The Cruise
Something happened to me six months ago that I need to get off my chest. You see I used to be a fisherman of sorts. I didn't do it for a living. It was more for recreation than anything else. After what else I saw, however, I won't go back out to sea for as long as possible.
It began like all my other trips. I got in my boat and rode it towards my usual spot. There, I could fish uninterrupted without hearing the obnoxious sound of teenagers on boats. Not to mention, other fishermen or those yuppie assholes on their yachts. Anyway, it wasn't long into my trip when the weather started changing.
It looked as though a storm was brewing up. Obviously, this worried me. I always made sure to check the weather before heading out. It said absolutely nothing about a storm in the area. Realizing this, I proceeded to head back to shore. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
"God damn it,” I said to myself while attempting to steer the boat towards the shore.
As I did a huge wave kicked up. The next thing I knew, my boat got overturned and I found myself underwater. I tried staying above water. With the waves being so rough, though it didn’t seem like I’d be able to for very long. What I thought was my saving grace appeared over the waves.
Through the flashes of lighting, I saw it. A massive ship came over the roaring waves. It looked to be some kind of cruise ship. I yelled as loud as I could for them to notice me. They threw me a life preserve which I eagerly grabbed hold of.
“He seems delirious. Get him a towel.”
It’s difficult to describe the voice I heard. It definitely sounded English. However, it didn’t sound organic. It was like hearing someone American do a really good imitation of that accent. I brushed off this abnormality and thanked my saviors.
“Oh, man. I thought I was a goner,” I said, rubbing the water from my eyes. “Thanks for the help.”
The blurriness went away, allowing me to see who I presumed to be the captain, judging by his outfit colored a bright gold. Standing beside him were two of his crewmates. I had been led inside the ship to a guest room. Only the captain talked with me while they remained silent.
“It’s not a problem,” he smiled. “But to whom do I owe this pleasure?”
He was a tall man. I’d say, he stood at about 7”. He had perfectly combed blonde hair and bright golden eyes that lit up when he smiled.
“Cody. What should I call you?”
“Most just call me captain but you may refer to me as Rupin. Now, would you mind explaining why you were out here in the midst of such harsh weather?”
I leaned back against the wall and briefly summarized my reason for being out there.
“I see. That’s a real shame. It’s to be expected, though. I’ve spent many years on the sea and I can tell you that it’s full of surprises. A lot of which aren’t pleasant. Anyway, I imagine you’re quite chilly. Would you like something to warm you up? The guests are getting ready to dine right now.”
“Thank you but aren’t we close to shore? It isn’t a long walk from there to my car and I’d hate to intrude.”
“Not to worry. You aren’t overstaying your welcome if that’s what you’re thinking. Besides, the weather’s still too rough for us to go anywhere. We’re anchored down right now, but once the weather is clear, we’ll pull the anchor up and head back to shore to drop you off at the doc.”
“Okay. It can’t be helped I guess. It’s weird, though. I was at the docs pretty early and I don’t recall seeing you guys pull up there.”
“It must not have been on our route then.”
He glanced at his watch.
“Sorry to cut this short but there are other matters on the ship that require my attention.”
“Alright. Do you mind if I explore the ship?”
“I’d prefer you didn’t. Some parts of the ship can be hazardous..”
He then tossed me a key with the number ten imprinted into it.
“What’s this for?”
“It’s to this room in case you decide to stay a little longer. We wouldn’t mind if you do. The more the merrier, as they say. Come upstairs when you’re ready to sit with us.”
He then turned and began walking away along with his crew members. Although I couldn’t explain it at the time, part of what he said rubbed me the wrong way. I ignored this oddity. Then got dressed. The clothes I put on felt wrong somehow in a way I couldn’t explain.
After the adrenaline of my near-drowning wore off, I had worked up quite the appetite. I proceeded to make my way there when someone got my attention. I felt someone grab my wrist. I jumped and looked back to see a distressed-looking man. He had the appearance of someone not of sound mind yet hiding it because he’s afraid of what’ll happen to him if he doesn’t.
“You said your name’s Cody, right?” He asked in a gruff voice.
