Sea Sick: A Horror Novel

Day 101

Jack rose out of bed, woken by his luggage falling against the wardrobe for the one-hundredth time. The clock read: 1400 as it always did. Like a robot he walked across the room, went for a shower, and then got dressed. Some days he just stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling for hours and hours until, inexplicably, he would fall asleep at midnight exactly. There was never any fighting it. Other days he made the effort to get up and do something, but, no matter what he did, the day would always end in the same agonising way.

With everyone being ripped apart by a mob of snarling lunatics.

The eyebleeders appeared each night, always between eight and nine. The High Spirits lounge was the first place to turn from what Jack had gathered. Conner and the little girl with the dolly seemed to be primary vectors – always the first ones to attack. His investigations had also uncovered that Carlo’s Casino, on the Eagle Deck, also became overrun by infected passengers at around the same time. The safest place to be, Jack had discovered, was in the lower decks of the ship, where the frightened passengers remained locked up in their cabins. Jack had no idea how the infection had gotten onboard, but it was clear from the moment he woke up each morning that it was too late to help anybody. As soon as he left his room and explored the ship, he would always notice people sneezing and coughing, growing pale and sickly. The little girl with pigtails seemed to be the worst; a little further ahead in her condition than everyone else. Perhaps she was the originator.

Patient Zero or whatever they say.

Jack often considered throwing the little girl overboard, but had always found that he lacked the ability to perform such an evil act. He doubted it would help, anyway. The virus had already taken a firm hold on the ship. The passengers were doomed from the moment he woke up each day. And they didn’t even know it. Only Jack knew that death was coming for them. In a way, he figured that made him the most doomed of all. He was totally alone in the misery of knowing what was to come.

Jack stepped out of the elevator onto the Broadway Deck. He stared scornfully at the room service cart to his right. He hated that goddamn cart. Then he walked towards the entrance to the Promenade Deck in the opposite direction. He braced his legs as the ship rolled suddenly. He hardly noticed the sudden movement anymore. The ship’s rocking had become like the predictable beating of his heart.

He opened the door and immediately turned right.

“Slow down!” he shouted at the two young boys sprinting towards him. They did as he told them, at least at first, but then accelerated back to their original speed as soon as they were past him, racing off towards the pool area. The little brats never took any notice of what he said.

On the Lido Deck the usual people were present: the same children swimming in the pool; the same parents disregarding them as they drank beer and read trashy autobiographies; the same smiling staff carrying overbalanced serving trays.

Jack went up the steps to the Sun Deck and threw aside the green towel that covered the sun lounger he now thought of as his. Claire looked at him warily as he dumped himself down.

“You okay?” she asked him.

Jack forced a smile. “Yeah, great. How about you? Missing Leeds?”

“Huh? How did you…”

“Your accent,” he said.

“Didn’t realise it was that thick? You’re from-”

“Birmingham. Yes, well done.”

“Funny how you meet all different kinds of people on holiday. Are you here with your wife?”

“No,” said Jack. “Work sent me here.”


“Really? I wish I had a job that sent me on cruises. What do you do?”

“I’m a police officer.”

Claire seemed confused. “I don’t understand. Why would you be sent on a cruise?”