slammed into me.

Just nowhere for me to run anymore.

Nowhere for me to go.

I'm not getting out of this.

I'm gonna die here.

I just hope Spencer and Andrew managed to make it off.

And then one more thought.

God, please don't let it hurt.

I closed my eyes.

Nate!

My eyes shot open, flicking over the shoulders of the shadowy figures as they stopped, stopped and turned back to look.

And Andrew and Spencer, who had dashed to the doorway of the lounge, panicked looks on their faces.

Their eyes found mine and I saw their faces go pale and they saw my situation.

And then, to my horror, some of the figures turned and began to move towards them.

No, I began screaming.

Hey, I'm here.

You wanted me?

Come take me.

Leave them alone.

The figures turned back to me and I heard the whispers morph until the only sound I could hear was them laughing.

That's when I heard Andrew scream at me.

Nate, look out!

I looked up to see him pointing his finger.

Behind me, spun around, catching a glimpse of something rocketing towards me.

With terrified realization, I recognized it as one of the giant lamps that had been set up in the four corners of the lounge.

And at that speed, the huge marble and glass behemoth was traveling.

I would be killed instantly if it hit me.

It was what was meant to kill me.

I didn't think there wasn't time to simply turn it over the floor.

The carpet slammed into my face as I felt the monstrosity whiz less than a foot over my head.

Seconds later, I heard it slam into the opposite wall with a thunderous crash.

For a moment, I could do nothing but lay there.

The shock of not being dead, all I could feel.

Then I got to my feet.

Andrew and Spence's faces were horrified expressions at how close I'd come to death, and they could do nothing but stare at me.

But as I did, I realized something.

Something that sent a bolt of hope through me.

Some of the figures were still moving towards the two men.

Quite a few of them, in fact.

Enough that they made a mistake and left a narrow but noticeable gap in the circle.

I ran.

Instantly, the figures realized their error and attempted to pluck the hole in their line, but they were just a moment too slow as I managed to sprint between them, feeling the tips of their fingers brush the collar of my jacket.

A new sound rose from them as I flew out of their grasp, one that spurred me to move faster.

A single unanimous scream of rage, rage at having to have me dead to rights, and then letting me slip out of their grasp.

As I broke free, I shot another look up towards the others.

I've been ready to yell at them to run, to head for the stern of the ship, but I saw I didn't need to.

They were already bolting for the exit.

I felt fresh tears begin to well up in my eyes, this time once of hope.

I crashed into the corner as I saw them ripping open the exit door, sheer adrenaline powering me on as I raced to catch up to them.

Come on, you're so close, move.

I spared a look behind me, fear adding more fuel to my escape as I saw the mass of figures spill around the corner I'd just come from.

They were desperate to keep us from escaping.

I slammed into the door, yanking on the handle as it flew open.

The sun momentarily blinded my eyes.

It slammed into the outer wall with a crash, and as I caught sight of Andrew and Spencer racing down the stairs, they shot a terrified look back at the sound.

I was too focused on staying ahead of the horde to say anything.

The only sound I made being the labored breathing as I took the stairs down two at a time.

The stern section came into view, and I raced down the final set of stairs, and I saw Andrew snatching up the supply bag.

The screams of anger and desperation behind me now filled the air, drowning out the cry of the goals overhead.

I saw my two crewmates take two bounding steps, jumping and pushing off the stern railing with their feet, and they disappeared out of sight.

A moment later, I jumped as well.

The frigid cold water took my breath away as it enveloped me.

For a moment, I thrashed underwater, then my head broke the surface.

I sputtered out sea water and looked around.

The lifeboat!

I saw that our plan had worked.

At least half a dozen of the small boats had successfully survived their fall and floated away from the ship.

I began swimming toward them as hard as I could, seeing the others do the same.

Behind me came the biggest scream yet.

I spared a glance over my shoulder to see that Queen Elizabeth steaming away from us.

For whatever reason, they couldn't pursue us.

The sight slammed the reality home to me.

We made it, we're free.

Moments later, we reached the closest one and hauled ourselves on board.

For a few moments, we could do nothing but lay there, gasping for air as the sun rose higher in the sky.

The warmth that radiated down felt like heaven to me.

Slowly, I heard Spencer begin to chuckle triumphantly.

Andrew joined in a moment later.

Finally, so did I.

That's all we were able to do, being so mentally and emotionally fried from what we'd experienced.

You know what?

I'm sorry, but I can't.

I can't lie to you.

Not after all you did for me.

I know that's what you wanted, though, wasn't it?

