We were just standing by the spiral staircase looking down as we watched different Eaters walk by, deciding what approach to make. We silently stepped away from the spiral staircase and huddled together to make a plan.
"We have to kill the Eaters before we move this yacht," Mai Ling stated the obvious. "They can't all climb up the spiral staircase at once. It's narrow, plus they will fall over each other."
"As they come up, We strike their heads." Mr. Wu said.
"We must stand in a full circle," I suggested. "It will be easier to strike them."
Mr. Wu and Mr. Jeong quietly removed whatever dishware and ornaments that were on the table then placed it on the floor. Mr. Wu and Mr. Jeong picked up the round table, tilting it over on its side blocking the entrance to keep the Eaters from flooding into our floor. Everyone took their place, weapons in hand. Both men stood behind the safety of the table as we three women circled the banister. Mr. Wu whistled as Mr. Jeong banged on the table, getting the attention of the Eaters below. They began running up the narrow spiral case, knocking others back down the stairs as they greedily tried to get to us first. Mrs. Jeong swung her Geom slicing the Eaters head in half. It fell back onto the other Eaters behind it that were savagely growling to get to their next meal. The way they growled and chomped their teeths made me cringe inside. It was a disturbing sound.
Eater after Eater kept dropping dead, dead as everyone stuck to the plan. One Eater climbed over another Eater and grabbed Mai Ling's boot, making her fall to the floor. Mrs. Jeong sliced off the hand of the Eater, who still had a grip on Mai Ling's boot. She quickly crawled backwards, until she jumped to her feet again, kicking the severed hand back to its owner, landing in its mouth. Three points in my book.
The Eaters eventually stopped rushing up the stairs very much to our relief. Either we killed them all or there was very little left. We banged on the banister a few times to get the attention of whatever remaining Eaters, but none came when we called.
Mr. Wu and Mr. Jeong both removed the table as I was the first to ascend the spiral stairs slowly and carefully as I pushed Eaters with my foot out of the way, watching them fall with a thump on the floor below. Mai Ling was close behind me with her staff ready in her hand to attack in case an Eater revived or ran up to us unexpectedly. My big brown eyes were opened wide as I scanned the area. Mai Ling was soon standing right next to me along with the rest of our group. I only counted 12 Eaters that we killed.
Mr. Jeong informed us that he was heading upstairs to start the yacht for us to take off. Mrs. Jeong followed her husband as the rest of us looked around. We heard a sound behind the door that read staff and immediately prepared our weapons. Mai Ling took hold of the handle, looking at us to give her the sign that we were ready. Mr. Wu and I nodded and she turned the handle, swinging the door open, standing behind it. We were about to strike when two people fell to their knees begging us to not kill them.
"What the hell?" Mr. Wu lowered his weapon.
The girl was dressed in a waiter outfit that was too big on her and the guy was I guess a guest of the wedding party. He bowed continuously, thanking us for saving them. The girl was too busy pouting as she adjusted her clothes and hair.
We heard the engine and soon began moving through the water leaving the chaos behind us.
"How long have the two of you been in there?" Mr. Wu asked.
The girl rolled her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest taking a seat. "I don't know how long," she said irritatedly. "All I know is that I was in the middle of a very important text from my agent when hell broke loose." She pouted like a child. I actually recognized her from a few movies that I have seen. She's an American actress. Her name is Louisiana Summers. I just looked at her wondering what she was doing here out of all places, plus her behavior was annoying me. It's like she didn't care about anyone or anything other than herself. She's definitely not nice like the magazine and live interviews had portrayed her. "I left my home, California just to attend my cousin's wedding and make her look good because I'm a movie star and she will get a lot of publicity and be featured in the wedding magazine of the year for having a famous relative attend," the more she talked, the more annoyed I got. She said a few other things, but I didn't pay much attention. I walked over to the window, sliding it open for fresh air and for the water to drown out her voice.
Mai Ling sat in front of the shooken up guy. "What is your name?"
"Park Ye-Joon," he smiled at her. He was very handsome. He had blue hair that had mostly grown out. The undercut he had was losing its presence. He had multiple piercings on both ears. He looked like your typical bad boy, but without the tattoo and attitude. Ye-Joon was actually the opposite. He was very sweet and humble.
