Ch. 2
Arrival at Death's Door
The sun was still peering over the horizon when the taxi turned into the harbor. Kari, Ryan, Mona, and Arlen looked on at the Ottanta, anchored still and magnificently tall. Several brightly dressed tourists flowed up into the entrance deck.
"God, it's beautiful," Kari said as she stepped out of the cab, her eyes wide.
"Yeah, just hope I don't get seasick," Arlen grunted as he hauled their suitcases out of the trunk with Ryan's help.
"So you ready?" He asked Kari, wrapping his arm around her neck. "It's better than flying on the most first class plane or driving the fastest car. As close to paradise as I've ever gotten, and I'm sure as hell ready to go again."
Kari gave a small smile and nodded.
When they had finished unpacking and paid the taxi driver, the four friends made their way through the large crowd of onlookers bidding their families and friends goodbye. As they were walking, Kari glanced up at the body of the Ottanta and just saw a dark shadow cross the hull. It swirled like a sinister cloud briefly before disappearing by the hole where the anchor's rope stretched out of. For some inexplicable reason, Kari felt her body grow cold again with a subtle fear.
Mona jolted her from behind and said, "Kari, you ok?"
Kari shook her head and said, "Yeah…yeah, I'm fine. Just…thought I saw something."
"Not feeling seasick already, are you girl?"
Kari didn't reply.
When they reached the gangplank to the Ottanta, Arlen was cut off by a couple. The two both had dark, dark hair and were photographing the cruise liner as they scurried around for better angles.
"Hey dickwad, watching where you're waving that thing," Arlen snapped, glaring at the man who looked slightly older than him, perhaps in his early 30s, and had nearly smacked him with his camera.
"Sorry," the guy said briefly, taking a couple more shots before glancing at Arlen, his green eyes indifferent, "it's my job."
"Ass," Arlen muttered as the guy walked up the gangplank, and Mona struck his shoulder warningly.
"Pardon my husband," the woman sighed, holding her pitch black hair up as she slung her camera strap, "he can be an ass some times when he really gets into photographing something really beautiful. My name's Clara Satterfield. Eddy's my husband. We're on the Ottanta to Cancun too. Nice to meet you all."
Everyone returned the greeting.
Without another word Clara turned and followed Eddy, her short heels thumping all the way up.
"Guess some asses come with a cunt," Arlen joked. Mona and Kari both elbowed him hard in the side.
"Oww! I was kidding!" Arlen exclaimed, darting up the wooden walkway. Ryan grinned at his younger friend, and Mona walked after them with a disgusted look on her face.
Kari looked down at the gangplank before her, wondering if it had just gotten narrower or if it was only her mind playing tricks on her. A man bumped past her, his head lowered over his iPod. He apologized quickly, and Kari saw briefly that he was listening to "I'm Going Down" by Bruce Springsteen. She exhaled softly and, gathering her courage, stepped up and stared walking.
Kari clenched the handle of her suitcase and held on to the railing, feeling unbalanced and very aware of the deep dark water leaping up some fifty feet below her.
Above, Arlen cracked another joke that made Ryan burst out laughing and Mona groan, but Kari hardly heard any of it. She was too afraid.
'Come on!' This is fine, you're fine,' Kari told herself, 'It's a safe ship, you're gonna have a great time. So why does this feel so…wrong?'
More passengers walked passed Kari, and she regained her wits. Feeling better, she strode up onto the ship's deck after her friends. Up ahead just before the entrance to the Ottanta's interior, Kari saw Eddy drop a role of film and curse.
"Careful Eddy!" Clara exclaimed, "Carver will have my ass if you mess up our shots!"
"Tell me something I don't know," Eddy muttered as he stood up, "Carver can kiss my ass when I'm drinking a margarita in paradise."
Clara forgot her anger for a moment and smiled briefly.
They descended down the stairs to the lower levels.
Arlen and Mona had already gone down too, but Ryan was still outside waiting.
"Sorry, just feeling a little out of whack," Kari reassured him as her boyfriend opened his mouth to speak.
"Sure you wanna do this?" Ryan's look of deep concern was wholly comforting.
"Yeah," Kari said firmly, "let's go."
Together they made their way down the carpeted stairway and into a narrow hallway. Across from them a large room opened up, the door labeled "Main Hall". When they entered, Kari gasped.
