"Argh… is this… a ship?" Jason muttered to himself as he slowly opened his eyes.
"…What?" Sitting at the bow, he looked down and saw about fifteen other people waking up at the same time.
To his left and right were pirate ships, nearly identical to the one he was on—only with different groups of sailors waking up.
"Ahhh… AHHHHH WE'RE DEAD!" someone from Jason's ship suddenly screamed in panic.
"Shut the fuck up!"
"Shut up, man!"
"Is Brandon here?!"
"WE'RE DEAD, MAN, WE'RE DEAD!!" The panicked voice belonged to a teenage boy, no older than eighteen. He reeked of body odor, like he hadn't showered in days, and wore an oversized white T-shirt. He was tall—one of the tallest on board. That was Sean, the boyfriend of the teenage girl from the mall.
"I said SHUT THE FUCK UP!" a man growled, grabbing Sean by the collar.
"No monsters have even shown up yet! What's the point of your shouting?!" a woman snapped, echoing the frustration shared by the group. Jason simply watched, still disoriented.
"We're all dead, man…"
"Listen, dipshit," the man snarled, "I don't know where you're from, but Mr. Jones taught me how important morale is. If everyone starts panicking, that's when we're dead. We're not dead—unless you keep dragging us all down!"
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, MAN!" Sean's face was frozen in genuine, bone-deep terror. His body sagged, drained of all strength. He had completely given up, and it showed. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!"
The man's patience snapped. He let go of Sean's collar and instead punched him hard—knocking him flat to the deck.
"I said shut up!"
"…This… this is judgment, man… We're the sinned… and the DEVIL'S COME FOR ALL OF US!" Sean whimpered. "Suzie… she… she and I sinned, man. We did bad things. And now… we've been caught. This… this is the devil's work. We're ALL DEAD!!"
The man lost control and kicked Sean—again and again—until blood streamed from his nose and mouth, smearing the deck red.
"Kill me then… we're dead either way…" Sean muttered weakly.
Just as the man was about to land a final blow, another voice cut through the chaos.
"He's right."
"What?!"
"We're not getting out of this. There's only half as many people as last time. We're going to die—it's just a matter of when."
The man clenched his fists in rage, but as he looked around, he saw that everyone else looked just as broken. Their faces were pale and hollow, their bodies slack. Hope was gone.
"Shit!" he cursed under his breath.
"If we don't die today, then it'll be tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after that… then the day after that…" His voice quavered, and he was on his knees by the time he finished.
"Shut up, man…" Even he was losing the will to speak.
"Guys! No monsters yet!" someone shouted from the ship to the left. "Maybe if we sail away—we can survive this! The game says 4 AM, right?!"
**SPLASH**
A deafening splash echoed from behind the left ship. A massive tentacle surged up from the ocean's surface.
"AHHH!"
"GET TO THE BOW!"
"RUN!"
The tentacle crashed onto the deck with explosive force, nearly capsizing the vessel.
"We're all dead… we're all dead…"
Chaos erupted. People screamed and cried in every direction. But the man who'd struck Sean earlier was focused, gritting his teeth—not at the monster, but at Sean, who had spoken those cursed words.
**SPLASH**
Another tentacle came crashing down—right on top of the man—crushing him instantly.
A storm exploded into existence. Rain poured heavily, the sky turned a furious gray, and the waves thrashed with merciless strength.
Caught in the middle of the chaos, Jason didn't know how to respond. He sat back down at the bow, pulled his knees to his chest, and buried his head in his arms. His eyes stayed wide open. He couldn't blink. He couldn't look away from the massacre.
Tentacles from the colossal kraken burst from all sides, hammering the ships. Within five minutes, the right-side vessel was tilting sharply.
"AHHHH!"
"ARGHHHHH!"
Jason could hear the screams as that ship flipped over, disappearing into the sea. No survivors emerged.
His own ship shuddered violently from the kraken's attacks and the turbulent waves. Fortunately, Jason was wedged into a small cavity at the bow—unable to move much, even if he wanted to.
Some survivors took up swords and axes, fighting back against the tentacles. Some succeeded, temporarily halting the kraken's assault.
Suddenly, something much larger rose from the depths—towering in front of the ships. The sky had grown too dark to make out its full form, but its silhouette loomed under flashes of lightning.
It resembled a giant snake, but its form suggested more of a long, towering neck. Jason watched in horror.
"Huh… huh…?"
"IS THAT FUCKING NESSIE?!"
**ROOOOOOOOAR**
A thunderous roar erupted as the lightning flashed, illuminating its gaping, fanged mouth.
"Wh-what…?"
It swooped down and snapped up three men at once, crushing them in its jaws in a single bite. Blood rained from its teeth, dyeing the storm's downpour red.
This wasn't a survival game. It was a slaughter. No one stood a chance against the kraken and the beast now dubbed Nessie.
Nessie clamped its jaws around the bow of the left ship and lifted the entire vessel vertically. Gravity did the rest—survivors tumbled into the bloodied ocean, devoured by smaller sea creatures waiting below.
No one ever had a chance. The attacks were overwhelming. Fifty people could fight all they wanted—it wouldn't change their fate.
Jason, still watching, bit down hard on his own forearm until it bled.
"Argh!" The pain was sharp, real. "...But… how…"
This was the end. His end. The last ship would sink soon enough.