Viral Misery (Book 1)

by Watson, Thomas A

  “No, we won’t be able to take that many with us,” Wendy said, picking up the spear gun.

  The twins gave a sigh of relief and then moved up behind Wendy, putting on their backpacks. Even though they had been all over the ship, they all were apprehensive as Wendy opened the door each morning.

  All of them shook their heads as Wendy opened the door and the powerful stench of rotting flesh flooded their noses. No matter how much they shook their heads, they couldn’t stop the smell.

  Moving out into the hall, Wendy watched Sally close the door and make sure it was locked. Giving a nod, Wendy moved down the hall toward the concourse. In areas they used frequently, they had moved the bodies to the side, so they could get carts up and down the hallways. Not having to dodge bodies as they walked was also an added bonus.

  Wendy stopped, letting the girls go into a shop they visited each morning. The girls giggled, running into the store and pulling off their backpacks. Each one grabbed a coloring book and put it in their backpack. That’s what they did after playing a board game each night, they colored.

  When they came back out putting their backpacks on, Wendy led them through the ship until they reached a large staircase and headed up. Even though she was much better, Wendy knew she was nowhere near her previous health. She got winded much easier and it took her much longer to recover.

  Not to mention, she was still fifteen pounds lighter than when she’d boarded the ship. Wendy’s body had always been athletically toned. Now she was thin, but Wendy was just glad to not have the gaunt appearance and most of all, to be alive.

  Reaching the upper deck, they all stopped, digging out binoculars and scanning to the northeast. “I don’t see it,” Sally said, standing on Wendy’s right.

  “How could a boat that big just disappear?” Jo Ann asked, standing on Wendy’s left.

  Lowering her binoculars, Wendy turned to Jo Ann. “Jo Ann, there are several ways,” Wendy said. “One, it could’ve been pulled out to sea and be drifting. What’s another way a ship can disappear?”

  “Oh,” Jo Ann mumbled, lowering her binoculars. “It can sink.”

  Reaching over and patting Jo Ann, “That’s why we have to go,” Wendy sighed. “We should’ve left days ago, but I’m sorry I didn’t feel strong enough yet.”

  “It wasn’t your fault you got sick,” Sally declared, lowering her binoculars.

  Laughing, Wendy put her arms around each one’s shoulders. “Girls, I’m going to be honest. The reason I’ve waited so long is to make sure I can fight if we have to.”

  “I’m glad we waited then,” Sally said, putting her binoculars up.

  Heading back to the stairs, they continued up until they reached the bridge. Walking in, they found a seagull inside. They had moved the bodies out and had left the doors open to air it out. Sally ran over and the seagull hopped across the room and flew out the door.

  Moving over to the chart table, Wendy pulled out a small notepad, reciting the trip she would take on the jet ski in her mind. When she was done, Wendy opened the notepad and smiled, seeing she hadn’t missed anything. Then she compared her notes to the map on the chart table.

  “Wendy, there is a lifeboat going down to the water,” Sally said behind her and Wendy spun around.

  Sally was standing on a chair and looking out to sea with the massive binoculars they’d left on the bridge. Moving up beside Sally, Wendy saw one of the cruise ships a mile away lowering a lifeboat. Pulling her binoculars out, Wendy watched as the boat touched the water.

  “There’s still people on the ship,” Jo Ann said beside her and Wendy glanced over to see Jo Ann standing in another chair so she could see out the windows.

  Turning back to her binoculars, Wendy zoomed in and could see people waving at the lifeboat as a man climbed out on the roof of the lifeboat. After unhooking the cables that had lowered the lifeboat, the man climbed back inside. Watching the lifeboat pull away from the ship, Wendy gasped while watching someone jump off the ship.

  The body missed the lifeboat and hit the water hard. Moving feebly, Wendy watched the body sink and realized whoever it was hadn’t been wearing a life jacket. “Why did they jump?” Sally asked, watching the lifeboat steer for shore.

  “I don’t know,” Wendy admitted. “There are other lifeboats.”

  “Another one jumped,” Jo Ann mumbled and Wendy lowered her binoculars.

  “Sally, can I use those?” Wendy asked, holding hers out.

