“He’s much different than I thought he was when I first met him.” Nora smiled, thinking of how nice it had been to relax in his arms.
“Oh, so it was one of those kind of restful naps, eh?” Angie whispered.
“What?” Shocked, Nora tried not to take offense as she might have if the insinuation had come from Judith instead.
“I broke down this afternoon and he sat with me on the lounge until I fell asleep. There wasn’t anything improper going on, I assure you.” Nora had hoped to keep their budding relationship quiet until they reached land.
“If I was you, I’d have to take advantage of the man candy that was dropped in my lap. You’re not getting any younger, girl, so don’t go rejecting the few offers you have left.” Angie was only a few years older than Nora, but life had not treated her kindly.
“Yes, he is nice to look at, but I’m not going to rush into anything. Now, we have some work to do.” Nora started collecting several large cases that could be moved easily in case the infirmary had to be moved quickly.
~~~~~~
Samuel awakened drunk for the second time on this trip, but the sound of his father entering the room helped sober him up slightly.
“Ah, son. Did you have fun last night?” Richard knew the result of excess drinking would make even the slightest whisper seem loud.
“No, Dad. It was awful. They just kept attacking the man. We hadn’t even had a drop to drink until all of the stuff started happening.” Samuel groaned as he sat up slowly.
Remembering his younger days, Richard handed him a glass of water to help re-hydrate his son.
“So what exactly did you see? I heard you mumble in your sleep, but couldn’t make heads or tails about what it meant.” Richard sat gently on the side of the bed so it didn’t cause Samuel to get sick.
“The guys, Charlie and James, just wanted to see the infected patients. So we planned for me to take the nurse for a walk while they snuck inside.” Samuel stopped to take a sip from the water glass. “I had no idea they let one of the patients escape until I was walking Judith back to the infirmary. We assumed she was just overreacting until the screaming started on the lower deck.” He shuddered as he envisioned the scene again.
“It was just horrible. When we got there were several infected people attacking the people in the main room and a few others joined them. They were eating the other people in the room. There was blood and flesh everywhere…” Samuel broke down crying.
Richard leaned forward to give his son a hug as the guilt of his actions took their toll in the light of day.
“We…caused…those people… to…die.” Samuel sobbed out, unaware of the fact he was looking to his father for support.
“Hold on, now. You might have sped up the events a little, but you didn’t cause that man to go crazy and attack people.” Richard patted his back awkwardly.
“But we did. There would have been only two casualties who were already infected…oh no... Judith…” His voice trailed off as the implications sank in. “Judith could be dead, but we saved her. Or rather, I did. The other two were the ones who left the door open.”
Samuel pulled out of his father’s embrace, embarrassed that he had given into a moment of weakness.
“Son, the things you witnessed would have driven anyone to drink. Believe me, when I was younger we didn’t even have an excuse as good as yours.”
Shocked, Samuel could barely ask, “You drank?”
“Yes. Before I got my own church I did quite a bit of that. Although, if what you are saying is true, a lot more people will be drinking after today.”
“See, that’s the weird thing. No one knows about it.”
Richard raised an eyebrow at Samuel. “How is that even possible?”
“Seriously, Dad. Do you think mother would know what was going on any deck below second class? Unless the crew mentioned something, no one is going to be spreading this around. They don’t even know that we saw anything or had something to do with it.” Samuel shrugged. “We stayed up top afterward and there were only a few of the crew moving around.”
“So no one can trace this back to you?”
Samuel thought for a moment. “Judith could have outed us, but I don’t believe she would. Otherwise, we would already be in chains, right?”
“I don’t think it was as serious as you think. They contained the problem, and if there was any evidence of wrongdoing, they would have followed up.” Richard winked at his son conspiratorially. “If they are trying to keep it quiet, arresting three young men from second class would only spread rumors. Don’t you think?”
“You do have a point.”
“See? Your old man might know something after all.”
Samuel playfully hit his dad in the shoulder. “Don’t push it. Can I go back to sleep now? I’m exhausted.”
“I don’t see why not. There isn’t anything else for you to do this afternoon. I’ll wake you before dinner.”
Richard got up and placed the empty glass on the table.
“Dad?” When his dad turned back around, Samuel advised, “Make sure Lillian stays close to you today. We don’t want to take a chance on losing her if another one of those infected patients goes crazy.”
“I will keep an eye on her. Get some rest.” Richard closed the door after him. Determined to keep his family safe, he went in search of Lillian.
Chapter 13
Sunday evening, April 14, 1912
Jonathan had been waiting for Nora’s call to come and remove the almost dead bodies from the infirmary.
His men had been awake most of the day before and on into the afternoon when he had relieved them with a new crew.
The men of the new crew had no previous experience with the infected and how they reacted when they died. The recruits were from all areas of the ship, but had some skills in using tools in their lines of work.
Jonathan had stumbled upon Gil wandering the halls, looking longingly toward the area in which Lillian and her family were sitting together on the deck.
“You! Where do you work on this ship?” Jonathan called sharply to Gil.