From his uniform, I could tell he must be a grunt worker, the kind who does a lot of heavy lifting. His grip tightened on my arm. The way he looked unnerved me.
“Yeah...Do you need something?” I asked, trying to keep from sounding nervous.
“I wanted to warn you before it’s too late. Leave this ship and don’t look back.”
His words puzzled me.
“Why?”
“This place ain’t what it seems.”
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t have time to give you the full story. I need to get back to work before they realize I’m gone. All I can say is that this ship appears different to each person. If you value your life and freedom you’ll heed my advice.”
My first thought upon hearing this was that this guy did not have it all together mentally. The next one that entered my head involved all the horror movies I’ve seen. In particular, I thought about the ones where someone tries to warn others about danger but nobody listens. This wasn’t a movie though, this was real life. Still, I figured I should at least inquire about some things from the man.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. Let’s say I needed to make it to a lifeboat, though. Where would I find one?”
“The promenade deck. It’s near the front of the ship. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
He turned and began walking away. Then paused and looked back.
“Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Don’t eat or drink anything here and don’t dance.”
With that, he continued down the hall and eventually left my sight. I spent a moment considering what he said. The ship appearing suddenly in the midst of the storm certainly did seem odd. However, as I said the weather was too dangerous for me to leave at the time. Besides that, I didn’t really feel as though I was in any sort of immediate danger so I headed to the dining room.
The brightness of it caused me to squint my eyes. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling. For some reason, I couldn’t help but get an uneasy feeling from looking at them. The way they swayed back and forth reminded me of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I remembered what the man had said and wondered what he saw whenever he went into the dining room.
“Cody.”
Rupin saying my name, snapped me out of my thoughts. He sat at a table. With him were people dressed in clothes that I guessed were pretty expensive. I’ll admit I’m not exactly the most eloquent person when it comes to social gatherings. Nonetheless, I tried to behave as best I could when I’m in those kinds of situations.
“Have a seat.”
A chair near the captain was pulled out for me. It felt really comfortable to sit in. Again, though I felt that something was off. I monetarily forgot about this when the banquet got out in front of us. Mouthwatering doesn’t begin to describe this food. I swear I could hear angelic singing and see a golden aura around the food as they set it out.
While they did I looked around in order to see who else was seated at the other tables. The diners were very diverse. They included people of all races. This didn’t strike me as unusual until they began speaking with each other. All of them spoke in different languages which told me they were from different regions.
“Rupin?” I said.
He was busy chatting with someone about some music he hadn’t heard in a while. I think he mentioned it being from a Chinese play. He paused and faced me.
“Yes, Cody. Is there something I can help you with?”
“I just noticed that a lot of the people here seem to be from different countries. Would you mind telling me exactly how they came to be on this ship?’
I thought I saw a hint of annoyance come over him before it vanished as quickly as it came. He smiled and responded to my question.
“Well, you see, this cruise is very exclusive. Only a select few know about it and they come from all over in order to attend it.”
“It must be pretty expensive I imagine.”
“You’d be correct on that. As our motto on this ship says though, happiness is worth the price. Now, why don’t you enjoy some of this food?”
I was about to when I remembered what the man had said but didn’t understand why I shouldn’t eat the food. It seemed fine to me and yet I couldn’t shake off this uneasy feeling.
“Is there something wrong?” Rupin frowned.
He stared at me and so did everyone else at the table. This caused me to become nervous.
“Sorry. It’s just that I’m still a little shaken up about what happened. I don’t really have an appetite right now,” I replied to him.
“Ah. I see. No rush then. It’s not as if the food is going anywhere,” he chuckled.
What I said hadn’t been entirely true. Although I was indeed shaken up, my appetite had skyrocketed at the sight of the food. I wanted so badly to satisfy my ravenous appetite yet something wouldn’t permit me to. It felt as if some kind of instinct was preventing me from indulging in the food.
“Why don’t I want to eat any of this food?” I wondered. “Maybe it’s just the situation. After all, I’ve never been on a cruise before. Yeah, that must be it.”
I grabbed a fork and was about to eat my meal which was lobster dinner. The lobster sounded off. What do I mean by that? Well, you know how when you eat lobster it cracks open? It did.
