by Jon Schafer
When he found out they were going on this cruise, he hoped she wouldn't ruin that too. Luckily, she had been distracted by all the attention she received from the guys her own age and hadn't tried to keep track of him. Tim had even heard one of the crew say that Connie was a hottie after she walked by in a swimsuit. He had almost thrown up. How anyone could call that warthog a hottie was beyond him.
Reverend Ricky gushed sympathy at Connie and deflected the blame onto others. She explained how their mother had been trapped in the cabin area and her brother knocked unconscious by the Reverend’s men. Promising he would put the situation right, Ricky pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke briefly into it. Within minutes, two of his Ushers appeared. Before ordering them to carry Tim to a safer place, Ricky promised Connie he would summon more of his people to extract her mother from the cabin area.
When Connie was done relating what had happened, Tim asked her where the Reverend was so he could thank him. At this, Connie shook her head and replied, “No, we have to get out of here. Ricky isn't doing this to be nice, he's after something else.”
Confused, Tim asked, “What?”
“Me,” Connie replied. “I've seen his type before, perverts that use religion to seduce their followers so they can have sex with the ones they lust after. Even though Ricky smiled, I could see the truth in his eyes. He's a pervert. The only reason I went along with his men was to get you somewhere safe.”
“He said he'd rescue mom though,” Tim pleaded.
“He lied,” Connie said. “He'll say anything to get you on his side so he can use you. While you were unconscious, I snuck back down to deck four and saw that the doors leading into the cabin area are exactly the same as when we left, except someone spray painted crosses on them. No one tried to go back in there.”
As Tim tried to absorb this, Connie asked, “Do you think you can walk? We've got to get out of here before Ricky comes back.”
Motivated by the frightened tone in his sister's voice, Tim rose and stood a little unsteadily. He felt nauseous, but it passed quickly. Connie put a steadying hand on his shoulder. When he felt stable enough to move, he asked, “Where do we go?”
“Back down to deck four,” she answered. “We need to be on the same floor as our old cabin in case dad comes looking for us. The shops there were all closed up and locked, but I know how to get in the back way. A steward gave me a tour of the ship yesterday and showed me the passageways that run behind the stores and cabins that the crew uses to get around.”
Hearing they would be looking for their dad, Tim's expression grew determined as he shook off his sister’s supporting hand and said, “Then let's gets to it. We're wasting time here.”
At that moment, the lights flickered in the cabin, and the familiar dull thrum of the engines slowly died off to leave a heavy silence. Looking at each other in panic, Tim and Connie fled out the door and down a corridor now illuminated by emergency lights. Thus the two went into hiding.
Tim noticed that no one paid any attention to a kid wandering the passageways and found he could move around the Calm of the Seas without being noticed. Through listening in at doors and eavesdropping on conversations, he learned that Reverend Ricky now controlled the ship and that his followers numbered over two hundred. He also discovered the reason the engines had ceased operating. Three of the engine room crewman, those same men bitten and infected by the cabin attendant, had gone berserk and killed their fellow workers. Other crewmembers, not wishing to risk their lives in an attempted rescue, sealed the entrances to the engine room. Shortly after that, the huge motors that propelled the Calm of the Seas fell silent. The emergency generators kicked in but they only provided electricity to the essential areas of the ship. After securing his position, Reverend Ricky had his Ushers start other generators to give more power to certain parts of the ship. Most of the decks had lights but none had air conditioning or heat. Electricity was diverted to the huge coolers and freezers in the kitchens and the eateries on what was called restaurant row on deck five so the survivors wouldn't run out of food. With barely one twentieth of the passengers left alive, Ricky and his men calculated that their supplies would last for a long time.
This also worked out perfect for Tim and Connie, who survived off what was in the shops and food from the kitchen that serviced the formal dining room at the rear of deck four. Reverend Ricky and his followers had plenty of provisions on the upper decks; so only twice in as many months did Tim see anyone venture down as far as deck four. And then only to take a quick look around before leaving.
