Curt looked at the captain as he continued to stand with his hands behind his back. “Well, can’t we divert to another country?” he asked in anticipation, “or maybe across to New Zealand?”
“Won’t make it,” Bryson said.
“Sir, we have the fuel,” Curt replied. “The longer we sit here, the more fuel we are going to burn.”
Bryson paused and then finally turned to look at Curt. “I mean, if we leave—or attempt to leave,” he snapped “away from Australia, the New Zealand Navy, American, Japanese, Chinese, any other Navy that is patrolling the waters near this infection will blow us out of the water.”
There was a short pause.
“So, what do we do?” Curt asked.
“We wait.”
“Until when?”
“Until this storm passes”
“Oh, come on!” Curt yelled. “We lost radio contact with the mainland hours ago!”
Captain Bryson looked out of the window onto the storm.
Adrian Collins, father of Justin Collins sat down on the wooden chair, looking at the sealed door to the cruise ship’s balcony. Raindrops ran down the window. He sat perched, feeling the muscles in his back strain. He stood up and looked to see Coleen returning from the toilet.
“When do you think we are going to land?” she asked.
“No idea,” he replied.
Adrian walked over to the mobile phone that was plugged into the wall. He looked to see that the signal was still out.
“I’m worried about Justin,” Coleen said.
“Look,” Adrian replied, “Justin knows the ship’s number, and it will read on the website that we are delayed. I mean, come on, Chelsea isn’t that stupid, is she?”
Coleen sat down on the bed next to Adrian. “I think I worry too much,” she said.
“You do,” Adrian replied, “but that’s a good thing.”
Coleen felt the ship rock back forth in the storm.
“Chelsea will look after him,” Adrian said.
“She will,” Coleen replied.
“Do you think she loves him?” Adrian asked.
“I think they love each other.”
Coleen put her hand on Adrian’s leg. Adrian stood up, trying to get a signal.
“Anything?” Coleen asked.
Adrian walked around the room. “Nothing… I’m going to go and see if I can find anything out.” Adrian and Coleen walked out into the hallway of the ship. He looked to see one of the stewards, a British man whose name was Stuart, talking to a female passenger—a middle-to late-aged lady who spoke with a British accent. Coleen and Adrian walked down the corridor towards the steward.
“We have been waiting on the ship for over twelve hours,” the woman complained. “What is going on? Why can’t this ship land?”
“I can assure you, miss,” Stuart said, “it is nothing to worry about.”
The lady sighed, turned around, and walking away down the corridor towards her room.
Adrian and Coleen walked up to Stuart. “What’s going on?” Adrian asked.
“We can’t land because of this storm over Adelaide.”
Coleen thought back to earlier. “But the storm hit us when we were already close to landing,” she replied.
“That’s what I have been told, miss,” Stuart replied. “Can I get you anything?”
Adrian looked at Coleen. “No, we’re okay, thank you. Thanks for your help.”
Adrian and Coleen walked towards the elevator that led down to the ship’s lobby. They walked into the elevator together, looking at the small screen on the wall, which displayed static.
“Even the TV is out,” Adrian commented.
They walked out into the lobby. A security guard was standing by the entrance to the casino. Adrian looked down towards the restaurant of the ship and looked around.
“There’s a lot of security about,” he observed.
Adrian stood up straight and walked over to one of the guards.
“Hello, mate,” he said to the guard, who looked up at Adrian. “When’s the WiFi going to be back up?”
The guard took a few seconds to think. “I think we have engineers working on it,” he said.
Adrian knew the guard was lying. Working in a mall for ten years taught Adrian how to know when someone was lying.
“Do you know when it will be working again?” Adrian asked.
“I have no idea,” The guard replied. “All I know is the engineers are working on the servers.”
Adrian looked at the guard. “Can I speak to the chief of security, please?”
The guard looked down and turned around. “Yes,” he said. “Follow me.”
Dan Rouse, the cruise ship’s chief of security, sat in his office, which was not too far from the theatre. He had his sidearm in his pocket. Dan lifted his head as Adrian was led into the office.
“Hey,” Dan said. “Nice to meet you.” Dan and Adrian shook hands.
“Bit of storm, this, isn’t it?” Adrian said.
“Tell me about it,” Dan replied.
“So, when are we going to land?” Adrian asked.
“As soon as this storm is over”
Adrian looked at Dan as he continued to twiddle his thumbs. He knew Dan was hiding something. “I do your job,” he said, “In Adelaide’s mall.”
“Has its good and bad points” Dan twitched again.
***
Meanwhile, Stuart slowly walked back and forth down the cabin aisles of the ship. He heard a shuffle coming from ahead. He looked down to see the lady who had spoken to him a minute ago. She was shuffling around outside of her room.
“Are you okay, miss?” Stuart asked.
“No, my husband is locked in the toilet,” she said. “He’s not answering me.”
Stuart entered the room and tapped on the bathroom door. “Hello, sir. Can you hear me?” he asked. Stuart tapped on the door again.
“He said he was ill,” the lady said to him. “I thought it was just a slight bug he had picked up.”
