Blood in the Water

Connor moved away from Alvin. He looked at us.

“You should all go to your cabins and lock the doors. We will figure this out eventually,” he said.

“What?” someone yelled in disbelief.

“Someone is dead!” another voice called.

Connor looked at Alvin and noticed the letters on his arm, seemingly written in red ink.

“Stop the ship!”

“Turn around!”

The voices got louder and louder. Will grabbed a microphone.

“Shut up!” he yelled. The people stopped. “Your Cruise Director just told you something. Go to your cabins. Now.”

My family shuffled out. Connor, Josh and Will followed us. I could hear the other families behind them.

We got into a spot with four elevators. They pressed the down button on one of the elevators. Why not go with them?

We all got into an elevator. “What floor are you guys on?” Josh asked.

“7, The Empress Deck,” my dad responded. Josh nodded and pressed the button. We went down in silence. Will cleared his throat, causing us to look at him.

“Did you guys see the letters on Alvin’s arm?” he asked. “I think it was... CCS?”

Josh raised an eyebrow. “CCS? What could that possibly mean?”

Andrew, Elena and Brooke looked at me. I gulped. “Um, maybe it means, ‘Carnival Cruise Ship?’” I said.

“Maybe... or it’s the killer’s initials,” Will suggested.

Chills ran up my spine. As we left the elevator, Connor asked us a question.

“So, is this your first cruise?”

Andrew, Elena, Brooke and I nodded while my parents mentioned their two previous Carnival Inspiration cruises.

“Well, see you around!” Connor said with a wave as the elevator doors closed.

We went back to our cabins and decided to freshen up before dinner, which was in the Carnivale Dining Room. Connor’s voice came through the intercom, announcing that everyone needed to stay in their cabins until further notice.

I wondered what was happening...

--- ~~~ ---

Josh looked through the library, trying to find a book. He knew what was happening, and he just needed proof. After that, he just needed to tell Cassie.

Footsteps came up behind him. Josh turned and breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh. Hello, Ni,” he said.

Ni smiled. Her black hair was poised in a bun, and her brown eyes sparkled. “I got your text, and I am going to be the waitress for the Seeleys. Do you really think that he’s behind this?”

Josh sighed. “He has to be. And Cassie has to stop him.”

“Alright. Have you found the book yet?”

Josh shook his head. “Not yet.” His eyes scanned the bookshelves. “There it is!”

Ni watched as Josh pulled a book out. The cover was black with gold patterns.

“The Legend of Dark Tail,” Josh said, opening the book.

--- ~~~ ---

“Alright, everyone! You may now leave your cabins. Thank you for staying inside!” Connor said. It had been twenty minutes.

We walked to the stairs and made it to the Carnivale Dining Room on the Atlantic Deck. We stepped toward our table at the back and took our seats. A woman with dark hair in a bun smiled at us.

“Hello! I am Ni, and I will be your waitress for dinner. What drinks will you be having tonight?” she asked.

“Water,” Brooke said.

“Coke,” my dad and Elena said.

“Diet Coke with lemon,” my mom said.

“Lemonade,” Andrew said.

“Sprite,” I said, a smile on my face. Ni wrote down our drinks, saying she would get them to us soon. She walked away.

I looked around at the Carnivale Dining Room. It was really beautiful. I looked at the table behind us and smiled at the large family seated there. A girl who looked close to my age smiled back.

Once the drinks arrived, I ordered fried calamari as an appetizer and sirloin steak as an entree. The food was fantastic, we had a beautiful view of the ocean because of the large window by our table and Ni was incredibly kind. She also served the family behind us, and I could tell by the laughs that they loved her as much as we did.

We walked back to our cabins. I checked the time. “7:30. Board game time,” I said to my siblings.

Andrew grabbed a deck of cards before going out of his cabin. As we walked, someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned around, seeing Josh.

“Hey, Josh! What’s up?” I asked.

“Just wondering where you guys are headed,” he said. I noticed that he was carrying a book.

“We’re actually going to the Shakespeare Library to play some card games and some board games. Would you like to join us?” Elena replied.

“Of course! That sounds like so much fun!”

We went up some stairs and got to the Atlantic Deck once more. We made it to the Shakespeare Library, where Johnnie and Brandon were already waiting.

“Hey, guys,” Johnnie said with a wave. We all sat around a table.

“Before you start playing,” Josh said, causing us to stop what we were doing, “I need to tell you something.”

“What?” Andrew asked.

“Alvin’s murder. The pieces aren’t quite lining up.”

“I know, right? He fell super close to me, those letters appeared on his arm and there’s no way that a gun could have been brought onto the ship,” I said.

“Exactly! I have an idea of who the killer is, but I have to show you something first,” Josh said.

“What is it?” Brandon asked.

Josh looked around, making sure that no one was listening. He took a deep breath. “Cassie, you like mermaids, right?”

