WEBVTT
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Adrift in the middle of the ocean. Two survivors find
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themselves aboard an abandoned ship, but they're not alone. Something
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lurks in the darkness, something with gnawing teeth, countless eyes,
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and an insatiable hunger, a hunger for fresh meat. What's that?
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You want to be scared? Come with me. He will
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experience tales over our bera, ghosts and death. It is
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not recommended for a week at heart Heart listen, as
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in the dark it's more fun at that way way.
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This is Weekly Speaking. Hello, my spookies, It's Wednesday, and
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you know what that means. It's time for a little
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spooky in your Weekly. I'm your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto,
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and we have quite the journey for you to take
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tonight as we hit the seven c's for a story
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about little stowaways turned hungry crew. But before we get
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to that, I want to say thank you so much
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for tuning in to Weekly Spooky. We really do appreciate it,
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and if you love what we're doing here, please consider
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leaving us a five star rating on your favorite podcasting
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app because it really makes a big difference for the show.
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If you want to support us. In an even bigger way,
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you can head to Weeklyspooky dot Com slash Join and
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join one hundred other spookies in supporting the show for
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as little as one dollar a month and getting two
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bonus episodes, along with a plethora of audiobooks, creepy pasta readings,
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and so much more. You can find it all at
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Weeklyspooky dot Com slash Join. But now for the matter
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at hand. The ocean is a lonely place when a
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ship disappears. Sometimes it's just gone, no distress call, no survivors,
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just another vessel lost to the deep. But sometimes the
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ship comes back. This story is about two men stranded
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at sea, desperate for rescue when they stumble upon a
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ship that shouldn't exist, a ship no one should step
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foot on, because the moment they climb aboard, they realize
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they are not alone. Something's watching, something hungry. Monsters of
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the oceans are often stuff of legends, except tonight. Right
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after this, the Ship of the Cannibal Rats by David O'Hanlon.
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This fucking blows Chance grumbled, could be worse, Lucas said, comfortingly,
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How could this be any worse? The shipping container rocked?
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Not so gently in the waves. A few others bobbed
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around them. Amongst the assorted equipment and the corpses of
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the ship's crew, dorsal fins of migrating blue sharks darted
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between the bodies. Occasionally they'd drag one down or just
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chomp off a piece, sending the other sharks into a frenzy.
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A thick fog had persisted since two days prior, and
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the shark's fins looked like ghosts flitting around the floating buffet.
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The ship's captain McHenry bobbed in the water with his
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eyes still open. For whatever reason, the sharks wouldn't eat him,
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and every so often he floated just right to cast
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his undead gaze on the stranded men, as if to
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ask when they'd be joining him. It could be raining again,
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Luca offered, you know you're right, chance, let his head
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fall back on the container with a thud. It would
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suck if drinkable water started to fall from the sky.
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It's only been thirty hours since we had a drink,
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after all, thirty two and I'm working on that. Luca
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walked to the edge of the container. It wasn't uncommon
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for McHenry to lease space to smugglers. He'd seen the
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crates hastily loaded in the middle of the night. It
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didn't look like the drugs they normally picked up weapons.
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Maybe it didn't really matter. Whatever they'd been hauling had
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brought the ship down fast, too fast for anyone to react. Accordingly,
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two of the three lifeboats had gone down with the wreckage.
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The last one was currently adrift and unmanned. Water food,
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and an emergency beacon bobbed tauntingly just one hundred meters away.
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Seven dead men floated like lily pads between Luca and Salvation.
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A long fin sliced the surface and then dived down sharply.
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Make that six dead men get away from the edge,
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you dumb ass, Chance grumped. One of the sharks is
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going to jump up and bite your ass. That only
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happens in the movies. Sharks can't jump. Luca instinctively reached
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for a pack of cigarettes that wasn't there. Whales jump
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out of the water all the time to eat penguins.
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Chance told him, you can use the Internet for more
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than porn. You know, whales are mammals. What the hell
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does that have to do with anything? Mammals can jump,
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Luca shrugged, fish swim fuck, I need a smoke. A
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shark breached the surface, throwing its body onto the container.
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It swept its open mouth across the edge, sending Luca
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into a backward stumble, before sliding off into the water.
