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  "Sam, calm down," Garrett said, inviting Sam to sit with him. Holly put an arm around Sam and convinced him to sit down between herself and Garrett. Garrett continued, "Look, we can't confirm a lot of this either." Garrett spoke quieter, hoping that Sam would follow suit. "We talked with some others aboard the ship and even tried to confirm things with the captain at one point, but he barely gave us the time of day. We do, however, have reason to believe that there may have been a major power failure that affected a lot more than just the cruise ship. It could have affected a major part of the eastern seaboard as well. Maybe more. We just don't know yet. We mean to find out, but for the moment it's all just speculation."

  "The lights are all out. Still," Sam said. "I mean, I guess I noticed it when we first landed, but I was all caught up in our own situation and worrying about my family. I hadn't really stopped and thought about it for a while, but the lights are still out."

  "Yes, we've noticed," Holly said.

  "This is Atlantic City; there should be lights on all night long, all over the place. The casinos and the hotels shouldn't be dark. Something is going on. We need to do something."

  "Yes, we know," Garrett agreed. "And we will be doing something. But not in the dark. The sun will be up soon, and then we'll be out of here."

  "Out of here?" Holly questioned. "Well, maybe not right away, but once we get ourselves organized and sorted out, then we can think about moving on. We don't want to go rushing out into some other desperate situation that we have to deal with."

  Garrett looked at her questioningly. "You remember about Becky, right? Our daughter?"

  "Yes, of course," Holly answered sternly. Sam started to say something, but Holly waved him off. "Why would you even ask that question?"

  Memories of the problems they'd had before the cruise and their separation started to rush back into Garrett's mind. Most of the issues between them had centered around Becky. As with most children, Becky occupied the majority of their lives and their conversations. Often it felt like she was all they had to talk about, all they had in common anymore.

  While they had their different opinions about what was best for Becky, there was no questioning their passion for her. Becky going to school in New York had truly stressed their relationship and ultimately broke their marriage. Holly just couldn't get her head wrapped around her daughter being so far away. Garrett, on the other hand, didn't think she'd get a better opportunity than the one offered by the prestigious architectural school.

  They'd made numerous attempts to put the issue behind them. The cruise was supposed to be their chance to reconcile, to come back together. Garrett had agreed to Holly's request to take the kind of vacation that she'd always wanted, even though he had concerns about it. Illogical concerns, according to Holly.

  Garrett countered at the time that they were perhaps remote, but incredibly logical. Now, given their current circumstances, maybe not as remote or illogical as she'd suggested. But that wasn't a point he felt was necessary to bring up at the moment. Getting to Becky was paramount in his mind, and he was sure it was in Holly's mind, even if she hadn't thought that far ahead.

  "I'm just worried about her, that's all." Garrett did his best to backpedal and minimize his mistake in pressing Holly. "I know you're worried about her as well; I'm just trying to put all these other distractions out of our minds and focus on what's important."

  Holly crossed her arms and turned away; Sam used the momentary silence to speak up. "Maybe we could work together. If your daughter is in New York, which is up the coast, then we could all go that way and look out for my family and other survivors from the ship along the way."

  Holly could hear the desperation in Sam's voice. "What even makes you think that your family's lifeboat will be up the coast? It could be anywhere. It could have even drifted down the coast, south of where we are."

  "No, it's more likely they'll go north. I know that not all the lifeboats were powered, so they'll likely drift more, and they can't go south. The gulf stream wouldn't allow them to; it would have pushed them north."

  "Following the shoreline is not necessarily the best option for us," Garrett added. "If Becky is on the move and trying to get home at the same time that we're trying to get to her, then she wouldn't follow the coast. We could totally miss each other along the way."

  "I don't want to do this alone," Sam said. "You two seem better aware of events than the other survivors. I need your help. I want to find my family just as much as you want to find your daughter. We'll do better as a group."

  "There will be others amongst us that are in your situation," Holly said gently. "There were others on the lifeboat that got separated from their families. Maybe going with them would be a better choice. We don't know what we're doing any more than anyone else on board."

  "That's not true," Sam said. "You two took charge on the way here when the captain got shot. You got the boat safely to shore. We'd likely still be drifting around out there if you two hadn't guided us. You figured out the whole problem with the power before you even got on the boat. Nobody else on board knew."

  "I wouldn't be so quick to assume that. There are others that knew," Garrett said. "We just happened to talk to some people that recognized the situation for what it was."

  "But nobody else did anything about it. They all just followed your lead. You guys are my best chance of finding my family."

  "Don't underestimate people, Sam. They just might surprise you." Holly tried reassuring Sam. "You just need to give it some thought. Those other people will be just as desperate to find their families as you are. You should talk to some of them and get a group together. Don't rush into it, and remember as well that your family will be looking for you just as hard as you'll be looking for them. You'll find each other. I'm sure of it."

