The sound of Landon, Todd, Oscar, and KC’s steps echoed through the container hallway. On occasion there would be the sound of a rustling gun, or someone stepping over a dead body, but the only noise apparent was the rhythmic clanking of boots to the steel floor below.

Leading into the office area is a massacre. Two dead angels and a child misshapen with bullets are sprawled on the boat floor. Oscar throws up.

“Oh, come on, Oscar. You were the one who shot the kid.” Todd said. Landon laughed.

Inside the office sat Daisy and the frail woman. They were shaking, battered, and completely terrified. As they approached the office door there was movement amongst the floor. Jameson, bleeding but alive, was crawling towards the corpse of another angel.

“Oh shit, Jameson is still alive.” Landon said.

“Oscar, take him out.” Todd demanded. Oscar looked down and frowned. He slowly crept up behind Jameson and put the barrel of his rifle right against his bald head.

“Oscar, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry.” He said before pulling the trigger, spreading Jameson’s brains across the boat floor. KC sprinted at Oscar, pushing him to the floor. Landon ran up and pulled KC off.

“You bastard, he trusted you!” She screamed. Oscar wiped Jameson’s blood off the top of his head.

Landon rustled KC into the office, shutting and locking the door behind her. She faced the other two captives.

“Why are you two still alive?” KC asked.

“Why are you? We’re the ones who aren’t pregnant!” The frail woman snarled.

“Excuse me?” KC said before Daisy put her hand up.

“Listen, what she means is that Todd and Landon might want to use us to birth children. That’s why they kept the Rotten Evil, err… I mean, mortal women alive.” Daisy said.

“Then why keep me alive?” KC asked. “I can’t bear a child if I’m already bearing one.”

“That’s what I’m wondering.” Daisy said, rubbing her chin.

The three women sat and discussed their captor’s motive further. KC thought they were going to be sold off to the EPoB. Daisy figured they were to be sold to prostitution in America. The frail woman didn’t want to think about what they were going to do to them.

After a half hour, the office door opened. Todd walked inside, and the door shut behind him.

“Hello, ladies.” Todd said smiling wide.

None of the ladies responded. They just stared at him; some with fear, others with hate.

“For the sake of transparency, let’s just get to the point. You women, you’re ours now. Anything you do is our choice. You do as your told and you always do as we day. Any exceptions and you will end up like that skinny bitch’s children.” He said, pointing at the frail woman. She began hollering out crying.

“Now, listen… You will… You will all have to… You will all have to be…” Todd tried to say above the frail woman’s hollering.

“Shut up!” He screamed, running forward and gripping her by the shoulder as he dragged her out of the office, shutting and locking the door behind them. Whatever they did to her, her screaming could be heard in the distance for hours.

She was brought back into the room wearing nothing but Oscar’s coat. She was shaking and her hair was more a mess than usual. She said nothing. Todd strolled in behind her, his hair equally messy.

“Now, listen, as I was saying. You will all have to be thoroughly searched before we decide if we trust having you on bored. Miss, err… What was your name sweetheart?” He asked the frail woman. She said nothing. Daisy nudged her shoulder.

“She asked you what your name was.” Daisy whispered to her.

“Hen…Henrietta.” She muttered.

“Henrietta!” He repeated. “So, she’s already been searched, so next we’ll need you, Daisy.”

Daisy froze up. She knew very well of the horrors to come. Despite this, she kept a straight face and slowly walked out, emotionless. She didn’t make a sound. They brought her back only a half hour later.

She sat back where she left; her straight face hadn’t faded in the slightest. Todd was panting.

“Alright, now, you…” Todd said, beckoning KC over. KC got up and walked up slowly to Todd. She kicked him in the balls and began punching him in the back of the head. The office door swung open and Landon came charging in, picking KC up like a child and dragging her out of the office.

He carried her over through the wall of containers, and in the middle of a four way stop there was a blanket and a few pillows lied out on the ground. Oscar was standing there in his underwear.

“So, you wanted her, right?” Todd asked.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s her.” Oscar said, out of breath.

“Okay, you go first, but she’s got a child, so take it easy on her. We want a turn after.” Landon said. KC was furious.

