“Calm down,” Novak began, but got no further. Caterina pushed him away and glared at them all. When she spoke again, Gail had to struggle to hear her whispered warning above the sound of the storm.
“They’re coming. They’ll be back. The others went below but Paris and I stayed up here. That’s how they… they’re coming. You guys have got to hide!”
“Who’s coming?” Novak reached for her, but Caterina flitted out of reach. “Who did this?”
“They did. The men with no heads.”
Another volley of gunshot erupted beneath their feet, followed by a long and agonized scream.
“Fuck this shit.” McCann turned back to the open hatch. “I’m heading below decks. Anybody coming with me?”
“I would recommend that we all stick together,” Simon said.
More shots echoed from below. The boat rolled hard to the right as a wave crashed against the hull.
“We’ve got to hide,” Caterina sobbed. “Please!”
Gail held up a hand and took a step forward. “Caterina. It’s me. Gail. Who did this, honey? Who are these men with no heads?”
Caterina started to answer, but then her eyes grew wide. Her mouth hung open. Gail realized that the frightened woman was not staring at her, but at something over her shoulder. Before she could turn to see what had terrified Caterina so much, McCann screamed.
“I think,” Simon shouted, “that we just found out.”
Gail spun around, shotgun at the ready. A moment later, she forgot all about the weapon. The thing that stepped out of the open hatch door startled her so badly that she could barely breathe, let alone act.
The creature emerged onto the wet deck and rose to its full height. It towered over them all. Gail judged it to be at least eight feet tall. Its naked body was that of a well-developed human—two legs and arms, slightly longer than normal, all attached to a powerful torso. The skin was pale, and the muscular chest sported what looked like gills. Still, the overall effect was that of a human male except for two differences. Where its penis should have been, there was a tentacle, and in place of a head, the monster had a giant starfish. Its short, stumpy neck merged with the starfish, right between two of the creature’s five upper stalk-like appendages. At the tip of each stalk was an eye. In the center of the creature’s face (although Gail supposed it wasn’t a face—it was just where she’d expected a human face to be) there was a circular, lipless mouth lined with razor sharp teeth.
The beast lunged forward, thrusting at McCann with a weapon. Gail blinked, trying to determine what it was exactly. It looked like a piece of coral fashioned into a trident. McCann parried the blow with his sword, but the force of the creature’s attack knocked him backward. He slipped on the wet, rolling deck and landed on his back, sprawled at the monster’s feet. McCann shrieked. The sword fell from his grasp. The thing raised the trident over its head and thrust at him again.
CHAPTER 63
Gail squeezed the trigger. The shotgun roared, drowning out the thunder overhead. Gail staggered backward across the wet deck. The blast hit the monster in the chest, punching through the pale skin and spraying reddish-pink pulp all over the bulkhead behind it. The creature dropped the trident and stumbled forward, squealing in pain. The sound reminded Gail of a boiling tea kettle.
“Hit it again,” Novak shouted. “McCann, get the hell out of the way!”
McCann skittered away from the staggering beast. Gail braced her feet shoulder-width apart and fired again. The monster toppled over, convulsing on the deck. Blood and rainwater swirled around it. The stalks on its head waved weakly, and then went still. All five eyes stared sightlessly.
“Well, we know a chest shot works on them,” Novak said.
While he helped McCann to his feet, Gail inched forward. Keeping the monster covered with the shotgun, she prodded the corpse with her toe. The beast didn’t move.
“Nicely done,” Simon said.
Gail nodded, unable to speak. Her chest hurt. The shotgun’s kick had been worse than she’d imagined. She was certain that if she lifted up her shirt, she’d find a bruise.
“Caterina,” Novak asked, “how many more of these things are there?”
The frightened woman shrugged. Gail noticed that her color was returning and her eyes no longer seemed dazed. Perhaps the shock was passing. When she spoke, she no longer stammered and her tone seemed more confident.
“At least seven. Maybe more. I’m not sure. It all happened so fast and things got confusing.”
“How many of us are left? We’ve found Paris. Is there anybody else alive?”
Caterina nodded. “Morgan, Ben, Mylon and Tatiana.”
“What about Riffle?” McCann asked.
“Morgan tossed him overboard when you guys left.”
“Fuck these starfish men,” Novak growled. “I want Morgan.”
Caterina looked at each of them. “Where are Warren and Lynn?”
“They didn’t make it,” Novak said. “But this is Simon. We picked him up along the way. Simon, meet Caterina.”
The Black Lodge agent smiled. “A pleasure.”
“Simon’s a wizard,” McCann said, “but so far, the only thing we’ve seen him do is start a fire.”
“I have other talents,” Simon said.
“Then why didn’t you do something just now?” McCann bent over and retrieved his sword. “Why didn’t you wave a hand and turn this thing into a crab or something?”
Simon sighed. “It doesn’t work like that—at least, not with me. This creature is natural, rather than supernatural. It comes from the Great Deep, but it is not supernaturally produced. An exorcism wouldn’t work on it. There are spells that would have aided us, but by the time I would have finished preparing them, you’d have all been dead. And besides—the last thing you’d want me to turn that creature into is a crab. Obviously, you’ve never seen a Clicker.”
McCann frowned. “A what?”
“Never mind,” Simon replied. “Wrong level.”
“Let’s go,” Novak said. “We’ve got people to help, a ship to regain, and Morgan to kill.”
Simon picked up the fallen trident and tested its weight. “Lead on, Mr. Novak.”
Novak turned to Gail, and held up his knife. “Want to trade weapons?”
“No.”
“Then you’ve got point.”
“Shit.” Swallowing hard, Gail stepped through the hatch. Novak followed her, then Simon, McCann and Caterina.
“Morgan,” Novak whispered. “You’d better hope these things kill you before I do.
CHAPTER 64
As they crept down the passageway, Gail tried to remember if she’d racked another shotgun shell. She’d shot the starfish man twice, but had she readied the weapon after the second shot? It wouldn’t do to come across another of those creatures and not be ready. That split second could make all the difference between life and death. She was reluctant to pump the shotgun now, because the noise could give away their location if one of the beasts was lurking around the next corner.
Indeed, that was the problem. The multi-hulled, one-hundred and twenty five foot long Catamaran was a labyrinth of passageways, hatches and ladders. Most of them had only the red emergency lights for illumination. Some didn’t even have that. She moved as quietly as possible, but that meant going slowly. Occasionally, when she slowed her pace too much, Novak bumped into her from behind.
They reached a ladder leading down to the lower level. Pausing, Gail glanced back at the others.
“What now?” she whispered.
“We go down,” Novak said.
Gail glanced at the others for confirmation, and noticed that Simon was admiring the trident he’d taken from the dead creature. “Everything okay?”