Hours later.
Yanshuo woke up suddenly.
His body jerked and his heart started racing right away. His mouth felt dry and his head hurt like someone was pressing on it from the inside. For a second, he didn't know where he was.
Then he remembered.
The yacht and the knife.
His fingers were still wrapped around it. The handle was slick with sweat.
Something moved.
Yanshuo's breath caught.
He pushed himself up slowly, his eyes adjusting.
Minako was standing by the balcony window.
Her back was to him. Both hands were on the latch. She was pulling and twisting it, careful but desperate.
"Stop," Yanshuo whispered.
She didn't turn around.
He slid off the bed, bare feet touching the cold floor. He moved as quietly as he could.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Still no answer.
"The fridge is empty," Minako said."I'm starving."
"We had water," he said quickly. "Energy bars—"
"Had," she cut him off. "I ate the last one an hour ago. I can't sit here anymore."
His stomach dropped.
He rushed forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the window. "You can't open that. You'll make noise."
She yanked her arm free. "I'm being careful."
She leaned forward again, putting her weight on the latch.
Screeeech.
Metal scraped against metal.
Yanshuo's heart jumped into his throat.
"Quiet!" he hissed.
He clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her back from the glass. His hand shook so badly he almost missed her face.
Minako shoved him away. She rubbed her arm, her breathing fast.
"You can't go out there," he said. "It's suicide."
"I can't stay in here either," she shot back. "You blocked the door with the chair and the desk. I can't even reach the hallway."
"I was keeping us safe," he said.
"You locked us in," she replied. "There's a difference."
"They follow sound," he said, pointing at the window. "If you go out there, someone will see you or hear you or it will."
She didn't answer right away. Her shoulders dropped a little.
"I just need to get to the crew mess," she said. "Two decks down. I know a service stair. It's usually empty."
Yanshuo shook his head. "And if you meet one of them?"
He gestured to the knife on the nightstand.
"You think that's enough?"
Minako followed his gaze. Then she looked back at the window.
"I'd rather take the risk," she said, "than sit here and starve while you hide."
"That's not fair," he said.
"Isn't it?" she said. "You locked us in. You blocked the only exit. Now you won't even let me get food."
She paused.
"What's your plan, Yanshuo?" she asked. "Wait until we're too weak to run? Until they find us anyway?"
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
He hadn't thought past the door. Past the locks. Past staying alive for one more hour.
Minako turned back to the window and took a deep breath.
"I'm going," she said. "If you want to come, come. If not—"
She glanced at him.
"Lock the door after me."
She reached for the latch again. This time, she moved slow. Careful.
Click.
The lock came loose.
Minako slid the window open a few inches.
Cold ocean air rushed into the room, sharp and salty.
Yanshuo reacted without thinking. He lunged forward and slammed his palm against the glass, forcing it shut.
"No!"
Minako gasped and pushed back hard. "Get off me! Move!"
"I'm not letting you throw your life away!" Yanshuo grabbed her wrists, trying to pull her hands off the frame. His fingers dug in, desperate.
She twisted suddenly. Her elbow slammed into his ribs.
Pain shot through his side.
He gasped and stumbled back.
"That's what you're doing!" she yelled, her voice breaking. "Hiding in here like a rat while people out there don't even know they're about to die!"
"People who called me crazy!" he shouted back. He grabbed her arm again and dragged her away from the window. "People who would laugh at you too! What's the point of warning them if they won't listen?!"
"The point is trying!" she screamed.
She shoved him hard.
Yanshuo tripped over the armchair he had pushed against the door. He lost his balance and crashed into the desk.
CRASH.
The lamp fell to the floor and shattered.
Silence.
Both of them froze.
Their hearts pounded so loud it felt like the room could hear it. They listened closely.
Minako covered her mouth with her hand, eyes wide in fear.
Yanshuo pushed himself up slowly, rubbing his elbow.
"You see?" he said in a low voice. "That's what happens when you make noise. We're lucky nothing heard that."
"I'm not lucky," she said. Her voice shook. "I'm trapped."
She looked around the room.
