“Hey! Quit wasting time reading that shuck book and come up here before I tan yer hide, boy!”

I jerk up my head from the book I was reading, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and crane my head back to see an old man waiting at the top of the ladder up to the deck for me. The man strokes his long beard with one hand while he holds the hatch door open with the other, letting the light from the sun pass into the dark and musty bunk room. I sigh and close my book before climbing down from my top bunk.

“You give me attitude, yer won’t be able to sit down for a week, mark me words!” The man barked gruffly. His hand holding the hatch door tightens threateningly as he gives a glare so cold, Medusa herself would turn to stone.

“Fine, Ray. But you should know that I still need my downtime. I’m a grown man now. I’m not a little boy anymore. I can take care of myself.” I keep myself from rolling my eyes as I climb up the ladder.

The deck is shockingly bright, and I’m forced to squint as I climb out of the trapdoor and onto the damp, but frictional wood of the deck. The smell of saltwater and sweat pursues me as I stand up and start walking to the bow of the ship. As I look out past the pure white sails, all I can see is an aquamarine abyss that seems to never end. My eyes trail up to the robin’s egg blue of the sky. They clash, but at the same time, the colors just seem right together.

Forever lost in thought, I am greeted of the memories of my mother telling me about my father and his greedy obsession with the ocean. She would show me all the letters my father wrote to her at sea, and just from reading the scrawled, but beautiful handwriting, I could tell how much his career, and the sea, his home away from home, meant to him. The last letter in the pile was different from the rest. It didn’t describe the color of the water like the rest of them did. It didn’t describe the feelings he had when the gentle wind raced against his body like the rest of them did. He didn’t write about how all of the other fishermen would make gentle fun of him because he sat and wrote notes to his “sweetheart” while everyone else was playing cards or smoking their pipes like he did in all of his other notes. That last letter was only composed of how much he loved my mother, and how happy he was when he found out that he was a father. He talked about how he hoped that his new son would love the sea almost as much as he did. He then asked my mother what names she had in mind. He then made one suggestion. Kyle. He hoped that the name would tie his son to the water. Even his signature was different. Whereas he would always sign his name with a heart completing the signature, he signed it with this:

"I love you Marian. With all of my heart. I love my son as well.

Our son.

I hope you understand. It’s okay. I will be part of my second home. My last request from you is make sure, when you and our son see the ocean, think of me and how much I love you both.

All my love,

-Finn"

It was the moment my mother saw the sparrow at the end of the letter did she realize what my father meant by it. He meant to say goodbye. The sparrow was always a symbol for the last voyage of a sailor. My mother never saw him again.

“Hey, Kyle.” My friend, Adrian comes up beside me and jerks me out of my thoughts. “You okay, mate?”

I nod at him, trying to give him a smile. Adrian sees right through my facade as he gently puts a hand on my slumping shoulder. “Come on, cobber. You told me you would finally stop moping and actually help. I can’t manage all the sails by myself.”

I turn my head to look at him, my stormy grey eyes matching his emerald green ones. I nod silently, not even trying to crack a smile. Adrian knows me so well I know he’ll be able so see straight through a masquerade stunt like I tried to pull moments before. Adrian slaps my shoulder gently and affectionately as he turns and walks in the opposite direction of the bow, where he would be able to access the crow’s nest. After a few minutes of standing at the bow by myself, leaning so far over the edge of the railing that I can almost touch the head of the wooden mermaid at the front of the ship, and I can see the printed red letters that spell the ship’s name: Firefly. I then follow him past all of the other sailors slaving away on the deck, up the stairs to the captain’s quarters and the wheel, and up to the sturdiest of the sail mast. The rope-and-wood ladder lies in wait for me and Adrian as we approach it. Adrian reaches the ladder first, and begins to climb. I follow in suit. As we climb up and up, I feel more and more free. As I near the last rung, Adrian holds a hand out and pulls me into the crow’s nest.

I look out again to the beautiful sea, thinking of my father again.

“How much longer do you think it will be before we find something?” Adrian asks.

I shake my head and shrug, changing my train of thought to the adventure that I hesitantly decided to be a part of. We are not searching for something, but someone. Ever since old Ray was alive, people started going missing. Not all at once, but one by one. People were desperately trying to figure out what was going on, and what all those people had in common that had made them targets for disappearance. Still to this day, nobody knows for sure why they disappeared, or where they went, but I believe I have found a pattern.

Through my research into the disappearances, I have found that most, if not all of the people that have gone missing were considerably rich. The first to go missing was a man named Professor Wright Stannard. He wasn’t particularly rich like most of the other people were, but he was incredibly smart, and incredibly ambitious. The reward for just one person’s return is very generous, but Wright Stannard’s reward for return is even greater than all of the other people who went missing combined. If we found the Professor, we wouldn’t be able to count all of our earnings in time for our next birthday.

Adrian and I look out to the water, marveling at the stillness of the liquid and the clearness of the sky. The sea could not be calmer.

Adrian and I stay up in the crow’s nest until nighttime. As we both tilt to the sway of the sea, I feel myself being lulled to sleep by the quiet waters. It’s quiet enough to hear the steady, miniscule splashing of the ocean against the ship. I begin to close my eyes, which are feeling heavier each second. My mind wanders off into blankness…

crrraaaaack… VWOOM!

