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The room erupts in conversation and arguments. While everyone else is going on, I ignore Amy’s comment, knowing she’s only looking for a fight. As Amy walks away, I turn and notice Mary standing in a corner alone, her eyes fixed on something. When I follow her line of sight, I watch Julie quietly leave the room. I wonder if she knows Mary is watching her too. I look back at Mary and realize she doesn’t know that I’m watching either of them. Within seconds, Mary slips out right behind Julie.

The remaining passengers in the room are too preoccupied with their own conversations to notice them leaving, and I’m tempted to follow, but I have a gut feeling Amy isn’t finished causing trouble. I watch as she reaches the wall behind the desk, then she stands there silently, unmoving. I’m the only one who is watching her.

Suddenly, she starts running toward Kelly, an axe raised above her head. But before I get the chance to warn Kelly, she hears Amy, because she turns around lightning-fast and stands still, as if paralyzed with fear. Amy, without hesitation, throws the axe as hard as she can.

Tyler, standing beside Kelly, pulls her out of the way. They both plummet to the ground. Tyler's arms wrapped tightly around her in an attempt to break her fall. Amy stops running as Kelly looks up at the axe that is now embedded into the wall above her head. Kelly doesn't speak or move. Her eyes start rapidly blinking as she looks around, and then she looks back at Amy and back to the axe. Her brows furrow, and I see her jaw clench so tight she could break a molar. The look in her eye says it all—Sophie’s back. She hefts herself up and stands as quickly as she can. I watch Tyler reach out, trying to stop her, but he's no match for Sophie when she comes out. Sophie yanks her hand away, grabs the axe from the wall, and sprints toward Amy.

The gap between her and Amy closes within seconds; she's moving so fast that no one has a chance to stop her. Amy’s eyes widen as she watches Sophie lift the axe high and bring it down. The cutting edge of the steel axe slams directly between her eyes, embedding deep within her skull. Her nose splits in half and blood pours down her face. Her arms start to flail as her legs give out, and she falls. Sophie turns to face us, pulling the axe out of Amy’s head in the process. She lifts her hands and wipes the splattered blood off her face, then spits on the ground.

“If anyone fucks with my baby or me again, I'll kill you. I don't care who you are.” She looks around the room as we all stare at her. “Someone call my husband. I'm ready to go home.”

“It's okay, Sophie. I'll call him for you,” Sara says, slowly walking up to Sophie. “While we wait, I have someone I want you to meet. His name is Tyler. Your husband told me they work together and he sent him to take care of you until he gets here to pick you up, okay?” Then she turns to Tyler, muttering, “Just follow my lead.”

I rub my eyebrow. I don’t know if I will ever get used to this craziness.

“Yeah, he is a great guy; he should be here any moment,” says Tyler, catching on quickly. Tyler stands and slowly approaches her. He stops before reaching her, looks Sophie in the eyes, then shifts his attention to her hand holding the axe. Sara slowly reaches out and takes the bloody axe from Sophie's hand.

“Hi, Tyler. I'm Sophie,” she says in a high-pitched, giddy voice. I can't help but think of a crazy lady in a slasher movie, with the way she's talking, and the blood splattered across her face.

“It's nice to meet you, Sophie. I've heard a lot about you. Let's find somewhere to sit. How does that sound?” Tyler keeps his tone light and calm.

“That sounds nice,” Sophie responds, and then they make their way to the back of the room and sit on the floor, where blankets are piled up. I watch them for a moment as they sit next to each other. I’d be terrified in this moment, but Tyler looks more curious than anything.

“Why don't we try to get the fire started and let things settle down here?” says Xander, pulling my attention away.

“That sounds like a good plan. Give me a moment,” I say, walking over and grabbing a sheet from the back of the room and draping it over the body. Instantly, blood seeps through, staining the dirty white cotton crimson. At this point, I’m numb to the sight of blood and dead bodies. I grab the legs after I wrap Amy’s body in the sheet and drag her out of the room and up to the top deck.

41

MARY

Quietly, I follow Julie down the cold, dark hallway, watching her every move. Carefully, I avoid making any noise, maintaining a safe distance. First, I watch as Julie enters the library on the 6th floor. I'm doing my best to stay unnoticed, so I wait until the door closes, then peek through the glass. I stare into the library and watch as Julie looks around nervously. Then she removes a book from the shelf, reaches back in, and pulls out another from deeper inside the shelf. She opens it and takes out folded papers.

“The letter,” I say aloud, then quickly cover my mouth, realizing I may have just blown my cover. I peek from the side of the window and see Julie facing it. I drop back down and pray she didn’t catch me. I peek through the window one more time and see Julie shoving the letter back into the book and placing it back on the shelf. Carefully, she arranges the pile of books in front of the one containing her letter. I start to panic as Julie rushes out of the library. I’m not sure where to go. The ship sways in the water, causing a slight tilt, and the sound of an eerie creak fills my ears as Brent’s body swings from the chandelier. I hear the door to the library begin to open and make a run for it, sprinting toward the stairs.

