Death on the Ocean
There recently was a request made by my roommate and some friends for a horror story about people being murdered while on a cruise ship, so I kind of took the idea and ran with it. I haven’t had a chance to write a horror/suspense story in a while, so I definitely enjoyed writing this one. Hope you like it!
Lightning flashes through the night sky, the rumbling roar of thunder following close behind. Giant waves crash into each side of the cruise ship, causing the large vessel to rise and dip dramatically. Rain pours down, mixing in with the ocean water that sloshes across the lower decks.
Every so often, a scream from somewhere aboard the ship pierces through the night, only to be suddenly cut off. Leah takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm the pounding in her chest. She currently finds herself holding on tightly to a column on the upper deck near the ship’s pool. Her arms feel as though they are on fire as she struggles against the wind and movement of the large boat. The pouring rain has caused the ship’s pool to overflow and flood the entire upper deck, making both the column and ground incredibly slick.
A slight metallic smell meets Leah’s nose with each breath she takes, which does nothing to help slow her rapid heartbeat. Another scream can be heard from somewhere nearby, and she squeezes her eyes shut. This has to be some kind of sick and twisted dream, she thinks to herself. I must have fallen asleep while tanning on one of the lounge chairs near the pool. My brothers are still playing in the water, and my parents are still by the bar.
Much to her dismay, though, Leah opens her eyes and is still met with the cold and wet of this real life nightmare. It’s hard to believe that just this morning she was enjoying a nice breakfast in the cruise ship’s restaurant with her family. Her younger twin brothers had been arguing about something ridiculous while her father stuffed his face with the best pancakes they had ever had, and her mom downed her third mimosa of the morning.
Leah had been slowly picking at the last of the fruit on her plate when the announcement came over the intercom: “Good morning, everyone, this is your ship’s captain speaking. It looks like we may run into some adverse weather later this afternoon. Please be aware that we might experience some rougher waters as we power through the storm. We recommend all guests remain in their cabins until the storm has cleared. We hope you continue to enjoy your stay with us and have a wonderful day.”
As the captain had warned, the rain started to come down around one o’clock that afternoon. It started light, but as the hour grew, the thunder and lightning rolled in, and the waves became bigger. Leah and her family locked themselves up in their cabin as instructed, hoping the storm would clear in time for dinner.
The first scream was heard around seven o’clock that night. Leah had been lying on her bed, scrolling through her phone, when it began. At first, she and her family weren’t sure if it had been a person screaming or not, and they all listened intently to see if the sound would happen again. Several minutes passed before they felt they could all relax once more, when someone else screamed, this time the sound coming from just down the hall from their cabin.
Despite her mom’s begging, Leah’s father poked his head outside the door in an attempt to discern where the scream was coming from. Time seemingly slowed down as Leah and her family watched in horror as her father was suddenly ripped from the door frame and pulled into the hall. One moment he was standing there, saying, “I can’t see a damn thing out here, they shut all the lights off. Maybe we should call the front desk and ask-”. The next, his words were being suddenly cut off by whatever dragged him into the hall, the door slamming shut behind him.
The sound of him screaming, followed by the wet crunch of bones snapping, will forever plague Leah’s memory for as long as she remains alive.
Her mom immediately went into protective mode and directed both Leah and her twin brothers to hide under the beds as she darted across the room to lock and barricade the door. It was no use, though. Their cabin was shortly filled with the sound of her mom’s screams as something large and impossibly strong drove a large fist through the wooden door.
Leah threw a hand over her mouth to muffle her screams as she watched the spindly arm reach through the gaping hole of the door and encircle her mother’s torso with its long, gray fingers. The creature’s nails themselves had to have been the length of Leah’s forearm alone, and she was forced to watch in horror as the black, sharp talons pierced through her mother with ease. Blood immediately drenched her mother’s clothes and created a puddle at her feet.
The creature discarded her mother’s limp, lifeless body to the side as it continued to tear the rest of the door down. Her twin brothers hid under the bed opposite her, their wailing catching the attention of the monster. Leah knew she should have gotten up and at least attempted to protect them, but she remained frozen in fear, her hand still over her mouth and her tears drenching her cheeks.
