"Violet!" Mom slapped her on the wrist. She giggled at mom.

JOY

"Do you think my mom would let me get a nose job?"

Anna poked her nose in the mirror. Jo laughed, typing on her phone screen.

"Your mom won't even let you tweeze a nose hair."

Anna sighed.

"You're right. Maybe I should ask my dad."

Jo raised her eyebrows.

"Remember what happened with the piercing."

Anna's parents were divorced. They had a custody battle over her. Ever since she chose her mom over her dad, her dad has been giving her whatever she asks for in an attempt to bribe her. Her mom had a lot of nice things to say to her dad when she came home with blue hair. And then she had even nicer things to say when he let her pierce her tongue. Anna was having too much fun. Pretty soon it would end. And she was trying to get the most of it.

"What's that noise?"

Jo looked up from her phone.

"What noise?"

"Turn the music down."

Jo pressed pause and the Bluetooth speaker went silent. Then she heard it. Screaming. She looked at Anna. Anna's eyes were wide. They both stood up and ran to the cabin door. Jo pulled it open wide and ran out into the hallway. People were running.

"Hey! Hey, what's going on?"

Jo stopped a woman carrying her purse to her chest.

"There's something wrong with the ship."

The woman said, squeezing her purse. She started walking with the rest of the others toward the back of the ship. Jo looked at Anna.

"What do we do?"

"Let's go find my dad. He's at the bar."

The floor shook faintly. The two girls looked down.

"What the hell was that?"

Anna grabbed Jo by the arm and ran forward.

"Let's go!"

They ran down the hallway into the lounge and up the steps into the bar. Everyone in the bar was talking so loud Jo had to yell for Anna to hear.

"I don't see him!"

The floor shuddered and the lights started to flicker. The hanging lamps on the wall swung back and forth. Anna took out her phone and called her dad.

"Dad? Where are you? I thought you were at the bar."

There was a loud crunch. People began to scream. Anna looked behind Jo, her phone still to her ear. Her face was pale. Jo turned to look just as the floor pitched upward violently. She fell backward and slid across the floor. The planks in front of her cracked and lifted. Glasses and bottles flew from the bar and broke against the far wall. She closed her eyes and held up her arms to shield her face. When she opened them again, her eyes were blinded by the sun. The sun? She blinked a few times and looked around. She could see through the ceiling. Anna! She saw Anna's blue hair behind a table and went to move.

Jo looked down at her arms. Shards of glass stuck out of her skin like a pin cushion.

"Anna!"

She screamed, looking over at her friend. Anna wasn't moving. Tears began to stream down her face from the pain in her arms. She fought through it and crawled towards Anna.

"Anna?"

Jo climbed over the table. Anna's face was white, her eyes wide open. She was breathing. Jo tapped her face.

"Say something!"

Anna's eyes were vacant. Jo looked down. Her sweater was wet. She touched Anna's black sweater. Blood came off onto her hands.

"No..."

She lifted the sweater up and saw a broken chair leg. It was poking through Anna's ribs. Jo wiped tears back and looked Anna in the eyes.

"Is it bad?"

Anna barely whispered.

"It's gonna be okay. I just need to get you up, alright?"

Jo grabbed her around the chest and pulled. Anna screamed.

"It's okay, I got you. Just try and think about something else."

Anna closed her eyes.

"It hurts."

"I know. But it'll be over soon. I'm gonna pull one more time, okay?"

Anna nodded, her glazed eyes fixated on the ceiling. Jo grunted and pulled as hard as she could. Anna gasped slightly, her muscles tensing. As soon as she was lifted from the broken chair, she went limp in Jo's arms. The floor shook and started to even out. Jo was standing on a flat floor again. Anna's eyes closed.

"Anna, open your eyes. Stay awake."

Anna's eyes fluttered open for a moment.

"I need you to hold onto me."

She wrapped Anna's arms around her shoulders.

"Walk as best you can, okay?"

Anna nodded. Jo led her across the floor. People were running all around them and pushing past. Anna stumbled at the steps.

"Take them one at a time."

Jo held her tight and went slowly.

"One more... good. Lets sit here for a bit. I'll call your dad to see where he is."

Jo led her to the door of the lounge and sat her down on the floor in the hallway. Anna hugged her arms to her side.

Jo dialled Anna's dad. The phone rang. Just stay calm. Everything will be okay. Jo listened to the phone ring some more. She got his voicemail. She looked down at Anna.

"Your dad isn't answering. Let's go out on the deck."

Jo stood Anna up and walked her to the glass doors leading to the deck. There was a loud crunching sound again. Jo pulled Anna away from the door and braced against the wall. The floor tilted slowly. Chairs and benches on the deck slid past the doors.

"Joy."

