Suspense+-+Murder+on+a+Ship

=Murder on a Ship =

= =  Natalie White was standing before the huge ship with amazement. She had never seen a ship so beautiful and big. Her friend, Angela, invited her to her fourteenth birthday, but Natalie never knew her friend was that rich! Natalie lifted her old prom dress up so she wouldn’t trip while walking onto the ship’s deck.

Angelia, wearing a beautiful white ball dress, greeted her at the end. “I knew it that you’ll come!” Angelia hugged her friend warmly. “Come on in. It’s warmer inside.” Angelia led Natalie into the formal ball room of the ship. Natalie hung her coat up and went to stand beside the food table.

One thing she didn’t like about parties was that no one besides Angela talks to her…ever. She was always the one standing at the back of the room, watching other people have fun. Natalie was a little jealous of Angela since she was always in the center of actions. Natalie picked at the fancy foods while watching couple after couple flew past her up beat to the music. Angela was dancing with a small boy a head shorter than her, but she was having fun.

Natalie sighed. Why wouldn’t anybody ask her to dance? She sat down on a chair, watching her friend laughing her head off. All of a sudden, an unexpected lightening, bolted across the sky, followed by a deafening thunder. A few ladies screamed, but most just froze into their dancing position, staring out the small windows out into the darkening sky.

Natalie was already standing and rushing towards Angela. Angela screamed the loudest while the thunder occurred. “Wh–what just ha–happened?” She asked shakily. Natalie brought her friend a warm drink while telling her a storm will come soon. Soon after she finished the sentence, heavy rain poured down onto the upper deck of the ship. A few people groaned, but others just continued to dance.

“Everything’s alright. Go have fun; I’ll get something to eat. I’m starving!” Natalie pretended to fainted. Angela tried to smile, but it came out wobbly. Natalie patted her friend with comfort before going back to stand beside the food table.

Just when Natalie was about to stuff a tasty olive into her mouth, another thunder boomed ahead. It startled Natalie and she dropped her olive on the floor. She looked up at the ceiling and noticed the light flickering. Then, they went off.

Everyone started shouting at once. Some men were running around, trying to find a flashlight or candle. Most women were just sinking onto the floor, shaking with fright. The speaker on every corner of the wall squeaked, and then fuzzed. A voice started to become clearer. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m your captain Andy Smith. A storm is here and it’s unexpected. Sorry for the shortage of candles or flashlights since we don’t keep storage of them on the ship. The electricity might come back in a few hours. Meanwhile, please stay where you’re. Do not go anywhere.” The speakers squeaked again, and that went dead, too.

Natalie thought she heard a threat in the captain’s voice, but didn’t bother. A few men argued for a while if they should go fix the electricity. Finally, a small group of five men gathered together. They left with one of the only two candles they had. When they disappeared into the darkness, their wives or children broke into sobs. Natalie helped Angela to go around comforting the others while passing out some food and drink.

Hours passed, but no one came back. Most people already fell asleep, including Angela. Natalie thought if the door will work or not, but to her surprise, someone had locked it from the outside! Natalie dropped onto the floor, frustrated. Suddenly, someone bolted through the door where the men disappeared into. “Help! We need help! There is a murderer on the ship!” Everyone gasped and crowed around the man for more information. Natalie was too small to fight through the adults, so she stayed outside the circle and gathered a little information:

When the five men got to the end of the long flight of stairs that reach to the basement, their candle flame suddenly died. They had to walk around with their hands stretched forward. They finally found the switch to the light, but all of a sudden, two men went down. The others felt for their heart beat, but found none. The three other men formed a circle, facing outside. However, they couldn’t see their predator even if he or she could see them. Less than a minute two more went down. The last man, the one who ran back, was lucky, since the flame of the candle suddenly went up again. He only caught a glimpse of a black robe.

Natalie was angry instead of afraid that someone was murdering the others and not daring to show his or her face. She was trying to come up with a plan to save the others before they all die. Unexpectedly, the speakers squeaked again. This time, the voice was much lighter and crueler than Captain Smith’s. “Good evening, everyone. It’s such a bad luck to let the last victim to slip through my fingers, but I’ll get him later. Now, let’s talk about the future. I’m going to be the captain of the ship from now on. Our destiny will be Africa…it may sound far, but wouldn’t it be more fun if there is no food? Well, you better get a good night sleep, since there are a lot of work to do tomorrow. Good night everyone! Hahahaha!”

The ‘captain’ had the cruelest laugh Natalie had ever heard. Anger burned inside her, ready to leap out. Natalie had just figured out where the murderer was and wanted to kill that person. Of course, kill will be too harsh, but at least some damage will be good. Natalie left the others to Angela and crept slowly out of the room.

Without a candle or flashlight, it was like without a pair of eyes. Natalie walked blindly forward, reaching out with her hands. At last, she found the staircase towards the captain’s cabin. She sneaked as quiet as she could up the stairs, for it creaks a lot. Finally, she reached the door. She could hear the murderer still talking enthusiastically into the microphone. The voice sounded young instead of the one coming out of the microphone before. Natalie was still trying to figure out how to do some damage to the mysterious person when the door opened.

Light poured out of the door, causing Natalie to squint. She felt a strong hand grabbing her by the hair. “Ah-ha, here’s a little girl who sacrifices herself to save the others, right? Now, what’s your name?” Natalie was in too much pain to speak. She could only make little sound from her throat. “A mute probably. I’ll take care of her later.” The murderer threw Natalie against the wall, knocking her breath out of her. The killer went back to the captain’s chair.

When the stars finally stopped flying in front of Natalie’s eyes, Natalie saw the figure of the old captain slumped on the floor. A pool of dried blood had already formed on his chest. Natalie felt too sick to look. She felt blindly around her for a weapon. Ah, there! Natalie gripped the handle of the hammer hard and staggered up into a standing position. She raised the hammer and brought it down onto the murderer’s neck. The blow was not enough to kill someone, but enough to knock him out. The murderer gasped before felling onto the floor. He was wearing a mask, but it came off the moment he fell. To Natalie’s amazement, instead of a man, it was a woman who killed four innocent people!

The door burst open all of a sudden. Angela was leading a group of rescuers into the room. Angela saw Natalie standing in the middle of the room and cried with happiness. Natalie didn’t feel brave any more, instead, she felt tired and hungry. Soon, polices were also on the ship. From a policeman, Natalie learnt that the killer was called Catherine and she had some mental problems since she was small.

The whole ship was really happy they were safe again. They celebrated until midnight…and for once, Natalie was in the center of the crowd.