Deep burst into the Captain's Room first, picking up a logbook that lay on the floor.
Just as he was about to hand the ship's log to Charles, a nearby drawer slid open, and a black shadow instantly pounced onto his face.
"Deep!" An astonished Charles rushed forward to tear the thing off, but Deep's body suddenly dispersed into a deep blue mist.
Without anything to cling to, the black mass fell to the ground, twisting as it crawled toward Charles.
Charles instantly drew his revolver and repeatedly pulled the trigger.
The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the room. Under Charles's relentless barrage, the black mass finally stopped moving.
"What is this thing?" Deep asked, reforming into his human shape and looking in surprise at the sticky black jelly on the floor.
Charles carefully tipped the drawer over. It looked as if it had been hollowed out by something, its dark interior stretching to unknown depths.