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Luca landed hard on his ass and slid on the
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wet metal. He laughed it off shakily. Oh maybe they
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can jump, he admitted, told you so. The waves slapped
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the back of Luca's head and he sat up quickly.
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As a dorsal streaked by. He ran his hand through
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the mop of hair, looking around suspiciously. Another shark swam by,
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and Luca felt his stomach not he could clearly see
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the bright blue coloration that gave them their name. Luca
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leaned over the edge a bit more hesitantly. He eyed
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the serial number printed vertically on the corner of the container.
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The sharks were getting more frantic for their share of
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the dwindling supply of dead bodies. If he was right,
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there'd be some fresh meat on the menu soon. Hey, chance,
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what do you think is in this container? He asked,
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knowing our luck, A speed boat in a case of beer? Why?
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Because I'm pretty sure we're sinking. Of course we fucking are.
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Don't worry, Luca said, I got a plan, of course,
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you fucking do. After a frustrating two hours, Luca's plan
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had come to morbid fruition. Using a makeshift rope of
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their belts and clothes, he lassoed McHenry and four and
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a half other dead crew members. He laid the bodies
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out on the container and began lashing them together. Chance
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be grudgingly helped tie it together. Luca instructed, we don't
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want one of those sharks poking its nose through. Chance
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lifted the stump. That's going to be an issue. Improvise.
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I can't believe we're doing this. Chance said, it's like
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a big ass me eat aureo, only the glass of
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milk is full of sharks. What makes you think this
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will even work? A ship's only as good as its crew.
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Luca pulled the cordage tight, eliciting a spurt of congealed
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blood across his face. This was a really good crew.
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Why hasn't anyone come for us? Chance stood up and
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shielded his eyes from the sun. The emergency beacon should
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have signaled as soon as it was submerged you heard
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that explosion, Luca checked the lashings. Whatever was on board
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was the kind of shit that gets you renditioned. I
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saw enough in the legion, and trust me, we're better
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off with the sharks. The captain knew that too, We've
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been running in ghost modes since Liberia. They slid the
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bodies off the container and back into the ocean. It
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was a much shorter drop than either man expected. They
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were sinking faster. There wouldn't be time for a plan B.
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The raft stayed afloat, but only barely. Luca eased himself
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on board, and it dipped down. McHenry's head went under. Shit.
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Luca whispered, new plan. I'm going to have to go alone,
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and what about me? Would it kill you to trust me?
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It fucking might. Here goes nothing. Luca pushed off the
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side of the shipping container and drifted toward the lifeboat.
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See it's working cool, Now hurry up before they eat
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your boat. They'd already started. One of the blues grabbed
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McHenry's arm and tore it off, sending the raft spinning.
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The vessel dipped and bobbed back up. A shark bumped
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it from below, bucking Luca into the air. His grip
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held firm, but the landing jostled the bodies beneath him.
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Another bump from below nearly capsized him. Luca realized he'd
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made a terrible mistake. The man made raft floated well enough,
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but now it looked like a big wounded fish to
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the simple minded predators stalking it. Don't go away, weekly, spooky,
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We'll be right back. Luca hiked his leg up and
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waited for a fin to pass by. One got close enough,
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and he kicked into the water to push off the fish.
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It gave him a brief surge, but the lifeboat was
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still too far away to swim for it. Another speeding
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shark gave the raft a hard nudge that thankfully was
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in the right direction. Sixty meters to go, Luca stretched
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for a piece of debris, almost toppling overboard in the process.
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A fin battered his arm as it cut between him
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and the flotsam. Luca tried again and jerked the scrap
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metal from the water, hugging to his chest. With a
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triumphant whoop, Luca frantically paddled the water fifty meters left,
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forty deep. Red suddenly spread around him, and the raft
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listed to starboard. He rode faster, glancing back over his
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shoulder at Chance. Unspooling entrails floated in his wake. A
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shark broke the surface, scooping intestines into its wide open
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mouth like it were taking a fishing line. The raft lurched,
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The hollowed body was filling with sea water, and for
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the second time in two days, Luca was on a
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sinking ship. A pair of sharks attached the raft from
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opposite sides. The lashings began to stretch, and Luca's legs
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slipped through. A shark bumped against it, but didn't bite.
