The door sealed behind them, an emergency shutter to prevent flooding on the ship which meant there must be a hull breach somewhere and when the power was restored it closed. They were safe now, cut off from the infected, if only they knew what else lurked within the cargo ship.
Brawnz continued to slam his fist against the hull yelling, cursing, his teammate killed when he was so close to saving him. Again he punched the hull his hand bruised and bleeding losing its battle against the steel wall, but still he continued. Nolan and May the remaining two members of BRNZ along with the members of NDGO kept their distance allowing Brawnz to vent his grief with what time they had to rest.
Nebula and Dew checked on their supplies, Octavia's pack was lost during the battle and Roy's was likely crushed along with him, not that they could retrieve it even if they wanted to. Nebula was down to her last three arrows and Gwen her last two knives, May still had a sufficient amount of ammunition left for her rifle, beyond that the group had already used a third of the dust they brought with them. Their supplies dwindled, but still enough all they had to do now was rest, allow their auras to replenish.
The hull groaned and they felt the ship shift red emergency lights that lined the walls illuminated, "Hull breach detected" a female automated voice announced through the loudspeakers, "Engine compartment flooding. Emergency shutters will seal in five minutes, all hands please evacuate the compartment."
Nebula walked over to Brawnz placing her hand on his shoulder, "We need to get moving" she softly told him.
His wounded hand sliding down the wall he nodded his acknowledgment without looking at her. Taking the lead in the formation once again, no choice, but to move towards the stern of the ship into the final engine room, the klaxon going off minutes after entering and the automated alert announcing that another compartment was flooding. The klaxon alarm along with the flashing red emergency light only made their situation worse as they moved through the reddish brown steel cage that was the final engine room. They spotted the hull breach as they moved toward the back, sea water pouring in through a large tear in the weathered walls.
Octavia looked up, "The catwalks here are still in one piece, we need to find the ladder and get higher up, there will be an exit to the upper decks."
Dew looked at Brawnz's bleeding hand, "Want me to bandage that?"
Brawnz started walking, "I'll be fine, don't worry about me" the blood from his hand dripping into the water that was pooling around them.
Not even halfway through the room and the water was above their ankles, forcing the team to pick up their pace.
Gwen pointed to the opposite wall near the back corner, "There's the ladder, it goes up to the observation platform."
May raised her sniper rifle peering through its scope, "Right side of the platform, there's another ladder leading up. That's our ticket out."
Nebula nodded, "Then let's g…" her words interrupted by the sound of something hitting the hull and the hole that flooded the compartment grew bigger.
Nebula ordered the group to move only for something to hit the ship again, then a third time. Risking a look they saw the dents against the hull, something was ramming into the ship, but what. It was the fourth hit when they saw it punch through, a bulky black form with a hardened white face, glaring red eyes and a maw full of serrated teeth, it poured in with the ocean resting on the platform.
"A sea scourge" Nolan exhaled seeing the shark grimm thrashing about the floor until the water was high enough for it to move.
Nebula yelled at them, "Run!"
The team ran for the ladder, the water now up to their calves slowing them while the sea scourge swam around sensing the panicked disruptions in the water and searching for its prey.
"May you first" Nebula said, "Get up and keep it away."
May climbed first, swiftly climbing the ladder and resting her rifle against the platform's rail firing at the grimm when she saw it trying to keep it away, unfortunately her shots were ineffective at deterring the monster, the water's resistance slowing their velocity. Seeing the monster's fin appear above the water May moved her crosshairs over it and fired scoring a hit inflicting enough pain to turn the beast away. Dew and Nebula made it up and began climbing the next ladder to the catwalks as Octavia climbed next.
Gwen began climbing behind her teammate leaving Nolan and Brawnz in the water, "Boss let's go" Nolan shouted.
Brawnz looked at him, "You first" he said raising his clawed gauntlets and scanning the water's surface now up to his waist.
Once Nolan was fully out of the water Brawnz began climbing, his wound bleeding even more with each tight grip on the ladder, the scent of blood sending the sea scourge into a frenzy. Yelling at his allies to keep climbing Brawnz made it to the platform immediately turning to grab the next ladder as the sea scourge flew from the water, its hardened nose ramming the platform's base causing it to collapse into the water leaving Brawnz dangling from the ladder as he tried to pull himself up. Calling out to his leader Nolan slid down the ladder and grabbed Brawnz's hand helping him back up, both of them making it to the catwalks above with the rest of their group.
"Keep moving" Nebula ordered, running across the steel walkway that spanned the room.
"The bulkheads will have sealed by now" Octavia told them, "But the access door ways can still be used, we just have to make sure to seal it behind us to keep the water out."
Reaching the end of the catwalk Nebula grabbed hold of the door's wheel, but her wet hands slipped each time she tried to turn it.
