“Are you two sure about this? We’ve made it all the way here, this might be your one chance. Are you certain about this?” Adam enquired.
“Those two girls couldn’t be more sure if they tried”, one of the men standing aside replied.
“They’re not girls, they’re fucking boss women”, the woman arguing with Darren earlier replied, a reassuring smile on her face.
“With the tenacity a million times greater than these men trying to push in front of others and more balls than the lot of us. I respect that. I hope you two find them and get off safely. Here, take these”, the security officer chimed in. He handed the two women the fire axe and his pistol, believing they would prove more useful to the two of them than to him and the others.
The two women stepped back.
“If you need to lower a lifeboat, there are step by step procedures on the panels. Good luck, you two. Now the rest of you sons of bitches. Quick, get on”.
The men boarded the lifeboat and once they were all on board, it began to lower, leaving the two peering over the edge, looking down at it descending into the ocean, a sense of dread welling up in the pit of Lori’s stomach, as stinging droplets of water hit her face from ocean spray and rain.
Rachel turned back to the ship and stared up at it. Yes it had indeed crossed her mind that her decision would have dire consequences, but she was prepared to face that.
The two quietly and cautiously made their way to a safer spot, somewhere where they were not so exposed, all the while feeling tremendously uneasy about the eerie silence that had swept over a once noisy and bustling ship.
They had both been lumbered with weapons they’d rather not have to use if possible; a gun neither of them had any experience whatsoever in using and were far more likely to shoot themselves accidentally with and the fire axe that was used to brutally murder their late male companion, but what other choice did they have at this point?
“I don’t even know how to use this thing”, Rachel whispered, checking out the gun in her hands, “it’s a lot heavier than it looks on television… I can’t believe I’m actually holding one. I’ve never even held a squirt gun, so much for a handheld death tool. What the fuck am I supposed to do to fire it? I can’t even practise because it’ll alert those crazy people to where we are, so how the fuck am I supposed to know if I can fire it or not? I don’t even know if there are any bullets in it”.
“Give it to me”, Lori opened her hands to take the gun, placing the axe down beside her.
“Okay”, Rachel replied, handing it to her. Lori inspected the gun, keeping the barrel away from the both of them and her fingers far away from the trigger.
“I think there’s a safety measure on and I’m sure there’s something you put in it that has the bullets. I don’t think he’d have given it to us if it wasn’t loaded, but we don’t know how many bullets it has left, that’s the problem. We should probably save it for if we seriously need it”.
There was a moment of silence, before Rachel broke it.
“Do you think they’re alive?” Lori glanced up at her.
“I hope so, honestly I do… but so much shit has gone on today…”
“You think it might be hopeless…”
“That’s not what I’m saying exactly, I’m just saying… we should probably expect the worst, just in case. If they’re late, it could be that they just found it more of a challenge to get here with those things crawling all over the ship. Jesus fucking Christ, is that what I’m calling them now? Things?”
“Can we call them people anymore?”
“If we have any humanity left ourselves, yes”.
“You saw them, they tear people limb from limb. They’re more violent and ruthless than animals. You can’t call that a human being. They’re not so different from cannibals and serial killers, in fact they’re both”.
“Touché, even so, we should consider the fact that those things have your family trapped somewhere”.
“They would have replied to me by now, they would have said something”.
“When did you last message them?”
“Some time ago”.
“No news is good news then, at least until it’s bad news”.
“We should look for them”.
“That’s not a good idea, what if they get here and can’t find us? No, let’s hold our position and wait, they’ll come, otherwise they’ll text you”.
“I’m worried, Lori”.
“I know...”
“And I’m terrified, look at my hands, I’m shaking like a fucking leaf, my palms are sweaty, my face is fucking waterfalling and my heart feels like it’s gunna burst from my chest any minute now”.
“I know… I feel the same”. Rachel glanced towards her.
“You could have gone you know, I wouldn’t hate you”.
“And leave the one thing worth waking up to everyday behind? What would I go to? What would I live for?”
Rachel was silent for a moment before replying.
“I won’t contest that, I just want you to know how much I love you and how glad I am that you did stay. I don’t think I’d be able to think straight or find the courage to fight if you weren’t here with me”.
“Always”.
Before Rachel could say another word, her phone vibrated. It was a text from her grandmother.
“Who is it?” Lori asked, as Rachel propped her head up and began looking around.
“My grandmother, she says that they can see the