The monster was like nothing she had seen before as it broke through the rest of the wooden door. The room was far too small to accommodate its tall height. If it had been able to stand up straight, Leah would guess it would reach either eight or nine feet tall. Its arms were longer than Leah’s torso, its hands folding into fists at the creature's side as it dragged them along the ground. Its body was long and thin, its ribcage visible against its tight, grayish skin. A set of large gills lined both sides of the monster's long neck, pulsating with each breath the monster took.
The creature’s elongated head alone was the size of a large dog, its two black eyes the size of Leah’s head. It stared into the room unblinking and let out a high-pitched roar that made Leah’s ears bleed, causing her to shrink back farther under the bed as she tried to block out the sound with her hands. As it roared, its lips peeled back to reveal hundreds of razor-sharp teeth lining both the top and bottom of the monster’s large mouth. A slimy, purple tongue darted out to taste the air as the creature's focus turned on the bed where Leah’s twin brothers still wailed out in fear.
Leah’s mouth went dry, and her heart stopped beating as she watched the creature give out another roar and cross the room in less than a second. It grabbed hold of the bed and sent it flying to the side, the wood splintering into several pieces as it connected with the wall. The twin brothers attempted to dodge the monster's hands and make a break for it, but it was no use. Leah squeezed her eyes shut as the monster grabbed a boy in each fist and squeezed. She didn’t dare open her eyes again as their screams were suddenly cut off, followed by a horrible squelching noise.
Leah knew she had to be next as she curled herself into a ball, ready to accept her deathly fate. She continued to keep her eyes closed as she listened to the monster drag its feet closer and closer to the bed she remained under, her heart hammering harder and harder in her chest.
To her surprise, though, the monster paused as a shout came from somewhere nearby. It let out another horrid roar and crashed back through the broken door. Leah’s entire body trembled as she slowly opened her eyes.
She refused to look at where her two brothers once lay, though it was hard to ignore the blood smeared across the walls and staining the carpet. She slowly emerged from under the bed and immediately got sick when she saw her mother’s lifeless body leaning against the wall near the broken door. Large, gaping holes lined her mother’s torso and stomach where the monster had torn its nails into her. Both blood and intestines circled the ground around her. Leah couldn't block out the smell of blood, urine, and vomit as she shakily made her way across the room and into the hall.
The lights were flashing in emergency mode, illuminating the interior in an ominous red, pulsing glow. The hallway was like a scene right out of a horror movie, carnage and debris littering the floor in either direction.
Leah attempted to take a deep breath while trying to gather her bearings, but her stomach roiled once more at the stench of death, and it took everything in her not to vomit a second time. Despite watching that creature tear into her family like they were nothing more than stuffed animals, she was somehow still alive.
The sound of the creature roaring came from somewhere down the hall, though, reminding her that she could very much meet the same fate if she didn’t kick herself into gear. Survival mode and fear somehow managed to block out the overwhelming grief for her dead family as she pushed herself away from her cabin and in the opposite direction of where the monster could be heard.
Leah isn’t sure how much time had passed between then and now, but she had somehow managed to avoid the creature altogether as she made her way here to the upper deck. The storm was absolutely raging now, making it nearly impossible for Leah to continue her hold on the large column. At this rate, if the monster didn’t get to her first, she would surely be thrown overboard if she lost her grip.
As far as she could tell, there was only one of those things on this ship, but it was relentless. Leah had only run into one other survivor on her way to the upper deck, and the only other sign of life was the screams of other people likely being torn apart. She knew that it was only a matter of time before it would get to her.
Leah couldn’t tell if only minutes or hours passed before the storm started to settle ever so slightly. She could hear the monster’s roaring ever so slightly from somewhere in the distance, meaning it was probably getting closer to her location. She took this sudden pause in the weather as her sign to get moving once more.
She let go of her grip on the column just as the ship met a larger wave, lurching her and everything else to the side. She flew to the edge of the deck, and it took what little strength she had left to grab the banister that stood between her and flying over the edge of the ship. She yelled out in pain as a piece of a chair smacked into her, the splintered wood slicing into her calf.
The wound immediately burned as rain and saltwater made contact with it, and she began to feel lightheaded from the amount of blood that began pouring out of the open gash. The cut was deep enough for stitches, and she’s sure she could make out the white of her bone in the darkness. Another roar sounded closer this time, though, reminding her there was no time to stand there and gawk at her leg.
