With a new year comes a new chapter! I meant to post it yesterday, but ah well. The chapter does have a little bit of boat gore in one scene, so be warned.
Later on that afternoon, Hercules had finished getting cleaned and sailed to the breaker's yard. He had a feeling the galleon that Burke and Blair hauled in was dead, but its soul still lingered. Hopefully it would be released with all the rotting wood being removed and replaced. Once he arrived, his suspicions were confirmed. Men were already at work slowly dismantling the galleon, and a strange light was coming from within the breaker's yard.
He carefully entered, not wanting to catch the workers off guard. The light in the breaker's yard soon faded, meaning that the vessel's spirit could rest in peace. Relieved that nothing else was required of him, Hercules pressed on. He reached Burke and Blair and said, "Hello gents."
"Good afternoon. Do you need anything from us?" Burke asked, giving a small courtesy bow to Hercules. Blair said nothing, as he was tasked with making sure the men would not slip off the galleon.
"I bring news from my friend." The ocean tug replied, giving a courtesy bow as well. "He is pleased with you two finding the galleon. However, he has another favor to ask of you two. He uses crows to find someone who is dead or dying, but birds have such short lifespans that he thinks he can use you two to help him find those who are close to death. Would you be willing to do it?"
At the same time, Ten Cents and Sunshine were taking a break in between harbor contracts when they spotted a group of white tugs. They figured it must have been the White Fleet that Hercules was talking about. After a minute, they decided to go up and talk to them. Hopefully, all would be forgiven.
"Hello!" Ten Cents greeted, looking at the White Fleet. "Look, we wanted to talk to you guys about last night. On behalf of the Star Fleet, we're-"
"No need to drag on!" Ded Moroz chuckled, turning to face the switchers. "We apologize for giving you guys a fright. It's all a misunderstanding!"
"We weren't trying to scare you." Another White Fleet tug added, looking at the switchers. "Around the time we ran into each other, we saw a maroon tug and ran off in fear! Moroz thinks that the maroon tug is the same vessel as the grim reaper, but that's his assumption, not mine."
"Maroon tug?!" Ten Cents was intrigued! In a hushed voice, he asked, "What was a maroon tug doing all the way down here then? And close to our waters too?"
"We were wondering the same thing." Ded Moroz explained, becoming serious. "Last month, he got very close to where we're based at. He went to Halifax, no one knows why. However, he blinded a patrol boat named Tiger!"
Ten Cents and Sunshine went into a panic. "Hercules was up in Halifax around the same time the maroon tug was spotted!" Sunshine exclaimed. "He didn't mention anything about a maroon tug to us while he was there!"
"That was because he left around the time the maroon tug was spotted." Ded Moroz said, letting out a heavy sigh. "Tiger says that he saw the tug moments before he was blinded, but no one has ever found him. Government dismissed it as a collision with a platform. It doesn't help that the maroon tug uses weather to cover his tracks."
"Ded Moroz, what makes you think that the maroon tug is the grim reaper?" Sunshine asked, thinking about what the other tug had said. "After all, Hercules told me about how there were rumors of a grim reaper up in Halifax. The Navy had to restore order as well."
"Must be their power to control weather patterns. The grim reaper uses fog, the maroon tug uses storms. Or so they say." Ded Moroz replied. "Be careful young ones, they are both dangerous. Very dangerous."
"Will do. Thank you!" Ten Cents replied, seeing the White Fleet off. Once they disappeared, he let out a defeated sigh. "We're never going to get anywhere at this point Sunshine. The grim reaper is having us stumped!"
However, Sunshine realized that something wasn't adding up. "Hey Tenny, you know how Ded Moroz said about Hercules leaving around the time the maroon tug was spotted? I just remembered the time I saw Herc a few weeks ago He said he was on his way to the fuelling depot, but I saw a massive flock of crows fly away from Lucky's a few minutes after I saw him!"
Ten Cents gasped at this information. "Don't you think-" He was about to ask the unthinkable when he felt the water get choppy. "C'mon Sun, it's starting to get stormy. We better get back to the harbor." Sunshine pouted, but his friend was right.
When they returned to the harbor, they immediately got to work on their next contract. However, the grim reaper was still on their minds. As they were working, they spotted Grampus towing a broken down passenger ferry back to her dock. Hopefully he could help them.
"Oy Grampus, we need to speak to you!" Ten Cents said rather loudly to draw the submarine's attention. "Do you mind chatting with us for just a few minutes?"
"Yes of course!" Grampus replied. "Just let me finish this towing job first and I'll speak to you guys then." The switchers nodded and went back to work, waiting for Grampus to finish.
Once the tow was complete, Grampus floated up to Ten Cents and Sunshine. "What do you two need? You looked like you needed some assistance!" He said.
"We want to know about the grim reaper!" Sunshine said. "There have been lots of rumors about him lately, and we're worried. I mean, we are trying to solve the mystery. It's just that we aren't getting anywhere with solving it!"
Upon hearing those words, Grampus's heart sank. He knew a lot more about the grim reaper than Ten Cents and Sunshine did, but something inside him told him to not talk about it. However, he wanted to be helpful as Ten Cents and Sunshine were his friends. "The grim reaper is incredibly dangerous." He said, looking up at the switchers. "If you uncover him, you might not like what you're going to see."
"Not like it?" Ten Cents asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean by that Grampus?"
"He likes to keep hidden, and his identity is one that he can't spill out! That was why he used the fog." The submarine said. "If he sees you, you'll be done for!"
