Ghost Ship V
The Searching
Previous Instalments:
- Ghost Ship: The Horror from Cape Horn – Ghost Ship: The Mystery of the Leviathan
- Ghost Ship: The Leviathan – The Lady Luck and the Phantom Leviathan Encounter
- Ghost Ship: The Lingering Horror of the Leviathan – Ghost Ship Leviathan: Terrifying Secrets from the South Pacific
- Ghost Ship IV: What Followed – Ghost Ship IV: What Followed
Introduction
Sarah awoke to a thin, coppery taste that seemed to cling to her tongue, a dull, pulsing ache at the side of her head, slowly it drew her to a bit more of an alerted state, enough that her eyes fluttered open as awareness crept back in and she sucked in a breath, only to then flinch; the air was cold – too cold that it felt like someone was scratching the inside of her throat.
With a little effort, she began to push herself upright, just a little – groggy and disorientated, she couldn’t work out where she even was, the darkness just pressed in around her, it felt claustrophobic and swallowed the edges of the room entirely.
As she made to adjust her position, her hand slipped and she immediately followed, toppling from whatever surface she’d been on; her landing though was not the hard impact she was expecting – instead, she landed with a splash.
A cold splash: the shock tore a gasp from her throat as she scrambled upright, her breath trembling and eyes darting around the dark room “Holy Cow!” came Sarah’s Texan drawl
As she straightened, now fully alert, her eyes continued to dart, searching – the last thing she remembered was being at her station, staring at monitors; she remembered Randall…, she remembered how strangely he’d been acting and then….
Nothing
It was a blank – she couldn’t remember; reaching out, she felt for the wall; her fingers brushing against crates then pipes and finally, the cold surface of metal, just a short moment later, she would finally find the door.
Sliding the door open, light filtered through and she peeked out, realising she was below deck and In one of the cramped corridors; behind her, within the darkness of the room she’d awoken, was a storage room, her gaze drifted down to the floor and she noticed that the water was within the corridor not just the room – it was pool across the floor, not rising though – but it was enough to spike her anxiety as she stepped forwards.
‘How did I get down here’ she thought, her eyes drifting as she began to slowly walk down the corridor ‘Why can I taste blood?; has someone hit me?’ she began to question; as she scanned the corridor, she saw the approaching corner leading to the adjoining corridor, before she reached it, there was a loud, metallic clank that echoed from around the corner.
Sarah instantly froze; her body locked up as she stared forwards, then, against her better judgement “Hello….” She whispered, her voice cracking halfway through
Only silence answered, a Minute, maybe two of utter stillness followed.
Then, a soft drip; followed by a second, and then a third.
Edging forwards, she reached the corner and peeked around it to the adjoining corridor; it was dark – too dark, and as she stared, expecting something to move, to make sound, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, and slowly, she realised, she wasn’t just looking into darkness; she was looking at something that was simply absorbing the light and it…, was staring right back at her.
Chapter 1:
The bridge remained still…., quiet…, too quiet after the realisation that Sarah and Randall were not with them.
Steven stood at the helm, his left hand braced against the console as the Lady Luck shuddered beneath them again; a slow, rolling vibration that felt less like the ocean, and much more like something heavy shifting the ship’s very weight.
Tim hovered near the radar, his eyes flickering between the screen whenever the Ping sounded, and the fog-blurred windows; nearby, Vincent paced a short, sharp line muttering under his breath while George positioned himself by the door, peering out onto the fog-soaked decks and taking occasional sips from a flask.
Victoria remained closed to Steven, her fingers brushing the edge of his sleeve every so often, whenever another tremor rippled through the deck, her eyes snapped to Steven’s face, meeting his gaze; the two acknowledging silently.