Before them was a banquet area, with what seemed like hundreds of white tables and chairs. Several formally dressed caterers scurried to and fro, greeting and seating the first arriving passengers. To the right Kari and Ryan saw a grand stage, where a full orchestra was playing beautifully along with a pianist, whose fingers danced across the keys fluidly. To the left they saw three floors of numbered cabins, perpendicular to two glass elevators which traveled to each level from time to time. Kari was breathless.
"Man McGee you fuckin' rock!" Arlen grinned, slapping Ryan's shoulder. "I'm starting to not regret blowing twelve-hundred bucks on this trip."
"Told you it'd be awesome," Ryan said.
The four of them were greeted by a caterer, who welcomed them aboard the Ottanta and seated them at a table close to the stage.
"I love this, Kari!" Mona breathed, looking around excitedly. "The ceiling's so gorgeous too!"
Kari glanced up at the top of the room, nearly a hundred feet high, and admired the six crystal chandeliers hanging down, their lights soft and warm.
When most of the tables had filled with other chattering tourists, the caterers shut the doors and stood around the room diligently. The orchestra had cleared from the stage, and the pianist closed his piano cover gently before bounding onto the stage. He looked in his mid-40s or so, with dark speckled brown eyes, a prominent nose and a rugged grey beard. The man unbuttoned his black jacket and pants, much to the audience's horror. But underneath he had on a white uniform which Kari recognized as that of a captain's.
Everyone realized this as well and began to applaud. Smiling, the man held up one hand until the hall had grown quiet.
"Good morning," the man said, his voice deep and booming, "welcome, welcome to the Ottanta. My name's Gregory Philips and I will be your captain on this voyage. Now, before you go applauding again I want every passenger to know this: our trip to Cancun will never have a dull moment. The Ottanta has three pools, two on the Riviera deck and one on the sun deck, a ShipShape fitness center and spa, eight bars, two game rooms, a library just recently built on the Empress deck, two night clubs, and bingo every evening here in the main hall. We have something for everyone, I hope."
Arlen snickered at the mention of bingo, but quickly straightened his face as he joined everyone in clapping.
Captain Philips thanked the passengers again and waited for silence.
Kari happened to glance to her right where Ryan was sitting and noticed an older teenager with Asian features and baggy clothing seated alone a few tables down, staring at her. He blinked and looked away, his face completely unemotional.
Kari pressed her eyebrows together as she glanced at Captain Philips then back to the guy who had been obviously staring at her. What the hell did he want?
"If any of you haven't realized it yet," Captain Philips said, smiling coyly, "the ship's already set sail. Pretty difficult to notice, isn't it?"
Kari, Ryan, Arlen, and Mona looked at one another and realized that, somewhere below, engines were whirring and humming faintly. There was something different, and they became aware that the ship was really in motion. Their voyage had begun.
On the sun deck, two husky brown-haired workers were busy with the anchor winch near the stern of the ship. As it rolled the anchor up slowly, one worker looked at the other.
"Charlie, did you hear that?"
"Nuh uh," the taller worker stood up and wiped his grimy hands with a dirty towel. "What should I have heard, Paul?"
The other worker cocked his head, his light blue eyes concentrating as he tried to listen over the crank and rattle of the anchor as it was rolled up.
"Thought I heard something snap, like metal."
Charlie shrugged and peered over the ship's edge.
"Anchor's almost up. Everything looks ok to me."
Paul Rodriguez still wasn't convinced. He scanned the small control panel for the winch, trying to make sure everything was fine. And, according to the gauges, everything was.
"I love this new machinery," Charlie Hitchcock said as Paul closed the control panel hatch and stood up. "It's a real life-saver compared to our last pain in the ass reeler."
"Wouldn't know," Paul said, taking the rag from Charlie to wipe the oil off of his hands, "last ship I worked on wasn't anything compared to this baby. People say she's like the next Titanic."
"Except without the sinking part," Charlie asserted, laughing.
"Yeah," Paul said as they walked away, "hope so."
Below them there was a sudden screech of metal that went unheard. One of the screws for the winch had come loose and fallen right as the anchor cover was closing. The panel caught the bolt and stopped, jammed completely.
And just like that, fate was set in motion.
"Now don't be alarmed," Captain Philips said to the audience. "The reason I'm not commanding the ship right now is because my daughter has taken the wheel for now. And knowing Teresa like I do, she'll pilot this ship to the best of her ability. She's striving to be a captain like me, probably will be an even better one than her old man."
Laughter murmured throughout the audience, and Kari smiled. Her hand was wrapped around Ryan's underneath the table.