After reaching the stairwell, I hide behind the wall as the squeaking library door slams shut. A moment later, I hear footsteps—receding rather than approaching. Feeling a bit relieved, I exhale a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Carefully, I peek around the corner and watch Julie glance around, then take off in the opposite direction. I consider whether to follow her or search for the letter. No, I can come back for that. Right now, I need to see where Julie is going. I head in Julie’s direction and hear her descending the stairs. I follow her all the way down to the 1st floor, which is shocking since there isn’t anything down here, and it’s completely dark. Julie pulls out a small flashlight and turns it on, shining it all over.

I reach into my pocket to make sure I still have the flashlight I found a few months back. A moment later, Julie and her light disappear behind a steel door labeled ‘Crew Only.’ The room goes dark, and I click on my flashlight. I have no idea why Julie would need to be down here, and I plan to figure it out. Fifteen minutes pass, and just as I’m about to give up, the steel door opens, drawing my attention. I click my flashlight off instantly as Julie runs out toward the stairwell. I stay hidden behind a nook in the wall. Once she is gone, I rush to the steel door, opening it quickly and quietly shutting it behind me. There’s a foul odor lingering in the air. The room is stuffy, and right away I feel claustrophobic. My mouth drops when I shine my flashlight around the room. Trash is scattered across the floor, including empty cans of beans and boxes of dried food.

As I press on, I notice empty water bottles scattered around. No wonder she’s always hiding and never complains about food; she’s been secretly eating all this time.

While walking, I stumble upon a pile of bones and let out a scream, then quickly cover my mouth, hoping no one heard me. I step closer to get a better view and figure out the decayed corpse is Captain Whitaker. His nametag is on his uniform. I don’t want to be alone down here any longer, so I turn around and head back toward the door. As I’m leaving, a bright yellow object catches my eye—a bag of some sort. Approaching it uncertainly, I notice there are two bags, each with red letters printed on the side. I can’t quite make out what they say.

The closer I get, the more visible the letters become. In large red print, I make out the letters ‘SURVI— The screech of the door opening has me dropping to the ground. I try my best to turn off the flashlight, but my nerves have me fumbling with it. I quickly jam it into my thigh to hide the light. The door slams, and I finally manage to flip the switch, turning the flashlight off. I wince at the audible click from it.

“Hello, is anyone there?” someone whispers. I realize it’s Julie.

I'm unable to move out of fear of being caught. I hold my breath and remain perfectly still. As soon as Julie leaves, I exhale slowly and rush to the door. Feeling trapped, I fumble with the flashlight, unable to switch it back on. My heart is pounding, and I feel like I'm going to pass out. Eventually, the flashlight comes on, and the door is only a few feet away. I run and swing it open, no longer worried about getting caught. I’ve got to get out of this room. As soon as I'm on the other side of the door, I jump as I hear the door slam behind me. I can’t help the chill that runs through me. What the hell is going on here? No longer wanting to be anywhere near the 1st floor, I sprint up the stairs, out of breath, not stopping until I'm at the entrance of the medical center.

I walk into the medical center and immediately spot Julie off to the side, talking to Karissa and Sara. Kelly or Sophie, whoever she is now, is beside them. She is talking so loudly that the entire room can hear her say that her husband will be there any minute to get her. Julie looks up, and our eyes meet briefly. She smiles, then turns back to the conversation, as if she wasn’t just sneaking around. I begin to approach her, intending to ask why she was sneaking around, but my attention is pulled by a loud scream from outside.

Xander, Theo, and Tyler are jumping up and down excitedly as the fire roars to life. Carefully, they line the stones across the grates. Once all the stones are placed on the grate, they set it over the fire to heat. I watch Theo after they walk inside. He carefully removes his face mask, and when he looks up, he catches me staring at him. I’m surprised when he scowls at me for the second time today. What in the world have I done to make him mad? He turns away to walk toward Julie, and I decide to talk to Julie later when she is alone.

I take a seat near the window to feel the sun shining in. About twenty minutes pass, then I see Xander stand and make his way outside to collect the hot stones. Theo and Tyler follow, and together they carry the metal grate filled with hot stones indoors and place it over a metal bin. Everyone quickly crowds around, and Theo grabs a heavy blanket and tosses it over us to help trap the heat.

“I forgot how much I missed the heat. I can't wait to be back on land and bask in the sun for hours,” says Karissa.

“You and me both, sis. I never want to see the ocean or a ship again,” responds Xander. The group erupts in laughter, and for that moment, I smile along with everyone. For that brief moment, everything feels normal for the first time in months.