Happy Friday, dear reader!
It’s time for another chapter of Lava Cat Cruise Ship! If you missed Chapter 1 you can find it here. New chapters drop every Friday!
If you would like to read the other book in the series, Zombie Shark Highway, you can find it here.
Ok, enough housekeeping. To the lava cats!
CHAPTER 4
Eidon looked out on the furious ocean, endless churning, bubbling waves. Steam rose in plumes, and he could feel the warm stink in the air sticking to his skin. But these were Arctic waters. How could it be so warm? Pristine white bergs bobbed around the Silver Queen, their bases misty with the vapours that billowed up towards the sky. Where was the warmth coming from?
As his eyes scanned the horizon, he saw a shadow hidden in the steam.
"What is that?" Franklin whispered.
Eidon took a few careful steps toward the railing, squinting into the haze until the shadow took on more solid form.
A ship.
The vessel -- a rugged and rusted thing -- was bent and broken and sticking out of the iceberg it had apparently collided with.
Eidon swallowed, the sulfur funk tickling his throat. "It's a wreck."
His hands closed around the deck railing and he jumped back instantly. He stared down at his hands -- red, and burnt. Hot.
Franklin stood beside him, gaping into the distance. "You mean...Are there people on it?"
Eidon couldn't say. All was silent as far as he could tell. If there were people on board, they were in real danger.
Beneath the wreck, Eidon saw red.
"Fire," he breathed.
"It's on fire?"
Eidon didn't answer, hurrying along the deck, trying to get closer, trying to see. The ship didn't look to be on fire. The water beneath it did.
As Eidon reached the stern of the Silver Queen, he saw that he was right. It was the water that glowed, not the ship. A fire beneath the waves? How was that possible?
Along the hull of the broken vessel, he could make out painted peeling green letters. Hydra.
"Eidon!" Franklin screeched, pointing. "A man! At the top! A man!"
Eidon looked to where Franklin pointed. At the top of the ship, hanging out of the crow's nest, was indeed a man. The figure waved his arms, and even from this distance Eidon could see it was a great effort for him, before finally collapsing forward, arms dangling over the side of the nest.
The Silver Queen was facing away from the stranded vessel. In all the steam and commotion, Eidon was sure no one but him and Franklin had spotted the Hydra and its distressed passenger. "We gotta go tell my dad."
Franklin didn't argue, and the two took off at a sprint for the bridge. By the time they arrived, the command centre was buzzing with engineers and officers, all of them trying desperately to get a handle on the situation. In the middle of the chaos, Eidon saw the good captain, lines etched deep into his face. Everyone was talking to him, all at once, waving charts and schematics, and the old man's jaw set tighter and tighter.
Eidon already knew the situation was bad. But from the look on his father's face, it must be worse than he thought.
"Dad?"
It was no use talking over all the voices trying to be heard. No one had even noticed Eidon and Franklin standing there.
"You have to scream," said Franklin.
"Dad!" Eidon tried again, but still his voice wasn't loud enough.
A sharp whistle pierced the din and instantly the bridge fell silent, all eyes turning on Eidon, and Franklin who lowered his fingers from his mouth. He grinned up at Eidon. "Now they can hear you."
They certainly could. Everyone watched him expectantly, and Eidon felt his palms begin to sweat.
"Eidon?" The Good Captain looked at Eidon like he'd seen a ghost. Like he'd forgotten Eidon was on the Silver Queen at all. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you--"
"There's a ship," he said quickly. "A ship in distress."
"What? Where?"
"Out by one of the bergs. Just South East of us."
That sent everyone into motion, flipping over charts and staring at the fancy screens and computers that worked the ship. Everyone scrambled, except for the Good Captain, who watched Eidon with a grim, tight mouth.
"You're sure?" the old man asked.
Eidon nodded. "I think -- I think they need help."
Captain Miller put his hat securely on his head, grabbed a pair of binoculars and marched off the bridge, passed Eidon, flinging open the door at his back. "Show me."