Anna mouthed her name, not making a sound. Her face was grey. Jo held onto her tightly.

"It'll be okay."

Anna closed her eyes.

"Anna?"

Her chest stopped rising and falling. Jo stood up.

"Help! Someone help!"

She ran forward and screamed until her throat hurt.

"Someone help my friend!"

She grabbed at a someone's shirt as they ran by. The woman shook her off and continued running. There was a loud sound like thunder and the floor underneath her feet shook. Jo ran after another person.

"Please! Please help me!"

The floor under her feet was shifting.

"Help me--"

She suddenly was falling. The floor was gone. She didn't have time to process what had happened before the shock of cold ocean water enveloped her. Jo kicked and swam upwards, breaking the surface with a gasp. She grabbed onto a floating table and looked up. The cruise ship was splitting in two. She had fallen through the gap between the front and the back part of the ship. There was no way she'd make it back to the second floor where Anna was.

Jo burst into tears.

"I'm starving," Elijah muttered.

"I know, we just have to wait for mum," Lucille responded.

The siblings sat on their fronts side by side on one of the cabin beds, their feet either bent up in the air or hanging over the edge. While resting on their elbows, Lucille held a tablet in her left hand, supporting the device as a history documentary played on the screen. The teen girl could hear her brother groan as he rolled onto his back, in a display of obvious displeasure and boredom. But the redhead ignored him as she continued watching her show, cause learning of the most recent pirate documentary was far more interesting than entertaining her brother's whims.

When the sound on the shower turning off through the bathroom door, Elijah sat up in relief. That meant their mum was almost done and they could leave soon to actually get some food. They heard a faint humming, footsteps, and then ruffling as they assumed she was getting dressed. Not even a few minutes later and the woman was exiting the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head.

"Finally!" The blonde boy exclaimed, bouncing off the bed, bumping Lucille, and causing her to groan. "Can we go now, I'm hungry, and I bet Aiden and Zac are there now." The mentioned boys are Lucille and Elijah's, cousins. Unfortunately, their whole family is boys, Lucille being the only girl and oldest grandchild.

"Alright, alright. Hold your horses." Their mum chuckled, bending forward to throw her hair out front for easier access. Rubbing the blonde strands between the soft fibers of the towel. "Are you both ready?"

"Yes."

"Yep."

Both the siblings replied. And although Lucille looked calm as a cucumber, she too couldn't hide the anticipation of leaving the room finally.

Though the feelings of joy and excitement were soon put to a stop as rumbling was heard and felt. Everyone paused, the children turning to look at their mum who gave them just as confused expression. She slowly righted her posture, waiting to see if it was just their imagination or if there was going to be an alarm or announcement. There was nothing, but another rumble was overheard and then the ship jolted. Throwing everyone off their feet, with the exception of Lucille who was gripping the bed sheets and just hanging on.

"What was that?!" The teen girl called.

"Lucille, Elijah. Remain calm, we have to leave." Their mum said as she stood, making her way to her son before gripping his hand tightly. She grabbed a few important things from around the room as quickly as she could, tossing them to both Lucille and Elijah to hold. "Come on." She urged as she pushed both the siblings out of the room.

Once through the door to the hallway, chaos ensured. People were running down the halls, screams were heard and the lights flickered. Lucille's breath quickened as she gripped her mum's arm, the women lead the way down the hall. Ignoring the others they passed with determination to reach the decks and hopefully the lifeboats.

Elijah followed numbly like everything was fast forward, he couldn't really hear anything. His arm ached from when he was knocked over and he was sure tears were flowing from his eyes and down his face with how blurry his vision had become. But he didn't stop moving, he really wanted to curl up and hide, but with the harsh grip on his forearm and the quick and constant pulling, he couldn't get a chance to stop.

Another jerk rocked the ship, a loud shout to 'hang on!' was heard and then the family of three were semi-thrown to the floor but were saved partially to the mother's quick action of pulling them down. Loud bangs echoed down the halls, more screams and the rumbling and creaking only growing louder. The three felt the ship lifting up and they slid down the floor slightly like it was going on its side. Lucille was huffing as she held her onto her mum's shoulder and arm even tighter, her eyes locking with Elijah's momentarily but their world fell beneath their feet with a sudden and loud snap!

Plunged into freezing cold water, Lucille barely made it up for air. She gasped and flicked her gaze left and right in search of her mother or brother. Upon looking at the ship her brown eyes widen, her jaw-dropping at the sight of the massive vessel splitting in two. She quickly kicked her legs and widely flailed her arms in the water to distance herself from the ship as much as she could. It was only then that her last thoughts of where her mother and brother were before being knocked in the head and passing out.

