by Jon Schafer
As he sat at the bar sipping one of the complimentary drinks being given out to assuage the ruffled feathers of the passengers, he thought of the people around him as being nothing but sheep. This led his mind to freely associate with the word flock. And from just that simple word, there bloomed an idea of such magnitude that he could barely contain himself. Taking a deep drink of his Mai Tai, he let the plan unfold. Not sure of all the details, but sure it would work if he played it right, he decided to begin right then and there.
Although he'd worked hard to lose his Georgia accent, Richard let it flow as he turned toward the two middle aged ladies sitting next to him and drawled, “I know what's going on, and all I can say is that it's an act of God.”
Richard saw that the two women were instantly attentive, either cuing in on the word God or the fact that he claimed to know the reason for the disruption of the cruise. Laying it on thick, he reminded the two women of the HWNW virus before telling them they had an outbreak on the ship. He had seen it with his own eyes. Speaking loud enough to be heard by others sitting and standing nearby, he soon had a sizeable crowd gathered, hanging on his every word.
He started out by relating what he had seen in the Sounds Lounge while throwing in any Bible verse that seemed appropriate for the situation and repeated the story a few times for the newcomers who congregated to hear his tale. When he had everyone's attention, he ad-libbed a story about ministering to a group of natives while working as a missionary in Africa. He told how the heathens of the village he'd been sent to bring Christ to wouldn't give up their sinful ways. He related that the natives had run him off and then finished his tale by saying that two weeks later, the entire community was wiped out by the Ebola virus. This brought gasps from some in his audience, so Richard added in a deep somber voice, “He who rejects the word of God and his messenger will be struck down in the coming plague.”
A few in the crowd turned away at this prophecy and a few laughed. Richard noted the hecklers so they could be dealt with later. Despite this, most of the people seemed interested in what he had to say. An older woman laid her hand on his arm and asked, “What's your name, son?”
Without missing a beat, and raising his voice so all could hear, he said, “I am the Reverend Ricky Rose, brothers and sisters, and I'm here to lead you to salvation.”
With this declaration, the Reverend Ricky was born.
Ricky was amazed as he recalled how well his con job worked. Switching between the personas of a kind, caring, country preacher and a strongman dictator, he soon organized his faithful into groups that either prayed for salvation or went in search of anyone infected with the HWNW virus. By spreading the word that the end times were here and that only he, the Reverend Ricky Rose, could save the passengers on the Calm of the Seas, within hours he solidified his position as the spiritual and religious leader of the ship. By playing on the passengers’ fears, and their willingness to grasp at any straw that might save them, he drew enough people to him to turn his attention to strengthening his physical hold over the ship.
Remembering what the Baptist minister had told him about how he had used his ushers, Ricky chose the most faithful from the groups searching for passengers infected with the virus. From these he formed a cadre that he could use. Giving them each a red t-shirt so they could be easily recognized, red to show the blood shed by Jesus Christ, he named them his Ushers and set them to work relocating people to different decks since the Sounds Lounge was filling up fast. It was of no concern to Ricky that many of the passengers not infected with the disease were trapped with those who were when the plan fell apart and all the cabin areas were locked down. He already had over four hundred followers, so the loss of a few potential recruits was no big deal. When some of his flock approached Ricky to tell him that people were jumping into the sea to their death from the quarantine areas, he told them that God spoke to him and showed him a vision of this very thing coming to pass. God told him that the people were already infected and were simply saving themselves from the horror and ravages of the HWNW virus. They would be forgiven their sins and go to Heaven despite their suicide after a brief stay in purgatory.
With the Bible as his reference and a direct line to God, Ricky could find a vision, verse or a psalm to explain any of his actions. And then, if all else failed, he could always fall back on the greatest, empty justification that man had used since time began to excuse his actions.
It was God's will.
Reverend Ricky watched out the side window of the bridge with interest as the sailboat turned and headed toward the Calm of the Seas. “Contact your man and find out what they're doing,” he told Parsons.