However, it almost sounded as though the cracking was coming from somewhere else. The best way I can think to explain it is you ever watch a video where the sound isn’t quite in sync? It’s kind of like that.
“Am I going crazy?” I thought.
I hoped that nobody took notice of my nervousness. I couldn’t help it. When I thought of all the events that occurred starting with the storm, nothing added up. The weather had been clear save for some clouds. Then suddenly a huge storm appeared out of nowhere.
Now, I was sitting in a dining room with people of varying nationalities. These people, I should remind you apparently traveled across the world just to attend the cruise. One which Rupin told me is really exclusive and not many people know about. Once again my mind flashed back to what the man said. If it was true and he wasn't delusional then what is the ship's true appearance?
These thoughts among others bounced around in my head. Then I got an idea. I turned back to Rupin. He was enjoying some wine and calamari. He took notice of me looking at him.
"Is there something you need, Cody?"
"Would you mind if I talked with some of the other passengers? I figured with people of so many nationalities here, it'd be a good opportunity to learn more about different cultures."
"That's an excellent idea. As a matter of fact, I’ve always been of the belief that the best way to learn about one’s culture is through their music.”
Rupin stood up from his seat. Nobody asked him where he was going so I inquired about it. He smiled again while straightening his jacket.
“I’m going to play for everyone.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes. During my travels, I’ve been fortunate enough to hear the works of musicians from all over and have become a bit of one myself.”
“What kind of music can you play?”
“You’re about to find out.”
Talented didn't begin to describe Rupin’s musical ability. The best way I can describe it is, angelic. Despite the fact, all of the songs he performed were in languages I couldn’t understand, I felt so relaxed while listening to him. Then I got a feeling similar to how I felt while looking at the food. Even though I wanted to tap my foot rhythmically to Rupin music, my body wouldn’t let me.
“This is the second time I’ve gotten this feeling. What the hell is going on?” I thought.
I looked around the room again to observe the other patrons. They had this weird gleam in their eyes. It looked to me as if they were in some kind of trance. I know this isn’t too unusual for say, a concert. It’s easy for people to get swept up in good music.
However, what unnerved me is the fact they were able to sing along with him the lyrics of every song. I don’t mean it like they just mouthed the words either. I distinctly remember hearing them sing in sync with him. That caused a knot to start forming in my stomach. If it was just one or two songs I wouldn’t have noticed it, but many were sung, and they all sang to them perfectly.
“How long have these people been here?” I asked myself.
I also wondered how long they’d need to have been there to learn the lyrics of every song. Granted, it probably wouldn’t be too difficult for the people who understood the lyrics. The peculiarity is with the fact these people who as far as I could tell didn’t speak multiple languages, knew them inside and out. I got a strong feeling I should leave the dining room. Then get to one of the lifeboats and use it to get away from the ship.
I didn’t want to just abruptly stand up and leave due to my fear of drawing attention to myself. While everyone allowed themselves to get wrapped up in it, I took the opportunity to slip away. I remembered where the man had told me the lifeboats were kept and headed there or at least that’s what I planned on doing. Much to my dismay, though I found that the doors leading to the outer deck were locked. I cursed and frantically pushed on them in hopes that they would somehow come open.
When that didn’t work I thought my next course of action would be to find that man again. He had insisted that I get off the ship. I figured he might have some keys to the door or a way to get outside. In case you’re wondering, I did try some windows. Unfortunately, they were also locked and not made out of regular glass which caused my efforts of breaking them to be futile.
I went back downstairs to search for him. I didn’t see him at first. That changed when I went further down the hall. I saw a door that was ajar. I went through it. At first, it just appeared to be a storage room.
Crates were stacked against the wall. Nothing seemed out of place there until I heard a noise. It was a rhythmic hum. Curious, I followed it and my mouth fell open when I saw its source. I found a large hole between the crates.
The edges of it were jagged, almost resembling teeth. A purple light shone from it that almost seemed to pulse. I found something mesmerizing about it, as though finding what made it would reveal some hidden truth. Apprehension caused me to be hesitant about going into it. I got over this, figuring that if I wanted to leave I’d have to take my chances with it.
