Iiiiiiiiit’s Friday! You know what means!
It’s time for another chapter of my b-movie creature feature madness that is Lava Cat Cruise Ship! If you missed the latest chapter, and the secret surprise treat I hid for readers, you can find it here. And if you are new to LCC and want to start at the beginning, you can find the first chapter here!
I don’t share this story with subscribers via email so as not to clutter people’s inboxes. I only post online and hope readers find it. This is why word of mouth is so important to getting this story in front of readers. So on that note, if you’re enjoying Lava Cat Cruise Ship, I would be oh so thankful if you would tell a friend, or share it with a reader you know would love zombified saber tooths.
ANYWAYS, on to the CATS! Me-OW!
SEVENTEEN
"So these sharks," Celia said, trying to understand. "You're saying they became zombie killing machines because of some parasite?"
She sat on the floor beside Franklin, both of them leaning against the turned over hospital bed. Melvin Bruce sat on a stool, his make-shift spear held across his lap.
He nodded. "And it ain't just eight sharks that have been infected, let me tell you. When I left Point Chester, the parasite had spread to hundreds."
"Of sharks?"
He nodded again.
"And you think this parasite...you think its what woke the Smilodon's up?"
He shook his head. "Nope. Waking those oversized cats up was our fault. We shoulda never thawed them out. But once we did, the parasite was re-animated, and now those monsters are just like them sharks from Point Chester."
"Zombified?"
"Hungry," he said. "Hungry and mad and with one thing on their mind -- killing."
Celia hugged her knees to her chest, her leg aching beneath the thick bandage Melvin Bruce had dressed her wound with. What Melvin said happened to the people in Point Chester -- it was awful. And all it took was eight sharks to cause that much damage. Then again, look what five Smilodons had managed to do to the Silver Queen. All thanks to a tiny parasite.
"What about the lava?" Franklin asked quietly. "Are the parasites responsible for that too?"
Melvin snorted, and Celia frowned at him. As though anything about this situation could be considered funny.
"Afraid that was our fault too," said Melvin. "Troyer had the team drilling deep into the ocean floor looking for prehistoric fossils, and the drilling must have woken an underwater volcano because before we knew it, the ocean was bubbling like a jacuzzi. Imagine our surprise when five giant catsicles bobbed to the surface the next day."
"You mean you and Dr. Troyer weren't looking for the Smilodons?" asked Celia.
"Of course not. He specialises in ancient marine biology. He was looking for marine life. What he got was a whole lot more trouble than any of us signed up for."
"None of us signed up for it," Celia pointed out. Not a single soul on board the Silver Queen had any idea they'd bought a ticket into this flaming feline nightmare. Not her. Not Franklin. And not Eidon.
Eidon. She hoped he was alright. She had no idea if he'd made it to the Hydra, and no idea still of how to help him. And sitting here, in the infirmary, wasn't going to do it. But wherever he was, at least he no longer had to contend with the Smilodons. She found some small comfort in that.
"At least the Alaskan Princess should be here soon," said Franklin, wiping his eyes and sniffling quietly. He'd been trying to hide his tears since Melvin started talking about the sharks. Every gory detail and frightening new piece of information made the boy bite his fingers with anxiety. It hurt Celia to see him so traumatised. After everything they'd been through together, she'd begun to feel protective of him. "We'll be safe then."
Melvin let out a loud HA! and doubled over, smacking his knee. Franklin jumped at the outburst and Celia wrapped a comforting arm around him. "I don't see what's so funny about that," she snapped.
"I'll tell you what's funny," Melvin said. "Ain't nobody gonna be safe if that other ship shows up and these cat's aren't dead when they do."
Celia's gut wriggled with dread. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that ship is gonna have to deal with a whole new level of trouble," said Melvin. 'Not just a lot more dead people. But those cats will have a new ship with a lot more power in it to get them back on land. And if they make it to land, they bring the parasite with them."
Goose flesh pimpled on Celia's skin. "What are you saying? Are you saying the parasite can infect people? Humans?"
Melvin nodded grimly, and held his spear tightly. "Before that other ship gets here, we have to kill them cats. Every last one."
Celia swallowed, a new terror swelling in her throat. Yes. If whatever had made monsters of these cats could do the same thing to a human being, then they couldn't be allowed to leave the ship. They had to be killed.
"But how do you expect us to kill one of these things?" she asked. Let alone all of them? They'd nearly killed Celia more than once and she hadn't left so much as a scratch.
Melvin Bruce got up from his seat and ducked into the fort he'd built himself out of whatever he could find in the infirmary. When he re-emerged, he tossed a long metal object at Celia -- a spear, just like the one he was holding.
"You made this?" she asked.
"Should do fine."
She inspected the bladed tip, a collection of scalpels and other sharp surgical instruments that he must have found lying around. She gripped the handle, feeling the weight. It was light, but sturdy. She could only hope it held up against the Smilodons.
And Eidon. What was she going to do about Eidon? She couldn't just forget about him, not until she knew for sure what had happened. True, he could be dead, but she didn't know it. And not knowing, to Celia, was unacceptable. She had to find him.
Franklin gasped, standing up suddenly, his posture rigid and his lip trembling. Celia followed his gaze to the door of the infirmary, and there she saw what had startled him --
A black shadow in the crack beneath the door.
A deep rumbling purr.
The Smilodons had found them again.
Thanks so much for reading!
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