The Colin mash-up challenge: Once Upon a Time x Storage 24 - part two
The wood splintered beneath the creature's relentless assault. Killian grabbed his cutlass and crept to the door, waiting until the creature withdrew its claws for another blow. He thrust the blade through the hole, felt it hit something harder than flesh. Killian had a moment of panic, wondering if the creature was armored, then the tip pierced and the creature loosed a deafening shriek and pulled away.
The guard of the cutlass was torn from his hand, and he would have lost the weapon if the rent in the wood was too narrow for the guard to fit through. The creature tore free and fled to the hold.
Killian fished out his phone, frowning when he saw his message to Emma was unread and his signal was weak.
Killian weighed his options. He was NOT going to pursue the creature alone. If he was lucky, he'd wounded it badly enough that it would die on its own. If not, it would be back, and the already weakened door wouldn't hold much longer.
He needed to get on deck and seal the hatch, and then hope Emma arrived in time. If not... He'd set the Jolly Roger adrift. Her magic would take her out to sea uncrewed, and Emma would be able to magically transport a team to the ship.
He hated the thought of leaving his ship to the mercy of this thing.
Killian went back to the slumped figure, who had stopped moaning, but was taking rasping, uneven breathes. Killian was about to scoop the man up when he heard a barking shriek from the hold - and it was answered by a similar noise on the deck.
There were two of them.
Killian searched the galley for something else to reinforce the door. Unfortunately, most things on a ship were nailed down; the table in front of the door was an exception because he'd brought it down for a romantic evening with Emma.
Unfortunately, the galley was mostly empty now that he didn't keep a crew and spent most of his time on land.
There was another roar, and another answer, closer this time. Killian didn't have much time. Bloody hell...the door wouldn't hold against two of them, and escaping through the door wasn't an option.
That left the bilge. There was a narrow access panel in the galley, leading to the low space below the deck where leaking water collected. It stank, and it hadn't been pumped in awhile, so the water level would be high. But he could follow it, pass under the hold, and access the storage room beneath the forecastle, and escape through that route.
The hatch to the bilge was hidden in the corner of the galley, out of sight of the door. He fitted his hook in the crack between the boards and lifted.
The smell hit him, and he almost retched. But this was preferable to being torn to pieces.
He was about to slide down when the faceless man moaned again, and Killian froze.
Once, he would have given no thought to leaving someone so badly injured behind. He'd slow Killian down, and with his injuries, he'd probably die, anyway.
But Killian had been with the heroes too long, and they'd rubbed off on him (or, perhaps, brought out his own heroic instincts). He couldn't leave anyone behind.
Killian went to the cabinets, rifling around until he found a burlap sack. He then crouched by the man.
"Can you hear me, Mate?" Killian whispered. A whimper was the only response. "I'm getting you out of here, but you're going to have to walk on your own. Think you can do that?"
There was no verbal response, but he started struggling to his feet. Outside the door, Killian heard a deep rumbling, like conversation. The creatures, whatever they were, were sentient. That complicated matters.
"We're going to be crawling through a tight space filled with water. I won't be able to speak with you, but I'll keep me hook on you and guide you through. Understand?"
The man nodded. "Good. I'm putting this bag over your head to protect you" not that it would do much good protecting his wounds from the bilge, but Killian had to try, "and then we'll be off."
Killian tried not to look too closely at the man's wounds as he eased the bag over his head. Then he offered his hook to the man, who started when he felt it, then accepted it.
Killian sheathed his cutlass and slowly lead the man to the bilge's access. He lowered the man inside, murmuring to him to get to his hands and knees and shuffle aside, then Killian lowered himself into the reeking water. He closed the hatch behind him just in time, as the creatures began to attack the door in tandem.
Killian turned off his flashlight, so the light wouldn't shine through the slats, then caught the injured man's shoulder with his hook and proceeded forward into the dark.