My eyes shoot open and I jerk in confusion. Adrian is squirming to get to his feet beside me. Everything is dark, but I see a glimpse of light at the bow of the ship. Fire.

In slow motion, everything unfolds in front of my eyes. The wooden mermaid on the front of the ship has been engulfed in flames, and she seems to be… collapsing on herself… I look out past the inflamed woman to try and figure out what could possibly be the cause of her subsiding manner. There is nothing there. It’s like there’s an invisible wall that’s keeping us from entering a space. But what could it be there for?

I am lurched out of my thoughts, literally, when the wooden lady gives way and the bow of the ship hits the invisible wall. The whole ship lurches, and Adrian and I are thrown out of the crow’s nest and onto the deck. My arm cracks as I land on my wrist, crying out as the joint angulates the wrong way under my torso. At first I can’t move, but I gather up enough willpower and strength to trek to my feet. I refuse to look at my wrist, but I know that it isn’t in the right angle. It’s numb, but at the same time, it burns as if I just tried to punch the Devil in the face. I cradle my arm as I start running.

I can’t get very far, because one of the sail masts crashes right in front of me, engulfed in flames. I turn around and try to run the other way, but the whole deck is bursting with heat and fire. I can vaguely hear the screaming of the other sailors on the other side of the fire.

“Kyle! Run! RUN!!” I jerk my head around, trying to find the owner of the voice.

A waving arm catches my eye. It’s Adrian. No. Adrian! I start towards him, but he screams, “NO! DON’T! Don’t worry about me, mate, just jump! JUMP! GO!”

I feel something wet drip onto my shirt. I look down and see that it isn’t blood, but tears. I’m crying. I look up to see Adrian’s raised arm become engulfed in the flames. My hearing becomes muffled, but that can’t stop my ears from hearing the agonized screaming of my best friend.

I’m sorry, Adrian. I won’t forget you…

I run to the railing, the fire literally hot on my tail. I jump and angle myself backward to protect my wrist. As soon as my body completely submerges in the shockingly cold water, I immediately start to panic and squirm, the searing pain in my wrist the least of my worries. I struggle to the surface of the water.

When I come to the top, I gasp for breath. I gasp again at the sight of the once regal Firefly. The fire has flooded every single nook and cranny of the ship. The flame-embellished piece of wood towers above me. As I study the ship, I notice an ashy dust substance slowly fluttering down the side of the ship and into the water. As soon as it meets the dark water, the dust inflates and becomes soggy in the liquid. I realize, with a drop from my stomach, that it’s gunpowder.  I quickly turn and tread as fast as I could. It’s gonna blow, it’s gonna blow, it’s gonna blow, it’s gonna-

The ship explodes in two in an ear-splitting crack and boom. As the two halves of the ship sink slowly and almost agonizingly into the depths of the ocean, I begin to feel a curious pull. My stomach drops again as I realize that the gravity from the ship is pulling me down with her. I begin to tread as hard as I could, not going far as I am fighting the force of the gravity of the ship.

I can only see the stern tip of the second half now. I look back towards the sea, the pull is increasing more and more every minute. I kick my legs and swim with my one abled arm, but the pull is too great. I gasp for air as I am pulled under.

No! I think. The bright light of the fire gets darker and darker as I sink. I struggle, but the pull restrains me from moving. It grabs me and takes me down farther. My heart speeds up and I start to panic, as the need to breathe increases. My vision goes blurry. My throat and lungs are burning. I can’t breathe anymore. My heart slows down as I go limp. My brain, although slow like the rest of my body, has the willpower to accept my fate. I will finally get to meet my father. I will see Adrian again. My eyes close. I completely relax. My mind goes blank…

***

Kyle.

I hear someone calling my name, but I can’t move.

Who are you? I think, curious, but timidly.

You’ll find out soon enough…

That’s when I jerk out of my mental purgatory with a surge of shock.

My veins feel electrified. I feel alive.

But how am I alive?

I move my arms and legs, testing their strength. As I move them, I discover that they have a newfound durability. My injured wrist is still captive of a burning and aching sensation, but the pain has lessened since I last remember it. I find that I have enough stamina to swim up, until I reach the surface of the ocean.

I gasp for air as I briefly study my surroundings. Fire lurks and dances menacingly around me, and ship parts have scattered everywhere. Where’s a way out? I look around, trying to find an opening in the fire that encircles me.

I spot a little opening in the ring of fire, and I swim as fast as my two legs and one arm can carry me. The gap is closing. I push myself to go even faster, even though that isn’t possible. I swim through the gap, and the fire closes it behind me. I breathe a sigh of relief, then keep swimming, trying to espy anything that could either get me to safety or help me fix my wrist. The burning sensation is gone, and it is replaced by a soreness that aches up to my shoulder. It’s like the water has put out the fire in my wrist.

I breathe in and out to distract myself from the pain. I look around, trying to get a grip on myself, when I notice a huge, looming, man made thing towers over me. It creates a shadow over the water.  How did I not see this before? I swim with my uninjured limbs as quickly and as flawlessly as I can to the massive thing. When I get to the rocks that lift the object up, I climb slowly up the massive boulders, sopping wet. I shake my head to try and get rid of some of the water in my hair, then continue up the rocks.

