Pirates? Had they been hijacked? In the Atlantic ocean? Was that even a possibility? By who? Thoughts surged like a relentless tide.
“I told you something was going on, I told you!” Martha snapped.
“Yeah, okay, you were right, hush, you'll give us away!” Edward whispered back. “Christine, I'm going to find out if she's okay”.
“Oh, so now you want to talk to her?”
“Stop being a pain in the ass and help me”. He ran over to get his mobile and dialled in Christine's number, ignoring the multiple messages and voicemails left by her, but despite several attempts to reach her, he was met with the answering machine, so as a final ditch effort to reach her, he left a message.
“Christine, if you get this I'm at our cabin, I'm not angry, just come back as soon as you can, I'm worried. It's Edward”. He hung up.
“Nothing?” Martha enquired.
“You heard for yourself, no need to ask”. He stepped out onto the balcony and gazed over.
The skies were grey, a sleet stung his face as a heavy atmosphere clung to his skin and the seas began to swell, stirred by a brewing wind. This didn’t look good, a case of pathetic fallacy or sheer coincidence?
“Now isn't the time to be admiring the view”, Martha scorned.
“I'm checking to see if it’ll be at all easy to jump to another balcony, as we may need to”. It wasn't; not for Martha anyway. The ones to the side they could probably reach a little easier with some careful consideration, although a single slip up could result in a plummet several floors high into the high seas below, a nasty death to say the least. Below and above would require some degree of athletic aptitude, it would be no easy feat for him, far less Martha.
He ventured back into the cabin and looked around for something, anything that could make both their lives easier. They both froze on the spot when they heard something or someone outside of their door talking, but it didn't sound normal.
“I don't know where I am, won't someone show me the way? I don't… like being lost”.
Martha urged Edward to check it out, peer through the peephole, but not open the door. Initially he refused, despite her insults directed at his manliness, but when the voice began to sound more desperate, he changed his mind, what if someone out there genuinely needed his help?
He crept up towards the door and stopped just short of it, enough that he could lean over and peer through the peephole, but not enough that whoever stood outside would be able to see his shadow too clearly beneath. Doing exactly that, he peered through the keyhole out into the corridor, but could see no one. Strange, he was certain he had heard someone just outside that door.
“Well?” Martha whispered. He turned to her and shrugged, to which she shook her head doubtfully.
He turned around to peer again and his heart almost broke through his ribcage and leapt into the world with fright upon seeing and eye peering right back at him.
Yelping and stumbling backwards, he was immediately furious with himself, he had given off their presence.
“I know you're there, why don’t you come out… out… help”, the person outside suggested, they sounded male, the voice wasn’t deep, but deeper still than that of a female’s.
Edward turned to Martha, as though half expecting her to have all the answers, but she just shook her hands and formed the word no with her lips, instructing him not to open the door.
Infuriated by their unwillingness to open the door, the man outside became increasingly more hostile, knocking at the door becoming banging at the door, banging at the door becoming throwing the full force of his body at the door in an attempt to break through.
Realising the potential threat to their lives if that man managed to get through those doors, Edward did the first thing that came to mind, threw his back against it, using his own body weight to keep the door standing.
“Little pig, little pig, let me come in. What did you say? Not by the hair of your chinny chin chin? Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!” His attempts to get in became more aggressive, it was as though he was backing off as far back as he could go and throwing himself at the door.
“Martha! Find something, anything to block the door!” Edward ordered.
Terrified Martha looked around, desperately. It was only a matter before that man broke in.
CHAPTER 16 - LORI, WENDY, ROHINI
1:30pm - 6 hours, 43 minutes since outbreak in London.
20 minutes since outbreak aboard MS HotS.
. . .
. . .
Lori stood at the cabin door peering out into the corridor. The problem with being in a cabin like this and hearing news like that from your captain, was that the thought of having nowhere to escape to in the worst case scenario, created and compiled the unavoidable feelings of claustrophobia, anxiety and consequentially, panic.
Not used to these circumstances, Lori had begun to feel restless and nervous, compelling her to find out what was going on. She had peered through the peephole to see nothing but staff and other guests walking by.
Shortly after having opened the door however, she noticed a crowd of angry and confused people beginning to amass towards