Going into the hole, took me to a corridor. I felt air on me coming from vents. The more I walked through it, the less it felt like air coming out of the vents, and the more it felt like some enormous creature was breathing on me. Sweat began to drip down my face. I knew that I needed to find the man as soon as possible.
“What is this place?” I murmured.
The walk down the corridor felt unusually long. I thought I’d never find anyone until I heard the sound of heavy objects being moved. At last, I spotted the man moving something. Creates weren’t things he moved. Instead, what he moved seemed to be large burlap sacs.
“Hey,” I whispered to him, prompting him to run around.
“You,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“What is this place really and can you help me get out of here?”
“To answer your first question, I’m not sure. To answer your second, I can.”
“You have a key to unlock the doors then?”
He shook his head.
“I’m afraid not but I know another way out. Follow me. Whatever you do, though don’t touch the engine.”
He led me further down. Pained groans echoed throughout the area.
“What is that?” I nervously asked.
“Just ignore them. You don’t want them to find you here especially when they’re hungry.”
I said nothing as we walked. The purple light faded and lit up again in repetition. The area housed many doors. Shadows spilled under them that were only vaguely humanoid in appearance. From what I could see, the shapes had characteristics of arachnid and deep-sea creatures.
I tried holding my breath as we moved along, out of fear it would somehow draw their attention to me. The man didn’t seem bothered, as if he’d been on the ship too long to care. The air in that area had an alien taste to it. I can’t really explain it fully. The best way I can is, imagine the salty taste of the sea with a metallic hint to it.
“We’re almost there,” the man informed me.
“Why are you going out of your way to help me anyway?” I whispered in response.
“I’ve been on this ship long before you were born. It’s not a fate I’d wish on m anyone.”
“How old are you exactly?”
“I can’t really tell you that. After a while here you tend to lose your sense of time. All I can say is that I came to be here during the 1800s.”
“The...1800s?”
My voice was hoarse as I spoke the words.
“Aye. I used to be a man of the Navy. One day a storm came along and destroyed our ship. Only I survived. I would’ve drowned if Rupin hadn't come along. Honestly, that would’ve been preferable.”
“What’s wrong with this place?”
“The less you know of it, the better.”
At last, we arrived at the engine room. The way it sounded had an eerie similarity to a heartbeat.
“Alright. Do you see that vent over there?”
“Yeah.”
“Crawling through it will lead you outside. You can handle the rest from there.”
He opened it for me.
“Why don’t go through them?”
He gave me a weak grin.
“I’ve been here too long. Now go.”
“And why would he want to do that, Frank?”
Rupin's voice echoed throughout the room. Frank, whose name I only learned about then became pale with worry. Parts of the room began twisting and warping until they formed openings. From them emerged Rupin along with some of his crewmates. He smiled yet his golden eyes flared as though a fiery rage burned inside him.
“Run, Cody,” Frank shouted.
I attempted to jump into the vent. As I did, I felt someone pull me back and throw me to the floor hard. Rupin grinned down at me so wide I wondered how his face didn’t split open. Some of his crewmates blocked the exits.
“Cody, I’m disappointed in you. I saved your life and you repay me by attempting an Irish goodbye?”
“You aren’t human. Are you?” I replied with a stutter
“Whatever gave that away?” Rupin smirked.
He turned to Frank who had been grabbed by his other crewmates.
"Frank," he tsked. “Must we go through this again? I thought for sure after last time, you learned your lesson. I guess our reeducating wasn’t as effective as we thought. No matter, I have a new song I’ve been meaning to share with you.”
Frank struggled futility to get free.
“No, don’t,” he begged.
Rupin took a deep breath. Although the effect of his song will no doubt haunt me for the rest of my life and possibly long after I can’t recite it here. The reason I can’t is due to the fact the language he sang in could not possibly be spoken by human lips. My mind outright refuses to recall even one lyric of his song. All I can remember of it is that it sounded like some enormous and ancient beast was singing it.
Bloody tears began streaming down Frank’s face. Rupin’s crewmates were no longer holding him. It seemed as though Rupin’s singing had put him under some kind of trance. He moaned and his body convulsed akin to someone having a seizure. My vision started doubling as I continued listening to the song.