“Ah—me?” Gil stammered.
“Yes. You should know the crew is not allowed to interact socially with the passengers. The young lady seems to be occupied and you should do the same with yourself unless you want to spend the night in the Master-at-Arms cabin locked up.”
“No, sir. I mean, I don’t, sir. I just didn’t know what to do with myself since I don’t know much of the crew and was a replacement,” Gil managed to explain as he tripped over his words.
Jonathan took pity on the young man. “What sort of work are you doing on this boat?”
“I-I’m the b-baker’s as-assistant.” The more nervous Gil grew, the more pronounced his stutter became.
“Not a problem. This job I’m assigning you won’t conflict with your job there. I need you to walk the hallways on the third class deck and make sure no one comes in or out those doors. The only people who should be in this part of the corridor are me or the head nurse, Nora.” Jonathan hoped the young baker would be capable of keeping the infected from roaming the halls.
“I c-can do that, s-sir.” Straightening up, Gil realized he was being assigned a new job and not being thrown off the ship for sneaking on board.
“Yes, sir. I can do the job.” Gil saluted.
“Good, lad. Come along while I explain a few more details that might come in handy.” Jonathan set off at a brisk pace for the staircase leading to the lower decks.
Gil was left holding an axe at the only entry into the hallway housing the infected families.
“If you hear anything, run to the phone to page for help. It’s down the corridor and around the corner. Simply pick it up and they will find me and others to come.” Jonathan had misgivings about only one man on guard duty, but the other men were about to help dispose of the other bodies.
“I’ve got it, sir,” Gil spoke with confidence.
“I believ
e you do.” Jonathan gave him a tight smile. “Carry on, then.” He abruptly turned and ran up the stairs to face the next crisis on hand.
~~~~~~
Nora began to pace as she waited for the removal crew to arrive.
“Miss, there’s no need to worry. I’m sure it will be fine. These men aren’t dead yet and the infection won’t hurt the crew if we wrap the bodies in sheets.”
Nora eyed Angie, dismissing her advice about how this should be handled.
“If the crew doesn’t get here in the next five minutes, then the entire ship will be overrun and we will not survive it.” Nora’s normal optimism was diminishing as the clock ticked away the minutes until death came for them.
“Now, Miss. I think you’re being a bit dramatic. If the door is closed, then the infection can’t get out or hurt the passengers.” Nurse Angie frowned.
Nora took Angie by the shoulders and whispered, “These men who are infected will break free and bite or kill those of us here in this room. There is no way to avoid it if they die.”
“I don’t…” Angie began when Nora stopped her with a look of terror.
Timothy’s chest wasn’t moving.
Nora glanced over at Billy to find he was still breathing. When she looked back at Timothy, the sheet moved slightly with a very weak, raspy breath, but still a breath.
“Oh, he’s still alive.” Nora’s shoulders slumped in relief.
“Of course he is, Miss. Even so, there’s no reason for the amount of worry you’re carrying around. It’s not your fault.” Angie couldn’t understand the concern Nora continued to show about the death of these two men in her care.
The door burst open and Jonathan and his removal crew entered.
“Oh, thank goodness. I couldn’t handle one more moment of this one pacing the floor. Arrived in the nick of time…did you?” Angie made it sound like she was questioning herself, causing Nora to laugh in relief.
“Yes. This way, men.” Nora moved to stand in front of Timothy’s bed. “Make sure the sheet is firmly around him. It’s one way to keep him from getting loose once you carry him out.”
“Miss, he is tied to the bed,” A helpful crewmember pointed out.
“Yes, and so was the one that bit into Brad before he died. Best if you take all precautions to stay alive.” Nora spoke softly so she didn’t alarm the other passengers.
Jonathan, unhappy they were even questioning Nora’s orders, demanded, “Men, do exactly as she says. She has dealt with all of the infected patients and is still alive. So, if you want to survive this encounter, I suggest you follow her orders.”
The men mumbled their agreements, even though most men present resented a woman telling them how to accomplish their tasks.
The crewmen yanked the extra sheets from her hands and began to wrap Timothy tightly to the bed cot, making his arms and leg immobile.
“Will this work?” One of the men asked as the rest of the crew stepped back for inspection.
“Yes, and the man next to him needs to have this done as well.” Nora bit her lip nervously as they attended to the problem.
“As you wish, Miss.”
Jonathan oversaw the removal of the first cot while they were finishing up with the last one.
“When Nurse Ryan clears you to leave, come straight to the furnace room. Don’t stop for anything. We can’t take a chance on others becoming infected.”
Jonathan could only pray they did as instructed as he hurried to clear the corridors.
Feeling a distinct sense of déjà vu, Jonathan continued to look worriedly over his shoulder as the fear following them grew.
“Through here, men.” He pointed to the door and made sure there were no mistakes this time.
Instead of unwrapping Timothy, they threw him into the furnace, still tied to the cot with a sheet as his shroud.
The shocked looks on the faces of his crew should have bothered him, but by this point his conscience only wanted to protect the living on his watch.
