KinCaid briskly descended the steep staircase to the maintenance deck of the ship, dimly lit by two light bulbs that swayed ominously in the narrow corridor. He made one check over his shoulder as he walked otherwise his outward attitude was one of a carefree nature. On the inside, however was another story.
He wasn’t sure what he thought about the girl and after seeing the corpse in the recreation area on the upper deck he suspected she might have been over stressed. There had been bloody boot prints all over the place and it was clear from where they led, that it was Kirsten’s handy work.
He sighed.
He had tried that door when he came on board, but something had blocked the way. In a round about way, he was thankful to have entered where he did, through the hatch on the maintenance level at the bow of the boat, but he was still puzzled as to why she mutilated the dead man.
Could she have known him? Could he have been the reason why she was out here in the middle of nowhere in the Amazon without transport?
He shook his head. There was no use in trying to figure it out. It didn’t change anything and the two of them regardless would have to help each other. Especially if he wanted to complete his mission and KinCaid was determined to do so.
He took a quick glance around, suddenly aware of a faint moaning from the engine room and after a second’s thought, realized it was one area he hadn’t checked on that level when he had boarded. Having seen the lights out and with no response from the wall switches, he had gone directly up to the bridge. When there hadn’t been a sign of anyone left on the ship, he had returned below deck to the electrical room to get to work.
Now he was left bothered. Was there still someone else onboard?
His thoughts drifted as he focused on the pleading sounds and approached the engine room door with nervous apprehension. He chided himself for not having done a thorough search of the ship before claiming it as abandoned and tentatively reached for the latch. The hallway was dimly lit by the grime-encrusted light bulb that hung directly overhead, casting an otherworldly glow over the cramped space.
Nothing about the situation helped to put his mind at ease.
“The engine’s dead.” Came Kirsten’s concerned voice, causing KinCaid to visibly jump and spin to face her, his eyes wide.
“Do you hear that?” He asked, nodding toward the door and overruling her previous statement.
Kirsten leaned in, puzzled by his request and tried to listen and straightened up immediately after. “Who’s in there?”
KinCaid shook his head. “No idea. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t goin’ crazy and hearin’ things, I guess.”
The woman took a step back and looked KinCaid over, then turned her attention back to the door. “What should we do? Do you think it’s the crew?” Her voice took on a conspiratorial tone, coming out as barely more than a whisper. As she heard the moans again, her mind flashed images of the body upstairs, coming to life and attacking her.
She shuddered.
KinCaid noticed her apprehension and motioned at the door, reaching in underneath his vest and withdrawing a 9mm handgun that had been tucked away in a holster.
Kirsten eyed the weapon nervously then shot a glance back up at him. She wanted to question him about it, but instead kept her mouth shut and looked back at the door.
The whole situation was starting to feel worse.
KinCaid took a deep breath and opened the door with a screech, the engine room interior lit only as far as the hallway lights would allow. Cautiously he reached inside with his left hand and felt around the walls, looking for a switch and took a couple steps into the room.
The moans were louder with the door open and the yearning sound to it made the man feel uneasy over the cold and stale smell that permeated the area. His fingers brushed over the knob on the wall and he flipped the switch with a heavy snap.
Nothing happened.
KinCaid swore under his breath. “Musta been a power surge. Blown the fuse, or knocked out the light in there.” He didn’t even look at Kirsten to see her nod.
She shuffled nervously on her feet and thought back to the lantern she left in the Captain’s quarters upstairs.
“I have an idea.”
Before KinCaid could even turn to ask her what she’d meant, she was already off and disappeared from view. He spent only a moment watching after her, before looking back into the deep black void of the engine room.
Something shuffled within and he raised the weapon, holding it tightly with both hands and peering down the smooth grey metal of the barrel. The moaning was louder and definitely sounded human.
He stared intently forward, trying to pinpoint it, lost in concentration, but aware of it just ahead in the inky darkness.
Something came at him silently from the left, dipping into the soft light from the hallway and reaching for him with gnarled fingers.
He stepped out of the way, the scabby hands only brushing his arm, but the motion put KinCaid deeper into the room and into blackness. The staggering form of the crewman was backlit by the hallway light, heavily silhouetted, but he could still make out faint details in the face and clothing. It was enough to tell that something was horribly wrong.
