by Trimboli, TJ
“Trent, if we get out of here are you going to try again?”
He thought long and hard about how he was going to answer the question but found himself strangely at peace being honest with her. “Yes.”
“Can I join you?”
The door swung open casting the light of the candle into the room.
Trent raised a hand over his eyes sensitive to the sudden brightness of the room. He couldn’t make out the faces of the two staring at him, just the silhouette of their bodies on the walls behind them.
One pulled out a set of keys unlocking the cell. “Good news,” a voice spoke.
From the soft tone, Trent could tell the voice was a woman’s.
“You’re both free to go.”
Trent and his companion stood up dusting themselves off. He was cautious to move. “Just like that?”
The one holding the candle answered, “You will be docked rations for three days and your chores have tripled but yes… just like that.” The man had a scraggly voice, like one who’d smoked since he was a young boy.
“And what about the other thing?”
“The other thing?” the man wondered. “Oh, that. Someone has confessed to the killings, a member of Kendra’s tribe. A sand nigger I think it was. Come, see for yourself. They’re holding his trial in the auditorium.” With that, the two walked off.
The woman beside Trent looked at him. She’d been naked when they were arrested and all these savages had thrown her was a small cut up Megadeth t-shirt, no doubt belonging to the lovely holder of the candle. It exposed her shoulder, revealing what seemed to him an odd birthmark in the shape of Texas. “Shall we?” she asked as she held his hand.
Knocking him out of his trance, he grasped her hand tight and together, they set out to find that sweet nectar he so dreadfully craved.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
BOBBI
It took a minute and a half to fill the auditorium to more than capacity. All had come to witness what was sure to be the defining moment of their lives upon this ship.
Bobbi scanned the rows of people.
Emaciated, they sat, scared and nervous. They bickered amongst themselves waiting for order to be called.
She searched for Trent but he was nowhere to be found.
Children climbed over seats to get a good view of the proceedings, men refused to give up their seats to the old and the sick, a fat man hogging a corner of the room forcing the rest to snuggle up close to one another. The room was so packed, many citizens sat upon the steps up to the stage she stood upon.
The close proximity of them all left her feeling queasy, the stench all boiling the room. She used her shirt to wipe the sweat from her brow. She peered to Valentina, hoping she would call this trial to order and they could get on with it, she needed to get out of this damn room.
Valentina stood, center stage, with Ahmed at her side.
His hands were tied behind his back. He looked strangely at ease, calm even but what unsettled her the most was that he was the only one in the building not breaking a sweat.
Richard & Xao stood to Bobbi’s right patiently waiting.
“What is she waiting for? It’s a thousand degree’s in here. We’re going to start dropping like flies if we don’t get on with it soon. The man already confessed, pass down the sentence and let’s be done with it.”
Xao said something in his native Chinese.
“English, Xao,” she urged.
“He said, Endurance is the crowning quality, and patience all the passion of great hearts,” Richard explained.
Bobbi searched once more for Trent. She was sure he would show. Didn’t he want to see the face of the man that pinned these crimes on him? Looking around, she realized that she also couldn’t find the woman he was imprisoned with.
Could they be fucking still? She tried not to jump to conclusions but the evidence lay right in front of her. She assumed they were. What difference does it make? I didn’t prove his innocence to win him back. I owed him and now we’re even.
“Aren’t you curious as to the meaning of Xao’s words?”
Richard’s voice snapped her out of her trance. Bobbi shook her head. “Fuck patience.” She strode over to Valentina. “Are we waiting for an invitation here or what?” Valentina looked at her but said nothing.
The crowd had died down enough that they heard the back doors squeak open. They turned to see Kendra enter with her denizens of the robe clan. They forced their way into the back of the auditorium with ease, no one wanted to get in their way.
So many strolled in, Bobbi thought the line would never end but after a minute or so, it did.
The doors shut and the crowd went silent. All eyes were on the council.
Bobbi met Kendra’s fiery eyes glaring at her.
Valentina stepped forward clearing her throat. “It’s been quite some time since we have all been in the same room together. We’ve been through a lot in our short tenure on this ship, we’ve all lost loved ones, we’ve all grown to know the true meaning of the word hunger. And we’ve all had to make sacrifices for the good of our future but that’s why the Captain made this council before his untimely demise…so we would be able to meet and overcome those challenges the future had in store for us. However, there are those of you who’d see us fail, those of you who like to do as they please. To steal, rape, and murder at a whim. We will not stand for that, I will not stand for that. We have many more steps to take to get out of this storm and us murdering each other puts us in the wrong direction. Tonight, we put us back on course.” She turned to
Bobbi. “Bring him forward.”
Bobbi latched onto Ahmed’s arm walking him next to Valentina at the edge of the stage. The commotion from the crowd grew. Some booed, many whispered to their neighbor, others spewed obscenities.
The only ones to remain silent and rigid as a board were Kendra and her clan.
Valentina raised her hand. “People, PEOPLE!” she shouted.
The crowd quieted down.
“This man comes before us to confess his crimes.” Valentina took a step back giving Ahmed the floor.