As I get over the rocks, I notice that the rock has been carved into a staircase. I follow the staircase to the quiet and dark lighthouse.

When I get to the top of the stairs and to the door, I take notice of an opening in the doorway. There’s warm light coming from the inside. I cock my head to the side, then hesitantly reach for the knob.

I open the door to be greeted by warm light. The lighthouse looks like an old-fashioned museum. Pictures and plaques line the walls, and an old fifties song plays. It sounds as if it was being played on a record player.

I raise my eyebrows at the sight, slightly confused at the setting change. Although the exhibit seems cheerful, it gives me the spooky vibe. I walk around, looking at all of the pictures and plaques.

All of them have descriptions of fabulously rich people, their ambitions, and their successes. in the center of the lighthouse there is a circular contraption of some sort. I move closer, and notice that the contraption looks like an elevator. On the door to the elevator, there is another plaque that reads:

"In a Dystopia of corrupted Men, be the Utopia that Raptures all.”

-Prof. Wright Stannard

To all the brightest minds (and the biggest wallets): Welcome, and proceed with utmost confidence and readiness for adventure. This was all made for you. Use it well.

What was that about? I don’t stop to think about it for long though. My curiosity bests me, and I press the button to open the door to the contraption. The opaque set of doors opens to another, transparent set of doors. The transparent doors slide open as well, and I step inside. I don’t get a chance to turn around before both sets of doors close behind me. I turn around, expecting to feel the heavy weight of the elevator going up, but instead I feel my body defying gravity, meaning the elevator is going down. I look around the copper metal room as a fifties jazz song blares through hidden speakers.

“Somewhere beyond the sea,

Somewhere waiting for me,

My lover stands on golden sands,

And watches the ships that go sailin',”

I roll my eyes at the song, at the tone that so clearly contrasts my situation.

All of a sudden the lights in the elevator go off. I duck and look around frantically, different ways that I could be killed going through my head. I wait for the elevator to drop, but it keeps going its usual speed. I turn back to the doors in confusion, and I am greeted by a bright light and a quiet hum to signal an electronic running. I squint, confused. The light goes dark for second as the humming clicks and starts to play an old-fashioned movie, complete with the song originally playing. The movie consists of cartoon characters that move in an almost maniacal way. A voiceover starts speaking in a cheerful tone, explaining about an underwater world called Euphori.

“Euphori is a wonderful place, full of promise and opportunity. It can give you all you’ve ever dreamed of. Peace. Solitude. Serendipity. The amenities are specially designed for your safe enjoyment. The opportunities are endless! Join the wonderful world of Euphori, and make all of your hopes and dreams a reality!

I keep staring at the cartoons until the projection clicks off. I widen my eyes in confusion. What is this “Euphori” they are talking about? And why is there a video about it in a weird copper, airtight elevator? I look around at the bolts on the seams in the metal, still wondering about everything. My questions are all answered as the window in the outer set of doors to the elevator open.

In front of me is the most impossible sight I have ever seen. The elevator is underwater… I look out and see a lightbulb-lit sign out in the clear blue liquid that spells:

Welcome to Euphori!

I ogle at the sign as the elevator comes to a halt. Curious. How did they get electricity into water without everything exploding? How is the sign in tip-top shape? I feel invisible engines push on the elevator and coax it to slowly go forward and through the poles supporting the sign. I am in ecstasy, and I can't take my eyes off of what lies beyond the sign. A whole city, complete with flawless infrastructure stands magnificently together. The same light bulbs that inhabit the welcome sign also illuminate the city. The elevator is inching closer and closer, and I can hardly wait to see more. But my rapture is quickly smothered when I take a closer look at the structures.  Some of the lights have gone out, and the buildings are covered with moss. Some of the signs that promoted the different buildings were all mangled and torn off of their hinges. What happened to this place? I then begin to panic as I think, Is it even safe to be here? Anxiety builds up in my chest as I get closer. The metal contraption that I thought to be the elevator operator crackles to life with audio static, giving me a good scare. With my heart beating like when I heard Adrian’s last words, I stare intently at the contraption attached to the side of the elevator.

After a few seconds, the contraption emits a person speaking, the static still accompanying the voice in the background.

“Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?” the voice calls in a thick British accent.

I study the radio contraption to find a comm button before I find one, press it, and say into the speaker, “Can you hear me? I'm in the elevator!”

The voice hesitates, then says, “Are you alright? Are you outside the buildings? Are you hurt in any way?”

“I'm fine. I'm not hurt, other than an angulated wrist. I'm approaching the buildings. I'm still outside, but I have a feeling that I won't be for long…” I reply.

The voice replies immediately. “How far are you to the building?”

My stomach drops. “What do you mean? Will I crash? I'm two or three yards away, but what’s going on?”

The voice responds, “No, there’s an automated door in the building, so crashing isn't what you have to be worried about…”

“What do I have to be worried about?” I squeak girlishly.

The voice hesitates, then says, “You will see… Beware, boyo… They know you're coming...”

I pause at the voice’s mention of the serum. A serum? Failed? How dangerous could that be? And who are “they?” What happened? A series of scenarios run through my head. None of them are good. A wave of confusion clouds my judgement as I fumble to release the radio from the side of the elevator.

