Jonathan led the way through the corridors and over to the crew staircase, staying ahead to redirect anyone in their path.
“Even dead, this guy is super heavy. Wonder what he ate for dinner?” Brad asked.
“A fat man from the feel of it,” Timothy answered, laughing.
“Shhh. We are supposed to keep this quiet, gentlemen.”
“Sorry, boss,” they whispered apologetically.
The door to the engine rooms kept the amount of noise contained and partitioned away from the passengers.
Concerned with how heavy it was and where they should set it down, Brad and Timothy never saw the body sit straight up until a hand landed on Timothy’s thigh.
“Bloody hell.” Timothy screamed as the infected man’s mouth latched onto his leg, its teeth tearing out a chunk of flesh.
Brad tried grabbing it by the arms to pull him away from Timothy, but the infected turned his attention to him and bit into his neck, causing blood to squirt rapidly out of his body.
Jumping into action, but unable to pull the infected off of Brad, Timothy reached for the nearest thing, his hand landing on a shovel.
Swinging with all of his might, he cringed when the shovel squelched into the infected’s head. Pulling the shovel back, the infected’s brains began to leak onto the floor, and all over Brad.
Now that the infected had stopped moving, Timothy tried again to pull him off of Brad and succeeded only in ripping out a piece of Brad’s throat that had been caught in the infected’s mouth.
Jonathan had turned to shut the door behind them and stood immobilized by the violence before him.
As Brad clutched his throat and tried to mouth something, Jonathan quickly moved toward them. He sprang into action by throwing the infected into the open furnace.
Knowing there was nothing that could be done for Brad as he fell back and onto the ground, Timothy caught him and gently laid him down.
“Oh, my poor friend. Looks like you’ll be seeing the good Lord sooner than I. Tell him not to hurry about calling me up there.” Timothy tried to smile for Brad as he took his last gasping breath.
The frozen crew members that had been shoveling coal into the furnaces were standing there, staring at the tragedy before them.
“For goodness sake, will one of you help me get this mess into the fire please?” Jonathan grew exasperated as they simply continued to look.
Grabbing the sheets that had fallen from the infected’s body, he wiped up the floor as best he could, leaving a slight stain from the blood.
As Brad stopped breathing, Timothy’s body shook with quiet tears for his friend and crewmate.
“He’s gone,” Timothy pronounced. As he began to get up, his leg collapsed underneath him from the infected’s bite.
“Timothy, we have to put him in the furnace now so that the infection doesn’t spread.”
“We can’t. What will I tell his mother?” Timothy cried.
“That he died doing his job. A hero in the truest sense of the word.” Jonathan turned his attention to the other crew members. “Gentlemen, do I need to have the captain come down here to remind you of how to do your jobs?”
“No, sir,” they responded and moved over to put Brad’s body into the furnace.
Bending over to grab him by the arms and legs, both men were startled when Brad raised his arms and scratched the man at his feet across the chest.
When the man at his arms released him, turning to run away, Brad reached out and pulled on his ankle, causing him to fall flat on his face.
Brad turned onto his stomach and held the man’s leg with both hands, raising it to his mouth for a bite.
The thwack of the shovel brought everyone back to the present as Jonathan ended the infected Brad’s second attempt at life.
Stepping in between the wounded men, Jonathan picked up Brad’s body and threw him feet first into the furnace. He watched until there was no trace left of the friend he had once knew.
Jonathan bandaged up the crew as best he could, hoping to slow the blood flow.
Although bitten, the men seemed able to speak, but the man who had been scratched was laying on the floor unconscious, having fainted from the shock and loss of blood.
Choosing the person most in need of medical attention, Jonathan bent to pick up the man who had been scratched.
Grunting with the effort, Jonathan made his way to the door where one of the remaining crew was waiting to open the door for him.
As he turned the corner, he could see various crewmembers helping Timothy and the other man to their feet, hobbling toward the infirmary after Jonathan.
~~~~~~
The door burst open and Nora turned to see what the commotion was about.
“Oh, my goodness. Jonathan, what happened?” Nora pushed the partition aside so that he could lay the crewman on a bed.
“Get two more beds ready.”
Nora grabbed the disinfectant and gauze as she cleared a space for the incoming patients.
Several other crewmen arrived, helping Timothy and the other injured man to the bed.
“Thank you, gentleman. If you will please move over behind that partition and take off anything that has blood on it, that would be most helpful. We need to make sure this infection doesn’t go beyond this room.”
Grumbling, the men walked behind the partition and started to disrobe.
“I’ll go ask another steward to find clean uniforms for them to wear.” Jonathan began to make his way to the door.
“No. You go behind the partition as well.” Seeing him start to protest, Nora put up her hand. “You know how this works, and we aren’t taking any chances.”
Nora picked up the phone. “Hello, can you wake up the nurses in room D6? Yes. Please, it’s an emergency. Also, see if you can bring some clean work clothes for three men.”
Ignoring the men behind the partition, Nora started cleaning the scratches on the man’s chest as the blood started to seep through the makeshift bandages and onto the bed.
