Water

by William Esmont

  Tinsley wiggled her toes in defiance. “A little more. Please?”

  Luke shook his head, glaring at her.

  Tinsley grinned. She pulled her legs up close to her body. “You weren’t complaining last night.”

  Luke rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to get into that. He only wanted to rest his hands. There was a noise in the hallway. He put a finger to his lips, shushing Tinsley, then dashed to the door.

  Light spilled into the hallway from Hines’s office. Jeremy stepped into view and checked both ways before walking off in the opposite direction. If he noticed Luke watching him, he gave no indication.

  The bed creaked as Tinsley got up and came to Luke’s side. “What’s going on?”

  “Shh.”

  Hines’s door closed again with a muted click.

  “I’m not sure,” Luke grumbled. “Stay here. I’m going to go and find out.”

  Tinsley stuck her head out in the hallway. “Like hell I will.”

  Luke held up his hand. “I’m serious. Stay here.” He locked eyes with her. “Please.”

  Tinsley huffed at him before turning and retreating into their cabin.

  Once Luke was sure she wasn’t going to follow, he scooted down to Hines’s office, sliding to a stop just in front of the door. He knelt and put his ear to the cool metal, chastising himself for not thinking of that earlier.

  ***

  Megan let out a startled gasp when she stepped into the hall and spotted Luke crouched on the floor. “Luke? What are you doing here?”

  Turning red in the face, Luke struggled to his feet. “Nothing. I—”

  She sighed. Looking down the hall, she saw Tinsley peering at her from the teens’ cabin. Megan waved, and Tinsley ducked out of view.

  “What’s going on?” Hines asked from inside the room.

  “It’s nothing,” Megan called back to him. She turned to Luke and put her hands on her hips. Then she thought better of it and dropped them to her sides. She didn’t want to appear as if she was lording it over Luke.

  “Is Jeremy going to stay?” Luke asked.

  Jack stepped out to stand beside her. “Why? Do you want him to?”

  Luke looked surprised by the question. “I… I don’t know. I guess. Why all the closed doors?”

  “We had some other things to talk about,” Megan said. “Adult things.”

  Anger clouded Luke’s face. “I wish you guys would stop treating me like a kid. I’ve been through the same things as you. I’ve lost people. I’ve—”

  “Luke—” Megan reached out for him.

  But Luke jerked away, nostrils flaring. “No!”

  “We’ll start treating you like an adult when you start acting like one.” Megan regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

  Luke’s mouth opened and closed as he searched for a retort. Finally, he spat out, “You bitch! You don’t understand!”

  He spun around and stalked down the hall to his cabin. On the way, he intercepted Tinsley, who Megan assumed was on her way to provide backup. The door slammed shut behind them with a bang.

  Jack let out a low whistle and shook his head. “Ouch.”

  Megan took a step toward Luke’s room.

  Jack grabbed her arm. “No. Not yet. Give him some room.”

  “But I—”

  “Trust me. He’ll calm down.”

  Megan sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. With a last look at Luke’s door, she marched the other direction down the hall.

  ***

  Tinsley came to Luke and wrapped her arms around his waist. She drew him close. “What happened out there? What did she say to you?”

  Luke pushed her away. His entire body trembled with anger. He didn’t know what to do with his hands. He turned in a circle, searching for something to smash.

  “Luke?”

  “Just give me a second! All right?”

  Tinsley took a step backward and put up her hands. “Calm down. I’m sure whatever’s going on isn’t worth getting this upset about.”

  Her words only served to inflame Luke’s anger. “What do you know? What do you know about anything? Megan’s never treated me like this before. I’m not some stupid kid she can boss around!”

  “Of course you’re not,” Tinsley said. She opened her arms. “Come here.”

  Luke shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “What if I promise to tell you a secret?” Tinsley said, a calculating smile on her lips.

  Luke’s curiosity was piqued. He tried to ignore it but failed.

  “You should sit,” Tinsley said, taking him by the hand and dragging him back across the room to the bed. When Luke resisted, she added, “Please.”