Once I wrench it free, the elevator stops right above the roof of the building, then lowers itself down into the door that only makes itself known by slowly sliding open. As the elevator continues to lower itself down into the building, acting like an elevator once more, I press the comm button and say, “Who knows I'm here? What's going to happ-”

“Quiet boyo! They will hear you…”

I snap my mouth shut with a newfound fear as the invisible engine hisses, and the elevator gently hits the ground. The opaque doors are still closed, but the copper doors completely open. I notice that the copper doors are soundproof, because when they open, I hear a masculine scream of fear, and a feminine, yet maniacal scream. I duck out of reflex, looking frantically around the dark courtyard. While the masculine scream was really a scream, the feminine scream was almost like a battle cry… The only light is light from the windows at the opposite side of the room. Columns frame the windows perfectly from my perspective, and the columns mark corners that keep the hallways from view. The real fear starts to kick in as I hear two sets of feet sprinting towards the elevator.

First I see the man running as fast as possible, panting and crying with hysteria and fear. I shrink into the shadows in the elevator in order not to be seen. As I peek out of the glass doors, the source of the female voice rounds the column.

I ogle with fear at the sight of her. I can't see her that well since she’s a good five feet away, but I can tell that her dress is barely hanging off of her. I can see the places where her hands have clawed herself and her clothes. On her legs, face, collarbone, and stomach. She’s leaning a little to the left, like she doesn’t know how to stand up straight, and she’s breathing hard. Her bloodshot eyes flit around, and her head whips around with them. Her cracked and flaking lips are curved into a demonic smile.

She and the man stare each other down for a few seconds, and the female runs at superhuman speed. The man has no time to do anything, much less defend himself.

“Help! Help me!” I can hear the man screaming, but nobody comes to his aid. I am too scared to even move, let alone help him.

I watch in horror as the female pins the man down with one hand, and raises her other arm up. The man struggles, but the female’s deranged smile only gets bigger. She makes a low guttural sound from the back of her throat. Her hand raises into the light, and I can see that her fingers connect long, claw-like fingernails to her raised hand. I still cower in the shadows of the elevator, watching, but now I don't want to watch anymore.

I turn my head and shut my eyes just in time. I can hear a flurry of noise, cloth ripping, two voices screaming, the sound of sharpness cutting flesh. I cringe at the commotion.  After a few seconds of what sounded like an overwhelming chaos of sound… It is silent.

I relax my eyebrow muscles; I didn't even know I was frowning. I lift my head up and take a deep breath. That was awful. I have to get out of here if I want to-

BAM!!

My head jerks up to see the female pressed against the glass doors of the elevator, her dehydrated eyes looking straight at me. Her forehead has a circle of shadow where she has pressed it up against the glass. Her nails drum the glass, and I can hear her mumbling softly to herself. Her eyelids don't close, and she never loses her sick smile. She laughs softly in between pants, and my mind is going ballistic with fear.

After a few minutes of the stare down, she laughs harder, and then screams another bloodcurdling war cry.

I scream as well, not knowing what to do. I have no way to defend myself.

She laughs again, and mumbles one word, possibly to me. She says: “Cleo…” in a ragged, raspy voice.

She laughs once more, then jumps to the top of the elevator. I can hear the metallic thump as she lands right above where I am cowering on the floor. How did she…

I jump as I hear the female bang on the roof of the elevator. A light swooshing noise, almost too silent to hear, draws my attention to the glass doors of the elevator. I can see the last of the doors disappear into either side of the doorway.

Another bang on the roof. My senses come back to me, and I think she doesn't know the doors are open. I can escape.

I slowly get up from the floor, keeping my eyes on the door. I noiselessly pick up the elevator radio, and crawl slowly to the exit.  

As I get to the door, I peek my head out, look both ways, then twist to angle my head up.

Another bang comes from the roof, and I can only see her bare foot, with blue veins popping out of the sole. She's facing away from me…

I look back out and look both ways again. All clear.

I tiptoe out, then start running as swiftly and light footed as I can.

I don’t stop running until I round the corner and a ways down the hallway. Oh my god. I look back to see if the female has followed me, but there are no signs that someone is present, or even in the area. I warily turn back to my own business.

The pain in my wrist is stronger than ever. I gasp and pant with the newfound pain. I reach for the radio, pull it to my mouth, and day, “I got away from the elevator. I’m safe… for now… listen, I angulated my wrist before I found the lighthouse, and it still hurts… how do I fix it?”

The voice answers immediately. “Listen to me closely, boyo. First, put your wrist so it's touching the ground.”

I do as instructed. “Go ahead…”

“Okay. It's gonna hurt like a ma, but you gotta… well… Snap your wrist back. Not too far, but until it clicks and pops back into place… Good luck boyo…”

My stomach drops as he finishes. Okay, Kyle… Just get it over with...just do it Kyle…

I put my hand on my arm, and yank.

The burning pain snaps up my arm as I fight to keep my scream of pain in. I bring up my burning wrist, and muster up the courage to look at it. It looks fragile, but it's angled in the right direction. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

“You do it, boyo? You alright?” The voice sounds anxious, like he is actually worried for a complete stranger like me.

“I'm okay. I did it.” I breathe again, the pain already ceasing in my wrist. “Why do you keep calling me boyo?”