I felt weak and needed to lean on the wall for support. Rupin turned and faced me. His appearance had changed. His eyes were brighter and his teeth had become pointed. I stumbled forward and threw my arms out to catch myself. I ended up touching the engine.
When I did, a white-hot shocking pain shot through my arms. I cried out and stumbled back. The room changed again. The area seemed to melt away, revealing walls of golden flesh. The walls were covered in multi-shaped eyes that flashed with various pulsing colors.
"Cody, you should've been more careful. You touched my heart."
"Your heart?"
I looked at the engine and saw that it had changed into a giant pulsing heart. It glowed with that same purple light I saw earlier.
“I hope you don’t mind the changes your clothes have taken on as well.”
“What?”
I glanced down at myself. To my horror, the clothes that Rupin gave to me were now made of human skin. I screamed and tugged at them frantically to remove them. Rupin laughed as I did.
“You’re fucking sick,” I yelled at him which he only rolled his eyes at.
“That’s a trait of humans I’ve always despised. You all think you’re the sole arbiters of morality. I know it can't be helped, though. Your short life spans and weak minds are to blame but enough of that. You have bigger things to worry about such as, how the others have changed.”
He pointed to his crewmates and frank. Where they once stood were humanoid hybrids of arachnids and sea creatures. The only thing human about them were their eyes. They were filled with so much pain and Frank now smiled. When Rupin stopped, they stood motionless with terrified smiles still on their faces.
“What the hell are you?” I asked Rupin.
“Isn’t that the million-dollar question?” He laughed. “I’ll be happy to fill you in once you’re part of my crew. What I will tell you to satisfy some of your curiosity is that back home, I’m known as “The Entertainer”. Now, are you going to join us willingly? I really hate to use force. I just don’t see it as being very sportsmanlike.”
I waited a moment before replying.
“What does joining you entail?”
Rupin perked up more at that.
“Well, all you have to do is either dance to my music or consume my food. If you do this, you’ll be under my control. However, you’ll also spend eternity and beyond as part of my audience. You’ll enjoy yourself in ignorant bliss. That is if you don’t try to struggle. If you do, you’ll end up like Frank there. You’ll work to maintain my body. I’ll only allow you fleeting moments of free will just so you can always re-experience the pain of having it taken away. Now that you know all this, what will you choose?”
I thought for a moment.
“Since I don’t want to be stuck down here forever I’ll eat something in order to stay on the upper decks.”
Rupin grinned brightly.
“Excellent. I’ll provide that to you right away.”
He then turned to the others and ordered them to bring me something from upstairs. Little did he know I had swiped a knife from upstairs and put it in my pocket. While his attention was diverted I pulled it out. It too had changed. What was once a piece of dazzling silverware was now a worm-like creature with a sharpened bone sticking out of it.
My stomach wretched as it squirmed slightly in my hand. I did my best to ignore this as Rupin turned back to me. When he did, I brought up my weapon and stabbed it into his eye, causing a wet plopping sound. He stumbled back and started howling with laughter. To my horror, it hadn’t hurt him in the slightest.
“Cody, did you honestly think you’re the first person to try something like this?”
He pulled the thing from his eye. An empty socket with blood dripping from it looked back at me. Rupin took out a handkerchief from his coat and wiped the blood away from his eye socket with it. When he put it away, I saw that a new eye had grown in place of the one I stabbed out. At that moment, I thought I was done for.
My knees felt weak at the prospect of being enslaved on that ship. Rupin ordered that I be grabbed and taken to the upper deck. As the others started walking towards me, I searched desperately for some way to escape. At that moment, fortune smiled upon me. A massive wave hit the side of the ship.
This resulted in everyone losing their balance. Prior to that, some crew members were blocking the vent. I did not waste a second in getting back to my feet as the ship rocked back and forth. I leaped towards it. Luckily I managed to grab hold of it.
“No,” Rupin yelled. “After him.”
His voice took on the same warped quality as that song I mentioned. Due to the ship leaning towards one side I slid through the vent with ease. I made it to the outer deck that had also changed. It had become coated in coarse golden fur. I dashed toward where Frank mentioned the lifeboats were. Oddly enough, they looked pretty normal aside from the fact I could see them breathing.