Tim found an AM/FM radio early on in his wanderings, and at night he and Connie could pick up a few stations broadcasting from Florida. They listened in as the world seemed to be coming to an end. The last radio station, KLAM out of Clearwater Florida, had been broadcasting real time reports of what was going on in the Tampa Bay area and giving tips on how to stay alive in the new dead world. The signal slowly faded away when the range became too great as the Calm of the Seas drifted further into the Gulf of Mexico. The signal died, to be replaced by silence. When this happened, hope of being rescued also slowly faded in the Lopez siblings and day-to-day life became more an act of just doing rather than living. That was until Tim saw the sailboat coming toward them.
After discussing it with Connie and explaining that it wasn't only men on board the small craft and that he’d seen two women and a little girl, she agreed to let him open a hatch and allow the strangers on board.
Now, sitting on the counter looking at the armed foursome in front of him, Tim didn't feel afraid. He sensed no threat from the strangers as they stood a few feet away, studying him as he studied them. When the one Tim took to be the leader said, “You've got nothing to be afraid of with us, kid,” a feeling of relief washed over Tim and he believed him. When the blonde woman asked what Tim meant about the people on board the Dead Calm being crazy, he told them.
After listening to Tim's story, Steve said unbelievingly, “The rapture? You mean to tell me that the people on this ship are waiting for Jesus to come down and carry them up to heaven?”
Tim nodded, “They say it's the end times, so every night at dusk they gather on the pool deck and wait to be saved and ascend into heaven.”
With sarcastic amusement, Tick-Tock asked, “Anyone lift off yet?”
“No,” Tim replied, “but I’ve seen a couple jump overboard when it doesn't happen and they lose hope.”
“Jesus,” Susan exclaimed.
“Has nothing to do with this,” Connie called out loudly.
All four of the boarding party spun toward the voice as they raised their weapons, but quickly lowered them when they saw who spoke. Standing in the doorway of a clothes shop from where she had been listening to her brother tell the strangers their story, Connie looked anything but a threat.
Standing five foot three, with long, shiny black hair that fell to her waist and large dark eyes, Connie looked more like a model than the woman that Tim described as a warthog and a hag. Wearing shorts that showed off her legs and a t-shirt that couldn’t begin to hide the rest of her shapely figure, she could only be described as a knockout.
Susan turned to say something to Tick-Tock, but when she saw the expression on his face instead whispered, “Put your eyes back in your head, pervert. You're old enough to be her father.”
“Only if I was doing the wild thing when I was twelve,” he replied and continued to stare.
Heather looked at Steve to see his reaction, but he had already composed himself. She gave him a warning look on general principle before saying to Connie, “Thank you for deciding to let us get on board and opening the hatch. I promise you, we mean no harm to you or your brother.”
Connie only nodded as she walked forward to join them, still not sure if she had made the right decision by letting them on board. Tim hopped down from his perch and joined his sister as he said to her, “I was just about to tell them the rest.”
“A boat load of Jesus freaks and zombies
isn't enough?” Tick-Tock asked. “Who else is on board, Idi Amin?”
“They’re not Jesus freaks,” Connie corrected him. The people in control couldn’t care less about religion. The leader formed a cult by playing on the survivors’ hopes and fears.” Looking at Tim as if not sure whether to continue, Connie shrugged and said, “They have orgies up on the pool deck every night after they fail to ascend into Heaven, and this includes the willing and the unwilling. But most of the faithful, as Reverend Ricky calls his followers, worship him like he's the second coming and join right in. Tim's listened in on some of the conversations Ricky's had with his Ushers, and they're so worked up with his false religion that they're ready to martyr themselves for him. The inner circle, Ricky calls them his Head Ushers, are in on the scam, and they use the regular Ushers to keep the faithful in line.”
“That's okay,” Tick-Tock said nonchalantly. I’ll pop a cap in Ricky's ass and he can show his Head Ushers how easy it is to get to Heaven.”
