The storm buffeted our little tug boat, the deck rocking like mad as I hurled, regretting every second of that MRE. Jill rubbed my back, staying with me despite the driving rain that soaked me to the bone.

"Alright back there, Kelly?"

I flashed Luciani the thumbs up over my shoulder. Parker was former FBC, but he was still a solid dude, came over after the Terragrigia attack, fed up with the bureaucracy.

I could sympathize.

"Good deal, coming up on the last-known now!"

Jill helped me into the cabin; I slumped into the bench seat, still feeling a little green.

There was a reason I stayed with Ground Branch, fuck boats.

I gave her a weak smile, and she ran her hand up the side of my face, her cool skin chasing away the nausea just enough.

"You okay?" She whispered.

I nodded, sucking water from my Camelbak and spitting it on the deck. "Yeah, I hate boats."

She smiled cheekily, "Poor baby."

I raised an eyebrow, "Don't start Valentine."

She chuckled, turning to Parker, "How far out are we?"

"About a mile," The big man answered, "we should see something soon."

I stood up, weaving a bit as I made my way next to him, staring out the windscreen, searching for any sign of…

The silhouette of a massive ship reared out of the darkness, lit up by a flash of lightning, before disappearing again.

The Queen Zenobia.

"Got our target. Get us next to her Parker, I'm gonna get the rope ready." I turned and walked back into the rain as we closed with the enormous derelict, grabbing a duffel bag as I went.

The REBS pneumatic launcher is really something. Developed by the Norwegians and their SOF guys, it's the only true grappling hook launcher in existence, perfect for VBSS (Visit Board Search and Seizure) operations. I primed the tank and set the hook, clipping it to the rope boarding ladder. The rain pelted me as we pulled alongside, the ship was eerily quiet as it rolled on the swells, not a light shone out of any of the hundreds of windows and portholes.

Anyone who tells you they aren't afraid before they kick the metaphorical door is lying. I'm no exception, anxiety rolled in my gut as I gazed at the hulk, but I buried it. What choice did I have really? Someone had to be out here doing this, and ninety percent of the time, I'd rather it was me.

The other ten percent was made all the worse because I'd seen these nightmares before; I didn't even have the luxury of not knowing what was coming for me.

I blew out a sigh, sighting on the railing and waiting.

Waiting.

I squeezed the double trigger on the launcher, the sharp POP! was drowned out by the storm, but the hook flew true, disappearing over the railing and taking the ladder with it. I waited for a beat, giving the ladder a sharp tug and getting resistance in return.

I reached for my radio, "We have good contact, I've got the point, Jill second, Parker's got slack."

They acknowledged, Jill walked out of the cabin and dropped her NOD's, I followed suit, bathing the world in a blue-white glow. I nodded to Jill and got a thumbs up in return, stepping forward and grabbing the first rung. I rolled my shoulders and started to climb, the wind buffeting me, rain stinging the side of my face, I ignored it and kept going, past blown out portholes, signs of obvious damage that only put me more on edge. I kept expecting something to reach out and pull me into the ship, to the kind of death that kept me up at night.

Finally, I came to the railing, pulling my pistol and compressing my body, getting as small as I could before taking a deep breath, and popping my head up, scanning for threats.

The deck was empty, no blood, no bodies. I felt a light tap on my boot; Jill was set. I pulled myself up and over the railing, holstering my handgun and unslinging my rifle, panning the IR illuminator over the dark corners. Finding nothing, I keyed my mic.

"Clear, move up."

Jill was next, hauling herself onto the deck and moving to my left; Parker came last, taking the right side. An airlock hatch sat at the end of the breezeway, our way in.

I tossed up some quick hand signals, and we moved, covering all the angles. I slung my rifle as we reached the door, Parker moving into position to cover, and Jill spinning around to cover our backs. My rain-slicked gloves made contact with the wheel, and I nodded to Luciani before spinning it and pushing the door open. As soon as the door popped, the smell of death threatened to overwhelm me, rot and decay mixed with rust and water. Parker went in first, taking the right, Jill took the left, and I brought up the rear, sliding into the darkened interior.

"Clear." Came Parker's voice

"All Clear, move." Was my response.

We pushed down the hallway, torn open bulkheads greeted us, claw marks and splashes of blood here and there spoke to what we'd feared, that there had been an outbreak on the ship and we were smack in the middle of it.

I keyed up my mic, "Blackwatch, SITREP is as follows, Sandman has boarded target vessel, signs of outbreak confirmed, we are moving to locate packages and secure for evac, how copy?"

Static answered me, I tried again.

