The Lost Continent

Captain Lansen orders the Corita to press on despite a looming hurricane and a customs launch shadowing the ship. He keeps the explosive Phosphor B hidden aboard as passengers embark, balancing his smuggling operation against the perils at sea. This decision sets the stage for the dangerous voyage ahead.

Dr. Webster, Unity, Eva Peters, Harry Tyler, and Ricaldi each have a different motive for leaving Freetown, hinting at the trouble ahead. Webster wants to escape consequences of his indiscretions; Eva seeks to recover bearer bonds; Harry hides money; Ricaldi pursues Eva to reclaim the bonds. The voyage gathers a disparate group with tense personal agendas.

An anchor chain slips a gear, rupturing a bulkhead and plunging the Corita into a power outage. The crisis triggers mutiny among some crew who take to a lifeboat, while Captain Lansen and the rest of the crew and passengers face a dangerous choice. The vessel's authority is tested as the ship drifts toward disaster.

As the lifeboat is launched, Dr. Webster is torn apart by an attacking shark, underscoring the brutal stakes of the escape. The remaining passengers and crew cling to each other as they put the Corita's danger behind them. This event marks a brutal turning point in their attempt to reach safety.

The lifeboat drifts into a morass of sentient seaweed that claws at the craft, killing the cook. The ship is visible only as the seaweed fouls its propellers. In a grim turn, the survivors must scramble back toward the doomed ship to seek safety once more.

During the night, Unity is attacked by a glowing-eyed, oversized octopus that drags her toward the sea. Ricaldi tries to rescue her but is killed in the attempt, underscoring the lethal dangers the survivors face. The lifeboat fight continues as the sea churns around them.

Sarah, a native girl, appears walking on the morass of seaweed, buoyed by air balloons and pads on her feet. She is chased by fur-clad barbarians but manages to warn Captain Lansen of an impending assault. Her arrival shifts the balance as the crew braces for another assault.

The Corita's defenders fend off the fur-clad barbarians, who retreat to a nearby dilapidated Spanish galleon. The attackers’ leadership is revealed to be the child leader El Supremo, supported by the Inquisition-tinged clerics. The confrontation foreshadows a larger struggle for supplies and power.

Sarah, Harry, and the ship's engineer are captured by the Spaniards and brought before El Supremo. It becomes clear that the 'pointy-hatted' capirote Inquisitor is the one controlling events. The gathering tension mounts as Lansen contends with the threat from the throne room.

Captain Lansen faces El Supremo and refuses to yield, declaring that they will continue their struggle home. He detonates explosives to destroy the galleon and force a rescue of his people. The reforming leader abandons his throne only to be stabbed by the cleric, and the scene erupts in flames.

With the galleon crippled, El Supremo dies from his stab wound as his followers kneel in prayer. Lansen and the survivors witness the burial at sea as the crew recites prayers from the Book of Common Prayer. The shipwreck glows with flames as restraint gives way to survival.

Lansen and the rescued survivors, along with the Spaniards who joined them, make their way back to the Corita. The bond of leadership is forged in crisis as Lansen reads the rites over the lost, and the group heads for home. The journey ends with a fragile sense of survival and closure.