by John Darling
Chapter Thirty-Nine: An Unhealthy Cruise
Liz returned a few hours later after she had finished her shift. I could feel us moving side to side with the waves and I could already tell that Jemma was going to be seasick. Her face was turning a shade of green and she looked like she was going to puke. The ship’s movement didn’t faze me but I was concerned since Jemma already had a heap of issues right now. Thankfully Liz had brought back some more water and crackers which helped settle down Jemma’s stomach as well as bring her face back to a normal shade. Liz also informed us that no one on the bridge was suspicious of any stowaways on board, so for right now we were safe.
“All right, so as of right now no one knows that you two are here and we need to do everything we can to keep it that way. I still can’t believe you’re here, Trevor. Where the hell have you been? We all missed you so much back at the Academy.”
Liz’s curiosity was already putting me in a very tight spot. I couldn’t tell the truth to Liz as to where I had been for the last six months, and that we had just now been fighting zombies in the desert. I felt horrible lying to someone that I had been close with, but there was nothing else I could do for right now.
Liz helped Jemma onto the bed and offered to take the couch while we stayed on board. Jemma rejected her offer at first and then agreed to move once Liz insisted. I took the shredded clothes off of her wound and replaced them with clean towels. While I tended to Jemma, it hit me that we might be cooped up in this tiny room for at least a few days. I thanked Liz again for her immense hospitality and tried to make Jemma as comfortable as I could for the time being. If we were going to make it off this ship, I would have to keep the girls happy.
“Well, I had to leave school because I got asked to join this other military group. It’s much different than Kings Point, to say the least.”
Jemma cut in before Liz could ask me another question: “So Liz, what exactly is your job on here?”
I smiled and realized that this was probably Jemma’s first time on a merchant ship. I remembered my first time on a ship. Everything and everyone seemed completely foreign, so I understood what she was thinking right now.
“Well right now I’m the Deck Cadet. My job is basically to assist the captain and the other deck officers with whatever they need. I mainly stand watches on the bridge and help with navigating the ship but I’ve been asked to do everything from make coffee to clean toilets. It’s not the most glorious job, but it has its perks. We do get paid a little bit and we get to see parts of the world that most people never get to visit at our age. So far I’ve been to ten different countries. Right now we’re on our way back to the U.S. Oh, by the way, where do I need to sneak you two off?”
I hadn’t really thought about getting off the ship yet. It had taken a lot of effort to get here, more than Liz would ever know. That being said, the next course of action was to plan out our departure, so now was as good a time as any to discuss that.
“Which port is next? We do need to get off as soon as possible to get Jemma some medical attention for her leg.”
Jemma slowly peeled back the towels around her leg despite my advice not to. Its black and bloody color revealed itself and she quickly covered it back up. The color, however, wasn’t what was concerning me. As soon as Jemma peeled back the layers, she started letting out noises from the pain. Liz begged her to stop making noise.
“OK, well, we definitely need to clean that up. I’ll run down to the hospital and see what I can get for you. Our next port is Algeciras, Spain. We’ll be there in about a week. Can you hold out until then? I’ll do my best to get you any supplies we have but your leg doesn’t look good at all. What the heck happened to you guys?”
That was the question I had been trying to avoid. Jemma immediately looked at me and her eyes got huge. I know that we couldn’t tell Liz the truth. We had been sworn to secrecy and I had already dug myself a hole with S.T.O.R.M. by saving Jemma. The last thing I needed to do was make things worse for myself. I felt horrible keeping the truth from her since Liz had been a great friend and one of my favorite people at the Academy. However, there was just too much at stake. Keeping Liz off my back was going to be challenging, since she was very smart and could tell when I was lying. Whatever lies I told her had to be convincing.
“Jemma and I are part of a secret special forces team that fights terrorists. We were just attacked near an enemy base and Jemma got shot. We missed our ride out of the country and got left behind. We were instructed to find our own way back to base. I’m not sure if we have a base in Spain but if we get off the ship there, I’m sure we can find our way back to our team.”
Liz accepted my story and didn’t ask any further questions. She left the room to get some medical supplies and returned a few minutes later with some rubbing alcohol, bandages, and gauze. We unwrapped Jemma’s leg and cleaned it as best as we could. The wound was deep and I could tell exactly where the infected person had bitten her since the teeth marks were clearly defined in Jemma’s skin. I quickly covered up the wound with gauze before Liz saw the bite marks. We didn’t have much time to work with since Jemma cringed from all of the pain. Seeing her hurting this much and not being able to do anything about it was killing me. This was going to be a tough week to get through.
After a few more minutes of small talk, Liz announced that she had to go to bed because her next shift started in a few hours. We went over the rules again to make sure everybody was on the same page. Jemma and I could not leave the room for any reason, which is fine because the room had a bathroom, shower, and TV in it. We also couldn’t make any loud noises and most importantly, we have to keep the shades to the two windows closed at all times so none of the crew members walking around on deck could see us. Overall, they were pretty basic rules to follow but the consequences could be astronomical if something went wrong.
