The image imprinted on her mind sent a chill right down her spine.
She returned to her cabin feeling even more anxious and uneasy than before.
“Back so soon?” Her mother enquired as she walked through the door.
“Something is going on, that family has quite literally been quarantined in their cabin. Staff are blocking their door”, Christine replied, placing the blouse on the counter besides the door.
“I knew it, they've contracted something”.
“What do you think it is? Ebola maybe? The man who stopped me said the little boy has cold sweats, went pale, was twitching non- stop and his nose keeps bleeding”.
“Twitching you say? Doesn't sound like all the exact same symptoms, but it could be, or something entirely new”.
“This is too much”, Christine said with a sigh. “Did you reach the hospital?”
“It's just ringing, I'll try again shortly”.
“I need to de-stress, I'm going to get a pampering at the spa, I really hope it’s open, all this bullshit is too much to bear and is doing nothing to sustain my youthful gleam”.
“Language, woman of the lord”.
“Yes, mother, I know, but I deserve a break today”.
“Seems you were taking a break long before today, adultery and all that”.
“I don’t need you to question my commitment to God, thank you very much”, Christine replied, collecting the bits she needed for the spa.
“It’s not me you have to worry about, my daughter”.
Christine sighed, collected the last of her things and left the cabin.
12:37pm - 5 hours, 51 minutes since outbreak in London
The beep of the keycard attracted Martha’s attention and the door began to open.
“Back again? You’re a nervous mess toda…” Martha began speaking without waiting to see who it was, stopping short when she realised it was Edward and he most certainly wasn’t a pretty sight. “So you’re alive then?”
“Not now, Martha”, Edward replied, exasperatedly.
“You look like utter shit. Have you seen yourself?”
“I know, I don’t need you to remind me”.
“Have you cleared your head, or did you come back here looking for trouble? If you’re looking for Christine, she went to the spa”.
“I wasn’t, but I’m glad to know she can think about getting spa treatment when our marriage is on a precipice”.
“In her defence, she spent the last two days looking for your ass, despite my advice not to, but it looks like you had a right ol’ time”.
“I was distraught, so I almost drank myself into a coma, but thanks to my daughter, I didn’t, nor did I get into a fight like I could have, since you’re going to probe. Also, I’m not here to seek trouble, I just want to clean myself up and get some proper sleep and then try to fix my marriage, because lord knows, after today, if you’ve heard, nothing is worth staying angry over”.
“Glad to see you’ve grown some man balls”.
“Love you too, Martha”, he replied sarcastically, “I’m beginning to miss the silent treatment you were giving us at the start of the trip. You’re far too chatty now for your own good”. He stripped down to his boxers and dumped his clothes next to the bed.
“Have you no shame? Stripping in front of your mother-in-law”.
“You’re a surgeon, I’m sure I have nothing you haven’t seen thousands of times before”. He grabbed his towel and headed off into the bathroom, locking it behind him. A few short minutes later, she heard the shower running.
She sighed, the two of them were kids themselves, barely out of their mother’s wombs, trying to behave like responsible, mature adults, and yet failing miserably at it in all regards.
His musty alcoholic smell had begun to drift around the cabin, even with the balcony doors open.
“Honestly”, she muttered under her breath.
1:10pm - 6 hours, 23 minutes since outbreak in London.
Outbreak
Irini rushed back to cabin 1062 from the infirmary carrying damp flannels, first aid items and more face masks akin to the one she wore on her face.
This day was just not going well at all. First the attack on London and she didn’t even have the time to check to see if everyone was okay, her parents, her friends, her family; her hands were full just dealing with the issues popping up one after another on the ship.
Her fiancé, the captain of the ship, unbeknownst to everyone else, was aware of the circumstances in London, but so long as foreign embassies in the Caribbean kept their borders open, it was probably better and safer to continue the journey there and disembark passengers where they then had the option to take an international flight back home. Five days spent returning to port offered little guarantee that they wouldn’t be held outside the docks and prevented disembarkment approval.
So here they were, sailing on, the joyful and relaxed feeling aboard the ship shattered to pieces. What were people supposed to think and feel for the next four days of the cruise? There was nothing worse than being stuck in a situation you had no control over, feeling helpless about those you love in danger.
She tried with all her might to empty her mind and push on, in order to prevent breaking down, distracting herself with the torrent of complaints, requests, questions, demands and fury that had consumed the past 3 to 4 hours.
“Are you okay?” Came a familiar voice and Irini turned to find Faye standing there by the doorway.
“About as much as I can be given the circumstances”, Irini replied.
“Okay, I know it’s really stressful, hang in there. I’m here to help as well. It's one thing dealing with the aftermath of that news earlier, another thing with the possibility of a viral outbreak onboard the ship. This really is not