After pulling out a two-way radio, his number two held a brief conversation with the Usher posted to watch the newcomers from the second level of the Centrum. This was followed by a long pause in which neither man on the bridge spoke as they waited for an answer. Finally, the radio squawked and the Usher informed them that it appeared that the rest of the people from the sailboat were coming on board.
At this, a smile broke over Ricky's face as he said, “I told you they wouldn't be able to resist the temptation. Now you see why I wanted them to come on board unopposed. Let them get their fill of food and water. Let them get comfortable in the Centrum. Let them drop their guard and-.”
Ricky was interrupted by Sheila, the redhead he had brought aboard as a play toy. Entering the bridge, she slammed the hatch behind her with a resounding bang. Swaying slightly, she called in an angry voice, “What the fuck do mean keeping me cooped up on deck eleven, Ricky? Someone said a boat was spotted and people were coming on board. What the fuck's going on?”
Looking at her with disgust, he said, “You're drunk Sheila. Go sleep it off someplace.”
Instead of letting herself be dismissed, the woman stuck out her hand and steadied herself against a wall. Squinting in Ricky's direction, she slurred, “Don't give me that shit. You may be the great and powerful Reverend Ricky to the rest of these idiots, but I know exactly who you are and where you came from.”
This barb struck its mark, causing Ricky to sigh and say in a gentler voice, “Alright babe, I'll tell you what's going on. Yes, we spotted a boat, and yes, the people in it are coming on board. In fact, some of them are already on deck four.”
Pushing off from the wall, Sheila took two unsteady steps forward and said, “Well then, let's go down and say hello. Make friends with them and get them to take us off this ship of the damned.”
“It's not that easy,” Ricky replied.
Anger flashed in Sheila's eyes. “We're on a sinking ship in the middle of the fucking ocean and-.”
“Gulf of Mexico,” Ricky corrected. “And we're not sinking yet.”
“-and we need to get to Cozumel where it's safe,” Sheila went on. “We’ve got maybe a hundred people left, and between the occasional zombie showing up out of nowhere to eat someone and the suicides, pretty soon there won't be anyone except you and your precious Ushers.”
“I’m working on a plan right now,” Ricky assured her.
Sheila snorted. “Planning on who you're gonna screw tonight. You and your big goddamn plans. I agreed to go along with you in the beginning, but now everything's falling apart and we’re gonna die.”
Moving close, Sheila pressed her body against Ricky's and let her voice drop to an almost pleading tone. “Let's take one of the lifeboats and head for an oil rig. You and Don said we could make it that far. Just you and me, babe, just like in the beginning.”
Ricky shook his head. “I explained why we couldn’t do that. We’d be in even worse shape. We’d be stuck in the middle of the Gulf with fewer supplies than we have here.”
“Then we need to go down and talk to the people who got the sailboat. A sailboat doesn't need gas, and it can get us to Cozumel,” Sheila whined.
“A boat that size can only hold about ten or twelve people,” Ricky said. “There are already seven of them on board, so that only leaves room for five of us.
And that's if they even agree to take us. And we don't know who they are or what they want yet. Plus, when we do go, we have to bring enough supplies to last us until we can get set up in Cozumel. It's the rule they have there. You heard them yourself when we talked to them on the radio. If you try to land on the island and you can't prove you're self-supporting, they run you off.”
“So what are we gonna do?”
Ricky hesitated in telling her his plan. Although Sheila had backed him when he took control of the ship, and knew most of what was really going on, she'd been drinking far too much lately. When she didn't get her way, she would threaten to expose him as a fraud to the Faithful. To let them know that within a few weeks the pumps on the Calm of the Seas were going to fail, and the ship would sink ... he couldn't have that.
And who was she to complain about whom I fuck, Ricky thought vehemently. It was her idea to have an orgy every night. And she was even the one who gave me the idea on how to rationalize it to his flock. “If you are without sin, how then could you be saved?”
