The other group agreed to lower their weapons and allow this group onto the lifeboat under the condition that they gave up their weapons, a condition Adam may have been more than happy to oblige, but that didn’t mean others were, so the situation only escalated before it got better, resorting to Adam having to appeal to individuals’ better natures.
Rachel kept glancing back looking out for danger, knowing that while the longer they spent arguing here may make it easier for her parents and grandmother to get here, coupled with the increasing volume of their voices, they were also more likely to have crazies pounce on their asses. Just thirteen more minutes.
4:23pm - 3 hours, 13 minutes since outbreak aboard MS HotS.
Edward, Christine and Martha rounded another corridor corner, picking up the pace, but in doing so, increasing the chances of getting caught. Martha was struggling to keep up and if it meant they had to run, there was no chance in hell she would be able to do so.
“Slow down”, she insisted.
“We can’t, please Martha, we don’t have much further to go. Stick with me, I’ll get you back to land and eventually home, I promise”.
She nodded and complained no more, probably for the first time witnessing a sense of conviction in him that overwhelmed her. Christine too nodded, having utmost faith in him.
Their newfound team confidence would be tested however, when they came across a bar, several twitchers not far away from them and the ground covered in shattered glass, of all inconvenient things.
Little did they know that the next fifteen minutes would be the worst moments of their lives and it all began with the split second decision to cross the glass covered floor, the shortest means to get to the starboard side of the ship, but also the most risky. They were exposed, hidden only by a mere waist high counter and metres away from twitchers feasting on a corpse.
A hair strand away from peril, this was the worst thing they could possibly attempt to do. There were gaps to step, but they were sporadic at best, requiring some degree of versatility. Christine might be able to get by, even with only her spa gown and slippers, it would however be a stretch for Martha.
If that wasn’t enough, at the end of this strip was a gap between the counter and the corridor opposite that left them completely exposed to the twitchers. They would have to look for a chance and quickly dash across the opening without being seen.
Taking a deep breath, they decided do or die, with Edward going first and as quietly as possible, slowly sweeping the broken glass out of the way to widen the gaps for Christine and Martha to follow behind. There wasn’t a chance in hell Martha would make it across the obstacle course of glass without drawing attention to herself or harming herself.
Occasionally the twitchers would look around and almost catch a glimpse of them, but with their hearts pounding, the three managed to make it across the first chapter of the complexed series of obstacles, now only confronted with traversing that exposed gap.
Christine went first, more agile than he, the lesser of Edward’s concerns and a pillar of aid and assistance from the other side of the gap. She made it across without being spotted and turned to beckon her hesitant mother.
A terrified Martha however, missed every available opportunity to run across, paranoid she would be spotted, so by the time she did take the chance and cross over to the other side, the twitchers were already becoming less distracted.
Edward remained now and opportunities to cross were fewer and farther between. He desperately needed a new distraction.
The glass! He could throw the glass and create a distraction.
He picked up a handful of broken glass from behind him and tossed it a safe distance way beyond where the twitchers stood, successfully temporarily distracting them with a loud enough clatter of noise.
Unbeknownst to him, his little deterrent had inadvertently attracted the attention of twitchers on the opposite side, that in the moment of bright ideas, he hadn’t stopped to consider.
Neither of them spotted the twitcher until it was already too late, a small creepy girl with an open laceration at her neck, stood face to face with them, just as he scrambled to cross the gap. They all froze, transfixed to their spots as she stood there glaring at them dead eyed and twitching erratically.
Everything in Edward compelled him to grab the other two and sprint, rightfully so, for no sooner did he bolt past her and grab his wife and mother-in-law’s hands, the girl threw her head back and screamed as loud as her lungs would allow, sending chills right down their spines and filling them with a sense of dread, the likes of which only the harbinger of death herself could instil.
Like hell opening its gates, twitchers from every direction stampeded towards them.
“Run! Fucking run!” Edward screamed.
4:28pm - 3 hours, 18 minutes since outbreak aboard MS HotS.
Things on the other end had developed significantly, with the group of survivors finally laying down their arms, giving them passage to the lifeboat.
With the lifeboat almost boardable, they wasted little to no time preparing for departure.
Rachel’s eyes darted about looking for her parents and grandmother.
Where the heck were they and why weren’t they answering any of her texts? Her heart began to race. Was she prepared to board this lifeboat without them? Was she prepared to abandon ship without the people who gave her the gift of life, for everything that they were or weren’t? Panic was setting in and her palms were getting sweaty.
A beep signified the lifeboat was safe to board and immediately the staff members set about releasing the door