What happened?" She asked him only, avoiding the spoiled brat pouting next to him.
He shook his head, looking down at his hands as he took a deep breath to begin telling his story.
WEDDING PARTY
Ye-Joon swallowed, "I was hired to DJ for this wedding. It paid good money and It was a side gig since I've been trying to get auditions to be a trainee and hopefully a Kpop idol," he ran his fingers through his slightly blue hair. The bride's mother attacked her own daughter, biting her entire cheek off. The groom tried his best to protect his wife, but he was attacked by his best man." He slightly trembled from the memory. "Everyone started screaming, running, trampling over each other," he shook his head at the memory. "It was horrible."
"Why didn't anyone get off of the yacht?" I had to ask the obvious question.
"That's because one of the groomsmen was hiding in the captain's station with his girlfriend. I know because I was banging on the door for them to let me in but they chose to ignore me. Anyway, little did he know, she was infected. She turned and attacked him, which serves him right for not protecting me," Louisiana rolled her eyes. "She tackled him to the ground." She huffed. "I bumped into this DJ and we hid inside the staff room barricading it."
"You could have escaped," I said as I watched her make a weird face.
"How could we when the yacht left the dock? I'm not about to throw myself in deep waters and drown." She rolled her eyes.
"Deep waters?" I crossed my arms. "The yacht didn't make it that far off from the shore. We walked into the water and reached the yacht."
The look on her face was priceless. "I thought we set sail!" She angrily stood up on her feet, stormed over to the other side of the room. "I could have escaped this shit yacht?"
"Yeah sure," Mr. Wu smirked. "And then would have been torn and eaten alive on land."
"Those things are on land too?" Her high pitched voice made everyone cringe.
I'm sure that I wasn't the only one who wanted to smack her upside the head, but I had to refrain from doing so, as did everyone else. So I gave her the only answer I could think of. "Yup," I said as I popped the P.
As a second thought, Ye-Joon spoke up. "Are you guys hungry? There's still some food left over." He stood up, waving his hand for us to follow him. We all stepped in right behind him. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I saw the food. "Fortunately for me and Miss Summers, we locked ourselves in the kitchen so we didn't go hungry." He opened the freezer. "We were also lucky to have a working generator and the oil to keep it running. He offered an ice cream sandwich to Mai Ling.
"Oh great, now what are we going to eat?" Louisiana glared at Ye-Joon.
"We have eaten plenty. These people saved our lives and I will offer whatever is left to them," he smiled at Mai Ling. "It's the least we could do."
"Greedy much?" Mr. Wu directed his question straight to Louisiana, only for her to make a bored look on her face as he passed her to eat a bag of chips.
They heard the voice of Mrs. Jeong through the intercom in the kitchen. "Is everyone ok down there?"
I pressed the button, "Yeah we're good. I'll bring you and your husband sandwiches."
"That sounds good." They heard Mr. Jeong's voice.
Ye-Joon and I started making the sandwiches for all of us as Mai Ling poured juice into cups. Everyone headed upstairs, crowding up the control room, looking out into the Han River.
"We have to wait for nightfall to cross the river under the bridge. If they see us coming, they will jump off the bridge and we could get overwhelmed with Eaters." We all looked towards the bridge and shit, the horde of Eaters was overwhelming. I feel sorry for anyone who is still alive and stuck inside their cars.
"How is that even possible?" Louisiana asked. "Won't contact with the yacht fully kill them? I mean, like won't they splat from the height?"
"Most likely many, but if they keep landing on top of each other some may survive and attack us. Plus they could ruin the yacht and leave us in the middle of the Han River. Are you prepared to swim for miles?" Mr. Wu answered her question with a question.
Mr. Jeong shut off the engine, allowing the yacht to just sway with the water until later tonight.
Louisiana leaned against the wall and spoke in her high and mighty voice. "Just make sure that I make it safely to wherever it is we're heading," she then pushed off the wall. "Where are we heading anyway?"
I wanted to punch this bitch in her throat so badly, but I had to contain myself. She actually thought we were here to do her bidding and kiss her ass. My hand tightened around my nunchucks as I closed my eyes to keep from killing this bitch. I mean, who would know besides us on the yacht? She wouldn't be missed. I could easily say that she was an Eater and I had to put her out of her misery. That thought actually made me smile.
