Infected Waters: A Titanic Disaster Read online

  Deciding to relieve Nora, since she had had a long day, she was shocked to find another bed occupied.

  “Did something happen while I was asleep?”

  “Yes, Patrick died.” Nora wiped the tears from her eyes.

  “Oh, no. Was he the only one infected?” Judith pointed toward the new patient filling the bed.

  “Yes. He was scratched in the encounter. It doesn’t seem to set in as fast as a bite would, so there may be hope for him.”

  “Well, I’m here so you can go get some dinner and rest. I fear the next few days will be hard for all of us.” Judith made a shooing motion at Nora.

  “All right, I’ll go eat and then check on our new nurses.” Nora surveyed the room with two patients tied to their beds. Both were breathing, but barely. Their newest addition was playing cards, sitting up in bed, not acting like an infected person at all.

  “Just keep an eye on them. If they quit breathing, run for your life, but close the room up behind you.”

  “Well, since there isn’t any place to run, I’ll make sure to lock anyone in here.” Judith smiled at Nora’s concern.

  While this infection was serious, there was no need to go overboard about dead people walking around, chasing people.

  Nora finally left to go eat and Judith took a deep breath.

  “Now that the dragon lady is gone, how about you come and keep a poor soul company?” Finn patted the bed in invitation for Judith to join him.

  “Sorry. While I’m on duty, I can’t fraternize. Plus, we don’t know if you have the infection, and while you’re very attractive, I don’t want to take a chance on catching what you have.” Judith tried to let him down gently.

  “Well, will you compromise and a play a hand of gin with me?” Finn asked pleadingly.

  “Now, that I can do, but in my own chair with a table between us.” Judith laid down the rules.

  “I guess it will have to do.” Finn grinned. At least Judith would be paying attention to him.

  ~~~~~~

  Knowing she could be in the new infirmary for a while, Nora opted to eat dinner before checking on her new crew.

  Cookie was checking a pot cooking on the stove.

  “Is there still enough left for me to eat a bite?” Nora asked tentatively.

  “For you, darling, I have something special saved for my favorites.” Cookie opened the oven and pulled out a pan of roast with vegetables that smelled heavenly.

  “Will this work, nurse?” Cookie pulled out a plate and started to fill it, assuming Nora would eat anything he offered.

  “It smells amazing. I haven’t eaten properly on this trip, and now you’re trying to fatten me up.” Nora smiled, knowing she could handle the extra protein.

  “Pull up a chair and you can listen while I tell you all about the things you’ve missed.” Cookie winked conspiratorially.

  ~~~~~~

  Samuel was hanging out with the guys who were bored.

  “What do we have planned for the evening?”

  “Nothing,” Charlie huffed.

  “Yeah, I don’t see anything on the horizon. We could play some more poker, but we drank the last bottle of whiskey.” James looked at Samuel hopefully.

  “No. That was a one-time thing. They have had someone at the door to let each person in and out since that night. There is no way we can score more of it.” Samuel winced as he gave the excuse.

  “I know! Let’s go see those guys in the infirmary,” Charlie suggested excitedly.

  “They probably won’t let us in, and it’s not all that safe, right?” Samuel hated being the voice of reason, but he didn’t want to get in trouble.

  “I’ve got it. We can go by to see Judith, or you can and suggest that you go out for a breath of fresh air. Then we can sneak in and see the infected guy while you two are doing other stuff.” James winked suggestively.

  “Yeah, we all get a little piece of the action,” Charlie chimed in.

  “Well, there doesn’t seem to be much else to do, so I’m in,” Samuel reluctantly agreed.

  The trio went to the old infirmary. While Samuel opened the door, the other two hid out of sight down the hallway.

  “Uh, Judith?” Samuel stuck his head in the room, expecting to be kicked out at any moment.

  “Samuel, what a pleasant surprise.” Judith glanced at all three beds to make sure they were sleeping.

  “There wasn’t much going on…” He stopped, realizing how that sounded. “Anyway, I thought you might want to get out for a few minutes. If you could that is,” Samuel mumbled.

  “That is so sweet, but I’m not sure I should leave them.” Judith seemed undecided.

  “Just for a few minutes. Don’t you need a little fresh air?” Samuel suggested, hoping she would agree so the others could get in without getting caught.

  “I think it would be all right. Five minutes’ tops.” Judith turned her smile on as she pushed aside the guilt for leaving.

  “Ladies first.” Samuel held the door open for her and pulled it almost shut behind them.

  Holding out his arm, he led the way out to the decks where they could have a few minutes of privacy.

  “This was so thoughtful, Samuel. Look! The stars are so bright out here and so close with the reflections in the water.”

  Judith leaned back against Samuel, causing him to blush.

  Hearing someone come out on deck, they hastily broke apart.

  When he saw it was Charlie and James joining them, Samuel was excited and relieved that they hadn’t had any problems.

  “What are you blokes up to this fine evening?” Samuel asked nervously.

  “We were looking for you and you’ve managed to break Judith out of that stuffy infirmary.” Charlie slapped Samuel on the back.