"Blackwatch, this is Sandman, radio check, over."

Another burst of white noise.

"This is Sandman in the blind, I pass checkpoint Mustang, will advise, out."

I tapped Parker, whistling to get Jill's attention, "Comms are fucked, must be the storm, OPLAN stands, we find them and get the fuck out."

Jill nodded, Parker gave me the thumbs up.

Time to go to work.

Well, if we weren't sure before, we sure as shit are now.

I snapped my red dot onto the lead monster, some vaguely humanoid thing sporting bone claws and oozing a foul-smelling slime. It chuffed and whined as it closed the distance, flanked by two more, I fired a three-round string into its face, black blood spraying the bulkhead as it pitched forward, Jill and Parker joined in, and the smell of cordite and blood filled the hallway.

We'd cleared our way down to the second level and ran into these fucking things staggering our of a room. Still no sign of Chris or Sherawat.

"Fuck," I whispered, "Double time it, watch those corners, there could be more."

"We have to find them," Jill whispered, sounding shaken and more than a little desperate.

I nodded, "And we will. Let's move. Parker? Take point."

He moved forward without a word, we followed hot on his heels.

The cruise ship's interior was destroyed; it's once jaunty interior had become a charnel house. Bullet holes and blood pockmarked the walls. With each passing moment, I wondered more and more if we'd find Chris alive in this mess; the thought of finding him dead or dying here scared and pissed me off in equal measure.

I put it out of my mind and kept moving, scanning rooms, and watching Parker's back.

C'mon Chris, where are you, buddy?

"You know we're gonna find them, right?"

Parker's voice snapped me back, his tone was level, calm even, he said it like he was saying the sky was blue, no doubt in his mind.

"Yeah, damn right, we will," Jill answered.

I wished I could be that certain.

After we cleared the second deck with still no sign of anything except those fucking monsters, I felt the cold grip of fear, real fear, for the first time since the mansion, we needed to find Chris and soon.

We stacked up on the entrance to the hold; I took point, opening the pressure door with a spin of the wheel and flashed my IR light down the dark steel staircase.

"Clear, on me."

I stalked down the steps, the illuminator playing over everything, the smell of those things was more pungent down here, almost overpowering; I held a hand up as my feet hit the diamond plate, motioning for them to slow up. I scanned down the hallway and back, hatches lined it, more rooms for us to clear.

I pointed at the first door, and we got started.

We moved all over the hold from there, finding nothing we could use, no traces of Chris, only more blood and monsters.

I fired as Jill and Parker moved, splitting open the head of another infected under the weight of my seventy-grain hand-loads, they moved forward, dropping another small group in the adjoining room. Jill pressed herself to the wall, peeking into the next room through a small window, her body jolted like someone had shocked her.

"I've got a friendly! Potential jackpot!"

I stowed the knee-jerk adrenaline rush, bounding up behind her and Parker and taking the last spot in the stack.

Jill tried the handle, "Locked, Breacher up!"

I peeled out of the stack, tapping Parker on the shoulder as I passed, letting him know to cover our backs. The small wad of C2 went into place right over the lock, I spooled out the det-cord, and we fell back around the corner.

"Firing."

SNAP-BANG!

Jill pushed up and tried the handle again, pulling the door open slowly, "Good breach, banger!" She called out.

I pulled the flashbang from my gear and chucked it through the small opening, a thunderclap following. Parker squeezed my shoulder, and we made entry, flowing into the room and taking it over in a matter of seconds.

"Clear."

"Clear

"All clear!"

I turned my attention to the figure tied to a chair in the center of the room.

The unmoving figure, wearing BSAA patches.

Fuck.

Jill charged across the room, pulling her knife to cut Chris free, but when she got close, she recoiled, confusion written across her features followed by horrified realization.

"Wha- GET OUT GET OUT!"

The door slammed shut behind us. We were trapped.

A heartbeat later, a soft hissing sound filled the room. I felt the dizziness almost immediately.

Someone was gassing us.

I dropped my rifle, letting it snap to the end of the two-point sling, and ran for Jill, some part of my mind screaming at me to get to her, and I almost made it too. Reaching a hand out as she looked at me with terror in her eyes, my vision tunneled, and the last thing I saw was the steel of the deck before I blacked out completely.

My eyes snapped open, and I gasped, sucking untainted air into my lungs; a second later, the headache started. I blinked, trying to clear my vision against my pounding head, slowly the world came into focus. I was on the floor of one of the passenger cabins, my hands zip-tied behind my back, my ankles in a similar situation.

Jill, Parker.