Ricky laughed his ass off at that one, but the Faithful ate it up.
Hell, he thought, before that they were all sneaking around jumping each other anyway. This just gave them an excuse to bring it out in the open. Now, every evening at sunset, the entire congregation moved up to the pool deck. After a quick sermon from Ricky, they waited for the rapture, for Jesus to lift his faithful up to Heaven. When it didn't happen, and Ricky would've shit one big brick if it ever did, the crowd moved to the pool bar and started drinking. Soon, threesomes, foursomes and full nude twister orgies would break out on mattresses dragged from the chairs scattered across the deck. The PA was turned on and blasted music while the Romanesque orgy went on until dawn. This was when those few left standing, staggered below to nurse their hangovers.
Looking at Sheila, Ricky saw the dark circles around her eyes and that the skin on her face had started to sag.
Along with her tits, he added.
With her constant threats to unmask him endangering what he had built, she had become a liability.
Holding Sheila close, Ricky stroked her hair and said, “Don't worry, babe. Don and I have an idea we're working on. Right now, we just need to lay low while we make sure the newcomers don't mean us any harm. In a few days, we'll approach them and make a deal to get us off the ship.”
Pulling away from Ricky, Sheila said harshly, “Just make sure that I’m on that boat when it sails, or I’ll make damn sure no one is. Your Faithful will have your natural ass when I shout it out on every deck about how you conned them. How you've been keeping it secret about the ship sinking and how you wrecked the lifeboats to keep everyone here.”
Pointing to some rust colored stains on the floor at the back of the bridge, she added, “I’ll also let them know what you did to the Captain and the crew when they stood up to you. How you killed some and fed the rest to those things.”
Like a light bulb being turned on, Ricky beamed a reassuring smile at Sheila and said, “Now there's no reason for any of that, honey. Of course you're going with me. You're my number one girl. Now, go get a drink at the Masthead and I’ll be down to see you in a little bit. We'll spend some time together. Just you and me.”
Slightly placated, Sheila turned to go as Ricky gave her an affectionate pat on the rear. When she was gone, Ricky turned to Parsons, his smile now gone. In a cold voice, he said, “I'm through with her shit. Give her about an hour to get even more liquored up and then send two of the Head Ushers to grab her. Everyone else is on deck eleven, so she'll be alone.”
“What do you want them to do with her?” Parsons asked. They had found numerous ways to dispose of anyone who threatened their control over the ship.
“Take her to the Sounds Lounge and dump her skanky ass off the balcony. Let those things take care of her.” Ricky ordered.
“Do you want to watch again?” Parsons added with a sick smile.
Ricky thought about it for a minute before saying, “Yeah, I think I'd like that. Have the men radio me when they get ready to toss her in. They can do whatever they want to her until I get there. While we're waiting for that, you and I need to figure out how we're going to eliminate the intruders. They seem to have us outgunned, so we need to come up with a way to take them out without putting any of the core group at risk.”
Looking out at the flat water, Ricky said in a low voice, “I want that sailboat.”
Chapter Seven
The Dead Calm:
Steve toweled himself dry as he stepped from the shower in the corner of the locker room. Reaching for a new pair of jeans and shirt that Heather had found in one of the shops in the Centrum, an enticing aroma reached him from the nearby kitchen. It seemed like months, rather than just over a week, since he had eaten anything but MREs, so the smell of broiling meat set his mouth watering.
Clipping the holster containing his pistol to his waistband, he picked up his M-4 and checked the safety before hanging the weapon over his shoulder by its sling. Exiting the locker room, he headed down a short hallway leading to the food preparation area. Set up to feed hundreds, it took Steve a few minutes to find Susan, Connie and Cindy in the huge kitchen. They had taken over a small corner of the serving line nearest the doors leading to the dining room where they had access to one of the coolers and a broiler the size of a mid-sized pickup truck.