I hear the voice let out a sigh and a laugh combined, and it says, “I don't know your name. I'm Starr, if you want to know. Henry Starr.”

I smile at his name. Starr. “I'm Kyle.”

Starr hesitates, but then says, “A water name, right? You must be right at home.”

I shake my head and smile, even though he can't see me, and I say, “Quite the opposite, actually. Hey, can I meet you? I would feel better if I could put a face with the name.”

Starr laughs and says, “Of course, Poseidon.” He pauses, then says, “On a more serious note, I have a deal to propose.”

“Okay? I'm all ears!”

“There is a substance called CLEO that the residents here used, that made them have superhuman abilities. The Professor, intoxicated with his success, became more and more selfish, and blind to everyone else. Eventually, he came up with a plan to collect CLEO from deceased residents. Little girls from the ages of 7 to 10 were kidnapped, in a sense, and corrupted by a separate serum that reprogrammed their brains to only do one thing: Collect CLEO. They are called the Daughters, as the Professor thought of them as his daughters when they became corrupted by the serum. There is no way to reverse the effects. Unless you have the cure. The Professor made it just in case, but he kept it hidden to everyone but himself. I consider it a miracle that the Professor let it slip to me that he had a cure.”

I widen my eyes at the extensive amount of information. After a few moments, I respond, “What do I need to do?”

“Help me retrieve the serum,” Starr says. “If you help me, and we save the Daughters, I will give you something in return.”

I nod in understanding. Wow. I know nothing about anything, and yet Starr wants me to help him with something that could change everything. “Let's do it.”

Starr lets out a deep breath, laughs in relief, and says, “Thank you Poseidon! It will be worth the effort. Geallaim, I promise.”

I smile at Starr's happiness, but I then briefly wonder, why is he so desperate to cure the Daughters’ serum corruption? “So where is this cure?”

Starr replies, “It is rumored to be in the Fisheries…”

I get up off the ground and press the comm button again. “Then what are we waiting for? Where's the Fisheries?”

“Not so fast, Poseidon! You should be wondering why I need your help to go to the Fisheries. You see, there's a catch. The CLEO serum eventually backfired, and the residents that took it became deranged beasts instead of intelligent persons. I call them Weavers.”

I shudder when Starr says the word, “Weavers.”

“The Weavers are rumored to kill and eat people, as that was the Professor’s plan all along. After all, the more people that are dead, the more CLEO the Daughters can collect for the Professor.”

“But why does the Professor want the CLEO when he made it?” I ask.

“He didn’t make it. A german scientist named Emma Weber did. She was one of his accomplices. At least until she discovered his true motive. After he took everything away from her. She’s been out for his blood ever since.”

“Starr, how do you know all of that? About Emma?” I ask.

“I know because I’m with her.”

I widen my eyes. “She’s there? Oh my lord, I have so many questions for her!”

“Relax, Poseidon. You can see her once we meet. Can you get to the Fisheries?” Starr sounds excited, and so am I.

“Of course, if you tell me where to go.” I smile at the radio. I don’t even care about the money. So many questions will be answered.

I do little jumps and roll my shoulders, and Starr says, “There’s a Directory a little ways up. But first, you need something to defend yourself to the Weavers. I’ll direct you to my safe. There’s a big wrench and a bat in there.”

“Henry, the MARCC.” A higher, softer voice says in the background. The German accent tells me it’s Emma.

“Oh yes,” Starr says. “In the safe, there are syringes full of lime green liquid. The liquid is called MARCC, and it is an alternative for CLEO. The safe alternative, so you won’t turn into a Weaver. Inject yourself in either the wrist, or the forearm. It will give you superhuman abilities, just as Euphori promised all of its guests.”

“Okay…” I say, waiting for Starr’s instructions. I start walking slowly before I hear Starr’s voice once more. “Okay, you’ll want to head west, and look for a big sign like the ‘Welcome to Euphori’ sign that you saw on your trip here. It will say ‘Resident Rooms 20-90’. That’s where I used to live. Room 48.”

“Okay.” I say to Starr. I then start to warily walk down the corridor. I can feel my shoulders hunch to make myself look bigger as my arms move away from my body, at the ready for anything. With Starr, I feel like I can do almost anything. I grip the walkie talkie in my hand, ready to use it as a weapon if needed.  

“...If the baby needs to sleep...”

I instantly press myself up against the wall and into the shadows as a Weaver with a baby carriage comes around the corner of a lit hallway. The connects to the corridor. How did I not see it before? I shut my mouth and purse my lips to muffle my breaths as the Weaver goes past me.

“...Bad, bad blood… everyone can just stay away from me… I will not forget you like everyone else did… like that stupid, stupid professor did…” The Weaver bursts out crying out of hysteria and lets out a long string of cuss words as she passes me.

I ready my heavy radio in my hand, and reach out and strike her over the head as her head levels with my ready hand. She yelps, and I jump on top of her and strike her again. She falls silent.

I breathe a sigh of relief, then press the comm button again. “Hey, Starr? You there?”

“Right here. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I… killed a Weaver. She has this weird baby carriage, but there’s no crying coming from the carriage…”

Starr hesitates, then says, “Curious. Check the carriage.”

I do as I’m told. But when I stick my head into the carriage, I don’t see a baby, but a grenade.

