“Mirian!” Tom cried, and lunged at the crazy woman, punching her repeatedly in order to save Mirian. Tom was far from a violent person, usually cowardly and introverted, so for him to attack someone, Mirian meant more to him than they could all possibly imagine.
He managed to pull the woman off and Mirian clambered to her feet.
Heaving, she began laughing, the polar opposite of the expected emotion at the time, leaving the others stunned.
“What? So you think I’ll sleep with you now? My fucking hero! Maybe you’re part of this too! All of you!”
Wendy wanted to help Tom, but doing so would get them all killed and Jason held onto her wrist tightly, he wasn’t going to let that happen.
“They’re just fucking actors, Tom! I already know your game”. She went over to grab the woman by the hair in order to demonstrate, but the woman turned on her, just as two more crazies joined the fray, no more than teenagers. Together they lunged at Mirian, sinking their teeth into her shoulder as she laughed, spraying blood everywhere. The woman bit her arm and pulled her down. Tom couldn’t defend himself, far less her.
“We have to help them!” Wendy yelled, pulling away, Jason’s grip however only tightened.
“We are getting the fuck out of here!”
As Wendy and the other two fled the scene, Mirian laughed hysterically throughout her own horrific ordeal, as though disillusioned with the belief that this was all one big hoax, right to the bitter, bloody, gruesome end. Her laughing only ceased when the crazed bit into her throat.
The remaining three ran up the stairs leading to the giant water slides at the rear of the ship, more crazy people jumping up onto the side of the steps and trying to hoist themselves up in pursuit.
“Why did I come on this trip? Why?” Liana, Jason’s girlfriend snapped, terror prominent in her voice.
“I invited you, you said yes!” Wendy snapped back.
“I never should have agreed to come, never! Fuck this!”
“So this is my fault?” Wendy snapped.
“Stop arguing you two! Self preservation first for fuck sake!”
Jason pushed Wendy and Liana ahead and backed his way up the stairs, kicking at the crazies trying to pursue them.
“Jason!” Liana cried.
“Go! Keep going! Get down that slide!”
The last time they had ascended these steps, of course under more pleasant circumstances, there stood a killjoy attendant at the top and at the time, he was the only thing to have ruined the trip, preventing them from sliding for being too rowdy and tipsy. The irony now wasn't lost on them.
Wendy was the first to reach the top, stopping just beside where water jets, now deactivated, usually sprayed water down the slides.
“Come on! Come on!” She cried desperately.
Jason continued kicking and punching their pursuers as he made his way up the steps, but as one grabbed hold of his leg and pulled him, throwing him off balance, Wendy knew that things weren’t going to be as easy as she had hoped.
“You two go!” He snapped, struggling to get back to his feet.
“Not without you!” Liana replied.
Jason punched his pursuer, but not before being bitten on his leg.
Wendy grabbed Liana’s hand.
“Liana, let’s go”.
“You go! I’m not going without Jason!”
“Jason told us to leave”.
“I’m not going without Jason!” She screamed.
Wendy, realising that she’d be alone at this rate, decided to help, fighting back against the crazies alongside Liana, but the longer they spent fighting, the more that seemed to accumulate and just as the two had managed to free Jason and help him up to the slide, more clambered up the steps and hoisted themselves up from the sides. Jason insisted Wendy go first and she sat down on the slide as he took Liana’s hand. That was the last she saw of them as Jason pushed her down the slide and more crazies pounced on him.
Wendy slid down the winding slide, its enjoyment completely lost in spite of her excitement to try it from the moment she spotted it on the booking website, once a symbol of great things to come from the moment her eyes spotted it, now tainted forever in horror and misery.
Her heart pounded, her mind was blurred, her mouth dried and fret contorting her stomach so much so, it felt tight. The slide, usually perhaps over before it even gets started, felt like an eternity before she reached the bottom and once she had, she stood transfixed at the shoot waiting for her best friends, but their joyful wails and screams would never come, instead, much to Wendy’s horror and tremendous heartbreak, just blood, followed by Liana’s blood covered bikini, followed by two hands locked, Jason’s and Liana’s and then nothing.
Wendy’s couldn’t fight tears, nor could she fight the gruesome scene induced nausea.
It was time to run, she was on her own now.
1:38pm - 6 hours, 51 minutes since outbreak in London.
28 minutes since outbreak aboard MS HotS.
Rohini stood in a locked down theatre wondering just what the hell was going on now. Sighing frustratedly, she looked around. She was on the lower level of a three level auditorium. It wasn't particularly packed given the time of day it was, so she could only imagine the surge of people there would have been if it had been. Standing towards the back of the crowd, people rightfully wanted answers. So far they had been left to simply interpret for themselves what was happening, one minute a cryptic message from the captain instructing them to return to their cabins and just a few short seconds ago a recall on that order for anyone already in enclosed spaces to remain where they were and lock doors.
Naturally those stuck in this predicament were inclined to think the worst, since no one was telling them anything, a