"You locked us in here like prisoners."
"To keep us alive!"
"Alive but starving!" She pointed at the mini-fridge. Empty. "You ate half the food earlier. You didn't even think about saving any for me."
Yanshuo stiffened. "I was hungry too—"
"Of course you were." She laughed, but it sounded broken. "Everything is about you."
She stepped closer.
"I thought we could help each other," she said. "But you don't care about anyone else."
"That's not true—"
"Isn't it?" Her eyes burned. "When you saw that woman on the deck, you ran. Now I just want food so we don't die and you'd rather sit here and wait."
Yanshuo grabbed the knife from the nightstand. His hand shook as he held it low, pointed at the floor.
"I'm not a hero," he said. "I never said I was. I just want to live."
"Well, I'm not waiting for you anymore!" Minako turned back to the window.
"I'd rather die trying than rot in here with your fear!"
Yanshuo rushed forward and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back hard. She stumbled into him, and they slammed against the wall.
The window banged shut.
"Stop!" he shouted, gripping her arms. "Just—stop!"
She broke down.
Tears ran down her face, mixing with sweat.
"I can't," she cried. "I can't do this anymore."
Yanshuo froze.
Slowly, he let go.
The knife slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a soft clatter.
"Okay," he said quietly. "Okay."
He took a shaky breath.
"We'll go," he said. "But we do it my way. We grab food and come back. No stopping. No warning anyone."
Minako wiped her face with her sleeve. She nodded once.
"Fine," she said. "But if we see someone in danger we help them."
Yanshuo slumped against the wall, still shaking from their fight. "Fine," he breathed, his voice ragged. "We'll wait 'til dawn. I'll go with you then—quiet, no mistakes."
"Okay," Minako agreed.
He let his eyes drift closed for just a second, exhaustion pulling at him like a weight. Just rest, he told himself. We'll be okay.
A soft scrape made him snap awake.
Minako was already at the window she'd been faking. In one fluid move, she wrenched it open and hauled herself over the sill, her feet hitting the deck with a soft thump.
"Minako—what are you doing?!" He lunged forward, but something was already there pressed against the glass from the outside, so close he could see its milky eyes reflecting in the dark.
What the—
It was the staff guy from the hallway. It had never left, it had been waiting at the window, silent as stone.
Before Yanshuo could scream, the creature's hand shot out, its broken fingers wrapping around Minako's ankle. She yelped, tripping face, first onto the deck, her arm scraping against the rough wood.
"Let go!" She kicked out, but the creature pulled her closer, its jaw unhinging wide wider than any human could manage. Yanshuo lunged for the window, reaching for her.
The creature's teeth slammed into her upper arm with a wet CRUNCH.
Minako shrieked, and blood exploded, spraying across the window glass, dripping down the walls in thick red streaks. She twisted violently, slamming her free hand into the creature's face, but it just shook its head and bit down harder, tearing a strip of flesh from her arm.
"Yanshuo!" She clawed at the window, her blood smearing across the glass as she tried to pull herself up. "Help me—please!"
The creature dragged her backward, its white eyes locking on Yanshuo through the blood-splattered glass. It let out a low growl, deep and wet, like something was rotting in its throat.
Yanshuo's hand hovered over the latch. He could see the blood pooling on the deck, see the way Minako's skin was already pale, her eyes going glassy. He could see the creature's other hand reaching for her neck.
He slammed the window shut and twisted the lock so hard the metal screamed.
Minako beat on the glass, her screams muffled now, blood smearing every time her hand hit the pane. The creature stared at Yanshuo, then leaned in and licked the blood off the glass with a long, red tongue.
"Open it!" Minako's voice was barely a whisper now. "I'm still… I'm still me…"
Yanshuo backed away, his legs giving out under him. He watched as the creature pulled her into the shadows of the hallway, her hand sliding down the window one last time, leaving a thick red trail.
The only sound was his own ragged breathing and the drip of blood from the window onto the carpet below.
He'd been so sure he was safe. So sure he'd outsmarted it.
But it had been right there the whole time waiting for her to make a move.