You wanted to read about how the three of us managed to beat the odds, managed to escape the nightmare ship, and are floating somewhere at the Atlantic.

That we're going to be all right, am I right?

Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to burst that bubble.

I can't imagine you sitting there now, all of you reading this.

Wait, what?

You'll scream, a shocked expression on your faces.

He lied at the start.

But did I?

I said at the start that it was finally over.

I said what I felt was a night.

I said what I felt was a nightmare was finally over.

I never said I escaped, though.

You only took it to mean as much.

Fuck off.

Yeah.

The truth is, everything I just told you actually happened.

Until the point where I turned to see the giant lamp flying towards me.

I never dove out of the way.

I didn't have time to.

Slammed into me with the force of a 747.

I can still remember it.

I remember flying across the room before being crushed into the wall.

Truth be told, it was so quick that I didn't even feel anything.

I didn't suffer, if that makes you feel better.

I actually kind of want Nathan to suffer because he's so insufferable.

I also didn't lie about standing up to the horrified looks on Andrew and Spencer's faces.

They did indeed have horrified looks, and they did look back terrified as I slammed open the door to chase after them.

Because I was rushing after them to tell them how wrong we'd been, how wrong we'd all been.

I realized it as soon as I stood up looking down at myself and seeing the shadows clinging to my body.

They were right.

Will, Diana, the captain, they were all right about it being beautiful.

About the past not dying, yeah, the reality, all of it.

There truly was never anything to fear.

Because I feel so happy.

I never have to worry about death again, about growing old.

I never have to worry about things changing, about the world moving on, whether I want it to or not.

Tell you the truth, I feel so silly for being afraid this whole time.

If I'd known the truth, I never would have run from them.

I would have let them take me.

I didn't lie about them escaping either.

Injured and Spence, I mean.

They really did leap off the stern of the ship into the water and swam to a lifeboat.

I could see them now, actually.

I could see them trying to row away as I lay on a sun lounge on the promenade deck with others, the laptop I left in our cabin in my lap.

Diana and Will are smiling and laughing together as they share a drink on my left.

Vinny and the captain are lounging on my right.

My heart warms as I see them shoot me smiles, almost as warm as the beating summer sun.

But I can't help feeling sad for Andrew and Spence.

They're never going to be able to experience this, just like White and Kenny won't.

I even asked the captain of the Queen Elizabeth if they could return, if I could try and convince them to come back to us, but he said because they tried to burn the ship down, it wouldn't be possible.

As much as that sucks, I could see his point.

But I can't help but feel a little bad for them.

Seeing their little lifeboat get farther and farther away as the storm rolls in to swallow them up.

I hope they don't suffer too much.

We're so close to arriving in New York City.

I'm so excited.

When I look over the railing towards the bow, I can see the first glimpse of it on the horizon.

And it looks so amazing.

Seeing it as it did, as it is, 1956.

Without any of the ugly modern buildings ruining it.

Diana told us that she's going to show us around the city, that she's going to take us to her home in Los Angeles, where we're going to go see Elvis perform.

I can't wait.

After the traditional horse race and party tonight, traditional horse, after the horse race and party tonight, of course, which brings me to something I wanted to tell you about.

You see, Diana also told me that when newcomers arrive, they do have to do something.

They need to contribute to help them.

The Queen Elizabeth will eventually leave New York, heading back out for open sea.

She'll cruise between here over to England and then back through the Atlantic, where we first came across her.

Crossing from this this world to ours to yours thanks to the tether that the floating hotel her sister ship became

But

because after enough time the four of us will stop being new faces to everyone here They'll stop being new faces to us and it gets ever so lonely not seeing any new faces

So I'd like to do something for you before I finally lose the signal the computer has back to you Before we fully cross over the entire reason I'm posting this last update Remember at the start when I said if I could ever return the favor for all you've done for all the advice if I could do anything in return for you all being such kind-hearted people I would well there is I'd like to extend you all an invitation if you're able charter a boat and sail for the Flemish cap or for the route the ship used to take in your world across the Atlantic look for the darkened storm clouds and steer a course for them you'll be battered about a great deal unfortunately won't be pleasant, but you'll eventually see the great ship appear on the horizon.

Steer a course for come on board, where we wait to welcome you with open arms.

We're always looking for new people to join us.

And that finishes off our story of my crew and I are stuck aboard an abandoned ship.

There it is.

There it is.

Okay, so I still, I still thought it was fun.

I still like it.

It's good.

It needs a second draft,

but the author has talked about that in some of his posts and whatnot,

where he's like, I'm going to to rework it for a book.

