Destination Ruin
Book Two
Written by Norman Christof
Published by Digital Storm Solutions Inc.
This is a work of fiction. If you find any similarities to real people, places, events or planets you're sadly mistaken.
© 2018 Norman Christof / Digital Storm Solutions Inc.
No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
The author greatly appreciates you taking the time to read his work. Please consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book, or telling your friends about it, to help him spread the word.
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If you liked Destination Ruin, you'll love these other books by Norman Christof:
EMP Survivors Series
Destination Lost
Destination Ruin
Destination Found (coming soon)
America's Sunset
America's Sunset
Coming Home
Final Days
Parables From The Apocalypse
Endings
Revealed
Mutation
Awakening
Rising
THANK YOU FOR READING!
Norman Christof
Contents
Chapter 1 ~ Now What?
Chapter 2 ~ Sam
Chapter 3 ~ The Body
Chapter 4 ~ Survival Shopping
Chapter 5 ~ Run
Chapter 6 ~ Beaten
Chapter 7 ~ Triage
Chapter 8 ~ Wild West
Chapter 9 ~ Blood Simple
Chapter 10 ~ Theme Song
Chapter 11 ~ New Friends
Chapter 12 ~ Sam Who?
Chapter 13 ~ C'mon Veronica
Chapter 14 ~ Where To Now?
Chapter 15 ~ YMCA
Chapter 16 ~ Calm Before Storm
Chapter 17 ~ Attacked
Chapter 18 ~ Decisions
Chapter 19 ~ Chased
Chapter 20 ~ Tough Girl
Chapter 21 ~ Man Up
Chapter 22 ~ Regroup
Chapter 23 ~ In And Out
Chapter 24 ~ Mad Dash
Chapter 25 ~ Home Sweet Home
Chapter 26 ~ Frustration
Chapter 27 ~ Just Do It
Chapter 28 ~ Aftermath
Chapter 29 ~ The Chase
Chapter 30 ~ Saint Sam
Chapter 31 ~ Stakeout
Chapter 32 ~ Victory
Chapter 33 ~ Jaws Of Death
Chapter 34 ~ Tackling Dummies
Chapter 35 ~ Pedal Pumping
Chapter 36 ~ Going South
Chapter 37 ~ Hangover
Chapter 38 ~ Close The Deal
Chapter 39 ~ Bright
Chapter 40 ~ Now, Where Were We?
Chapter 1 ~ Now What?
It wasn't about what they'd done so far, and it wasn't about what they'd have to do in the future. Right now, it was just about hanging on.
Like the rock climber with a tenuous grip. The drop to the bottom of the valley is far, with an ending punctuated by jagged rocks. Her hand barely has a hold on the small lip of rock on the cliff face. She's long forgotten how she got herself into this situation, but she knows that if she lets go, it'll be the end of everything. She's young and doesn't believe in the adage of living fast and leaving a good-looking corpse. She wants to make it to the end of the day. She wants to see that next sunrise.
The survivors of the cruise ship were going to see the next sunrise, whether they wanted to or not. It was only a few hours away. But for the moment, none of them wanted to deal with that fact. Something in the most pessimistic of them said that the world had gone horribly wrong and that there'd be hell to pay when the sun came up.
The most optimistic of them chose to deny that creeping feeling in the back of their minds that things had gone horribly wrong. They lied to themselves, saying that it was better to remain positive. There was beauty everywhere they'd say if someone asked them. It didn't matter how negative a space they lived in felt at the moment. There'd be something better to look forward to if they just hung on a little bit longer.
They couldn't be more wrong.
The world had changed, and it didn't happen overnight. It had been coming for a while and in spite of the fact that the optimists had their eyes closed, it didn't matter. It was here, and people would have to deal with it. Some would, of course, be in a better position to deal with the new world.
The survivors of the cruise ship, of course, wouldn't be. Who could possibly be in a worse position? They were stranded on a beach in the dark, with very limited supplies. Certainly not enough for all of them. They didn't even know where they were. It wouldn't take long to figure out once the sun came up. It would be painfully obvious shortly. Each minute of the rising sun ticked closer to that inevitability. For the moment, none of them did anything, they just waited and fretted.
All, except for one of them. One young man left the confines of the lifeboat and made his way out to the sandy beach. He'd had enough and decided to do something. Anything. His feet crunched through the sand, then came to a stop next to Garrett and Holly. "It's time," the young man said. "We have to do something."
Holly was lying on her side in the sand, with her head resting on one of the life jackets borrowed from the lifeboat. The air was sticky with humidity, and some of the sand that stuck to the life jacket had rubbed onto Holly's cheek. While there didn't seem to be an abundance of food on board, there were more than enough life jackets. Garrett sat cross-legged in the sand next to her, keeping watch. He couldn't fall asleep here, in spite of the ordeal they'd just endured. His shoulders sagged beyond the point of exhaustion, but his brain raced through all the possibilities they might have to encounter shortly.
It was a side effect of his day job as a foreman. He'd done the job long enough that the regular day-to-day stuff could be done in his sleep. His mind raced through an endless list of potential problems to compensate for the boredom. Things that the brainiac architects had somehow missed. Most would never come to pass, but the ones that did rarely caught him by surprise.