I rolled over and sat up, my head swimming, and looked around the room; it took me a second to realize I was alone.

Fuck.

My head started to clear, and I took stock of my situation; all my weapons were gone, along with my helmet, NOD's, and all my gear. The question that really burned me was why, why did whoever rigged that trap move me instead of killing me? What was the end goal here?

So now I'm running slick, on a ship full of BOW's, alone. Motherfucker, might as well have put a bullet in my head. But if I'm alive, maybe Jill and Parker are too.

I ignored the rising panic at the other option and gently shimmied my hands down, ignoring my protesting shoulders, and over my feet, popping them the last few inches. A quick snap of my elbows against my waist and the broken zip-tie fell away, I crouched and twisted, repeating the process until my ankles were freed. I caught sight of myself in the mirror and thanked God for small favors; my radio was still hooked to my hip, the PTT rig trailing on the floor; I scooped it up and keyed in.

"Sandman Actual, any stations this net?"

Static.

"Sandman Actual to all Sandman units, respond."

"K-ly?"

I keyed the radio so hard I almost snapped the PTT in two, "Luciani? Parker, can you hear me?"

The static cleared, and my prayers were answered, "I've got you, Lima Charlie, Actual. Sandman Two is here with me, all green."

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, relief flooding through me, Jill was alive, Parker was alive, and we had the chance to escape this shit sandwich of an op and find Chris.

"Actual is likewise. What's your location?"

"We're on the bridge, we need to consolidate, Actual. Things have taken a bit of a turn."

"Actual copies all, sit tight if you can, I'll make my way to you."

A muffled explosion thumped from somewhere towards the stern; I peered out the window just in time to see the flaming hulk of our ride disappear beneath the waves.

"FUCK!" I shouted, the sheer absurdity of this shit overwhelming me for a moment, and keyed back up. "Sandman Three, be advised, someone just torched our goddamn evac. I'm coming to you."

"Three copies all, hurry Actual. Out."

I was halfway to the door when a soft shrieking met my ears, I couldn't go out there empty-handed, so I started tossing the room, coming up with a decorative letter opener.

Well… fuck, I guess.

Armed with the bane of stationary everywhere, I slipped into the hallway, nothing but darkness greeted me, and without my NOD's, I was in a tight spot. I patted down my kit; the sloppy bastard had left me my light at least. I clicked the vest-mounted lamp on, the anemic bulb not up to the task of illuminating more than a few feet in front of me. I sighed, thoroughly pissed and more than a little flipped out at the prospect, and stomped into the darkness, muttering every manner of curse I could muster against the prick that put me here.

By some miracle, a map awaited me at the next junction, one of those "You are here." Kind of deals. I panned my light over it, finding myself one deck and a shitload of screen doors away from the bridge. I huffed and banged a left, heading for the nearest staircase, my mic screeched, scaring the piss very nearly out of me, gunfire cut across the transmission, Jill's voice came over the net.

"Actual, we have troops in contact! Unknown hostiles!"

I broke into a run, "Actual copies, hang tight I'm on my way!"

I thundered up the stairs, remembering to hang a left at the top, my boots thumping softly on the carpeted hallway when a BOW stepped out in front of me.

Oh, FUCK ME!

I crashed into the thing, and we went down in a cat ball, and the monster was in my business, crawling over to and on top of me before I could blink.

FUCK FUCK FUCK!

Slime oozed over my Cryes, the sickly aroma of rotting meat punched me in the face as I tried desperately to get my meager weapon in a position to do something. The BOW reared back, the bone spikes that made up its left arm shooting down towards my face; I jerked and rolled to the left, the spikes missing me by inches and thudding into the floor. The thing was still riding me like a mechanical bull, trying to keep me pinned as it moved in for the kill, but my desperate rolling and freed my hand, I swung my arm with all of my might, terror coursing through me, and rammed the letter opener into the side of its head with a sickening squelch.

The thing convulsed, shrieking sobs ripping out of it as it's brain tried to catch up with being dead. I twisted the blade, and its cries ceased as it flopped off to one side, black blood leaking onto the floor.

I scurried back, putting some space between myself and the corpse and pushing my way to my feet.

"Fuck…Oh fuck." I tried to catch my breath, my thundering heart just didn't want to slow down, fear turned to rage, and I stepped forward and kicked the body in the head like I was going for a penalty shot.

It made me feel better.

Jill's voice made me feel even better.

"Actual be advised, earlier engagement was blue on blue, we have FBC aboard."

I keyed up, trying not to think about how slippery I was, "Actual copies, ran into a little bit of trouble, all green, heading to you now."

