Chapter 68 - BOMB

  As Cillian nded hard on the floor, his hand flew to his nose, which was noidly swelling. Blood dripped between his fingers, painting his pale skin an even mrotesque shade. For a moment, he just y there, his eyes closed, the pain and shock of the sudden attack washing over him.

  Suddenly, the lights flickered erratically, plunging the room into near darkness for a moment before sputtering back to life. The sound of shattering gss echoed from somewhere nearby, followed by a chorus of terrified screams. The ship lurched violently, throwing loose objects across the room and sending Luxana stumbling to maintain her bance.

  Amidst the growing chaos, Cillian's eyes snapped open. His face was a mask of indifference, betraying no hint of pain or . Without a word, he pushed himself to his feet, seemingly ued by the pandemonium erupting around them.

  Luxana watched in fusion as Cillian calmly wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand. His aquamarine eyes met hers for a brief moment, cold and unreadable, before he turned and strode purposefully towards the door.

  "Cillian, wait!" Luxana called out, her voice barely audible over the cacophony of arms and panicked shouts now filling the corridors. But he didn't even pause, disappearing through the doorway without a backward gnce.

  Luxana sat there on the floor, stunned and bewildered by Cillian's abrupt departure. The room tio shake and tilt around her, mirr the turmoil in her mind. What was happening? Why had Cillia like that?

  Shaking off her stupor, Luxana scrambled to her feet and rushed to the door. She peered out into the corridor, expeg to see Cillian's retreating form. But the hallway was a se of utter chaos - passengers running in all dires, crew members shouting instrus that were lost in the din. Of Cillian, there was no sign.

  Luxana stepped out into the corridor, her head swiveli and right as she searched desperately for any glimpse of Cillian's familiar figure. But he had vanished, swallowed up by the pandemonium that now engulfed the ship.And suddenly, amidst the chaos of people running haywire in the narrow corridor, I felt a forceful shove from behind. I stumbled, my bance faltering as the ship lurched beh my feet. Just as I braced for impact with the cold floor, a strong arm ed around my waist, steadying me.

  Relief flooded through me as I regained my footing. "Cillian," I breathed, spinning around with a mixture of gratitude and urgency. But the face that met my gaze was not Cillian's.

  Instead, I found myself staring into a pair of startling red eyes. The man before me had light brown skin and burnt brown hair, with a promi scar running across his left eye. His expression mirrored my own shock at our ued enter.

  Who the hell is he? I thought, a tremor of fear running through me. I pushed myself out of his embrace, my heart rag as I turned on my heel and bolted down the corridor.

  But escape wasn't to be so simple. The sound of heavy footsteps behiold me that the mysterious man had given chase.

  WHAT THE HELL? My mind screamed as I risked a gnce over my shoulder, firming my pursuer. What's up with this freak? Why's he running after me? The questions pounded in my head in time with my frantic steps.

  The crowd of panicked passengers became both obstacle and opportunity. I weaved through the throng, desperately searg for an escape route. My eyes nded on a door, slightly ajar amidst the chaos.

  Without hesitation, I threw myself into the room, smming the door shut behind me. My trembling hands fumbled with the lock, finally clig it into pce. I leaned against the door, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath, straining my ears for any sign of pursuit.

  And then, a flood of thoughts hit me:WELE TO "LUXANA'S GUIDE T YOUR LIFE INTO A SUPERNATURAL SIT IN ONE EASY CRUISE!"PREVIOUSLY ON "MY LIFE AS A IC JOKE": Picture me, getting the world's most awkward hug while surrounded by the Hot Topic Apocalypse Colle Fashion Show. Then BOOM - Kryll drops the "Cillian's Obsessed" bomb like he's announg a two-for-one sale ic backstories!

  BREAKING NEWS: Brooding kidnapper might have attat issues! up: Water is wet, and the sky is blue! More shog revetions at 11! Someone alert the Vati - we've got a certified miracle of dedu here!

  And this mission? chef's kiss PERFE. Was there a raffle? "gratutions! You've won our Trauma Tuesday Special! Prize includes: One (1) kidnapping, several (7) dramatiters, and a plimentary magical migraierms and ditions: Survival not guaranteed!"

  Oh, let's talk about my BRILLIANT escape attempt! My teleportation got ghosted harder than a bad Tinder date. Thanks for the brain party that feels like a thousand tiny demons doing the maa ioed boots on my cerebral cortex!