“His followers would turn on you,” Connie warned. “Maybe not all of them, but over half are faithful to Ricky and the religion he's set up.” Remembering how many survivors Tim had told him were left on the ship, Steve did the math as he considered the odds of assassinating their leader and getting away with it. Needing to know exactly what they were up against, he asked Tim, “Are they armed?”
“They've got three rifles and three pistols, but only the Head Ushers carry those,” he answered. “But just about everyone carries a knife or a club or something in case they run into one of the dead.”
“You've got Z's running around?” Heather asked. “I thought you told us that this ship was secured.”
“I said that most of the dead were locked in the cabin areas,” Tim replied.
“They show up from time to time,” Connie interjected. “No one knows where they come from but on a ship this big, with all the places they could hide, I'm sure there's a lot that didn't get locked in the cabin areas.”
“They hide?” Susan asked.
“Look at what they did in San Francisco,” Steve pointed out.
“And in Clearwater,” Heather added. “Most of the dead hid in the storm drains and the sewers until there was a shitload of them, and then they came out to eat.”
“So, we've got a couple things we need to consider,” Steve said. “First off, we need to leave Reverend Ricky alone for the time being. As much as I'd like to kill his ass, I don't want a hundred religious nutcases making a suicide run at us.”
Tick-Tock nodded, but looked slightly disappointed at Steve's decision.
“Cheer up,” Steve told him. “They've got to know we're here. If they make any aggressive moves, we waste them. Now for the second issue, which also ties into the first one.” Turning to Tim, he asked, “How many ways are there to get down onto this deck?”
“Only one,” he answered, pointing to the grand staircase. “The doors to the stairs at the back of the kitchen are blocked off, and none of these elevators have power. The only other way down to this level is the stairs back there.”
They all looked to where he was pointing at the chained metal doors with the crosses painted on them.
“Don't think anyone's coming from that direction,” Tick-Tock said. “That leaves the stairs here in the Centrum, and we can cover them no problem.” Looking at Steve, he asked, “You thinking what I'm thinking?”
“Maybe,” Steve answered before turning to Heather and saying, “I'm thinking we can bring everyone on board.” A cautious look crossed her face so he added, “From what Tim and Connie told us, we're secure here as long as we keep the stairs covered. Reverend Ricky might be a threat, but I bet he already knows we're here. Since he hasn't made a move on us, I doubt he will.” Heather still looked less than enthused at the idea, so Steve put in, “Besides, you said you wanted a shower and some real food, this is our chance.”
“There's a shower in the locker room behind the kitchen,” Connie volunteered. “We use it all the time. There's no hot water, but it's not too bad. I think the water tank is near the hull of the ship so the sun heats it up pretty good.”
Heather considered this before turning to walk the length of the Centrum as she surveyed their position. Coming back to study the grand staircase leading to the decks above, after a moment of thought, she said, “Okay, let's do it. I think we could all use a break from riding on the SS Minnow. Call Brain and tell him to get ready to come aboard and we'll meet him at the hatch. We need to post someone to cover the stairs so we don't get any surprise visitors, and we'll have to keep our guard up at all times. I want everyone to stay conscious of where they are and what the fastest route back to the sailboat is in case we have to evacuate.”
Heather turned to Connie and said, “You and Tim are welcome to come with us when we leave, but first I think you need to know what the rest of the world is like. After you find out, you might want to stay here.”
“I think we have a good idea of what it's like out there,” Connie replied. “Before we lost the signal, we used to get radio broadcasts from KLAM in Florida-.”
Tick-Tock laughed out loud, cutting Connie off.
“What's so funny?” She asked.
“Nothing,” Tick-Tock replied with a big smile. “Go ahead with what you were saying.”
Looking around, Connie noticed that all of them were smiling, but she didn't get the joke. Hoping that someone would eventually let her in on it, she continued, “So KLAM gave out reports of what was happening, and it sounded like things got bad, but I’d rather take my chances out there than stay here and live in hiding.”