He quickly glanced at Kendra before he began, “I am the murderer that you have been searching for. I killed them all. The captain, your loved ones, the priest most recently.”
The crowd grew restless. They bickered loudly amongst each other, instigating each other into a frenzy.
“ORDER!” Valentina screamed.
Many died down their chatter but most of the crowd grew restless.
“I committed these murders for the good of the future, much like Valentina spoke of. We have many more steps to take if we are to shed the old world and it is up to each and every one of you to help see it through. The old world is dead, the captain, the priest, this council, they are old world mechanisms that have no place in the new world. They are corrupt, they are obsolete, they no longer work, they—”
“That’s enough,” Valentina said as she approached Ahmed.
He stopped talking.
Bobbi caught him look at Kendra and could swear she saw her nod her head in approval.
Valentina handed Ahmed off to her before she could make anything of it.
“People, people! Please!” She said.
The crowd quieted for her sentence.
“Ahmed Qasim has confessed to the murders of seven people aboard this ship. For that, we charge him guilty of seven counts of first degree murder. He will spend the rest of his life down in the cell as punishment for his crime. He will be given no parole, and only receive one square portion of food a day.”
At this announcement, the crowd launched into an angry tirade. Citizen after citizen screamed and yelled, no one could make out anything anyone said.
“People, People! Please. One at a time,” Valentina shouted.
A short, pudgy white man stood up. He was caked head to toe in grime. A bottom dweller if she ever saw one. “How can that be fair? He’s only getting one meal less than us and he murdered s
even people on this ship. What happened to an eye for an eye?” “It left the world blind,” Richard mumbled from behind her.
A tall, lanky woman in the far right corner stood up, she held a baby in her arm. “What happens down the road? That cell can hold what, two to three people tops? What if other people get it in their heads to commit murder? Where are we going to store all these people? There needs to be consequences to people’s destructive actions on this ship. We’re supposed to be looking out for one another. You four are supposed to make sure that we are safe, you need to set a precedent that these kind of actions won’t be tolerated.”
“What would you have us do?” Valentina asked them.
Bobbi grew anxious. They were veering down a dangerous road, giving the masses too much of an opinion could steer things down a dark course.
No sooner had she thought the worst when a short fat man stood up. “That man should be hung for his crimes.”
Many of the crowd cheered in agreement with the fat man. The few that didn’t were too meek to stand up and object.
Down the rabbit hole. Bobbi rolled her eyes.
“We are not murderers.” Valentina told the crowd.
However, they were no longer listening. They spoke to each other as if the council were no longer an issue.
The fat man continued, “It wouldn’t be murder, it would be justice. In the old west, men like him were gunslingers and outlaws, men like him when they were caught were hung until dead as a consequence for their crimes against the state. This ship is our town and that man seeks to destroy our town. Anything less than a hanging is spitting in the face of our dead.” Cheers from the crowd grew.
“I’m with the fat man. Hang him!”
“HANG HIM!”
“String him up till he’s dead!”
The crowd had worked itself into a frenzy. They were up and moving before anyone knew what to do. Kids, were trampled, women knocked from their seats as the men marched in unison towards Ahmed.
“Bobbi, get him out of here, now!” Valentina shouted.
Bobbi reached for Ahmed but the crowd was faster. They pulled him from the stage carrying him into the middle of the auditorium. Above them rested a low hanging beam that ran the length of the room. Bobbi lost Ahmed in the sea of people pushing him towards their destination. No one noticed until the fat man threw a rope over the beam that the crowd had fashioned a noose. The fat man wrapped the rope around Ahmed’s neck. They pulled it till it was tight preparing to pull him to the sky. As the fat man pulled on the rope lifting Ahmed up, a shot rung out in the building. Everyone ducked and dodged out of the way of fire. The fat man let go of the rope.
Ahmed fell to the ground safe, for the time being.
Everyone turned to see Bobbi in the middle of the crowd holding the revolver towards the ceiling. Smoke filtered from the muzzle.
Valentina appeared beside Bobbi. “That’s enough. You’ve all made your point but this has gone too far.”
A raggedy bearded man stood on the outset of the circle Bobbi had formed. “We can go so much further, just watch us if you don’t make the right call here. This man deserves to die for his crimes. If there is no accountability, then why are any of us following the rules? Why don’t the rest of us take a cue from this man and instill a little of our brand of order?”
“That man is under our custody,” Bobbi said. “We are the law here and so long as we are the law, you will do and obey our orders.”
The bearded man scoffed. “You think you have any order? What can you do? There are dozens of us and only four of you and you have what, seven bullets, at most in that gun?” The man looked at the people around him. “She can’t stop all of us.” He charged at Bobbi.
Without hesitation, she pointed her gun at him shooting the man dead between the eyes.
He collapsed to the ground.
No one else made a move.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Valentina shouted. She looked over the crowd around her.
The young woman from earlier with the baby nestled in her arm approached. “Think of the children. Until we make it off this boat, we need a safe and secure homestead for these kids, our kids. Their safety is paramount.”
Bobbi could see the torment welling up in Valentina’s eyes. She’d lost more than anyone really knew during the night riot. So much so, she questioned how Valentina would have the fortitude to lead but her concerns were quickly assuaged. The night riot changed her, made her cold and weary enough to get shit done, but she still wasn’t heartless.
