text: [Themes: horror, horror]
  
  I grasped wildly in vain for a way to escape safely through the exit, grabbing one of the sailor's lapels from behind and shoving him headlong into the creature's path, keeping it busy for a moment as we scampered by to the open area. The sailor shrieked as he was undoubtedly torn apart by the blunt fingers of the beast, and I knew in that moment that I deserved the same fate. Maybe I deserved it, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let it happen. We raced for the ship on steadfast legs, while the steadily pounding footsteps behind us indicated that we were being chased.
  
  I glanced back at the creature, a grave mistake. It was viciously quick, utilizing all of its human limbs to build up speed. Unlike a werewolf or something of that nature, it had no body hair, rather a stretched body that contorted itself into whatever shape fit its current need, similar to a wendigo. However, its face was only slightly contorted and elongated, bizarrely human-like. It radiated heat and power like an industrial generator, limbs churning like the arms of some machine. We had no chance of outrunning it.
  
  "Wait, Aubrey, stop!"
  
  Suddenly a figure appeared from the left, wielding a long rifle and walking calmly towards the creature. It was Aubrey. The creature stopped and swung at Aubrey's head, but he ducked under the swing and shoved the barrel of his rifle into the rib cage of the creature, letting off shot after shot that gutted the creature's innards, spraying chunks of lung and stomach upward in the air. So many consecutive shots seemed to severely damage the beast, and it screamed up at the sky, locking a body hand around Aubrey's neck and shoving him against nearby rebar. A particularly sharp piece of metal pierced Aubrey's stomach, and he groaned as the creature's superior strength pushed him down further on it.
  
  Aubrey wasn't done, though. He brandished a knife, flicking his wrist out to take it out of his sleeve and plunged it deep into the creature's neck. It sunk straight to the hilt, and he tried to wiggle it around, but the creature's skin was surprisingly durable towards the sawing motion. The creature screamed again, and placed one of its hands on Aubrey's forehead, bashing it backwards into the metal until his body stiffened up.
  
  "Bastard! Leave him alone!" Qara chucked a stone at it, and it smacked the creature's side, crumbling and falling to the ground as gravel. The creature turned slowly, pain evident on its face. It looked rather pathetic as it stumbled towards Qara, eventually collapsing in a heap. Gasping in relief, they began running for the ship again, but something stopped me from following them. The monster looked up on me with very familiar green eyes, its matted black hair strewn down its elongated face. I saw this face elsewhere, around a table playing cards, singing a sea shanty. It was the unnaturally aged face of our friend from the Jai Li, Bo, and he was dying.
  
  > follow the group
  I resisted the urge to help him, instead turning back and running, trying to put that image out of my head. It was him, I was sure of it. I caught up to Dr. Blythe and Qara, who were struggling; none of us were athletes. We got to the ship, completely winded, with a couple of the sailors having already returned and broken into the hold. They drew their weapons at us when we approached, but then quickly shooed us beneath the hold, where there were another four or five sailors. The were huddling together, sweating, hands on their pistols.
  
  There was some commotion outside the ship, and the sailors cautiously went above the hold, shutting the hatch behind them and plunging the hold into darkness. Gunshots began to echo outside the ship, as the scavengers met the remainder of our ragged crew. Cries arose form just beyond the door, and someone thumped smartly against the wooden deck. I searched quickly for a place to hide. Qara and Dr. Blythe had already tucked themselves away in the back near the bunks, using the ship's bulkhead to remain unseen.
  
  My eye was also drawn to the scattered bags and various articles of the crew strewn across the hold. They'd easily be enough to make a pile and hide me entirely, but I'd have to keep perfectly still. My body was already shaking as the adrenaline began to stagnate, I had to make a choice and fast.
  
  > hide in the back
  I stuffed myself behind the bulkhead, the third sardine squeezed into the tiny blindspot the bulkhead provided. The gunshots continued for an eternity, and with each loud crack and body hitting the deck, we pressed ourselves further against the wood, eager to become one with it, splinters be damned. Finally, there was a sharp yell from up above, and the last sailor crashed against the deck. More footsteps made their way onto the deck, and a couple bullets were fired straight down into the boat from above, until someone yelled loudly from above not to waste ammo. The hold door was completely unlocked, and a wide beam of light made its way into the hold, passing by the corner where we were hiding.
  
  Very quickly, I realized that we were completely fucked. We were trapped like fish in a barrel, there was no escape out the back, and who knows how many scavengers waiting for us at the stairs. They came closer, sifting through bags by kicking through the mess, checking for any stragglers, no doubt.
  
  "Thomas, check the back. It's imperative that none of these cretins survive, this was just a test run." Thick, determined boots pounded towards the back of the boat, and my hands twitched, ready to seize the man as soon as he rounded the corner. Thomas's thick head peeked around the corner cautiously, and I lunged for him immediately, hands aiming for his neck. Unfortunately, they never reached.
  
  Thomas was huge. At least a head taller than me, and completely dwarfing Qara and Dr. Blythe. My relatively spindly arms stood no chance, and he batted them away instantly, like he knew I was there. He appeared to be Chinese, and the gaze of his eyes seemed to burn holes in me.
  
  "I see you."
  
  A large hand wrapped around my throat and yanked me out of the nook, slamming me against the edge of the bulkhead frame. The back of my neck was especially affected, and my vision became very spotty and grey for a moment before returning back to normal. He squeezed his hand in pulses, like a child torturing a rat.
  
  "Don't play with your food, Thomas," someone snickered nearby, "just kill him and be done with it." I tried to move my neck to look at whoever had spoken, but his grip tightened further. Dr. Blythe yelled my name, but I could barely hear it, it was like being in an insane wind tunnel, getting blown backwards constantly. Gradually everything became very, very far away, until I could no longer find my way back.