I think if you shorten it, condense it down,

cut out some of the filler, change the verbiage a bit to where there's not as many repeating words.

And then

I know it's part of no sleep thing, but if you remove like the Reddit stuff, I feel like they didn't contribute that much.

I feel like this is a very workable, very good.

And I love the concept of a ghost ship in the middle of the ocean.

Like,

what's not fun about that?

So I enjoyed it.

I thought it was good.

It just bogged down a bit.

And I don't like the it was all a dream ending.

However, I will add that that is my ultimate pick for how it ends.

That the guys who hated him, Spence and Andrew, they make it out.

And Nathan dies.

So I am happy about that part.

I think

having it be a ghost ship and everything is fine.

I think like even the thing of like a crew that's I think that needs

if I had any

I think all the critique that you gave is good.

I think that if you were going to do another draft, I think building out the character Nathan more

to resemble somebody who's maybe

like, how do you tie in the idea of like

basically wanting to be complacent forever as a character arc is basically what you're saying here.

By being stuck on this thing where now everything is beautiful and he doesn't have to worry about anything anymore.

How do you parallel that with who he is at the beginning of the story?

You know,

like his solution at the end.

Even if this isn't Nathan at the ending and it's like his spirit that's been altered or whatever, at least play that off some way with him.

Because the only real mentions we get of Nathan's like he talks about the horror of his family around a cross that's made for him and stuff.

So maybe like a return to his family, and then at the end, there's like a rejection of it.

But well, even if it wasn't that

looking for family the whole time, and at the end, he could find it in this new crew, and it could be like a bittersweet ending, I think, is fine.

But I think establishing those core values.

I think just like the general theme of like, how do the other people on the ship also contribute to that theme and how they play and how do they play off of it as well?

I mean, the story kind of set that up because he talks about like how tragic it was his aunt died like three times.

So say that like, well, if it's the 1950s, we can go find your aunt.

When we get to New York, we'll find her.

You know, she'll be younger.

You can spend, you know, she could be your friend or whatever.

And like, you could

play off of his emotions.

If the arc is supposed to be like the ability to not, like the inability to move on or process that, I think that in a way it should feel a bit more bittersweet at the end when

he basically rejects the idea of moving on and he basically like

finds permanence and stagnation of that, of like basically living in a fantasy world.

I think that's got to feel,

I think, kind of bad, right?

I mean,

as a character arc, I would say that's something where it's like the,

I i guess the

what am i what am i saying here i guess like the the distraction or the the fake reality of being like yeah i'm totally fine this is exactly what i wanted it needs to i guess either hit harder that that's what you think is a positive or a negative approach because right now i feel like it's a it's a positive even though i don't know if even though i don't know if them

being on this thing and being like tricked.

It's almost like somebody like giving you heroin and you're like, I feel great.

It's like, but do you want to be on heroin?

You know what I mean?

Maybe what?

So, I don't know.

I mean, all in all, like I said, I think that as a fun Scooby-Doo kind of story, I think it's cool.

Takes elements of the shining, and it reminds me a bit of a Welcome to Dead House by

the Goosebumps story.

Yeah, yeah.

A little bit about like, you know, a town of people being like, you know, we just have to eat you, and then you can be one of us.

And we're super stoked that you get to stay here forever with us or whatever.

I think that there's that.

Some fun psychological stuff.

But yeah, I mean, all in all, I I think that it's a fun place.

And like, you know, and if you put into a book, get rid of the no sleep filter stuff at the beginning, like you were saying, Isaiah.

And I think, if anything, if you do that as well, maybe just explore the characters a bit more so we just get more who they are to where whenever people get picked off or they do that, it feels like,

I don't know, the domino effect feels a bit crazier.

So all in all, I thought it was fun.

And also

reach out to us if you hear this, or we'll try to reach out to you as well.

And we'll also try to get something set up to see what you think for your cover, and we'll make sure and help you get that funded for sure.

Yeah, yeah, we got you.

We got you covered.

It was fun.

And you certainly have a talent if you watch this.

You certainly have a talent as an author.

Keep working at it.

Keep making stories.

That's all you can do.

That's all I can do.

All right, guys.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for all the people who listened on Spotify or Apple Podcasts as well.

Be sure to leave us a good rating there.

It does help.

Until next time, guys, we will see you in the next one.

See you in in the next one.

Don't get stuck in a 1950 crochet.

You know what, actually?

Don't scream.

Yeah, that's unless you really want to, or it's cold.