“That’s the sixth one” Tim said quietly “It…, it feels like its getting stronger…”
Steven didn’t answer; he didn’t need too; his jaw tightened as his gaze shifted towards the radio, the static had changed, thicker now, sounding almost wet, as if pulsating in time with the ship’s movements, then, Victoria’s voice drew his attention “Steven…” she said, her voice barely above a whispers, afraid whatever had come aboard might hear her speak and come to find them, and yet still, it cut through the static like a blade “We can’t just stand here”
He turned to her; her face was pale, her eyes wide but steady; fear was clearly being held in check by sheer will “I know” he said quietly
Another tremor then rolled through the Lady Luck; deeper than the last, the eerie, almost sickly green glow of the bridge flickered for a brief moment then steadied again with a faint buzz that crawled across the walls, Vincent stopped pacing, his eyes drifting around “Whatever this is…, we can’t stay here…, we need to escape; ship’s do not move on their own”
George took another sip from his flask; his hands trembling “It feels like we’re being…, pushed”
“Or pulled” Tim added quickly, swallowing as he looked over towards George
Steven exhaled slowly, bringing his left hand from the console and up to rub between his eyes; pinching the top of his nose as he forced his thoughts into order “Okay…” he began “We need to find Sarah and Randall”
“And then what exactly….” Vincent questioned, a little too forceful “We’re stuck out here”
Steven looked towards Vincent, his eyes narrowing for a brief moment – the bridge seemed to go still within those short few seconds, eyes flicking between Vincent and Steven, then Tim gestured as he moved from the radar “Easy…, it’s clear things are a…bit tense…, but lets try not to snap at each other; this isn’t exactly the time for that”
Victoria flicked her eyes to Tim a moment then towards Vincent, then looked towards Steven; Steven straightened “What we’ll do, is we’ll find Sarah and Randall, if you want to remain here, then you try to try and contact someone; anyone, to get us some help”
George looked towards Steven “Are you intending to go back below?” his eyes flicked from Steven towards the drop that Steven and Victoria previously had came up from when they’d come scrambling up the ladder – it was like a dark mouth yawning open, the corridor below swallowed in shadow
“We don’t have much choice” Steven answered, his eyes flicking to George
“Then at least take someone with you” George said, his voice sharpening in agitation
“He wont be” Victoria said, moving close to Steven
“We stick together” Steven said, looking at Victoria
Another shudder rippled through the ship, though this time, it was accompanied by a low, resonant groan that vibrated through the floor, the Lady Luck felt as though it lurched towards the left forcing the group to quickly steady themselves to prevent a loss of balance; Tim snapped his attention towards the radar screen, Vincent swore under his breath, Vincent steadied both himself and Victoria, while George – he clung desperately to his flask as though it was precious gold, his eyes wide.
As things settled again, Steven turned and reached for a torch, the moment his fingers closed around it the radio crackled drawing everyone’s attention; what came was not static though, but something thicker, wetter, like breath dragging across the speaker – everyone went rigid as a faint sound bled through the distortion; and finally, a whisper ‘Lost…, Cold…., Alone’
Victoria’s hand tightened around Steven’s sleeve “Steven…” she breathed “We need to go…”
Steven gave a single firm nod; his eyes flicked back Tim “You, George and Vincent stay here; try getting into contact with anyone that can help us; we’ll be back once we’ve found Sarah and Randall”
Vincent opened his mouth to argue; but another groan from the ship, louder than the last, as if something deep within the hull had shifted brought his immediate silence – Tim, he looked at Steven and gave a single nod; Steven and Victoria, they exchanged a look, then began to move, Steven began climbing down into the darkness first, Victoria following – the two descended into the darkness of the corridor.
Chapter 2:
As Steven climbed down, each step echoing with every knock against the metal, echoing faintly in the hollow shaft, the air grew colder the deeper down he went, but it was not a natural chill from the lower decks, but something sharper – as though someone had left a freezer door open too long; Victoria followed, her boots clinking softly against the ladder, she didn’t speak, neither of them did; words felt too loud.
