Part Nine

*A derelict vessel, a mysterious tale, an ancient horror...*

### Content Warnings

Police brutality/corruption, vomiting, gunshots, flies, human decomposition, blood, eye gouging, body horror (multiple people ripped in half), maggots, tentacles, temporary death of character.

## Summary

On their way back to Harper’s Hill, Arthur and the two officers discover a large fishing boat adrift in Lake Crawford. The officers leave Arthur on their boat to go investigate, but gunfire draws Arthur onto the ship to find the officers or a way to escape. One of the officers shoots his partner and disappears somewhere in the depths of the ship. Arthur searches for him and discovers the disturbing circumstances of how the fishing vessel came to be anchored in the middle of nowhere. When the officer reappears and tries to force Arthur into the water, their scuffle alerts a much more dangerous creature that hides beneath the surface of the waves.

## Synopsis

Officers Collin Burkhart and Mitchell Caldwell are escorting Arthur back to Harper's Hill for the murder of the lighthouse keeper. Mitchell is shaken after seeing the lighthouse keeper’s corpse, and is further discomfited by Arthur’s behavior. Arthur is sitting still, but John flicks his eyes around rapidly. Collin questions him and Arthur reveals he is blind. Both officers seem confused by this, wondering how he was able to kill the lighthouse, and Arthur reiterates that he did not kill anyone.

On the boat, Mitchell spots a large fishing vessel drifting in the fog. The two officers decide to investigate. The sound of machinery can be heard coming from the fishing vessel. Collin chooses to stay with Arthur while Mitchell boards the other boat. After Mitchell disembarks, Arthur tries to warn Collin they are in grave danger and that Mitchell is at the most risk because of how rattled he is. Collin is angry at Arthur’s explanation and punches him, but does leave to find Mitchell.

Left on the boat alone, John begins speaking to Arthur again, at first calling Arthur pathetic, then expressing his frustration about being stuck as a spectator. Arthur responds by asking John if he’s thought about what happens when Arthur dies, telling him that the Dark World is waiting for him and Arthur could kill them both if he wanted to.

Their argument is interrupted by gunfire, and they agree to put aside their differences and figure out what’s going on. John wants to remain on the police boat, but Arthur decides to board the fishing vessel. They reach the living quarters first, finding dried blood streaking the walls. They move past the empty dining room and into the first crew cabin. Inside, the floor is stained and dirty, the porthole window is broken and there is a large stain beneath it. One of the two beds is in disarray, as though the occupant had difficulty sleeping.

They move into the captain's quarters and find hundreds of hand-drawn images of eyes. They also find several newspaper clippings pinned to the wall next to the bunk: one concerning a whale that capsized a ship, and the other a local legend about a demon of the seas. Movement startles them, and John believes something was watching. They exit the cabin and head up to the bridge.

Upon reaching the bridge, John points out fresh blood covering the floor and the holes smashed into the windows. Further, they find a map with their current location marked. Arthur expresses confusion as, according to the officers, they’re in the middle of nowhere. They leave the map and follow the blood trail, finding the body of Officer Collin Burkhart, who has been shot in the head three times. Taking the keys from Collin’s belt, Arthur removes his handcuffs. John tells him to keep them in case they need them later. Unfortunately, Collin is not carrying the boat keys, so they continue to look for Mitchell.

They move back to the helm and look at the ship’s layout, discovering that there are many places the other officer could be. Arthur decides to check the upper and lower ship’s holds first, heading down a staircase and away from the bridge. They reach the upper hold first, which is empty. A doorway leading into the lower hold is rusted shut, and Arthur tries to force it open. As soon as he manages, he is overwhelmed by the stench of rot and decay, as the bodies of two crew members have been left in the hold. Arthur vomits and retreats to the deck of the ship.

