( chapter twenty-seven ! )
"This turned into something unpleasant."
An unsettling chill hangs in the air as the news sinks into everyone's brains. Sebastian's words don't help the revelation either. The prospect of impending death isn't something anyone would enjoy, especially when it's at the hands of animated corpses that want to sink their teeth into your flesh.
Toward the back of the commotion with Ryan Stoker, Leah, and Elizabeth stand with their sides pressed together. Their hands are intertwined as they watch everything with resigned expressions.
"Do you think 'unpleasant' covers it?!" Ciel snaps back and turns his head to view the bodies lying behind them. "Even one of those monsters is a hassle. Just imagine ten times this!"
The room's mood dims even more if that can be deemed possible. To know that escape will be rough, if achievable at all, hurts to think about.
With a sigh, Ciel turns his head back around. "Sebastian. Go ahead and take my aunt and the others to a safe place."
"What are you going to do?" asks Sebastian.
"We'd just be a burden. I also have a gun, we'll be alright for a while," Ciel swiftly reloads the firearm. "Come back as soon as you're sure they are safe!"
Beginning to take off at the order, Sebastian runs towards the nearest exit. "Certainly."
Leah stands with conflicted thoughts, her hand on Elizabeth's arm in comfort and an attempt to calm her shaking. It feels as though something is squeezing her head, the thoughts inside are slow. But despite the conflict, one thing in her mind is clear.
"Do lock my parents in a room if you get the chance!" she calls out after Sebastian, gleefully ignoring the horrible implications of her request.
A gasp escapes Elizabeth. "That's rather rude to say.." her voice is uncharacteristically quiet.
Face contorting in annoyance, Leah scowls and looks away in disdain. "You would say the same thing if you had to live with them."
Ciel tries to shake off the shock of Leah's words. "Well then.." he turns around and aims his gun at the side of Stoker's head. "How about telling me everything? And be brief because I'm not very patient. First of all, how should we deal with them?"
For a mere moment, silence fills the room. Stoker's face has drained of color. It looks as though he doesn't have an answer to the question, but he's also distracted by the snake restricting him and the gun pointed at his head.
"Eh?" he makes a noise of question.
Leah cocks her head. "Are you serious?" she asks incredulously, irritated by his lack of a real response.
"There is no way you decided to transport something so dangerous without any kind of insurance," with furrowed brows, Ciel sharpens his gaze as he looks down at Stoker. "Isn't there another way to stop them aside from smashing their heads?"
"We.. Well, there is one.." Stoker diverts his gaze to the floor in discomfort. "There is a device that allows you to render patients subjected to complete salvation inactive again by exposing them to special supersonic waves."
"That sounds ridiculous."
"And where is it?"
Leah and Ciel's words come flying out at the same time, overlapping each other. The girl is unimpressed by the concept of such a device, blatantly showing her skepticism. There is no way such a thing exists.
Trying to hide the annoyance on his face, Stoker focuses on Leah first. "It's true!" his voice has a subtle shake to it as he now turns to Ciel. "In my room, in first class."
The gun presses further against Stoker's head. "Take me there," demands Ciel.
"A.. All right!" Stoker glances towards the looming darkness in the distance. "There is a freight elevator in the boiler room. We can use that to go upstairs."
Little pondering is done before everyone slowly files out of the room, reluctantly following Stoker. They walk single file in an uncomfortable silence. Leah can feel Elizabeth's hand curled onto the fabric of her dress, and ahead of her, she can see Ciel with his gun pressed against Stoker's back as he leads the way.
"I have another question," there is a small pause as Ciel breaks the silence. "How can corpses move?"
Stoker clears his throat. "We implant a special device into the dead's brain that generates a weak electric current. This way, we can send signals to the various parts of the body, and they recover the healthy physique of when they were alive, basically—"
"That's enough. Do you really think that you can resuscitate people?" Ciel interrupts Stoker's spiel.
A scowl overtakes Leah's usually impassive features. "It is insanity that you expect us to believe something like that!" she crosses her arms tightly.
Preventing Stoker from speaking once more, Ciel shifts his gaze past the man's shoulder and pushes him to walk faster. "I'll change my question. What is the purpose of carrying all these guinea pigs to America?"
There is a pregnant pause.
"I can't.. tell you that," says Stoker with a strained voice.
"I see."
"Do not jest during a time like this!"
The betrothed pair's voices overlap for a second time. Leah has long forgotten Elizabeth and Snake walking just a few steps behind her, taking no issue with raising her voice at the doctor. It has been one too many answers that Leah perceives as a joke, and she's beginning to believe that he isn't taking this as seriously as he should.
She almost considers snatching the gun from Ciel's hand. Pulling the trigger and firing it herself. But she knows it's dangerous. It's loaded, and she could startle Ciel, and the loud noise of the gunshot hurts her ears. Shooting in such close proximity will only bring later regret.
