Retribution by Charles Tillman & Michael Anderle

Author:Charles Tillman & Michael Anderle [Tillman, Charles & Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781649710673
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2020-07-23T16:00:00+00:00

Hybrid Vessel Ming Dan, Quingdao, China

“Fire!” The cry came from the rear of the ship. Pan turned in time to see a bright flash from the direction of the shout before a shock wave knocked him off his feet. Debris rained around where he landed between a cargo container and the ship’s rail.

Pan’s ears rang, and his eyes burned from the acidic smoke that followed the explosion. Cries of pain and shouts were muffled as he struggled to extract himself from the confined space. Once he stood, he squinted as he tried to see through the oily black smoke.

A flash caught his eye. He sidestepped and narrowly avoided being run over by a warrior, his body engulfed in flames. Pan grabbed the rail and cautiously followed it through the darkness until he emerged from the smoke. The scene before him was little better than before.

Flames shot into the air at the rear of the ship. Mangled bodies of the injured, dead, and dying littered the deck like a child's broken and forgotten toys. Screams of pain came from the area and the water next to the ship.

“What the hell!” Yi shouted when he saw Pan leaning slack-jawed against the railing.

“Explosion. That’s all I know so far.”

Yi grabbed a passing warrior. “Get more men. Help whoever you can,” he ordered as he pointed toward the carnage.

Pan watched as first small groups, then more men fought the flames and tried to aid the injured. His ears finally healed enough that he heard the tortured metal creak as the flames heated it red-hot.

“Pan! Yi!” Cui yelled as he rushed up to them. “Are you injured?” Concern laced his voice as he looked at Pan.

“No, I’m okay,” Pan assured him.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. Someone yelled fire, and the rear of the ship exploded as I looked up.” He shrugged.

A bloody, scorched, and blistered warrior fell through a hatch from below decks and collapsed. Pan ran to him and kneeled by his side. “Xian, what happened?”

“That crazy engineer did this,” he croaked, his voice rough from the smoke.

“What do you mean?” Cui demanded.

Xian went into a coughing fit, grimacing as his body fought to heal the damage his lungs had sustained in the hellish fire below deck. Once he regained control, he looked at Cui with bleary eyes.

“He started a fire in the battery room. Said he wouldn’t be part of bringing yaoguai to Japan.”

Cui’s eyes narrowed. “What set him off?”

Xian looked away, his body language showing he didn’t want to answer.

“Answer him, dammit,” Yi ordered.

“Quao Yue,” he slowly revealed.

“What did that idiot do?” Cui yelled.

“He gutted one of the engine room assistants,” Xian mumbled as he looked down. “The man was disrespectful to him.”

Pan spat in disgust. “That hothead looks for reasons to find offense in everything, and I know you’re no better. What did the assistant do?”

Xian wouldn’t face the three commanders. Pan reached down and grabbed his collar, then yanked him to his feet.

“Answer the question.” His voice was low, but the promise of violence simmered beneath the surface.

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