Sea Sick: A Horror Novel(36)
“There’s a bad cold going around today, no?”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, there sure is. “It’s real bad. Don’t think anyone else has noticed though.”
“I have. Many people sick today. Sneezing, coughing, very bad.”
“You don’t look so hot yourself,” Jack commented as he examined Joma’s face. “You look exhausted.”
Joma nodded and seemed a little embarrassed that the focus of the conversation had suddenly turned to him. “I am fine, Mr Jack. I just work long hours. Lots to be done, many drinks to be served. It is tiring work.”
Jack looked at Joma and placed him a little over forty, which was strange because when they had first met, he probably would have placed the guy at a little under.
He must have had a rough day, Jack thought as he sipped the crisp, golden liquid from his pint glass.
“So how long have you worked on the Kirkpatrick, Joma?”
“Almost four months now. I work aboard another ship before that.”
“Why did you change?”
“Change of scenery.”
“Oh, okay,” said Jack, not expecting such a short reply. “Guess one of the perks of the job is being able to travel the world.”
Joma smiled and seemed to look off into the distance. “That is true, but I miss home very much, too. The most beautiful place is where people love you. The Mediterranean cannot compare to that, or anywhere else. Do you agree?”
Jack drank from his pint and placed it down gently on the bar. “Perhaps I would have once.”
“But no longer?”
“Well, where do you find beauty if nobody loves you?”
Joma thought about it while scratching at his chin. “I guess you find it in hope; hope that one day somebody will love you. I pray that you do find love, Mr Jack. A man is always stronger with love. It’s the only thing that truly separates us from the cavemen we used to be.”
Jack thought about what Joma was saying and actually found himself smiling a little. “I hope I get the chance one day to see if you’re right.”
“I have no doubt that you will, my friend. Now, can I get you another drink?”
Jack looked down at his near-empty pint glass and was shocked to see that he had drunk it so quickly. “Yeah, make it a whisky, please. Cheers.”
Joma got to work, thrusting a low-baller glass against the base of the optic and pouring the brownish-gold liquid in its measured amount. He handed the glass to Jack and smiled. “I will have to charge you for that one, my friend. I lose job otherwise.”
“No problem.” Jack handed over his card. “Say, do you know a girl called Tally? She usually works the Lido Deck during the day.”
Joma raised an eyebrow at him. “You make a friend already? Yes, I know Tally. Pretty girl. You like her?”
Jack felt his cheeks blush, and then wondered why he’d had that reaction. “Yes, I like her, but not in that way. I was just wondering where she goes at night.”
“Honestly, I do not know, but some of the day-staff sneak off to the Sports Deck at night. It is closed to passengers then, and some of them go there to have a drink together privately. Perhaps you will find her there.”
A coughing fit from behind Jack made him swivel around on his stool. He thought back to the last time he was on the Sports Deck. It hadn’t been locked up then. In fact it had been full of children (stuck inside that Perspex enclosure like sardines).
He turned back to Joma and asked him, “Are you sure it’s locked up? I’m sure I saw children up there a few months…uh, late last night.”
Joma nodded. “They have an under-twelve football match between eight and nine, but other than that it is locked up tight. Too dark for people to be running around outside on deck. Dangerous.”
Jack glanced back around at the gentleman in the corner, who was still coughing and hacking, then looked back at his watch. It would only be an hour or so until the Sports Deck was overwhelmed with eyebleeders again. If Tally was there, as Joma suggested she might be, it would not be a great time to talk to her. Jack needed to get back to his cabin, for now, where it was safe. He would visit the Sports Deck earlier tomorrow. Then at least he would have enough time to see what was going on with Tally and try to convince her to start helping him again.
The thought of seeing her again sent a shiver through his tummy. He really hoped she would be there tomorrow. But he’d have to wait to find out.
Day 216
Jack checked the ship’s newsletter that came under his door every day and learned that the Sports Deck was open until 6PM. He decided he would get there an hour before. If what Joma had told him was correct, he’d eventually be asked to leave, and the deck would then remain empty until the children arrived at 8PM (to be subsequently attacked by eyebleeders at 8:20.)
Right now, there were still lots of people milling about. Young couples batted tennis balls back and forth, while the older generation played bowls on a small green in the far corner. Up ahead was the enclosed football pitch that would later play host to a monstrous siege. It was a place of fun and hijinks, which made its eventual fate even more tragic.
Jack took a seat on a spectator bench beside one of the tennis courts and watched a game being contested between two teenage girls. They seemed very competitive and were even donning appropriate athletic skirts and nondescript white panties underneath.