  “I’ve been gone too long as it is. Would you mind walking me back?” Judith spoke regretfully.

  “Stay long enough to have a smoke with us?” James enticed.

  “Oh, very well.” Judith rolled her eyes. “My patients will still be sleeping when I get there.”

  Ten minutes later, as Samuel and Judith approached the door to the infirmary, Judith gasped.

  “It’s open!” Breaking into a run, Judith entered the room and saw that both Timothy and Billy were still in their beds.

  “Where is Finn?” Judith picked up the phone to page Jonathan and the new infirmary.

  “Stay there and make sure the other two stay in their beds.” Jonathan commanded when he heard who was missing.

  “Samuel, get Charlie and James, and the three of you start looking through the halls, but be careful. He’s very dangerous. Don’t touch him.” Judith was on the verge of tears.

  The three of them had just started searching the halls when Jonathan arrived with Nora.

  “How did he get out of here?” Nora demanded.

  “Did he turn?” Jonathan questioned.

  “No. I don’t think so. We played cards and then he fell asleep. They were all asleep so I stepped out to smoke and I closed the door behind me.” Judith hesitated to mention Samuel so he didn’t get in trouble. “When I came back, the door was wide open and he was gone.”

  “Okay, I’ll alert the crew and we will start searching everywhere.” Jonathan picked up the phone and spoke to several people.

  “Nora, will you stay here since Judith can’t be trusted to do her job?” Jonathan looked accusingly at Judith.

  “Yes. Just find him before something happens,” Nora pleaded.

  The trio had searched most of the second class area and saw the crew beginning to search so they spread out to help.

  Cries began to sound from the third class area, so the crew raced down the stairs to see what was going on.

  Chapter 11

  When the infirmary door had opened to let James and Charlie in, all three patients were still asleep.

  They crept closer to Finn, but didn’t see any wounds or bandages so they moved closer to Timothy and Billie.

  “Look, James. They’v
e tied these blokes to the bed. Wonder what they think they’ll do while their unconscious?” Charlie inspected Timothy, trying to find his wound.

  “This guy is burning up. You can feel the heat coming off of him. He must really be sick.” James backed away from the patients.

  “I don’t wanna be here anymore. Let’s go.” James stood anxiously by the door, waiting for Charlie to join him.

  Curling his lip in disgust, Charlie started toward the door when Finn mumbled and sat up.

  “Geeze, man. You scared us.” Charlie spoke to Finn, but received no response. Charlie waved his hand in front of Finn’s face. “He’s still asleep.”

  “Come on. We need to leave here. Something isn’t right with these guys.” James opened the door to leave whether Charlie followed or not.

  Finn spoke. “Don’t hit him, you’ll kill him. Nooo!” he screamed.

  Charlie fled right behind James and they didn’t look back to see if Finn followed them or not.

  Finn got up and began to move around, shuffling toward the open door.

  He paused before moving down the hall, going the opposite direction from that which Charlie and James had fled down.

  His steps were slow and awkward, but he made progress down the hallway in his pajamas and bare feet.

  None of the crew even noticed him as he entered the main hallway, moving in the direction of the crew’s staircase as if by habit.

  In his sleep, his body didn’t know the difference between the crews’ staircase and the main one for guests as he began to mistakenly descend to the third class area.

  Finn was shoved aside as a couple of youth’s raced down the stairs, shouting to each other in their hurry to outrun someone.

  The force of the shove was enough to cause Finn’s body to lose its balance, causing him to miss a step.

  Tumbling down the narrow stairs, Finn landed at an odd angle with a broken neck.

  No one noticed the body lying at the bottom of the staircase as the hour grew late and the corridors were empty as most of the passengers were sleeping soundly in their beds.

  There were no screams as his body got up off the floor, his head hanging slightly tilted sideways, giving him a grotesque appearance.

  He quickly followed the trail lead by the youth’s just moments before, which opened into the dining area. It was mostly empty except for small pockets of people.

  Roaring forward, he lunged toward a group of men sitting at a table, playing cards and drinking.

  He placed both hands on the shoulders of the closest card player and leaned down to bite into his neck. Chewing the tasty piece of flesh, he raised his head as blood dripped down his chin.

  A motion caught the infected’s eye and he turned toward the group of women huddling against the wall screaming.

  Placing his dripping, bloodied hands onto the table, the infected vaulted onto the table top and propelled himself through the air, into the pack of women.

  Attacking the closest one, he fed from her as screams broke out behind him when the first card player joined him in his feast.

  The brawny workmen sprang into action as they realized their families were in danger. Grabbing whatever was handy, they began to hit the two men.

  The chair hitting the back of the newly infected didn’t seem to faze it. It only seemed to fuel its rage further.

  The players had grabbed portions of the broken table, and one managed to get a lucky blow to the head, causing the card player to drop to the ground, dead.

  The other infected became annoyed at the constant pounding on his body and rushed the man holding the chair, only to be impaled through the eye by the splintered chair leg.

  The force of the hit caused the wood to go through the brain, killing it.

  The passengers started to take stock of the injuries only to have the worst injured die as the crew made it to the edge of the room.