  Once they were seated, Tinsley clasped both of Luke’s hands in hers. “Now. You’ve got to promise me you won’t freak out.”

  Luke eyed her suspiciously. He had no idea what she was going to say, and he didn’t feel like putting up with her unpredictability. He couldn’t stop thinking about whatever Jack and Megan had been discussing with Hines. But he still wanted to know the secret. “I promise.”

  “Cross your heart?” Tinsley asked.

  Luke huffed in exasperation and traced a finger in an X over his heart. “Yeah. Cross my heart.”

  “We’re going to have a baby.”

  Luke forgot all about Megan and Jack. His next words were thick on his lips. “A baby?” The world closed in around him and Tinsley until there was nothing else but them.

  Tinsley grinned mischievously and pulled Luke’s hand to her stomach. She locked eyes with him. “Yes. A baby.”

  “B-b-but… how…?”

  Tinsley giggled and rolled her eyes. Her eyes sparkled as if lit from within.

  His stomach tied up in a knot, and for a split second, he felt he might throw up, but the sensation passed. Luke tried to speak, but no words would come, only dry croaks.

  Tinsley laughed and leaned forward, placing both hands on his cheeks. She pulled him toward her and planted a kiss on his mouth. Her lips were cool and dry at first, but they grew warm as the kiss lingered.

  Luke’s mind reeled with the implications of Tinsley’s announcement. He was too young. They were too young. What in the world would they do with a baby?

  Life had suddenly become infinitely more complex than Luke had ever anticipated.

  Ten

  Gulf Star Oil Platform

  Jack spotted Dr. Cain at the far end of the main corridor and called out to him.

  The doctor stopped and turned around. “Hi, Jack.”

  “Thanks for waiting,” Jack said as he caught up. “Do you have a second?”

  “Not a problem.” Dr. Cain resumed walking. “I was heading upstairs.”

  “Thanks.”

  The men turned a corner and approached a narrow stairwell that snaked up through the center of the tower superstructure.

  “After you,” Jack said, holding out his hand.

  Dr. Cain took the steps two at a time, Jack following his lead. They emerged on the center deck and headed past a few doors to the sick bay. Dr. Cain ushered Jack inside, past Chris’s sleeping form, and into his private office. He closed the door behind them.

  Jack cocked his head toward the other room. “How’s he doing?”

  “Much better. I’m going to let him out tomorrow.”

  “Good,” Jack said. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to be on his feet again.”

  “No doubt,” the doctor said. “Something to drink?”

  Jack nodded. “Sure.”

  Cain spun his chair and opened a cabinet behind his desk. Inside, liquor bottles lined the shelves—rum, bourbon, scotch, a veritable bar. He even spotted a half-full bottle of tequila, his favorite. A neat row of tumblers stood ready for service. The bottom shelves were filled with bottles of orange Fanta, Cain’s favorite.

  Jack chuckled. “That’s quite the stash.”

  Dr. Cain shrugged and retrieved two bottles of soda. He closed the cabinet doo
rs and twisted the caps off the bottles. The sharp hiss of escaping carbonation, the sheer normality of the sound, took Jack instantly back to his old life. Visions of his twin daughters flashed in his mind, happy times when he and his wife would allow them to share a soda as a treat. He almost lost his train of thought as memories of a dead life threatened to overwhelm him. He forced the memories into a safe place and accepted the bottle Cain passed him.

  “So what’s up?” Cain asked, then he took a sip of his drink.

  “It’s nothing major,” Jack said, flushing with embarrassment. “It’s… I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately.”

  “Really? For how long?”

  Jack shook his head. “Not long.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not sure what’s going on. My mind never stops, no matter what I do.” He nodded at the liquor cabinet. “I wanted to find out if you had something I could take, you know, to sleep.”

