Reon jammed a metal rack against the kitchen door, twisted the lock tight then grabbed a water bottle and drank deep. His hands were grimy, nails split and stained with blood.
"You're the eleventh person I've pulled out of trouble," he said, eyes scanning the room for exits.
"Are any of them alive?" Yanshuo asked.
"Three," Reon said flatly. "Two kids, a woman who didn't panic. The rest ran or tried to help friends, or thought it was all a joke."
Yanshuo's jaw tightened. "I tried to warn them. When I saw the first one bite someone on the upper deck I yelled."
Reon stopped cold. He turned to look at Yanshuo, his tired eyes sharp now.
"You warned them?"
"Nobody listened." Yanshuo looked at his knife. "The guy in the tux laughed. Said I was drunk. A woman called me crazy. Even security just told me to calm down."
Reon let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He leaned back against the counter, shaking his head.
"Shit. I've been looking for someone who saw it coming. Everyone else was either too drunk, too loud or too busy celebrating to notice anything was wrong."
He paused, running a hand through his messy red hair. "I was fixing a stabilizer on deck four when I heard the noise. Climbed up and saw a guy tearing into a someone's neck. By the time I got to the main party, it was already spreading but I thought I was the only one who caught it early."
Yanshuo's voice was tight. "I tried to warn them but nobody believed me."
"Stupid," Reon muttered, but not at Yanshuo. "People never listen until it's too late. I grabbed whoever would let me grab them—two kids hiding under a table, their mom who finally snapped out of it. A teen who'd seen what I saw and was already moving."
He nodded toward the locked service door. "They're safe in the VIP lounge on deck three. Reinforced walls, supplies I stashed there last week when I noticed how crowded the party was getting."
A heavy thud shook the kitchen door. Reon picked up a fire axe, testing its weight.
"I'm surprised you even tried to warn them," he said, looking at Yanshuo again. "Most people just look out for themselves."
"Didn't feel right to just walk away," Yanshuo said.
Reon gave a small, tight nod. "Good. That's the kind of head we need. But next time don't waste your breath on people who won't listen. Save it for the ones who will."
The door rattled again, harder this time.
"We move in thirty seconds," Reon said. "Stick close and if you see someone who won't listen let them go."