Ten Cents and Sunshine were about to ask if Grampus saw them, but Grampus told them that the information he gave was good. After all, the grim reaper was probably in the area and watching their movements. After he left, the switchers finished their work before heading back home. They now had some closure, but Grampus' behavior was bothering them.
That night, Hercules slipped away from the Star Dock while everyone else was fast asleep. Burke and Blair had told him about the Geir, who was getting closer and closer to death each day. With this information, Hercules decided that it was time to go pay a visit to the quarantine bay. After all, it would be too cruel to leave the Geir in a state like this.
Ten Cents was fast asleep when he felt something was off and woke up. He spotted some rippling in the water and woke up Sunshine. "Sunshine, looks like someone's gone!" He whispered, not wanting to wake the other Star Tugs up.
The smaller switcher stirred awake, and noticed that everyone was accounted for. Well, almost everyone. "Where's Hercules?" He asked, frantically looking around.
"He must have headed off again." Ten Cents suggested, keeping his voice as small as possible. Luckily, he still had some leftover steam, so he decided to go find Hercules. "We have to find him this time!"
"This time?" Sunshine asked, trying to suppress a yawn. "Ten Cents, do you know if Hercules knows we're following him? I don't want him to get angry with us."
"I'm not sure." Ten Cents shrugged. "But there's one way to find out!" Their engines coming to life, the switchers left the Star Dock to pursue Hercules.
The weather was not as foggy as it had been in previous pursuit, attempts making Ten Cents wonder if it was just a false alarm. Either that or Hercules had set up a trap. He shrugged his worries aside and pressed on, with Sunshine sticking close by in case anything went wrong. There, in the distance, they spotted Hercules. If they blew their hooters, they would be in serious trouble, so they lurked.
Up ahead, Hercules felt that he was being watched. The cold snap did not do enough it seemed. Causing the fog to thicken would also make the situation worse. Not wanting to be spotted, he could only close his eyes and press on ahead. The fog appeared to twist and contort as he did so, and turned into a ghastly face!
The switchers stopped and screamed at the sight. While they were distracted, Hercules was now far ahead. When the wind blew the fog away, Ten Cents was disappointed to see that Hercules was gone. "Rats, we lost him!" He spat.
"Nothing to be mad at Tenny." Sunshine said, looking up at him. "We still have a chance!"
Ten Cents chuckled and pressed on, following the ocean tug. Little did they know, their path was taking them to the quarantine bay.
Hercules was now at the entrance, and had used the thick fog as a cover. The Coast Guard vessels were probably anchored, but he did not want to run the risk of getting caught. He carefully navigated the bay, not wanting to draw attention. Then, he spotted the Geir being kept in a shed.
True to Burke and Blair's word, Geir's health had rapidly deteriorated. His face was covered in sores, some of them oozing a strange fluid. Since humans were immune to the effects of microbonic plague, men had to be called in to clean the sores to prevent infections. Even then, their efforts were of little use since new sores sprang up. At this point, they turned to alleviating the whaling vessel's suffering.
The smell of rotting fluids and flesh would make an ordinary vessel vomit, but it didn't phase Hercules. He shook off the smell as nothing too out of the ordinary, not even wincing when he spotted a few worms squirming on the whaling vessel's face. He felt sorry for Geir, but now was not the time to pity him. After all, he had work to do.
"...Hello?" Geir asked, too weak to even speak. When he noticed that it was just Hercules, he was not surprised. It was as though he knew his time had come. "Come in…"
Pleased by the gestures Geir made, Hercules nodded and slipped inside the shed. There was no need to introduce himself at this point. He shook off a few bugs before saying in a gentle and hushed voice, "Close your eyes, it will be all over soon. Think about your friends and family, those you loved in life."
Geir slowly nodded and did as he was told, prepared to accept his fate. Hercules closed his eyes as well, now ready to do the grim task that had been placed before him. Smoke was slowly seeping out, heading towards Geir.
Ten Cents and Sunshine were now near the quarantine bay, and they docked to prevent getting sick or worse. Suddenly, they heard the loud scraping of metal! It was ear-splitting, unlike many of the noises vessels would hear. The switchers were shaking nervously, and swore that they heard someone screaming.
The Coast Guard vessels stationed at the quarantine bay heard the noise as well, and immediately two patrol vessels were sent out to go investigate the source of the noise. They could not afford to make mistakes, as diseases could easily spread and devastate the local population. The two patrol vessels switched on their lights, looking for any signs of foul play. When they got close to the shed where Geir was being kept, they were spotted! One of the Coast Guard vessels tried to sound the alarm, but was crushed and sunk! The other hurried through the fog, a large vessel now pursuing him.
After what seemed like forever, the scraping noise stopped. Ten Cents and Sunshine opened their eyes, and sighed a breath of relief when they noticed that there wasn't anything else that was out of the ordinary. Courage building up again, they were now ready to do what was necessary to stop the Grim Reaper. They set off for the quarantine bay, but once they got to the entrance, they were stopped by a Coast Guard vessel. He broke through the fog and hurried out of the entrance, desperation in his eyes.
"You have to leave! The grim reaper! He's collected the soul of the Geir! He killed my-" Before the Coast Guard vessel could finish his sentence, a large tug emerged from the fog, turned on his light, and aimed it at the Coast Guard vessel. The tug spotted Ten Cents and Sunshine before snarling and letting out a loud, almost inhuman roar. Ten Cents and Sunshine screamed and hurried off, not looking behind them. The tug watched the switchers hurry off with interest, and he chuckled before dragging the Coast Guard vessel back into the fog...