'I'm beginning to get very sick of this man,' she grumbles in her head.
"I reckon you want me to pierce your ears," Ciel's voice is rough as he draws the gun up to point it just beside Stoker's ear.
"Wha..?!" Turning his head, Stoker sweats profusely and begins to shout. "Wait, wait! If you shoot me, you won't be able to use that device!"
Leah raises a brow. "You mean the device that absolutely exists and will work?" her voice is laced with sarcasm, and a biting smile paints her face.
In front of her, Ciel dramatically sighs and shakes his head as he plays along. "It's annoying, but I guess we will just stick to smashing their heads," his finger adds a bit of pressure onto the trigger.
"A.." Stoker's voice immediately booms. "A certain company bought our complete salvation technology!"
Grimacing at the sudden loudness, Leah brings her hands up to cover her ears. She hates loud noises, and she hates loud people even more.
For a while, she ignores what is being said as she walks, mostly due to her covered ears making it harder to hear. However, she can make out one thing. The word "Osiris." Leah's brows furrow. 'That sounds a bit familiar..?'
She doesn't get to think for long as the group stops before a sturdy door. Obnoxious noises sound from behind it, muffled by the thickness of the door.
"It's in here," says Stoker.
Snake is the one to step up to the door, prying it open and making way for a large gust of wind to hit them all in the face. The door leads to the Campania's turbine engine room, a room that's even louder than Stoker is. It's filled with a sound similar to a 'whoosh' and seems to power over the voices of the men working inside.
"Snake, take your snake off of Ryan," Ciel orders as he straightens out his clothes. "It will go smoother if we pretend to be his comrades."
While the butler is busy complying, Leah is fixing her tussled hair with a huff. "I don't want to associate with him!" her occasional bratty side is beginning to show itself after some time of being dormant.
Ciel fights the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose as he forces himself beside Leah. "Just pretend," his whisper is nearly pointless because of how loud it is.
Opening her mouth to retort, Leah doesn't have a chance due to Elizabeth loudly whining and a man suddenly approaching them.
"Hey! Passengers shouldn't come here!" he bellows.
A small smirk spreads on Stoker's face. "The complete flame in our chests!" he chants.
"Shall not be extinguished by anyone," the man quickly finishes for Stoker, pushing past the surprise on his face as he moves his limbs. "We are.."
"The Phoenix!"
They say in unison as they bring their hands and legs up to form a pose. What they seem proud of immediately makes Leah grimace of secondhand embarrassment.
"You cannot be serious.." she whispers in horror, a hand covering her open mouth as though she has just heard the ultimate scandal.
"Would you let me use the elevator, my friend?"
"Alright.. Who are they?"
Stoker moves his arm to gesture towards the rest of the group behind him. "They're comrades as well! Right?"
Pushing past the embarrassment, Ciel, Elizabeth, and Snake all copy the pose they previously saw before Ciel turns around to double over with a flushed face. Leah, however, is relentless in her defiance and stands with her arms crossed.
The defiance from the girl only heightens when she notices Stoker and the other man looking at her expectantly. "I won't do it."
No amount of urging from anyone seems to work. "I refuse!" she raises her voice.
Ciel rises from his bent-over state to force a smile on his face and place a hand on Leah's back, "Please excuse my fiancé. It appears she is in a rather bad mood today, nothing personal," his lie passes through his lips, and he's nearly given away by his tomato red face.
The man seems satisfied with this, though, and turns around with a grin. "Here in the back!" he starts to walk off, leading the way.
Begrudgingly following along, Leah grumbles as she drags her feet. "You do not have to speak for me."
"I do if we want to live," Ciel sighs.
Now, in the Campania's second boiler room, it is barely less hectic than the previous one. More men stand around and continue to do their jobs, ignoring the guests.
Everything is moving smoothly.
Until it isn't.
A strange sound rings out against the walls, a sound that doesn't seem normal.
"What was that shock just now?" asks Ciel, wide-eyed as he glances around the room.
Not even a moment later, water crashes through the walls, quickly flooding the room. Screams mix in with water as it throws itself into people, soaking or pushing them around. To make matters worse, an ear-piercing alarm begins to go off.
It is all too overwhelming for Leah, who covers her ears with her wet gloves and shuts her eyes tightly. She can hardly hear herself think and doesn't even notice that the water is moving her on its own until she opens her eyes to catch a glimpse of it rising.
"This alarm means.." the man from earlier looks behind him in horror as he shouts. "The water-tight doors are closing!"
Leah tries to take a step, but her dress skirts add so many extra pounds that it's harder to move efficiently. This doesn't stop her, though, and she attempts to trudge along, pushing Elizabeth forward in the process.
"Hurry up! We'll be locked in!" the man shouts again, busying himself with helping others.
When Ciel glances behind him and notices that Leah is multiple feet behind him, his shoulders tense. "Leah!" he shouts above the noise of the water.
