LAVA CAT CRUISE SHIP
Chapter 10
Happy Friday!
It’s time for another chapter of Lava Cat Cruise Ship. You can catch up on the previous chapter here. Also, ICYMI, the full ebook is available for download to paid subscribers!
Ok, enough pre-amble. Lets get to the saber tooth action ME-OW!
TEN
Sea green glass. Eidon felt sweaty, small, trapped in the colour. Celia stared at him, eyes narrowed, the silence of the captain's quarters bearing down on all of them.
"You guys hungry?," he asked, heading for the kitchenette. "I'm hungry." No, that wasn't true. He wasn't really hungry. But he hadn't eaten anything in hours. And eating was normal. That was a normal thing to do. It meant things were okay. He threw open the cupboards, tossing out boxes of crackers and cookies, his half-eaten bag of dill pickle chips. He shoved a hand in and grabbed as many in his fist as he could manage, stuffing them all into his mouth, willing himself to be hungry.
Franklin stood, peaking over the counter while Celia leaned on the couch, both of them watching him like he'd lost his mind.
"How bout it, Franklin?" he asked through stuffed cheeks.
Franklin reached tentatively for a box of chocolate sandwich cookies resting by his hand, nimbly removing two from the packaging. He stared at the cookies, unsure.
"There's a frozen pizza," Eidon said, feeling his desperation growing. He dove into the freezer, pulling out the box of pepperoni flat crust. He turned the knob on the oven, a red light indicating it was working -- at least they still had SOME power on the Silver Queen. He'd make a pizza, then. That would be good. They would sit down at the table and eat it together. And by the time they were finished the lights would turn back on and his dad would make an announcement that they'd sorted out the problem.
"You guys like pizza?" Eidon tore open the box, pulling out the pizza that was covered in that impenetrable plastic wrap stuff.
"I guess," shrugged Franklin. Celia, Eidon noticed, still hadn't said anything.
Eidon grabbed a pair of scissors, hands trembling as he tried to cut the plastic. "Ouch!" Blood streamed from his index finger where the blade snipped his skin.
"Are you alright?" asked Celia, flatly.
"I'm fine," Eidon said quickly, wrapping his finger with a paper towel and placing the food in the oven. "You want a coke?" he asked, pressing on the wound. "Or a gingerale?" He pulled open the fridge, looking for the glass bottles with clear sparkling liquid. "Its really amazing. Not like normal ginger ale. Dad gets it whenever the ship stops at Vancouver." He was rambling, he knew it. But the other two weren't saying anything, and it was too quiet. "Celia?" he said, turning back to her, holding a bottle. "Gingerale?"
"I'm not staying," she said, getting up.
"Where are you going?"
"I have to get back to my friends. I have to tell them what happened."
"By yourself?" Eidon's palms were so sweaty, it was hard to keep his grip on the bottle. "It's not safe. You heard what Melvin said. There's five of them out there."
"Five dogs," she said, turning her back on him as she headed for the door, "according to you."
"What?"
"In the infirmary." Franklin appeared beside him, his front teeth black from the sandwich cookie. "You told your dad the thing we saw might have been a dog. You did."
"Thank you Franklin," said Celia, her hand on the door. "So if its just a dog, whats to worry about?"
Her voice carried an edge to match her angry glass eyes, and she had her other hand on her hip, her blue lips tight in a frown.
"Are you mad at me?" asked Eidon.
"No." Her answer was so quick, so sharp. Eidon didn't believe her. But why was she mad? Because of what he said in the infirmary? What was he supposed to say?
"It didn't look like a dog," said Franklin, oblivious to the tension. "It looked like a saber tooth, I think. Like Mr. Melvin said."
"Shut up, Franklin," Eidon snapped. "Celia, I'm sorry. I just -- I don't know what I saw. I didn't know how to tell my dad -- "
"Yes you do." She let go of the door handle then, pointing an accusing finger. "You know exactly what you saw. It was the same thing I saw, the same thing Franklin saw. The same thing Melvin Bruce saw. Poule moulliée!"
Eidon stepped back, the sudden burst of French startling him. "What?"
"It means you are a chicken. A coward. Too afraid of your father to do the right thing. Merde!"
"So you are mad at me."
Franklin nodded. "I think she's mad at you."
She rolled her eyes, exasperated, and turned back to the door, grabbing the handle. Eidon felt himself start to panic, the idea of her leaving scared him almost as much as the saber tooths. "Look, Celia," he said quickly, "you're right. I should have handled it better."
She didn't turn back, she kept her face toward the door. Was she even listening?
"I just," he tried, "you don't know how my dad is. He's the most serious, straight-laced down to earth dude on the planet. If I had told him I thought a bunch of prehistoric saber tooth tigers were running around his ship, he would've had me committed on the spot." Which was no lie. The man condemned him to the Silver Queen for a party. One lousy party. There was no telling what he'd do if he heard Eidon say the words saber tooth tiger. "Celia, I just--"
"Shut up." Celia pressed her ear to the door.
Eidon's spine went stiff. His skin cold. "What's wrong?"
She brought a finger to her lips. "It's out there."
Eidon stared at Celia, listening as the silence gaped around them.
And then a scream. Somewhere beyond the door, not far away, a man's cry let out.
Franklin grabbed Eidon's hand. "Officer Sully?" he whispered.
"Shut up!" Celia hissed.
They waited, frozen, for five agonizing seconds--
six--
seven--
eight--
Eidon's grip on the bottle tightened, the cool glass slipping in his burning palm. He couldn't stand the quiet.
Celia straightened, backing away slowly from the door until she was standing beside them, her eyes wide with fear. "It's right there," she breathed.
Eidon watched the door, a shadow appearing in the slit beneath it. A sound, like a motorcycle revving, erupted just outside the door. The growl of the saber tooth.
Eidon felt a whisper of a touch on his arm as Celia moved closer, the three of them huddled together as they watched the shadow moving.
And then a hissing snorting sound. The monster was sniffing. Searching for something. And Eidon became aware of a smell -- burning.
He glanced back to the kitchenette. Celia looked too. The pizza was burning.
Eidon sprang toward the oven, his fingers on fire as he pulled out the pizza and threw it in the sink. He poured the tap, dousing it in water, trying to drown the scent.
He glanced back at the door, his heart pounding.
The sniffing stopped.
Had he fooled it? Without the smell, would it simply move on?
BAM!
The door shuddered, hinges rattling as the beast rammed it. Franklin screamed. And the saber tooth slammed the door again. And again.
Celia's eyes dropped to Eidon's hand, to his bloodied finger. She held her bandaged hands to her heart. "It's not the pizza it smells."
Blood, Eidon realized. Their blood.
The beast was thirsty for it.
And there was no where to run.
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