Sea Sick: A Horror Novel(45)

“I think so,” said Claire, seeming even more worried. “They had the sniffles this morning at breakfast. I don’t know how bad they are now, though.”

“Like I said, no need to worry. I’m sure it’s just a cold virus spreading.”

“What if it is something worse? Would I be at risk?”

Jack looked at Claire and wondered why she was so concerned. There was no reason for her to worry about a cold. “No. There’s no reason you would be at risk. Flu viruses are only a danger to the elderly, the very young, or-”

“Pregnant women,” Claire answered for him.

It all made sense then. That was the reason that Claire put up with the way Conner spoke to her. He was the father of her baby. Just another teenage pregnancy to add to the list. Jack sighed and shook his head. He’d seen so many young lives wasted by unplanned pregnancies. A baby was a wonderful thing, but uneducated, jobless teenagers were just adding to the cycle of benefit-seeking, ambitionless families that were nothing but a drain on society. Not all were like that, of course, but many were. “How far along are you?” he asked her.

“A few weeks, I think. I haven’t told my boyfriend yet. I was planning on doing it this week, maybe tomorrow at the Captain’s reception. We’re getting dressed up.”

Jack smiled, hoping that one day tomorrow would actually arrive and Claire would get to put on her dress. “Well, I hope that he takes the news well and that you’re very happy together. In the meantime, please don’t worry. There is a very good doctor onboard and I have no reason to believe there is anything to worry about.”

Yeah right! Just a nasty little bug that turns human beings rabid, even after they’re dead. Other than that, there’s no need to worry at all.

Right then, Conner’s cue to arrive came up and the young couple had their predictable conversation about hotdogs. Jack chose not get involved on this day; there was no reason to cause Claire any more worry than she already had. Still, he was disappointed not to have learned more about how Conner had caught his flu. The answer was lurking there somewhere beneath the surface, but there hadn’t been enough time to squeeze it free.

And still there was no Tally.

Jack decided that the only other person with possible answers would be Donovan. It was time to pay another visit to the cargo hold.

***

The Orlap Deck was deserted and Donovan was nowhere to be seen. The pallets and crates lay undisturbed. Jack called out, but there was no answer. He moved around the space cautiously, aware that Donovan was dangerous and also in possession of a gun.

“I’m done with this shit, Donovan. Whatever you’re deal is, I’m ready to put a pin in it for now. When everything goes back to normal then you and me will have a different conversation, but right now all I want are answers. I need to find Tally.”

There was still nothing but silence. Jack headed further into the cargo area, looking left and right between boxes of pharmaceuticals and the blue crates of money. Towards the back of the area were some thick metal cases that he’d not noticed before, each was the size of a footlocker. Behind them something lay on the floor, sticking out a few inches. Jack took slow steps towards the object, ready to throw a punch at the first sign of a threat.

As Jack got closer it became clear what he was looking at. On the floor, sticking out from behind the crates was…

A foot.

Jack stepped forward to find Donovan lying on the floor. He was covered in blood and it had congealed against the metal grating beneath him. The blood was old and his body was stiff. Donovan had been dead for a while. And he wasn’t coming back. Jack had seen enough bodies and their timelines of decay to know that Donovan must have been murdered shortly after speaking with him the day before.

Which means that Donovan wasn’t the one who jumped me from behind.

I really need to speak to Tally.



Day 236

Jack had spent the rest of the previous evening looking for Tally, but had been unable to find her. He was lost in a spiral of confusion and felt more alone than before he’d even met Tally and Donovan. Having an enemy onboard willing to kill remorselessly was a far more unsettling prospect than anything else that had happened up until that point. Jack still found it difficult to picture Tally as the one behind Donovan’s death, and he both hoped and dreaded that there was someone else onboard responsible, but it didn’t seem likely.

Jack got out of bed and made a mental checklist of the things that weighed heavily on him. He needed to find Tally, needed to find out if it was indeed her who had attacked Donovan, needed to find out who the pathwalker was, and most of all he needed to stop the virus.

Then maybe I can find that time to relax. Yeah, Jack, keep on dreaming.

Jack freshened up, spent an hour relaxing, and then got ready to leave. Before he reached for the door, however, someone knocked on the other side.

What the hell? No one ever knocks on my door.

Whoever was out in the corridor, knocking at his cabin door, could only be someone outside of the spell. It could even be Tally.

Jack opened the door.

Two large Filipino gentlemen stood there wearing the bright red waist jackets of Security. Jack didn’t understand how they could be here. What had changed?

“Yes,” he said. “Can I help you?”

“Could you come with us please, sir?” It wasn’t a question, it was an order.