by Elle Casey
“I did not go willingly, as you put it. You forced me against the wall.”
“Sarah, please, don’t delude yourself. I didn’t force you to do anything you didn’t want to. You liked it when I smelled you; admit it.”
“God, you are so weird. Normal people don’t admit to purposely smelling other people, Jonathan.” She shook her head in annoyance. Didn’t he know anything about how to act around girls? How did he get that pretty blond to hook up with him like that when he acted so strange all the time?
“Maybe they don’t admit it, but they do. I’ll bet you notice when a guy smells good.”
“I do not.”
“Do toooo.”
“Do NOT!”
“Do too!”
“Fine! Come here!” Sarah grabbed Jonathan by the shirtsleeve and pulled him against her hard. Their bodies slammed together in the hallway, knocking them both off balance. Sarah fell against the wall, but her contact was only light, since Jonathan for once in his life didn’t fall but managed to grab her by the waist and hold her steady. He did lean over in his efforts to break their fall, and she found her face buried in his neck.
She inhaled deeply. Holy shit. He does smell good.
“So?” Jonathan waited, tipping his head back and starting at her with totally guileless eyes.
“Like I said,” she shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing.”
Jonathan’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”
Sarah pushed him away and brushed off the front of her dress, removing non-existent dust particles.
“Believe what you want; I smell nothing. Like I said – normal people, Jonathan. That would be me. Abnormal people, that would be you.”
Kevin and Candi came around the corner, immediately breaking the spell that Jonathan had somehow woven between them. Sarah caught sight of Kevin’s eye. “Oh boy, that’s one hell of a shiner you’re going to have there, Kev.”
“Yeah, thanks for noticing.”
“I’m going to go grab some ice,” said Jonathan, racing down the hall to the cabin to open the door and get the ice bucket.
Candi and Sarah helped Kevin get into the room and lie down on the bed.
“You guys can go now. I’ll be fine.”
“No. This is my fault. I’ll stay and at least help clean you up.”
“Ew, not me. I’m going to bed.” Sarah left, saying, “Feel better, bro,” as she walked out the door.
***
Candi and Kevin heard Sarah settling in next door. They heard one bang against the wall, followed shortly by another.
“That would be her shoes that she’s kicking off her feet and into the wall,” predicted Kevin.
Candi sighed. “She’s not the neatest roommate in the world.” She stood up to get a washcloth out of the bathroom and wet it at the sink, coming back to sit next to Kevin on the bed.
Kevin had laughed and now was grimacing with the pain it had caused in his swollen eye. “You got that right. You should see her bedroom at home right now; it looks like a bomb went off in it.”
Candi started cleaning the cut on Kevin’s hand. “Oh, is she messy like that all the time?”
“Ouch, careful there ... No, actually, she’s not messy at all, normally, but she caught her boyfriend Barry cheating on her the day we left to come on the cruise, so she cut up all the things he had given her, their pictures and stuff, and then threw it all over her room.”
“Wow,” was all Candi could think to say.
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.”
“Well, that might explain her attitude on the cruise, I guess.”
“Yeah. She took it kind of hard. I mean, I don’t blame her. He was in bed with my girlfriend, now ex-girlfriend. Sarah literally caught them in the act.”
Candi put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my god, that’s terrible! I’m so sorry, Kevin, I had no idea. No wonder you were alone tonight, you must be devastated.”
“Hardly. I was alone because I struck out. No chicks wanted the Kevster tonight.” He smiled bitterly and closed his eyes.
Candi suddenly felt shy again. “I don’t believe that for a second. Any girl would have been psyched to be with you tonight. You obviously didn’t try very hard.”
“No, I did, seriously. Jonathan got the girl in the club. Jack obviously thought he had you all sewn up in his web. I tried to dance with you and got my ass kicked. I struck out big time.” The side of his mouth lifted in a self-deprecating grin.
Candi took a second to think about what Kevin had said. Had he purposely included her in his list of potential conquests? He’s just messing with me.
