Chapter 770: Surrounded

Laz laid in bed, looking up at the white ceiling above him. The time of the ’party’ concluded and everyone went back to their own rooms. Kelly and Helen said they would see Laz in the morning, but that they would need time to recover from the activities of the night as each one was sore in many different ways. Laz was ok with that as the beast he had encounter was still on his mind. That creature was something out of a Lovecraftian nightmare and, as far as he knew, wasn’t something that resonated with his bloodline in any way. He felt like he neither knew it nor understood it, something that seemed impossible considering the strength the Asura possessed in the past. Kat was broken after having shielded him in the dimensional rift and there had been no communication with her ever since that time. Laz had also tried to talk to Jörmungandr but had gotten no response. He knew the sword of legend had heard him, but it had kept it’s thoughts to itself about it.

Without answers, the questions could only burn holes in his mind, worrying him.

The next few days were spent with Kelly and Helen at meals and sometimes doing Yoga, but otherwise the girls were having a good time themselves, doing things alone or together. It wasn’t that they didn’t like Laz, it was just that they were enjoying the single life for the first time in a long time, a very long time in the case of Helen.

Laz had seen Jayden and Georgia in passing, but besides a smile and a wave, the girls didn’t stop to talk to him. Sometimes they were with their significant others, but other times they were with other groups of girls and seemed to be busy.

Laz didn’t mind. The night was fun, but the night had ended and they weren’t the types to be obsessed with a man just because they had the best fuck of their lives. Things didn’t work like that.

What did get Laz’s attention was a day where everyone was asked to remain in their rooms and that room service would be delivered to them. There was a massive storm happening outside and the boat was pitching and rocking, something that made quite a few people sick. As the announcement was made, it was also said that such a storm wasn’t common for this time of the year and that they expected it would end soon.

By the second day, the passengers had a lot of questions and few answers. Weather reports and communications showed that the storm appeared out of nowhere and seemed to almost be following the ship, not reacting in a pattern that was natural by any stretch of the imagination. They were hundreds of miles off the shore and the waves prevented them from getting back.

Laz knew what it was though as he stood on his balcony and looked out at the massive waves all around them.

’There are creatures in the water, massive creatures that are eyeing the ship,’ Laz thought to himself as he looked out into the water, his sight blocked from seeing anything other than shadows underneath the water. Something was interfering with his Heaven’s Gaze ability and making it almost useless. Still, without it, he wouldn’t have known about the creatures so it was showing him something.

As for why they didn’t attack the ship, Laz knew the answer as he had projected his aura outward in an attempt to scare the creatures away. While they had retreated a little ways, they didn’t leave the ship alone either and Laz knew that wasn’t a good thing.

’If they aren’t stupid, then the only answer is that they’ve either got some way to deal with me or someone who was as strong as me. Either way it’s not good news,’ Laz thought to himself, looking out into the depths as though trying to see through the veil of water. It didn’t work but it also didn’t stop him.

...

The Bridge was a mess as their radar and sonar had picked up all the signals below the surface of the water and they had no idea what it was or what to do.

"Relay the information to the coast guard, see what they say," the captain ordered.

"Something is interfering with the signal. We keep sending out a call but nothing is coming back. We are waiting for a call back on the satellite phone as it was the only means of communication that seems to be working," one of the crew members relayed back to the captain.

It took more than ten minutes before a communication was patched through.

"What are we dealing with?" The captain asked as soon as someone who could answer his questions came on the line.

"We have received reports about creatures in the open water who have attacked ships. Navy battle ships from the pacific fleet have encountered various aggressive beasts that have attacked them, massive creatures that looked like some evolved form of whales and sharks that can break apart the hull of the ship if they get close enough. Several of our own cutters have been attacked and sunk as well in the past two days. As of this moment, a navy sub has been dispatched to your coordinates, but even then it will take two days to reach you. Patrols are being sent to various shipping lanes as it seems it’s not just an isolated incident as reports are coming in from around the world of similar incidents happening. Most of the time, the attacks are preceded by unusual weather events happening to the ships, like fast moving storms or sudden whirlpools. The only advice I can give you is to keep moving forward and make it to land as fast as possible," the voice on the sat phone said.

"HOW THE HELL CAN I DO THAT WHEN THEN WAVES ARE KEEPING US FROM HEADING TOWARDS LAND?" The captain shouted at the speaker, obvious pissed off from getting such obvious and useless advice.

The voice was silent for a moment before continuing.

"Captain... although I can’t be sure, from the reports we are getting in... your ship is in little danger of sinking. Instead... it’s in danger of being boarded...."

"Boarded? By mutated sharks and whales?"

"No captain. By the things riding the sharks and whales. If you resist... they may end up sinking the entire ship. But if you don’t... they will most likely just take whatever passengers they find appealing along with your food and supplies and let the ship go. As far as they are concerned, if they keep sinking ships, then there will be less ships for them to rob. I can’t tell you what to do if they board you before the sub gets there, but even with the sub escort, there is no guarantee it can stop the beasts by itself depending on the size of the attack party. I don’t know what’s going on since all of the attacks on record occurred within the same day of the weather phenomenon. Yours is the first report we’ve gotten of a delayed attack. That might be good news for you, but I can’t say for sure. This is the best I can give you captain. What you do from here on out is your decision. We will keep tracking you and trying to get there as soon as possible, but for now, you’re on your own." The voice said before the line went silent.

The captain bashed his hand on the wooden rail in front of him, hurting his fist in the process.

"So we either let them do what they want or we fight back and risk sinking the ship?" The captain yelled to the crew in front of him. They had weapons and security on board, but nothing that could wage a war with something that could tear apart a Coast Guard Cutter or wage a battle against a Navy destroyer.

The head of security was there, but he couldn’t make this choice for the captain. He would rather fight, but not if it meant dooming the entire ship. Still, how was the captain suppose to explain to the ones who got taken that they were being sacrificed for the good of the others? And how many would they take? And what would happen to them?

"I can’t risk the entire ship..."

*I suggest you don’t finish that statement. I understand your concern, but since I refuse to let these fish fuckers do what they want, It would be better for your men to prepare to fight since they will have to do that in the end anyway. Do whatever emergency procedures your suppose to in the event of pirates and get your crew armed up. You’re not alone and since I’m the reason they resisted for so long, that means they are at least smart enough to know fear. There might still be a way out of this. Just make sure everyone is prepared and when the time comes, I will show up and do the talking. Until then, keep things calm. The less fear we show, the more they will rethink their actions.* Laz’s voice came to the minds of everyone on the bridge of the ship at the same time, scaring most of them but also calming them as well. He had been listening in for a while now using his spiritual sense.

The captain asked to the air around them,

"Who are you?"

"Me? I’m number one on the most wanted list. And pretty soon every on board will understand why..." Laz replied with a slight laugh before turning his attention back to the waves.

"Either nut up or shut up, fuckers. Your move!" Laz said, his voice projected out into the night, echoing deep into the waves.