“How long has he been in there?” Stuart asked
The lady stopped looking at the door. “I don’t know I fell asleep right after he went in; I must have been out for ages. I didn’t sleep at all last night. It’s the medication I’m on.”
Stuart reached for his radio. “Can I have a medical team to room 302?” he asked. “I think I have a collapsed male.” Stuart looked at the door lock.
“Have you got a coin?” he asked the woman.
“What?”
“I might be able to open the lock with a coin.”
The lady went over to her bag and pulled out an old Australian coin. “Here you are.” She handed him the coin.
Stuart placed the coin into the lock and attempted to turn the lock. “Come on…” he mumbled.
The two doctors walked in just as Stuart managed to open the door.
“Barry!” the woman yelled.
The two doctors looked at the old man.
“Let the doctors do their work,” Stuart kindly instructed the lady.
The two doctors knelt and felt for the pulse as the woman looked down, anxious to hear if he was still alive.
“We’ve got a pulse,” the doctor said.
The lady let out a sigh of relief. “Barry, please…” she pleaded.
“Check his eyes,” one of the doctors said.
The other doctor slowly edged towards Barry. She reached down, placed her fingers on the eyelid of the man, and slowly started to lift it. She caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were black. She shone the torch into his eye. They dilated as she did this.
“Does he have any medical history?” one of the doctors asked the woman. “Diabetes?… Epilepsy?”
“No, nothing,” the lady replied.
The two doctors looked down at Barry. “We will take him to the medical bay,” one of them said. “I’ll arrange a hospital transfer when we land, which should be when this storm is over.”
The lady turned and looked at Stu
art as he stood watching the medical team place Barry onto the medical bed.
“That was good thinking back there,” she said. “Thank you.”
“That’s okay,” he replied. “I hope your husband is okay.”
***
Heath, the lead engineer of the ship’s health division walked along and through the tight metal corridors. He looked at the engineers, some of whom were sweating with tiredness. “Have any of you guys seen Harlow?” he asked.
One of the engineers looked at Heath as he stood awaiting his response.
“I haven’t seen him in ages,” one of them said.
“Has anyone seen him?” Heath demanded.
One of the engineers stepped forward.
“The last time I saw him, he was on his way to the toilets… Some leak. It’s been closed off all day down there.”
Heath looked at the engineer. “Okay, if you see him, let me know. I need to talk to him.”
Heath looked ahead to the toilets and saw the yellow tape across the door. A trickling sound was heard. Heath entered the toilets and saw the water flooding around them. There, sitting back against the wall of the toilet, was Harlow.
“Oh, my God,” Heath gasped. “Harlow!” Heath knelt next to Harlow. “Harlow!” he said again.
Heath reached for his radio. “I need a medic to the engineering toilets. Zone B-3.” Heath put the radio back into his pocket. “Harlow!” he called again. “Come on, wake up.”
Harlow slowly lifted his head.
“Thank God!” Health let out. “We’ve got a medical team on their way for you.”
Harlow continued to lift his head; his eyes remained closed for a moment but then started to roll open. Heath looked in shock and disbelief as he noticed that Harlow’s eyes were glowing yellow. Heath couldn’t take his eyes off of them.
“Shit,” He uttered, pulling out the radio again. “Where is that medical team?”
“About five minutes,” was the reply.
Heath looked at Harlow. “Harlow, can you hear me?”
Harlow suddenly dove towards Heath. His eyes were wide open, and his teeth were out. Heath didn’t have time to move before Harlow sunk his teeth into his neck. Heath fell back, trying to get Harlow off of him. He felt Harlow’s teeth sinking into his neck. He screamed in pain. Heath managed to rip himself away from Harlow. As he did, the blood shot out of his neck into the water that was flooding the ground. Heath fell back into the water and drowned in his own blood.
Just then, the other engineers stormed into the toilets, seeing the blood building up in the water, washing down the drain.
“What the hell happened?” one of them asked.
They saw Harlow as he went for another attack.
“Oh, my God!” an engineer gasped.
Harlow bit into Heath again. The rushing of blood from the wound intensified by the second. The engineers could only watch as Harlow bit into Heath.
Harlow looked up quickly and saw the small group of onlookers. He ran towards them. They didn’t even have time to turn around. Harlow first bit into the neck of a young engineer, who didn’t have time to get away. The engineer fell to the ground, blood running down his neck. Harlow slowly sat up after the attack. His eyes opened, still gleaming yellow. He ran out of the toilets into the ship. The onlooking engineers could only watch as the small group of zombies ran towards them. Unaware of the infection, they could only sit and watch in horror as their colleagues were attacked and eaten, one after another.
“I’m getting out of here!” one of the engineers yelled.
The infected ran towards them, biting more of them and infecting them with the virus. The dwindling group of engineers ran up the thin set of steps that led to the top deck, past Captain Bryson’s room.
Captain Bryson jumped in alarm. He had been in a daze “What is that?” he snapped.
Curt looked at the screen behind him. He looked at the CCTV view of the underneath of the ship. Captain Bryson walked up to the screen to see what was going on. He saw the staff running for their lives along the corridors of the ship. He looked at their glowing eyes and saw the blood running out of their mouths.