“Nora, don’t bother with the disinfectant. It won’t help him.” Jonathan spoke from behind the curtain.
Removing the shirts they had tried to use to stop the bleeding, Nora gasped as the blood rushed up and spilled over his chest.
Pressing the gauze over the deep scratches, Nora reached for a clean towel to press over the wounds. When it only slowed the bleeding, Nora shook her head in frustration.
Just then, Johnny’s father walked through the door, to Nora’s relief.
“Oh, thank goodness. Johnny is doing much better. As you can see, we have some serious illnesses that we don’t want him catching. He is right in there.”
Johnny, hearing his name, came bustling through the room, jumping into his father’s arms. It made Nora smile, seeing him feeling better. “Now Johnny, make sure you don’t eat a whole bag of chocolate again, Okay?”
Nodding, Johnny wrapped his arms around his father and waved as they disappeared through the door.
“Timothy, are you two okay for the moment?”
“Yes, Miss. We wrapped up the bites as best we could and they aren’t bleeding anymore.”
“I need to clean up so I don’t spread anything from him to the two of you.”
“We’ll be fine for a few more minutes.”
Using the sink to wash the blood from her hands, Nora finished just as someone rapped on the door.
“Hold on, I’ll be right there,” Nora called. She opened the door to a man holding a stack of uniforms. “Wait, I can only carry a few at a time.”
Handing them over the top of the partition to Jonathan, Nora hurried back for the rest.
“Thank you for being so quick with these.”
“My pleasure, Miss.”
Shutting the door after him, Nora admonished the men, “Don’t let your new clothes touch anything with blood on them.”
Wetting several towels, Nora handed them over the partition so they could wash off any possible contamination.
Jonathan took a few extra minutes to wrap all the blood-stained clothes into a bundle.
“If you will give me all the garbage, I’ll take it down to the furnace and make sure we didn’t miss anything downstairs.”
“Sure. Let me collect it. You may have to make two trips.”
“I’ll bring a laundry cart for anything else in case we need to move more stuff.”
“Jonathan, I’m worried about Patrick. If this happened with the first patient, then who knows what will happen to him.”
“When we get things situated, I’ll go with you to check on him.”
“Thank you. It’s a huge relief.” Nora collected her supplies and went to start on the other wounded men.
Angie and Peggy raced in, but stopped in the doorway, surveying the damaged room.
The panels had been pulled back out of the way, showing the chest victim laying in full view on blood soaked sheets as they began to drip on the floor.
“What can we do to help?” Peggy asked shakily.
“First, don’t touch anything with blood on it. We will get you both a pair of gloves so you won’t become infected.”
Angie stood there, focused on the blood oozing from the chest of the scratch victim with every breath he took.
Snapping her fingers in front of Nurse Angie, Nora hoped she would be able to function.
“Have you ever nursed emergency victims before?” Standing directly in front of Angie, she blocked the view of the body so that she had to focus on something else.
“Yes, Miss. It’s just been a while since I’ve seen a war zone like this one.” Drawing in a deep breath, Angie squared her shoulders. “I’ll clean and rebandage for you while we strip off the bloody garments.”
“Thank you. Nurse Peggy, why don’t you get a clean bucket and mop up the floor where they changed in case we have any non-infected emergencies.”
“Of course. I’ll bring back a few pairs of gloves as well.” Peggy turned to get the supplies.
Jonathan held a sheet full of the bloody items and Nora held the door for him.
Leaning toward her, he whispered in her ear.
“When I come back with the cart, we need to get both of these ladies out of here so we can take him down to the furnace before he changes.”
“No, we can’t kill him,” Nora gasped in astonishment.
“We both know he’s not going to make it, and if we don’t do it now, he will wind up hurting more people that we won’t be able to save.”
“It’s not civilized,” Nora exclaimed.
“No, it’s not, but there are others we have to protect from whatever this infection is. If he comes back to life like the other two did, the only way to stop him is a fatal blow to the head.”
Sighing, Nora nodded. “I can’t condone it, but it doesn’t seem like we have any other options at this point. I’ll find a way to clear the room when you come back.”
~~~~~~
“Peggy, when you have the floor mopped up, just leave the bucket here and Jonathan will dispose of it.”
Walking over to Angie as she finished bandaging the second man, Nora tried to think of what they could do to stop the infection.
When Peggy’s mop water hardly made a dent in the bloody floor, Nora made a decision.
“Ladies, we can’t contain this mess, and it really needs to be thoroughly disinfected. Will one of you go to third class and ask the steward if there are any ladies that have nursing skills?”
“I’ll go. Also, maybe we can use the second gym in first class for a new infirmary,” Angie volunteered.
“If we do that though, we will have to have more people to check on between here and there.” Nora thought for a moment before continuing. “But I see how your idea would keep the infected separated from the average sick people. When Jonathan gets back, we will go and ask the captain for permission and see where he wants us to start a new infirmary. Peggy, will you go ahead and check on Patrick for me? He is in the crew cabins on Deck E. He should be unconscious, but I don’t want you to enter if you hear anything inside the room.”