"We're heading to Jeju Island," Mr. Jeong told her. "It's the only safe place. No Eaters."
"Jeju Island?" She raised her voice. "Listen, I need to get back to California, you know, my home?" She said sarcastically.
"Well that's too bad for you," Mai Ling rolled her eyes at Louisiana's unwanted tantrum.
"How do you know Jeju Island is safe?" Ye-Joon asked.
"We heard it on the CB radio back home. As far as we know, there is food, clean water and medicine. That's the only option we have for now. If it doesn't pan out, we move on." Mai Ling informed him. Ye-Joon only nodded.
Louisiana clenched her jaw as she glared at Mai Ling. "I demand that you take me home now!" She stomped her left foot. "I don't care...."
Her words were cut off when she received a back hand slap across the face from Mrs. Jeong, leaving a disbelieving Louisiana wide eyed as she held the side of her face. "Shut the fuck up you spoiled brat!" Mrs. Jeong angrily spat out. "I want to make one thing clear to you so you better listen carefully. We are not here for you. We are not your lackey's. You will do your part in helping or I will personally feed you to the Eaters. Understood?" Mrs. Jeong didn't wait for a reply. She only walked by a still stunned Louisiana to leave the crowded room.
"I like that lady," Ye-Joon said in awe and admiration.
"Hey," Mr. Jeong playfully hit Ye-Joon's chest. "That's my wife." He then winked at the young DJ as he followed his wife outside on deck. Mr. Wu and Ye-Joon also left the control room with big smiles on their faces.
Mai Ling smirked at Louisiana, tilting her head. "If you like, I would gladly dunk your head into the cold water to bring the swelling down." Louisiana only shook her head no, not saying a word. We both waited for Louisiana to leave the control room, not trusting her to do something careless and stupid. Mai Ling walked right behind Louisiana to catch up with the others. I stepped over the captain's body, then stopped to check his pockets. I found the keys to the control room, locking it as a precaution from our spoiled brat that has joined our party.
We had gathered the dead body of the Eaters and tossed it overboard. They were so damn heavy, that it took three of us to carry just one body. Louisiana proved herself to be useless and refused to help with the bodies, but had no choice but to clean up the rotted corpse splattered blood and brain chunks from the floor. That idea came from me.
It was very chilly outside so we all went inside to warm up. After washing our hands, we all changed into the extra dry clothes we had packed for our trip to Jeju Island. I was feeling better now that I was no longer irritated by wet clothes and socks and Eater gook. Mr. Wu found a heater and we used the chairs as a clothes rack to dry our clothes. Mrs. Jeong went into the staff kitchen to make tea for all of us. Mai Ling took out the duct tape she had in her bag and with Ye-Joon's help, taped his clothes as extra protection. I opened my bag, pulled out my duct tape and offered it to Louisiana. She gave me this are you out of your mind look. "I refused to put that on these clothes. It's not stylish and it's ugly."
I only smirked at her as I still held the duct tape in front of her. "Fine by me. But just imagine how stylish and ugly you will be when the Eaters tear into your flesh. Do you think your agent will continue working with you?" She pursed her lips and snatched the duct tape from my hand. She removed her jacket and began taping it very much to her irritation. I turned on my heels and helped myself to a cup of tea Mr. and Mrs. Jeong was serving everyone, including the spoiled brat.
Mr. Wu broke a broom stick and taped a chef's knife at one end, leaving the broken part exposed because it was sharp enough to kill and for Louisiana to use. She could use either end to kill an Eater. He gave her a brief lesson on how to hold it properly and where to aim her weapon. He gave the other half to Ye-Joon, who gladly took it and began taping a few steak knives as well as sharpening the rigid edge of the broom. Mr. Wu also broke a mop stick and taped his knife just like he did Louisiana's.
Darkness began blanketing the sky. That was our cue to be ready for our trip under the bridge of Eaters. Hopefully it will be quick and easy due to the fact that Eaters can't see well at night. That is our only advantage on this journey. Mr. Jeong turned on the motor, which to our surprise wasn't loud. We headed towards the bridge, holding our breaths, sweating in the cool air as we set our eyes above us. Everything was going smoothly and quietly.