Dew ran over to her, "Move" she jammed her spear through one of the openings in the wheel bracing it against the frame and pressing her foot against the railing using the leverage to move the wheel with her leader helping.
The rods in the door slid out of their locks and they pushed the door open Nebula going first only to run into a pack of infected. Her screams alerting her allies Dew ran in after her, fighting off the once human, her spear less effective in the tight corridor forcing her to fight without it. Octavia ran in next to save her team and from behind the door more infected appeared some running for the redhead others seeing the open door and rushing the ones still on the walkways.
Kneeling down May waited for the first infected to lunge for her before she pushed with her feet standing up and hurling it over the rail into the rising water below, like Dew's spear her axe was too large for the confines of the area leaving her to fight with her hands as she pushed through. Gwen, Nolan and Brawnz were left on the catwalk, almost to the door when the sea scourge leapt from the water again it's jaws closing around the base of the walkway and its weight tearing it apart as gravity pulled the monster back into the water. Nolan and Brawnz grabbed hold of the railing to anchor themselves as the force of the catwalk being torn apart threatened to throw them over, their abrupt shift in weight and position causing them to slip, but when they stood up Gwen was nowhere to be seen.
Quickly looking over the edge Nolan spotted her in the water, "Gwen!"
Gwen looked up at him, "Nolan, help!"
Without thinking Nolan jumped onto the hanging remains of the catwalk, its rails now serving as a ladder as he climbed down to save her. With the attacking infected dealt with Nebula and the others watched helplessly from the doorway as Nolan climbed down and May scanned the water with her rifle searching for the sea scourge. Reaching the end of the rail Nolan hooked his legs around it hanging himself upside down as he reached for Gwen yelling for her to grab his hand.
Gwen tried to jump, her hand missing his by inches, the water level too low for them to reach. Panicking and crying Gwen begged and pleaded, as she tried again to jump from the water and this time their fingertips brushing each other's. Nolan strained and stretched trying to extend his reach managing to grab her fingers only for her to slip from his grasp.
Nolan yelled, "I've almost got you."
Gwen cried, "Nolan, I don't want to die, I don't want to di" her body vanished under the water and Nolan and the others froze.
Nolan's body began shaking until he saw bubbles float to the water's surface, "Gwen?" he muttered seeing the water displace as something floated to the surface.
What was left of Gwen's body floated to the surface, her torso ripped apart, the bloodied half body drifted against the moving waters dying them with blood, the flesh jagged from the grimm's jaws tearing it until it split in two. Half of her left arm was missing and while her eyes were still open forever frozen in a look of fear, the life had been snatched the physical trauma quickly clouding them. Her body drifted against the waves for a moment before the shark grimm lunged up again grabbing not only what was left of Gwen, but Nolan as well dragging him into the water as his allies screamed his name.
Brawnz jumped the gap between the destroyed walkway and the door stepping into the adjacent hall with the rest of the group, Octavia closing the door and turning the wheel sliding the steel rods into the locks to keep the water out. First Roy and now Gwen and Nolan, three lost in under half an hour at this point they wanted to abandon the mission and leave, but they had to keep going. Even if there were no survivors they had to make it back to the upper decks and wait out the storm until their extraction returned, they might as well keep looking and hope that at least one person survived so the mission wouldn't have been for nothing.
"We need to keep moving" Nebula said her back to the group and her voice low as she tried to keep herself together, "The ship won't sink as long as long as the flooding is contained to that room, but we have to keep searching for survivors."
Brawnz pushed past her going down the hall first as he had since they first touched down on the ship's deck. Though he was scared and grieving he had to push on not just for his last remaining teammate, but for himself as well, he couldn't give up now. Making their way up a level their reached a large storage compartment. Forklifts, giant spools of steel cables and barrels of oil lined the room and against the center of the left wall an elevator platform.
"Any idea where this goes?" Dew asked them staring at the lift.
Octavia answered, "To the top deck. They use the forklift to move the cable spools and the lift takes it to the top deck where they can drive the cables to whatever needs to be tied down. We're near the stern on the port side."
May looked at her, "How do you know so much about these boats?"
Octavia glanced at a corpse leaning against the control panel for the lift, "My uncle was a sailor. He took me in after my parents died. He worked on a ship like this, I went with him on some of the voyages until I was old enough to enroll in combat school. He passed away not long after I was accepted into Shade."
May lowered her eyes to the floor, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright" Octavia told her, "Let's just get out of here. Hopefully the storm has passed by now, we can get back to the bridge and try to establish a safe room until the airship returns."
Walking over to the lift controls she checked the instruments, it was receiving power, but the key was missing. Kneeling next to the corpse that died leaning against the controls she reached for his hand, finding the required key clutched in his cold grasp. She apologized to the body as she took the key, seeing the hole in his side where he bled out, at least he didn't become one of them.