Valentina looked back at Richard.
He nodded his head.
Valentina turned back to the crowd or more specifically, her.
Their eyes met and she knew what Valentina was asking her. Bobbi shook her head. No, I won’t allow it. She could see in Valentina’s eyes that she wasn’t asking.
“Ahmed Qasim will hang for his crimes,” Valentina announced.
The crowd cheered. They sounded less like a civilized society and more like a group of drunk twenty year olds at a wrestling event.
Bobbi approached Valentina. “This isn’t right.”
“No, it’s not but this is the world we live in now. Ahmed was right about one thing. The old world is dead and we need to create a new one. So that’s what I’m doing.” “I won’t be a part of this. I made a promise to save lives, not help end them.” Valentina stepped aside to show the corpse of the man she had just shot dead.
“That was different. That was self defense,” Bobbi remarked.
“And this is self perseverance.” Valentina strode past her to Ahmed. She checked the noose against his neck before stepping back. She nodded to the fat man.
The smile on his face as he pulled on the rope made Bobbi sick to her stomach. She turned away, not able to watch. She peered at Richard who watched from the stage. He met her eyes before looking away ashamed, at least she hoped that was what he was feeling. She forced herself to look back at Ahmed. The crowd cheered as he was lifted to the ceiling. His legs kicked, his body squirmed, but there would be no escaping his fate. His neck bulged against the rope, his eyes widening as he no doubt came to terms with the fact his life would shortly be over. The crowd cheered without remorse. Blood lust inhabited each of their eyes.
She couldn’t take it any longer. She pulled out her revolver aiming at Ahmed’s head. She pulled the trigger and Ahmed’s body went limp.
The crowd went silent, robbed of their climax.
“It’s done,” Valentina said. “Everyone return to your bunks. Tomorrow begins the next chapter in our lives, getting off this ghost ship.” She sauntered off.
The crowd slowly dispersed.
Bobbi stared at Ahmed’s lifeless corpse swinging back and forth like a pendulum. The man was a murderer, yet she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
A sense of dread fell over her as if just realizing now, who it was they just killed. How will we break this to Morris when he returns? How is he going to react? She peered around the empty room stunned to see Kendra, still seated, in the back of the room.
She stared back at Bobbi, with a wicked grin as if she just pulled one over on her.
Bobbi couldn’t help but think that it was true, that somehow, someway, she’d been played. After all, it seemed way too easy how quickly they had discovered the Eucharist in Kendra’s room and how easily she gave up Ahmed’s name. It all stunk of a set up but how could it be? She refused to believe that an innocent man would willingly admit to the murders of seven individuals, fully knowing the punishment that would await him. He had to be the killer.
Kendra rose exiting the auditorium leaving Bobbi alone with her thoughts, of which she only had one. She thumbed the release latch on her revolver showcasing the chamber. There was only one bullet left.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
BOBBI
She slammed her door shut. No sooner had she set her gun down did she break into hysterics. She didn’t mean to cry but the overwhelming urge to, became too strong to resi
st. She made her way through the dark to her bed collapsing into her pillow sobbing.
THUMP! THUMP!
Someone was at the door.
Bobbi made no move to answer. The door opened and candle light flickered illuminating the room. Bobbi rolled over to see Becky approach.
“I got nervous when you didn’t show,” Becky said.
In all the craziness that happened tonight, she’d forgotten to check in on Becky before turning in. “I’m sorry Becky, it’s been quite an eventful night.”
“I heard what happened. Do you want to talk about it?” Becky sat down at the edge of the bed.
Bobbi sat up next to her. She said nothing, just buried her head in Becky’s shoulder mewling.
Becky set the candle down on the table beside the bed. She embraced Bobbi rubbing the back of her head. “It’s okay. Let it all out.”
“It’s not supposed to be like this. This isn’t supposed to be the lives we’re meant to live. I don’t even know how to be myself anymore. The things I saw tonight, it terrified me to my very core. How am I supposed to be the protector of all this? Why me?” She bellowed.
Becky softly pet Bobbi’s hair. It was the first soothing, warm touch she had felt since her first night spent with Trent on this god forsaken ship. It felt good. She’d forgotten just how good it could feel.
“You’ll protect us all because that’s what you do,” Becky said. “It’s what you’ve always done. On the force and on this ship. You’re a survivor, you’re strong willed, and have the discipline to do it. No one else on this ship can protect us but you.”
“Trent could.”
Becky scoffed. “If he could then he’d be doing it right now. You’re the only one and despite what happened tonight, you’re exceeding our every expectations. Don’t beat yourself up over tonight. It’s not your fault he was a murderer or that this is the way the world has turned out. You make do with what you got and never mind the speed bumps. We’ll get there.”
She still didn’t feel right about tonight’s proceedings but Becky’s soothing touch and gentle voice helped settle her down. Bobbi sat upright as Becky wiped away the tears from her face. They stared into each other’s eyes. Before Bobbi knew what was happening, Becky leaned in kissing her on the lips.