“Men, he was dead. We needed to make sure he didn’t harm us.” He looked from face to face and only saw looks of judgment and recriminations for his actions.
Worried that the others hadn’t made it yet when they were only just behind him, Jonathan hurried into the hall, feeling their stares as he left.
The other group had just turned the corner when Jonathan made his appearance.
“Boss, I don’t think this guy is dead yet. He has a deep, raspy breath.”
“Sucking up the air, you mean. It’s like he’s trying to swallow as much air at one time as he can.” The crewmen laughed at the image they were describing.
“Hurry, there isn’t much time. Throw him into the fire, quickly.”
“Sure, if you say so.”
“Ain’t we killin’ him? Shouldn’t we be trying to help him breathe better?”
“No, he has already turned. There is no way to help him now. He’s preparing to bite one of you and make you into an infected.”
“Geesh, why didn’t you say so before? Lift, men!” As one, they tossed Billy into the flames. They continued to stand there and watched as became only a memory.
“Why don’t you men take a quick coffee break. I’ll call up to the kitchen when we need you to start your patrols again.” Jonathan could only believe they would see his actions were justified when they reached land safely.
~~~~~~
“You can’t go down this hallway.” These words were starting to annoy Gil as he repeated them to anyone even looking down the corridor.
A crewmember holding an axe should have been enough deterrent, but some of the people were persistent.
The screams that started weren’t from his section of the ship, but Gil took off running toward the phone to alert Jonathan.
Gil picked up the phone. “There is something going on down here, two corridors over from the infected people. What do I do?”
The voice on the other end wasn’t especially helpful. “Did your infected escape?”
“No. This is coming from another place, but we need help fast. Do I stay with my rooms or go and see if they need assistance?” Gil leaned on the axe and almost slipped as it moved under his weight. “Come on, man. I need to do something. People are in pain.” Shouting into the phone didn’t solve the problem, but Gil felt better.
“Go. Help them until the others get there and then go back to the corridor to guard them.”
Gil didn’t hear anything after the voice said go.
Running carefully so he didn’t trip on the axe, Gil approached the center of the screams.
The scene in front of Gil was madness as two passengers had cornered a group in the hallway.
People in the group were frantically pounding on the surrounding doors, hoping to gain entrance, but those inside were scared at what was outside.
Unsure of why the two were herding passengers like cattle, Gil stepped forward, the axe gripped tightly in his hands.
A small squeak escaped Gil’s mouth when the girl bent over a fallen body and proceeded to eat it as he screamed in pain.
Both passengers jerked in unison and turned their head’s to meet Gil’s stare, but since he was a lone person and they had their dinner cornered, they seemed unworried.
Gil eased backwards as he saw there was no way he could combat both infected people at the same time without being torn apart or becoming one himself.
Racing back to the phone, he picked up the earpiece and waited for them to answer. “It’s two infected and they’ve cornered about six, maybe eight, passengers.”
“You say two escaped from your corridor?” The voice accused.
“No, you stupid twit. These are two newly infected and they are eating a passenger.” Gil was shouting, but lowered his voice as he saw several doors crack open, trying to see what the commotion was all about.
“We need help. I can’t take them on and for the moment they are content eating their victim because they have the rest of their dinner cornered.”
The calm voice continued in a slow monotone, interrupting Gil’s panic. “Someone will be down there to check on things in a few moments. We were able to locate Jonathan and his team is being contacted as we speak. Simply remain where you are and make sure they do not proceed any further into the ship.”
Gil hit the phone several times against the holder. “You blithering idiot! Each one that dies turns into another infected ready to eat everyone on the ship.”
Giving up on having a productive conversation, Gil crept closer to the hallway. Peering around the corner as the screams continued, he watched helplessly when the body on the floor joined the other two and picked more victims from the pack.
A hand on his shoulder made Gil jump backwards, swinging the axe.
“Whoa there, buddy,” Jonathan whispered cautiously. “We are right behind you.”
There were ten crewmen crowded around him, peering into the hallway.
“Let’s go rescue as many as we can—three in front and the rest make sure none escape as we take them out.” Jonathan looked at the two closest to him. “Ready?”
Gil nodded nervously, gripping the axe until his knuckles turned white.
“Aaagh!” Gil roared forward, his axe landing in the back of the newly dead infected.
“Aim for their heads,” Jonathan shouted.
“Now you tell us,” Gil returned as he yanked the axe free of the infected body. Swinging for the head, he was unprepared when the infected turned around and lunged for him.
Falling back, Gil tripped over his feet in his hurry to stay out of the infected’s reach, only to have the infected land on top of him.
Blood splattered everywhere as the infected’s head split over the axe’s blade, saving Gil from teeth dripping with other’s blood.
“Oh, hell! That was close.” Gil realized the battle was still going as a few more of those huddled had turned and were attacking the crewman.
Someone jumped over Gil and engaged the next infected.
Rolling over onto his knees, Gil held the infected’s neck, trying to ignore the blood running over his hands as he pulled the axe free.
Infected Waters: A Titanic Disaster Page 13