Jonathan came through the door with the bucket of ice. He put some into a washcloth and handed it over to Candi. She gently placed it on Kevin’s face.
“I’m afraid this is going to swell a lot more.”
“Yep,” Jonathan agreed, “you’re going to have a pretty significant hematoma there by your orbital bone. I should probably check it for you to see if it’s cracked.” He made a move towards the bed. Kevin opened his good eye, lifting his uninjured hand and holding it out.
“Hold it right there, Dr. Jon. You’re not touching this orbital bone or the hemawhatever you just said. Just stay back.”
“But ... ”
“Jonathan, he said no,” said Candi, firmly. “Just go over to my room with Sarah and go to sleep. I’m going to stay here with Kevin for a little while to make sure he’s okay and finish cleaning his hand.”
“What?! No way am I going over there with that she-devil. She’ll eat me alive. I’m staying right here. You go over there and I’ll take care of Kevin.”
“Hey, stop talking about me like I’m an invalid. I play rugby, remember?”
Candi and Jonathan looked at each other and shrugged. Apparently Kevin’s sports status was supposed to mean something to them, but they weren’t making the connection.
Kevin sighed. “Rugby players get injured all the time. This will be my fifth black eye in two years. I broke my shinbone in a game last year. This is no big deal.”
He looked at Candi and took her hand. “Seriously, thank you; but go ahead and go to bed, I’ll be fine.”
He let go of her hand and looked over at Jonathan. “You don’t have to go over with my sister, but you seriously do have to stay the hell away from my face. Touch me, and I’ll kick your ass.”
“Okaaay, fine. Whatever, I won’t touch you.”
Jonathan turned to his sister. “‘Night, Candi, see you tomorrow. Good luck over there with you-know-who.” He rolled his eyes in the general direction of her room and the ‘she-devil’ that was now sleeping in it.
“Thanks. G’nite guys, see you tomorrow.” Candi stood up, yawning. She took one last look at Kevin and walked out the door, stepping into the hallway and stumbling as she neared her room. The ship was really moving a lot. Either that or she was still drunk. She put her hand on her stomach and didn’t like the feeling she was having. She hoped she wasn’t getting seasick.
Candi entered the cabin and saw that Sarah was in bed, sound asleep, still wearing her dress. She was laying spread eagle over the top of the covers, which meant Candi was going to have to move her. She took her time getting dressed into her pajamas, since she didn’t relish the idea of arguing with Sarah over personal space.
As she put on her pajama bottoms, she fell to the floor. The ship was rolling back and forth so much, it was impossible to keep her balance. She wished they had a window so she could see what was going on with the waves. They must be going through some seriously bad weather for her to be able to feel the rocking of the boat this much.
She crawled over to the bed and climbed in, shoving Sarah over as far as she could, and closing her eyes. Sarah didn’t offer any resistance. Man, she sleeps like the dead. Within seconds, Candi drifted off into a dream-filled, turbulent sleep.
CHAPTER FIVE
All Hands on Deck
Jonathan stood in the bathroom washing his face and brushing his teeth with his
legs spaced far apart to counteract the movement of the ship. He’d never been on a boat this big before, but he was pretty sure this much movement wasn’t normal. Not a lot of people would do cruises if that were the case – seasickness would be a major issue. He didn’t feel sick now, but thinking about it started making him feel funny.
He checked his watch; it was just after one in the morning. He wondered if he’d be able to see anything if he went up on deck. He decided to just give it a try. There were no parents here to tell him it was too late to be wandering around; might as well take advantage of it. He put his shoes on very quietly and checked on Kevin. He seemed to be asleep, breathing even and slow.
Jonathan opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. He closed the door as quietly as possible before continuing down the hall, grabbing the walls on either side to steady himself as the boat rocked back and forth, up and down. He didn’t see anyone on his way to the upper deck.
He reached the foyer area that had doors leading out onto the main deck. Outside it was pitch-black; rain was slashing against the glass of the doors and windows. Jonathan hesitated, wishing he had thought to put on his poncho.
