The Last Cruise Of The Faery Queen
A disaster at sea awakens a strength in Hayley that she never knew she had: endurance.
Written for three writing challenges: 30 Days of Fright, Day 23: Frienemies; Milk & Honey's June writing challenge & prompt #4: Eco horror; and The Bookstack Catalog Weekly Prompt #4: Swimming to Shore.
Whatever had possessed Hayley Jones to go on a cruise with Carol Cartwright had abandoned her the minute they'd boarded The Faery Queen. Yes, it was a pretty ship. Yes, the restaurants and other amenities were amazing. And yes, the entertainment was spectacular. But being stuck in an enclosed space with that woman had become completely unbearable. Carol's on-off affection, punctuated by bouts of extravagant, dramatic meltdowns, which were almost immediately followed by her pretending that it never happened, had finally gotten on her last nerve.
The problem with being on a big expensive cruise ship with big expensive security was that she couldn't simply heave the beast overboard and say it was an accident.
Carol's preternatural self-preservation instincts would never allow that to happen, anyway. She always seemed to know just when to fold. Hayley would be left high and dry, her neck in a noose of defensiveness and tattered self-esteem, while Carol sodded off to act the innocent.
She stood leaning over the front rail, enjoying a moment of calm while Carol poured her poison into other people's ears. Soon enough, people would come to ‘have a word,’ and every time there would be more than one. And all of them would be to blame Hayley for every scene that Carol made.
Why did she keep coming back for more of the same? Every time she asked herself that question, she found herself making the same excuses for Carol that everyone else did. There had to be a way to break the cycle.
In her hand, Hayley had a chocolate éclair, which she knew would give her little comfort. The sweetness turned to ashes in her mouth too quickly these days. She permitted herself to enjoy the memory of the pleasure she used to get from it, then dropped it into the sea. As it fell, she made a wish: Get me out of this.
It was the thumping that woke them up. Carol was fully dressed and crouched over Hayley's bed with terror-widened eyes. “Hayley!” she shouted. “We're in trouble. Quick! Get dressed.”
What a difference there was between Carol pretending to be frightened or upset and the genuine fear on display here! The blanched face, the dilated pupils, the quick movements. And where was the ever-present makeup? Perhaps they really were in trouble. Or was she simply overreacting to the pitch and yaw of the ship in rough water? The next dip nearly tipped her onto the floor.
Hayley pulled her jeans on over her pyjamas and threw on a sweatshirt and jacket. After hurriedly stuffing a small backpack with ‘the bare necessities,’ she put her trainers on and followed Carol out into the corridor.
Crew members in hi-viz jackets were trying to calm people down—to no avail.
They were on Deck 7, the one above the upper hold, near the rear of the ship. The banging was loudest here.
The Faery Queen dropped precipitously—almost nose-down—knocking everybody over. They slid, screaming, backwards down the corridor. The bang that followed drove them to their feet as the Faery Queen righted herself.
“Now can we get into the lifeboats?” asked a furious passenger.
Caught in a pile of writhing bodies, Hayley and Carol struggled to regain their footing. While the ship was still bouncing around, it was definitely leaning to one side, and dipping down.
Passengers were fleeing in every direction, looking for a way out.
Without really thinking about it, Hayley grabbed Carol's arm and dragged her upwards towards the outer deck. They found a fury of desperate passengers fighting like wild animals over life jackets. Many had burst through the open deck doors and were standing outside. When Hayley arrived, she found out why: all of the lifeboats were gone.
Passengers stood silently, leaning against the walls and windows, looking lost.
Mountainous, foam-capped waves broke over the ship, which was slowly sliding into the depths. In the grey twilight, Hayley could see that there was no hope. They had maybe twenty minutes left, if they were lucky.
The Faery Queen lurched, then dropped a little lower.
Ten. Her mighty rump was describing a big, slow corkscrew into the depths.
Carol clung like a baby monkey to Hayley's arm. “What will we do?” she asked, in a small, childlike voice.
“We can only hope the captain called for help,” said Hayley. “If he didn't, we're stuffed.”
A man beside her was jabbering in a guttural language into his mobile phone.
Hayley briefly considered calling someone, but realised that her main concern should be staying alive. It was freezing out here. Rain-whipped and brine-battered, people clung to whatever fixtures and fittings they could as the ship slid further down. Everyone was moving further up towards the back, but there were more people than there was room for them. The waves were snatching people off as cold-numbed hands loosened their grips on knobs and rails. Hayley knew she would fall soon—she was too far from the rear. Did anyone even know where they were?
“We'll have to jump,” she said.
“Into that?” asked Carol, who only had Hayley to cling to.
But Hayley could see something. A darker shade than the clouds. A more defined shape than the waves. The possibility of survival. She took a deep breath and let go.
The plunge into the sea was brutal. The cold of the water drove the breath from her body. She felt Carol kicking. Flailing like a mad thing. She thrust her arm upwards. She felt something brush against her shoulder, then she was free. She inhaled, treading water, and looked around for the dark promise she had seen in the distance before she had jumped.
“There!”
As if saying that had brought it into being, Hayley saw the lump of land that was still too far away. Weighed down by weariness, the freezing cold water, and her wet clothes, she felt her strength waning. But it was there. It was real. She could make it. She was at the wrong angle. In the wrong position. She was caught in a current that threatened to sweep her right past it.
No.
Not here.
Not like this.
There was no point in fighting the current, but she might be able to work with it. She allowed the current to carry her forward, and swam slowly towards the island. At a certain point, when she was almost level with it, she felt the pull of the current the most. Here, she exerted herself, windmilling her way through the waves until the current relaxed its grip. She was almost past the island when she felt an eddy push her towards it. Gratefully, Hayley dragged herself up the crumbling black slope. She rolled over.
The blunt stern of the Faery Queen could just about be glimpsed between the waves. A tell-tale metal flap swung shut with a bang for the last time. She rolled onto her side and bobbed her backside, mooning the sky as a last act of defiance. Then she was gone.
Hayley gasped, her lungs filling with the sulphurous stench that the island exuded. She could see, all around her, plumes of steam rising. The ground beneath her was warm. Her only realistic chance of survival was to get off the island—but how? She looked around for signs of life—someone else who might have survived.
She was completely alone.
Was it the poisonous gases rising around her or was she sinking into the ground on which she stood? She looked down. The black volcanic emissions on which she stood were were by no means solid. The sea had compacted it somewhat, but not quite enough. There were so many ways to die here, she almost missed her snarky dances with Carol. Almost. Where was that woman now? That last brush against her shoulder was probably the last of her. Well, she had wished to be out of there, and now she was.
A low rumbling sound caught her attention. I am going to die in a giant fart! She shook her head. C’est ma vie.
A strong downdraft changed her mind. It was blowing the fumes away, she could breathe more easily now. The helicopter descended.A man on a rope swung down and snatched her up.
He smelled so much better than the island. Hayley was lifted by more than a man; now she had hope.
Nice to have a happy ending for a change
Loved it. Though I'd have liked more from Hayley during her low point on the . I imagine the experience would have cast more of a perspective on her whole life. But it's still good; the tension builds well. I just felt the climax was a bit underplayed.