  Sally passed the large ones over while taking Wendy’s. Raising the massive binoculars, Wendy could almost make out faces. “I count seven still on that ship,” Wendy said, moving her gaze to the lifeboat. Through the small windows, she could see a few shadows of heads but not much else. “I only count ten on the lifeboat but can’t see inside. There may be more.”

  The lifeboat passed between their ship and the one that had moved closer during the storm. “Should we wave?” Jo Ann asked.

  “No, we don’t know what’s going on,” Wendy told her. “They may have left just sick ones on board, but we aren’t taking the chance.”

  Following the lifeboat with the binoculars, Wendy saw a small boy’s face pop up in a side window, looking back at the ship the lifeboat had left. The boy was clearly crying as he reached at the window and back toward the ship. A man came up behind the boy, pulling him away from the window and the boy kicked and fought the man until Wendy lost sight of them.

  Moving her binoculars to the ship that had drifted closer, Wendy gave a startle to see two men standing outside of the bridge, looking at the lifeboat with binoculars. “People on the ship that got closer,” Wendy announced. “Look up at the bridge.”

  When the radio squawked behind them, they all jumped. “Lifeboat that just passed between the two ships, don’t head for the city,” a female voice called out in panic. “We had a group put to shore two days ago and three were shot.”

  “We have two that we sent ashore last night waiting,” a male voice answered. “There is a storm coming that could develop into a hurricane.”

  Looking over at the monitor that showed a satellite image, Wendy saw the glob was closer but wasn’t kidding herself, she wasn’t a meteorologist. Watching the two men on the bridge of the ship, a woman soon joined them as they all watched the lifeboat slowly make its way to shore.

  “Lifeboat, you had two people jump, why didn’t you help?” the female voice asked.

  “All left on board are sick and anyone that’s sick is shot on sight,” the male voice responded.

  “When do you think the storm will hit?” the female asked.

  A few minutes passed before the male voice answered. “Two days but even if it doesn’t, it will send high seas here. That’s what pulled the Emerald out to sea last night.”

  The female called out several more questions, but the man never answered. Jo Ann jumped off the chair and was heading for the door when Wendy ran over and grabbed her arm. “Let’s go out the other door, so they can’t see us,” Wendy suggested, motioning to the other ship that now had six people watching the lifeboat.

  Grabbing the girls by the hand, Wendy led them out the starboard side to keep the bridge between them and the other ship. They raised their binoculars and followed the lifeboat. Wendy had expected the lifeboat to head for a marina to dock, but the boat just headed straight for a grassy beach.

  From a mile away, they watched thirteen people get off the lifeboat and even though they were a mile away, Wendy could tell over half were kids. “That ship is bigger than ours and I didn’t count more than twenty people,” Wendy said, talking to herself. Lowering the binoculars, Wendy chewed on her bottom lip. “We had almost forty-five hundred on board. Let’s say they had five thousand,” Wendy mumbled doing the math.

  “Shit!” Wendy gasped softly as the numbers filled her mind.

  “What?” Jo Ann asked, finally lowering her binoculars.

  “This flu has killed most of mankind, if it’s this bad onshore,” Wendy said and then looked
down at Ryan as he woke up. “I need a bottle,” Wendy said, walking back into the bridge.

  The twins followed and Jo Ann turned around and Sally dug inside Jo Ann’s backpack to pull out a bottle. “Here,” Sally sang out with a smile.

  Pulling Ryan out of the pack carrier, Wendy sat down and fed Ryan his bottle as the twins moved back to the windows to look at the other ships. “I see people on the other ships,” Sally said.

  “All the people from the ship beside us have gone inside,” Jo Ann announced.

  Before anyone could ask anything, a loud thumping and clanking sounded over the water. Knowing that sound, Wendy jumped up in panic and looked at the consoles around the bridge. “What is that? I’ve heard it before,” Jo Ann asked, still looking at the ship beside them.

  “They are pulling their anchors in,” Wendy panted, setting Ryan’s bottle down and touched one of the screens. When she found a touchscreen for the anchors, Wendy heard a deep rumble over the anchors being pulled in.

  She turned to the ship beside them, praying it wouldn’t get any closer. “Do they know how to drive that?” Sally asked in a very worried voice.