Oh well, I can always take a shower and dry off if I have to. He pulled on the doors, trying to wrestle them open. The wind began whipping through the foyer once it was given access through the open door.
Jonathan stepped outside onto the deck, and after another wrestling match, succeeded in getting the door closed. He turned, immediately going into shock at what he saw. The boat was leaning to one side – the side he was standing on. The waves were incredibly high, hitting the side of the ship and blowing up several feet into the air, washing the decks with their salty spray. There was a wall of blackness surrounding the ship, like a blanket of gloom.
Just then, the boat tipped even more on its side. A huge wave that had been rolling out in the distance started moving towards the ship. It seemed to be sucking the water away from the boat to build itself into a wave from hell.
Jonathan stared at it wide-eyed, not believing what he was seeing. It was like that Perfect Storm movie, where the wave was as big as a building. It was going to hit the boat, right where Jonathan was standing.
He felt like his feet were mired in quicksand. He turned to go back inside, but when he grabbed the door handles, he couldn’t get the doors to open. The difference in pressure between the inside and outside was sealing them closed.
His scientific mind jumped into overdrive. He turned to look over his shoulder at the approaching rogue wave. It was less than fifty yards away and even bigger than it had been three seconds ago. He struggled to cram his hand in his pocket, searching for the pocketknife he always carried there.
His hands made contact with the metal; he struggled with his wet fingers to get it out and then open.
“Come on! Come on! Come on!!” he yelled out into the night. “Open you mother effer!”
Finally the knife popped open.
Jonathan didn’t hesitate.
He jammed it in between the doors and wrenched it sideways, breaking the seal; it was enough to equalize the pressure between the two spaces and release the door’s hold. He pulled the door open just enough to squeeze through. He quickly slid it closed behind him, just as the wave crashed into the side of the ship.
Jonathan heard the sound of the outside railing breaking under the stress of the water pressure. He backed quickly away from the foyer doors that were now completely covered in water. He felt like he was looking at an aquarium just outside the door, as if the whole deck were underwater. He unconsciously folded his knife blade back in and put it in his pocket.
Without waiting to see what was going to happen next, he spun around, ran down the stairs, and sprinted back to the cabin. He struggled to get his key to work in the lock. As soon as he heard the click of the lock mechanism releasing, he burst through the entrance and started yelling.
“Wake up, Kevin!! Wake up!!”
Jonathan ran next door and pounded on the girls’ door. “Wake up, Candi!! Let me in!!! We have to get ready to muster!!”
He ran back to his room before the door had time to shut and saw Kevin still sleeping on the bed. He didn’t think, he just ran and jumped. He landed square on Kevin’s stomach with his knees.
“WAKE UP, I SAID!!! THE BOAT IS SINKING!!”
Kevin let out a huge burst of air as Jonathan’s thrown weight emptied his sleeping lungs. With the bit of strength he could gather from his half-sleeping state, he threw Jonathan off of him and onto the floor.
Jonathan scrambled to get up, momentarily tangled in the covers that had dropped to the floor, breaking his fall.
“I’m serious, Kevin, GET UP NOW!!! Do you hear me?!!” He started running around the cabin like a crazy person, yelling things out, not knowing if anyone was listening but doing it anyway. “We need to pack one backpack each. Put everything in it that could be of use. Make sure you include at least one bottle of fresh water.” Then he ran out of the room again to go pound on the girls’ door.
***
Kevin put his hand up to his head, trying to make sense of what was going on. It was difficult to do with the headache that was pounding away in his brain. He wasn’t sure if the pain was from the cold cocking he had received earlier, Jonathan’s yelling, or the one hundred and fifty pounds of weight that had just dropped on his chest. Jonathan was skinny, but he was tall, and apparently his bones weighed more than Kevin had thought possible.
He could hear Jonathan out in the hallway. “I know you’re in there! Open up!! We have a HUGE problem, Candi. HUGE!! You need to get up!”
