At Sea

The night passed quick, the gentle sea breeze whispering through the ship as the hours passed. Surprisingly, Tucker was the first to wake. With a loud yawn, he shot up, an unnatural burst of energy surging through him.

A mischievous grin spread across his face. Without hesitation, he bolted through the cabin, stomping his feet against the wooden floors, banging on doors, and making as much noise as he could.

Groggy groans and irritated mutters echoed from the rooms as the others stirred awake. Tucker grinned, proud of his handiwork.

Later that morning, everyone gathered on the deck, Micheal sipped on coffee, Madison and Doug were quietly munching on whatever food they could scavenge. Meanwhile, Tucker and Shirley spent the day aimlessly messing around, finding new and ridiculous ways to entertain themselves on the open sea.

Laughter erupted across the deck.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Shirley howled, nearly doubling over. "I— I can't breathe!"

Tucker grinned, basking in his comedic glory, while Madison let out a long, suffering sigh. "Will you ever shut up?" she muttered, shaking her head.

Tucker, ignored her entirely.

Meanwhile, Doug had wandered over to the railing, gazing out at the water when something caught his eye—a dark, shadow beneath the waves, easily the size of their ship.

Then a sudden impact rocked the boat, sending everyone tumbling.

"The hell?!" Doug snapped, gripping the railing to steady himself.

Micheal stumbled, glancing around in confusion. "What was that!?"

Before anyone could answer, the water exploded as a gigantic whale burst from the ocean, its massive body slamming against the ship's railing with enough force to leave a dent.

"AHHH!" Madison shrieked, instinctively stepping back.

Shirley's expression shifted in an instant. The laughter was gone. The weight of the situation hit him fast, and before anyone else could react, he bolted toward the cabin, sprinting straight for his room.

Tucker, managing to catch his balance, stared up at the whale. "Welp. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Madison shot him a glare. "Now's not the time for jokes!"

The whale struck the railing again, this time bending the metal inward with a screeching groan.

Doug reached for a pistol tucked in his pocket, but before he could pull it out, Micheal lunged at him, grabbing his arm.

"Don't!" Micheal said sharply. "That won't do anything. No one move—"

"They will."

Madison blinked. "Who the hell is 'they'—?"

Before she could finish, Shirley burst out of the cabin, cleavers in hand, dashing straight onto the deck.

The whale reared back, preparing to lunge onto the ship.

And then—they moved.

Shirley and Tucker launched forward at the exact same time.

Shirley's cleavers flashed as he crossed them into an X, while Tucker railed his fist back, raw power crackling through his fist.

As the whale came down, Shirley slashed—carving a deep X across its chest—while Tucker's punch landed like a cannon blast, sending the massive creature hurtling backward.

The impact was enough to rearrange the whale's stomach.

Silence followed, the only sound being the ocean waves.

"Monsters..," Doug muttered.

"Look at them.. they will be the ones to defeat, CORE!" Micheal said while smiling. "YEAHHHHH!!!" Shirley and Tucker yelled simultaneously.

***

Day 1

The group spent most of the day recovering from the whale attack. Tucker and Shirley tried fishing but gave up after an hour. Madison kept to herself, arms crossed, watching the waves. Doug napped in random spots, and Micheal barely spoke.

Day 2

Tucker started a game where he flicked bottle caps at Shirley, who retaliated by throwing them twice as hard. Madison threatened to throw them both overboard. Doug found an old deck of cards, and they played a half-hearted game of poker before losing interest.

Day 3

Shirley started pacing around the ship, grumbling about how boring it was. Tucker agreed. They tried to spar to pass the time but were quickly shut down by Micheal, who didn't want them breaking anything.

Day 4

Rain. All day. No one could go on deck without getting soaked. Tucker and Shirley attempted to slide across the wet floor for entertainment. Doug got tired of hearing complaints and locked himself in his room.

Day 5

The sun was back, but morale was low. Everyone had run out of things to do. Tucker started talking to a mop he found in the storage room. Shirley played along. Madison ignored them, but Micheal finally cracked and told them to please stop.

Day 6

More aimless wandering. More staring at the sea. Tucker tried annoying Madison but got hit on the head with a spoon. Shirley sat on the railing, staring at the sky. Doug suggested they take bets on when they'd see Choreees. No one cared enough to answer.

Day 7

Tucker spent the entire day lying on the deck, staring up at the sky. He didn't joke, didn't complain—just watched the clouds drift by. At first, no one paid him any mind.

By midday, Shirley finally asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

Tucker didn't answer.

By evening, as the sun started to set, Tucker suddenly sat up, eyes squinting at the sky. He spotted three massive shadows looming in the sky, their shapes unclear to him.

Tucker squinted, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

"…Hey," he muttered to himself. "What… is that?"