The figure opened its lipless mouth with a crack and let out a wail, similar to what was resounding in the blackness over KinCaid’s shoulder. The noises were all closing in on him and he fired the weapon with an echoing bang.
He could see the crewman shudder with the impact to his shoulder, but it didn’t slow or waiver. KinCaid fired again, struggling to aim in the darkness, momentarily blinded by the muzzle flashes and the crewman’s head popped with a wet crunch. There was a spray of deep crimson into the hall that spattered the far wall and KinCaid dashed forward just as he felt another presence behind him and before the dead crewman had even crumpled to the floor. He leaped over the corpse into the light and spun, seeing another come forward at him.
The smell was enough to turn his stomach and in the light he could see it clearly. It was one of the crew, or used to be; and his clothing was torn and soaked in blood. Bone protruded from different parts of its exposed and withered flesh, leaving it looking mummified with a red tinge to its skin.
KinCaid gagged as he backpedaled into the wall and leveled his gun again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kirsten dash back into view just as he pulled the trigger, dispatching the walking corpse that shambled toward him. It collapsed on top of its compatriot in a growing puddle of black-red ooze.
“Holy shit!” KinCaid was breathing hard.
Kirsten jogged up along side him and looked into the engine room, then down at the pair of bodies on the floor, a lantern held tightly with one hand. “What are they?” She questioned, her voice quivering.
KinCaid sighed. “Pretty damn obvious what they are.” He thought a moment before continuing, then turned to face the woman who stood with him. “Was this what happened upstairs too?”
At first she looked at him confused, but when her mind zeroed in on the thing in the common room upstairs, she finally gave a nod. “Yeah. It looked dead, but it came at me.”
The man ran a hand through his hair. “Looked dead? These people have been here for years. They don’ just look dead. They are dead.”
The concept was ridiculous. People just didn’t get up after dying and Kirsten laughed nervously. “Like in the movies? Rising from their graves to attack the living?” She shook her head. “No. There’s got to be an explanation.”
More moaning interrupted their debate and both of them looked over at the open door and the darkness beyond. KinCaid cleared his throat, cutting through the stillness like a hot knife through butter and glancing quickly down at the lamp. “We’ll move in together. I’ll cover you.”
Kirsten cut him off. “No way in hell am I stepping foot in there.” Her face was ghostly white and she shook her head slowly from side to side.
KinCaid grimaced. “If we want a chance of getting’ out of here, we gotta go in there first.”
She didn’t like it at all, but he was right and she looked down at the lantern thoughtfully. With a sigh she finally gave a quick nod and took a step forward, moving over top of the silenced corpses at their feet and then proceeded into the engine room.
KinCaid followed immediately behind, looking right and left as the lantern gave off a soft and almost warming glow. Shadows danced at the edge of his perception and they slowly pressed forward amongst the machinery.
Another form rounded a bend just up ahead and KinCaid trained his weapon and fired, the sudden flash momentarily illuminating the whole area. The form fell to the ground with a thud.
The duo stalked forward, still aware of the ongoing murmur of more and neither of them really sure of what they were looking for. When they reached the end of the aisle, it hooked left and they stepped over the body and followed the corridor.
The moaning was distinctly louder and the cause of it lunged into view to Kirsten’s right, having been hiding in the shadows. She yelped in surprise as it tried to grab her and she backed into KinCaid while he tried to aim, the weapon firing and ricocheting off of a metal surface out of sight.
Kirsten pushed forward and sent the undead crewman off balance, crashing to the ground, the lantern in her hand swinging wildly. KinCaid stepped past her and aimed at the corpse on the ground as it crawled forward, squeezing off another round. The crewman’s head shattered with the bullet’s impact and the dark fluids from its skull blanketed the ground at their feet like a living shadow.
Both of them were panting in the sudden stillness of the room.
The only sounds they could hear were the combined beating of their hearts.
Kirsten looked up at the man, then over to something that caught her attention. It was a sign above what appeared to be a breaker or lever. She held the lantern up to eye level, reading off the words in her head.
Emergency restart.
With a grin she reached for the lever and threw the switch, a green light warming to life just next to it. Somewhere in the room a steady hum was building and both of them let out quiet sighs of relief.
KinCaid nudged the woman’s shoulder and when she turned to face him, he motioned quietly for them to leave. He didn’t want to speak and risk more of the zombies hearing him and somehow he knew it was exactly what she was thinking as well.