Everyone was still jumpy, those from the sailboat because they were in a possibly hostile environment and Connie and Tim because they were still learning to trust the newcomers. Not wanting to startle anyone, he called out before approaching, “Whatever it is, smells good,”
“We're cooking,” Cindy yelled out excitedly. “Wait until you taste the garlicky potatoes I made.”
“Connie's been a great help, too,” Susan said. “I'd still be trying to figure out where everything is if it wasn't for her.” The young woman gave a shy smile and said, “It's nice to cook for more than just Tim and me.”
Looking around, Steve asked, “Where is everyone?”
“Tim's with Tick-Tock, watching the stairs,” Susan said. Narrowing her eyes she asked, “What's Tick-Tock's real name anyway? He won't tell me, and I've been trying to find out for weeks now.”
Steve smiled and shrugged. Lots of people had asked him that same question, and he always refused to answer. Even Heather had given up trying to get him to spill it. At one point, Heather and Susan had even tried to check the personnel records at the radio station, only to find Tick-Tock's file was missing. He had gotten there before them.
Seeing that she wouldn't get anywhere with Steve, Susan gave him a dirty look and continued, “Heather's nesting and-.”
Steve cut her off, “Nesting?”
“She's putting together a place for you and her in the Captain's Clothes store,” she explained. “She dragged your mattress off the boat and set it up in there. There's a linen store where you can buy sheets and pillowcases, so we all raided it. Hope you like a nautical theme on your blanket.”
Steve tried to remember where the Captain's Clothes store was and finally recalled that it was at a slight angle to the grand staircase, the perfect place to give covering fire if anyone tried to rush their deck from above.
You go Heather, he thought to himself; grateful he had her and Tick-Tock's help.
After Brain, Mary and Cindy had come on board, Mary had headed straight for the nearest shoe store while Susan and Cindy went to shower. Trying to calculate how he would split the remainder of his people up to help secure their new environment, Steve was stymied when a few minutes later, Brain was struck with what he called motionless sickness. They all felt a little queasy standing on something stable after being on the sailboat for so long, but it seemed to hit Brain especially hard. Twenty minutes after his feet hit the deck of the Dead Calm, the tech found he couldn’t stand up straight and starting vomiting. Thus, it was Steve, Heather and Tick-Tock who went over every inch of the Centrum to make sure their position was secure. Once satisfied, the
y turned their attention to making certain their means of egress were clearly marked, in case they had to make a hasty exit. Using the paint Steve had carried with him on their initial exploration, the walls and floors of the Centrum and the dining room now sported blue arrows pointing toward the hatch where The Usual Suspects was tied up.
Tim had been assigned to kitchen duty but grew bored and instead helped with the painting. When they were done, he showed them where to access the crew passageways that ran behind the stores. He provided a crowbar he'd found in one of the maintenance areas and they used this to lever open the door of the shops they wanted something from. Although they all had a craving for fresh food, one of the first places they used the crowbar on was the Ship's Store so they could raid its snack counter. Then Steve went to relieve Heather at the stairs so she could grab something for herself before heading to the shower.
“Where's Brain,” Steve asked, watching with amusement as a blush crept up Connie's neck to bloom in her cheeks.
In a quiet voice, she replied, “He went to get us some water. The pump for the kitchen is out, so we have to bring it from the bathroom at the other end of the Centrum.”
Susan added, “Actually, we didn't need any water, but he’d recovered from his love sickness-.'' Connie shot her a dirty look, so she amended, “Sorry, motion sickness. And I got tired of walking around him every time he threw himself at Connie's feet, so I told him to get us some water to get him out of the way.”
Steve smiled. The hot topic of gossip for the females was how Brain and Connie reacted to each other when they first met. After Brain had secured the sailboat next to the hatch, he helped Mary and Cindy aboard. Ignoring everything around him, he was talking excitedly to Steve about what they could get from the ship when his eyes settled on Connie. Stopping in mid-sentence, his mouth dropped open and he could only gawk. Later, he told Tick-Tock she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