Steven would be first to reach the bottom, the moment his left boot hit the bottom, he felt it; a splash of water, shallow, but it was enough to draw his attention; Victoria stilled and looked down, she watched as Steven scanned the floor “Water wasn’t there when we came rushing through earlier” she said, her breath catching
“No” he murmured, his eyes scanning carefully “It wasn’t….”
Returning his attention upwards, Victoria came down the rest of the way; Steven purposely reaching for her hips, purposely steadying her as she came the rest of the way; the two exchanging a soft look before Steven pointed the torch down the corridor – he noted the dim emergency lights flickering in uneven intervals – slowly, he swept the beam of the torch; Pipes, Crates and closed doors, nothing looked out of place, and yet, everything felt wrong.
“Come on” he said softly, reaching his left hand out, offering it to Victoria who took it without hesitation, sticking close as they began to walk slowly, each step was wet, a sploshing accompanying each step, a light slap of water against boots; the further they walked though, they noticed something – the sound of a drip causing them to slow their pace until finally, they stopped
They listened carefully, and then came a second drip; Victoria peered forwards, Steven, he narrowed his eyes as he slowly moved the torch, the beam lighting up the corridor, then came another “You hear that too right?” she whispered, her voice barely audible
“Yes” he answer with a whisper
The more they listened, the more they realised, it didn’t sound like water leaking, but something else – Steven’s grip tightened on the torch, gently, he tugged Victoria closer “Stay close”
Victoria did so; she remained as close as she could as they walked forwards, water rippling around their boots, the metal groaning around them; long, low sounds that vibrated through the walls; Victoria’s gaze drifted around “It…, it feels like it is breathing”
Steven didn’t answer – he had a strange feeling of being watched, that eyes were on them, but not ahead, but from behind them; from the dark mouth of the ladder they’d descended, he forced himself not to look back, and as they reached the first junction, the torchlight flickered just once – but it was long enough for them two see something at the far end, it had been a brief, subtle movement that they would have missed entirely had they not been looking in that direction, it had been a figure…, tall and moving with a strange, disciplined ease; too tall for Sarah, and too controlled for Randall, it had moved as if it had not even noticed them.
Victoria’s hand squeezed Steven’s instinctively as she stared forwards at the now empty space “Steven…” she whispered
“I saw it” he whispered back; gently, he nudged her towards the nearest door, purposely stepping inside to keep them out of view as they heard the sound of steps; not splashes like their own movements has made, but actual steps, closing the door silently, the two held their breath as they stood in total silence, listening as the sound seemed to stop directly outside of their door – silence seemed to stretch for an eternity, then the steps resumed along the corridor, fading as they moved further away.
Sarah wasn’t sure how long she’d set off into a run, but, it felt far longer than it probably was, her breath came in sharp and uneven bursts, each inhalation becoming more painful, the occasional bump into something had certainly caused bruises she had yet to acknowledge, she came back down a cramped corridor – the flickering lights providing barely much illumination, each time the darkness came it felt as though it stayed longer, and whatever it had been that had sent her into her panicked flight was behind her, reaching for her.
Finally, she came to a stop, her legs were soaked from her frantic running, and finally, she leaned back on the nearest wall; trying to control her breathing as she made an effort to listen, her pulse a repeating echo within her ears, but she could make out the sound of the ship groaning, long, low and almost organic.
The Lady Luck felt wrong; it felt like it was shifting around her – swallowing hard, Sarah pushed off from the wall, moving forwards, her hand pressed against the wall, she felt the cold metal beneath her palm, without a torch, without a radio, the wall was her best option – the flickering lights were simply unreliable; her gaze occasionally dropped when the light returned, however brief, just to look at the water she was sploshing against her ankles with each step she took.
Looking upwards again, peering into the darkness, she pushed forwards “Come on…, come on” she whispered to herself, trying to steady her breathing “Were is the damn stairs; I should have found them by now”
As she reached a junction, she hesitated – the Left corridor was pitch black, but to the right, a light flickered weakly, offering just enough to see, better than the hallway she was currently in, every flicker off the light took seemed to take longer and longer before the light would return, she was able to make out crates and pipes, it was an obvious choice; she made for the right.
