side of the ship and now the propellers were sucking us in as she turned. It was pitch black. The apples were silent. Nowhere to be seen. No photograph, no cash, just a huge vortex of water pulling at us. Trying to drag us under the ship. Albert’s clown trousers were keeping us afloat but the suction of the propellers was overpowering. Albert through the life ring in the opposite direction to where he had last seen the apples. I have to admit at this point I could see the end coming. I had failed. I closed my eyes and thought about Anna and Laura. “Happy birthday little one. Don’t blow the candles out yet. Wait for me. I’m coming.” My tears were soon washed away by another crashing wave.
I didn’t even know that Albert had taken them, but thank god he had. I hadn’t noticed them in the jacket pockets. He had never been my favourite, Albert that is, but as we were tossed around in the darkness, as each wave battered us against that ship, I felt amazingly proud of him. The clunk of metal on metal, the feeling of security as the magnets held firmly to the hull and the relief that we hadn’t managed to book a better cabin, after all they would probably have modern slimline speakers. I thanked god for the world’s biggest stereo speakers.
The Florida Post (Online Edition)
Two Crew Members Feared Lost At Sea: British Pensioner Hailed A Hero By Authorities.
The search for two crewmembers missing from the Carnival Glory cruise ship has been abandoned, the Mexican Coastguard announced today. The rescue mission involved both US and Mexican coastguard helicopters 70 nautical miles off the island of Cozumel in the Gulf of Mexico. A nearby cruise liner, Royal Caribbean’s “Oasis Of The Seas”, diverted its course to assist in the search. The unnamed crewmembers are believed to have fallen overboard shortly before midnight yesterday.
A spokesman for the Mexican Authorities praised the valiant efforts of a 71-year-old passenger from England who witnessed the event.
“ An elderly passenger upon the Carnival Glory jumped overboard with a life ring in an attempt to save the lives of the two crewmembers. He was, however, unsuccessful. The gentleman was taken by helicopter to Mexico City Municipal Hospital, from where he was later discharged and has now returned to the United Kingdom.
The Police Authority say that there are no suspicious circumstances. A spokesperson for Carnival told The Post that they are trying to trace the next of kin and working closely with fellow crewmembers who have been traumatised by the incident.
And so the tree was bare. The harvest complete. Only one thing remained. The lumberjack named Death.
Chapter 19.
The Chief Purser had accompanied Albert in the helicopter. He brought our laptop and the few clothes that had remained in the cabin. He had also cashed out the ship’s card and gave him the remaining cash. Albert was upset to hear that I Made, his cabin steward, was about to be fired for failing to ensure that there was a life jacket in the cabin. So he handed back $200,000 for I Made and his family.
I hated London. I despised everything it had become; yet it felt good to be back. We had escaped the death penalty. Heathrow airport seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel.
As we left the aircraft, Abdul Hamid awoke to the knocking on his hotel room door. As the customs officer handed us back the laptop, Hamid received a package of his own. By the time Serge arrived to collect us, Hamid had thrown up three times. His fiancée’s severed hand had arrived. Their entwined initials slightly obscured by the decaying flesh.
*
“ How is his mother?” Albert asked Serge.
“ Whose mother?” He replied.
“ How many mothers do you have kidnapped each week?”
“ Oh, that journalist. She is good.”
“ You haven’t harmed her have you?”
Serge laughed from the depth of his belly. “My friend. We are not all animals. She is probably
I didn’t even know that Albert had taken them, but thank god he had. I hadn’t noticed them in the jacket pockets. He had never been my favourite, Albert that is, but as we were tossed around in the darkness, as each wave battered us against that ship, I felt amazingly proud of him. The clunk of metal on metal, the feeling of security as the magnets held firmly to the hull and the relief that we hadn’t managed to book a better cabin, after all they would probably have modern slimline speakers. I thanked god for the world’s biggest stereo speakers.
The Florida Post (Online Edition)
Two Crew Members Feared Lost At Sea: British Pensioner Hailed A Hero By Authorities.
The search for two crewmembers missing from the Carnival Glory cruise ship has been abandoned, the Mexican Coastguard announced today. The rescue mission involved both US and Mexican coastguard helicopters 70 nautical miles off the island of Cozumel in the Gulf of Mexico. A nearby cruise liner, Royal Caribbean’s “Oasis Of The Seas”, diverted its course to assist in the search. The unnamed crewmembers are believed to have fallen overboard shortly before midnight yesterday.
A spokesman for the Mexican Authorities praised the valiant efforts of a 71-year-old passenger from England who witnessed the event.
“ An elderly passenger upon the Carnival Glory jumped overboard with a life ring in an attempt to save the lives of the two crewmembers. He was, however, unsuccessful. The gentleman was taken by helicopter to Mexico City Municipal Hospital, from where he was later discharged and has now returned to the United Kingdom.
The Police Authority say that there are no suspicious circumstances. A spokesperson for Carnival told The Post that they are trying to trace the next of kin and working closely with fellow crewmembers who have been traumatised by the incident.
And so the tree was bare. The harvest complete. Only one thing remained. The lumberjack named Death.
Chapter 19.
The Chief Purser had accompanied Albert in the helicopter. He brought our laptop and the few clothes that had remained in the cabin. He had also cashed out the ship’s card and gave him the remaining cash. Albert was upset to hear that I Made, his cabin steward, was about to be fired for failing to ensure that there was a life jacket in the cabin. So he handed back $200,000 for I Made and his family.
I hated London. I despised everything it had become; yet it felt good to be back. We had escaped the death penalty. Heathrow airport seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel.
As we left the aircraft, Abdul Hamid awoke to the knocking on his hotel room door. As the customs officer handed us back the laptop, Hamid received a package of his own. By the time Serge arrived to collect us, Hamid had thrown up three times. His fiancée’s severed hand had arrived. Their entwined initials slightly obscured by the decaying flesh.
*
“ How is his mother?” Albert asked Serge.
“ Whose mother?” He replied.
“ How many mothers do you have kidnapped each week?”
“ Oh, that journalist. She is good.”
“ You haven’t harmed her have you?”
Serge laughed from the depth of his belly. “My friend. We are not all animals. She is probably
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