The creatures that hadn't made it out of the signal circle before it connected were thrashing. The chaos built. Now, no matter which direction they swam, they were stuck within the sound where they would eventually die from the exertion or beach themselves to get out of the water.
Netto shifted when he approached the surface, powering through the few yards that separated him from Rylie, and was met with the blaring echo of gunfire.
He unsheathed his knife and gripped it between his teeth, pushing himself against the current toward the watership.
“Netto, move your ass!” Zeph yelled at him somewhere off in the dark.
Netto grabbed his knife and stuck it skyward as a limb crashed into him from above. The blade pierced through the slimy skin before he was knocked away. He took ahold of the incoming appendage and held on, sinking his teeth into it and tearing chunks of thick flesh away. He stabbed it from the other side.
More gunfire pierced the air and into the creature to which he was attached.
“Stop shooting! You’ll hit him!” Rylie screamed.
Netto sucked in a breath before crushing through bones that splintered between his teeth. Nothing could withstand the sharp edges of his maw.
He tore through it in under a minute. His ears filled with the sounds of crashing waves and the whip of the wind as the beast thrashed in an attempt to dislodge him. Scraps of flesh hung from the monster, the remnants of Netto’s grisly feast.
The smell of fresh blood and rank fish filled his nose. He crashed into the water and let go of the creature.
Netto swam to the ship, following the homing signal, and used the spotlight as a beacon. When he looked up, all he could see was a grey milky film that had just begun to curdle and rot.
He grabbed the side of the watership and pulled himself up only to find that the shields had risen.
The door flung open beside him and Zeph reached out. Netto grabbed his arm to drag himself onto the ship. The metal pack on his back ripped from him, too large for the small space, and fell back into the water. The boat rocked beneath him and ocean water dripped from his body, infused with blood.
Something crashed overhead, sinking the ship under the surface, and Zeph whipped the door closed behind them, but not before a gush of water filled the boat. They were pushed below only to bob right back up. It happened again.
Zeph grabbed Janet and clasped her into his chest. Netto held on as he looked frantically at Rylie, who struggled at the helm. Before he reached her she lunged and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her close and re-sheathed his knife.
“I'm glad you're okay,” she said, her voice high with fear. Everyone held on as they were hit again from the side, knocking them into the wall.
“We need to get out of here!” Netto roared.
Montihan yelled from the bridge, “I'm already on it. Everybody hold on.”
Netto looked over to see Montihan buckled into his seat, pressing a series of buttons. Zeph buckled Janet into the seat next to her dad and Netto followed behind him after retrieving one of the guns.
“It took you long enough to get back. Fuck, man, I thought we would be out of here hours ago. What happened?”
Rylie had her head buried in her hands as Netto held her against him and burrowed his face into her hair. The water sluiced around their feet. He picked her up and fastened her into a nearby seat and looked her in the eye.
“I heard your voice. Are you okay?” He felt the ship power to life and everything went dark for just a moment as the spotlight flickered off. Everything went black.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Get us out of here, Montihan! What’s it going to take?”
They were lifted into a void, the only sounds were the turbulent waves caused by the movement below. The interior lights flickered on.
The ship shot forward before diving below the waves. It leapt upward as something jostled them again, but they had gotten out of the radius of the giant beast that had attacked them.
“What the... look at the radar. What did you do down there?” Montihan yelled.
“Watch out!” Netto bellowed too late as Montihan crashed into another monster. The ship rounded on its side.
Creatures appeared and disappeared as they retreated from the barrier. They zigzagged through the chaos. Montihan maneuvered the watership, as well as any Cyborg could, a testament to their host’s talent, but it did not make a smooth ride.
The glass overhead splintered and stopped everyone in their tracks. Even Montihan swiveled around and looked up.
