Sandy had both arms wrapped around Kerrie's neck. Her feet hung by Kerrie's waist, one of them fastened in a red cloth that was once white. They watched as people continued to swarm over the main deck like wasps. Families running with children. Clothes dripping in blood. People controlled by fear and panic. Kerrie felt it, it was contagious, itching at every part of her body, buzzing beneath the surface of her skin.

Crowds of people gathered at the other lifeboats, but Kerrie knew they were just as dangerous. She pictured being trapped in a tight vessel, tentacles bursting from a skull and threading through everyone's body like a sewing machine. They're rushing to a dead end, she thought. We'll find Neil and then we'll get somewhere safe. They'll send help for help. The government. The military. Someone will come.

Kerrie noticed crewmembers gathered around a man wearing a chef hat and a double-breasted jacket that was surprisingly still white. In his hand, he held a butcher knife, the blade swaying in the air with his heaving chest. He swung the knife toward the crewmembers, warning them to stay back.

The chef stood next to one of the lifeboats and activated the release mechanism. The boat swung outward and lowered to the surface of the water. A crowd of people waited behind the scene, growing furious at the chef.

"Put the knife down," a crewmember said. "Don't do this."

"If I'm going down, we're all going down!" the chef shouted. The knife danced through the air in a fury of swipes, as if demonstrating how to cut the highest grade of beef. "No one is getting off this ship."

"People need the lifeboats," another crewmember said. "Stop releasing them."

"We're in this together," the chef said. He clutched his head with his free hand. "It's in me. It's going to be in all of you."

A crewmember took the opportunity to tackle the chef to the ground.

"I said stay back!" the chef cried.

"Don't look, Sandy." Kerrie turned Sandy's head away.

The chef was on his back and the crewmember was on top, wrapping his hand around the wrist that held the butcher knife. The crewmember pinned the wrist to the deck and tried to pry the knife free. They struggled for a bit, a battle of strength and stamina. Then the chef launched his head forward, his brow crashing into the crewmember's nose. The crewmember recoiled at the impact and the chef swung the blade into his neck, slicing to the bone. Hot blood spilled onto his double-breasted jacket. The crowd of passengers screamed and dispersed across the main deck. The chef rolled the body off and stood back up.

"This is what happens when you don't listen!" the chef shouted, running down the deck to the next lifeboat.

"Let's go this way instead," Kerrie said, changing direction.

They moved up a stairwell until they were a few decks higher. Kerrie saw the faintest hint of light peeking from the horizon. It was hard to tell from all the clouds, but the sun would be rising soon.

They passed one of the swimming pools, its crystal-like water glowing in the darkness. Not a body in the water, not a ripple passing through its frozen surface. Kerrie wanted to jump in and sink to the bottom. She wanted to hold her breath for as long as she could and just hang in limbo. Away from everything. Away from this. The cool water against her skin, calming the adrenaline that scorched through her veins. She wanted nothing more.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Kerrie wished she could press pause and give herself the time to feel. Her world had turned upside down. The fissure that had formed between Kerrie and Neil was enough to occupy her brain for weeks. But when you started adding in the blood, death and parasitic creatures hatching from people's skulls into the equation, it was too much to handle. It was too much for anyone to handle.

But Kerrie had to be okay. She had to keep pushing forward. It was a talent she had acquired from years as a nurse. To turn yourself on and support the wellbeing of others, even when you are not okay, is no easy task. But she had learned to do it. And she will do it. It's how she gets by. If it takes some extra effort to lift a smile toward Sandy, she will do it. If she has to lie and tell her everything will be okay, she will do it. It was the least she could do.

Something near the pool caught Kerrie's eye. She placed Sandy on one of the loungers and reached for a pair of sandals. They were pink, flowers scattered across the straps. They looked like they would fit Sandy.

"Try these on." Kerrie smiled.

Sandy lifted her foot and Kerrie crouched to slide the sandal on. She adjusted the straps, tightening them, but not too tight. Kerrie did the same with the other. Sandy wiggled her toes, the cloth still wrapped around her foot.

"What do you think?" Kerrie asked, lifting Sandy to her feet.

"I think they're pretty," Sandy replied.

"Me too. They're a little big but beggars can't be choosers." Kerrie took a step back. "Test them out."

Sandy walked alongside the pool, the lights from the water shining up and glimmering against her red polka dot dress. The toe of the sandals dragged while she walked. But they will do. Sandy pivoted and ran back to Kerrie.

"I like them." Sandy smiled.

"Good. Now we need to fix that foot of yours."

Kerrie held Sandy's hand as they turned down a hallway. The hallway was quiet, so much so that it was uncomfortable. Kerrie had become used to the screaming. Used to the blood. Used to the violence. The silence felt wrong, it felt dangerous, as if something lurked around the corner.

They passed several unmarked doors until they came upon the office of Dr. Keane. Kerrie grabbed the door handle and the slab of metal swung open.

"Looks like we made it," Kerrie said.

They stepped inside the waiting room. The walls were painted mint green and the floors tiled grey. The reception counter was close to the door, a fern resting on top. A table sat in the middle, littered with old magazines. Florescent lights flickered from the paneled ceiling. The entire waiting room was empty. Kerrie felt like a trespasser, and she was, but that was the least of her concerns given what was happening on the ship.

They moved past the reception and toward the examination rooms. The sound of footsteps and dragging feet filled the silence. Kerrie approached the first door and reached for the handle. The handle turned but the door wouldn't budge. Kerrie tried again, making sure to twist the handle all the way, but still the door wouldn't move.

She lowered her shoulder and threw her body into the door. She felt it slightly move before banging into something heavy. Kerrie dropped her shoulder a second time but still no luck.

Kerrie felt Sandy tap her leg and looked down. Sandy was pointing to the floor in front of the door. It was hard to see against the grey tiles but there it was. A bloody footprint. Kerrie's eyes traced the floor and followed a series of footprints that started from the entrance of the office. Someone was in there. Someone barricaded the door so no one could get in. Or nothing could get out.

Kerrie raised her finger to her mouth."Shhh." And waved at Sandy to follow her to the next examination room. We will leave that door alone. But let's be quick, in and out.

The second examination room opened with ease. She placed Sandy on the examination table and went to work. There wasn't much thinking involved with it, Kerrie had done it a hundred times and a hundred times more. She untied the cloth around Sandy's foot like a ribbon, the fabric falling to the grey tiles. She cleaned the wound first, then disinfected it. Bubbles foamed across the cut. Sandy hissed in pain, her leg jerking away. Kerrie pulled it back, covering it with an antibiotic cream and wrapping it in gauze. The medical tape was the final touch.

"All better," Kerrie whispered. "Now we just have one more thing to do."

"Your boyfriend," Sandy whispered back.

Kerrie nodded.

Kerrie slid the sandal back on Sandy's foot and placed her on her feet. They followed the bloody footprints back the way they came. Kerrie headed to the only other place she expected Neil to go after what happened between them. After she told him she couldn't marry him. Where else would he have gone anyway?