Sea Sick: A Horror Novel(57)
“What are you talking about, you maniac?” The Captain fought against Jack’s arm but he was going nowhere.
“The Bridge? How do we get there?”
“There’s a…there’s a ladder outside this room. It leads to an elevator.”
Jack dragged the Captain backwards into the corridor, keeping his eyes on the guards that were pursuing him. He found the ladder, which actually turned out to be a steep staircase. It led up to a staff area which seemed to comprise of the ship’s surveillance rooms. Jack saw an elevator just past the row of offices. He took the Captain towards it, keeping an eye on each of the doorways as he moved by them. At the furthest office, the one before the elevator, something caused Jack to halt.
Tally!
Tally sat in a small room that was lined by a bank of monitors. She wasn’t looking at them and was instead inspecting her nails.
She’s bored. She’s pulled this false accusation trick so many times that she’s tired of having to sit here every day while Security looks for me. Ha!
Tally looked up and saw Jack through the glass pane in the door. Her eyes froze on him and he saw the lump move in her throat. He prodded Marangakis in the small of his back. “Open it.”
“And let you terrorise the poor girl even more? Never.”
Jack applied more pressure onto the lower discs of the man’s spine until he was crying out in pain. Then he spotted a guard rushing towards him. “Get back or I’ll snap his neck as easy as a twig. DO IT!” The guard stopped and took a single step backwards. “Now,” Jack said to the captain. “Open this door or I’ll leave you here a vegetable.”
Marangakis reached into his hip pocket and pulled out a navy-blue key card. He swiped it against the door and a metallic click rang out as the magnetic lock disengaged. Jack shoved the Captain hard in the back and the man fell forwards, his head smacking against the thick wood of the door. Tally leapt up from her swivel chair as the two of them entered.
Jack kicked the door closed behind him and pulled at the handle to make sure that the lock had reengaged. Marangakis fled to a corner of the cramped room and turned around to face Jack. The expression on his face was one of outrage. Jack couldn’t give a f*ck.
“Stop all this right now,” the captain demanded. “If you do not-”
“Sit down, shut up,” said Jack. “I’m trying really hard to use violence as a last resort, but time is getting a bit tight for diplomacy.”
“J-Jack, what are you doing here?” Tally trembled in front of him, bent at the knees like some frightened little girl.
“Cut the act, you lying bitch. What’s your game plan, here?”
“W-what? Just stay away from me. HELP!”
“Leave her alone,” Marangakis ordered.
Jack pointed a finger in Tally’s face. “She’s lying. I never touched her. She’s a part of what I’m trying to warn you people about. There’s a virus aboard this ship and she knows all about it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please, just don’t hurt me anymore.”
Jack took a step towards her, veins threatening to burst under the strain of his blood boiling. He almost raised a hand to hit her, but kept his temper under control. He leant in beside her and whispered so that only she could hear. “I’m going to make you pay for this. I won’t let you wipe out the goddamn world.”
Before Jack could gauge Tally’s reaction to his words, Marangakis piled into him from out of his blindspot. Jack’s feet tangled up and he found himself being rammed backwards against the room’s desk. He felt something sharp dig into his back, then dampness. Marangakis pummelled Jack with fists, left and right, knocking his vision loose and disorientating him. From the corner of his eye, Jack watched Tally flee through the door and several guards enter.
Jack struggled to get free of Marangakis’s grip before he was outnumbered. He rolled, twisted, and managed to shrug the larger man away from him. The guards struggled to surround Jack in the small room and he used that to his advantage. He straightened up from the desk and winced at a stabbing pain in his shoulder blade. He reached behind him and pulled loose a bloodsoaked pencil that had been embedded a half-inch into his scapula. Jack thought about using it to stab Captain Marangakis, but decided against it. If he injured anyone today it would be permanent. Like it or not, the people he was fighting with were innocent and didn’t deserve to die.
They still needed taking down, though.
Jack swung a fist and backhanded Marangakis across the bridge of his nose. Then he reversed the swing into an overhand right and clocked the nearest guard in the jaw. In the narrow space of the room, Jack was able to take down the other men, one after the other, by being sure to incapacitate them as quickly as possible while keeping control of the murderous rage inside of him.
The guards were soon dealt with and Marangakis was stunned. The Captain was sat down on the floor like a wounded Teddy bear. He looked up at Jack wearily. “You’re a madman.”
“Yes,” said Jack, “but trust me when I tell you that I’m trying to help you – everyone. Terrorists have released something monstrous onto this ship and if it reaches the mainland, we’re not going to make it. I don’t know who’s responsible, but the only lead I had just ran out of that door. I need to find Tally before it’s too late. So please don’t stop me.”