  “Girls, we head to the first lifeboat at the bottom of the stairs if that boat heads this way,” Wendy said, grabbing Ryan’s bottle as he cried. He stopped when Wendy put the bottle in his mouth.

  They were all watching as two anchors were slowly pulled out of the water. The boat beside them was pointed to land, but black smoke belched out of the stacks as the ship pivoted, turning north away from them.

  “Can we do that?” Sally asked in wonder.

  “No,” Wendy said flatly. “If they hit something with their bottom, they’ll sink. If they run aground, the boat could tip over. Let’s stick to our plan.”

  They watched the ship pull two miles further out to sea and head north. Before the ship was gone, they watched lifeboats from two other ships drop down and head to shore. When Ryan was asleep, Wendy put him back in the pack carrier.

  “Girls, let’s get our stuff ready and then eat,” Wendy told them and the girls jumped off the chairs, putting their binoculars up.

  After stopping in the kitchen for a snack, Wendy led them down into the hold to the onboard marina. The only light now came from the emergency lights, so they all carried flashlights just in case. When Wendy walked into the large bay, she sighed while looking at the rows of jet skis.

  Jo Ann pulled a blanket out of Sally’s pack and spread it out and Wendy put Ryan down, then put her spear gun on the counter before moving over to the first jet ski in the rack. It was the same one she had driven already. It had carried her, Gloria, and Alicia with no problems so she was certain with the twins, she wouldn’t have a problem.

  Pulling the lift over, Wendy hooked it up and pressed the controller and gave a groan when the motor didn’t turn on to lift the craft up off the rack. Grabbing the chain, Wendy started pulling and just as she’d feared, the grinding of the chain woke Ryan up.

  Pausing, Wendy glanced over to see Sally run over to Ryan and lay down with him on the blanket. With Ryan tended to, Wendy continued until the craft was up. Moving over to the craft, Wendy pushed and guided the lift over to the closed bay door.

  A ramp was in front of the door with several V grooves formed along the ramp to guide the jet skis out to the water. When the door was opened the ramp was hand-cranked, extending it to the water. Wendy was just happy she had watched the workers because they’d all spoken Filipino, so she couldn’t ask them.

  Seeing Wendy struggling to move the jet ski, Jo Ann ran over and tried to help. It took some serious effort, but they managed to get the craft over the ramp. “See that groove?” Wendy asked, panting hard.

  Jo Ann looked at the ramp and then at the bottom of the craft and realized the bottom of the jet ski would fit in the groove. “It needs to come more to the right,” Jo Ann told her.

  “When I lower the jet ski, you pull and guide it and it will set down into it,” Wendy panted, wiping sweat off her face.

  As Wendy started to lower the craft, Ryan cried out as the chain woke him up again. “Sorry, Ryan,” Wendy called out but didn’t stop. When the jet ski slipped into the groove, Wendy wanted to cheer but she was exhausted. “Should’ve started this sooner,” she mumbled, trying to catch her breath.

  Walking over to the counter, Wendy saw the key box on the wall was closed and locked. “This is starting to piss me off,” Wendy moaned, looking through the desk and finding several keys, but none fit. Giving up, Wendy walked over to a toolbox and dug around until she came up with a crowbar.

  “Here’s a key,” she grinned and then grabbed a hammer. Luckily for Ryan, Wendy didn’t need the hammer as she popped the box open. Glancing at the jet ski and making sure she had the right number, Wendy grabbed the key with the number eight. Feeling exhausted, Wendy stuck the key in and turned it on. Seeing the gas tank was full, Wendy gave the key another turn, and the engine fired right up.

  Quickly turning the motor off, Wendy left the key in the ignition and headed back to the desk. Grabbing the keys she’d found, Wendy moved back to a walk-in cage that held wetsuits and scuba gear. Finding a key that unlocked the cage, Wendy gave a silent thank you as she opened the door.

  Already knowing her size but knowing she was smaller now, Wendy grabbed the size below it and moved around to a rack that held kid sizes. Grabbing one, Wendy turned to call for Jo Ann but found Jo Ann behind her. “Let’s see if this fits,” Wendy said, holding it up to Jo Ann.

