Chapter Text
“Hey dumbass, forget something?” III asked sarcastically, holding II's phone in his hand.
“Be nice III,” IV scolded.
“I am! I am just assisting a fellow crewmate with a possible safety hazard.”
II took his phone back from him, “Thanks III, but I wouldn't exactly call losing a phone a safety hazard.”
“I would. You get grumpy without your music and then you act like you'd murder anyone and everyone around you. You are not fun to work with when you're like that, no offense.”
“None taken, you're not wrong,” II chuckled. For having to work on a cargo ship, the job wasn't really that bad.
He was trying to work up enough money to start doing music as his main career, but life hadn't been that easy on him. He'd gone to a music school and was now trying to get off the ground, but had yet to find a band that needed a drummer. He had found III and IV while working at this job and had connected with them instantly. III and IV were a bassist and guitar duo who also happened to be trying to make some extra money. They all agreed that if they ever found a good enough vocalist, that they would start a band together. But until then, he was stuck with this job.
A strong gust of wind caught them all off guard. Clouds seemed to appear out of nowhere on the once clear horizon. They were dark and angry looking things, small flashes of light already becoming visible.
“What the hell? The forecast didn't show any tropical storms heading this way. I checked it this morning, I promise,” III swore.
“I did too. The only rain we were supposed to be getting was a small shower around midnight, nothing crazy,” IV agreed.
That's strange. “Maybe it was updated since last we checked? We should hurry up and get inside though. I do not feel like getting soaked right now.” II shivered at the thought. It was spring, so he could brush off the weird weather as just a thing of the season, but it still felt wrong.
The three of them quickly finished their rounds and headed inside. III and IV finished a bit quicker than II did, so they texted him to meet them in the shared sleeping room once he was done. He sent a quick thumbs up as a reply and kept walking. The sky had gone almost completely dark, the sunset hidden by the relentless swarm of clouds covering any available sky. II was about to head inside when the intense feeling of being watched hit him. He whipped around, assuming III was just playing a prank on him or one of the ships’ other crew had come to tell him something. He found no one, yet the feeling stayed.
“Hello?” He called out, not knowing what exactly to expect. He didn't believe in ghosts or anything like that, but the feeling was so strong and intense that if a ghost were to appear in front of him that very moment, he would've easily believed it, no questions asked. Unsurprising, he received no response, just the sound of waves lapping at the sides of the ship.
“Well fine then,” II muttered to himself, feeling a bit creeped out. Damn III and his stupid paranormal podcasts. III had a habit of listening to podcasts out loud if they all happened to be working inside that day. Most times day to day they were wildly different topics, from music reviews to true crime, but he did seem to really enjoy paranormal stories. That or he enjoyed torturing IV with them, who hated them. II had to admit, seeing IV jump at every slight noise after listening to an episode was kind of entertaining.
He headed back inside and met up with III and IV. “There you are! What took so long?” III gestures for him to come sit over at the table where they had set up a card game.
“Sorry about that. One of the other crew stopped to talk for a minute,” II lied. He knew the teasing that would come if he said why he had actually taken a bit longer. He loves his friends, but III’s teasing could get annoying at times, and he didn't feel like putting up with it.
“You have friends other than us? You traitor,” IV replied sarcastically.
II snorted. “It's not my fault you're an introvert. How you became friends with III, I have no idea.”
“Have we never told you how we met before?”
“No? I just thought III kidnapped you and blackmailed you so you would stay.” II joked, picking up the hand of cards that was handed to him.
III butted in, “Rude! We were actually roommates in college. We both got randomly assigned a roommate and it happened to be each other.” III explained, then added, “He didn't speak to me for the first entire week.” He placed a card down on the table.
“That's because you scared me,” IV said in a completely deadpan voice, taking his turn.
“I was not scary, I have no idea what you're talking about,” III crossed his arms over his chest, and huffed.
“Oh really? Do you want an alphabetized list of everything you did?”
“Actually, yeah I do.”
II chuckled to himself. “I'll go get some snacks, be right back.” He set down his cards and slid out of his seat. II didn't remember the last time when he had friends that were actually fun to be around. Maybe primary school? Anyways, it felt nice to be able to banter and really connect with people again. At the next stop, they could go to some music stores and see if they could track down a good vocalist.
The kitchen was back towards the end of the ship. There was no one else in the hallways as he walked down them. He wasn't sure exactly what time it was, but it had to be at least eleven at night. He made his way over to a small cupboard that IV had deemed “the snack cabinet”. There were a random assortment of chips, candy, and crackers. He picked out the first bag of chips he saw and started to make his way back. He was stopped when he heard a loud scraping noise coming from above. There was no room above him, just the deck. No one was supposed to be out this late, he had the last check of the night, so it most likely wasn't a person.
Instead of going right back to the others, he decided to check out the noise. He doubted it was anything bad, probably just a crate that had come loose. They were in the middle of the ocean for fuck’s sake, he doubted there was a serial killer on board. He set the bag of chips he was carrying on a side table near the exit and stepped out into the night. It was freezing. The wind had picked up even more, it felt like standing in a small tornado. Clinging to the railing, II made his way over to where the noise should have been coming from. Nothing?
Then, a sound that partially sounded like a scream, and partially sounded like a howl erupted from seemingly nowhere. II had to release the railings and cover his ears due to the volume of whatever it was. That had been a mistake. Suddenly, the ship tilted, causing II to lose his footing. He reached out to grab the railing again, but was unexpectedly pushed forward by some unseen force, sending him over the edge, and into the freezing waters below.
Shit, shit, shit! II struggled against the violent waves. That hadn't seemed so bad from where he had been standing on the deck of the ship, but now that he was in them, he realized just how wrong he had been. Anytime he managed to fight his way back to the surface, a wave quickly forced him back under. He struggled for what seemed like hours. He had no way of calling for help, he was alone.
He was unsure of how much time had passed by that point, but his limbs were starting to tire, and the lack of oxygen was draining him even more. He didn't want to die, he still had so much he wanted to do. He wanted to be in a band with his best friends, he wanted to see his parents again, he wanted to meet someone and have a relationship.
Eventually, his tired arms and legs gave out, and II submitted to the roaring ocean. The water was suffocating him, he could barely see, barely even think straight. His consciousness was threatening to leave him. He felt the cold seep into every bone in his body the farther down he drifted. He was tired. Just before everything went completely dark, he caught a glimpse of something that shimmered in the murky depths.
Were those scales?