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He knew he wouldn't get lucky Twice, he let himself
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slide between the bodies and sink above him. The sharks
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converged blood and unchewed bits clouded Luca's view. A finger
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floated past him, carried downward by the weight of the
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wedding band still encircling it. Chance crawled out on to
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the edge of the container, looking for any sign of
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his partner. Nothing. Sharks swam away, with parts of the
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raft still refusing to take mc henry. The captain swirled
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around until he was the only person left between Chance
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and the lifeboat. Water rolled on to the roof of
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the container, submerging Chance's forearms. A thud drew his attention
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to the other end. The shark chomped at the air
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before sliding back into the ocean. Chance sniffled, then let
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himself cry. No one was left to see him anyhow.
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If he was lucky, he'd drowned before the sharks started
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to eat him. Get away from the edge, Luca shouted,
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sharks can jump, you know. The lifeboat's motor didn't have
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enough fuel to get them to land, but it was
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enough to get them away from the feeding frenzy and
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moving in the general direction of Europe. The strobe on
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the roof flashed constantly through the night, reminding the men
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of the vast nothing around them as they took turns
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on lookout. The night wind was frigid, and despite the
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supply stowed aboard, a blanket was not included. Not a
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real one, anyhow, just a handful of foil ones that
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folded up into little squares. They didn't do much for
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the wet, mostly naked sailors. The emergency position indicator was lit,
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they assumed that meant it was working. Rescue shouldn't have
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taken too long. Satellites would pick up the signal and
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relay it to the nearest local user terminal. Then they'd
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notify the nearest agency capable of getting to the men.
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Neither of them knew how far they were from land. However,
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they sipped at the bottles of water. Just to be safe.
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They should pack extra clothes in lifeboats, Luca said, at
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least some underwear. There's no way you don't need a
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fresh pear after your ship sinks. I don't know about you,
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but I don't ever plan on leaving land again, Chance said,
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rolling the bottle between his palms. He snickered. This fucking
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shit is crazy, man, Hey, you see that the light
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It was wrong, Chance pointed stern. The strobe flashed again,
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and Luca saw what his friend was talking about. Brighter
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like it had reflected off. Oh shit, Lucas scrambled to
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his feet and out the cockpit, grab the torch. Chance
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let the flashlight lead as he joined his partner. What
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is it, Luca pointed up. The strobe bounced off the
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hull of the small cruise ship. Chance laughed and waved
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his hands in the air. Hey, we're down here, he shouted,
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don't bother, she's not running under power. Luca took the
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flashlight from him and scanned the side of the ship
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for markings. We are setting the world record for bad luck.
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We almost got ran over by a ghost ship derelict
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way out here. No one knows for sure, but best
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guess is there are thousands of them floating around. Luca
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told him one got loose in Japan a couple of
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years ago, almost a year to the day, it drifted
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into Canada. There we go. He shined the light on
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the vessel's name, moving the beams slowly to make out
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the letters. A broken toe line clanked against the reinforced hull.
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Luke turned off the light. Yadmila Gerchenko Chance said, must
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be Russian. Looks like a discount cruise ship, an ocean liner,
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Luca corrected him. They were made for transport, not comfort.
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That's why she's so small. Been retrofitted for the Arctic too.
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That haul's up armored for icebergs. Why do you sound
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so happy about that? Pack your shit, wheezy, Luca smiled.
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We're moving on up. I'm not really digging the idea
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of being on a creepy ass ghost ship, Chance said,
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got anywhere else to be. Luca scanned the deck for
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signs of life asleep in the lifeboat until daylight, when
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this won't suck as bad. They made their way to
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the bridge, shining their lights and windows as they went.
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No one moved inside. Luca led the way up the steps.
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The door moved noisily on its hinges. The salty air
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had rusted them badly, so it didn't swing back and forth,
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but just inched one way and then the other in
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plaintive moans. Luca pushed through and swept the flashlight across
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the bridge. He screamed and stumbled backwards into Chance. Fuck me,
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what Chance, braced himself to run. What is it? Luca
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leaned back into the room, letting the light find the
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floating apparition more scarce to come weekly, Spooky will be
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right back. The gray black shape of a man at
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the helm was nothing more than a forgotten jacket. Luca
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breathed deeply to steady himself. He wriggled his toes, wondering
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if the puddle he stood in had been there before
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he opened the door. He hesitated to enter, letting his