Halfway down the corridor though, she froze – footsteps.
Her eyes immediately dropped, water was at her ankles, yet, she heard it clearly; footsteps boots on metal grates, slow; deliberate in each step, they were measured and heavy and coming from directly ahead, though for a brief moment, they seemed to stop, her stomach twisted as she listened – then, they resumed, they were coming in her direction, quickly, she scrambled backwards until her shoulder hit a nearby door, wi6th a frantic movement, she grabbed for the handle, turned it and slipped inside, easing it shut and simply listened, pressing her ear against the cold metal.
The footsteps grew louder, closer – her breath hitched, her left hand clamped over her mouth, the sound stopped directly outside of the door and silence stretched thin and sharp, Sarah squeezed her eyes tight, every muscle simply locked up.
Then….
They resumed; each heavy step, they continued to move away; slow, deliberate – Sarah did not dare to move, not until that last echo faded into the ship’s groaning hull, only then did she finally let out a trembling breath “I have to get out of here” she whispered, her voice cracking
Chapter 3:
For a long moment, neither Steven or Victoria moved; Steven had kept his hand braced against the door, listening to fading echo of the footsteps; only once silence settled – heavy, suffocating, did he risk a breath, leaning close to Victoria, his voice barely above a whisper “We need to move quietly”
Victoria gave a firm nod, though her eyes were still fixed on the door, expecting the handle to turn; only when Steven moved his hand did her eyes snap to his movement, watching as Steven reached for the door, pushing the handle and opening the door a fraction, peering out into the corridor, the emergency lights still flickering weakly and casting long trembling shadows across the metal walls and darkening the ankle-deep water.
There was no movement, no figure – just the unsettling groan of the ship; finally, after what felt like an eternity of checking, Steven opened the door fully, stepping out and checking both directions, then raising his hand towards Victoria; the moment she took his hand, they both stood within the hall to listen – the corridor was eerily still…, too still; it let like the kind of quiet that was intentional, as though it was a calm before the storm moment “Steven…” Victoria whispered “What was it?”
He shook his head slowly “I don’t know…, but it wasn’t Sarah, and definitely not Randall”
Before Victoria could speak again, she noticed something – a faint ripple spread across the water at their feet, not from their own movement; but from somewhere further down the corridor, a soft, widening circle, as though something had just disturbed the surface, Victoria stiffened “Did you see that?”
Steven raised the torch, the beam sweeping across the hallway; something had moved, somewhere close.
With a cautious step forwards, he dipped the torch down, noticing the ripple shifting, lifting the torch, he peered forwards; the ripples were not from their movement, then came a soft splash, a movement “Someone is there” Victoria breathed
They both listened, they heard the faint, shaking inhalation; the deliberate steps, that came like a panicked movement, the sploshing of water, Steven and Victoria started moving forwards, holding the torch up lighting the corridor, the beam of light reaching to the junction “Sarah?” Steven whispered, his eyes flicking to Victoria
“It has to be” Victoria nodded
As they moved a little faster towards the junction, there steps careful, controlled; water rippled around their boots, but ahead of them, the ripples were sharper, the kind made by someone trying, and failing to keep quiet in their panic “Sarah?” he called out, still trying to keep his voice low – a soft gasp answered from around the bend – then, Sarah came quickly around, raising her hands to cover her eyes from the beam of light, Steven lowered it just enough
“We need to get out of here” Sarah whispered with a frantic tone “Someone is down here…”
“We know; we just heard someone walk past us when we hid” Victoria said in a hushed voice, though the trio fell silent when they heard a slamming door further away, then a second and a third; the three exchanged confused, but increasingly concerned glances
Somewhere deeper in the ship as another door slammed, this time, it was closer and the three of them finally understood; whatever was moving through the Lady Luck, it wasn’t just wandering; it was now searching.
Written By: Westley H.
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