A Vial of Life(74)

To make matters worse, the ship had been motionless for what felt like days. I could only assume that Julie and her crew had abandoned it, left it drifting somewhere in the ocean. I’d begun to believe that I would never get out. I just sat curled up in a corner, trying to numb my mind. It was the least painful state of existence that I could find for myself.

Then one day—or perhaps it was during the night; I had no way of knowing—the ship jolted to a start. I scrambled upright, my eyes wide, ears perked. The vessel hadn’t been abandoned after all and the thought brought me a sliver of hope in the gloom.

Minutes passed, and the ship only seemed to be gaining speed.

I was jerked against the side of the box by something heavy crashing against it. My head banged painfully against the wall. It sounded like a weight had fallen upon the lid of the box. I stared upward at the inside of the lid, my eyes wide with anticipation, barely daring to breathe. Then I heard a sound that made my heart skip a beat.

The clinking of a key. The scraping of metal against a lock. A click.

I must have been dreaming. Even as the lid began to lift open, my brain still hadn’t accepted that this was actually happening. The box was opening. Oh, gods of all things good.

I gathered myself together, preparing to spring out when a heavy, damp, furry body was flung inside the box and crashed on top of me. I hadn’t yet transformed myself into my subtle state, and the weight toppled me and crushed me beneath it. I quickly dissolved my body, allowing me to slide out from underneath it with ease.

Rising up, I found myself staring down at a dead werewolf. It had been gouged in the throat. The fur around its neck was drenched in blood, and there were deep wounds in the flesh around its throat. My eyes darted upward, toward the opening of the box, and I zoomed out…

I’m free. I’m free!

The euphoria surging through my spirit temporarily drove any wondering from my mind about who had opened the box and dropped that corpse inside.

I had emerged in a small room, some kind of storage room. Clearly at the base of the ship. My eyes lowered to the floor. Drops of blood trailed from the box to the door. It must’ve been caused by dragging that werewolf in here… Who was that?

I glanced at a set of keys lying on the floor, unceremoniously discarded as soon as the box was opened and the wolf dumped inside.

I moved to the exit and floated out into a dim corridor. I was surprised by the state of the place. Julie’s ship looked an absolute wreck. More bloodstains coated the dusty floors, there were shreds of what looked like old curtains and carpets scattered about and the walls looked like they’d been clawed by wild animals. It was like a ghoul had been let loose to rip through the ship.

Noises came from the deck above. I left the deserted corridor and moved up the stairs. Pushing open the trap door and emerging out in the open—into a dark, cloudy night—I almost swallowed my tongue.

Surrounding me was a scene of utter horror. Piled on the long deck were row upon row of… vampires? They all lay on their backs, tossing and turning and writhing in agony. Each had puncture marks in their necks, their heads resting in pools of their own blood.

Floorboards creaked behind me. I whirled around to find myself face to face with… I didn’t even know what they were. They looked like creatures who belonged in a nightmare. They stood, rawboned and naked, with stark-white papery skin and bald skulls. Their faces were gaunt, with slightly receded noses and small black dots for eyes. There must have been at least sixty of them.

I was still on Julie’s ship, wasn’t I?

What the hell happened here?

My heart pounded as one of them jolted toward me, its reedy arms outstretched. Long black claws extended from its fingers and it bared fangs… fangs that reminded me of a vampire’s, except longer, sharper, more protruding. I shot upward to dodge the creature’s advance and hovered near the sails as I gazed down at the horrific scene.

I glanced out toward the ocean to spot in the distance an island. It looked like The Tavern. The vessel was speeding away—The Tavern must have been where the ship had stopped— and following us were three other ships. A loud explosion blasted from one of them, and a giant canon ball hurtled toward the bow of Julie’s ship. It narrowly missed, but was soon followed by half a dozen more explosions. Heavy metal ball after ball came thundering toward the ship— most grazing it, while a couple even penetrated the vessel’s body.

But what are these creatures who have overtaken Julie’s ship? And what’s happening to those vampires writhing on the ground? It looked like they were… turning. But they were already vampires. Weren’t they?