Keon

JOY

The cruise ship was sinking. Jo watched as things fell from the ship into the water around her. She thought it was kind of weird that she was the only person in the water. You'd think someone else must have fallen in by now. She couldn't hear anyone. Then again the crashing waves were loud. So was the cruise ship as it sank. But what happened to everyone? The cruise ship had at least 500 people on it. Why was it so quiet?

Jo struggled to keep afloat. She couldn't swim properly. She moved her legs in the water. Her shoes. The shoes were making her feet heavy. She kicked at her heels to try and push them off. Ugh. The shoes laces were tied too tight. She held onto the table with one arm and grabbed her shoelaces in her free hand, yanking them loose. Then she kicked off her shoes. She shivered in her wet clothes. What was she supposed to do? There wasn't anyone coming to rescue her. The cruise ship was sinking slowly as she floated further away from the ship in the waves. She heard a scream and looked up. Someone fell into the water a few feet away. The man surfaced and looked up at the ship. He started swimming back to it.

"Hey!"

Jo yelled after him. Suddenly the man stopped swimming, screamed and disappeared beneath the waves. Wait, what.... What happened to him? Jo felt a shiver up her spine as she realized why there were no other people in the water. There was something in the water. Something was eating them. She panicked and pulled her feet up onto the table. The table rolled with her weight and she was pushed under the water. She let go of the table and swam to a big piece of floating deck, heaving herself on top of it. Breathing as quietly as she could, she looked down into the water. There was just water. Nothing else in it. No sea monsters or sharks. Jo exhaled in relief, laying on her back. Then she heard a scream and a splash. Turning her head, she saw a girl break through the waves. The girl looked up above at the ship. Then she started to swim wildly away.

"Hey! You!"

Jo sat up, waving her arm above her head. The girl was not looking towards her. She probably couldn't hear Jo either.

"Heeey!"

Jo screamed louder, her voice cracking. A mess of debris fell from one of the lower levels of the ship, heading straight for the girl. Jo gasped as a metal railing hit the girl in the head. No, not again. She wasn't going to watch another person die. Jo jumped in the water and swam towards the girl. Blood was pooling in the water around them. As she got a good grip on the girl, she hoped that thing in the water wasn't around. Jo hooked an arm around the girl and swam back to her deck raft. The red headed girl looked to be about her age. She leaned close to her face. The girl was still breathing. Very shallowly. Her head was bleeding. There wasn't much that Jo could do about it. Feeling helpless, Jo looked across the water. The deck they were sitting on was drifting further and further away from the ship. Jo shivered. The sun was out but there was a breeze on the water and she was getting cold. She looked back at the red headed girl next to her.

"I hope you wake up and you're okay..."

She whispered to herself. There was a loud rushing sound like a waterfall and Jo looked up. There was something rising out of the water next to the ship. She gasped, clutching both hands onto her mouth so that the scream didn't escape her lips.

It was long and grey, slick from the water. The creature slithered up the side of the cruise ship, glinting in the sunlight. It's eyeless head swung back and forth, probing the broken deck. It then slid backward off the deck and pushed into the open part of the ship that was pointed toward the sky. The creature suddenly jerked forward and then pulled back out. Something was wriggling around in its mouth. It was holding a person in its mouth. Jo screamed silently into her hands, tears pouring down her face. The creature moved backwards down the side of the ship and disappeared beneath the waves.

VIOLET/WILLIAM

"Race you to the trail!"

Jack yelled excitedly. Violet ran after him. They were at their camping site. Mom and dad brought them there in the summer sometimes. Usually with grandpa. They always rented the camping lot J15 to set up their tents. It was next to the hiking trail that went up the mountain. Violet ran along the dirt path after her brother. He was running fast. Jack is always so fast. The birds were singing all around her. Suddenly it started to get harder to run. Her brother was getting further away.

"Jack!"

She called out to her brother. He didn't turn around. He kept running. The birds stopped singing and it got really quiet. Violet tried her hardest to run but it was like she was running through peanut butter. Her feet were heavy and stuck. The world began to spin in all different colours.

"Violet... wake up, honey... "

Violet opened her eyes. It was bright and the sun was burning her eyes. Mom was standing over her.

"... Violet... wake up..."

Mom's face was so peaceful as she leaned over. Her long brown hair tickled Violet's face. Violet's head was hurting but seeing Mom made her feel safe. She closed her eyes, ready to go back to sleep.

"Wake up... hey... are you okay?"

That wasn't mom's voice. Violet opened her eyes wider and focused on the person standing above her. It was an older boy. He was touching her face with his hand. Violet coughed, sitting up and vomiting out her stomach. The boy jumped back.

"Yikes!"

She looked down at her hands and squeezed the ground between her fingers. White sand. She was on a beach. The older boy sat down next to her, patting her on the back.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Violet nodded.

