Page 13

“No, I think I'm okay. My hand hurts, but that’s about it,” I say, trying to calm down. My racing heart starts to slow, giving me a brief chance to catch my breath.

“We need to keep moving. People are still running, so be careful and watch out,” Tyler says, lifting me to my feet.

“Thanks, Tyler,” I reply softly.

“You’re family, Julie, and we've got to look out for each other.”

I give his arm a quick squeeze. “Come on, let’s go find Theo and figure out what's going on. Are you alright?” I ask, realizing I haven’t checked in on him since the chaos began.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Following Tyler, I watch as he shoves an unconscious man out of our way on the stairs. The man's body sprawls across multiple steps, his feet higher than his head. When Tyler moves him, the man rolls over. When his face comes into view, I'm puzzled for a moment by the man's familiarity. Where have I seen him before? I stop climbing and look at the man, trying my hardest to place where I know him from.

“Let's go!” Tyler shouts, jolting me out of my daze. As I keep climbing and accidentally bump into the familiar man, a white key card falls from his pocket. I pick it up and realize it's a crew ID. It’s the bartender who’d served us drinks earlier. Damn.

“Let’s go, Julie,” Tyler shouts again.

“Coming, I’m coming.”

The ship has calmed somewhat, and we are able to stay standing for a moment.

“Take advantage of the calm while we can,” I say loudly. Together, we quickly make our way up the stairs. One by one, we dodge bodies sprawled on the floor and passengers rushing in the opposite direction. I’m stopped when a woman grabs me, screaming for help. I’m shocked to see that she’s missing some of her fingers and has burns all over her body and half her face.

I cringe at the sight and try to stop and help. Tyler grabs my arm, not letting me. “We don’t have time, Julie. We need to find Theo first. We can help others afterward.”

A few steps later, another woman is screaming for Tyler's and my help. Her leg is bent unnaturally backward at the knee, broken in multiple places.

“Please help me, please,” the woman begs, sobbing. I look back at her as Tyler pulls me away. I open my mouth to tell the woman I’ll come back and help, but in that instant, I realize I’m not sure I can come back and help. Suddenly, the gravity of the situation hits me like a freight train. I stumble to a halt, taking a look around. I’m surrounded by blood and bodies, with people screaming for help in every direction.

“Is the ship sinking?” I say, my heart racing as I try to take it all in. “We need life jackets! Where are they?” Come on, Julie. Think. What was in that safety drill… “They're in the rooms! We’ve got to get to the rooms.”

“Julie, we don’t have time! We’ve gotta find Theo, come on!” Tyler yells in my face, so close I can feel his hot breath. I look around frantically, trying to find anything to grab on to.

“There,” I say, pointing toward two bodies lying motionless in the hallway. “Let's take those from them.”

Tyler spots what I’m pointing at and nods. He rushes down the stairs, darting across the hallway toward the bodies. At the same time, I see a man quickly approaching. He must have the same idea. I watch as the burly man tackles Tyler to the ground, stopping him in his tracks. With no time to lose, I race to the bodies. Once I reach them, I turn back to see Tyler on the ground, grabbing the man's foot to keep him from coming toward me. The burly man fights back fiercely, trying to escape Tyler’s grip. The man looks back at Tyler and kicks him in the face. Tyler shouts in pain, grabbing his nose. Blood starts pouring down his face, soaking his chin and the collar of his shirt.

After the man stands up, he sprints straight toward me with a vengeance. I struggle to unclip the vest from one of the bodies, trying and failing. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a champagne bottle rolling back and forth with the ship's tilt. I lunge for the bottle as the man closes in on me. I grab the champagne bottle by the neck, realizing it’s full and has a bit of weight to it. Without looking, I spin around, wielding the bottle like a baseball bat. The bottle shatters against the side of his head, slicing his face in the process. The man drops to the ground, unconscious. I watch his chest rise and fall for a moment before I look back at Tyler, who's running toward me.

“Sorry, I tried to stop him,” he says.

“It's fine. I'm having trouble with these damn clips; it’s hard to do with one hand. Go get the other vest?” I say, frustrated, fidgeting with the clip.

Tyler crawls over to the other body, then looks over, grinning at me. “That was pretty badass what you did with that bottle, Julie.”

“Thanks, my fight-or-flight kicked in.”

“I’d say the fight response kicked in, not the flight,” he says just as the vest in his hands unclips.

“What’s wrong with this thing? Ugh!” I shake the clip, getting even more frustrated.

“Here, let me help,” he says, pressing firmly on the button, and the clip separates. We put on the life vests and buckle the clips back on.

At the top of the stairs, people rush inside from the 12th deck. Tyler and I quickly press ourselves against the wall to avoid being knocked over in the chaos. The smell of smoke fills my nose, and heat washes over my skin from the flames flickering. I catch a glimpse of the 12th deck and see the bright red inferno raging across the entire deck. Tyler and I make our way out the door into complete and utter chaos. I step out onto the fiery deck and I’m instantly overwhelmed by screams, even louder than inside the atrium. My eyes sting from the smoke billowing all around me. My vision blurs from the heavy rain and wind whipping me. The wind is so fierce that I feel my feet slipping on the wet ground as I struggle to stay upright. I hear Tyler shouting behind me, but I can't make out what he's saying.

I take in my surroundings. The water slide lies in ruins, scattered across the deck. Tables and lounge chairs are overturned against the walls and railing, battered by the wind. Dead bodies are everywhere, in much worse condition than those in the atrium or hallways. I look down at my hands and watch, mesmerized, as rainwater washes the blood off. My makeshift bandage, once white, now a light pink, reminds me of a watercolor painting. My wet hair hangs in front of my face, clinging to my cheeks. The taste of iron fills my mouth. The thought of someone else's blood dripping into my mouth crosses my mind, and I instantly feel my stomach churn. To my left lies a woman, face up, with one hand missing. My eyes continue down her body, and I realize that half of her leg is also missing. The sight of the severed body parts makes me gag.

I feel bile rise in my throat, making me look away. Before my brain processes what's happening, a flash of white light appears miles above me, followed by a loud clap of thunder. An instant later, another lightning bolt strikes, but this time it's not above me—it’s directly in front of me. A pole with a string of lights attached brightens with a surge of electricity, then, one by one, I watch each bulb pop loudly, sending sparks flying. Instantly, I drop to the ground, pulling Tyler down with me. My knee lands on the dead woman's torso. I quickly scramble off the woman and shout to Tyler, asking if he's seen Theo. Tyler remains silent as he lifts his hands from the slippery muscle fibers hanging from the woman’s leg. In an instant, Tyler crawls away. Before he stops, he projectile-vomits a third time, splattering the ground.