Tap… tap… tap…
Three soft knocks. So light Yanshuo almost missed them over the distant music from above. He froze, back pressed to the bathroom wall, the small steak knife tight in his shaking hand.
"Hey…?" a woman whispered. Her voice sounded scared but calm. "I know you're in there. The thing that was outside, it's gone. I saw it drag itself down the stairs."
Yanshuo didn't answer. He moved slowly to the door and pressed his ear against it. All he heard was faint laughter from somewhere above. People were still partying. Like nothing was wrong.
"My name's Minako," the woman said. "I work here. I clean rooms. I've been hiding in a closet down the hall since I saw something strange in room 312. It wasn't normal."
After a long second, Yanshuo turned the lock and opened the door just a little.
A woman stood there with messy brown hair tied back. Her uniform was wrinkled. One sleeve was torn.
"I swear I'm not sick," she said quickly, raising her hands. "I don't know what's happening. I just saw you run in here. I didn't want to be alone."
He opened the door wider and let her in. She stayed near the desk, not moving much.
"The music's still going," Yanshuo said quietly. "Up on the top deck. They're still celebrating New Year's."
"I know," Minako whispered. "I can hear it." She glanced toward the hallway. "But why don't they see this? The man in room 312—he was standing still, staring at the wall. His eyes were white. When I spoke to him, he turned and walked toward me. I ran."
"Did you tell anyone?" Yanshuo asked.
She shook her head. "I'm not able to."
Yanshuo sat on the bed, still holding the knife. "I saw one on the upper deck. It was biting a woman. I screamed for help. People laughed. They said I was drunk."
Minako sat down in the chair, hugging her knees. "What is this? A sickness? Why aren't there alarms? This ship has cameras everywhere."
"I don't know," he said. "I called security. They said they checked and everything was fine."
"Who wants to believe something like this is happening on New Year's?"
They fell silent. The countdown was starting.
"What do we do now?" Minako asked.
Yanshuo stared at the knife, then at the locked door. "I don't know. Hide? Try to warn people? What if there are more of them down there?"
"Maybe we stay here," Yanshuo said. "Lock the door. Wait until morning."
Minako's eyes hardened. "So what? We just hide? Let more people die?"
"I'm not trying to be a hero," Yanshuo said flatly. "I'm trying to stay alive."
"That's selfish."
"Maybe," he said. "But it's smart."
He sat up and grabbed the knife, turning it over in his hand. "I worked too hard to get here. Best trips. Best rooms. I'm not throwing my life away for people who won't even listen."
Minako stood and started pacing back and forth.
"There are kids on this yacht," she said. "Families. People traveling alone. They don't know what's coming."
"And if you go out there?" Yanshuo said. "If one of those things gets you? Then you're dead and I'm alone."
She stopped and looked at him.
"So we wait?" she asked.
"For now," he said. "We have food. Water. We can last a day. Maybe two. Something will change."
"What if it doesn't?" she asked quietly. "What if there are more of them? What if they take over the decks?"
Yanshuo didn't answer.
He just stared at the door and in his mind, he saw those white eyes again. He told himself this was the smart choice. He told himself someone else would handle it.