Adrift

by Trimboli, TJ

  Bobbi pulled back.

  Becky jumped off the bed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. Stupid Becky, what were you thinking?” She cried out. She turned away from Bobbi sobbing.

  “You don’t have to apologize. You just startled me is all,” Bobbi said.

  “I do. It’s just—I’ve never been so lonely in my life. Ever since Tina died, there has been a void in my heart. To not feel the warmth or touch of anyone anymore is heartbreaking for me. My body aches that I no longer can feel even the tiniest bit of affection anymore.” Becky moaned. She stood in the center of the room with her back to Bobbi. She sniffled.

  Bobbi got off the bed walking towards Becky. She softly caressed the back of her arm with her fingers. They hadn’t been able to shower in days, yet her skin felt as soft as a new born child’s. She never thought about being with a woman before but she missed the warmth and touch of another human being just as much as Becky did. Bobbi placed her hand on Becky’s stomach feeling her heartbeat racing.

  Becky slowly spun around, their faces mere inches from each other. Becky wet her lips moving in for the kill.

  Their lips touched and all Bobbi’s troubles seemed to melt away. She was lost in the sea of tranquility, the warmth rushing through her body leaving her weak in the knees. This had nothing to do with sex for her and everything to do with comfort. Something collided with the dresser behind them and they broke the kiss. Bobbi peered over to see Joe standing in the doorway.

  He was picking up the makeup kit he had knocked over. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.

  I’ll go.” He shut the door.

  “I’ll be right back.” Bobbi raced to catch up to him. She caught him down the darkened hallway. “Joe, stop. Hold up! Would you wait a minute!” she shouted.

  Finally, he stopped turning back to her. “You know, when you told me you weren’t ready for anything serious, you could have just told me about you and Becky. You didn’t have to lie and make up some lame ass excuse to spare my feelings.”

  “It’s not like that. She just needed a friend.”

  “Sure, she did. Don’t worry Bobbi. I read you loud and clear.” Joe stormed off.

  Bobbi made no move to stop him. In all honesty, she felt glad to be rid of his affection. She felt for the guy, they’d been through a lot together during the night riot but she never saw a future with the man, and his puppy dog love for her was a distraction she needed to sever ties with.

  Still, there was a better way for it to go down. She made her way back into her room.

  Becky had collected her candle, waiting for Bobbi at the door. “I should get back to my room.”

  “No. Stay with me tonight, please. I don’t want to be alone,” Bobbi said.

  “I don’t either.”

  They slipped inside the room, into bed, and blew out the candle. Bobbi cuddled Becky in her arms and they drifted off to sleep. For once, she had no nightmares, no premonitions, nothing dragging her back to land. She slept like a dog that had spent all day swimming in a pool. She awoke just before dawn, not that she could tell from in her room, and set out for a run. She slipped out of the bed careful not to wake Becky. She strapped her gun to her waist and set off for the main deck. On the way up, she thought about the hanging. She didn’t know if it was the sleep or the warmth she finally felt again after feeling so hollow but she felt at ease with Ahmed’s passing.

  He shouldn’t have killed all those people. He forced our hand.

  She had made a promise to save people’s lives when she joined the force and at the time she felt hanging Ahmed was betraying that promise but in truth she thought about all the people on this ship that would be safe now that Ahmed was no longer an issue. She had kept her promise.

  If one killer had to die to protect the lives of hundreds of people, then so be it. She rationalized.

  She reached the main deck. Outside, it was a foggy morning but the humidity was already almost unbearable. She set her pace circling the aft of the ship. For the first time, she found herself in a rather cheerful mood, excited for what the future would bring. They had brought the murderer to justice, Trent was now free and soon, she would seek him out and offer him an out, and they would learn once and for all what happened back on land, if there was any land to go back to. But one way or another, they would find a definitive answer.

  Nothing can stop us now.

  She rounded the aft of the ship coming back towards the pool deck.

  A group of people congregated around the entrance to the kitchens.

  She slowed down, there were too many to be able to run around. The crowd murmured amongst themselves. An uneasy feeling crept into her stomach. She forced her way through the group. She pushed and shoved but it took what felt like years to permeate the gathering. She slipped through finally, horrified to discover a woman crucified to the doors of the kitchen. Her throat had been slit, the blood pooling around her feet. Her body had been shaved head to toe, just like the priest. The woman’s eyes were open and she could still she the fear in them. She wanted to close them but feared traversing through the ocean of blood around her corpse. The body had been cut up in multiple places. The most vicious of the cuts was over her left shoulder just beside a birthmark that was shaped like the state of Texas.

  FIRST INTERLUDE

  ALL AROUND THE WORLD

  JAPAN

  Luke woke up at the ass crack of dawn ready and rearing to go. His parents and sister still lay asleep in their beds but he felt too excited to sleep any longer. They’d spent the past two weeks of their vacation sightseeing, saving the best for last and today, was finally the day. They were going to Tokyo Disneyland. Ever since he learned of his father’s intentions to bring his family to Japan, Luke pushed for Disney. He was obsessed and nothing short of a two day experience there, before heading home and back to school would satiate his obsession.

