Chapter 89: Deliverance

Merrick paced the iron cage, counting the steps it took to cross the dark void that made up his world. Three. Three steps before the metal stronghold prevented him from escaping the sludge and filth to the light above. Three steps and he would be free of the tiny red eyes glowing at him from every cornertheir ravenous squeals whispering his demise.

Seizing the bars, Merrick shook them with the fury of a wild animal. Rust bit his skin and he grabbed his chest as pain spiked through his cracked ribs. The ship's creaks and groans mimicked his own, the gurgle and slosh of water against the hull reminding him he was beneath the surface of the seaalready in a watery grave. He wished Collier had sewn him into a shroud and tossed him overboard. Anything would be better than enduring this hell. For surely this was what hell was likea dark void, all alone, save for the agonizing onslaught of regrets and the excruciating thirst for a death that would never come.