Clenching her teeth through the pain, she pushed along the banister for support as she slowly limped her way towards the steps leading to the cruise ship’s bridge. The roaring of the monster sounded louder and louder with each step she took, working as some kind of motivator to keep her going. Deep down, she knew no place on this ship would be safe from that monster, but she would be damned if she didn’t at least try to survive at least a little longer.
Several agonizing moments passed before she finally made it to the stairs. It took everything in her to lift her wounded leg as she dragged herself closer and closer to the door of the bridge. Once she was across from the bridge’s entrance, she let out a painful yell as she pushed herself off the banister to the door. She gave the handle a pull, only to find the door locked.
“Dammit,” she cursed under her breath, her heart thundering in her ears. She weakly pounded on the door in defeat and leaned her head against it, her body finally giving out beneath her. As she began to slump down to the ground, though, the door suddenly opened, and she fell into the arms of another person.
“Holy shit, she’s still alive!” a man yelled as he dragged her inside, and someone else slammed the door shut behind them.
“She’s hurt,” a woman's voice said. “Ian, grab the first aid kit! Frederick, put her on the table here.”
The man holding her, Frederick, lifted Leah, and she yelled out as pain lanced through her entire leg. “You’re okay,” he tried to reassure her, but the panic in his voice told her otherwise. “We’ll get you bandaged up. Don’t worry.”
He placed her on the table as Leah’s vision started turning black from the pain. “Hey, stay with me now,” the woman said as she placed her hands on Leah’s face, her fingers cold against Leah’s heated skin. “You've got to survive just a little longer. We’re almost there.”
Leah called out in pain again as something made contact with the wound on her calf. She tried to look at what they were doing to her, but it was no use. She could feel herself fading, and fast.
“Her yelling is going to capture that creature’s attention,” the other man, Ian, says. “She can’t stay here, Annie.”
“Then what the fuck do you suppose we do?” The woman, Annie, snaps. “Throw her back out there for the monster to get her?”
Leah tries to shake her head in response, but she has already lost feeling in her entire body. “It’s a hell of a lot better than leading that monster straight to our door and tearing us all apart.”
“Shut it, both of you,” Frederick chimes in as he works on bandaging Leah’s leg. “I can’t focus with all this bickering. We only need to survive a few more hours, and then the creature will be gone again. Need I also remind you that this entire room is built to keep that thing out of here?”
Leah’s breath has gone shallow as she strains to keep consciousness long enough to hear what they are saying. What does he mean this room is built to keep that monster out? Did the ship's crew know this would happen?
“And how do you plan to keep her quiet once the monster is gone, Captain? I thought the whole point of this trip was to appease these Gods you are always talking about. Isn’t that monster meant to kill every guest on this ship? Will they not be angry if she survives?” Ian argues.
“Listen, boy,” the Captain says, his voice rising. “We will deal with that in the morning. I have been working this cruise line long enough to know the Gods won’t notice one measly survivor. You don’t spend over one thousand years working this job without knowing what you can and can’t get away with.”
“She could join the crew,” Annie adds. “It’s how I came to do this job. Frederick didn’t let me die when I was a guest on this cruise ten years ago. We sure as hell won’t let this girl die either.”
Ian laughs coldly. “This girl is what, sixteen? Maybe seventeen? Pretty sure labor laws won’t allow her to join the crew.”
“Oh my God, will you just stop complaining?” Annie snaps. “We will burn that bridge when we get there. Let’s just focus on making sure she doesn’t die and that we all survive the rest of the night.”
Leah can hear Ian scoff, but he says nothing more. Her mind swirls with all the information she just heard. The crew knew this monster was coming tonight and that everyone would die. They knew her family would die. As her eyes slowly close and she fully enters unconsciousness, Leah makes a silent promise to herself that she will never join this death trap's crew.
***
Sunlight floods through the bridge’s window, and Leah struggles to open her eyes to the sudden brightness. She still lies on the table, and it takes everything in her to lean back on her elbows. The pain in her calf is nothing more than a dull ache, but her entire body feels stiff from the loss of adrenaline that pushed her through the night.
It takes her a moment to recall the events of everything that happened leading her to this room. The sound of her dad being torn apart and the picture of her mom’s dead body flash across her mind, and she turns over the side of the table to vomit up what little remains in her stomach.