Although I had concerns, the next few days went rather well. Liz went above and beyond to keep Jemma and me as comfortable as possible. She was constantly bringing us food and fresh towels for showering. She also brought us new movies to watch on her computer, and books to read from the ship’s library every few hours, which helped pass the time. The only thing Liz asked for in return was that we stayed quiet while she slept. It was more than a fair request and we did our best to honor it. The only noises we made were random coughs and unpreventable sneezes, none of which woke her up. It really wasn’t hard keeping Liz happy. As for Jemma, well, that was a different story.
Every few hours or so Jemma got a huge rush of pain throughout her body. Whenever it happened, I’d run over to her and give her my hands to squeeze until the pain passed. Unfortunately, as the days went on, the pain sequences became more frequent and more intense. While we weren’t eating or watching a movie, I tried to start conversations on different subjects to take her mind away from the predicament we were in. Most of the topics I brought up all had positive vibes, and I had even brought up some stories from my past where funny things had happened. I thought of anything that could possibly make her smile or laugh.
However, just about all of my efforts failed and nothing seemed to make her happy. I couldn’t pretend to know how she was feeling since I was not the one who had been bitten by a zombie, on the verge of potentially turning into one at any moment. She asked that we talk less about random subjects and focus on coming in with a plan for when we reached land again. We were scheduled to arrive in Algeciras on Saturday.
I had no idea what we were going to do once we got ashore. I’d never been to Algeciras and didn’t know if there were any S.T.O.R.M. bases nearby. If I’d had a way to access the servers or call another Stormer with my V-pod things would have been much easier. Then again, we’d made it this far with limited information and I had a hunch that we could find a way to get Jemma medical attention as well. Liz told me that she had a way in mind to sneak us off the ship and even offered to pack up some bags of supplies for us in case it took a day or two for us to find a hospital. I graciousl
y accepted her offer and thanked her once again for all of her help.
* * *
Thursday and Friday flew by as Jemma and I watched three seasons of a TV show called ‘Big Bang Theory’. Saturday would be the big day and we were going to need as much rest as possible in order for everything to go smoothly.
The three of us went over the escape plan several times and Liz even used one of the ship’s computers to look up where the closest hospital would be. Liz brought us dinner as usual after everyone had cleared out of the galley and we enjoyed our last meal together.
We’d grown close these past six days and I could not have been more grateful for my luck in getting onto a ship with one of my friends on it. I took the last of the gauze and cleaned Jemma’s wound one more time before wrapping it up for good. This job would have to hold and she would going to have to push through the pain so we could get out of here as discreetly as we had boarded.
I turned off the lights and said good night as Jemma got comfortable on the bed and Liz took the couch. I had spent the first two nights on the floor until Liz had been able to sneak in a mattress from one of the empty rooms down the hall. It was currently at the foot of the bed and I nestled myself under the covers in anticipation of some rest.
* * *
Several hours later, the door flew open, making a loud thud as it slammed against the bulkhead. The lights came on and Liz tossed orange jumpsuits at Jemma and me.
“Wake up, guys! Cargo operations are almost complete and we need to get you guys out of here! There are tons of people walking around so instead of throwing you guys in a trunk, were going to have to change the plan up a bit.”
As I opened up my eyes and tried to figure out what time it was, Liz rummaged through her locker. She pulled out two hard hats and two backpacks.
“C’mon guys we gotta go! Our window is small and you’re both going to have to blend in if you want to get out of here. I apologize for not waking you sooner but we had a surprise Port State Inspection.”
I quickly snapped out of my drowsy haze when I read the numbers “03:30 AM” on the tiny alarm clock across the room. I hadn’t thought we would be pulling in until later this morning but things must have changed. There was no time to question why and I put the orange jumpsuit on. Jemma awoke and I urged her to move as quickly as possible. I asked Liz more about the new plan as we got ready.
“You’re both going to have to disguise yourselves as longshoremen. That’s why I snagged those jumpsuits. Both of you are going to drive a vehicle off the stern ramp as if your discharging one of the cars for real. From there, you guys can catch a ride to the front gate of the terminal. Once you’re at the gate, you can request a taxi to take you downtown to the hospital. Also, take this.”
Liz handed me an envelope full of cash as Jemma finished putting on her suit.
“In case you run into any trouble, just throw down some money. I haven’t spent a lot of time in Europe, however, I learned that if you toss around a few Euros nobody says a thing. Anyway, we need to go now. Our window of opportunity is closing.”
I gathered up our belongings and shoved the envelope full of money into my back pocket. Jemma put out her hand and she leaned on me as we left the room. After spending a week in that tiny room, it felt good to leave it.
Liz closed the door behind us and we started moving down the main hallway. We made it a few steps but I had to stop suddenly as Jemma fell to the ground and screamed out in pain. Liz quickly rushed us back into the room and I helped Jemma onto the couch.
