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Chapter Twenty-four
Let Go
ThankGodSamdidn’t end up cleaning toilets. Despite the unfortunate four weeks I was without him, the visit from the Galene was a blessing. His job in engineering gave him admittance to anything with an engine, navigation, and global positioning systems. Mobile navigation and GPS systems were under strict security measures, but because of his position, he had the key. He could take anything and everything we would need with most of the men at Dean’s party.
He planned to load a tender boat with food, water, clothing, necessary electronics, and medical equipment by dawn. If a storm was coming, we would board the boat and leave its path until it passed. I insisted we should slow down and think through the plan, but we only had a small window to leave.
The Thalassa was a four-hour ride away from a chain of islands that could provide food and shelter. With every passing moment, we drifted further away. Thalassa crew had scouted the islands and found them barren. They checked most of the boxes for relocation, but they were too small for the ship’s population. We were leaving and not coming back.
Sam also felt that with so many in quadrant C going to the event tonight, there would be a lot of hungover, sluggish workers on duty tomorrow. Circumstances offered the perfect time to make our move, and we wouldn’t likely get another.
I had already visited my cabin and packed a bag for BeLew and me, leaving a note that I was staying at Lori’s for a few days because I was mad after our fight.
I had an alibi and a plan. I also had the urge to vomit all the time, which could be nerves or could be a fetus.
Lori slept for only an hour, and when I awoke, she was packing bags for herself and the boys. I kept quiet, watching her from the bed. Fear and excitement coursed through my body.
What was Sam doing at this moment? Would he sleep tonight?
I didn’t know how to drive a boat. He still had a slight limp, and I worried about all the physical energy needed to get us to safety.
I curled into a ball and thought about my dreams. Why was I bleeding on the sand? Would it happen tomorrow or years from now? And the blazing fire from my dreams happened on this ship. If everything went according to plan, we would leave the ship in a few hours. I trembled at what that could mean. Lori’s face was solemn as she chose things for herself and the boys. She placed each item into her bag as if it held special meaning.
I rolled over and drifted to sleep, almost praying for another dream to come, one that would have more clarity or something helpful. Once my eyes felt heavy, I heard a click, and the walls vibrated.
My eyes shot back open.
The room went pitch black.
A loud buzzing echoed throughout and a red light blinked from beyond Lori’s door.
“Was this part of the plan?” Lori’s voice quivered as she asked.
“No,” I said. “Grab your bag. We have to go.”
The boys stood on wobbly legs, half asleep, as we put bags on their backs.
I dropped to my knees in front of BeLew. “Boys, do you remember the farm a few months ago, when we were going to the jeep?” They groaned, tired of this routine. “We had rules. Do you remember them? Stay where I can reach you. Run if you can. Do exactly what I say when I say it.”
“What’s happening, Mama?” Lewis’s calling me mama made my lip tremble. I caught an empathetic look from Lori in the blinking red light.
“I need you… to trust me. I love you both so much. More than anything in this whole universe. Do everything I say when I say it.”
They were waking up a bit more and their eyes grew wide as they nodded again. I took a hand from each of them and we left.
The dark hallway concealed our bags. We had no choice but to walk with the masses that headed upward towards the deck. I needed to get to one of the engineering tunnels. I had seen it a million times and there was an entry point five minutes down from where we lined up at the last red out. It was still night, and I prayed they didn’t have time to set up a stage for whatever shitshow Matthews had planned.
The captain’s voice boomed through the hall’s intercom. “Please move in an orderly fashion towards the decks. There is no need to panic, but we require that all passengers are present at the top of the hour.”
Many of us were already jogging down the halls, and this only quickened our pace. We took the stairs two at a time, and I wedged in front of our group to lead the way. If there was an opportunity to get to the planned meeting spot, I would take it.
My hopes were crushed when we got to the decks and witnessed the crowd of people blocking us from walking forward. A few drones flew overhead, sealing our fate.
“Fuck,” I snarled. The boys looked at each other with open mouths. “Shit,” I continued, as my inner voice had no filter tonight. “Don’t say fuck… or shit.” Beau broke the silence with a giggle, and Lewis punched him in the arm.
“What’s the plan?” Lori whispered in my ear. We stood at the end of a lineup and people filed in behind us. My eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was night, and the only light came from the blinking red lights. The banister of the ship was on our right. I looked over and, unlike the other side, it wasn’t a straight fall to the ocean below.
Mounted on the side of the ship, maybe eight feet down, appeared to be an old apartment style fire escape. It had open steel gratings for a walkway and a handrail on the side. It reminded me of tracks that run alongside roller coasters. Still terrifying as hell, but it wasn’t a plummet to your death as long as you didn’t misstep. If we stayed flush to the hull of the ship, we would be concealed from view. The drones kept their primary focus on the decks, not the sides of the boat or water outward.