Outside, the whirring of the machinery is louder and Arthur goes to investigate. They find the cause of the noise but John is unable to identify it; Arthur shuts off the power. John spots a large tube connected to the machine that runs off into the water. When Arthur approaches, they hear splashing coming from overboard. Arthur expresses a desire to pull the cord up, but John warns him to alone. Regardless, Arthur chooses to pull it up.

Just before pulling up the cord, John and Arthur have a conversation about their situation. John asks if the line separating the two of them is still truly clear, and Arthur tells John that he doesn’t believe the “crisp, alien exterior” that John presents. He reveals that their time in the hospital changed something within John, and that Arthur can feel it.

Arthur finally pulls up the hose, revealing the corpse of a man in a diving suit. The man has been torn in half at the waist. Removing the helmet, John sees that the man’s eyes appear to have broken open, likely from the pressure, and that he has white worms crawling in his mouth and eye sockets. He tells Arthur they need to leave immediately, but they are interrupted by Mitchell.

The officer approaches with his gun trained on Arthur, asking if they saw ‘it’, and begins rambling about ‘the eyes’. John tells Arthur that Mitchell has removed his uniform and is now wearing a diving suit. Arthur attempts to reason with him but Mitchell only tells him to put on the helmet of the diver so Arthur can see the eyes, too. John tells Arthur to try to go for the gun, but during the struggle, Arthur is shot twice in the stomach. He falls to the ground and Mitchell shoots him once more in the chest.

As Arthur is dying, John tells him to turn his head to the side. He sees tentacles emerging from the water and coming up onto the deck. Some of them wrap around Mitchell, tearing him apart just before he can shoot Arthur in the head again . John tries to get Arthur to move and escape the tentacles, but Arthur is unable. He tells Arthur to simply let death come and tells him that he’s not alone. As Arthur dies, he calls out the name ‘Faroe’.

The wraith appears and resurrects Arthur, paying off her debt to him. Before he can get up, Arthur is grasped by a tentacle and pulled into the water. John is able to see an enormous creature under the water, and mentions seeing ‘the eye’. He is clearly rattled, but they manage to swim free and return to the boat deck. The lower half of the officer is still on board and they take the boat keys from his belt. They return to the police boat and escape. Just before the fog obscures the fishing vessel from view, John is able to see the creature pulling the ship down into the water.

They spot a shoreline in the distance and head towards it as the fog begins to clear. They take all the supplies they can find from the boat, intending to get rid of it once they reach the shore. Arthur reveals that, before he died, he heard a voice coming from the Dark World that sounded like John’s.

They reach the beach and send the boat back out onto the lake. Arthur starts a fire, intending to sleep on the beach, and John apologizes for losing sight of what was important. He tells Arthur that, while he can’t remember his past, he can at least control his choices. Arthur responds curtly, saying he appreciates it but is too tired to deal with it at the moment. Just before he falls asleep, John asks who Faroe is and Arthur reveals it’s his daughter.

## Votes

* Chapter 41: **Follow the Officers [10]** / Think [6]
* Chapter 42: **Search the Ship Arthur is Currently On [10]** / Head back to the Other Ship [5]
* Chapter 43: Leave Well Enough Alone [4] / **Pull Up Whatever Is In The Water [9]**
* Chapter 44: **Go For The Gun [9]** / Put On The Helmet [2]
* Chapter 45: no vote

## Additional Notes

* Arthur expresses concern over the King in Yellow’s ability to influence Mitchell so quickly and so potently.

* In the lower hold, the two crew member’s corpses have both had their eyes gouged out.

* During their conversation on the boat deck Arthur tells John the fable of the scorpion and the frog, to which John responds that it’s a flawed fable “because the scorpion isn’t aware of what waits for him after death. Otherwise, nature or not... he wouldn’t kill the frog.”

* At least two of the crew members appeared to have been having difficulty sleeping, and Officer Mitchell Caldwell mentions seeing 'the eyes' in his dreams.

* As he is dying, Arthur confesses that he is scared and mentions the Dark World, John replies that he’ll meet him there and calls him ‘friend’.