“Trevor, we do not have time for this! I know she is hurt but we need to go now. There aren’t that many cars left that need to be discharged.”
I told Liz to chill out for a minute even though she did appreciate my comment. This was the worst episode of pain I had ever seen Jemma go through. She was crying and we would not make it very far with her in this state. Liz said that we only had two minutes to get ourselves together again, otherwise we would have to wait until the next port. That may have been a good idea but I was concerned that Jemma didn’t have until the next port. I knelt down, grabbed both of Jemma’s hands and looked right into her watery brown eyes.
“Trevor, it hurts so bad, I can barely move. I’m not going to be able to do this.”
“Stop. Stop this right now. You are stronger than this. I know it hurts but we have to go now. Look at me.”
She clenched her leg again and continued to look down. I shouted at her again; “Look at me!” This time, she looked up immediately.
“This is just you and me. We’re going to make it. We’re going to get you to a hospital and you’re going to get better. But right now, I need you fight this. You can lean on me the entire time, but we need to leave now. Can you do this?”
She closed her eyes and nodded her head. I looked at Liz and she re-opened the door as I helped Jemma to her feet. She checked to make sure the hallway was clear and we left the room. This time there would be no turning back.
We made it past the elevator to the main staircase. Liz informed me that the last deck of cars being discharged was Deck Eight. It took a little longer to get down each staircase with Jemma leaning on me and after two staircases, I decided to place her on my back like I had in the desert. Liz opened the door to Deck Eight and we found the last two rows of cars getting ready to leave the vessel. Jemma was in no condition to drive so I helped her climb into the passenger seat of the nearest pickup truck. Just before I hopped into the front seat, Liz grabbed me and gave me a big hug.
“Stay safe Trevor. Please contact me at some point so I know you made it back OK. Keep Jemma close. It’s pretty obvious that she cares a lot about you.”
I promised Liz that I would reach out to her when possible and hurried into the truck. Jemma quickly pointed out that there were men in orange jumpsuits scattered throughout the deck. Several other cars drove down the nearest ramp and I started the car, put it in gear and followed them. I drove down each ramp slowly and kept my hard hat tilted downward so none of the workers we passed by could get a good look at my face. Jemma ducked her head down in the front seat as we made our way down three other ramps. The opening of the ship came into view as the first vehicle in our convoy went down the ramp. Next to it was a man with a clipboard who instructed the car in front of us to stop, which forced me to stop. If he figured out we were not actually legitimate drivers, then we would be in trouble.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and held my breath as the man got closer. It’s only a matter of seconds before our cover was blown. Suddenly, he turned the other way and joined a group of men huddled around a water jug. The biggest wave of relief I had ever gotten in my life came over me as the truck in front of us drove down the ramp. I hit the gas pedal as hard as I could and we zoomed down the ramp. As our wheels hit land I told Jemma that it was safe to come up. For a split-second, I glanced into the rear-view mirror and saw Liz. That girl was the reason we were both still alive. Without her, we would have been in much bigger trouble.
We headed toward the main parking lot where all of the other used cars were lined up when an idea hit me. Why risk asking people for a taxi when we could just drive this car out of the port ourselves? It was technically stealing, but we could return the car once we’re finished with the hospital. Right now the priority was getting Jemma medical attention as soon as possible. I made a hard right and turned the truck toward for the gate.
The security shack was nothing special and no one stopped us from leaving, so I drove the truck right through the gate. We turned onto the highway and mixed right in with the traffic. I started searching the signs for anything resembling the Spanish word for hospital. It really didn’t help that nothing was written in English, but then again we were in Spain. Man, I really should have paid better attention in that tenth-grade Spanish class.
I kept reading as many of the signs as I could, but Jemma quickly alerted me to a police car following us. I looked in my rear view mirror to confirm that we were being f
ollowed. At first, I didn’t think the car behind us was following us. Then, the car turned its blue and red lights on, which quickly changed my mind. In addition to that, Jemma spotted three more police cars lining up to block the road about a quarter mile in front of us. We were boxed in and without any exit to turn off too, we had nowhere to go.
“Jemma buckle up. I’m going to push through them.”
Jemma didn’t say anything back. All I heard was her seat belt click. I sped up as much as I could and aimed the truck right for the left side of the blockade where the hoods of two of the cars met. There was a space in-between them where it looked like we could slam through. We were exceeding eighty miles per hour and I pressed the gas pedal until it hit the floor. The speedometer hit 100 and we crashed right into the two cars. Jemma and I jolted forward and the truck slowed down significantly, almost to a stop.
The front of the truck took most of the damage but we trickled through the blockade. I regained my focus, checked on Jemma, and looked up. I expected the road in from of us to be clear of police however, there were four black Suburbans with several men standing around them. They all had guns pointed at us. Regardless, I hit the gas again and drove toward them. Seconds later, a small disk hit the top of the hood and suddenly the engine shut down. I lost control of the vehicle and we swerved left into the side of the highway. The airbags went off and the truck came to a stop, this time for good.