Captain Philips spoke for a couple of minutes more, then bade his passengers goodbye and left. All of the passengers began chattering amongst themselves.
"I gotta take a leak," Arlen sighed, standing up and stretching, "God knows how many restrooms are in this place."
"I gotta go too," Ryan said, smiling at Kari, "make sure Arlen doesn't get lost and die of starvation in a janitor's closet."
Arlen casually flipped the bird at Ryan, who stood up and shook his head, grinning.
Ryan pushed his best friend forward and they headed out of the main hall laughing.
"Dweebs," Mona sighed.
Kari glanced to her right again. That same guy was looking at her again, like he wanted to speak to her.
"Hey, let's go check out the powder rooms," Kari suggested to Mona, getting up.
"Sure, I need to put on some eyeliner anyway," Moan said as she grabbed her purse, "gotta look good for tonight."
Kari agreed. They left the main hall through the east doors, Kari looking back nervously. That table was empty; the guy had left.
Ryan McGee stared at himself in the mirror, glancing at his brown hair, blue collared shirt, and finally staring into his own dark blue eyes.
'What's wrong with you?' He asked himself mentally, frowning, 'It's just one question, Ryan. You can ask here, you can. You just gotta get a grip…that's all.'
He reached inside his jean pocket, feeling the small soft box.
'That's all…'
"Jesus! These toilets look like they're made out of gold!" Arlen exclaimed from his stall. The toilet flushed. "But they're freezing my ass off too…"
He emerged a second later, Ryan drawing his hand out of his pocket quickly.
"So how are things with you and Mona?" Ryan asked casually as Arlen turned on the faucet and washed his hands. That was a decent attempt to get his mind elsewhere.
"Dude, how many times do I gotta tell you, there's nothing between us." Arlen snatched a paper towel and dried his hands. "Mona's nice and everything but…no, just no."
"Oh," and Ryan wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that Arlen was the youngest of the group, still 20 years old while Mona was 22. Ryan and Kari were both 23.
Arlen turned to look at Ryan, a sly smile on his face.
"What about you and Kari, huh? Seems like things are pretty sweet between the two of you."
"Oh…yeah, they are," Ryan grinned sheepishly. "Still love her a lot."
"Aww," Arlen teased, then became a little more serious and folded his arms. "You thinkin' about popping the question anytime soon?"
"Yeah, actually," Ryan admitted, surprised, "I just…don't feel like now's the right time, y'know?"
"Yeah, I've heard how that feels," Arlen said, smiling in an understanding way, "but honestly man, I think now is the perfect time. She's so happy to be here on this awesome cruise, and even more happy to be with you. Now, I'm not tryin' to pressure you or anything, but I just don't want you to be waiting all your life until an opportunity you think you're waiting for sneaks away behind your back until it's too late. You've made her indefinitely happy man, now let her do the same for you."
Ryan didn't know what to say. Was this the Arlen who had been cracking ass and cunt jokes half an hour ago? Finally, he found the words to speak.
"Thanks, Arlen. That actually made sense. Thanks a lot man."
But before Arlen could say you're welcome, something happened. Above them somewhere, an uneasy groan filled the ship. Ryan and Arlen looked at each other.
"What the hell was tha-," Arlen didn't get a chance to finish. A loud snapping noise echoed from above and the whole ship rattled as the lights flickered ominously…
On the sundeck of the Ottanta, Paul was the first to notice that something was very wrong. An ear splitting screech filled the still morning air.
"What the fuck?" Charlie stuck his head out of the supply close in the ship's bridge. Down the hallway in the heart of the bridge, Teresa Philips felt the whole ship shake through the helm. She gasped and reached for the radio.
"Charlie," she called, keeping one hand tight on the wheel, "Charlie! What the hell is going on up there?"
"Teresa," it was Paul's voice, "We're in the dark here too. Me and Charlie are gonna get topside and see what the problem is. How're things looking up there?"
Teresa scanned all the gauges before her. Fuel was fine. Electricity flowing. Propellers still maintaining a constant speed.
"Nothing looks wrong up here," Teresa reported, looking up. She looked out at the vast horizon and the ocean before her. The bright morning sunlight on the water was fading; the skies were blooming with dark clouds. A flash of lightning streaked across the heavens.
It was suppose to be clear all day.
"Jesus," Teresa murmured, then another grueling crunch brought her back to her senses.
"Portside! Something's wrong with the anchor!"
Teresa gripped the radio tightly.
One deck above her, Paul and Charlie met up and bounded up the stairs to the sun deck where they had been working earlier.