Jonathan came back into the room, frantic. He had tears starting to well up in his eyes. “Kevin, please HELP ME! Our sisters are sleeping. The ship is sinking, and I CAN’T WAKE THEM UP!”
Kevin held up his hand, moving himself towards the edge of the bed.
“Slow down, little man, just relax. What the hell are you talking about now?”
Jonathan took a deep breath and put his hands on his chest in an effort to stop his heart from beating out of it.
“I went out on the deck to see what the problem was with the ship. Can’t you feel it leaning to the side? There are some huge rogue waves out there. They crashed into the ship and damaged it. I just know this ship is going down, we have to prepare!”
Kevin tried to wrap his head around the idea of a cruise ship sinking. “Jonathan, it’s not like this is the Titanic or anything. Don’t you think they would sound the muster alarm if there was a problem with the boat?”
Jonathan looked momentarily confused. “Of course, I don’t know why they haven’t, but I know a listing ship when I see one. This ship is turning on its side; you have to agree that’s not normal!”
Kevin thought about it for a second. The ship was tipping to one side. “No, you’re right. I can feel it leaning. So what should we do?” He was waking up out of his sleep stupor now, hearing some really eerie sounds coming from inside or outside the ship somewhere – some kind of groaning or moaning. Like the ship wasn’t feeling good.
“I think we should get backpacks, one each, and fill them with supplies. Fresh water, food, and rain covers or clothes. Sunscreen. Anything like that.”
Kevin looked confused. “Anything like what? You just described supplies for a day at the beach.”
Jonathan looked Kevin right in the eye and said in a deadly serious voice, “No, I just described supplies we will need if we are set adrift on a lifeboat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.”
Kevin got serious immediately. “What the hell, Jonathan ... you’re serious, aren’t you?”
“More serious than I’ve ever been about anything in my entire seventeen years and forty-one days of life.”
Kevin stood up and sighed. The kid sounded crazy, but he was also smarter than anyone he knew. What’s the worst that could happen, anyway? They could miss some sleep running around like chickens with their heads cut off, which he could easily remedy by sleeping it
off on the pool deck. “Fine. I’m in. What do you want me to do?”
“Get me your backpack. Go wake the girls up. Break their door down if you have to, but don’t hurt yourself. I don’t have much in the way of medical supplies, and in our worst case scenario, there won’t be a hospital or doctor around.”
“Sheesh, Jonathan, you really know how to stay positive, don’t you?” He headed out the door with Jonathan yelling after him.
“I’m a realist, especially when a ship is sinking!”
Apparently, Jonathan’s worst-case scenario was a little different than the one Kevin had considered. Kevin brushed it off without giving it any thought. No need to go nuts.
Kevin knocked forcefully on the girls’ door. “Open up, Sarah, Candi, seriously, you have to get up.”
A few seconds later the door cracked open. Looking out was a green eye with black streaks under it. “This had better be good.”
“How about this: the ship is sinking and you need to get your asses out of bed ... is that good enough for you?”
The door flew open to reveal Candi standing there in pink flowered pajamas and fuzzy purple slippers. “What did you just say?”
Kevin’s eyebrows raised in surprise. The sexy gumdrop had turned into an eight-year-old at a slumber party, except that she also had black makeup smeared all around her eyes and her hair looked like some rats had made a nest in it.
“I said, Jonathan thinks the ship is sinking. He wants us to get ready for the muster.”
Candi looked like she was still half asleep. “Why aren’t they sounding the alarm?”
“Jonathan doesn’t know, but he said the ship is sinking, and until I hear different, I’m going with him. You can feel the boat leaning to the side, so it’s not totally crazy. He wants you and Sarah up now. Pack your backpacks with water, food, and other supplies.”
“What supplies?”
“Like you’re going to the beach, kind of supplies.”
Sarah decided at that minute to sit up in bed and join the conversation. “Will you guys shut the hell up, please? I’m trying to get some beauty sleep here.”