  Then - BECAUSE TIMING IS AN ART - enter Cillian, fresh from his "How to Be Mysteriously Annoying 101" mastercss. "Wence has begun his move." OH I'M SORRY, IS MY BRAIN HEME INTERRUPTING YOUR AUDITION FOR "Most Cryptie in a B-Movie"? Should I reschedule my mental breakdown for after your monologue?

  And just as I'm writing the first chapter of my upiseller "How to Actally Join a Supernatural Cult and Other Party Fouls," the ship decides to do its best "Titanic: The Remix" impressioer Walmart Brand Vilin with his designer scar and red eyes that SCREAM "I have a tragic backstory and it's lohan eace!"

  Now I'm pying "Tag: Apocalypse Edition" through corridors full of people arently learned a from a herd of caffeinated sheep. In HEELS. Because nothing says "ready for disaster" like four-inch stilettos!

  Final destination? A locked . ALONE. Absolute 10/10 survival instincts! Maybe I should start taking reservations?

  "Dear Potentially Murderous Entities: Noting appois for dramatifrontations in 666. BYOB (Bring Your Own Backstory). Dress code: Brooding and Mysterious. Extra points for unexpined scars and unusual eye colors!"

  If anyone needs me, I'll be here writing my memoir: "From Bad to Worse: How I Turned Ship Safety Protocols into a Dating Show From Hell" or maybe "The Bachelor: Supernatural Edition - Where Every Rose Has Its Thorns and Every Guy Has itment Issues!"

  P.S. Is it too te to trade this adventure for a nice, quiet nervous breakdown in the Bahamas? No? Just cheg!

  P.P.S. If I survive this, I'm never setting foot on another boat. Give me nice, safe, b nd where mysterious men with red eyes 't er me while I'm having aential crisis. Is that too much to ask for? APPARENTLY YES!

  I inhaled deeply, my face sg into a pout at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Just when I thought things couldn't get any crazier—

  *SHWHHAHHASHS*

  *SHWHHAHHSSSHH*

  The deafening sounds of explosions ripped through the corridors, followed immediately by a cacophony of terrified screams. Elderly, young, children—their voices blended into a horrifying chorus of panic.

  WHAT SHOULD I DO? The thought raced through my mind, fear and worry c through my veins like ice. I exhaled slowly, steeling myself. These people needed help, and apparently, I was the only one crazy enough to run towards the danger.

  Determined, I yanked open the door and—

  OH SWEET MERCIFUL UNIVERSE, THE FREAKING FREAK WAS RIGHT THERE! His fused eyes bore into mine, and I swear he was so tall I could practically see the top of my head reflected in his pupils.

  EH, HUMAN BEING, WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME WHEN YOU LOOK AS LOST AS I FEEL? I wao scream, but my voice seemed to have taken an impromptu vacation.

  Oh boy, oh boy. He's RIGHT THERE. Like, breathing-down-my-neck RIGHT THERE. I did NOT think this through. Why is he built like a redwood tree? Why do I suddenly feel like a very fused and mildly terrified garden gnome? Is this otatoes feel like whery to intimidate streetlights?

  Stay cool, Luxana. You're a warrior, remember? A very small warrior currently having aential crisis, but a warrior heless. Maybe if I gre hard enough, I'll spontaneously grow a foot taller. It's worth a shht?

  "AH! I- I-" I stammered eloquently, my eyes darting everywhere but his face. Smooth, Luxana. Real smooth.

  Cold sweat trickled down my back as my brain screamed, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK DO I DO NOW? A nervous smile crept ay face, probably making me look like a very fused chipmunk.

  *BOMB*

  Another explosion rocked the ship, and suddenly everyone was running and screaming. Sirens wailed, annous bred, ahis human sequoia was still just... standing there. Staring. Like a very fused, very tall statue.

  Nope. Not dealing with this. I shoved past him, plunging into the panicked crowd. I had a bomb to find and a Cillian to murder for abandoning me. My feet screamed in protest—o self: maybe don't wear stilettos to a life-or-death situatioime.

  *BOMB*

  The ceiling to my right started to crad crumble. I veered left, my heart pounding in my ears. And then—because clearly the universe decided I hadn't had enough fu—a woman roughly the size of a small car came flying at me.

  We went down in a tangle of limbs. THE HELL— I thought, struggling to breathe under what felt like a metri of panicked human.

  "Mo-move! Ple-please," I wheezed, my lungs peting for space with my rapidly rising panic.

