India Rose & The Eternals - The Fountain Of Youth Chronicles Vol. 1

Chapter 17 - Immigrants, Stowaways And The Far Distant Shore

The Third Class Compartment, The HMS Majestic, 9:30 A.M, 83rd Day Of Spring

Finnegan dozed fitfully on his cot in the Third Class compartment. The Captain had offered him his very own First Class cabin, but Finn had felt that he needed to complete this journey across the sea as he had started it, in a humble space among humble people.

But it was a changed place. The Captain, in the aftermath of the attack on the ship, had asked Finn what he could do for him, and Finn had requested the ship's doctor visit the Third Class compartment and tend to the sick.

The doctor, appalled by the conditions in the depths of the ship, immediately removed every sick person to a makeshift ward in the indoor tennis courts on the top deck of the ship. Within an hour of the sick being removed, the Head Steward led a mixed group of sailors, servants, and passengers in the cleaning of the Third Class compartment. Stacks of cots and cloth dividers were brought in to create individual family spaces.

But the biggest change of all was the locks on the gates. There were none. The gates of the Third Class compartment which had been torn down by the Henchmen were not replaced or even given much of a thought. Third Class passengers were free to move about the ship for the remainder of the voyage to New York, and all meals were served on deck (weather permitting) or in whatever various salons and grand sittings rooms that had escaped the fire. For the three remaining days it took the ship, going full speed (day and night), to get to its destination, it resembled no other ocean-going vessel in the way its passengers and crews conducted themselves.

As Finn lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness, he heard his name being called by a female voice. In the two days after the attack, he had been down with hypothermia and had experienced several bouts of delirium. On this, the third day, his fever had subsided, but he was still weak. He was resting now from a brief trip up top to get fresh air and speak to the Captain, who had not been available until then. As he heard his name being spoken, he had a vision of his mother, her soft face and golden hair appearing before him.

"Mother?" he mumbled as he turned over on his cot.

"No young man, I never had the good fortune to have children of my own, but I suppose you are as close as I've come to knowing a son."

Finn opened his eyes and saw Bianka standing near his cot with a steaming bowl of soup in her hands.

"Aldrich heard that you were still a bit under the weather today, so he sent down his special chowder to buck up your strength a bit, my boy," she said, drawing over a suitcase from the side and setting the bowl of soup on it.

"Aldrich?" Finn said hazily, still waking up.

"Oh, I forgot. You know him as the Head Steward. He is an old friend of mine and Leo's. We met him in Algiers many years ago. He and his men saved us from the wrath of some local tribesmen who had not taken kindly to the experiments Leo was conducting in their desert kingdom. That was before your time, my boy. And speaking of time, I know we haven't had much time to talk in the last few days. I know you must have some questions for me, Finnegan."

"I don't think that does justice to what I'm feeling," said Finn, sitting up on his cot and narrowing his eyes at Bianka. Instead of talking further, he reached for the chowder and concentrated his efforts to spoon some out and blow on it to cool it.

Bianka pulled up another suitcase to sit on.

"I'm sorry we were not able to let you know about our plans, Finn, I really am. Leo insisted that we keep them from you because of your honest nature. If you didn't know anything, then you could never be responsible with the information."