The Scorpion King

Everyone on the deck looked to the west and saw black shadows moving toward them against the backdrop of the setting sun.

The boatswain leaped off the viewing deck and yelled, "Hide!"

"Ready the spotlights and go get the guns," Leoric commanded with authority. He had a bad feeling about the dark shadows closing on them quickly. "All women move back to the lower decks."

The doctor, like the boatswain, disappeared to the lower decks. The rest of the passengers and crew were too stunned to move. Before they could even think of escaping, a large shadow loomed over the yacht. They were in a state of shock and disbelief. None of them could muster the courage to scream, as they were all too stunned by what they saw before them. Even Leoric, who had always been known for his calm and composed demeanor, was visibly trembling at the sight that lay ahead. The scene was so overwhelming that it left all of them speechless and rooted to the spot, unable to comprehend the gravity of the situation they were in.

Scorpions the length of an arm with bodies as big as a fist climbed the boat from the sand and surrounded the deck. They were black and hairy, and with the descending sun, they appeared even scarier.

"The spotlight, turn it on!" Leoric shouted and tried not to appear scared. His gaze was trained on the creature he did not know how to describe. Half of his body was that of a human, while the other half was that of a scorpion. His dark human body glistened as the last rays of the sunset hit it.

"Leo, I now understand. This is a movie shoot, right? The endless sand is an illusion. We are not in a desert at all but in a movie set of the sequel to the Scorpion King. It must be my eldest brother who played a prank on me. And that hideous creature is just a CGI projected on the boat." As Emily continued talking, she became convinced that everything was not real. Her voice was loud and attracted the attention of the half-human half-scorpion creature.

He advanced to where Emily was standing beside Leoric. Emily felt a surge of utter fear; her knees started to shake when two glossy black eyes stared at her and pierced her very soul.

When the scorpions appeared on the deck, the passengers and crew congregated in the bar area, and Angel was pushed next to Emily. 

Emily looked to her right, and a glint appeared in her eyes when she saw Angel. She pushed her with all her might, and Angel staggered a few feet forward.

The half-human half-scorpion's attention was diverted to Angel. His black eyes brightened. The human before him had a unique scent that he liked. Her red hair and green eyes were beautiful and piqued his interest.

"Ha ha ha! This Scorpion King finally found a suitable bride to sit beside my throne." He spoke in the local Astralis language, which no one could understand. However, Angel did. She frowned and stepped back.

Just as he was about to grab the woman with his pincer, Leoric stepped forward and fired his gun.

The Scorpion King was very nimble. He moved to the left, and instead of his chest, the bullet grazed his shoulder. 

The Scorpion King looked at the strange black thing on the human's hand. He roared angrily, and scorpions crawled, moving in Leoric's and Angel's direction.

One of the crew turned on the spotlight and directed them to Leoric and Angel. The scorpions scampered away.

The Scorpion King became even angrier. With one swoop of his tail, Leoric felt the hand holding the gun go numb, and it fell down. He pushed Angel behind him, and they backed away.

The people on the deck screamed as scorpions attacked them. The crew manning the spotlight frantically moved it from left to right to scare the bugs away.

"The fire extinguisher!" Leoric remembered that there should be a fire extinguisher in the bar.

Captain Niel moved fast. He vaulted over the bar counter and took the fire extinguisher. Then he approached Leoric and released the foam from the extinguisher. 

The Scorpion King retreated. The foam hurt his eyes. Many of the scorpions who were attacking were killed.

However, after some time, the fire extinguisher was empty, but there were still hundreds of scorpions.

The people on the deck started screaming as they tried to brush the attacking scorpions with whatever they can lay their hands on until their hands grew tired and and their voices became hoarse from crying.

The spotlight was still focused on a few people in front of the bar, while the Scorpion King remained motionless and deep in thought.

The person who was manning the spotlight lay on the floor, and he was unconscious. A few scorpions attacked him from his back.

Just when the crew and the passengers thought it was their end, the tall and bulky boatswain emerged from the stairway holding a battery-powered torch gun. 

He swept the torch gun across the floor, and the acrid smell of burning flesh filled the air.

The Scorpion King retreated to the railing.

He glared at the boatswain, and the boatswain glared back. While the two were on a standoff, some scorpions sneakily crawled toward the boatswain, but for some reason, they were crushed, like there was a great force that stomped on them.

Then, a strong smell of cinnamon and peppermint permeated the air, overpowering the stench of the burnt flesh of the scorpions. The doctor emerged from the stairway carrying two drawstring bags.

All the scorpions scampered away and disappeared from the deck. The Scorpion King frowned. He sensed the powerful aura belonging to a phari amongst the crowd on the deck. Weren't they just ordinary humans who were stranded in the Barasan Desert? 

The Scorpion King narrowed his eyes and scanned the few people on the deck. He was not affected by the smell, but with the strange weapons in the humans' hands, he knew he was at a disadvantage. 

However, he could not retreat empty-handed. He spewed venom at the group of people huddled on the left side of the boat and then he quickly retreated behind the railing when he noticed the bulky man pointing the long, black metal object that emitted a bluish light capable of burning his scorpions at him.

He grabbed a female in a red dress who stumbled toward the railing during the chaos.

"Diana!" the escort's friend could only helplessly cry. She dared not move an inch, afraid that she would also be taken.

In a matter of seconds, the woman's screams grew more distant as the dark shadow of the Scorpion King was swallowed by the darkness.

"What the hell was that creature? Do you think they will come back?" Alec asked in a trembling voice.

"Leo, I want to go home." Emily cried and threw herself into Leoric's arms.