  Dr. Cain set down his drink and got to his feet. He went to a metal locker on the opposite side of the room. An unlocked padlock hung from the handle. The cabinet was full of industrial-sized pill bottles. Most of their supply had come from a raid on an un-looted pharmacy on the outskirts of Galveston a few months earlier. The majority of the drugs had long since passed their expiration dates, but with a little research, Cain had determined which medications were still okay to take. Their supply ranged from insulin to painkillers to anti-psychotics to anti-depressants to heart medicines. Dr. Cain was already researching traditional remedies for the day when the drugs ran out.

  “How much are you drinking?” Dr. Cain asked.

  “Drinking?” Jack said, feigning surprise.

  Dr. Cain fixed Jack in his gaze. “Don’t bullshit me, Jack. I can tell.”

  Jack cursed under his breath. “A little. To sleep, mostly.”

  Dr. Cain took a bottle from the shelf and carried it across the room to a polished metal table. He unscrewed the lid and spilled a few pills onto the surface.

  Jack tried to read the label, but the doctor’s body blocked his view. “What have you got?”

  Cain turned around and offered Jack a plastic baggie. “These are anti-anxiety meds. Take one before you go to bed each night.”

  Jack nodded. “Will this be enough?”

  “Hopefully. If not, we’ll try something else.”

  Jack stuffed the bag in his front pants pocket. He managed a smile. “Thanks.”

  “Is that it? How’s everything else?”

  Jack shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Just getting ready for this trip.”

  The doctor nodded. “The major told me all about it. Sounds like quite the adventure.”

  “Yeah. It should be… interesting.”

  “How so?”

  Jack wiped Fanta from his upper lip. “It’s been a while, you know, since we did something like this.”

  “It has. Does that worry you?”

  Jack shrugged. “A little. Maybe. Yeah.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Cain said, finishing his drink and placing the empty bottle on his desk.

  Jack drained the remainder of his drink and put the empty beside Cain’s. “Not right now.” The last thing he needed was Cain trying to play amateur shrink with his head.

  Cain checked his watch. “Shit! I’m supposed to meet with Marlon in a few minutes. Let me know if you want to talk some more. My door’s always open.”

  Jack got to his feet. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll get out of your hair now.”

  “I don’t mean to rush you out,” Dr. Cain said, standing and moving toward the door. “It’s just…”

  “I understand,” Jack said. He patted his pocket. “Thanks again.”

  Dr. Cain gave him a warm smile. “Keep me posted. I’m serious.”

  “I will.”

  Jack left the room and entered the main sick bay. Chris was awake and talking to Hines, their faces so close their foreheads almost touched. Hines appeared more relaxed.

  “Hey, guys,” Jack said.

  All traces of informality evaporated from Hines’s posture as he got to his feet and stood ramrod straight. “Jack.”

  Jack shook hands with both men. Chris squeezed Jack’s hand so hard Jack let out a surprised yelp. Compared to earlier, Chris looked like a new man. Gone were the pale, lifeless skin and the glassy, doped-up eyes.

  “You certainly seem to be feeling better,” Jack said.

  “I’m out of here tomorrow. So yeah.”

  Hines looked toward Cain’s office. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an appointment.”

  “Sure,” Chris said.

  They kissed quickly, and then Hines stepped into Dr. Cain’s office and closed the door behind him.

  “So,” Chris said, “catch me up. All I know is what Marlon and Dr. Cain have been telling me, which isn’t much. What’s up with this new guy?”

  Jack pulled up a chair and took a seat. “You mean Jeremy?”

  Chris’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, him. What’s his story?”

  Jack told him.

  Eleven

  Gulf Star Oil Platform

  “I’m fine. Honest,” Chris said, grinning. “Not even a headache.” As if to prove his statement, he balled his fist and rapped his knuckles against his skull. “See?”

  Megan winced. “Stop! You’ll hurt yourself!”

  “Seriously. It’s no big deal. I just need to remember next time I jump off a boat to avoid landing on my face.”

  Megan laughed.

  “I’m glad no one was watching,” Chris said. “That certainly wasn’t one of my finest moments.”

  “What the hell happened, anyway? I thought you said you’d jumped from that high before.”

