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Penny held her breath and closed her eyes as Odessa lowered them, only opening them again as her feet touched the top of the lifeboat. Her vision was slowly improving, but she still couldn’t make out the details of Odessa’s face. She plucked the marker from her mouth, brushed a strand of blonde hair from her face, and mouthed an [i]I owe you[/i] to Odessa as the girl let her go. She followed after Odessa as Hagan, who was impossible to confuse for anyone else even with her poor eyesight, popped open the door for them. Her heart caught in her chest as he asked them about Caelea and Zoey. Weren’t they supposed to be with him? She was about to holler at him for leaving them behind when she heard a shout that was unmistakably Zoey. 

[color=goldenrod]“You two just saved Hagan’s life,”[/color] said Penny, lightly hitting the big guy’s arm with the back of her hand as she followed him to the controls. Technically, that would be [i]again[/i] for Caelea. Penny looked down at the swirl of instruments, levers, and wheels and then shot Hagan a grimace. Maybe she would’ve been able to figure all that shit out if she could see straight, but in her current condition she’d likely end up leaving them all dead in the water. Penny sighed and fought the urge to ask Zoey for a cigarette, subconsciously chomping on her marker again like it was a tarry cigar. Surely one of the others was smart enough to figure it out.

Thinking of the others, Penny turned and did a quick headcount. Then she did it again. Something was off. Had she really hit her head that badly to forget the number of people that were on the cruise ship? She kept coming up with one extra person. No, two of those blurry outlines were different. Penny felt her stomach drop. Someone was missing. Her heart raced. Obviously, Odessa was there, as were her friends, Stacey and his guitar, and Isla and her yellow beanie, which would mean...

[color=goldenrod]“Where’s Lilith!?”[/color]

She was about to run to the door when what sounded like a geyser erupting exploded over top of the groaning of the sinking ship. Water pelted down like heavy rain and pinged sharply on the roof above them as the lifeboat rose and dropped with the roll of a wave. Penny could only make out the haze of dark smoke but Zoey’s curse told her that it was the same Apparition from before. Son of a bitch, didn’t they already take care of that thing? Penny followed after Hagan, readying some coins in her hand. She stomped it before, she’d stomp it again. Penny tossed the handful up as she prepared to let loose a salvo on the Apparition. 

Instead, she felt her head nearly split in two as the coins clanged harmlessly against the flooring of the lifeboat. The marker followed after, dropping from her mouth as she let out a yelp. A sharp pain had shot through her eyes. It was as if they had just been driven through by railroad spikes. Penny grabbed her head as her vision swam and went black. She slammed her eyes shut and grimaced. She only kept herself standing by grabbing Hagan’s arm with her other hand and sharply digging in with her fingers. It probably hurt like hell, but she didn’t let go. If she let go she knew she feared that she would faint. 

Slowly, Penny drew in a sharp intake of air and steeled herself as the lifeboat’s engine kicked alive and began racing away from the Apparition. At least that was what she was hoping it was doing. That bastard was fast. Penny let go of Hagan’s arm and drew her hand away from her face, trying to wipe the tears from pain away with discretion. She took a step to the side to clear the doorway and steadied herself against some kind of wall harness. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to make sure that the group was okay. The color drained from Penny’s face as she quickly turned back towards the wall, snapped her eyes closed, and pressed her burning forehead to the cold metal.

[color=goldenrod]“Hagan, that thing’s nothing. It can only move in straight lines. When it charges, yell at them to juke the wheel and we’ll dodge it,”[/color] said Penny, lifting her head from the wall. She didn’t want him to worry so she spoke with a measured calmness, forced a smile, and attempted to make eye contact. She hoped she succeeded, but there was no way she could tell. The world around her was a shattered kaleidoscope.