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Chapter 5

When Joe woke the dread remained with him for only a few seconds before altogether dissipating. The room was empty, Eddy was still out and about, five hours had passed and Joe was hungry. The room was silent, sound-proof walls made sure Joe could sleep uninterrupted but as soon as he opened the door out to the hallway all sound rushed in, the sound of partying, music, shouting and tom-foolery.

At the end of the hallway was a blown up map of the entire ship, there was an older couple stood in front of it drinking drinks with little umbrellas in them trying to find their way back to their room. Joe had found the floor he was on (the lower deck) and saw there were six other decks to venture as the map decreed.

The dining hall was where he could get food, it was on the main deck (one above), he could order room service but that would cost him as to where the dining hall was an all you can eat buffet. The choice was easy, he knew where he was going but he didn't know where Eddy went, by the looks of this map Eddy could be anywhere from the strip club to the casino; he decided he would check the party deck, it had a pool and knew Eddy would use any reason he could to take his shirt off.

"Food first" he thought as he made his way toward the nearest elevator, he would take the stairs but they were on the opposite side and he didn't want to walk further out of the way. As he waited for the elevator a group of party boys surrounded him, they were young, early twenties, they smelled like a seven day binge, whiskey, vodka, beer and a slight lingering stench of vomit.

Joe had to plug his nose in the elevator, he didn't care if they took offense and to be honest they were not paying attention to him. They were preoccupied with themselves debating who would win the fight that was to take place on night three.

An MMA fight was booked in the casino, The reigning defending light heavyweight champion of the world was on board and was going to have an exhibition against a young up and comer who was undefeated in twelve fights. The young men were very excited and the majority were rooting for Tye Samson "The king of MMA."

Luckily the elevator ride was only one floor up and Joe didn't have to hold his nose very long, he and the young men all piled out as twenty or so people crammed in. The dining hall was impressive, even full as it was, there was still room to walk with a metre of space on either side. The buffet was exuberant, Joe grabbed a tray immediately, focused only on food, of which there was a lot.

There were fruits of every color and shape, all types of seafood from lobster to shrimp and octopus, there was an egg station, sliced meats and cheeses, sushi, pizza, pasta, salads of every kind, lamb, pancakes, soups, a chocolate fountain and a multitude of sandwiches (which were Joe's favorite).

After an hour of stuffing his face with countless eggs, pancakes and two sandwiches Joe was ready to unbutton his pants and take a nap again, he drank some pineapple juice to help it all down and then decided he needed to walk off the five pounds he had just gained. He found a map posted on the wall in the dining room and made his way to the Party deck, one level up.

This time he made his way over to the stairwell, he couldn't bear being locked in an elevator with another vomit-smelling party kid whilst on a full stomach. The stairs were nice, red carpeted and he could tell they were steam cleaned everyday and vacuumed often. The hand railing was a smooth chestnut, it was warm and felt good on his hand. The smooth railing probably saved his life because he was holding on to it when a grim looking man knocked him back as they met in the midsection of the two floors.

"Watch it! Or I'll send your ass over the railing, head first!" said the man, he was wearing a sweater and Joe had knocked his hood down when they bumped into one another. Joe said nothing, the grim man was flanked by two others just as grim as he, also wearing hoods. "Not party-goers that's for sure, maybe off duty security guards" Joe thought.

He watched as they went on the man was bald his eyes were sharp, he had a very distinguishable tough face. He saw a holy cross on the back of the grim man's neck, it stood out to him because it had a little Jesus on it, crucified and bleeding, the man pulled up his hood and they were off to the lower levels.

As they disappeared out of sight, the dread in Joe's stomach had come back and a terrible thought entered his mind. "Cultists" was the thought. Last year the news was ten people had died on the XX Stacy, claimed to be a cult suicide by reporters and the media, what if they were here to kill others along with themselves? He couldn't bear the thought of stumbling into a room where a mass suicide had taken place, bodies strewn about. Then something strange happened.

A flash in Joe's mind, he saw what he was fearing, bodies, torn and bleeding in a luxurious room with a golden rug and white pillars, the bodies were in suits and ball gowns and the like. The flash was only a burst of a moment but it was enough to cause Joe to panic, he had never experienced anything like that before, was it his imagination? It felt real in that moment, the smell of gunpowder and blood in the air.

"What the hell was that?" he said out loud to himself.

Flustered and feeling suffocated he made his way out the stairwell and through a lounge area bar. It was nice, blue carpet with white pillars and couches and people lounging and drinking, looking happy and content and not murderous or suicidal.

He spied the bartender and made eye contact, the bar wasn't full, but it wasn't empty either there were a few seats vacant. He decided to help calm his nerves he would have a rye with ginger ale and ice, the one drink he thought most calmed him. Upon approaching he was greeted by a smile and a "What can I get you?"

He ordered, received his drink, which was free, and stood at the bar for a spell, letting the dread sense fade before he dared continue and have some kind of anxiety attack. As he stood there looking out over the lounge room and out the large glass wall onto the party deck, a sniffing from the bartender caught his attention.

He looked over at him and the bartender smiled again, wiping down a freshly washed cup, Joe thought it might be his imagination or maybe he had a cold or, like the tight white shirted vixen Maria, he had allergies. Joe downed his drink and ordered another, with it he ventured out to the party deck.

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