0-SA (The Last Ship Series)

Chapter Nine: Osa

Drip..Drip..Drip..Drip

The Irinaut walked down the old tunnel. Water ran down the walls, and submerged his feet. The alien had her thrown over his shoulder at this point; not seeming worried that she was going to wake anytime soon.

As he came out of the tunnel, it led to what looked like a lake. Somewhat secluded and covered by a tree line. The creature hummed softly before setting Raven down against the wall of the tunnel. Soon, he tied her hands in front of her, and then, just sat down in front of her. He began removing any weapons she had, and throwing them in his bag. Including the detonator to his wrist and leg cuffs. The Irinaut was already frustrated with the situation, and knowing he couldn't get these off was already driving him mad.

Raven groaned out before reaching her hand over her head to stop the water from falling on her face. As quickly as she woke, the woman found herself sitting up quickly and feeling her face. Relief washed over her as she felt the mask still in tact, but as she brought her hands down, she saw the Irinaut facing her. "J-Jesus Christ.." She slammed back into the wall. The last thing she was expecting to wake up to was a masked Irinaut just, staring at her, "What..what do you want?"

He cocked his head, almost seeming to act as if that were a stupid question. He held up his arm, and pointed to the device on each wrist.

"Yeah? Well fuck you. I'm not taking them off you."

A growl could be heard rumbling in his chest. His knuckles cracked as he curled his fists. The creature shrugged in a human manner before grabbing ahold of the rope he tied her with and yanking it up, forcing her to stand.

"Gah! Listen. I'm not about to take those off you so you can rip my head off." Raven stumbled as he made his way towards the water, "Hey, hey what are you doing? Stop!" Raven's feet began to drag the mud within the water, "Don't!"

The Irinaut stopped before turning to her. He grabbed her face and hissed quietly. Even bringing his finger to his mouth in a hushing motion. The sounds of infected could be heard. He pointed down into the water before grabbing a chain. The creature glanced at her, before diving into the water.

"N-no, wait! Stop!" Raven was pulling herself back. Her suit wasn't made for breathing in the water. She flailed her arms, splashing as she took her final breath before being submerged in the water, being dragged deeper and deeper into the darkness. If she tugged, the Irinaut only yanked harder. Raven just held her breath, her arms out in front of her as she lost the feeling of the lake floor beneath her. Her mask was filling with water, only causing more panic.

Her lungs felt as if they were on fire, her ears ringing, and all she wanted to do was take a breath. She couldn't see anything except a gold hue in front of her. Raven couldn't handle it anymore, her chest felt as if it were crushing in, finding herself gasping for air only for her lungs to receive a load of water

As she did though, she felt the creature grab her, and push her up into a tube. Raven coughed, choking as she fought to remove her mask to breathe. The woman didn't care where she was, but she needed air.

As the mask came off it fell in front of her. She coughed, her hands and knees on the ground as she tried to catch her breath. The woman could hear the Irinaut coming inside behind her. She rolled around before scowling him, "You could have killed me. I couldn't breathe, you bastard."

The Irinaut cocked his head to the side for a moment before looking at his wrists and then back at her. He started pulling the chain through the hole before closing it. The creature held up a lock and shook it, as if to catch Raven's attention that he was indeed locking her inside. He then casual turned around, and sat down on the hole the had came through.

"Where are we?" Raven looked around. It looked like a ship. A crashed one, but not a drop of spores within it. Symbols covered the walls that she didn't recognize, as well as vibrant crystals. Several oxygen tanks were inside it, and from the looks of it, someone was working on repairing it. She had seen inside infected ships before. Usually covered in the spores and infected Irinaut's protecting it.

The creature sighed before standing up in front of her. He made his way over to a stand before beginning to unhook his mask. He kept his back to her, undoing the latches around his neck as a whoosh sound was made. He set the mask down before removing his coat. Oddly enough he wore human clothing. A white shirt, and a pair of tactical jeans he seemed to had made himself with other pieces of clothing. Having large canine like feet, it was no surprise he had to work with what he had.

Raven suddenly realized she was freezing. She hadn't expected to be dragged to the bottom of a lake into a crashed ship, "What do you want with me?"

He looked back at her. With the mask off, she was surprised to see he was completely free of the spore infected. His skin was a deep purple, and his veins danced with a gold hue. His leeches were on top of his head, and rested backwards down his spine. All with their own golden veins, but pitch black in color. His eyes, also that bright fluorescent gold. Along his neck, were wet feathers. That similar deep purple color to his skin, but the ends that bright gold color. The tattoo on his right arm went down 0sa in bold letters.

Raven had never seen a healthy Irinaut. Usually their veins were blackened with infection, their eyes eventually hollowed from the feeding spores, and the infection dripping from every opening available. She hadn't even known of anyone to have feathers. She sat up a bit. The two silently examining one another.

Raven was petite compared to the Irinaut. Her skin was pale, she had a rounded face, her hair cut was a long, black, but the right side of her head cleanly shaved, and her eyes a striking hazel gold. Raven had a button nose, and pale pink lips. The woman had dark circles beneath her eyes, obviously tired. As the two studied each other they didn't even make a sound. Almost seeming as curious as the other. As Raven finally snapped out of the trance, "Osa? Is that your name?"

He cocked his head before glancing at his arm, "Osa.." He repeated back to her in a rumbling voice. The male nodded his head before pointing to Raven.

"Holy shit you can talk. Uh, I mean, Raven. My name is Raven."