Nico and Takana had spent hours walking around the ship in hopes that they would find who—or what—had killed the waitress. So far the unlikely pair couldn't find anything. And then Nico got a lead on the killer—and finding the evidence was in all honesty an accident.
"So… What are you?" Nico asked, rudely.
Groaning, Takana replied, "I am of the Silurian race. We used to live on the Earth—before it was destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Nico yelped. What did this alien woman mean by "destroyed?"
Takana looked confused, but proceeded to explain nevertheless. "About three weeks ago, the Earth reached its expiration date. The Sun expanded and the Earth burned—and with along with the Earth went the last human. She killed a lot of people, didn't really deserve to live. From what I've heard a man called 'the Doctor' is responsible for her death."
"So… There are no more humans?" Nico stared quietly at the floor, not wanting to believe that he was the last of his kind. After all, he had been amongst many humans but an hour ago—less time than that, in fact.
"Well, some humans live on other planets. They don't count, though. I'm fairly certain that all of them have some other race's DNA in them. I guess I should rephrase that then: When the Earth exploded, the last of the pure humans died with their home planet. Why are you so interested?"
Nico stumbled backward and slumped against the wall, slowly sliding to the ground. "That's not possible. I'm a human. I was born and raised on the Earth. There were so many people there not so long ago. How… How is it gone?"
"It was the Earth's time. There was no stopping it. You know, I can hardly believe you are from the Earth, but didn't know of its destruction."
Nico sat on the floor quietly. He did not move, nor did he blink. And then he saw it. Woven across the legs of a small table laid a spider web. It was very different from most cobwebs—thicker than the ones Nico had seen in the corners of Percy's bedroom. As he reached over to touch the web he realized that it had more stick to it, too. "Takana, come look at this."
"Why is bad maintenance important?" Takana gave Nico a look which quite clearly defined what she thought of the human boy: Why was this idiot showing her a spider web?
"The body seemed to have been attacked by a giant spider, remember? Look around—maybe we can figure out where it went." Nico shook off his confusion and grief and thus the two of them got down to business. Takana knelt on the ground, her slim formal dress making the job awfully difficult. Not dressed to attend a party, Nico could easily search the hallway for any clues on the attacker's whereabouts.
It didn't take long to find the second part to the creature's trail. Takana studied a trail of spots on the carpet for some time until she was certain of what the substance was. "Nico, come see this."
"Did you find something?" Nico asked while crawling over to where Takana sat studying the droplets of liquid.
"Yes. I believe this is blood—from the waitress, I presume."
Nico nodded, "Do they lead anywhere?" he questioned. For a long while the two simply stared at each other. And then, as if they had telepathically come to the same conclusion, both turned their heads to look at a large metal door which was planted about three feet up from the ground, and only a couple feet tall. "Please don't tell me we're both going to cram ourselves into a maintenance elevator of all things?"
"Hmm… No. Another lift can be found not far from here. We'll go visit the captain, since he'll be able to scan the ship for intruders."
"Captain? Ship? Just where in Hades name are we?" the incredible perplexed demigod demanded.
"Are you saying that you don't know where you are?" Nico shook his head desperately. Takana sighed, "Well then, welcome aboard the S.S. Edinburgh. You're on a cruise ship, basically. How did you manage to get onto this ship and not know it was a ship?"
"A blue box with a madman piloting it, if you consider whatever he was doing 'piloting'. Are you sure that we're on a boat?" Nico asked, trying to keep calm.
Takana nodded and gestured for Nico to follow. "Here we are, there is a window just around the corner." She said politely. Nico walked over to the window, resting his palms against the thick glass. Outside, Nico saw so many stars sprinkled across a black backdrop. Suddenly, Nico realized that the S.S. Edinburgh was no ordinary ship. This vessel was flying through space, gliding amongst the stars and the planets.
Takana, who stood behind him, felt a tad worried for the young human boy. His breathing was shallow and quick, definitely not how he should be breathing. "Nico, are you alright? You're acting a little odd…."
Nico glanced back at the Silurian. "No way… This can't be real… We're—We're in… In…." And with that, Nico promptly fainted.
a/n: A much longer chapter for you guys! :D
I've been awfully sick lately, and I've been focused on school too. Expect new chapters to come every week to week and a half. I believe I've more clearly defined the situation. By the next chapter or the one after that, you guys will know who the villain is.
Keep guessing at the alien/monster/person/baddie who is responsible for the waitresses death! :)