"Shut up," Leah closes her eyes and gives Elizabeth one final kick to her back to ensure that she makes it beyond the door. "Just shut up!" she yells while she comes to a stop, no longer bothering to move.
The metal slowly lowers, and the last thing she can see is Ciel being held back, calling her name.
"Leah!"
Shaking her head, the girl takes in a deep breath. 'This is it..?' she asks herself. Her mind flashes to unwanted memories of her past attempt to take her life. 'Drowning can't be so bad,' Leah attempts to reassure herself. However, it is hard to listen to those thoughts when the water has risen well past her thighs, and she knows she can't swim.
The metal door shuts with a muffled thud beneath the water, solidifying her fate. Or so she thought.
Ciel, ever the savior, finds himself steadily approaching his fiancé.
"Why?!" Leah asks in exasperation, trying to hide the annoyance and anger that threatens to surface.
"I promised to protect you at all costs!" closing the distance between them, Ciel grabs ahold of Leah's hand and squeezes it tight.
Masking her emotions, Leah shakes her head quickly. "I do not care what you promised!"
Choosing to ignore what he just heard, Ciel turns around to shout at the door. "Snake! You guys go on ahead!"
"I can't leave you behind! Says Emily," Snake shouts from behind the door, banging his fists on it.
Ciel clenches his jaw and drags his eyes around the room, looking for a way out. Eventually, they land on a small duct above them.
"Don't worry, we'll escape via the duct!" Ciel calls out. "Your 'friends' can't be soaked in water for too long, right? Go!" he orders.
There is no time to think before Ciel drags Leah up the nearby stairs, going back and forth with Snake beyond the door. Having to move through the water makes everything harder, and the girl internally thanks Ciel for doing most of the work.
The freezing water surges around their legs, rising faster than Leah thought possible. She stumbles up the stairs as her velvet gown clings heavily to her frame, dragging her down with every movement. Behind them, the groaning of metal and the distant rush of water is unrelenting, a reminder that the ship is succumbing to its fate.
Starting to climb the pipes, Ciel speaks up. "Leah."
"Yes..?" she asks quietly.
"Take off those clothes!" barks Ciel.
Leah's eyes widen. "I won't!" her voice is sharper than intended, but her resolve is firm. "I'll manage."
"You can't manage—look at yourself!" he snaps, gesturing to her soaked dress. "It's too heavy. You'll drown if you keep it on."
"Then let me drown!" she shouts, her voice breaking.
Ciel freezes for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he studies her face. There is no fire in her gaze, no fear—just cold resignation. It is the same expression she had worn moments earlier when the door had nearly closed between them, and she'd stood there, unmoving, resigned to her fate.
He clenches his jaw, stepping down the pipes and toward her. "Don't be ridiculous," he says, his voice quieter now but no less commanding.
"I'm not being ridiculous," Leah retorts, though her voice wavers. "You should've left me behind when you had the chance. I don't care if—"
"Enough!" Ciel interrupts, cutting her off. Without another word, he grabs the bodice of her gown and pulls sharply, the sound of ripping fabric cutting through the chaos.
"Ciel, stop!" Leah protests, her hands flying up to push him away, but he is relentless.
The velvet tears away in his hands, leaving her standing in her corset and chemise, the thin, soaked fabric clinging to her skin. Leah gasps, her arms instinctively wrapping around herself as her cheeks burned with humiliation.
A few stray tears slip down Leah's already-soaked cheeks. "That was my favorite dress," she forces her voice to be steady.
Ciel's entire demeanor softens when he realizes she is crying.
"I will buy you a thousand dresses when we get out of here. So please.." Ciel gently wraps his coat around Leah's shoulders, "I'm sorry I was so rough with you."
The girl's breath hitches at his words, but she quickly shakes her head, clutching her chemise tighter as she tries to cover her décolletage. "You don't understand," she mutters, her voice cracking. "It doesn't matter if I—"
"It matters to me," Ciel interrupts again, his tone both tender and firm. "Now move before we both end up dead because of your stubbornness."
Leah stares at him, stunned into silence for a moment. Despite her mortification, something in his gaze—a flicker of desperation masked by his usual sharpness—compels her to listen.
Swallowing her pride and pushing down the flood of emotions rising within her, she nods stiffly. "Fine," she mutters, her voice barely audible.
Wasting no more time, Leah moves toward the pipes, lifting herself up one by one despite the struggle. She has doubts that she will fit through the duct, at least not easily, but she tries nonetheless. Now she must. Letting Ciel's effort go to waste feels wrong.
"Well, let's hu—" Ciel doesn't finish his sentence before he begins to cough roughly.
The sudden sound startles Leah and prompts her to whip her head around. "Ciel?" she asks in worry.
Ciel clears his throat and glances up, a gloved hand covering his mouth.
"I just choked on some water.. Hurry and climb!"