“Duh,” I said, touching the gold mermaid necklace around my neck.

“Well, this will certainly interest you.” Josh pulled out the book he had been carrying and set it on the table.

“The Legend of Dark Tail,” Brooke read.

“Dark Tail was an evil merman. He gained his power through magical objects. He used stones, shells, crystals and rings. A group of merfolk were able to confiscate them from him. The objects were given to a mermaid who could transform into a human. She was told to hide them and keep them safe until Dark Tail’s nemesis came to collect them,” Josh explained.

“Who is Dark Tail’s nemesis?” Brooke asked.

“There’s a prophecy in the book,” Josh said, opening the book and skimming through the pages. He cleared his throat before reading:

“In a year with four numbers

On a boat of five days

Dark Tail will rise again

And murder in many ways

Four crew members will fall to

The start of his killing

The ship name and nemesis’ initials

Will be the three-letter marking

His prophetic nemesis will stop him

With skin that is fair

A teal tail and emerald eyes

And brown locks of hair

She’ll retrieve the objects at a shop

From the one who is named

After the island

That the ship’s tour claimed

The stones, shells, crystals and rings

Will be passed to people

Who will use the power for good

And stop the darkness and evil

Four people will be taken

And inhabited by Dark Tail

The meanings below

Are the names which will prevail:

A fragrant flower with thorns,

A lover of hounds, clinging vines,

A spark of fire on steel,

And determination for his crimes

Five times will be turned

Until he comes into the light

He’ll capture his nemesis

In the dark of the night

Her friends will rescue her

Then Dark Tail will fade

Trapped in the single thing

That he has made.”

“Brown locks? Emerald eyes? Fair skin? Prophetic? Is it Cassie?” Elena said, pointing to me.

“Your name does mean prophetess,” Andrew added.

“There’s also the initials,” Brooke said.

I laughed. “How could it be me? I’m not a mermaid!”

“Not yet,” Josh said.

The room went quiet.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Look at the prophecy. Fourth stanza.”

I read it. “So, on Catalina Island, I have to find a shop where someone named Catalina works? Is she the one who had to hide the objects in the first place?”

“That’s what it looks like. Cassie, you could very well be Dark Tail’s nemesis. Tomorrow, you need to get magical objects from Catalina. It seems like you have to start with stones. One of them could be the one that turns you into a mermaid. I would suggest getting around... twenty or twenty-five stones. Like the prophecy said, the objects will be passed on to people,” Josh said.

“Wow. This just got really interesting,” Johnnie said. We laughed.

“Alright. Time to continue the story. Catalina hid the objects. However, Dark Tail had hidden his most powerful object: his amulet.” Josh flipped to another page in the book, which had a picture of the amulet.

The amulet had a black and red crystal that looked like a bullet. A silver snake was coiled around the crystal.

“Dark Tail used copies of his amulet to inhabit people. I do think that Dark Tail killed someone, but his amulet is inhabiting a person on the ship. There is also a good chance that Dark Tail himself is on the ship. He and the person he is inhabiting should be wearing it.”

“Didn’t the prophecy mention the whole ‘inhabiting’ thing? It said there were name meanings involved,” Brandon pointed out.

“Yeah. We can look at that later. Besides, it’s hard to get a decent internet connection on the ship. I would totally be up for finding the names that match the meanings, but we need to focus on Cassie getting the objects,” Josh said. Everyone looked at me.

“This is... a lot to take in. Um, I do want to mention something, though,” I said.

“What?” Johnnie asked.

“I think Dark Tail is trying to frame me for the murders. The whole ‘initials’ thing is correct. My initials are ‘CCS’. Like I had said earlier, that could also be ‘Carnival Cruise Ship.’ The prophecy says that, ‘The ship name and nemesis’ initials will be the three-letter marking.’ What if people start suspecting me?” I said, my heart starting to pound.

The killer smirked as he eavesdropped on the conversation behind a pillar. Everything was going according to plan.

“If that happens, we’ll protect you. Right, guys?” Andrew said.

“Yeah!” the group announced.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, guys. That means a lot.”

The killer walked away.

He had the information that he needed.

“We should start playing games now, right?” I said with a laugh.

We all laughed before pulling out the decks of cards and playing a game called “Rich Man, Poor Man.”

--- ~~~ ---

I checked the time. “10:30? Alright. Time for bed.” I looked at Josh. “Thanks for hanging out with us and telling us about Dark Tail.”

“No problem!” Josh said.

“Do you guys want to meet here tomorrow night?” Elena asked.

Brandon, Johnnie and Josh nodded.

“Perfect!” I said.

We said our goodbyes before heading back to our cabins. I showered and changed into my pajamas. I climbed up the ladder to my pull away bed and curled up in the covers.

A story was unfolding right before my eyes.

I was in no way prepared for what would come next.

--- ~~~ ---