“So he should be quiet, and if he’s not he’s dangerous?” Confusion clouded Peggy’s face. “Shouldn’t it be the opposite?”
“Normally yes, but in this case that means he is completely infected. He could bite you, then you would be infected.” Nora didn’t want to scare her, but needed her to realize the seriousness of the situation.
“A bite? Is that how people are becoming infected? They’re trying to eat us?” Peggy nervously started chewing on her nails.
“Yes, they are biting people and scratching them. The wounds are infected and so far,” Nora lowered her voice, “nobody has survived the wounds from an infected person.”
Angie voiced what they were both thinking. “Are they going to die?” She whispered, trying not to glance at the men in the infirmary beds.
Needing her nurses, Nora hesitated. “I believe they will, Angie. The crewman with the chest wound may not last an hour.”
Peggy’s hand covered her mouth and she started to wail as she took in the blood-soaked room. “We’re all going to die.”
Nora brought her out of it by shaking her shoulders.
“We will live, but we have to have your help.”
“I can’t. I don’t want to be bitten. I’m going to my room. I’m sorry.” Peggy fled the room, locking herself in her cabin and barricading the door with any piece of furniture she came into contact with.
“I’ll go recruit some help and then check in on Patrick. Don’t get me wrong, I’m scared and worried, but it won’t help others on this ship if we all panic,” Angie advised.
“I really hope it won’t continue to spread. This was an isolated incident and Jonathan is taking precautions to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“I know, but I’m still worried. I’ll be back as quickly as I can with some extra help.” Angie took a furtive glance at the men laying on the beds.
As the door closed behind her, Nora leaned against it and slid to the floor as the reality of the situation sunk in.
Chapter 8
Meanwhile, Lillian waited on the deck for Gil to finish working so they could explore more of the ship.
After watching the ocean filled with dolphins and other fish the day before, Lillian grew bored. Walking behind a group of ladies, Lillian eavesdropped on their conversation.
“Can you believe the woman last night, trying to pass herself off as one of us?”
“You would never catch me wearing lip rouge or face powder like that. Wasn’t it just awful?”
“Well, what made it worse was the way the men were falling all over her. I mean, they are from our station and yet they appeared to like what she was offering.”
“Seriously, just because you won’t let any of them kiss you, do you really blame them?”
“I don’t want to kiss just any man. I want him to make my toes curl.”
“Now I believe a man like that would know just how a woman should be taken advantage of.” One of the woman raised her eyebrows in emphasis as Jonathan quickly walked by.
“So you think it’s okay to have one of the crew make out with you, but it’s not okay for one of our men to do the same with a nurse?”
“It’s different if we have a moment with a lower class person, but for them to try to pawn themselves on us is not appropriate. That one,” motioning to the retreating form of Jonathan, “is not trying to put on airs. He knows his station. Plus, he’s dreamy, don’t you think?”
The group neared the end of the deck and were about to turn around, so Lillian leaned over the railing, acting disinterested.
“Oh, look. It’s Samuel.”
“Isn’t he sweet, helping his mother out like that?”
“I heard she wasn’t feeling well this trip.”
“The sea doesn’t agree with her. I’m just glad I’m
not as weak as that.”
Lillian moved away, remembering the saying, Eavesdroppers never hear good about themselves.
Deciding to go find Gil instead of waiting for him, Lillian made her way past many people headed to the decks for an afternoon stroll.
She snuck into the main kitchen area where the corridors became almost ghostly.
Seeing Jonathan pushing a large laundry cart, Lillian followed him to the crew elevator and hurried down the stairs, out of sight.
When he got out at the lowest floor and proceeded to the engine rooms, Lillian hugged the walls to keep him from spotting her as she followed at a safe distance behind.
At the door of the furnace room, someplace even Gil wouldn’t risk taking Lillian, she watched as the crew helped Jonathan maneuver the cart inside. As they were lifting it through the doorway, an arm flung out of the sheets inside.
Stifling a gasp with her hand, she pressed back against the wall so they wouldn’t see her.
Knowing they could come back and find her, Lillian ran back to the stairs and started the long climb up to the kitchens again.
Arriving on the stairs as Gil left the bakery, Lillian couldn’t contain herself any longer.
“Gil!” She all but shouted.
“Lillian. What’s wrong?” He looked around to make sure that no one had seen her in the crew’s area.
“Gil, they took a body to the furnace and were going to burn him up,” she gasped, out of breath from her run up the stairs.
“Hold on.” Gil moved her over to a corner where they wouldn’t be overheard.
“Who’s burning a body?”
“The steward, Jonathan, and the furnace guys were helping him.”
“Oh, no. That means the infected guy died.”
“How do you know that, and why would they burn his body?” Lillian demanded.
“If it’s the infected man, they have to get rid of his body or it could cause an epidemic here on board. I heard most of this the first night in Cookie’s kitchen. We should go and tell him what you saw. If he’s worried about it then we can tell the captain. Let’s walk by the infirmary on our way.” Gil gently took Lillian’s elbow to lead her in that direction.
Infected Waters: A Titanic Disaster Page 8