  Not armed, the crew assessed the room and would have left if Jonathan hadn’t appeared at that precise moment.

  His special team of stewards and crew were all armed with axes, picks, and shovels.

  “Only aim for those that have become infected. We don’t want to harm the passengers. But no matter what we cannot let them leave. Get them to safety, but keep them down here, understand?” Jonathan instructed the armed and unarmed men.

  The men nodded in response.

  The newly dead were beginning to rise and attack the others around them, so the team quickly neutralized them while the passengers looked on in horror.

  Scanning the room several times, the armed team made sure there weren’t any new outbreaks and began to deal with the aftermath.

  Making his way over to a phone, Jonathan dialed the infirmary where Nora and Judith waited anxiously.

  “Bring as many bandages as you can and leave the other two there. We have a lot of injured down here in third class.”

  Hanging up, Jonathan explained the plan to his crew, continuing to bring order to the chaos.

  “Separate those who have been bitten or scratched to one side of the room and watch them. All the others need to move to the opposite wall so we can get this mess removed as quickly as possible. Bring the laundry carts over and put the bodies of the dead inside. Use the shovels to remove the body parts that aren’t attached.”

  Nora and Judith pushed their way into the crowded room.

  One look at the bloody remains of the passengers, Judith rushed to the cart being brought in and lost the contents of her stomach.

  Nora rolled up her sleeves and walked toward the side of the room which held the moaning and injured passengers.

  Judith joined her, attempting to smile.

  “It’s normal, Judith. Now, start on that side. Don’t worry about disinfectant, just wrap the wound and move on. If you see something life-threatening, wave at us.”

  Nora looked past the blood covering all of the passengers and tried to focus on the wounds in front of her.

  A variety of small bites on arms and legs were quickly bandaged. Those dead or on the verge had been moved to the middle of the room by Jonathan’s crew.

  Only five people had died of their wounds, but there were over fifteen with bites and scratches.

  When all the injured were out of immediate danger, Nora, Jonathan, and Judith held a discussion in the middle of the room.

  “There is no way we can keep this quiet now. These people will fill up both rooms in the infirmary rather quickly,” Nora stated quietly.

  “We can’t leave them down here because we’ll have to worry about more of this type of incident happening.” Jonathan knew it was simply a matter of time before more people became infected and died.

  “The best thing for tonight is to get them cleaned up and the uninfected sent to their rooms. The rest will have to be split up. Those with bites will need to come to the infirmary,” Nora decided.

  “You know the first class will have a fit when they hear about third class being up on their decks. Is there any way to set up a room with cots for them down here?” Judith’s preoccupation with class distinction made her recoil at the thought of them on another level.

  “Not tonight. We can work something out tomorrow. This room will have to be scrubbed clean and I don’t know anything past that. It’s just overwhelming.” Jonathan shook his head in frustration.

  The noise in the room had calmed down greatly, but there were a few who were still crying from the fear of being attacked and emotional trauma of seeing their loved ones die right in front of them.

  “Everyone, if we can have your attention please,” Nora shouted, gaining everyone’s attention. “I know it has been a stressful evening and we are working to get you back to your rooms safely. But right now, we need each and every one of you to go to the bathrooms and remove any clothing with blood. Also, make sure to check for any wounds you may have incurred. It’s very important we see to those immediately before we send you to your rooms.”

  Jonathan added, “We are asking for everyone t
o remain in your rooms tonight. If you have any medical concerns, please check with your steward and we will have a nurse visit your cabin to take care of the problem.”

  “We don’t have the manpower for that,” Nora whispered to Jonathan.

  “Judith will be making room calls and helping out with that, and we will have Angie help out as well,” he assured her.

  The terrified passengers formed lines and made their way to the two rooms housing the bathtubs.

  One of the crew had found enough bathrobes to clothe those who only had the clothes on their backs.

  A silent group of people emerged and moved to their rooms in small groups of twos and threes.

  As the room emptied and each group went to their designated areas, Jonathan oversaw the removal of the bodies in several carts and everything else was sent to the furnace.

  Accompanying all the injured up to the infirmary, Nora managed to get most of the bite victims settled into an assigned bed.

  Knowing this infection didn’t advance unless the person died, Nora just hoped everyone didn’t die all at once because it would cause a massive catastrophe.

  ~~~~~~

  The partitions were pulled around the beds with the two longest infected and the eight new patients separated and further divided with men and women on opposite sides of the room.

  Nora and Judith tried to settle everyone in, but with anxious family members trying to help and care for their loved ones, it was complete chaos.

  Judith got everyone’s attention by letting out a loud whistle.

  “If you do not have a wound on your body, then we need you to wait outside. Everyone will have a chance to come in and talk with their family, but for now, we need to make sure they are properly taken care of and we can’t do that with so many people in here.”

  Nora began examining each one. Only three had larger bites with a small portion of flesh missing where the teeth had torn the skin as it was ripped free.

  The other five had small bites or simple puncture wounds. Offering them a clean gown and bed, the patients were mostly in shock and pain so they followed what the nurses suggested without question.

  Nora opened the door to allow one person from each family to enter.