SPACESHIP ZOMBIE CRUISE

FILE ENTRY 32.0

Bella Starr

As I sprint for the stairwell leading to the Atlantic Deck, one infected after another pours into the cafe and chases Halo, Electra Draco, Cygnus Lo, Adriana, and I into the short stretch of corridor. Fortunately, the hallway is wide enough to take up a defensive front. On both sides, a bank of stainless steel elevator doors reflect the five of us as we stand our ground against the rampage of infected passengers.

I turn to Draco and shout, "Take Adrianna to the stairwell and guard her with your life."

With a face full of horror, Draco grabs the girl by the arm and guides her away from the action. I don't trust the CEO at all, but I don't have a choice. If only I had Astra...

The thought is short lived as an infected man bellows toward me. I brace myself, bend my knees, holding the katana blade at an angle, ready to defend myself.

Halo does the same, glancing over, catching my eye with a quick nod. This is it—the moment where life meets death—only time will tell which one will win the battle.

As the infected surge toward us, Halo assumes the lead and slashes his blade across the face of the man about to reach me. The man falls to the side, his body twisting as he hits the floor.

As Halo goes left, I shift to the right, set to cut off the next infected in line.

I realize what Halo did. It wasn't that he doubted my skills. I'm more than capable, but he wanted to launch the first strike to keep me from hesitating. A mistake that could be fatal.

Halo whips his sword through the air and slices another infected person across the neck, blood splattering on a shiny elevator door. Without looking, he spins his body and drives his blade through the stomach of a second infected. As he turns to face the onslaught, two more passengers rush past him, filtering their way to me.

Now I have to be ready.

"The Way of the Sword," Halo yells. "Let your katana be part of your body."

I narrow my eyes and swing, the tip of my blade penetrating the cheek of a woman racing my way. I watch helplessly as another person storms past me, but Cygnus Lo is ready.

Lo slits the throat of the cook. Not wasting time, he drives his knife into the man's temple and rips it out.

I glance back to see Draco with an arm coiled around Adrianna, both of them peeking out from the stairwell opening.

I run forward, veering to the left side of the corridor as Halo switches to the right. We create an alley to funnel the infected to their deaths, dwindling their numbers down as we fight to survive.

Halo, like a Samurai warrior, twists and turns through the corridor, cutting down one infected after another, but eventually, their numbers overwhelm him. As he impales a man through the eye—with his blade stuck in the passenger's skull—another infected roars toward him. Unable to free his blade, I race over and with an adrenaline laced scream, decapitate the threat. I don't have time to watch the head roll toward Lo's feet.

"Thanks," Halo shouts as he yanks his blade free, jerks it around and buries it into the chest of an infected steward. Another one down and out of the way.

Up ahead, five more infected passengers clog the hallway.

My sword is an extension of my arms, a part of my body. Soon, my movements become fluid, quick and precise. By myself, I strike down two of the five flooding the corridor. But with my head turned away, a man smashes into me, driving me back into an elevator door. I try to fend him off with my elbow and the edge of my sword. I struggle as the man's teeth snap at my face. He's so close, I can smell his wretched breath.

I twist my neck, trying to put as much distance between myself and the man, even if it's only a few inches.

The man is bigger and stronger than me, but I feel the burn of adrenaline sizzling in my veins. I don't know if it'll work, but I knee the man in the groin and watch him bend over in agony. As he leans over, I bring the hilt of my sword back and smack the infected man in the cheek. His body reels sideways. The small gap between us gives me the chance to chop at the man's neck, slicing through half of it, ending his reign of terror.

Before I can react, another infected slips past me.

Lo steps up and swipes with his knife, but misses as the man dodges the short blade.

The infected person trips over Lo's foot and stumbles to the floor in front of Draco and Adrianna.

My heart jumps in my throat, torn between helping Halo with the two remaining infected passengers or rushing to aid Adrianna. As I glance at Halo, he cuts down one of the infected, evening the odds.

Before I can spring into action, the man pushes up from the floor and tries to stand.

That's when Adrianna, not Draco, swings the big wrench and smashes it into the infected man's temple. The girl wails as she strikes the man and watches him tumble to the floor.

Adrianna's swing isn't powerful, but it's effective. It buys me enough time to reach the girl and get between them.

As the man shakes his head and launches himself at me, I simply place my sword in his path. The blade enters the man's mouth, silencing him for good.

I rip back the katana, removing the blade from the dead man's ruined throat. When I turn to face Halo, he's already dispatched of the last infected passenger with a slash of his sword.

He gives me a nod as I swallow the gigantic lump in my throat. Shaken but alive, the five of us hurry to the stairs and dash toward the Atlantic Deck where access to the bridge of the ship awaits us.