11. Hideaway Island

Ben was tense. This ship was sophisticated. But the waters around Skull Island were treacherous. Corals bulged almost everywhere. And that wasn't all. From the underwater map monitor screen, Ben saw bright, pointy red stalactites below the sea surface that could easily tear the ship's hull at any time.

Stalactites? Why were there so many stalactites below sea level? Weren't those long-pointed stone blades only found in a cave? Ben frowned questioningly. Was it just something that had similar resemblance? But from the shape, Ben was sure they were stalactites. Ben shook his head. He had to focus. He would ask Rabat as the experts about the stalactites later.

Ben felt alone. Ran and Tet were asleep behind the wheelhouse. Rabat and Cindy were downstairs. The two of them were assigned to supervise the laboratory room. Previously, Ran had checked the weapons room and found that the strange weapon they thought was just a prototype, turned out to be functional and usable.

Ran, who understood the mechanics of a weapon, knew that this weapon was lethal. It didn't contain ordinary bullets but a laser tube. It could not be intended to be used against human. It was just too expensive.

The Bio Research Alpha ship hummed softly. The sound of the ship's engine was barely audible. Ben, who was knowledgeable about ships, was amazed. This ship was made to be able to deal with all circumstances.

Ben checked the map and found several potential places to hide the ship. Tricky coves, surrounded by steep cliffs. In fact, there was a bay that was very unique. It had the shape of a bay, but it was like an entrance to a giant cave. That was whe re Ben intended to anchor the ship.

All transponders have been turned off. But Ben wasn't completely sure that the Bio Research ships couldn't trace this ship. Earth was completely naked now. Spied on by thousands of orbiting satellites.

Hopefully that weird bay could get in the way of the satellite scan.

Ben returned his attention on navigating the ship. In his calculations, they would reach the destination in two more Nautical Miles.

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Meanwhile, in the lower deck. Rabat and Cindy sat on standby in front of the laboratory. The banging sounds had disappeared. The strange creatures inside were silent. Cindy didn't want to know what was going on inside. She had very bad feelings. The Death Squad was up to something. They were engineered to be smart creatures.

Cindy was certain. The creators must have installed something like kill switch in the creatures' brains.

Suddenly Cindy jumped up. Rabat was jolted and stood up as well. The laser guns were turned on.

"They broke the ship's walls! They are trying to escape through the sea!"

For a moment Rabat was stunned. What were they going to do? The door couldn't be opened, and the ship was still running.

Cindy and Rabat rushed to the bridge. There was Ben looking puzzled when he saw his two friends were panicking.

"Look! They almost managed to break into the ship's wall! Ben, reduce the speed." Cindy shouted frantically while continuing to pay attention to the CCTV monitor screens.

The loud noise woke up Ran and Tet. They stood around the monitor screens. Ben slowed down the ship. They almost entered the strange cove they planned to land on.

"Count how many of them Cindy!" Ran exclaimed after seeing from the monitor screen that the ship's wall was breached and the Death Squad was swimming in the sea.

"12! No, 13! The last one may be their leader. It looks bigger and tougher," Cindy quickly counted while the others were still confused with what they saw.

Ben turned the camera on the bow. Searching on the monitor screens. The Death Squad glided at the speed of a Marlin fish in the depths of the sea and disappeared.

Ran looked from behind the bridge. The ship was entering a calm bay. On the right and left, big corals demanded Ben's agility to navigate to avoid collisions. Ran switched to another monitor. The bay was deep but there were some shallow parts. In that section it was clear that the red stalactites were clustered together posing more ganger to the ship.

The ship shook slightly. As careful as Ben was, the ship was grazed by orals. Luckily it was only a small shock. The ship continued to zigzag slowly entering the giant cave.

While others were confused about where to tie the ship, Ben smiled crookedly while pressing a red button on the top left of the navigation buttons.

"Wooosh…wooosh…Whaaack…"

A pair of Tross and Spring ropes slid fast. Breaking through the cave walls. Clamping the ship firmly in place. Ben turned off the engine. Jumped down from the captain's chair. While his teammates looked on in awe.

Ran took over the situation.

"We must secure this ship before going out and exploring the island. This is our fort as well as our home. We can't predict when the Death Squad will come and attack us. Ben, try to find something in the ship's features, maybe there's something we missed about defense."

Ben nodded. He studied the keyboard in front of him diligently. Tet and Rabat descended to the bow deck, checking if there was anything that could be used to increase ship's defense.

Meanwhile, Cindy curled up on the folding bed in the corner of the bridge. Trembling heavily. A strange groan escaped her mouth.

"Hhhhh....aaarrrggghhh....hhhhh....aarrrggghh"

Ran was stunned. What was wrong with Cindy? Damn it! Ran approached. He touched Cindy's forehead. Jeez, it was cold!

Ben, who was still struggling with the keyboard, buttons, and monitors did not realize what had happened to Cindy. He seemed to have found something Ran asked for. Aha! There you go!

Ran typed some codes on the monitor screen.The ship shook slightly and emitted a loud hum. A streak of glowing light instantly enveloped the ship. An electric field with the strength of more than a small power plant. Ben grinned. This ship was amazing. This was an unusual defense mechanism.

Ran decided that they should recover their strength first before going to the mainland. They were in a giant cave. They had to find a way to reach the mainland. Ran mind was preoccupied with Cindy's condition.

"Ran..." Cindy spoked in a weak voice.

Ran turned. His eyes met Cindy's. Good grief! Cindy's eyes were no longer black. They were red as blood!

While Ran's was still recovering from the sight of Cindy's eyes. Ben's screams startled him.

"They're coming! The Death Squad is coming!" Ben pointed nervously at the monitor screen.

The Death Squad was swimming fast toward the ship.

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