I started towards one. Before I could reach it, the floor in front of me started rippling. From it, Rupin rose. He smiled wide yet his eyes conveyed an intense rage. His crewmates and Franklin appeared on the outer deck in the same way as he did.
“Shit, “ I said, distraught I had come so close to escaping only for it to be ripped away from me.
Rupin made a shrill clicking noise. In response to that, the others started to shamble in my direction. Their eyes told me they wanted me to help them. I really wish I could have.
"Cody, even among my kind I'm considered a god. Do you really think you have any chance of escape?"
He started singing in that haunting language again. Out of reflex, I brought my hands up to cover my ears. Despite that, I could still hear Rupin. Once again my vision started getting blurry. His claims of being a god were not hyperbolic.
The weather raged around us. It became even more intense than when it overturned my boat. In that instant, I realized that Rupin was the one responsible for the storm in the first place. My legs threatened to collapse under me at any time. On the verge of passing out, I mentally said my prayers until once again I got lucky.
That's the understatement of the century. I glanced back at the ocean. It was so I could take in what I thought would be my last bit of true freedom. Among the roaring waves, I saw it. My boat rocked back and forth by some miracle not turning over and becoming lost to the ocean.
I couldn't believe it. Rupin couldn’t see the boat from where he stood. However, he did notice my change of expression. He made a shrill clicking noise The others returned it and ran at me.
Using the last of my strength, I hoisted myself over the railing. The shocking coldness I felt upon going into the water below removed the fatigue I had been previously experiencing. I swam towards my boat as Rupin started yelling. I thought for sure he’d order his crewmates to jump after me. Instead, I was able to reach my boat and luckily it started right up.
I can’t describe how much more revolting the water caused the skin suit I had on to feel. I desperately wanted to remove it right then and there but my main priority was getting away from the ship. Then getting back to land afterward. As I rode away I glanced back at the cruise ship. What I saw when I did made my breath stop.
Had it not been for a fog coincidentally appearing to partially obscure my vision from it, I would not be coherent enough to type this up. Among the fog, the ship loomed. By now, I’m sure you can tell it wasn’t really a ship at all. However, I've still referred to it as such for the sake of convenience. Golden fur covered it.
The eyes I mentioned before were also on the outside of it. There were too many to count. All of them glared down at me. Rupin did as well from the railing, only for a second. His smile returned brighter than ever.
“It’s a real shame you’re leaving, Cody,” he called out. “You don't need to worry, though. I’ll be sure to keep in touch.”
Rupin made a noise akin to static. My mouth jaw dropped at what happened next. Feathery rainbow-colored wings emerged from the ship. With one flap of its wings, a colossal wave got sent towards my boat. My efforts to get away from it were fruitless.
The last thing I saw before everything went black is the ship ascending to the sky and disappearing into a brilliant flash of light. I came to some time later in a hospital. Apparently, I had crashed back to shore. In the process, my boat was destroyed and I somehow lost my clothes. If that wasn’t bad enough, the impact of the landing broke my leg.
On the bright side, it did save me the trouble of removing those clothes. When I got home I found something on my kitchen table. It turned out to be a wedding invitation written in gold lettering. My first instinct upon seeing it was to not read it and throw it away. I ended up deciding against that.
I figured that it couldn’t hurt to look at the message it held. To summarize what it said, it invited me to a wedding in a town which I will not state the name of here. This may come as a shock but I didn’t attend it and I have moved to a new place since this all happened. If you’re wondering how he got the invitation into my home, I’m just as clueless as you are and I’m not sure I want to know. To conclude this post I will share what it said with certain information omitted.
Hello, Cody, I hope you are doing well. I must admit I was very disappointed you had to leave the party early. That doesn’t really matter, though because I have another event for you to attend. I’m sure you gathered from looking at this card’s cover that the event in question is a wedding. It will be held in a town called (redacted).
I hope you can attend. It would be nice to see a familiar face. After all, I would love to take you back to my party. If you do choose to go I will be under another name. You will find it under this message.
Sincerely,
Aron Ubella
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