"Jesus Christ!" Paul yelled over the roar of the wind, grabbing onto the railing.
"It's the winch!" Charlie shouted, pointing towards the starboard of the ship. He was right. Smoke was billowing from the portside of the Ottanta.
The two took off, jumping over chairs and coils of rope as the steel support wires draping down from the rear-covered terrace groaned and swayed uneasily.
Paul was the first to reach the edge, grabbing the railing and looking down over the side. The anchor hatch was still ajar, dark smoke seeping out.
"Shit," he exclaimed, "Charlie turn off the winch!
Hastily, Charlie threw open the control panel door and looked in.
"Fuck, something's jamming it! It won't close!"
Paul leaned over again. The hatch was perhaps ten feet down, a small bolt lodged in it.
"Charlie!" Paul called over the wailing winds, "I need you to get me a long pole! Something's stuck in the hatch but I think I can knock it out!"
Charlie looked down once more at the panel in the floor and nodded. "Ok!"
He jumped to his feet and started running. The pool was just across the dining terrace, and a cleaning net with a long pole would surely be there.
But as Charlie weaved between dining tables a clap of thunder erupted overhead with a blinding flash. One of the poles holding up the awning exploded in a bright eruption of sparks and snapped in two.
Charlie only had time to look back as the steel wire holding up the pole swung down and right through his neck. Blood spattered across the wood.
Paul looked up at the crack of lightning and exhaled as he saw Charlie, his only friend on the whole ship, decapitated by a flying wire. His corpse collapsed as the head rolled away.
"Charlie! Oh fucking God, no!"
Paul tried to stand up, but the control panel exploded in a dazzling burst of sparks. He was thrown back against the railing hard, the wind rushing out of his chest so fast that Paul was paralyzed for several seconds.
From nearby the hand radio buzzed next to Charlie's lifeless body.
"Char…Paul…what's going on?!"
Then the unthinkable happened. The pressure of the anchor hatch became too much, and the fuse box within it exploded. The fire caught onto the anchor rope and burned through it in a matter of seconds. The anchor's weight snapped the weakened rope, and it came crashing through the hatch with another deafening screech. Now, at that moment the Ottanta had been traveling over a large coral reef hidden only about thirty feet below the water's surface. When the huge steel-alloy anchor came crashing into the water with a tremendous splash, it sunk rapidly until it struck the edge of the jagged reef. And as the end of the Ottanta passed on, the anchor had gained just enough momentum from the impact to bounce outward…and right into the ship's propellers.
Teresa screamed as the ship groaned loudly and rocked to one side so violently that she was thrown to the floor. The helm spun wildly.
"Jesus…oh Jesus, what the hell is going on?"
Teresa got up shakily and looked at the ship's gauges. They were losing speed fast; the propellers had died completely.
"No, no, no….this can't be happening!"
Teresa felt anger boil up inside of her. This was her dad's vessel, his pride and joy. She wouldn't let anything happen to it.
Hastily she stumbled to the control panel, her eyes set on the emergency alarm button. But just as she reached it the boat rocked sharply again, and Teresa flew back.
Her neck hit one of the helm's wooden handles, breaking it immediately. Teresa was killed almost instantly.
Ryan McGee grabbed on to the rim of the sink as the whole boat swayed.
"Holy shit! Shit!" Arlen yelled, "The boat's going down!"
From somewhere nearby some pipes groaned uneasily.
"We gotta find Kari and Mona!" Ryan exclaimed as the lights flickered and dimmed.
Arlen nodded frantically and turned to the door. Before he could grab the handle, a water pipe in the wall behind the stalls burst. The metal snapped and crashed through the wall, sending tile flying everywhere.
"Arlen!" Ryan shouted, throwing himself on the floor as water flooded the room, "Get down!"
But Arlen only stretched his arm out farther, trying to get the door open. The jagged water pipe swung sideways, striking the last stall door so hard that it broke right off its hinges. The stall door flipped and slammed Arlen against the mirror, the glass breaking into a web as blood splattered from his crippled body.
Gasping, Ryan swallowed the urge to throw up. Arlen, his buddy since third grade, was dangling from the sink as just a dead body. No, no…
Ryan stood up with all his might and threw the restroom door open. He looked up and down the hall, so many scared and confused faces around him.
A scream in the distance.
Mona.
Ryan took off running, pushing his way past the flow of panicking passengers trying to get off the Ottanta.
He had to save Mona and Kari, which was all that mattered now.