  And then, because this night clearly needed more excitement, I heard the unmistakable roar of fire. The woman on top of me went limp, and I mao wiggle free, scrambling to my feet.

  I spriowards the sound of the fmes, my mind rag.

  -Cruise; The Atrium-

  The once-majestic Atrium had devolved into a se of unimaginable horror. The air, thick with acrid smoke, burhe lungs of those still scious enough to breathe. Visibility was near zero, with only the hellish glow of fmes pierg through the inky bess.

  The grand staircase, once a symbol of eleganow resembled a waterfall of fire. Each step crumbled aed, the expensive marble bubbling and ing uhe intense heat. The gold-pted railings liquefied, dripping like molten va onto the screaming passengers below.

  Everywhere, the sounds of terror and agony filled the air. A child's high-pitched wail cut through the roar of the fmes, abruptly silenced as a burning beam crashed down. Elderly couples, their wrinkled hands csped together in one final, desperate embrace, huddled in ers as the inferno closed in around them.

  The ship's metal framewroaned and twisted, the heat causing it to and buckle. Each creak and pop was a harbinger of immi colpse. Sparks rained down from above, eae a potential death sentence for those whose clothes were already sm.

  In the ter of the Atrium, the massive crystal delier swayed ominously. Its once-pristine crystals now glowed an angry red, dist the light into nightmarish patterns across the chaos below. With each pitd roll of the ship, ks of crystal aal broke free, being deadly projectiles in the smoke-filled air.

  The carpets, soaked with spilled drinks and worse, had bee a treacherous s of fire. Those who fell found themselves trapped, the fmes hungrily dev their flesh as they screamed for help that couldn't e.

  Amidst this apocalyptic se, I stood, overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the disaster. The Dragon Fmes within me resonated with the inferno, making my skin feel as if it were about to burst into fmes itself. Every instinct screamed at me to flee, to save myself from this hell oh.

  But as I watched a mother desperately shielding her infant from the falling debris, I knew I couldn't abandon them. With trembling hands and a rag heart, I began to reach out to the fmes, praying that my power would be enough to stem this tide of destru.

  The task before me seemed impossible, the situation toone. But as the ship gave another siing lurd the screams intensified, I knew I had to try. Even if it e everything, I had to fight against this inferno with every fiber of my being.

  As I stood amidst the inferno, the fmes seemed to dan sync with my heartbeat. I knew I had to act fast, to guide these desperate souls to safety. With a deep breath, I reached out with my power, feeling the fire respond to my will.

  I began to shape the fmes, creating pathways through the smoke and debris. The fire parted, f clear corridors that led to the exits. I directed it with precision, ensuring that every step was safe, every route clear.

  "Follow the paths!" I shouted, my voice carrying over the roar of the fmes. "Stay low and move quickly!"

  As the passengers scrambled towards safety, I turned my attention to the structural iy of the Atrium. The grand staircase was crumbling, threatening to colpse and block a major exit. I focused my energy, using the fmes to reinforce weakening supports. Metal melted and gss fused, creating temporary buttresses that held against the weight of the burning debris.

  A group was trapped on an upper baly, the fmes closing in. I acted swiftly, crafting a bridge of solidified fme that ected them to a safer area.

  "Cross now!" I yelled, maintaining intense focus to keep the fiery bridge stable.

  The heat was overwhelming, s down my face as I pushed my limits. I knew I couldn't maintain this level of trol indefinitely.

  In a final, desperate move, I summoned a massive wave of fme that swept through the Atrium. It absorbed smaller fires, drawing them away from the remaining survivors. As it moved, it released waves of trolled fme that extinguished pockets of fire throughout the space.

  With the st of the passengers evacuated, I directed the fmes to e the lingering fires, leaving behind only sm embers. Exhausted and on the verge of colpse, I surveyed the devastated Atrium. The destru was extensive, but thanks to my as, many lives had been saved from this inferno.

  "HAAAH..." I exhaled heavily, my head hanging low. The effort of trolling the inferno had drained me, but I was still standing. Pride at saving so many lives mingled with exhaustion in my veins.

  Suddenly, a siing crack echoed beh my feet. Before I could react, the flave way, and I plummeted into darkness.

  I nded hard on a metal grating, the impaog the wind out of me. As I gasped for air, I took in my new surroundings. I had fallen into what must be the lower deck - a maze of pipes, tunnels, and industrial equipment. But this was no ordinary engine room.

  To be tinued...