Rick’s voice reaches over the murmurs in the common area as I coerce Mikey to climb off Nathan. He stumbles away, gaping as he drops his Rage. It takes a moment to get Mikey back to normal, a wheezing hiss entering and exiting her lungs as she stiffens at my touch.
Finally, green eyes stare up at me, and she places a warm hand against my cheek.
I’m okay, she presses outward before turning to see Rick bounding down the stairs. Whispers circle us as wide eyes keep darting over in our direction. Mikey stays focused on Rick, ignoring our surroundings. She’d changed into that weird form again. I wonder if it was purposeful, or if she remembers it at all.
“Raquel, Zeke, Mikey, Etem, Maverick, Ein—Paws and Claws is on the move with plans to attack. Aurora said we need to get to Z-Island. Now.”
Mikey and I share a glance, the air spiking around us. Exhaustion weighs heavily on our shoulders and clouds our minds—we haven’t slept in two days. Not really, anyway, and now we’re leaving for another adventure. At least it takes a little while to reach the island.
We make a beeline for the truck-of-a-man, forgetting about Nathan as he disappears into the crowd. Good riddance.
“What’s happening?”
Rick huffs at my demanding tone, unsure where the hostility came from. “Aurora isn’t sure, but she said they’ve been avoiding using their databases. They haven’t even been back to that store we infiltrated. They moved and wiped everything clean.”
I tilt my head. “Then how does she know about this?”
“I don’t know,” he snaps. “She found a backdoor into someone’s phone or something and overheard it.” He gives me a pointed look. “Happy? Now we have to go. They’re on their way to Zombie Island.”
“Why?” Mikey asks, her atmosphere beginning to tingle with the verge of change.
Rick shrugs. “Wish I knew, princess. Maybe you should stop asking questions and just follow orders.”
Mikey sucks her teeth and crosses her arms as Rick strides away, Raquel refilling the darts around her waist. Maverick is nowhere in sight, but Ein moves to cut us off.
“It might not be a good idea, you going,” he says to Mikey, apparently unaware of what just transpired with Nathan. “We can’t say how the serum will react—”
“Bite me,” she interrupts, elbowing past him. “I can handle whatever’s thrown at me. Zeke’s family’s on that island, and we will keep them safe.” She stops in her tracks. “Just like he did mine.”
We board the ghost ship Maverick had taken over after tossing Theodor overboard. He was a Draugr that tried forcing us to turn him into a Bleeder. Maverick, who knew where we were thanks to that magic coin he gave Mikey, saved our butts.
The crew was apathetic to losing their former captain, but I guess that says a lot about what kind of leader he was.
“We won’t get there in time,” someone shouts to the old vampire, and he grimaces, the ship groaning under all our weight. I’m not sure how much this thing can carry without sinking when sunrise hits. It’s a ghost ship, so in the sun, it becomes quite difficult to miss the holes in the floor.
“We’ll be right behind them,” Maverick responds, positioning a large pirate’s hat on his head, the feather rustling violently in the wind. “All hands on deck! I need everyone to follow my instructions to a tee.”
“We should have had people watching out for Z-Island,” I mutter. Mikey nods, twisting Aurora’s necklace in her fingers. Etem had given it back in passing. We haven’t had a chance to talk, but I’m confident he’s itching to find his mom. After all this pressing stuff is done with, of course.
“Havelock and a handful of crew from the Glub Sub stayed behind,” Aurora says, her bells chiming urgently. “He was worried the Association would try something, considering the attack. He wasn’t sure if the Kraken was a chance encounter or if it was on purpose.”
“Yeah, but who could influence a Kraken?” Mikey mutters, meaning for it to be a joke, but her voice falls flat. Her eyes say it all: after what we’ve experienced, anything’s possible.
We get comfortable. Anyone who can control water works in shifts to quicken our pace. Ari is down below, where Maverick can keep a close watch. The ghosts report back to him every thirty minutes, since she can’t hurt them.
A day in, and after Mikey and I rested, we come across a problem: a storm. The lack of sunlight makes the deck more tangible, but people continue dropping through the floor. We’re a half-day’s journey from the island, if we stay at this pace. But with the wind whipping around us and the waves cresting higher…
A massive fin breaks the surface, one as vast as the ship itself. A terrified hush ripples through the crew, even as an enormous wave slams into and through the hull. A sharp whistle cuts through the silence—but it isn’t from the wind. It shakes the waves and pulses in my eardrums.
You hear that too? Mikey asks, glancing around as a hot arrow of lightning strikes the water, creating a swell that tips us starboard. As it charges the air, the crew rushes to the other side so we don’t capsize, a few unlucky creatures dropping through invisible holes. Amid the moment of panic, I quickly observe the shadow as it circles and catch my breath.
That’s the biggest shark I’ve ever seen.
The ship rights itself as the shark bangs the bottom, jerking us to the side. Salt water floods my mouth, and the torrential rain makes it hard to see. Every inch of the boat glimmers, and I curse my fantastic eyesight.
“Megalodon,” Mikey whispers. I can barely hear her over the water clapping in surround sound. They aren’t supposed to get that big.
I steal a glance in her direction as lightning flares again, illuminating the whipping pirate flag.
The water swells and rises, cresting above us. Maverick begins instructing the crew, but I see only one way this will go down. We’re going to sink like a rock…
And become fodder for the Megalodon.