LAVA CAT CRUISE SHIP
Chapter Fifteen
Happy Friday!
Another chapter of LCC is coming at you right on time! See? I can be punctual.
As always, if you missed the latest chapter, you can check it out here. And if you’re new to Lava Cat Cruise Ship (hey there! welcome! hi!), you can find Chapter 1 here.
So I gotta know, what are you more afraid of - Zombie Sharks or Lava Cats?
Happy reading! Me-OW!
FIFTEEN
Celia hobbled along the roof of the bridge, dragging her mangled leg behind her, Franklin supporting her by the arm as best he could. The ocean spewed its searing bile, raining down hot flecks of lava.
Gone.
Eidon was gone.
Celia had watched him fall beneath the waves, watched the shoots of lava explode around him, watched him swim as fire rained down from the sky. In all the steam and smoke and chaos, somehow, she lost sight of him. He could have been hit by the bombs of falling lava just like the creature that shredded her leg. He could have drowned, the waves too high for him to stay afloat. He could have boiled in the heat spewing from somewhere beneath the ocean.
Eidon could be dead.
No, Celia begged herself. He could have survived. The Hydra hadn't been that far away when he started swimming. He could have made it. He could be safe on board. For now. But even if he did, he was stranded. How would he get back to the Silver Queen?
Her vision blurred and she lost her balance, nearly toppling sideways off the roof.
"Celia!" Franklin pulled her back. He half-dragged her along the roof, taking shelter beneath the lip of the Cloud Deck. Celia all but collapsed against the wall, resting her head back against the hot metal.
"You're leg..." Franklin trailed off, staring down at her throbbing limb. Celia risked a glance and immediately wished she hadn't. Trails of thick, dark crimson oozed down her leg like candle wax, the flesh beneath it more ground chuck than muscle.
Celia closed her eyes and forced her head to stop spinning. She couldn't do anything about Eidon now. Not with all the blood that was seeping out of her calf. She had to do something to stem the flow or she'd be in more trouble than Eidon. If Eidon was alive on the Hydra, then he was safe -- safer than Celia.
Eidon would have to wait.
"We need to get to the infirmary," she said.
Franklin said nothing, but his wide terrified eyes asked the question that was on Celia's mind. How? She could barely walk. The infirmary was a good five decks below them on the other side of the ship. It would take them ages to get there with Celia hobbling along like a broken doll. Not to mention there were four Smilodon's somewhere inside that would be intrigued by the copper smell wafting from what remained of her leg.
She could send Franklin -- on his own? No. The boy would drop dead of fear the second he was alone in the dark. And besides, she couldn't be sure he would find it at all. She pressed her palms into her eyes, hard, forcing back the tears that had begun to fall. When her hands came away, they were smeared with black and blue paint. She was still in her costume from the show.
Princess Dylana. Celia had almost forgotten. She wasn't Celia right now, not with the costume on. She was Princess Dylana, warrior daughter of the sea. Princess Dylana commanded the waves. Princess Dylana wielded the force of water. Princess Dylana didn't have to fear fire -- fire feared her. And as for a few over sized cats, Princess Dylana would not let them defeat her. Princess Dylana would drown them.
Gritting her teeth against the nausea and the pain, she forced herself to stand, using the wall for support.
"Celia..." said Franklin, nervously.
"Let's go," she told him, doing her best to channel the strength of Dylana.
Slowly, Celia limped along, Franklin beside her, and together they rounded the corner at the far end of the ship. Where the roof ended, the Promenade began -- the place where she'd first met Eidon, the place where they'd first encountered the Smilodons. A glass guard rail stood between the roof and the deck. Franklin hopped over easily enough, and Celia lifted her injured leg, the effort forcing a scream from her throat. She clung to Franklin as he pulled her over, her weight too much for his little arm, and they both fell hard to the floor, pain shooting through Celia's body and she cried out again.
Darkness closed in on her vision and she shook her head -- she had to stay awake. But how much longer could she last? Between the pain, and how slow she was moving, they'd never make it to the infirmary.
"Wait here." Celia was barely aware that Franklin had said anything before the boy was taking off into the dark. When he came back, he was wheeling a grey desk chair.
Celia nearly laughed. "Where did you find that?"
He pointed back along the Promenade, to a shop stand -- Starbucks.
"Will it help?" he asked, big eyes hopeful.
