Note: This is posted “as is”, no editing or proof reading involved, as part of the 30 Shorts In 30 Days project. During April I will be attempting to write and post a new short story everyday.

  Don’t run towards the screams. Never run towards the screams. You sit at home watching horror movies and you shout at the screen; “Never run towards the screams!”

  The thing is though, when you hear the screams, you panic. You don’t think calmly to yourself “Don’t run towards the screams,” you think “What was that?” If you were to have the luxury of calm thought then you might, but you don’t. What you have is near blind panic.

  When we heard the screams, we panicked. We looked at each other and we panicked. We were four weeks from our destination, the ship was on its homeward leg and we were due for a crew change. We were due to go home.

  As people stopped being frozen to the spot, they ran towards the screams which led to more screams. Me? I took longer to stop panicking, so I had longer to think. I ran, I ran away as fast as I could. I made it to the lifeboats, and I made it home.

  When they found the ship they didn’t find any bodies, they didn’t find anything. I don’t know what I was expecting them to find, as long as they didn’t find me.