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“Fire is out; we need to get that started again,” says Xander as he stands. “I'll do it now. Where is the lighter we found?”

“Should be over next to the pile of broken wood and furniture,” answers Theo.

Xander heads out to the patio. As soon as the door opens, a blast of icy snow and freezing air rushes in. The cold shock instantly perks me up and, evidently, everyone else too.

“Does anyone know where Mary is?” asks Julie. I look around the room and I don’t see her anywhere.

“No,” I say, and then multiple people around the room say the same.

“Where do you think she is?” asks Theo, and I notice he is directing his question to Julie directly. He asks with a look that says he is asking something only Julie would know.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” replies Julie.

“Maybe she just went for a walk. Everyone is under a lot of stress,” says Sara.

“Yeah, you’re right,” responds Theo.

“That sounds like a great idea. I am going to stretch my legs too. I'll look for her,” responds Julie, with a bit too much excitement in her voice this early in the morning.

The door opens again as Xander walks in, sending another blast of snow and freezing air.

“I got the fire going again. Let me get those stones, please,” says Xander, rubbing the palms of his hands together to warm them.

Everyone moves around, making way for Xander to carry the grate of stones back outside. I have a strange feeling that something is wrong but I'm not sure what it is. I glance over and watch as Julie exits the medical center. I stand up to head after her, but Kelly grabs my arm, pulling me back.

“Please stay here with me,” she asks. I don’t want to upset her, knowing she has had a rough night, so I sit back down and let my thoughts run wild while she and Sara talk about their past.

“Everything okay, babe?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. What are you and Sara talking about?” I ask, even though all I can think about is where Julie is going.

43

MARY

I crawl through the hole leading into the unfinished 7th floor. I can hardly see because there are only a few uncovered windows, and most of the natural light is blocked. I pull out my flashlight and turn it on. I’m shocked to see the unfinished floor stretches the length of the ship. I look up and see metal scaffolding and hanging lights everywhere. Moving cautiously, I shiver in the freezing air and take in my surroundings.

The hallway is long, lined with walls and doorways that look like they’re meant for future guest rooms. Some have sliding glass doors leading to balconies, most covered with dark plastic tarps, while others have solid walls instead of windows. All the rooms are missing their ceilings. The rooms are empty, their floors covered in a blanket of dust and construction material. As I turn around, about to head back to the hole, my flashlight reflects off something in the distance. I walk over to where my light is bouncing off the object like a disco ball, casting light everywhere. The closer I get, the more I can make out that it’s a water bottle propped on the framing of what looks like it’s going to be a door. My first thought is that it’s from the construction crew that was building the ship, because it looks old and there’s trash everywhere, along with other bottles that are empty. When I shine my flashlight into the room, I gasp and accidentally drop it. The flashlight rolls as the ship tilts, causing the light to move across the room and scatter reflections everywhere. The floor is covered with full, unopened bottles of water. In the back of the room, there's a small area with two large cans of beans, a manual can opener, and about five boxes of saltine crackers. On the opposite side, at least twenty empty cans of beans is scattered all over.

A noise in the distance pulls my attention from the opened cans. Quickly, I grab my flashlight and rush back toward the hole I crawled through. As I climb out, the broken wood catches and rips my shirt. Once outside, I run up the stairwell, and as I reach the top, I turn around to see if someone is following me. When I turn back, I run directly into Julie, who is coming down the stairs. I fall backward, tumbling down the stairs. After a moment, I move to stand and a sudden jolt of searing pain courses through my nerves. I look down and nearly pass out when I see that my arm is twisted unnaturally. My arm is broken. Suddenly, I’m dizzy and grab onto the wall with my uninjured hand. I look up to see Julie running down the stairs straight toward me.

“Oh my god, Mary, are you okay?” she asks.

“Get away from me, Julie,” I hiss.

“What the hell is your problem? I'm trying to help you.”

“My arm is broken.” I wince as pain shoots down my side.

“What can I do to help?” asks Julie.

“For starters, you can tell everyone about the food you have hidden on the 7th floor.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I just came out of the 7th floor. There is an entire room filled with bottles of water and food, and empty cans are scattered everywhere.” I pause—the pain in my arm is excruciating. “You've been feasting while everyone else starves. I knew you were a psychotic bitch, but this… Actually, it makes perfect sense now that I think about it. Just like keeping the damn chips to yourself.”

“Mary, stop. That's not mine, I promise,” Julie pleads.