  Garrett nodded in agreement. "Now is as good a time as any to get started. If you start talking to people now, then at first light you can head off. We'll be doing the same."

  "We need to get a few things organized as well, Garrett. It's a long trip, and there's no need to rush. There are a few loose ends that need to be taken care of here first."

  "Loose ends? What do you mean?"

  "Have you forgotten that there's a dead body to deal with? Olaf?"

  "No, of course not, but there's nothing we can do for him now. Becky is our concern. She's who we need to be worried about."

  "I really wish you would stop talking to me about my daughter like I've completely forgotten about her." Garrett started to interrupt, then decided it might not be in his best interest. Holly continued, "He had a family as well. Olaf, that is. We need to find the authorities here and notify them about what happened. Remember that short man on board, the one who had the other gun, who ended up killing Olaf? That man is responsible, and now he's out here running around loose. We don't know what he's capable of, or what he'll do next. We can't just let a killer loose in the area, then run off and leave a corpse here. I don't care what kind of problems are going on; there are still some things that need to be taken care of. We still have rules that have to be followed." Holly's arms were crossed, and she stared at Garrett, waiting for a response.

  "I understand, that's important. There are rules to be followed, of course, but that doesn't mean we have to be the ones responsible."

  "Really? You think it's someone else's problem? We knew about that man with the gun before he got on the boat. I'm the one that talked the other gentleman into turning over the gun, and you were the one that threw all the guns overboard. We were involved in the whole situation. For better or worse, we had something to do with it. You don't think that perhaps the authorities will want to talk with us about what went on?"

  Garrett remained silent, but Sam had something to say. "For what it's worth, I think you guys did the right thing. Even the whole throwing the guns overboard in the middle of that storm. I know there were some people not happy when you opened the hatch and waves came crashing in. People around me were talking about y
ou being kind of crazy, but I felt a whole lot better knowing there were no guns on board."

  "Thank you, Sam," Garrett said. "I think it was the right thing to do in the moment."

  Holly bit her lip before speaking. "I agree as well. In the moment, it made sense. There wasn't a lot of time to consider options, but that's different now. We need to take some time here on solid ground and figure things out. We need to talk with people, and we need to get a better understanding of the situation. There could be others to help us. Right now, we just don't know what we've gotten ourselves into."

  Garrett didn't have a response for Holly at the moment but just nodded his head in agreement before he spoke. "Sam, I think you should go and talk to some of the others. See if you can organize a group interested in looking for the other lifeboats up the coast. I'd like to have a few words with my wife in private if you don't mind."

  Chapter 3 ~ The Body

  It's one thing to go unnoticed in a bright orange lifeboat with over a hundred people on board in the middle of the night during a major power outage, but it's another thing altogether to go unnoticed in broad daylight, when those same people are starting to panic, get hungry, need washrooms and generally just wonder what the hell is going on in the world.

  That was the case this AM on one of the more interesting beaches in America, on what would normally be considered a beautiful morning. The storm from the previous night had passed on by, and the sunrise coming over the eastern ocean was as spectacular as they come. There were still wisps of cloud left over from the storm, and the sun's rays danced and painted an infinite number of colors over those clouds. Pumpkin orange and scarlet reds made for a sight that photographers dream of, but the people now scrambling over the beach barely noticed.

  It wasn't that they had nothing to be grateful for. They'd just survived a narrow escape from their crippled cruise ship, made it to shore and managed not to get shot by the crazy lone gunman that they'd shared a lifeboat with. The same couldn't be said for Captain Olaf. His body still occupied a prominent spot on the beach. Now that a new day was beginning and the beach started to brighten up from the cold dark of the night, it wasn't so easy to ignore the corpse.

  To be perfectly clear, Captain Olaf was only the captain of the lifeboat because he was the highest-ranking member of the crew to make it on board. On the cruise ship proper, he was nothing but a purser on his second cruise.

  Growing up in Norway, he'd always had a fascination and a fear of the open water. It was something he'd battled all his life. He didn't learn to swim until the age of 19, and even then only at the insistence of his then girlfriend. She was one of those people that made it her life mission to help others achieve their dreams. She had plenty of dreams of her own but found it easier to convince others to take the leap.

  She was quite good at it. Olaf became a competent swimmer, and from there he gained the courage to take further steps at college and finally after graduation to pursue a job with the cruise lines. The cruise line initially wanted him to join their security division. He was an imposing figure at six feet two inches, and muscular. He declined because of his dislike of confrontation.

  Normally, on a morning like this, the boardwalk would begin to fill up with shoppers, walkers and joggers all enjoying the view and breathing in the salty air while engaging in their morning rituals. This morning, there were only three people on the boardwalk within view of the new lifeboat adorning the beach, and none of them were shopping, walking or jogging. Instead, they were watching the small swarm of people stumbling around in a daze, like ants from a nest that had lost their queen and didn't know what to do or where to go next.

