The Ghost of Obsidian Bay

chapter one} tori

The cruise ship was the largest thing Tori had ever seen. The S.S. Oceanus VI was very big. No, Tori thought, huge. The sleek ship was practically the size of her hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. In fact, probably-
"Victoria Alice Marie Benjamin! We have to get going, now!!!"Aunt Carissa howled, shattering Tori's train of thought.
"Caris-" Uncle Henry started, trying to come to Tori's aid.
"Don't 'Caris' me. If Victoria is going to take a cruise trip vacation with us, she at least needs to get on the ship. We are going to be late!" Aunt Carissa huffed.
Uncle Henry gave in and started walking into the ship, and was followed by Aunt Carissa nearly dragging Tori behind her. If Tori dared to look away for a second, she'd probably be dragged off of the boardwalk itself.
Oh well, she thought. It could be worse. At least I don't get seasick.
They had flown from Boston all the way to NYC for this cruise. Aunt Carissa had wanting to go on one for months, and finally, when school got out, Uncle Henry had booked one.
Aunt Carissa was very skeptical of bringing Tori with (honestly Henry, we should just leave her behind. She'll be fine.), but Uncle Henry was very determined to bring Tori along (Caris, it will be a great experience for her.).
They were the oddest couple, exactly like the angel and the devil. Uncle Henry was a quiet, but very sweet, thoughtful man that always wore a business suit and tie, and wore his blonde hair neat and clipped. He was very tall, and his bright blue eyes were nearly always sparkling with joy. On the other hand, Aunt Carissa was the height of Tori, and was always hollering at Tori on what she could do better, which was basically anything that would pop into her cruel mind. She had shoulder length chestnut hair, and beady green eyes that gave Tori a very weird feeling that she could see into her soul.
"Hurry up." Aunt Carissa snapped, her manicured nails clenching Tori's arm like a railing on a stairwell. Tori nodded, half paying attention to her surly aunt, half trying to distract herself with the view. She couldn't even believe that this banshee of an aunt was even remotely sisters with her mother...
Her mother. A searing ache suddenly shot through Tori like a spear, piercing her right in the heart. At first the pain had been blinding, but over the months it had gotten...better. Not exactly great, but better.
Aunt Carissa stopped clawing Tori's arm when they had reached the line going into the cruise ship. Her aunt began digging through her purse, sifting through the lipstick, credit cards and passports to find their boarding passes. Tori felt that if she tried finding something in there, she'd discover a different world if she went digging in that large, red leather handbag.
Eventually, her stout aunt found the thin sheets of paper that would allow them on this cruise, and gave them to the check-in lady to scan. She gingerly took them from Tori's aunt, but Tori couldn't blame her. Heck, those passes could've been through sewage pipes and her aunt would have to go fishing for them. Tori smiled. She pictured her aunt wearing a life jacket and paddling a raft down a sewage pipe. Yes, entirely possible.
The check-in lady handed the passes back to her aunt and they filed into the ship, which seemed to be even larger on the inside than the outside. There was a velvet carpet that seemed to never end, and mahogany doors everywhere.
"Let's see..." Her aunt had swiped a map from the bellboy and was now squinting at it, trying to find their room.
"What room did they give us, Caris?" Uncle Henry asked.
"67. Victoria has 68." Aunt Carissa grumbled. "Two floors up."
Following Aunt Carissa was like trying to track a tornado. She would walk up a flight of stairs, then stop. Then she would turn down the right hallway and walk down a flight of stairs. She would then grumble to herself and walk down another flight of stairs, then take an elevator up four floors and walk down another flight of stairs.
She repeated this process until they finally asked a guide and found room 67 and 68.
Tori's aunt gave her her room key and then bid a very emotionless goodbye to her, slamming the door behind her. Tori cautiously opened the door to her bedroom. The walls were light blue and had a white unit of shelves. It was pretty nice, but the best part was she had her own bathroom, king sized bed, TV, and free room service.
She grinned. Maybe this trip isn't going to be as bad as I thought it was...
                                       .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .
Far away in a desolate land, the midnight sea churns.
The undying hunger for blood has been reawakened.
Oh Tori, don't worry. This trip isn't as nearly as bad as you thought.
It's worse.
It's way worse.