Heather shrugged, wondering if Connie would feel differently once she saw her first Dead City. Turning to Steve, she raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, “Looks like you're the new Captain of this ship, so what are your orders?”
Having mentally run through what needed to be done while Heather and Connie talked, he said, “Tick-Tock covers the stairs, Heather you stay with him. Susan, you, Connie and Tim go with me to meet Brain at the hatch.”
“Bring back some tear gas canisters and extra ammo,” Tick-Tock said. “They might come in handy.”
“Gotcha,” he replied.
“How many are with you?” Connie asked.
“Two other people and a Mary,” Tick-Tock replied.
Looking at the rows of shops, Susan said, “She'll think she died and went to Heaven.”
Unclipping the radio from his belt, Steve filled Brain in on what had happened and about their plan to move onto the Dead Calm. When he finished, he turned to Heather and said, “We’re all set, but there are a few things that worry me. Why didn't Reverend Ricky or any of his followers show themselves when we circled the ship? And since he has rifles, he could have kept us from boarding, but he didn't.”
Tick-Tock, who was using his K-Bar knife to pry the Plexiglas cover off a diagram of the ship, mounted near the stairs, said, “Maybe he wants us here.”
Heather shook her head, “I don't think so. We pose too much of a threat of upsetting the balance in his little commune. There's got to be another reason.”
“Maybe we have something he wants?” Susan proposed.
“Could be,” Steve said thoughtfully, “but what?”
Chapter Six
The Dead Calm:
Richard Rosencrantz, known to his faithful followers as the Reverend Ricky Rose, looked out from the bridge of the Calm of the Seas at the sailboat holding position off the right side of his ship. Turning to his second in command, who in the pre-dead world had been a third-rate lawyer named Donald Parsons, working out of a dilapidated double wide trailer set up in a strip mall parking lot, he asked, “How many came on board?”
“Four,” Parsons replied. “My guys counted four that came on board and three more still on the sailboat. He said the ones on board move like they know what they're doing, maybe former military. Altogether there are three women, three men and a little girl in their group. Two men and two women came onto the Calm,
and they were all carrying automatic weapons. A young woman and a kid met them down in the Centrum. That's who we think let them on the ship. They must have opened one of the hatches on deck four.”
“Saved us from doing it,” Ricky commented, and then asked, “Are the faithful staying out of sight?”
Parsons nodded and said, “Except for one guy on deck five who's keeping an eye on the newcomers, I pulled the rest of the watchers back and herded the faithful onto deck eleven. It's the only one that doesn't open up onto the Centrum. I don't want a bunch of people getting curious and hanging over the rail and gawking. I also tried to identify the girl and the kid, but I didn't recognize them as any of the followers. The kid looked familiar, like I’ve seen him hanging around, but I’ve never seen the chick before.”
Ricky nodded at this. He and Don both knew that not everyone on board welcomed Ricky’s leadership and that a few passengers roamed the huge ship and didn't participate in the nightly sermon or the extra-curricular activities afterward. As long as these break-a-ways didn’t interfere with Ricky or his Ushers, they were left alone. But if any did voice an objection to the way the ship was run, they were immediately silenced.
“Good work, Don,” Ricky told his number two. “Make sure you keep your thumb on the faithful and keep them under control.”
Ricky turned and walked to a table covered with charts near the back of the bridge. After sifting through them, he laid out one showing the Gulf of Mexico, the Mexican coast and the Yucatan peninsula. Placing his forefinger on a red pencil mark, he asked, “Is this our position?”
“As of this morning it is,” Parsons replied.
Ricky shook his head and made clucking sounds in his throat to show his displeasure.
“We’re drifting further and further away every day,” Parsons commented. “There's no way we could make it to Cozumel now, even if we tow three lifeboats full of fuel behind us. And then we’d have to tow another two for supplies.”