The concern in her voice was clear as day when she answered, "Two copies, stay safe, Actual. Out."

I started moving, keeping my rattled nerves to a minimum, there'd be a time to freak out, and it wasn't here and now.

Finally, mercifully, I sliced the corner onto the bridge, Parker, and Jill waiting for me, their guns coming up as I stomped through the door.

I held my hands up, "Blue!"

They relaxed, Jill broke all bearing and ran across the room, hugging my slimy self tight.

"Oh God, I was so worried, I woke up, and you were gone…I…"

I leaned in, running my hands over her back, "I'm okay baby, not a hair out of place, " I felt her snort into my chest, "you had me worried too, let's roll this up and get the hell out of here."

She nodded, pulling back, she seemed to smell me after a second, her face screwing up, "Babe, you need a shower, like, bad."

"That's so ripe I can smell you from here."

"Thanks, Parker, you dick."

He chuckled for a moment before the humor left him, "Listen, the FBC agent, Vester, we have to find him, he bailed after our little mix-up, but I get the feeling that he knows something."

Jill nodded, "He was pretty cryptic; I don't like how it smells."

Parker nodded before grinning, "Probably just Kelly."

Jill snickered.

I couldn't keep the smile off my face, "Oh fuck the both of you. Okay, priority is getting comms back online, we need to get a line back to O'Brian and get some support out here."

Jill nodded, still smirking at me, "There's a comms room at the aft end of the ship, if we can hard-line it in, we should be able to get through, storm or no storm."

"Good shit, let's move."

The nagging thought came to me, and I could see it in their eyes too, none of this answered where Chris was; I was damn near certain that he wasn't here, and that set the bells ringing in the back of my mind. Something was going on, and if Vester knew what it was, I was going to beat it out of him.

"Oh, Kelly, here." Parker's voice snapped me out of it, I glanced over, and he was holding a Beretta out to me, butt first.

I took the weapon with a grateful smile, checking the magazine and ensuring a round was chambered, "Thanks, man, I was feeling a little naked."

He nodded with a smile of his own, "No worries, my friend."

"Let's go."

We pushed across the top deck, the rain still driving into us. I stayed out front, Jill on my left, Parker bringing up the rear. I was soaked to the bone by the time the aft hatch came up; if the BOW's didn't kill me, then pneumonia definitely would.

But then again, could I even get sick anymore?

I spun the latch, and we breached in; the warmth of the dead ship was more than welcome.

"Comms room in fifty meters to our right," Parker whispered.

"Check, move."

A BOW shambled out of a maintenance room, different from the others; in place of spikes, it had what resembled a crab's claw, the tentacles on its ruined face flailing wildly when it saw us.

Gonna be a big yikes from me dawg.

"Contact front!" I called out, bringing up my Beretta and firing five rounds into the thing, Jill and Parker added their own fire, but it didn't go down until my weapon ran dry.

"Goddamnit, fuck this ship," I whispered.

"Right?" Came Parker's reply.

I gingerly stepped over the thing's body, Parker tossed me a magazine.

"Last one, make it count."

"Fucking awesome." I slid it home and dropped the slide.

"Could be worse," Jill said, as she picked her way over the body, "We could be back in Raccoon."

I shuddered, "Point taken, bloodhound BOW's and zombies around every corner. But if I'm honest," I cleared the next corner, nothing. "I miss the days when Umbrella was the big bad, this splinter group, every wacko with a spare couple million lying around horseshit has gotta go."

"Amen," Parker chuckled, "Comm room on your right."

I took point, jiggling the knob and swinging the door open, I pied in to see a red-headed guy standing over a broken console.

"Hands! Show me your hands!"

His hands came up in surrender, but when he turned around, there was a borderline sneering smile on his face, "Ya caught me."

"Vester?" Parker's voice came from over my shoulder.

My gun didn't waver an inch, "You FBC?"

He nodded, that condescending look never left his face, "Yeah, Agent Vester at your service."

I held him there for a second, giving him the "Fuck You" stare, before I holstered the Beretta, "You mind telling me why the FBC is in my AO?"

He smiled again; this dude's whole aura made me want to knock his teeth out, "Well, since the BSAA doesn't have any real authority, I don't feel the need to explain why my agency is doing anything. There was an incident, and we responded. The real question is, what's an NGO doing here? Hmm?"

Oh, that's it.

I walked across the room, fully intent on feeding him his teeth when a transmission came over the last working monitor, a man in a gas mask began to speak.

"We are Il Veltro…

A minute and a half later, the broadcast finished, and we all stared with wide eyes. Parker spoke up first.