  He opened up the blinds hoping to be greeted by a bright, sunny day, hampered to discover it was cloudy and overcast. The boy was determined to not let this dampen his spirits. Off in the distance, smoke rose from a group of buildings. The boy paid it no mind turning to his clothes on the chair. He dressed himself in his khaki’s and Mickey Mouse tee shirt then brushed his teeth. He attempted to tie his shoes but had yet to master the art. He gave up after the fourth try and simply waited.

  His father woke first, not surprised in the least to find Luke sitting at the table waiting patiently. “Get any sleep little guy?”

  The boy smiled as he nodded his head.

  “Excited about today, aren’t you?”

  “I can’t wait daddy! I’m gonna get Mickey ears and one of those books that they can sign and I’m gonna do all the rides and not chicken out like last time and WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY!” The boy shouted, unable to contain his excitement.

  His mother sat upright in bed looking for the cause of the commotion. She saw her son jumping around the room. She laid back down exhausted. “Is it time already?” She yawned.

  His father laughed with the boy. “Let me shower son and we’ll get a move on. You know, I can still remember my first trip to Disneyland like it was yesterday. One of the greatest days of my life. You’re going to love it. A day you’ll never forget.”

  A sound Luke had never heard before blared outside. He covered his ears cowering in fear. It sounded haunting, terrifying even. It made every hair on his body stand up.

  His father walked past him to the window peering out.

  Luke ran to his mother.

  She scooped him up in her arms soothing him with her voice.

  His sister finally awoke, confused and groggy. “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Tim, do you see anything?” his mother asked.

  “There’s some smoke in the distance. Maybe a fire, there’s nothing spewing from the volcano though, so we can rule that out.” “An earthquake?” she asked.

  Luke had heard of those before. They talked about them in school, they made the ground shake, and
you were supposed to hide underneath your desks if one ever happened. None had in his lifetime so far.

  “No. If it was bad enough for the siren to go off, we would have felt it.” Tim left the window, grabbing the remote. Turning the TV on, he changed to the news.

  Luke tried his best to pay attention but he couldn’t understand many of the big words the man on the television set used. He took his parents facial expressions of horror as a sign that it wasn’t good. “Mommy, I’m scared.”

  “It’s alright sweet pea. Everything is going to be all right.” She comforted him.

  “Stay here,” his father said. “I’m going to head down to the lobby to see if anyone has any other information.”

  “Tim, are you sure? What if they’re out there?” she questioned.

  Luke wondered who they would be. “You heard the man. Japan is one of the few places not to be affected. The siren could just be a warning of what’s going on in the rest of the world. I’ll be right back, don’t open any windows.”

  Luke brushed up against his mom, terrified to let go. His father left and there was no telling when he would be back. “Does this mean we’re not going to Disney?”

  “For now sweetie. There’s been an attack in other parts of the world and we’re going to stay here where its safe for the time being, until everything is smoothed over. As soon as that is, we will head straight to Disney, how does that sound?” “I want to go home.” Luke cried.

  “I know baby. Soon.” She kissed his forehead, it always made him feel better. “Luke, I need you to be a big boy and sit here on the bed so Mommy can get dressed, can you do that for me?” Luke nodded his head and slid off his mother taking solace under the comforter.

  His mom disappeared into the bathroom.

  His sister sat staring at the television set. A tear rolled down her cheek.

  Luke had yet to truly develop a sense of time and though it had only been five minutes, he felt like his dad had been gone for ages. He worried that his father would never return.

  His mother came out of the bathroom in a mad scramble to find her shoes.

  “They’re all gone.” His sister cried. “Kathy, Cindy, Jackie, Jeremy, all my friends.”

  His mother grabbed the remote turning the TV off. “Listen to me Anna. You don’t know that.

  Don’t think too much about it or you’ll scare yourself sick. For all we know—”

  THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

  The knock at the door was so ferocious, Luke thought the door would come off at the hinges. Luke and Anna screamed.

  “Tim?” his mother asked.

  The siren went off again, this one louder than the last. It felt like it was right outside the window.

  Luke ran behind his mother.

  “Tim? You’re scaring us!” she shouted.

  This time a voice replied, “Lady, let me in! Please, my name is Kyle. I’m only seventeen.

  Let me in! I don’t want to die. Please! Don’t let them kill me! They’re coming!” Kyle screamed.

  His mother pulled him and Anna into her arms and backed as far away from the door as she could.

  Luke grew so frightened, he vomited.

  “That’s okay sweetie. Shhh.” She held him tight.

  The pounding on the door was louder and more ferocious. The kid continued screaming about they, whoever they were, until suddenly, it ceased all together.

  Luke was shaking.

  His mother let go of him slowly making her way towards the door.

  “Mommy, don’t!” Anna yelled.

  “SHHHH!” His mother said. She plodded towards the door. He watched her place her eye over the peep hole. Whatever she saw was enough to make his mother puke, something he’d never seen a grown up do before. She backed away from the door but a hand crashed through grabbing her. It slashed at her body and face. She screamed, unable to break free. Debris jettisoned from the door. A piece of which jammed itself into his mother’s throat. She gurgled, blood seeping out onto the floor. Three more hands broke through the door, each one redder than the last.