I jump back, even though I know it can’t work on its own. “Starr.”

“Talk to me, Poseidon.”

“There’s a grenade in the carriage.”

“Take it, but don’t use it unless absolutely necessary. Obviously. Weavers can hear it. They would instantly be drawn to the sound.”

I put the grenade in my pocket, and keep going. I look back at the Weaver for just a moment, to make sure she’s dead, and I keep walking when I see that she couldn’t hurt me anymore.

I take a deep breath as I walk. This is crazy. I just killed someone.

I shake my head to clear it and continue still, looking out for any hidden hallways, so I could be ready for any other Weavers coming my way.

As soon as I get to the end of the corridor, I look around one corner, then around the other one. As soon as I find that the hallway is silent other than another fifties song that plays through speakers all along the empty hallway. I roll my eyes again at the song, and run across the hallway with the sign. As I pass the bright and big “Resident Rooms 20-90,” I pass the first twenty doors before I get to Room 40. Eight more, I say to myself.

As soon as I get to Room 48, I smile. “Starr? I’m here. What’s the plan?”

“I left it unlocked. Go right in.”

I push the door open and freeze at the sight. Broken cups and plates are strewn everywhere. A vase is toppled on its side on the table. The flowers that used to inhabit the vase are all forgotten on the floor. The cabinets are all thrust open, their contents all strewn across the floor.

I press the comm button on my radio and say, “What happened here, Starr?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s wrong with my Room?”

I explain to him in full detail what I see in front of me.

Starr says, “Quick. The bedroom. See if the safe is still there.”

I run and throw open the door to find a pair of Weavers sitting on the bed, chittering away to each other and clutching the mattress and sheets, ripping the fabric as they do. When they see me, their expressions harden, and then heat. They make the sound in their throats like the female Weaver that tried to kill me in the elevator did.

With hissing noises, they bare their brown teeth and spring at me so suddenly I don’t have a chance to react. The female straddles me and holds me down as the male starts strangling me with his withery hands.

“Poseidon! Are you alright? What’s going on? Poseidon! Kyle!” I can hear the muffled sound coming from the radio. I can hear that the radio is under me, but I can’t do anything. My head turns to the side, my senses becoming more and more clouded by the minute. The only thing I feel now is the male Weaver’s grimy hands on either side of my neck. That’s when I see it. A wooden bat with silver nails gleaming out of the head. An urge pushes my only free hand to reach past both of the Weavers and wrap my fingers around the handle of the bat. With what little strength I have left, I lift my hand up and strike the male Weaver over the side of the head. The Weaver yelps, and slumps away from me. I sit up and push the female Weaver off of me. I strike her arm, and she yelps as well, and scrambles to her feet. After a second of looking at me, she turns and runs out of the apartment. I sag with relief, then get up off of my radio. “I’m fine, Starr. I’m okay. I got rid of them,” I say into my radio. I take a deep breath, swing the bat around, and start looking for Starr’s safe.

“No time to lose, Poseidon. The safe will be in the closet.” Starr says through the radio.

I go to the closet and slide open the door. Sure enough, the safe is nestled underneath the racks of clothing. “What’s the password?”

“Five, thirteen, thirteen, one.” Starr says softly.

The safe pops right open after I enter the password. In the safe, just like Starr promised, the syringes full of bright green liquid are stacked neatly inside of the safe. I pull one out, and inject the serum into my uninjured wrist.

My wrist aches similarly to my other one for a few seconds. After the pain subsides, I feel something pulsing at my blood. At first I don’t have a clue of what it is, but when suspicions fill my mind, I radio Starr and say, “What did the MARCC do to me, Starr?”

“It gave you an ability. A superpower, if you will. Electricity.” Starr confirms my suspicions as I can feel the energy pulsing greater and greater within my veins. But I don’t feel pain. I feel… Powerful.

I feel the electricity slowly becoming a part of me.

“How do you feel, Poseidon?”

“Incredible.” I look at my hands, and I concentrate really hard. When I look at my hand, my fingertips are pulsing with miniscule bolts of lightning. “Where’s the Fisheries?”

***

“Careful, Poseidon. For all I know, there could be swarms of them waiting just around the corner.” Starr speaks softly to me as I peek around the corner. My bat is ready in my hand, and the radio is in the other. I study the big doors that are positioned under the wooden Fisheries sign. I take a deep breath and wait for just a while longer, waiting to see if any Weavers will show up. Nothing stirs. I brush my hand through my ash brown hair, take a deep breath, and jog light-footedly to the doorway of the Fisheries. “So, why do I have to keep a lookout for hordes of Weavers again?” I ask Starr as I open one of the big, wooden doors, and peek inside for more Weavers.

“It’s their main food source if they can’t find any unaffected humans to eat.”

I gag. “What?”

“They usually eat humans, but if they can’t find anything to eat… Well… All humans have to eat something… They come here for the alternative; Fish.”

“Oh,” I say, at a loss for words. I open the door the tiniest fraction wider, and look both ways, scanning for any possible Weavers. Other than the occasional Weaver pacing back and forth and eating fish out of the huge, freezer buckets, I am not worried. I retract my face from the door and look behind me. there are no Weavers; at least no walking Weavers. I knocked them all out in the hallway on my way here to clear a path for myself.

