The sharp crack of splintering wood jolts me awake, ripping me from a dream I can't quite remember. My heart slams against my ribcage as I bolt upright in the narrow cruise ship bed, the thin sheets tangling around my legs. The room is a haze of shadows, the only light spilling from the hallway beyond my now-shattered cabin door. It swings wildly on its hinges, a jagged silhouette of destruction.
Figures flood in--three, maybe four--moving with brutal precision. They're clad head-to-toe in black, sleek tactical gear hugging their forms like a second skin. The dim glow catches the glint of batons dangling from their belts and the dull sheen of holstered guns. My breath hitches as I squint through the darkness, trying to make sense of the chaos. Their faces are half-hidden, the lower halves shrouded by some kind of metallic shielding that curves over their mouths and jaws, leaving only their eyes exposed: sharp, unyielding, and glinting with intent. Long hair swings behind them, tied back in tight ponytails, a strange contrast to the militaristic edge of their presence.
I'm frozen, shirtless and vulnerable, the cool ocean air seeping through the cracked porthole chilling my bare skin. The leader, taller, broader in the shoulders, steps forward, her boots thudding against the polished floor. Her eyes lock onto mine, piercing through the dark, and I swear I see a flicker of something--amusement? Hunger?--before she gestures sharply to the others. They fan out, silent and predatory, circling the room like they own it. Like they own me.
"Get up," she says, her voice low and muffled through the shield, but there's an edge to it that sends a shiver down my spine; one part fear, one part something I don't want to name yet. My mouth goes dry as I scramble to my feet, the adrenaline pumping hard, my mind racing with questions I don't dare ask. Who are they? What the hell is happening on this ship?
The air feels electric, heavy with unspoken tension, as her gloved hand hovers near the baton at her hip. She tilts her head, studying me, and I realize I'm not just a target--I'm a prize.
The leader's gloved hand clamps down on my wrist, yanking me forward before I can even process what's happening. Cold metal bites into my skin as cuffs snap shut, the click sharp in the night air. My arms are wrenched behind my back, and I stumble as they shove me out of the cabin, straight onto the deck. The sea breeze hits like a slap, chilling my bare chest, my feet stinging against the cold planks lining the ship's outer railing.
"Move!" one of them barks, her voice thick with a Russian accent, rough and commanding. They herd me forward, boots pounding, their presence suffocating. My head's a mess, catching flashes in the moonlight--other cabin doors along the deck splintering open, more black-clad figures spilling out. A grizzled guy, maybe fifty, staggers into view, only to get shoved back inside with a curt "Stay!"--his door slamming shut. Then a girl, early twenties, all wild hair and tight curves, gets dragged out a few cabins down, cuffed and pushed ahead. I don't know what's happening, why they're picking who they pick. My mind's too scrambled to connect dots.
Pain sears my calf as a baton cracks against it, forcing a grunt from my throat. "Keep moving!" the leader snaps, her ponytail whipping as she turns. I stumble toward the railing, the cuffs digging deeper, and then I see it--a massive black boat looming below, dwarfing anything I'd expect tethered to a cruise ship. It's a hulking, two-story beast, all sharp angles and dark metal plating, like a floating bunker. No windows, no curves--just a cold, imposing box rocking against the waves, its engine rumbling deep and menacing.
The leader leaps down first, landing on the deck with a heavy thud, then turns back to me. Her eyes glint through the shadows, locked on mine, and she smirks--just a flicker, but it's there. "In," she orders, her accent curling around the word like a threat. I hesitate, and a baton taps my thigh hard, urging me forward. No choice. I step over the railing, dropping onto the boat's frigid metal deck, the surface slick under my bare feet. The girl from the other cabin lands beside me, her breath hitching, and we're hustled forward, shoved toward a hatch that yawns open like a mouth. The night swallows us as they push us inside, the clang of the hatch sealing shut ringing in my ears.
The hatch groans as more bodies are shoved down into the metal box, until there's twenty of us crammed together--young guys and girls, all snatched from the cruise ship's deck. The air's thick with shaky breaths and the faint tang of sweat. A girl with wild hair presses close to my left, a broad-shouldered guy to my right, and a blonde in a thin nightgown stumbles in last, her eyes darting. The cold metal walls loom around us, no windows, just a dim hum from somewhere deep in the boat. The hatch slams shut, locking us in.
A blinding white light snaps on overhead, flooding the room, and I flinch, squinting as everything sharpens--us, trapped, exposed. Two officers in black tactical gear stride in through a side doorway, guns in hand, their shielded faces blank as they take position by the entrance, ponytails swaying. Then two more follow, these ones carrying scissors that glint under the harsh light. My stomach twists as one of them--a wiry figure with cold, focused eyes--steps forward. "Hold still," she snaps, her Russian accent biting. "Move, and you'll get cut."
They move fast, efficient. The guy next to me grunts as they yank his shirt over his head, slicing through the collar with a sharp snip when it catches on his cuffs. The blonde gasps as her nightgown's shredded, the fabric pooling at her feet. I'm in nothing but boxers, barefoot and cuffed, and when one of them reaches me--a woman with sharp cheekbones and sharper eyes--she doesn't hesitate. "Stand still," she orders, her voice low, and her gaze locks onto mine, unblinking. Her gloved hands grip my waistband, yanking my boxers down in one rough tug. The cool air hits my skin, and she tosses them onto a growing pile of torn clothes at the far end of the room--shredded shirts, shorts, underwear--all heaped like evidence.
The four officers finish their work and step aside, lining up along the wall, standing at attention, scissors and guns still in hand. The room's silent except for our uneven breathing, every one of us naked now, cuffed, vulnerable. Then the air shifts--tightens--as a new figure steps through the doorway.