Link of the Dead
Chapter 4:
Link and Tetra walked out of the cabana and down the beach to where their ships were parked. Link tried hard to process what had just happened.
"How's Manny?" asked Link.
"He seems fine," replied Tetra, "But his cut got infected."
"Infected? That quickly?"
Tetra nodded.
"Shit," muttered Link.
"The cabana's first aid kit is good, but if we're gonna treat this guy, we need to take him to a real hospital."
"All right then..."
After a few minutes, the entire party had gathered at the beach.
"Okay," said Aryll, "Where's the ship?"
"Just over there," replied Tetra.
However, as they approached the shore, they saw something they couldn't believe...
"What the fuck?" shouted Link.
"This..." began Tetra, "This can't be..."
A mast on Tetra's ship had completely blown off. The broken mast had fallen down on the deck of the ship, breaking much of the cabin and the deck. Furthermore, half the vessel had sunk into the water.
"How could this have happened?" asked Link.
"Oy, there!" called a voice from the ocean. Link looked down and saw the face of the merman looking back.
"Don't tell me you forgot me already, small fry!" said the merman.
"Merman?" asked Link, "Geez! Long time no see!"
"Yikes!" said Loot, "Run for your lives!"
"Relax," said Link, "He's a friend!"
"Yeah, yeah," said the merman, "I bet you're probably wondering what happened to your precious ship, eh?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Ha!" laughed the fish, "Too drunk to hear the big storm!"
"Storm?" asked Tetra.
"Yup! Not a very big storm, but the thunder was kinda loud...And you're ship's mast made a great lightning rod!"
"I checked the weather reports," said Link, "I didn't hear anything about a storm!"
"Hey," said the merman, "I'm a cartogropher, not a weather man."
"Listen," began Link, "Can you please head out and tell someone we're here?"
"I guess I can," said the merman, "But even the closest island to here is a pretty far trip. You might have to stay here for a few days."
"But Manny..." said Tetra.
"I still got my King of Red Lions," replied Link, "I'll have to take Manny to the hospital myself."
"Alrighty," said the merman, "Sounds great! Good luck to all of you, and hang tight!"
The merman took off.
"God speed," muttered Link.
"Is...Is he gone?" asked Loot, "Man, those things freak me out!"
As the crowd gathered around, Manny grabbed his shoulder, which began to ache.
"Manny," said Link, "What's wrong?"
"My shoulder..." began Manny, "AH! It hurts like Hell!"
"Don't you see?" asked a voice, "We're all doomed..."
Link turned around and saw Old Man Ho-Ho.
"Do you know what's going on?" asked Link.
"Tell me," said the old man, "Did you notice anything about those creatures you saw down there?"
"What are you..."
"Yeah," replied Tetra, "Those creatures looked almost...human...but they weren't alive...They were..."
"Decomposed?" said Old Man Ho-Ho, "Then they are the dreaded Redeads."
"Redeads?" asked Link.
"Enemies that are neither alive, nor dead. They are lifeless bodies, that roam the earth, searching for living beings to feed on...In my youth, I've heard stories about them, but I never though they were true."
"Well," said Link, "Where do they come from? How do we beat them?"
"The curse..." said Ho-Ho, "It's real. It's not just some legend."
Old man Ho-Ho seemed to be talking to himself at this point.
"Sir!" shouted Link, "Snap out of it!"
"The boy," said the old man, pointing at Manny, "Stay away from him! Stay far away from him!"
Old man Ho-Ho began to run.
"We are all doomed if we stay here!" screamed Ho-Ho as he faded away in the distance.
"Hey!" said Link, "Where the fuck are you going?"
"What does he mean, 'we're doomed'?" asked Tetra.
"That's not what bothers me," said Link, "How the fuck are we supposed to get off this island if your ship is gone?"
Link and Tetra stood there for a while.
"Link..." began Tetra, "Where did you park your boat?"
"HOLY SHIT!" Link bolted down the beach to where he parked the boat. To his horror, the old man had gotten into the King of Red Lions and was already leaving the shore.
"GET BACK HERE!" yelled Link.
The old man did not say anything. He just continued to sail down the ocean.
"GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!" repeated Link, but it was too late.
Angrily, Link stomped the ground and kicked a stone away. Tetra ran towards Link. Link did not say anything.
"Now what?" asked Tetra.
"Like he said," said Link, "We're doomed..."