  The survivors looked like they could use some help, but the three on the boardwalk didn't offer any. Instead, they observed and took mental notes. They knew that others would be interested in what they saw. Two of them were adults, a young man and an older woman. There was a young girl with them as well. They weren't related and had only come together recently due to some unusual circumstances. The woman was older, taller than the other two and well dressed. The other two had followed her to this location on the boardwalk and stopped when she stopped. Their presence was obscured from the survivors scrambling around on the beach. If any of the survivors had cared to look towards the boardwalk where the three stood, all they would have seen was trees and a small billboard sign advertising free drinks at one of the casinos.

  The woman picked the spot when she first noticed the survivors. They'd been watching them for several minutes now. The young man broke the silence.

  "What do you make of this?"

  "It's the strangest damn thing I've ever seen. It looks like some kind of rescue boat, but where the hell did it come from?"

  The little girl smiled up at the woman. "I like it. It's pretty. Like a big pumpkin on Halloween." The woman didn't answer, and the little girl looked back down at the beach. "Can we go say hi? Maybe they'll let us go inside their pumpkin."

  The woman tousled the young girl's hair. The girl smiled and looked up at the woman. "Please, can we?"

  "I don't think so, Stacey. Not today. You know how we feel about strangers."

  "My dad used to say that strangers were just friends we hadn't met yet. But then he'd say we were only allowed to make new friends when I was with Mom and Dad."

  "That's pretty good advice, but I think that for right now, we're going to just keep an eye on these folks and see what they have in mind."

  "You know your parents aren't here, right?" the young man added. Stacey didn't say anything in response, but the woman looked at him with scolding eyes.

  "How many times do I have to remind you about the uselessness of stating the obvious. You think she doesn't know that? We all know that. We're supposed to be working together, and that means trying to make life easier, not harder."

  "I was just saying —"

  "I know what you were saying," Stacey interrupted. He didn't like being interrupted, but with both of them here, there wasn't much he could do about it. Stacey knew that as well. "I can see perfectly well that my parents aren't here right now. I'm five, but I'm not stupid. They'll be back though. You just wait and see."

  "Alright. Alright," the woman said. "We don't need to do this now. We can talk about it when we get back to the hotel. For now, the two of you just need to be quiet and watch. See if we can figure out what's going on down there. Is that writing on the side of the boat? I can't make it out from here."

  "Holy crap," the man said. "Is that a body?"

  "What the —?"

  There was, in fact, a long package wrapped in blankets that some of the survivors on the beach were struggling to carry. It was halfway out of the boat when the person holding the end of it tripped in the sand, and the package landed on top of them as the blankets came loose. That answered his question, as Captain Olaf rolled out into plain view. The others helping to pull the body scrambled back in disgust, and the person under Olaf quickly dislodged himself from the dead weight and commenced brushing himself off like he was being attacked by angry bees.

  "Damn!" Stacey said. "That is a body."

  "Hey, hey. Watch your language, young lady," the woman admonished. "There's no need for that kind of talk."

  "But he said —"

  "I don't care what he said. You're a child, and I won't have you talking like that no matter what the situation. You shouldn't even be seeing this." She then directed Stacey to the bench on the other side of the boardwalk, where she'd have no view of what was going on.

  "Ahhh. C'mon." Stacey stamped her foot. "Why can't I watch?" The woman didn't answer; she just pointed to the bench.

  "Go and sit where I can still see you. This is not for your eyes."

  The young man smiled as Stacey stalked off to the bench and plunked herself down with arms crossed. She tried mustering the best tantrum face she could. It wasn't helping, as the other two completely ignored her and watched the scene unfold.

  "You think they killed him?" the man asked.r />
  "Anything's possible these days, but I kind of doubt it. They don't look the type."

  "It is some sort of emergency vessel. He could have just died from whatever it was that caused them to get into that thing in the first place."

  "They look like those rich, spoiled tourists that invade here every day. Just look at how they're dressed. They're not killers."

  "What they are is scared as shit. Just look at them. None of them want to go anywhere near the body." Olaf was still propped half in and half out of the lifeboat, uncovered and in full view of everyone.

  "Either way, stupid tourists or ruthless murderers, they're going to be a problem. The last thing we need around here is more people taking up space and demanding resources we don't have."

  "True, but what can we do about it?"

  "Right now, not much except go back and let the others know. We'll decide as a group what happens next."

  "Right. I can hardly wait."

  Collecting Stacey, they headed back in the same direction they'd come from, making sure that no one on the beach would see them leave.

  They'd made their way down the boardwalk just a few dozen yards when they saw two of the older teens from their group dash across the boardwalk and onto the beach, heading towards the water. Their sweatshirt hoods were pulled up over their heads, so it was difficult to make out their faces from this distance.

  "Who is that?" Stacey said.

  "I don't know," the older woman said, "but they should stay clear of the beach for now. At least until we know more about the group that's down there."