It was a gift that helped him to stay one step ahead of the problems. Today, however, it just stressed him out to no end. He thought of everything from a simple power outage affecting only the eastern seaboard to an all-out raging war being fought in major US cities as Washington lay burning from some preemptive missile strike originating from some pissed-off middle eastern nation.
Neither scenario was something to look forward to, but that didn't come into Garrett's thinking process. He believed all the way down to his core DNA that there was a solution to every problem, no matter how difficult it might be. What mattered was focusing on the tiny steps to get you there. The young man's voice interrupted Garrett's mental gymnastics.
"We shouldn't just be lounging on the beach. We need to be doing something."
Garrett looked up at the young man with the crossed arms staring down at him. He didn't look that much older than his daughter Becky. At least as far as Garrett could remember.
It felt like several lifetimes ago that he'd seen Becky. Vacations often felt like that to Garrett. It was one of the reasons he wasn't keen on them. It always felt to him like he'd lost years of his life. Like he'd just woken up from a coma or was suddenly cured of a case of amnesia. This particular vacation especially so. It was more like surviving a disaster movie than a vacation. Every minute of it seemed to last years, decades.
His thoughts drifted back momentarily to the cruise ship they'd
left behind and all the people on board. What would happen to them now? Was there someone they should notify? It all depended on what they'd find in the morning, he supposed. That voice interrupted him once again.
"Did you hear me? We're wasting time. Half the people on the boat won't stop sobbing about the situation. You should be dealing with them. You're the one in charge."
In charge? Garrett thought. When did that happen?
"What makes you think I'm not doing something?" Garrett responded.
He looked again at the young man, taking in his features. He was tall with a muscular build and tight curly red hair. Definitely no older than Becky. Garrett thought that he should be in school or something now, not hanging out on a cruise ship with a bunch of old folks.
Garrett tried to place the man's face, but couldn't. He couldn't remember him being on the lifeboat, but he must have been. He couldn't remember him from the cruise ship either. That would have been more difficult with so many faces on board. They say there are only so many faces you can keep in your mind at once. Garrett couldn't remember the exact number, but he was sure the number of people on the lifeboat was far less than the maximum. Holly stirred from her slumber now, her deep sleep interrupted by the sound of the man's voice.
"Shh." Garrett put his finger to his lips as he stood up. He motioned to the man to move out of earshot as Holly drifted back into sleep. "What's your name?"
"Sam," the man said, quieter now, offering Garrett his hand.
Garrett still couldn't remember him. He must have kept a low profile on the ride from the cruise ship. The roller coaster of a ride over had been one of those intense moments when every little thing was magnified. Events and people were burned into your memory. The adrenaline coursing through your body permanently cemented the moments and people in your mind. Their faces had been so animated and full of emotions. Fear. Anticipation. Uncertainty. Dread. Panic.
But not Sam's face. He somehow must have escaped Garrett's attention. Somehow hidden from view, perhaps behind the faces of those moments that required more attention. The man with the gun. The shooting. The body. Or maybe, Sam was just incredibly cool under pressure. His face didn't show the same stress that everyone else's had. This young man was obviously different. Someone that could be a big help with the impending problems they'd be sure to encounter. Or maybe, just someone to be remembered, someone to keep an extra close eye on.
Garrett stood, taking Sam's hand firmly and pulling them closer together. Sam shifted to keep his balance. Garrett's eyes were adjusting to the dim light of pre-sunrise, but he wanted to get a closer look at Sam. Garrett leaned in closer, tilting his head at different angles. Sam fidgeted, uncomfortable with how close Garrett was, and pulled away. The scrutiny reminded Garrett that his aging eyes weren't that good in low light. He'd noticed it for several years now. Like every other little hint his body tried to give him about getting old, Garrett convinced himself it was just a temporary glitch.
"I don't remember you from the lifeboat," Garrett said, squinting at Sam. "That's kind of strange, don't you think? There weren't that many of us aboard, and I've got a great memory for faces."
Sam frowned, confused by Garrett's response. "I'm not sure how else I would have ended up here. You don't see the cruise ship docking anywhere nearby, do you? It's not like I swam here or something."
Garrett shook his head, releasing Sam's hand. "Yeah, I suppose." Garrett looked around, testing his eyes to see if he could make more sense of where they were. "You didn’t come from one of those beach front apartments?"
Sam looked inland towards where Garrett was motioning. "They're hotels, not apartments."
"They are? You're sure?" Garrett squinted, but Sam's knowledge of the area just served to make him suspicious. "How can you tell they're hotels and not apartments? The lights are all out, and I don't see any signs."
"I know because I've been here before. This is Atlantic City. I've been here a bunch of times before on family vacations. The pier is about a half mile down the beach. I can just barely see it in the distance."
"Right, yeah, of course." Garrett nodded in agreement about the pier he couldn't see. "Family vacations, huh?"
"Right."
"Was the cruise a family vacation as well?"
"Yes, it was."
"Did your family make it to the lifeboat then?"
