To the reader that was woken up by a phone call because of my last post, I posted this one early for you. 😊
CHAPTER 85 – THE WATER SNAKE
The cafeteria looked more like an ocean ship than a space-ship. Water spewed from multiple places in the broken pipe bringing a halt to the otherwise pleasant evening meal.
"Jack, are you okay?" Elizabeth called upwards. Seeing that Aaron hadn't been injured when the water pipe exploded open, she had next turned her attention to her husband.
He was just a few feet away from her but he was standing on the nearest table. He was drenched in water as he shoved tee-shirts that people were hurriedly ripping off their bodies into the opening of the pipe.
"Someone get all the water lines turned off!" he screamed as people ran around hurriedly trying to find more cloth to stuff into the gaping hole, or running to turn off a main valve.
"CODE ORANGE. LOCATION CAFETERIA. WATER PIPE THREE HAS EXPERIENCED A MALFUNCTION. CODE ORANGE. LOCATION PIPE THREE HAS EXPERIENCED A MALFUNCTION.
"And turn off the damn alarm," his voice trailed off as someone found the switch to silence the sharp beeps interspersed with the computer-generated message which was needlessly telling them the obvious.
The room's activity was hectic. People were slipping on the wet floor. Yelling orders. Complaining about their ruined meals. Helping people to their feet. Shaking their heads at their drenched outfits. Looking with concerned eyes at the other pipes in the ceiling and wondering if they would burst. A soft sound, something like a humming or buzzing, could be heard very faintly when there was a lull in loud voices now that the alarm was no longer blaring, but water still forced its way down onto the Cafeteria floor and tables.
"I think I twisted my ankle when I slipped," someone whined.
"Get the pipes turned off!"
"Where are the other valves?!"
"I hurt my backside. The freaking water knocked me over," someone else grumbled.
The tee-shirts acted like a dam holding back the remaining water until Jack felt the force dissipating. Slowly he took his hands off the clothes which remained wedged in the metal. Water ran down onto the table top, making a dripping sound as it mingled with the buzzing sound off in the distance.
Across the room, other people were moving away from the pipes which they had also stuffed full of tee-shirts and an odd sweater or sweatshirt.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Something hit me in the eye, but I think I'm okay," a crew member answered. She held a hand to her face.
"Let me look," someone instructed the petite woman with a ponytail which was now askew.
"Let's start cleaning up," a man from the kitchen staff instructed.
"I'll get the mops."
As Elizabeth sat on the floor, looking at her wet clothes and shoes, she had the feeling that something wasn't right. She paused with her hands still gripping her soaking wet top and listened. Trying to figure out what was wrong – other than the most obvious.
It was the quick snapping movement seen from the corner of her eye that grabbed her attention.
Elizabeth jerked her head in the direction of the motion.
"No," she gasped.
"Jack!" she screamed frantically.
Jack, who had climbed down from the table and was talking to a crew member, turned to look at her.
Elizabeth was motionless.
She was staring across the room. Looking past puddles of water. Past the scattered food, dishes, and toppled chairs which littered the floor.
Jack followed her gaze.
"Dear God," he said with a frightened intake of breath.
The room grew quite as the other wet diners, hearing Elizabeth's scream and sensing something new was wrong, stopped what they were doing and looked in her direction.
Their eyes moved to look in the direction in which Jack and Elizabeth were staring.
Someone gasped, someone else swore under her breath, and everyone froze in apprehension.
No one moved.
At least no adult moved.
Aaron Daniel Thornton was sitting in a puddle of water. Happily splashing. Oblivious to the danger in which he sat.
"Aaron. Come to mommy." Elizabeth said with forced pleasantry. She quickly glanced at the source of the buzzing sound and then back to her son.
"No! Don't let him move!" Jack yelled.
"Jack!" Elizabeth protested.
"He's wet. There's water everywhere. Don't let him move," Jack repeated firmly.
"We have to get to him," a terrified Elizabeth said in a barely audible voice.
The humming electric cable which had been hit by the exploding water pipe, was now swinging wildly as it hung by one end from a broken ceiling panel.
It was four inches in diameter. Maybe three, but Elizabeth wasn't in the mood to measure. She may not be a scientist like most of the passengers, but she didn't need to be one to know that electricity and water don't mix well.
Her son was sitting in a puddle of water. Surrounded by more puddles of water as electricity pulsated through an uncontrolled cable.
It swung violently, smacking against a nearby wall, and then it dropped further as it continued to sway.
Every few seconds, the live wire came in contact with the ground. When it hit a wet spot, it emitted a crackling sound which ran the entire length of water and shot out sparks of light which caused the passengers and crew to jump back. Keeping everyone from getting close to Aaron.
The little boy stopped splashing and curiously looked at the object which was forcefully moving around him. Naively unaware of the danger, he giggled happily at the snake-like cable as it wildly whipped about.
To Aaron, it was like it a new toy of some kind. Moving erratically and making pretty lights.
To Elizabeth, it was like a large black serpent determined to lash out and kill someone. And the closest living thing to it was her precious son.