Anthology by Lys Marie

*Thriller/Horror*

"Fiona!" His dark voice echoed as he called out my name. "You can't hide forever, you have no where to go."

He was right. We were on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. What was supposed to be an all adult getaway had became a nightmare. Everyone else was dead. I was the only passenger left because I had caught on that something wasn't right with Jackson.

He was attractive and charming, but a little too charming. The moment he introduced himself to my group of friends everyone loved him. They let their guards down. That's where they went wrong.

I could feel my heart practically stop as his eyes met mine. I had been moving from place to place to stay hidden. But I made the mistake of hiding under the bed.

"Got ya." A devious smile crossed his lips and he proceeded to yank me out of hiding.

"Let me go you asshole!" I shouted as I tried to hit his hands away.

"Why shout? No one alive can hear you." He responded.

Jackson's eyes were a dark grey. His hair was black, fitting as it seemed his soul was the same color. He was taller than me by a foot and his muscles made him no match for me. He threw me over his shoulder and marched down the hallway. I beat my fists against his back in protest but it did nothing to him.

I gave up as he continued walking. I looked in horror at the bodies on the floor of the hall. Everyone had been dressed up formally for such an exciting event. Now they laid here lifeless with either their necks cut or gunshot wounds.

We passed a mirror and that's the first time I got a good look at myself. My light blonde hair was a mess from running. My soft pink dress was covered with my friend Jenna's blood. My brown eyes looked tired. But I wasn't giving up. There had to be away to stop this monster.

I wasn't sure where he was taking me anymore. We went down hallway after hallway. He only stopped once he reached a metal door. He opened it and went inside the room. The walls and floor were grey, it seemed to be some type of storage room.

He set me in a chair and began to tie me up so I couldn't move. As he did this I thought about the events from earlier today. Everyone had been dressed in their best for an elegant dinner arranged by the ship's owner. That owner had happened to be Jackson.

Before this during the first few days Jackson had approached me multiple times. He would try to flirt with me but I shut him down. Something didn't feel right with him so I wasn't interested. My friends thought I was crazy. Jenna and Madeline had even admitted they were slightly jealous I had caught his eye.

There were so many people that we had to eat in waves. While the first group ate the others danced to the live music or stayed in their rooms. The second wave of people eating is where it started going down hill. That's when people started dropping like flies.

Those who had eaten realized quickly they had been poisoned. Those who tried to help the ones sick had gun fire opened up on them. Then everyone scattered and Jackson's group of men started shooting and slashing throats. The ship had broken out into complete chaos.

Jenna and I tried to hide together. But as she tried to join me in a hiding spot in our room a man entered and grabbed her. I watched in horror as he slashed her throat and went on his way after someone called out for him. When things were quiet I tried to help Jenna but she was already gone.

Jackson walked by while I was next to Jenna. He had a dark and twisted smirk. That's when I took off and our chase started. In the end it was useless. He still managed to get me.

"Where are your men?" I asked once he backed away from tying me up.

"Dead." He answered as if he was satisfied with his own work.

"You killed your own men?" I was puzzled by what his tactic was.

"I didn't need them anymore." Jackson answered honestly. "But I need you Fiona. If I didn't you would already be dead."

"Need me for what?" I could feel my heart pounding as Jackson came closer again.

"I need you to be my partner Fiona. Help me and you'll never have to worry about anything ever again." He responded.

"I don't understand." I was confused about what his intentions were.

"Fiona, I'm a reaper. I collect souls and then I deliver them to my boss." All his explanations did was make me feel like he had lost his damn mind. "I had to kill the others to fill my quota."

"And who's your boss?" I asked. I wanted to see what kind of bullshit answer he had.

"A demon. You'll meet if you accept my offer." He answered. "Doing this on my own can be a little tough, I could use some help. Become my partner, you can live forever."

"Why me?" There were plenty of women on the ship he could've chosen from. Before he had killed them anyway.

"Because you're smart Fiona. And you seem so sweet and innocent. No one would ever suspect anything malicious about you. That makes you perfect." He shot me a pleasing smile. "Join me won't you?"

"If I do what's left for us to do here?" I wanted to know his next plan of action. Then I could figure out where to go from here.

"If you accept then we take the ship to my boss, he collects the souls and we come back and do it again." Jackson explained.

"Why the ship? Isn't there an easier way?" I questioned further.

"The ship is what I was assigned. If it's not the ship then my ass is on the line and I can't have that." He answered.

"Understood." I nodded and gave him a devious smirk. "Jackson tying me up is no way to start a partnership."

"I can't trust you yet." He responded as his grey eyes looked me over.

"How can I prove I'm on board?" I looked back at him softly. "I'll do anything to prove it Jackson."

He thought for a moment and then he started to untie me. Once I was free he wrapped his arms around me. He made sure to feel up every curve on my body. "Anything?"

"Anything." I responded seductively as I pressed my lips against his.

He kissed me back and I could feel his grip on me tighten. I ran my hands through his short black hair. He deepened the kiss and I felt his tongue sneak into my mouth. I let it battle with mine until he finally pulled away with a satisfied smirk.

It didn't last long. I gave a swift kick to his crotch and watched as he fell to the floor in pain. I took off running. It was only him and I now. There's no way I couldn't beat this mother fucker. He may claim to be something from the underworld but I knew his weakness. I had to figure out how to sink the ship.

The only thing that came to mind was to create a gas leak and light it. That would cause an explosion and just one would set off other things to bring this ship down. I knew the odds of me making it weren't high but if this ship stayed a float I would die anyway. And Jackson would go claim more victims.

I ran through the laundry room grabbing any flammable liquid I could. Then I ran into a room by the engines where some propane tanks were located. I opened the valves up letting the contents fill the air. All I needed to do was to light a fire with the liquid and lead it down to the propane tanks. That would blow the ship up.

"Fiona! Get back here you cunt!" I could hear the rage fill Jackson's voice as he looked for me.

I opened a bottle of cleaner and dumped it near one of the tanks and leading out of a room. Once it was empty I moved on to the next one. I repeated until I was near the deck of the ballroom. I needed a lighter to light the flammable liquids.

I looked around the bodies on the floor. I recognized one of the men I had seen around. He was a smoker. He had to have one. It took every within me to make my way over and search through a dead man's pockets. Finally I found what I was looking for. I grabbed a near by life jacket and put it on. I had to be prepared.

I went back to where the trail of liquids started. Jackson stood on the deck. "The jig is up Fiona. Now I have to kill you." He spoke as his face was filled with darkness and anger.

I looked him in the eyes as I lit the lighter and dropped it to the floor. The trail ignited immediately. Jackson's face turned to confusion. He couldn't figure out what I had done.

"What are you doing?" Jackson asked.

"Waiting." I smirked

"For?" He looked at me curiously.

"You'll see." I answered.

Before he could say anything further the ship blew to pieces. I was thrown over board. I went under the water but the life jacket brought me back up. I looked around at the fiery scene around me. It had worked better than expected. There was also no sign of Jackson.

I noticed a nearby piece of debris. I swam the best I could over to it and climbed onto it. I felt my eyes get heavy as I was able to finally sit back. I decided to shut them for a moment. I must've fallen asleep because the next time I opened them it was day light and I was being rescued by a small boat.