A Daughter's Duty

Chapter 6

"Are you going to relax or what?" I said.

Michael looked like he just came out of a daze. "Huh? Relax? Are you relaxed?"

I shrugged. "Much more relaxed that I was yesterday. I've always like the sea wind."

He grinned. "Well then, I'm glad." He leaned on the railing next to me. "I'm hungry. You didn't even let me have breakfast."

Come to think of it, I was starving. I hadn't had supper yesterday, nor a crumb today. "Do you have  any money? Maybe we can buy sandwiches."

"No, it's alright," he said. He put his hand in the other pocket and fished out a bar of my favorite chocolate. "Would you like some?"

I smacked his hand. "You've been holding out on me."

He opened the bar, and snapped it in half, handing me the bigger one. "Enjoy."

"Thanks," I grinned, and sunk my teeth into the most delicious chocolate in the world.

Maybe I had chosen the wrong time, or maybe God simply did not want me to have some minutes of peace and quiet to myself – I don't know. But as soon as I swallowed my first piece, the ferry suddenly lurched sideways.

"Whoa!" yelled Michael, grabbing the railing tighter. A few others weren't lucky enough. They helplessly skid away from it.

Captain Elaine Deborah spoke again. "It's seems as if we are experiencing some few complications with the ferry. For your safety, please proceed downstairs to the lobby, where proper seating accommodations have been provided. Crew members will direct you there. Thank you."

"This is why," said Michael, looking at me. "We don't relax." He suddenly grabbed my hand, and raced down the stairs. The inside was lined with red carpets, and beautiful lamps were nailed cleanly into the floor. The stairs ended in a long corridor, which had only a few people who could walk to the lobby without assistance.

"Take the north side," he said, pointing to the corridor. "I'll take the south. It is no coincidence that a ferry suddenly goes haywire at the same time that your friend Sofia told us." He ran to the other end but stopped, turning around. "And remember, keep it at the ready!" He turned around the corner and vanished.

The ferry lurched again as I tried to process what was happening. 1) The ship was sinking; 2) Some parts had malfunctioned; 3) We were all in danger. I took out my gun, hiding it from direct view, but readying it enough to shoot at a moment's notice, just as he had asked me to. I walked with quiet steps along the corridor, checking each and every room as I went. The lobby had a line of chairs nailed to the floor, each having a seat belt, like in an airplane.

I walked farther, keeping my eye out for any suspicious behavior. The people were now scurrying around me, panicking. A child brushed past me, yelling from the top of her lungs, "Mummy, we're going to die!" And the mother, who had another baby in her arms, took the child's hand and raced to the father. The elderly were being assisted by the crew members, dressed in blue shirts. None of the people looked like they were troublemakers.

I walked for a few minutes, trying to maintain my balance as the ferry lolled sideways, and listening to Captain Deborah attempting to calm the civilians down. A few late-comers were quickly being ushered to last minute seats, and the crew members were hurrying around me from the storage room to there, carrying paper sick bags for those with a weak stomach. Many of them stopped and asked me to proceed to the lobby, but I told them that Deborah had asked me to do a last-minute check for others lost in the corridors. They believed me, probably realizing it would be better to just convince the others who weren't lying (thank God).