  Arms pulled his mother into the door destroying it in the process. She collapsed into the hall as dozens of people landed on top of her. Her screams were agonizing.

  Luke ran towards his mother but Anna grabbed him pulling him back.

  A figure stepped into the doorway sniffing the air around him. Blood dripped from his body, his clothes shredded like the hulk’s. Half his face was torn off but the man was unmistakable. It was their father.

  Luke broke free of his sister and ran for him.

  The man once known as Tim saw the boy approach. He licked his lips and lunged.

  VIRGINIA

  Acid is a hell of a drug, don’t let anyone fool you. Kevin was three hours into his trip and was peaking unbelievably hard. He strolled the rows of tents searching for his, unable to find even the slightest resemblance to his abode. He struggled to even remember where he just came from. He could recall taking the acid around noon during Umphrey’s McGee daytime set. They’d just finished a jaw dropping version of bridgeless into his personal favorite song, No Diablo when the acid took hold. It was so strong he had to excuse himself from his friends and go find a tree to lay under for a hot minute. He didn’t know what it was but anytime he was tripping too hard, all he had to do was lie under a tree staring up at the branches and leaves to settle him down.

  That was hours ago…I think.

  He’d been so caught up in the majesty of such a beautiful day that he never even paused to consider it odd how there was no one to be seen. No matter how many bands were playing at a given time, there was always a few stay behinds who’d rather drink and do drugs at their tent than set out to any one of the six stages at the festival. All he could think of was the near perfect shape every cloud in the sky made, the cool rustle of the wind at his back, or how sensational the feel of the grass was on his bare feet. He continued his journey for his tent heading towards the Ferris wheel.

  That looks familiar. I remember being near rides.

  He strolled towards the hulking machine saddened to find no one nearby. Acid can play wonderfully toxic mind games and it was putting Kevin through the ringer. The sorrow he felt at being alone was like nothing he’d ever felt before, the closest thing he could think of was the loss of his grandmother a few months prior.

  Where is everybody?

  In the distance, he heard a young woman’s bone-chilling scream followed by what sounded to him like, the buzzing of bees. It terrified him. A mood can change in an instant on acid and Kevin’s was taking a sour turn. All at once, he no longer felt the sun’s radiant warmth, the soft prickly touch of the grass, or the cool breeze nipping at his neck. Instead, he saw the omnipresent dark clouds swallow the sun whole. He looked away to the grass watching the green foliage turn crusty brown as it withered and died. The breeze cut at his back like shards of ice digging into his spine.

  He ran, but it didn’t matter where.

  Every tent he came upon lay empty. The wind howled behind him, it finally dawned on him that he heard no music coming from anywhere in the campground, something virtually impossible for this time of day. He tripped on a rock tumbling into the base of the Ferris wheel.

  He brushed himself up against it, looking out to the campground around him.

  Think Kevin. Where could everybody have gone? Everything you’re seeing is just the drug.

  Maybe, there’s a shelter everyone went to. Those clouds looked an awful lot like storm clouds. He looked up at the clouds and the towering Ferris wheel above him. It had to stand forty feet high at least.

  I bet I could see people from up there.

  His good mood returned to him as he made his way up the steps to the carts on the Ferris wheel. There was no operator, nor any set of keys on the control panel to start the ride up. He looked around, sweat glistening on his brow. He needed answers. He reached up grabbing the steel support beams and began his climb. Step by step, he made his way to the top, never even paus
ing to look inside any of the cars stationed around him. If he had, maybe he never would have made the climb but acid had a way of tricking a person into thinking they can do even the craziest of things, like climb a forty foot Ferris wheel and live to tell the tale.

  Kevin latched onto the top beam pulling himself into the car nestled there. He fell onto the floor struggling to catch his breath. All the nachos, ™Budweiser’s and psychedelics over the years hadn’t been kind to his figure. He peered around.

  In the corner of the car sat a young woman.

  Is she the one who screamed?

  She had cuts and gashes all over her arms and legs. Her head lay slumped over showing bruises around her throat.

  Kevin got up hesitant to approach her. “Miss?” he asked as he reached out to tap her shoulder. He managed to do so and her head tipped forward staring at the ground. At first, he thought he saw beads of sweat dripping from her face but upon closer inspection, he realized they were pieces of her face melting off like wax against a flame.

  Aghast, Kevin fell back against the seat opposite her. The car rocked back, the body falling over into Kevin’s arms. He screamed his voice hoarse, her face melting onto his clothes leaving nothing but skull and ventricles to identify her. He slid her off, shutting his eyes. His breathing had grown so labored, he felt he would soon pass out.

  “It’s just the drugs. It’s just the drugs. It is just the DRUGS!” He bellowed repeatedly. He opened his eyes to discover the young woman back in her original location just as he’d found her. Her scratch marks remained but her face lay intact. Kevin let out the largest breath of relief he ever had.

  I’m never taking acid again.

  He stood up looking out over the campsite. The tents stretched on for miles only broken up by the stages that surrounded them for music. The stages were too far away to see but he was almost sure he saw bands playing.