The Sickness

Chapter 2

Roger

A group of sunburned, highly inebriated men have a woman surrounded. They circle her like vultures. At first I think it"s some kind of entertainment put on by the cruise line, but I soon understand what"s actually happening.

The men are incessant with their catcalling. When they begin pawing at the woman’s skirt, she strikes one of them across the face. "I said don"t touch me!"

The man cries out, clapping a hand over his nose. "You dumb b***h! You made me bleed!"

His friends check him over, and riotous laughter erupts. But the woman"s slap only serves to incite the men even more. They turn on her with a vengeance. I glance around to see if anyone in line is going to come to her rescue, but no one moves.

I search for a crew member, someone in uniform, security to defuse the situation. But the only crew I see are across the terminal.

"Get your hands off me!" the woman shouts.

They don"t listen, and they don"t stop. The taunting only grows louder and crueler.

"Boys will be boys," a woman behind me says to the man standing next to her. “Looks like a bachelor party. Hopefully, they won’t be too rowdy.”

"Best we mind our own business," the man replies. “You see what she"s wearing? She"s asking for it.”

I scan the terminal. The people off to the side are still chanting. The crew members are still nowhere in sight. The line creeps forward. One would think the security on these ships would be pretty tight, but I’ve watched my fair share of documentaries, and I know better.

“Wait here,” I say to Abby.

“Dad, no—” She takes a hold of my shoulder. “We shouldn’t get involved.”

“We already are,” I say loosening her grip. “Besides, who else is going to?”

“I don’t know—security?”

“I don’t see security. Do you?”

Abby pushes up on her tippy-toes. She scans the terminal. “I see a few of them by the entrance.”

“Stay here,” I say and then I push through the line, dashing over to where the group of men circle the woman. She was attractive from the back of the line, but she’s even prettier up close. “There you are, honey,” I say, lightly touching the small of her back, nudging her forward. “We’re just over here.”

The woman glares at me with a mixture of surprise, annoyance, and perhaps, finally, a hint of amusement. “Thanks, love,” she says, patting my chest. “But I don’t need you to come and save me. Look—I made him bleed.”

I look from her to the group of drunks who are standing around her, now with their hands on their hips, equally curious and disappointed.

“Who the f**k are you?” the man with the b****y nose demands. He steps forward, cupping his face, his blood dripping through his knuckles.

“I’m—”

My mouth is half-open when Abby splits through the crowd. “Dad!” she says with relief. She turns to the woman. “Mom!” She wraps her arms around the lady’s waist. “I"ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Look at her kid,” the guy says matter-of-factly. “She’s sick. Man, y’all oughta be ashamed.”

Laughter ripples through them. But not the woman, Abby, or I—we just stand there looking at each other.

Finally, a crew member arrives along with a lady in a Hawaiian shirt wearing leis around her neck. She points at the men. “It"s them! These degenerates are harassing that poor woman!”

“What"d you call me?” the man with the b****y nose snarls. He lunges at the lady. I step in between the two of them and hold my hands up toward his chest. “Easy,” I say.

He steps back on his heel and balls his fists. I shield my face and brace for impact. But then his friend tackles him from behind. “You heard the man, Chuck! He said take it easy.”

I watch as both men tumble to the floor and tussle about. Everyone watches. Another man from their group tries to step in, but he gets dragged down too. The three of them wrestle like a pack of wild dogs.

Everyone The crew member nervously clicks her radio to call for help. A grim hush falls over the terminal. All eyes turn to the far corner, where a man writhes on the floor, contorting in pain. His agonized howls pierce the air. There is a collective gasp—even the men grappling at my feet pause in horror.

“Looks like a seizure,” a lady behind me says. “But who knows? Nothing is ever as it seems. They let all kinds of riffraff on cruises nowadays…”

Her companion nods. “Yeah. Believe nothing you hear, and only half of what you see, right?”

It’s chaos everywhere you look. Hundreds of people trying to board, a medical emergency, and a group of drunks harassing a woman. I can’t say it’s what I expected, but it’s exactly what I expected. I can’t wait to throw it in my sister’s face.

“Get off me, Dan!” the guy with the b****y nose shouts.

“Say the magic word, Chucky-boy.”

“f**k off!”

More laughter ensues until eventually the men extract themselves from the dog pile they’ve created. Chuck staggers to his knees and turns all of his drunken fury my way. I widen my stance. I’ve seen that look before, and I know this guy’s just getting warmed up.

His buddies help him to his feet. He straightens his shirt and then brushes himself off. Then he turns to me, his face set. “You better watch yourself,” he hisses through gritted teeth.

“I didn’t mean any harm.”

“Yeah?” He stabs a finger into my chest. “Well, if I see your face again, I will f*****g gut you.”

I step back. “I don’t doubt that.”

Abby tugs on my sleeve. “Come on, Dad. He’s just drunk.”

The man glares at her. “I don’t care what your deal is, little girl,” he sneers. “I’ll take that oxygen tank and shove it right up your ass.”

I square my shoulders. “That’s my daughter—”

“I don’t give a damn who she is,” he says, cutting me off. “If she gives me any more lip, I’ll f*****g gut her, too.”