“My God!” he uttered.
“What is it?” Curt asked.
“The infection has made it onto the ship.”
“What? How can that be?”
The captain had to think for a minute. “Seal it off,” he said.
“What?”
“Don’t argue. Just do it,” Bryson snapped.
Curt typed into the computer. The huge doors in the underneath of the ship started to slowly seal closed. The last few uninfected engineers ran through the door towards the elevator. Some of the zombies ran through the closing doors as well.
“No!” Curt gasped.
Captain Bryson looked up at the screen to see one of the engineers run to the elevator. He arrived at the door and slammed the button, panicking as the snarling zombies running towards him.
“Not the fire exit!” Bryson shouted. “Please, God! Not the fire exit!”
The young engineer sprinted away from the elevator, slamming into the doors that led to the stairwell. From there, the infected would be able to reach all parts of the ship. The engineer fell to the ground, spraining his foot. He struggled to get up. The zombies burst into the stairwell. The engineer was pounced on.
Curt watched the zombies feast on the dead corpse. “That’s the infection,” he remarked.
Bryson turned around and went over to a microphone which he could use to communicate to the entire ship.
“What are you going to do, sir?” Curt demanded.
“Watch.” Captain Bryson lifted a small plastic flap that covered the ship’s alarm, and he pushed it down. The alarm screamed.
He then took a deep breath and spoke into the microphone. “This is your captain. This is not a drill.” Captain Bryson took another breath, trying not to look at the screen behind him. “I need you to listen carefully. I need everyone to go to their rooms. Lock your doors. If you are unable to return to your room quickly, head to the theatre.”
“Now what?” Curt asked after a pause.
“We wait.”
***
Adrian looked up as he stood in the office with Dan Rouse. “Shit,” he uttered.
Dan looked out of the glass window into the hallway of the ship. People were walking about, looking for information. He stood up, gently placing his hand on the sidearm.
“Can you tell me what is going on?” Adrian demanded.
Before Dan could speak, a lady and a man ran up to the office.
“What’s going on?” the lady asked.
“It’s quite okay, madam,” Dan told her “It’s just a precaution.”
The couple rushed off towards the theatre.
Dan turned his attention back to Adrian and Coleen. “Can you get moving, please?” he asked as he ushered them out of his office.
Adrian pushed Dan back into the office. He scuffed up his shirt. “Listen to me. I’ve been a security guard at the Adelaide Mall for fifteen years, I know when something is wrong. Now tell me what’s going on!” Adrian let go of Dan.
Dan closed the door of the office, letting Adrian stay inside while Coleen rushed toward the theatre with the other passengers.
“Listen,” Dan pleaded.
“I am,” Adrian replied shortly.
It took Dan a second to gather his thoughts. “There is a virus sweeping Australia.”
“Virus?”
“Yes.”
“Is that the real reason why we can’t land?”
Dan nodded slowly.
“What type of virus?” Adrian questioned “Influenza? rabies? H1N1?”
Dan shook his head.
“Well, what is it then?”
Dan got up from his swivel chair and slowly walked into the other room, a small control room which contained several screens which allowed him to view all parts of the ship. He scanned the cameras. He went to the first floor, up from the bot
tom. He then stopped scrolling through the channels. “See for yourself,” he said.
Adrian walked up close to the screen. He looked at the zombified people eating their victims as they tried to run into their rooms. He looked closely at the screen. He looked at a man who was being slammed into the ground by one of the infected. The zombie lunged its teeth into the man’s neck, causing blood to gush out onto the carpet.
Adrian turned around and looked at Dan, his eyes open wide with fear. “Is this what is going across Australia?” he asked.
Dan slowly nodded. “Look…”
Adrian turned around to look at the screen again. He focused his attention back on the man that had been attacked. He watched as the man slowly got up. “He’s still alive?”
“Keep watching,” Dan said.
Adrian looked at the bitten man, who looked up at the camera and opened his eyes. He snarled at the camera and ran.
Dan turned to Adrian. “Now do you see why we didn’t land?”
Dan then walked to a cabinet that was built into the wall and unlocked it. Adrian looked into the cabinet. There, in front of him, lined up next to each other, were five SPAS-12 shotguns.
“Do you know how to use a gun?” Dan asked him.
Adrian looked at Dan. “I have had some firearm training,” he replied. “Never used one, though.”
“Now’s your chance.” Dan handed Adrian one of the shotguns along with a chain of shells. He handed him a sidearm as well. Dan stormed out of the office, followed by Adrian.
Dan took his radio out. “I want all guards to the theatre,” he ordered. “All exits and entrances are to be sealed.”
“Sir!” he heard.
Dan and Adrian walked out into the ship. People stared at the two armed men.
Coleen was among these people. “What is going on?” she demanded.
“I need you to go in there,” Adrian ordered.
“Why? What is happening?”
“Just trust me.”
Coleen looked at the entrance to the theatre.
Adrian grabbed hold of her. “Love you,” he said, kissing her.
“Please, what is going on?” she cried.
Fear The Outback (Book 1): Fear The Outback Page 10