“Good luck, Poseidon. The cure will be in the office in the back. Most likely in one of the drawers.” I hear Starr’s voice wave through the radio.

“Okay,” I say to Starr. I then clip the radio to my belt, and clamp both hands over my bat. The nails embedded in it glimmer in the light as I move the bat around. I take another deep breath, attempting to calm my apprehension, but it does little. I roll my shoulders back instead, and slip through the door.

Immediately I’m forced to crouch, because one of the Weavers turns my way when he hears the door creak shut. I don’t want to risk him seeing me by peeking over the table I was taking refuge behind, but I could hear him grunting with confusion and suspicion. He’s facing the door, and me.

I take a deep breath and let it out silently. My bat is at the ready at my hand. I remember what Starr said to me over the radio.

“The more Weavers you have to kill, the more attention you’ll draw to yourself. The more attention you draw to yourself, the more Weavers will hear the sound and come running.”

The memory quickly fades away as I hear the Weaver shuffles closer to the table. My table. I stifle a gasp as the Weaver limps closer. I clamp my mouth shut just in time for the Weaver’s shadow to wash over me. My shaky hand slowly finds its way to my mouth, and both the Weaver and I stand in silence; both of us stand perfectly still.

Finally, the Weaver grunts again, and turns the other way.

I let out a shaky breath and remove my hand from my mouth. My whole body shakes, and I still feel apprehensive, but the relief loosens the tightness in my chest. I peek around the corner, and the Weaver is shuffling away from me and to one of the fish bins. I react my head back and crawl to the other end of the table. I peek out the other end and see the other Weavers walking slowly and almost agonizingly, like zombies. I look around to espy potential hiding places as I try not to jump at the noises of the Weavers.

I notice the many fish preparation tables scattered around the big room, and I immediately elect them as my hiding spots.

I crawl to the next table as quickly and silently as I can as the Weavers become suspicious very briefly, then resume whatever they were doing. I keep moving from table to table in the same fashion until I get to the glass doors at the end of the room that first strikes me as the office Starr was talking about. On the doors, there are gold letters printed at the top of the door’s glass that says, Inez Lynch.

I make sure that the Weavers are distracted and not facing my way, and then I manage to sneak through the doors.

As soon as the doors shut silently behind me, I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m okay. I crawl behind the desk and uncrouch. The Weavers have no idea I’m here. I begin clawing through the drawers, searching for the cure. “Starr?” I say.

“Talk to me Poseidon.” Starr replies.

“I’m okay. I’m in the office. What am I looking for, exactly?” I say as I rifle through the drawers, careful not to attract the attention of any Weavers outside.

“You’re looking for a tiny vial. It will be filled with an electric blue liquid. It will be in the cabinet drawers, most likely. It will be in a box, or wrapped in a piece of fabric; something that could protect it from being broken,” Starr says.

“Okay,” I whisper to just myself.  I glance over my shoulder at the door, and the Weavers have still not seen me. I turn back to the cabinet and start rifling through the cabinet. The cabinet holds many exotic and vintage trinkets, varying in size, color, shape, and origin. The trinkets are organized into groups of where the trinket was found. The turquoise stones are all grouped into a group labeled “Wyoming, United States,” and another group of thick, gold medallions with carved chinese dragons and cherry blossom flowers were labeled with “Macau, China.” I shake my head and keep looking. I go through every single drawer in the cabinet, but I don’t see any box. I start to panic, and I can hardly keep my voice steady as I notify Starr of my findings.

“Calm down, Poseidon. You’ll find it. What did you find?”

I start to tell Starr about the turquoise and medallions, but before I finish, he stops me. “What did the medallions look like?” He sounds suspicious, so I tell him every last detail.

“Take the biggest medallion you can find.” Starr instructs.

Although I don’t understand the command, I pull the medallion with a yin yang on the front and hang it around my neck. “Got it.”

Starr doesn’t say anything.

“Starr?”
“...Poseidon… You might want to look behind you…” Starr says through the radio. The fear in his voice makes me whip around.

Through the glass of the door, I can see that five Weavers are staring right at me. I stiffen and clutch my bat. “Starr…”