She warned them, "These things are loud, it might attract attention once I start it."
Nebula nodded, "Let's search the room first, might be something we can use."
Staying together while they searched they didn't find much aside from a pistol in a desk and a first aid kit. Nebula handed the pistol to May since neither of her weapon's form where meant for tight spaces while Dew treated Brawnz's injured hand, offering her condolences as she wrapped it in gauze. They took a moment to rest, while they were desperate to get out they were exhausted and needed to allow recent events to sink in so they wouldn't be distracted later.
While May wiped her tears with her beanie Brawnz sat on the desk forcing his tears back, he would cry when the assignment was over. Nebula was in the same mindset, she had to be strong for her team even though she just wanted to be off this tub, Gwen was her closest friend, even closer than Dew or Octavia and the last memory she had of her was her body, ripped apart and floating in blood stained waters. The leader of NDGO looked to what was left of her team, Dew despite being nervous was always the toughest of their group and honestly Nebula always thought Dew should have been the leader, but it was thanks to her encouragement that Nebula became a good team leader. Octavia on the other hand was the little sister of their group despite being the second oldest by a month, her uncle was her last living relative leaving her without a family until she became a member of NDGO since then she never stopped trying to prove herself. Nebula looked at her scroll, the image of her team shown with Gwen's picture greyed out and her aura level at zero, she wasn't going to lose anyone else, she wouldn't allow it.
Standing up she dusted her pants, "Alright" she said, "We should get moving."
Leaving the corner office and returning to the lift Octavia slipped the key into its slot and turned giving power to the raised lift and pressing the button to bring it down to them. The elevator hummed to life and began lowering and just like Octavia warned the noise attracted their attention. The howls echoed from above and infected began pouring in from the above opening, dropping onto the lowering platform or to the floor, some breaking their legs on their landing forcing them to crawl towards their targets while those that survived the fall ran.
Falling into formation they began fighting their way to the lift keeping a tight circle giving them a full view with no blindspot and the ability to defend each other quickly. They managed to successfully hold off the horde until the lift came to a stop on the ground and they stepped on, but the infected kept coming. Slamming his fist against the controls Brawnz caused the lift to start going up, they continued to fight and push the infected off the rising platform it wouldn't be long until they were topside again.
The lift stopped, it's mechanisms creaking to a halt. Brawnz slapped his hand against the controls again, but the lift remained still and the infected below began climbing and jumping to reach them and then a different howl echoed. Below them, at the door they came through, an alpha beowolf drawn by the noise.
Octavia noticed the panel on the wall, the elevator's oil pressure was too low for the hydraulics to move it, she could reset it and get the lift moving again.
Lowering her head she took in a deep breath, "Nebula, Dew" she said just loud enough for the group to hear her, "You two are the only family I have left, take care of each other."
One second, one second was all it took for the meaning of her words to dawn on them, a single second and yet time slowed as Nebula, Dew, Brawnz and May watched Octavia leap from the lift drawing the attention of the infected horde and the beowolf to herself. The four of them called out to Octavia, telling her to stop. Crying for her to not do it, but there was no other way. The oil pressure had to be returned to normal and the waves of infected weren't slowing down.
Reaching the control panel she grabbed one of the pressure valves and turned, dropping the pressure from the main tank and transferring it to the secondary. An infected lunged grabbing hold of her, but she managed to fight it off throwing it into the others giving her the opening she needed to turn the next valve bringing the pressure levels back returning life to the lift. The alpha beowolf thrashed its way through the horde making a straight line for her and Octavia stepped away from the control panel backing right into an oil barrel.
Hearing the metallic thud behind her she knew immediately what it was and turned on her heel spinning behind it and prying the lid off. Kicking the barrel over she rolled it toward the infected watching them slip on the oil, but there were more that just climbed over their fallen brethren. Knocking over another barrel she made one last look up at her friends, her family as the lift reached the ceiling of the room, she smiled as channeled the fire dust in her kriss and ignited the oil engulfing the room in flames. The elevator made it to the top deck when the explosion came, shaking the floor setting off the fire alarms around the ship and waking the infected and grimm that remained.
No time to mourn the group forced themselves to keep moving, but the path to the bridge was swarmed with infected, they had no choice they had to run to the retreat to the rear of the ship. The storm was still going and while it made it harder for them to see, it kept them concealed from the infected as they made their way to the stern. Reaching the back of the ship they saw it through the darkness, the oil rig, right next to them the storm had caused the ship to drift into it. While they remembered seeing infected all over the rig before they were dropped off it was better than staying on the ship at this point, using ice dust Dew aimed her spear, creating a ramp of ice to the landing of the oil rig letting them slide down to where a small boat would dock. From here they would climb and find somewhere to barricade themselves while they once again rested and thought of a plan and hopefully no one else would die.