“Woah, there,” Annie says, standing up from where she sits near the ship's control panel. “Take it easy there, girl.” Her voice sounds rougher than it had the night before, likely from exhaustion. She brings a damp towel to Leah’s forehead as she examines the younger girl's eyes. “You had quite the night, so let’s move a little slowly.”
Leah attempts to push the woman’s hands away as she weakly drags herself into a sitting position. “I’m… fine,” she barely manages, and Annie grabs her arms to help steady her.
“No, you’re not,” she says. “Listen, I know you probably have a ton of questions, but please let me try to explain before the guys get back.”
Anger floods through Leah, granting her some temporary strength to push the older woman away with her. However, it is short-lived as she falls to the ground after attempting to stand.
“Explain what?” She manages. “That this cruise was nothing more than a disguise to some crazed, fucked up sacrifice to the Gods? Yeah, no thanks.”
Annie huffs as she bends over to help Leah back up. “Look,” she starts. “I know all of this seems insane, but you've got to trust me. I’ve been in your place before. You did not survive this long only to be killed by those lunatics outside because you refuse to keep your mouth shut.”
Leah slumps against the woman's arms in defeat. Annie has a point, but would surviving beyond this day be worth remembering all the pain and trauma from the night before? If she were to join this crew, how many more nights like that would she have to endure? How the hell could she possibly go through that over again?
“How often?” She asks, and Annie sighs in response.
“Every ten years,” the older woman answers. “Frederick might be a little fucked up in the head, but he’s been around a ridiculously long time. He knows what he’s doing.”
“And the point? How do you guys get away with it?”
Annie shrugs. “It has something to do with the magic imbued into the ship's core. Makes the people not on the cruise forget about those who die here. No one ever hears about what happens, and no one blinks an eye at all the disappearances.”
Leah shakes her head, her chest feeling heavy with the loss of her family and the hundreds of other lives gone. “I don’t think I can do this,” she sobs.
Annie soothes the girl's hair. “It’ll be okay,” she promises. “I’ll take care of you.”
A sense of calm melts over Leah at Annie’s word. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. Somehow, she was able to make it this far. Surely she wouldn’t have survived this long if she weren’t meant to.
She remembers her family once more, the grief so overwhelming it takes everything in her to not start hyperventilating. As Annie continues to hold her, Leah takes a few deep breaths to calm herself. Maybe she could utilize this grief and turn it into something else. There has to be a way to make sure Frederick can no longer get away with doing this.
After a few moments, Leah pulls away and looks into Annie’s eyes. “You said this takes place every ten years, right?”
Annie nods, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, like clockwork.”
“If I could come up with a plan to make sure this never happens again, would you be willing to help?”
Annie looks at the younger girl with uncertainty. “I mean… I can’t say I haven’t thought about it. But what could we possibly do?”
A new sense of determination takes over Leah. “I guess we have ten years to figure that out, don’t we?”
A sparkle of hope shines ever so slightly behind Annie’s eyes. “I guess we do.”
***
Ten Years Later
It takes everything in Leah’s power to block out the endless screaming piercing through the night. Flashbacks of this very night ten years ago threaten their way into her mind, but she pushes them back. She hasn’t waited all these years to enact her revenge against Frederick for her to succumb to her memories. She must remain steady and focused if her and Annie’s plan is to work.
Ten years of building trust in the thousand year old man and ten years of acting like she was all in for Frederick’s plan. In that time, she learned that the only benefit from sacrificing all these people was being able to live a ridiculously long life. Both Frederick and Ian loved to reap the benefits, but neither Annie nor Leah could understand the temptation. How could killing hundreds of people be worth living forever?
Leah glances over at Annie, who continues to carefully monitor the ship's control panel. Ian stands off to the side, looking bored as he leans against the bridge's wall. Frederick stands near a window, his body stiff and imposing as he examines the carnage likely taking place on the ship's lower decks.
Annie coughs, capturing Leah’s attention once more. Their eyes meet, and she nods ever so slightly. It’s time.
Leah swallows hard as she positions herself near the bridge’s door, her heart hammering in her chest. She watches as Annie slowly reaches over and presses a button that will set off the alarm inside the bridge, which will hopefully lead the monster straight to them. The plan was risky, yes, and Leah was prepared to possibly die as well, but she was determined to make sure this cruise from hell would never happen again.