“Run, Poseidon… RUN!” I do as I’m told. I thrust the glass door open. As soon as it does, the Weavers lunge at me. I gasp as I swing my bat, the nails hitting one of the Weavers in the shoulder. The Weaver that I hit yelps and dives to the side. I hurdle over one of the tables and thrust through the door. When I open the door, at least twenty Weavers are staring me right in the eye. Their hisses send chills and I widen my eyes. This is it. I’m going to die.
I stare at each and every one of their faces, plagued by hysteria and insanity. They aren’t even humans anymore.
Suddenly, one of the Weavers at the back of the crowd yelps as falters. than another. and another. As the Weave in the front falters, a man steps out. One by one the Weavers cry out and collapse. As one at the front hollers and falls, a pair of bright blue eyes matches mine. they belong to a man in a bright green muscle shirt, and graying blonde hair. He smiles at me and says, “You’re Welcome, Poseidon,” and hits another Weaver with a huge, red wrench.
“Starr!” I exclaim, and join the fight. All of a sudden. another person knocks out a Weaver and steps and turns to join me at my flank. “Guten Tag, Kyle. Nice to meet you. How is the electricity treating you?” The woman asks as she fends off a Weaver from attacking me with a blue wrench with the same design as Starr’s.
“Dr. Weber! Nice to meet you.” I think about my electricity as my bat finds the stomach of another Weaver. “I forgot about my electricity.”
I then lower my bat, and concentrate on my free hand. Another Weaver comes flying at me, and I reach up my hand and catch the Weaver’s arm. The Weaver jerks as I electrocute it.
The Weaver falls, and I smile and laugh lightly. This is awesome.
“Please, Kyle,” Dr. Weber says, “Call me Emma.”
I reach up my hand again and again. I then switch off between the bat and the electricity.
As Emma, Starr and I fight our way out of the hallway, we advance with great speed and agility. As soon as we escape from the hallway, I pull the grenade from out of my pocket, set it, and throw it right at the door to the Fisheries.
“Leg it, everyone!” Starr calls.
We all run, but are knocked over my the force of the grenade. I get up and watch as Starr helps Emma up, and Starr leads the way down the hallway.
For a while, all we do is run. We don’t talk, we just run.
When Starr finally stops us, we stand, panting.
“Where are… Are we going, Henry?” Emma says in between pants.
“We go rescue the Daughters.” Starr replies.
Starr looks at me. “You alright, Poseidon?”
I nod, take a breath and say, “It’s nice to hear your voice in person.”
Emma laughs, and Starr smiles. He says, “Well, you got the Cure, so … it was the least I could do.”
I freeze. “I didn’t get the Cure, Starr. I couldn’t find it, remember?”
Starr eyes me mischievously. “the Medallion you took… look on the side of it.”
I look down at the medallion sitting on my chest. I frown at it, and take the gold in my hand. As I turn it to the side, I notice the faint, but existent line separating two halves of the medallion. I look up at Starr and say, “I still don’t understand.”
Starr sighs lightheartedly and looks to Emma instead. “Will you do the honors, Doctor?”
“I would love to,” Says Emma. She walks over to me and beckons to the medallion. I take it off of my neck and set it in her hand.
She runs her fingernail through the line that I saw, and all of a sudden, the top half of the medallion pops off.
I widen my eyes as Emma takes her forefinger and thumb, and reaches into the medallion. When her fingers come back out, they are holding a tiny vial with the electric blue liquid inside. The Cure. I look at Starr in amazement, and both Starr and Emma laugh. I smile as well, happy that I have helped Starr and Emma.
“Come, there is someone else I would like you two to meet,” Starr say, and starts walking down the hallway.
Emma and I look at each other. Emma shrugs and walks after Starr. I follow.
Starr walks a little way, then turns to a doorway. He goes in and holds the door open for us.
I look around, and all I see is a shivering little creature, standing in the far right corner, facing the joint of the two walls. Starr walks confidently to it and turns it around.
When it turns around, I see that it’s a little girl. She looks about 9 years old, but I’m too shocked to even care about her age. She looks possessed. Her eyes are bloodshot red.

I look at Starr worriedly, but he shakes his head and smiles. He takes the vial of liquid in his hand, the Cure, and gives it to the quaking girl. The girl looks at Starr quizzically, and drinks the vial. Her bloodshot eyes then glow blue.
As soon as the blue glow in her eyes came, it goes. Her eyes lose the bloodshot effect, and is replaced with a normal white. Her eyes change from black to bright blue. The same bright blue as Starr’s…
I narrow my eyes at the girl. I then look at Starr. I double take as I see a tear drip down Starr’s cheek.

“Madeline…” Starr says softly. His voice is broken by tears.

The girl stares at him, then runs to him and jumps into his arms. Starr’s eyes glisten, and tears stream down his face.

It was at that moment that I realized who Madeline was. His daughter…

Starr looks at me and says, “This is why I wanted the cure.” He then smiles through his tears. “Thank you.”

I smile at him and nod. “Of course. Glad I could help.”

After a few moments of hugging Madeline, Starr finally pushes her away gently. He steps towards me and says, “You have done what I have asked. You held up your end of the deal. Now it’s my turn.” He smiles, wipes his tears with the palm of his hand, and gestures for the door.

I walk out into the hallway, and wait for Starr.

Starr exits the door, and Emma follows. On the end of Emma’s hand is Madeline’s and they both wave at me. I smile at both of them. Starr then takes the lead, walking down the hallway.

***

Starr holds the door open for me as I enter the cluttered office.

The first thing I see is a man facing away from me. He is bent over, writing something down on the desk on the far side of the room. He is using light from a green-shaded lamp on the side of the desk.

Starr clears his throat, and the man stops writing. He straightens, and turns around.

When he sees me, he double takes. He looks to Starr and says, “Is that…”

I look to Starr and he nods. He then smiles reassuringly at me.

The man walks around the clutter and slowly comes to me. When he gets to me, he gently rests his hands on my shoulders. He takes me in with his eyes.

I notice his strawberry blonde hair sweeping over his eyes. I stop, however, when I notice his eyes. At first, I thought I was looking through a mirror. He has my eyes… My mouth drops open.

The man smiles warmly at me, tears pricking his eyes. “Kyle.”

My stomach drops, and my eyes begin to well up as well.

“Dad?”