"Holy shit."

The gas-masked asshole had rambled about Veltro, and the new virus...T-Abyss, he'd also monologued like a fucking supervillain, telling anyone who was watching that they were going to poison the oceans and how we were powerless to stop it. The worst part?

They could do it.

They could and were going to do everything he said and more. They had the capabilities, they had the will, and the only thing standing between them and an extinction-level event was us.

"Oh fuck," I whispered, "Alright, we've gotta get comms back online and let O'Brian know what's going on. Then we sweep the ship, top to bottom, find these shit heads, and kill them."

Parker cut in, "We need main power back up, we need the engines online."

Vester nodded, "One floor down there's a service elevator to the bilge room."

There we go, "We'll get the engines kickstarted and call in the cavalry. On me. Vester? Can you lock this down until we get back? I don't want Veltro sneaking up our ass."

He gave me a two-fingered salute, "I've got it covered BSAA, just don't get smoked, I'd rather not have to handle this on my own."

I scoffed, "Yeah, fuck you too."

Fucking guy thinks he's a stud.

I motioned to the door, and we were off.

Fucking boats.

"Uh, Guys? The fucking room is flooding!"

We'd pushed down into the bilge, taking down more of the BOW's, smooth sailing, but the second we'd flipped the engines back online, the backed-up pumps had begun dumping water into the room at a terrifying pace. Now the seawater was past my shoulders, pushing us up towards the ceiling.

"We know!" Parker shouted back.

Off to my right, Jill pulled in a deep breath and dove beneath the surface, popping back up a few seconds later, "I can't see a way out… wait… there!" She pointed at a grate over our heads, swimming over to it and tugging with all her might, Parker and I joined her, pulling the rusty piece of shit for all we were worth. The water kept rising, about seven feet between the surface and the ceiling.

Six.

Five.

"PULL!" Jill screamed over the roaring water.

Four.

The grate came free and almost killed us, hitting the surface before sinking into the depths.

Parker hauled himself up, spinning and hoisting Jill into the shaft; they both grabbed onto my gear and pulled me up. I collapsed onto the catwalk, breathing hard and trying to get my heart rate under control. Jill crawled over to me and grabbed my rig, pulling me in for a deep kiss that stole my breath away. She pressed her forehead against mine and leaned into me; I could feel her shaking.

"Fuck this place," She whispered breathlessly.

"Amen, baby girl. Let's head back and get O'Brian on the horn."

I stood, shakily, "Parker, you good?"

He flashed me a thumbs up, "All good, Kelly."

"Let's move."

We hustled through the shaft, keeping an eye out for anything fishy (heh.) and climbing up a ladder before breaking out into a wood-paneled hallway. Finally, back in the ship's main body, we hooked upwards, making our way to the Comms tower. We'd barely made it up the first flight when something screamed, long, loud, and inhuman.

I recognized it instantly.

"Hunters," Jill whispered.

I had neither the firepower nor the patience to deal with this fuckery.

"Keep quiet and follow me," I whispered, pushing down the rising panic.

We rounded the flight, I rolled my feet, heel to toe, praying I wouldn't hit a creaky step. The Hunter was about thirty yards down the hall, walking back and forth, clicking its claws together like a tic, its deep-set white eyes searching for a target.

I hated those fucking things; moreover, they scared the shit out of me. I didn't like fighting people, never liked hurting them, except in certain circumstances, but I'd prefer fighting ISIS or half the Chinese Army over a Hunter any day of the week.

We hit the top of the steps, and the Hunter perked, sniffing the air; I threw up a hand, if it turned our way, we were dead. Fifty feet to our right was the door to the Comms Tower.

Breathe.

Step.

Breathe.

Step.

The thing growled, deep and hungry. I felt Jill's hand on my shoulder, the smallest tremor running through her.

I grabbed her hand and pushed her towards the door, motioning for Parker to follow.

The Hunter turned suddenly, its eyes fixed on me, its head dipping low, readying to charge, and all of a sudden, I knew what I had to do, seven and a half billion people, or me. There was no math there; they had to survive to let the cavalry know. Parker passed me, and I grabbed his arm, "You keep her safe, Parker."

The Hunter screamed, and I bolted towards it.

"Mike, NO!" Jill screamed from behind me.

The Hunter and I rocketed towards each other, the thing's clawed right hand going low like it was readying for an uppercut, ready to gut me on the upswing.

Ten yards away, I cut right and jumped over the railing, the Hunter followed; just before my feet hit the ground and I started running for my life, I heard the outer door slam closed.

Good luck.

I love you, Jill.