We were very close to passing under the bridge. "What is that sound?" Louisiana whispered as she broke away from the group. I turned my head to watch her walk towards the rail and look over. She then reached into a bag I just noticed that she was carrying. She pulled out a flashlight and turned it on towards the sound on the side of the yacht. Everyone cringed when Louisiana let out an ear piercing scream with her falling on the floor from the shock. Ye-Joon fled to her side as he tried to comfort her. I ran quickly and looked over the rail. There were many rotted bodies floating in the water, including half eaten children and babies hitting the side of the yacht. Mr. Wu, Mai Ling, Mr. and Mrs. Jeong refused to look over the rail. This time I couldn't hold the bile that burned my esophagus as I let out all the contents of the food I just ate not too long ago. But the worst part was the eerie harmonizing growl from above us. We looked up to see Eaters jumping the bridge into the cold water and of course, many started to land on our yacht all thanks to Louisiana sounding the dinner alarm with her scream.
The Eaters that survived the jump, twisted their bodies like a professional contortionist then adjusted themselves as they began to attack us. Eater after Eater kept coming at us. Mr. Wu was doing the best he could to protect a still stunned Louisiana. "Hey Lou!" He shouted out to her. "Get your ass up and help us fight these things!"
Louisiana shook her head in fear as she watched us fight the eaters. She instead held her weapon against her chest, shaking in fear. Although he was terrified, Ye-Joon did help in the fight. Two Eaters came at him, knocking him to the floor. "LOUISIANA, HELP ME PLEASE!" She only stared wide eyed, as she tried to find a safe spot to save herself. He screamed when the Eater bit down on his duct tape covered arm. He was mentally grateful for the extra protection. The Eaters' teeth didn't break through, but it still hurt like hell.
Mai Ling saw Ye-Soon in trouble and quickly placed her staff on the floor to give her the support she needed as she used it to bring her body up in a leap and over to where he was. She used the blade of her staff to break through the top of the Eater's skull. Ye-Joon then shoved his steak knives underneath the Eater's chin, killing it instantly. Mai Ling helped him to his feet as they continued to fight the Eaters.
Mr. Jeong pushed a few Eaters off the yacht as his wife killed the ones ahead of him. They both fought their way into the control room, closing the door behind them. Mr. Jeong pushed the lever for the engine to roar for a quicker escape. The yacht went into full speed making everyone on board, including Eaters fall to the deck floor. Some Eaters fell off board. An Eater started to quickly crawl to a frightened Louisiana. Her eyes opened wide as the Eater came closer and closer growling, snapping its teeth until it reached her. Louisiana placed her hand on the Eaters neck to keep it from chomping her face off. She could hear its teeth chattering as its hands latched onto her to pull her closer for the kill. Louisiana remembered her weapon, held it tightly, screamed then rammed it into the Eaters eye. Ye-Joon ran over to her, removing the corpse from her shaken body.
"Hey Louisiana," he gently placed his hand on her shaking hand. "Hey." Her body trembled as he pulled her in to comfort her. She burst into tears, clinging onto his blood stained clothes.
Mai Ling, Mr. Wu and myself took care of the remaining Eaters on board. The cold wind blew harshly at us as the yacht sped and passed the bridge leaving the Eaters behind to growl. Some were still jumping off of the bridge trying to get to us. I watched as Ye-Joon picked up Louisiana bridal style and took her inside to warm her up.
Mai Ling kneeled down and brought a cup of hot tea for a still shocked Louisiana as Ye-Joon wrapped a blanket around her. "Louisiana, drink some tea. It will warm you up." Mai Ling offered the tea by placing the cup against Louisiana's lips for fear she might spill it with her shaky hands and burn herself. She slowly drank the tea, then took it with her own hands, but not before giving Mai Ling a weak smile in gratitude.
"Th..thank you," she whispered. Mai Ling smiled then stood and left to go back outside. She stood beside me and Mr. Wu as we headed to what we hoped was safe and for me to see my grandparents. I just don't know how to break the news to them about mom and Nolan.