Frederick whirls on Annie the moment the alarm begins blaring loudly through the room. “You stupid woman!” he yells, launching himself at Annie at an impossible speed.
Leah’s eyes go wide as she watches Frederick twist Annie’s neck with a strength she never expected the older man to possess. Annie’s eyes roll into the back of her head as she falls to the ground with a thud, her lifeless form forcing the image of Leah’s mother’s dead body into the front of her mind.
She has little time to process, though, as Frederick turns his anger over to Ian and Leah, the alarm still blaring through the ship's bridge. His nostrils flare as he looks between the two, his eyes wide with anger.
“Either of you feel like telling me what the hell that was about?” He snaps, spit flying out of his mouth as he breathes heavily.
Ian puts his hands up, his eyes wide with shock. “I-I have no idea why she did that, Captain,” he stammers. “I swear.”
Frederick turns his attention solely to Leah, who fights the urge to shrink back in fear. He points a finger at her and begins making a move towards her as well. “This is your fault, isn’t it?” he yells. “I take you in under my wing, let you live all this time, and this is how you repay me?”
Leah squeals and darts out of the way as Frederick attempts to grab her as well. She makes a break for the door and flings it open, darting out into the cold and stormy night.
Frederick, blind with rage, chases after her, Ian close behind. The three of them struggle to stay upright as the ship launches itself from side to side.
“Captain!” Ian yells. “Might I suggest we stay in the bridge and allow that monster to tear her apart for us?”
“Shut up!” Frederick yells, his ego clearly getting the best of him, just as Leah and Annie suspected would happen.
Leah holds tightly to the banister as she makes her way down to the ship's upper deck, the exact opposite direction she had gone ten years ago in her attempt to survive. An all too familiar roar cuts through the night, and it takes everything in her not to immediately turn around in fear.
Of course, it didn’t matter because suddenly Frederick was on top of her, grabbing her arms and sending her flying to the ground. However, the ship suddenly dips to the side again, sending the three of them flying back into the banister. Both Frederick and Leah manage to grab hold of it, but Ian fails and goes flying overboard, his screams cutting out as he makes contact with the ocean's water.
That’s one threat out of the way, Leah thinks to herself, but her small victory is short-lived as Frederick grabs onto her once more.
“You bitch,” he curses at her. “You’re ruining everything we have ever worked for.” He slams her into the ground, her head hitting the wooden deck with such intensity that stars flash across her vision. Another roar sounds, this time closer, as Frederick slams her into the ground again, this time knocking the breath completely out of her lungs.
Just as suddenly as Frederick was on top of her, he was being ripped away. Darkness threatens to take her under, but she manages to sit up and crawl back as her eyes meet the form of the terrifying creature she first saw ten years ago. It holds Frederick high up in the air, its mouth open to expose all of those razor sharp teeth.
Frederick attempts to tear the creature's fingers off of him, but it’s no use. “Unhand me, you ugly beast!” He shouts. “You will obey me!”
The monster gives another blood-curdling roar, and Leah jumps as she watches it tighten its grip on the older man, his body snapping in two, and immediately going limp in its grasp. It throws the old Captain’s body to the side, its attention suddenly turning to Leah.
Leah swallows as a sudden calm washes over her. This was it - she survived this night ten years ago, only to finally meet the same fate as everyone else aboard this ship. At least she could die in peace, knowing this would never happen again.
The monster roars in her face as it takes a step closer to her, though she feels no fear. She braces herself, ready to meet her death, but it never comes. Instead, the monster gives one last roar and leaps over her. She watches in shock as the monster disappears back into the murky waters of the ocean. Above her, the sky begins to clear, the rain starting to settle, and the waves finally leveling out once more.
An unfamiliar burning sensation courses through her, and she calls out in pain. Moments pass before the feeling fades, and she’s left lying there alone on the ship's upper deck, the early morning sun beginning to light the wreckage surrounding her.
She takes a few deep breaths, at first refusing to believe she is still alive. But she is. The monster didn’t kill her. She survived another night.
A light breeze brushes against her skin, warming her as if in a hug. She’s not sure where it comes from, but a haunting voice rings through her mind, and her heart skips a beat at the realization.
Thank you for the sacrifice, Captain. Until we meet again.
