"CHARGE!" Chris yelled when he saw she was in danger. Blue orbs rained from every direction, and the projectiles lashed out in an explosion of blue flames upon hitting their target. The demons scampered away to avoid getting incinerated.
Any demon caught within range of the exploding orbs was instantly incinerated. Chris looked around him. "Martinez? Where is Martinez?"
"We can't find him, Captain," one of the crew responded
"We don't have time for this. Go free the crew!" he instructed his team. The twenty-man team charged, the demons pierced by the blue spear tip, all incinerated into nothing. Once the area was cleared, they opened the cages to let out their captive crewmates.
Martinez hid and trembled as soon as the battle commenced. He covered his ears and curled up in his hiding place.
Chris ran in Cecilia's direction to make sure she was safe. Once he had her hand, he could not help but berate her. "Didn't I tell you to stay on the ship?"
"You know that I can't just stand idly by," She snapped back at him, knowing she was safe with him.
"Come on," Chris said, his head shaking in disbelief. He led her towards the others. The blue orbs continued to rain down on the demons, forcing them to scatter and flee. "Have you freed everyone?" he asked his crew.
"All except for that cage captain," Chris looked at where the crewman was pointing. "Take them back to the boats and bring them back to the ship! HURRY!"
"What about you, Captain? And the others?" Concern laced the question; worry about their captain and crewmates showed.
"I'll be fine, I can take them back to the ship!" He then led Cecilia to the crewman, "Take her, make sure Pink is on the ship!"
But Cecilia immediately protested to Chris' command, "NO! I'm staying with you." She made sure they heard her stand.
Chris gritted his teeth at Cecilia before turning to the crewman, "Go, I'll take care of her and the others, take all the boats you need to bring everyone to safety!"
The crewman nodded, then turned to the others, "Come on…all of you to the shoreline, now!"
Chris wasted no time and started to untie the door cage holding the last thirty or forty of the crew. Cecilia then saw the snake demon approach a certain area. It was then she noticed Martinez trembling with fear as the demon approached him.
"Ro…Robles, it's me, Martinez! Don't you remember me?" He tried to reason with the demon, trying to ignite any speck of humanity left. But the snake demon responded with an ear-shattering roar, raising its massive arm, ready to strike.
The sharp claws descended on its target, and Martinez covered his head with his arms, bracing himself for the impact. But the claws did not hit him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Cecilia, grunting, her back towards the demon. "Are you okay?" she asked before losing consciousness.
The demon readies itself to strike again. "CAPTAIN!" Martinez screamed in fear. Just then, the demon growled in agony, and it looked down and saw a spear tip jutting out of its chest. The demon writhed for a while before it turned to dust.
"Cecilia!" Chris bellowed. he dropped the spear and quickly scooped her up. He felt some warm liquid trickling from her back. He looked at his hands and was shocked to see that it was stained with blood. "We've got to get her back on the ship!" he said, looking at everyone. "All of you get close to me!" he told them with urgency. Once everyone was holding on or close enough to him, he tried to teleport them, but not even a speck of light appeared. "There are too many of us; we need to get closer, a direct line of sight to the ship! To the shore, everybody to the coast!"
The group all ran as fast as they could towards the shore, with Chris carrying Cecilia in his arms. Once there, Chris tried to teleport everyone, this time in the open area; the captain's ability was starting to work. Light was beginning to grow from Chris's hands. Then Martinez saw a shadow approaching them; it was the four-armed werewolf demon, who found them.
"Your…souls…are mine!" The demon bellowed out, its face filled with glee as it approached its intended prey. Chris grunts and grits his teeth. Despite the danger, he continues to try to teleport everyone to safety.
"Captain, go, leave us. Save Miss Bermudez." His crew pleaded with him,"
"No one gets left behind!" he grunts. "I'm not leaving anyone behind!" he shouted defiantly
Against the looming danger to his captain, Martinez's mind was flooded with images of his brothers-in-arms dying in battle. He started to cry at the image of their scornful gazes directed at him. Then, from the darkness, a familiar voice called out to Martinez, "You know what to do, brother."
"Carl?" He whispered in his head. In that moment, a spark suddenly lit up inside of Martinez. He looked at his captain struggling to save everyone, then he shifted his gaze to the looming threat. As if on instinct, he sprang up and charged at the demon.
Martinez tackled the demon, and he wrestled it into the river. The werewolf demon and the helmsman fell into the Kasanaan and were swallowed by the river. The demon emerged from the waters, thrashing about. It tried to get back on shore, but Martinez grabbed it from behind, preventing it from escaping.
The captain saw the serene and calm smile on his face as if he was saying, "Thank you for the opportunity to redeem myself." Chris watched in disbelief as the demon and Martinez dissolved into the water.
"MARTINEZ! NO!" Chris shouted, reaching out with his hand, and then they were enveloped with a blinding light. The moment the light vanished, so did Chris and his crew.
The light reappeared on the deck of the Twilight. Chris panted, his eyes still wide with shock. "The captain and the rest are back! Full speed ahead!" Bustamante barked at the coms, and the Twilight began to move gradually, picking up speed.
Murillo and Bustamante ran towards the captain. "Miss Bermudez, is she alright?" Murillo asked with urgency.
Chief Murillo scans the faces of those who came with the captain. "Aren't we missing anyone?" she continued to look around. "Martinez? Where is Martinez?" Panic was rising in her head
Chris stood up, Cecilia still in his arms. "Prepare the medical bay, ask the crew who has medical knowledge."
"Captain!" Bustamante raised his voice. When Chris looked back at him, he softened his tone. "Where is Martinez, captain?"
Chris turned to Bustamante, his eyes red, and with a shaky voice, he replied, "Martinez…sacrificed himself, to save us." He turned around and weakly proceeded to the medical bay.
Chief Bustamante's knees buckled, and he found himself slumped on the floor. Murillo breaks down in tears, and she clenches her chest at the pain of losing a great crewmate and friend.