“You’re sick! All of you!” She screamed, her last syllable matching with the horn of a distant ship. All four of them stopped and look out to the sea, and approaching them at a top speed is a boat with the words “ETERNAL PROTECTORS OF BEAULAND” written on the side.

“Oh my god.” Todd said. Landon dropped KC at once and ran away to god knows where.

“Landon, get back here! Fuck! Okay, Oscar, grab the rest of the women and take them to container Z-028!” Todd demanded. Oscar nodded, shaking away towards the office. Todd grabbed onto KC and began dragging her to the container. She threw her hands at him, wrestling him to the ground. Alone on the blanket the two of them punched and kicked at each other, clawing at eyes and pulling hair. KC threw her face forward and took a bite out of Todd’s neck. Blood began shooting out like a geyser, covering her from her head to her stomach. Todd’s grip dissipated and KC broke free, sprinting back towards the office, the sound of the EPoB ship’s engine was gaining volume. They were getting closer. As she ran into the office area, she saw Oscar struggling to lure Daisy and Henrietta out of the office. As his struggle began to seem futile, a mortar flew through the office and exploded, sending their bodies flying into the ocean. KC fell back, the heat blast scorching her hair.

As she got back up, she began running in the opposite direction. The boat was so close she could hear the screaming of men. There she saw Landon shutting himself into container Z-028. KC noticed the lock sitting on the ground next to the door. It was unlocked. She locked the container shut with Landon inside.

The sounds of footsteps began on the deck, the EPoB were on the ship, and KC sprinted back to the destroyed office, hiding under a pile of rubber, pretending to be dead.

She paid attention and listened to the sounds of the ship’s anchor dropping, the sound of the lock of container Z-028 being shot open, and Landon’s subsequent execution. His last words sounded like, “Hey, wait…”

All KC could do was lie there and wait, wait and hope, hope that they won’t destroy this ship on their way out. Hope that they wouldn’t find her. The agents, a dozen of them, gathered in the office area, a mere few feet from KC’s body.

“Well, I think that’s the rest of them.” One of the agents said.

“Alright boys, let’s burn it down.” He said, spiraling his fingers and walking back to the EPoB ship. The other agents began to dump a clear, smelly fluid over the surface of the ship, each heading back to their ship after their bottles had been emptied.

As the last one enters their plank, he lights a match and tosses it on the ship, setting the boat, and KC’s leg, on fire. KC tried her best not to scream or move as she felt the fire engulfing her and cooking her skin. The second the anchor raised and the EPoB ship began to move; KC slithered to the side of the ship and dropped into the ocean below.

The cool water immediately soothed her damages of the fire, which included her short burnt hair and exposed flesh. She sighed in relief, but soon realized that the ship was to capsize right on top of her. Instead of swimming out of the way, she swam down into the abyss.

Ten seconds later the ship fell, missing her by mere meters. The metal railing then grabbed hold of KC’s shirt and began to drag her deeper, now she had to swim out of the way.

She tried her best, her vision growing darker and head building with pressure, and she finally broke free so deep in the water where the sun no longer shines.

Terrified, she swam back up to the surface, the pressure to her head slowly reducing. Shipping containers galore sank around her; she even barely missed a few that would have landed on top of her otherwise.

Looking through the lens of air once more she sees floating debris and dead bodies amongst the wreck, the EPoB ship was now quite the distance away. She grabbed onto the first thing she could find, a large unscathed window. She dispensed her weight on the glass and floated along, resting.

Splashing and panicking could be heard around her. There in the water, flailing about, was Oscar Renton, his face half burnt off with parts of his skull exposed and his entire right eye missing. He was trying to scream, but was too tired to. KC paddled towards him.

“Why did you do it, Oscar?” She asked him. He tried to respond but could only muster a short grunt. KC paddled around him, moving anything he might grab on to out of the water. There’s no way he could reach them, he obviously can’t swim.

KC spent the next few minutes watching passionately as Oscar drowned himself, his gurgling begs of mercy and death neglected by her cold, vindictive eyes. She stared down into the dark ocean to watch Oscar’s body consumed by an eternal darkness. She then lied back on her side and closed her eyes, staring at the overcast sky above, certain of her death at sea. She saw what appeared to be an island in the distance, but it was much too far to swim, not like she had the energy anyways. Exhausted and in pain, KC took a moment to rest.