After dinner, Charles began patrolling the Rat, making sure everyone was safe.
No one knew what had caused the sailors to disappear. With the enemy hiding in the dark and the crew exposed, this clumsy method was their only option for now.
The atmosphere on the ship returned to how it had been before they set out. Everyone was on edge, doing their best to stay in each other's sight, terrified they would vanish without a sound.
It was unclear whether Charles's method was working or if the creature had simply left, but for the next few days, the Rat remained unusually peaceful.
「Four days later」
Charles stood at the bow, gazing out over the pitch-black sea.
At most three more days and the Rat will be back on the marked sea route. We should be safe then.
After estimating their return time, Charles turned to look at Anna, who was sitting on the capstan. "Come on, let's go check on the turbine room."
"I'm not going. Wandering around with you every day makes me look like an idiot. What's there to see in this godforsaken place, anyway? If you want to go, go by yourself," Anna replied, her voice filled with impatience.
"Don't let your guard down. It's dangerous for you to be alone." Charles moved to gently take her arm, but she shook his hand away.
"Ugh, I said I'm not going! Why are you so annoying? Besides, that mummy is right up there watching. What danger could there be?"
Charles glanced up. Through the glass of the cockpit, he could clearly see Bandage at the helm.
"Alright, then. You rest here. I'll be right back." Charles opened the hatch and headed for the turbine room on the lowest deck.
As the power core of the entire steamboat, the turbine room was stiflingly hot and humid. As soon as Charles stepped inside, he saw James, the Chief Engineer, shirtless and shoveling fuel. Next to him, Deep, the sailor chief, was panting from the heat like a dog.
"Captain, I really can't take it anymore," Deep complained, his face grim. "Let me swap out. It's too hot in here."
"For the safety of our crewmates, just endure it a little longer."
"Besides, what man-eating Monster would come down here? It's so hot, who could stand it besides a big guy like him?"
Charles walked over to James and clapped him on his sturdy shoulder. "Thanks for your hard work. The new ship's insulation will be much better."
James gave a simple, honest smile. "I'm used to it. Other than the heat, the work down here is easy."
"Once we buy the new ship, you won't be able to manage this by yourself. You'll be the Chief Engineer then, and you'll have to manage a First Engineer, a Second Chief Engineer, and a Third Engineer."
James looked almost frightened by Charles's words. He quickly took half a step back and waved his hands frantically.
"No, no, no! I'm not cut out for managing people. Let someone else do it. I'll just be in charge of the furnace, really!"
A smiling Charles was just about to reassure his crewman when a thunderous bang erupted from a nearby pipe. The Rat let out a miserable screech, and everything tilted to a sharp seventy-five-degree angle.
Staggering and falling, Charles immediately knew what it meant: the hull was listing because something had happened to the Helmsman. On all fours, he scrambled to the communication tube and shouted into it, "Bandage! If you hear me, answer!"
The only reply was the sound of tearing flesh and Bandage's pained groan.
"Shit!" Charles drew the revolver from his belt and scrambled toward the stairs, bracing himself against the lurching ship.
"You two, with me! Something's happened in the cockpit!"
When Charles burst onto the deck, a panicked Anna ran to him, her eyes full of tears. "The mummy... the mummy!"
The four of them charged into the cockpit to find it in a state of chaos, splattered everywhere with dark red blood.
Bandage, who should have been at the helm, was lying on the floor like a rag doll mauled by a rabid dog. He was covered in wounds, and his right leg was gone, severed completely at the hip.
Charles rushed to Bandage's battered body, his hands hovering uselessly for a moment. After a brief pause, he tore away the wrappings on Bandage's face and pressed a finger under his nose to check for breath.
Charles breathed a small sigh of relief when he felt the faint whisper of air. He quickly pulled the Black Blade from his boot and pressed it into Bandage's hand, hoping its Healing power could help him cling to life.
"Anna! Snap out of it and stop the bleeding!"
Charles's shout jolted the stunned ship doctor. Her eyes bloodshot, she nodded frantically and ran for the door. "I'll... I'll go get the hemostats!"
"Don't give up, man. You're going to be okay. Don't you dare give up," Charles whispered urgently into Bandage's ear.
A moment later, Anna ran back in, shouting in a panic, "Charles, my medical kit is missing!"
Charles stared at Anna for a second before saying quickly, "Go to the Captain's Room! I stashed some medical supplies in the bottom of the cabinet! Deep, go get everyone else! Hurry!"
After a mad scramble, the remaining six members of the crew stood in the chaotic cockpit before the unconscious Bandage.
All of their anxious eyes were fixed on Charles, seeking a sense of security. This feeling multiplied the pressure on him, but now was precisely when a captain was needed most. He couldn't falter.
"Anna, did you see what attacked Bandage?"
"No. The ship suddenly lurched, and I fell to the floor."
"That thing is still on the ship. It's sure to strike again."
"But Captain, we've searched everywhere and found nothing. Could it be invisible?" Deep asked, his face a mask of worry.
The Monsters of the Abyss-Sea were bizarre and varied; one that could turn invisible was not out of the question.
"It's unlikely. If it could turn invisible, it would have had no reason to wait this long."
Charles knew he had to do something. He couldn't let his crew be attacked again. If this continued, the Rat would become an iron coffin, burying them all at sea.
But with no information to go on, what could he possibly do?
After a moment of thought, Charles pursed his lips and gave his orders. "Chief Engineer, push the turbines to maximum. As long as we get back to the Coral Islands as fast as possible, it doesn't matter if the Rat is scrapped."
"Deep, take a sailor and lock every single hatch."
"Frey, bring all the food that can be eaten raw from the galley to the turbine room and the cockpit. Everyone else is to stay in one of these two places."
If they couldn't find the creature, they wouldn't even try. They would just hole up together until they reached port.
"What about going to the bathroom?" Anna asked in a small voice.
Charles tapped the glass in front of them with his finger. "Over the side of the deck."
As everyone began to gather in the two designated locations, the atmosphere on the Rat grew even more oppressive.
In the cockpit, Deep took the helm while Anna tended to Bandage in his hammock. Charles sat on a stool, writing in his journal.
Inside the cabin, the only sound was the scratch of his pen on paper.