They both turned toward the leviathan. Adrenaline soared through her and she shielded her eyes from the spray of water as the waves roiled below.
Rylie licked her lips and scanned the ocean, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the Cyborgs or Janet, but all she saw was an endless sea of serpents.
“What’re we going to do?” Her hair whipped around her head.
“We get your sister.” He unbuckled and leapt from his seat. “Man the ship!” She bit down on her tongue and she swapped places to take hold of the controls. The ship spun around and she swiveled back. Rylie didn’t dare blink while maneuvering through the waves. She swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat.
Da reappeared with several gun cases in hand. She didn’t glance over, knowing he held the Cyborgs’ weapons. The clicks of guns being readied sounded beside her. One of them landed on her lap and she gripped it while keeping one hand on the controls.
“Now!” Da roared and she stopped the ship. Rylie ducked down and followed him to the side. Their backs hit the side railing at the same time. Water hammered down on them from above and when it cleared, more water quickly replaced it. She pressed her feet to the ground and used the weight of her soles to keep herself in place. A broken piece of glass skidded by her feet.
Rylie bent over and felt around her new gun for the trigger, blinded by the salt in her eyes. She had never used such a weapon before but found her bearings, and with her fingers curled around the grip she spun around and took aim. Da fired beside her.
Her fear overshadowed the raw excitement flowing through her as she stared at the monster. It was larger close up. She sputtered in fear but snapped her mouth shut. Her hands slipped on the grip and shot off her weapon.
She flew back across the ship until her back smashed against the opposite side. It didn’t stop her from aiming and firing again, bracing against the recoil.
This time she saw it as whatever pulsed out of her gun hit its target and lit up the sky with a fiery blast. When she shielded her eyes this time, it wasn't to protect them from the water but to protect them from the light. The leviathan roared and she dropped the weapon.
Someone bumped into her and she turned her head expecting to see her da, but gasped when she realized it was Janet settled against her side. Rylie threw her arms around her.
Zeph hunched over them and helped them to the helm. There were spots in her eyes as she tugged Janet along. She took hold of the buckle and belted herself in as the ship tilted onto its side.
Rylie screamed for Da but was only answered with more gunfire. Zeph threw a blanket over her sister who shook violently. She didn't know where the Cyborg had found a scrap of cloth that wasn't soaked, but she reached over and took her sister's arm and was happy that he had.
“Don't move.” Zeph tucked the blanket ends around Janet before he turned to face her. “Get us out of here.”
Rylie nodded and faced the console, powering it on. Zeph didn't wait to watch and he left before she could ask him where Netto was. The ship coursed with power right as the beast came upon them. A wave rose as the boat dipped forward, splashing them with water.
No, that's not water.
She wanted to vomit. The ocean was red with blood, and what serpents weren't lost in the waves feasted on the dead.
She jerked the ship to its side but not before the limb struck them straight down the middle. They were pushed below the water in the next breath and she screamed as the ship popped back up.
Rylie looked back only to immediately evade another thrash, and saw the entire chunk of railing on either side of the boat had been crushed and destroyed. Her sister curled up into a ball next to her, and she prayed that Zeph had made sure her da was all right.
The watership sputtered but managed to pick up speed. Rylie found herself shaking uncontrollably, hoping that she could get her family away. She could hear the clattering of her sister's teeth.
Another flash of light erupted in the sky, followed by an ear-piercing screech. She rode the waves out of the periphery of the creature and lost all concept time as her focus took over.
Soon, she was far enough away from the breach that the waves no longer crashed into the watership, but simply lapped at its sides.
The sound of laughter made her stop the boat. She turned around to see Zeph, stark naked except for the gun in his hand. Wounds covered his skin. Da was sitting on a half-crushed seat next to him, but neither one of them were looking at her. What had once towered like a tall building over them was now bowed down and gushing blood.
Rylie stood up and went to her da, staring not at the dying behemoth that continued to seize and shake, but at the things that gathered around it. Horrible creatures from the ocean deep that broke the black water and ate the dead and dying.
“Netto’s still out there.” Rylie barely managed to get the words out. She had to believe that he was okay. That he hadn’t died going after her sister.
“Of course he is!” Zeph continued to laugh and holler, but his excitement abruptly ended and he turned toward her.
Half of his face had been torn off.
She gaped as pink water gushed down his frame and joined the waves, taking in the metal plating underneath his skin. Seeing it was harder than merely knowing it existed, that the Cyborgs didn't have human bones, but metal. Man-made metal.
Rylie swallowed.
“Take care of your sister and drive the boat back the way we came. Drive until you can no longer see any of this in the distance,” Zeph said, waving his hand.