"Where's my mom?"

The older boy looked sad. He looked at something in the distance and Violet turned her head to see. She started to cry. The big ship was broken up in pieces. Was mom still on the ship?

"I want my mommy."

She stood up and looked at the broken ship in the water. The older boy stood up next to her.

"I don't know if you'll be able to find your mom. I can't find my mom either."

Violet cried and sat down in the sand.

"I wanna go home."

The older boy sat down next to her. He put a hand on her back.

"Its okay. Someone will come find us and they'll bring us home."

Violet's tears turned to hiccups. They both looked out at the ship in the water. Home was sounding like a long way away to Violet. She started to cry harder.

"What's your name?"

He asked her. Violet looked up at him. He was probably the same age as her cousin, Brandon. Brandon was 15 years old. But this boy didn't look like Brandon. He had brown hair and freckles. And his eyes were brown. Brandon's eyes were green.

"My name is Violet."

The boy smiled.

"My name is William. But no one calls me William. You can just call me Will. How old are you, Violet?"

He seemed like a nice boy. Violet stopped crying.

"I'm 7 years old but I'm turning 8 years old soon."

Will nodded. He looked out on the water again. Violet saw him squint at something. She looked where he was looking and squinted too. But she couldn't see what he was looking at. Will stood up and shielded his eyes from the sun.

"Violet, can you stay here for a second?"

Violet looked at the water again. She couldn't see what he was seeing and it made her scared. Will started to walk down the beach.

"Can I go with you?"

She walked after him. Will turned around and knelt down in front of Violet. He shook his head.

"I think there's someone in the water. I'm going to have to go see if they need help and it's too dangerous for you to come with me. I'll be right back though, okay?"

Violet nodded. She was scared to be alone. But she was more scared of going in the water again. She sat down in the sand and watched Will walk away down the beach.

[Glad to see you posted! And love the creature in the water idea, I can roll with that! XD]

Keon & Elijah

The sound of water splashing, wood splitting, and many screams echoed around the older teen. It was constant, never-ending and a nightmare to anyone who survives this day. Keon almost let the situation take control, keeping him in a daze where he couldn't seem to move or think. Simply laying across the two-metre wide plank that supported half his body while he watched the scene play out in front of him.

But it was only mere moments before he regained his focus. He drew his attention back to the boy, he could see a few heads dotting the water but the nearest was the blonde currently crying as he wildly searched the waters for his family. Keon kicked his feet, slowly inching his way to the kid, he didn't appear older than 9 or 10, probably still in middle school.

The waves caused by the sinking ship made it difficult to navigate through, it was a force that kept him back and he had to continuously fight his way through. Upon reaching the other, Keon called out.

"Hey!"

The blonde boy whipped his head in Keon's direction so fast that the older teen was almost worried he would snap his neck. His brown eyes scrunched up as tears poured from them.

"Come here, it's safer on this than floating in the water! " Keon called in the softest voice he could muster up but ended up still yelling.

The boy's lip wobbled before parting as though he was going to speak. But he never got the chance for something moved in the water, and a sudden cry following. Keon glanced around, but couldn't see anything. Then a large dark thing sprung out of the water, wrapping around the ship. The surge of waves that followed was enough to thrust the two away from the ship, Keon losing his grip on his plank and being dragged under the water.

Keon came back up, his mind in a daze as he tried to catch his breath. Panting heavily his vision blurred before he regained his bearings. He was now floating in the water and couldn't believe what had just happened and it caused his heart to pound wildly.

"He- elp!" A choked cry rang out, Keon searching for the voice and finding the same blonde boy struggling to keep his head above the water. His voice raw and choking, he must have swallowed large amounts of water.

"Hey buddy, I'm here. Just hold on." Keon swam as fast as he could, pushing his body to move to the boy. Once he reached him he gripped the boy's arms tightly, supporting both their weights in the water. Looking over him for any injuries, he noticed how pale the boy was. Of course, he was compared to Keon's dark skin, but the boy was deathly white and had an almost blue tinge to it.

"Where's mum? I want mum." The boy sobbed, his hands gripping Keon's wet clothes. He was shaking and shivering at the same time, due to fear or cold, or maybe both.

"I know, we have to get out of the water first." Keon sniffled, his blue eyes catching sight of an island not too far away. He did take a quick glance at the ship but whatever was there was out of this world. He honestly couldn't understand what was going on, he didn't want to. So the safest decision he came to, physically and mentally was to head to the island.

And with that, he waded through the water slowly, one hand tightly holding onto the boy as he kept his gaze on the island in front. He refused to look back for what he would see would never leave his memories.

Unfortunately, they were stuck in Elijah's.