SPACESHIP ZOMBIE CRUISE

FILE ENTRY 16.0

Bella Starr

I want to speak, to say something, to call out to Caprica to see if my friend is playing a trick on me, but my voice hangs in my throat, dry and desperate to believe anything but the truth... that Caprica has not become infected and turned into one of those flesh-eating things.

"Cap?"

The growl rumbles like an air cycle engine that grows more intense as it lifts from the ground and speeds up through the sky. That's where the resemblance ends. In the middle of a feverish fit, Caprica smacks her fists against the bathroom door.

I know what she wants. She wants to break the door down, sink her teeth into my flesh, and devour me.

With my tank top, I can imagine the scenario... my skin ripped from my arms and shoulders. I hug myself, rubbing my hands over my biceps, trying to swallow the dryness in my throat. Slowly, I take a step toward the door, my hand extending toward the knob.

I freeze inches away.

Finally, my voice loosens with a creak. "Caprica? It's me, your friend. It's Bella."

Caprica explodes into a fit of fiery rage, beating and kicking against the door. The thin panel separating us rattles within the frame but holds up under the onslaught. But for how long?

"Caprica. Snap out of it!"

She batters the door, every strike laced with fury.

I try to wrap my mind around what's happening. I recall what transpired on the Sea Breeze Deck moments before, how the passengers appeared to die before my eyes and then come alive again, but in a zombified state. There are no other words to describe the transformation. With all my heart, I hope Caprica is only sick, infected with a virus, which means we can cure her.

My voice squeaks as I try to speak, wanting to say something else, but realizing the more noise I make, the more livid Caprica becomes. In the moments that follow, as I remain quiet, she calms on the other side of the door, emitting low-pitched sounds.

I edge toward the stateroom entrance, which is half open from when I bulldozed through it.

At the door, I slip through, the hinges whispering in the gloomy silence, save for my friend's angry grunts and growls.

My body quivers, heart thrumming against my chest. I blink. In the long hallway, I glance back at Caprica's open door, moving away from her stateroom, heading toward my room. As I pick up the pace, my heart still thumping, looking back, I collide with someone.

My chest heaves as I turn around and see Halo with his pinched eyebrows.

"What's going on, Bella?" he asks. "Was there a fight out here or something?"

"Yeah." Astra walks up behind him, frowning. "I heard a lot of banging and, oddly enough, growling. Did someone bring a dog on the cruise?"

I don't know how to start or where do I begin? The only solution I can come up with is to show them, so I grab Halo's wrist and pull him toward Caprica's stateroom. Astra follows, caught in an invisible wake, the air drawing her forward.

"What happened to the door?" Halo says.

"Be quiet," I reply. "She's in the bathroom and she can't seem to get out."