  Chris blushed. “Yeah, about that… I was full of shit.”

  Megan shook her head. “As usual.” She got to her feet and set about collecting the accumulation of personal effects from the table beside Chris’s bed—a stack of tattered magazines, his reading glasses, and a few tattered paperbacks. She shoved them into a cloth duffel bag she had brought with her.

  Chris put his hand on her wrist, stopping her. “Megan. Seriously. You’ve done more than enough already.”

  Megan met his gaze. “No. Let me do this one last thing. Please.”

  Chris released his grip and raised his hands in surrender. “Okay. Okay. You win. After this, we’re back to normal. Like none of this ever happened. Okay?”

  Megan grudgingly agreed. She picked up a well-worn Rubik’s cube and raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “Don’t ask,” Chris said, rolling his eyes.

  Megan smiled and stuffed the toy into the bag. Hoarding mementos from the past was common among the crew of the Gulf Star. Everyone had a talisman from the dead world, something to remind them of what once was. In Megan’s case, she carried the key fob for the car she had abandoned in the desert outside Las Vegas when the nukes had rained down on the dying city.

  Megan offered the bag to Chris. “That’s everything.”

  “Thanks,” Chris said, taking the bag and placing it beside his pillow. He stood, picked up his gun belt from the back of the other chair, and strapped it around his waist. “Much better,” he said, patting the butt of his pistol.

  Megan picked up her coffee mug and took a sip. The coffee, which she had brought with her an hour ago when she had first arrived, had long since gone cold. She screwed up her face in disgust and spit the liquid back into the cup. “Ugh! This is terrible. I need to get some more. Want to head up to the galley with me?”

  Chris shook his head. “Sorry. I promised Marlon I’d stop in as soon as Doc let me out. Later. I promise.”

  “No problem. Hines was in the radio room the last I heard,” Megan offered. “Ben, Jack, and Jeremy went into Galveston this morning to collect some supplies.” She didn’t like withholding information from Chris, but Hines had made his position absolutely clear in their morning meeting. Chris was not leaving the platform anytime soon.

  “Really? Is this for the trip to the safe
zone?”

  Megan looked at Chris in shock.

  “Jack told me last night.” Chris narrowed his eyes. “Wait. Was that supposed to be a secret?”

  Megan blew out an exasperated sigh. “Yeah. That man. You can’t tell him anything.”

  Chris grinned. “Don’t blame him. I overheard Marlon and Dr. Cain talking about it. Jack only filled in the details.” He gestured toward the door. “Ready?”

  As they exited the sick bay and made their way down the hall, Megan filled Chris in on the situation with Jeremy and their plans to sail for Isla Perpetua. When she told Chris she, Jack, and Jeremy would be going, Chris stopped in his tracks.

  “What do you mean, Jeremy? We barely know him.”

  Megan had been afraid of that reaction. “Jeremy lived with these people in Tampa,” she said a little more defensively than she intended. “They’re his real family.”

  “Well, shit,” Chris said. “I wish Marlon had talked to me first.”

  Megan smiled sympathetically. “You do remember the whole concussion thing, don’t you?” She tapped her index finger against her temple.

  “Yeah. Still…”

  “Take it up with Hines. He’s the one calling the shots. But tread carefully. He was a wreck while you were sick.”

  Chris’s face turned beet red. “He doesn’t own me, you know.” He shifted the bag to his other hand. “It’s not like that.”

  Megan softened. “I know.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” Chris said, impatience lacing his voice.

  They reached stairwell leading to the radio room. Chris put his hand on the railing and looked up but didn’t take the first step.

  “You okay?” Megan said.

  Chris let out a forced laugh and put his foot on the first stair tread. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just thinking.” Then, he bounded up the stairs.

  Twelve

  Gulf Star Oil Platform

  Megan sat in the radio room with Chris, trying not to watch the clock.

  The speaker mounted on the shelf over her head crackled. “This is RB-M One calling the Gulf Star. Over.”