"No, no they didn't. My folks were in one of the casinos gambling when the storm hit. I tried to get back to them, but couldn't find them. I'm just hoping they got into a lifeboat and made it to shore."
"Yeah, yeah, of course. I'm sure they did."
"We should organize some search parties and start looking down the coast."
Holly was just waking up now, alerted by the sound of their voices. "Search party? For what?" she mumbled.
Garrett heard her, but directed his answer at Sam. "I'm not so sure," Garrett screwed up the corner of his mouth, "that's a good idea right now."
"Really?" Sam questioned him as Garrett looked away distractedly. "Why is that?"
Garrett never answered. Instead, the sound of the waves lapping the shore filled the silence.
Chapter 2 ~ Sam
"What are you guys talking about?" Holly asked as she pulled herself to a sitting position. She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, then hugged herself to keep warm. The lifeboat blocked the breeze coming off the ocean, but the air was still cool. Garrett sat next to her and she snuggled in close to him.
Garrett made introductions. "Holly, this is Sam. Sam, this is Holly." They both nodded. "Sam here was just saying how he was worried about the rest of his family from the cruise ship. He was hoping to organize a search party to go looking down the coast for other lifeboats."
"Really?" Holly said. "You got separated from your family. I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm sure they're OK." Holly pushed her hair behind her ears, then brushed the sand off her face, just getting it stuck on her hands in the process.
Sam looked absently around, then fixed his stare up the coast. Holly's words didn't serve to reassure him.
"I want to believe that. I really do, but this whole thing just seems like such a screwed-up mess, I don't know. I need to see them with my own eyes to know for sure."
"Hey," Holly said with more conviction this time as she became more alert. "You know what we went through to get here." She looked at both men. It was ingrained in both their minds, the recent events. Neither wanted to recount the events, including the shooting and the dead body that had only received minimal attention. It had been moved by a very reluctant group of volunteers so that it was at least downwind of the survivors. "If we could manage to make it here considering what we went through, then I'm sure the other lifeboats will eventually as well."
The thing that none of them wanted to say was that not all the lifeboats were powered. The ones equipped with engines were meant to serve double duty as tenders. Usually, a cruise ship would just pull up next to a dock and let passengers walk off the boat. In some small towns, however, the docks were either too small to accommodate bigger ships, or they were simply full up with other cruise ships. In that case, the lifeboats with engines could take passengers back and forth to shore.
In the event of a real emergency, lifeboats without engines needed to be rescued by other emergency vessels. Given the events that had led them to board the lifeboats in the first place, Holly and Garrett couldn't be sure that other emergency vessels were on their way. Neither Holly nor Garrett wanted to explain all that to Sam though.
Sam nodded, acknowledging the ordeal they had gone through to make it this far. "That's all true, but I still need to do something. I need to find them. The sooner, the better."
"We're sort of in the same situation," Garrett started to explain.
"You had others on board the ship?"
"No, not on the ship, but we have a daughter up in New York City that we're going to need to get a hold of. We'll be heading that way soon."
Holly looked skeptical. "That
is, as soon as we figure out what's going on here."
Sam looked confused. "What do you mean?"
Holly and Garrett looked at each other, wondering how much Sam knew.
"You understand that there's something bigger going on than just what happened on the cruise ship, don't you?" Holly explained.
Sam shrugged his shoulders. "What do you mean? The ship lost power, and we got hit by a storm. What's that got to do with anything going on here on shore?"
Garrett interjected, "I'm pretty sure that it wasn't common knowledge on board the ship what was really going on. I'm not sure that even the captain and crew knew what was really going on. If they did, they weren't sharing it with everyone. They had their hands full just dealing with a crippled cruise ship."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Sam raised his voice. Some of the other survivors took notice of their conversation. "You guys are scaring me."
Holly stood up, moving closer to Sam, and motioned for him to lower his voice. She spoke quietly. "Look, Sam, there's no need to panic right now, OK?" She put a hand on his arm. "We have to deal with things one piece at a time. That's all we can do."
"Tell me," Sam insisted. "What is it that you both know? I need to know about my family."
"We don't know any more about your family than you do. What we do know is that lots of people got into lifeboats. We all know that there were others launched at the same time that ours was and that they made it into the water." Holly looked to Garrett and back to Sam. They all nodded in agreement. "We made it to shore and the others will too. These boats are designed to survive through all kinds of horrific conditions. We made it and the rest will as well. You need to believe that. Thinking otherwise won't help anyone else."
"OK. OK," Sam said, looking somewhat calmer, but not very convinced. "But you both said there's something going on here. You talk like there's a bigger problem than just the ship."
Neither said anything. Sam looked around and thought for a moment. "It is strange that no one's approached us. We've been here for hours, on the beach of one of the biggest tourist cities in the US, and no one's come by to kick us off. I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to sleep on the beach in Atlantic City, let alone park a lifeboat with dozens of people." Sam's voice was rising again as he became more animated, swinging his arms around. "At the very least, some cops should have stopped by to see what we were doing here. They must patrol this beach 24 hours a day, and we've been here for half the night. Something isn't right."
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