Ebb Tide: Book 1 of the South Wind Saga

Chapter 8

I come up the stairs, into the light, with my rifle to my shoulder. My weakness gone, left where it should be, left in the dark down there. Out in the light, where I am strong, facing aft, I swing left, starboard CLEAR then right CLEAR and there is a flash of movement, a blur racing out into the light. A dark shape sprinting into sunlight. Blong! He's running, coming out of the superstructure, into the morning sun, straight across...

No. Not Blong.

One of them, covered in dark bed sheets. Bundled up, it races out of the superstructure, its bare feet smoking on the deck. I fire at it as it comes. But it's not coming at me, it's going to the last crane, the portside crane that is closest to the bridge.

I shoot four times, maybe one or two bullets go home. It's running as fast as it can, I lead it, aiming ahead of it but then it's gone, disappearing behind the crane.

I hold my ground. I'm out in the light. If it wants me, it will have to come straight at me, across the open deck. I back up, swinging left to clear the port side of the bridge again. Mindful of their simple tricks, the old bait and switch, this guy distracting me while others come at my flanks. I move back, opening the angle, so I can swivel easily, covering the crane, where I know one hides, and then pivoting to the port walkway, where I expect them to come.

But nothing does. The portside remains clear and I swing back to the crane, expecting the cornered mary to charge at me but nothing moves. Nothing but the seabirds that have risen to the air in a mad circling panic, cawing desperately as they sense the unnatural creature hiding behind the crane.

Katie, any ideas what it's up to?

This is weird.

You're telling me.

Then something flies out, a square and I almost shoot it, like a clay pigeon, the square rises into the air and I'm looking at it thinking what the hell is when it hits me. It's the inspection panel from the base of the fourth crane. A hex key a little beyond the mary's ability to handle, it has just punched its claws through the thin metal of the hatch and ripped the whole hatch off.

Oh shit.

Katie yelps, the generator!

But I'm already moving, crossing over the walkway between the deckhatches, moving to the portside so I can get it before it does something to the generator. Maybe rip hoses, maybe crunch the fuel injectors, sabotage to slow me down, to give me something else to fix.

Then it springs into view. It has discarded its cloak. A thin old woman under there, skin shrivelled, pale long legs and arms, a crown of white thin hair. I must have hit it already because its covered in red liquid. No, wait, not red, pink liquid, thin, viscous goo that - they don't bleed, that can't be blood. What am I seeing?

Fuck it, whatever, I shoot it. It runs out, naked and my shots take it high, above its sternum, chunks flying from its back as it goes down. But the angle is all wrong. It wasn't running at me, it was running around the side of the crane, out into the open space.

Into the sunlight.

As it goes down, it falls out of the crane's shadow, its momentum holding it on its course. It thuds to the deck and its glistening skin, already steaming, flickers and then ignites.

It goes up. It doesn't catch fire, it explodes. Like a small fireball, more intense than any mary I've ever seen before, its skin rippling and disappearing. Black smoke rises, scorching the yellow arms of the crane.

The pink liquid, the viscous goo. It wasn't blood.

Oh shit again.

It was hydraulic fluid.