Celia grabbed his hand and pulled him close. "Yes, Franklin," she said, kissing his palm. "Thank you."
She could see him blush the slightest bit as he helped her climb into the chair. Franklin pushed Celia through the shadows, the light of the fires beyond the railing offering enough light to see by. Every few steps Franklin would stop and the two of them would listen carefully. Listen for the growl, for the frightening hiss or clicking of claws on deck floor. There was nothing to hear but the chaos of the ocean. Celia could feel Franklin's grip on the chair just by her shoulders. His hands were shaking.
"Keep going," she said, gently. They'd come this far. They couldn't lose their nerve now.
It didn't take long to find the elevator, but once they did, Celia's heart sunk. The lights were out. Franklin pushed the call button and nothing happened. The ship was dying. Of course the elevators wouldn't work.
They'd have to take the stairs.
Slowly, Celia inched her way down the stairwell sitting on her bottom, one stair at a time, careful to keep her injured leg up. Franklin struggled with the weight of the chair, but they were going to need it once they made it to their floor.
With two flights of stairs left to go, Franklin lost his grip on the chair -- it thundered down the steps like a stampeding elephant, the sound deafening. When at last it came to rest, Celia and Franklin staid frozen, listening to the quiet.
"Do you think they heard that?" Franklin whispered.
She hoped not. But the odds hadn't been in their favor today.
"Keep moving," she told him, scooting down to the next step.
They made their way through the ship, every dark corridor and quiet corner a potential hiding place for a monster. Her head was beginning to hurt, her vision blurring periodically. She felt a chill sinking into her bones, but despite the cold she had begun to sweat.
Franklin kept stopping suddenly, and it would make Celia lurch forward, sending a shot of pain through her leg that would jolt her vision back to normal.
"Stop that, Franklin!" she growled.
He was staring behind them, hands shaking again. "Did you hear something?"
Celia listened, though it was hard to focus with her head hurting as bad as it did. The only thing to hear was the groan of the ship trying to stay afloat in a boiling ocean. "I don't hear anything. You're scaring yourself."
"I think there's something behind us."
If there was, what could they do about it now? They had no weapons. Celia had only one good leg.
"You don't have to be afraid of the Smilodons, Franklin," she said.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Of course I am. But I'm the one with the bad leg, remember? If any of those things finds us, you just have to run faster than me."
He stared at her, dumbfounded, and Celia couldn't help but smile.
"You're kidding?" he asked.
"Come on, Franklin," she said. "Get pushing."
The boy did as he was told, wheeling the chair along with a frown. "That's a sick joke to make, Celia."
After what felt like ages, they made it to the infirmary door without encountering so much as a spider.
"See?" said Celia. "Nothing to worry about."
Franklin said nothing, craning his neck to check the shadows at their backs. "I swear, I heard something."
Celia rolled her eyes and reached for the infirmary door -- if anything was behind them, it didn't matter now. All they had to do was step inside and lock the door behind them. They were safe.
She turned the knob and the door opened with a loud screech of the hinges. The infirmary was dark, like the rest of the ship, red firelight from outside spilling through the windows. Even in the dim Celia could see carnage -- the infirmary was in shambles. Medical equipment and papers strewn all over the floor, the beds torn to shreds.
And blood. So much blood.
The creatures had been here.
Franklin wheeled her inside and closed the door behind them quickly, locking it. He pressed his ear to the door. "I know there's something out there."
Celia stared at the blood. As long that something isn't still in here.
There was a rustling somewhere to the left. Celia jumped, Franklin let out a scream. On the far wall there was a pile of boxes and bed frames, broken objects creating a mound that began to shudder and move.
Franklin clung to Celia and she held him close. Whichever creature had torn up the infirmary -- it hadn't left. Celia's vision swam, the chill in her bones making her whole body tremble.
The bed frame fell back with a thud and more boxes fell as a figure emerged from the pile.
A man.
A man who, despite her blurring eyes, she recognized.
He wore a hospital gown, his long stringy hair hanging in his eyes.
And what looked like a spear clutched in his hands.
He let the weapon drop at his side. "Well," he said, "this is what happens when nobody wants to listen to me.
Melvin Bruce.
Thanks so much for reading!
The next chapter is coming at you next Friday, but if you want to read ahead, paid subscribers to Authorstrator can download the ebook and the first book in the series, Zombie Shark Highway!