  “I thought we were riding. Why are we getting diving suits?” Jo Ann asked as Wendy pulled another one out and held it against Jo Ann’s body.

  “We will be riding over ten miles and this will keep us from getting cold,” Wendy said satisfied. “Try this one on.”

  Kicking her shoes off, Jo Ann stripped down as Wendy moved over and grabbed diving shoes in the girls’ size. Moving back over, Wendy helped Jo Ann pull on the neoprene suit and zipped up the back. “Very nice,” Wendy nodded and then bent down, putting the shoes on Jo Ann and zipped them up.

  “How do the shoes feel?” Wendy asked.

  “Flat,” Jo Ann answered.

  Laughing, Wendy moved over and grabbed a suit in the same size for Sally. “They weren’t meant to run in, so that’s okay,” Wendy said.

  Jo Ann looked down at the black and blue suit and then at her bare arms. The suit was armless.

  Coming over with diving gloves, Wendy tried several pairs until she found a size for Jo Ann. When Wendy went to get a second pair, it hit her how easy it was fitting the girls. She only needed one of them.

  Grabbing a duffel bag, Wendy loaded it with their stuff and walked over to find Sally keeping Ryan entertained. “Let’s eat,” Wendy said, still breathing hard but not gasping.

  Jo Ann picked up her clothes off the floor and picked the spear gun up off the counter. Wendy had taught them how to use it and had even let them shoot it at pillows, but the weapon sent shivers down Jo Ann’s spine just looking at it. After Wendy had Ryan in the baby pack, Jo Ann held up the spear gun like it was about to jump out of her hands and kill them all.

  Giving Jo Ann a wry smile, Wendy took the spear gun. “Don’t be afraid,” Wendy said.

  “I’m trying,” Jo Ann said, putting her backpack on. Jo Ann stepped over and helped Sally lift the duffel bag with Sally’s and Wendy’s boots, suits, and gloves.

  When they reached the kitchen, Wendy wasn’t in the mood to cook much more than soup. Finding cans of tomato soup, Wendy carried them over to the stove and grinned, seeing Sally and Jo Ann already starting on the grilled cheese. “If I would’ve known how easy it was to make grilled cheese, I would’ve made them at home,” Sally said, spreading butter on slices of bread.

  “We got in trouble boiling eggs for Easter,” Jo Ann smirked. The first time Wendy had cooked, the twins had looked at her like Wendy held some magical power.

  “How about tomato soup with the grilled cheese?” Wendy asked and the twins made not so pleasant faces. “
Tell you what, if you try it and don’t like it, you’ll never have to eat it again,” Wendy offered and the twins nodded.

  With their food prepared, they put it on a cart to move to their rooms and ate. To the surprise of the twins, tomato soup went very well with grilled cheese.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  The team decides who is a member

  May 16

  Carefully working under the microscope, Sutton gave a startle as Sarah’s voice came over the intercom. “Dr. Sutton, I need to see you in the ready area now,” Sarah called out. “Please, it’s an emergency,” she added and Sutton lifted his head up from the microscope.

  He looked around the lab and noticed everyone else was looking up at the window that overlooked the labs. Even looking through the face plates on the suits, Sutton could tell the faces were worried. Like him, they’d heard Sarah’s voice trembling.

  Dr. Skannish came over, pushing Sutton out of the way. “Where are you at?” Skannish asked.

  “Prepping a second batch of eggs,” Sutton answered, stepping back as Skannish picked up the pipettes Sutton had been using.

  “I’ll finish this, go see what’s bothering her,” Skannish said, bending over the microscope. “Sarah showing emotions of worry upsets the natural order of the universe.”

  Disconnecting his suit from the air hose, Sutton headed for the decontamination chamber. Closing the door, Sutton held up his arms as the shower started. When he walked out, he found Sarah waiting on him, clearly worried.

  “The flu is inside the complex,” Sarah blurted out and Sutton stumbled back, hitting the outer chamber door.

  “How?” he gasped, pulling the suit off. “I’ve looked at the filtration system and the decontamination procedures of stuff that’s brought inside. Nobody is allowed inside for twenty days and are held in quarantine.”