![]() Titanic with ZOMBIESA Chapter by Richard Brown![]() Excerpt from the novel Titanic with ZOMBIES.![]() Elise Brennan waited amongst a crowd of other passengers
to board the White Star Line tender Elise, a native of Times had been tough since the death of her mother less
than a year ago, and her father, a farm labourer, had purchased the third-class
tickets with what little money he could spare.
The last of their family, he and Elise had sold everything they owned
and would make for the great city of But then her father had died suddenly of heart failure only three weeks ago. Elise imagined the stress of starting over at his age had been too much for him to handle, and his heart simply gave up. With no other choice, Elise prepared to embark on the
journey to The papers called it, The Ship of Dreams. The creation of Bruce Ismay (the managing director of the White Star Line) and Lord James Pirrie (a partner at Harland and Wolff), the Titanic and its sister ship, the Olympic, were said to pave a new way for big, luxurious passenger liners. The two ships were built over the course of three years in
Elise remembered that June well, as it was just after her mother passed away. Her mother had been a housekeeper all her adult life, and while she didn’t earn much, the loss of her income had placed immense pressure on Elise’s father to make big changes for the betterment of his daughter. Ten months later, Elise stood on the dock in Queenstown, after a series of train rides from Westmeath, to take part in the Titanic’s maiden voyage, and in many ways, a maiden voyage of her own, but in the company of strangers. Elise watched as port officials finished loading the
last of the luggage into the She had said her goodbyes to the place she grew up, from the hills to the plains to the many rivers that divide them; to her friends whom she promised to write; and to her parents, who would forever remain buried in this land, yet whose memory she would carry no matter her station in life. God willing, in a week she would be an American. One by one, port officials began checking tickets and allowing passengers to board. The crowd pushed in closer, anxious to get moving. Elise examined the sea of faces. In front of her was a woman with three sons, the youngest maybe two-years-old, all clinging fearfully to their mother’s skirt. To her right, an older gentleman around her late father’s age, as solemn and quiet as she, presumably taking the trip alone as well. To her left, a young husband and wife with four children, the kids loud and rambunctious, playing off each other’s energy. It was just after one of the four children, a boy around five or six, had accidently bumped into her, and she had smiled down at him with understanding eyes, that she felt the piercing sting on the nape of her neck. Something had bit her. She immediately massaged the sore spot with her index finger, returning a small amount of blood. What kind of bug could possibly be out this chilly afternoon and amongst such a large an active crowd, she wondered? A ruckus erupted behind her as a short and burly man with a bald head bullied his way backward through the crowd. Many furiously cursed his lack of manners, while Elise just stared in bewilderment. It wasn’t until the little boy beside her asked if she was okay that she understood what had happened. She blazed through the path created by the bald man and ran under an awning used to shelter passengers from less friendly weather. Today it was mostly empty aside from a few security personnel who lumbered about. She yelled at them to help her, but they only insisted she slow down and explain herself. Forty yards ahead, her assailant climbed over a stone ledge up on the left that led to a row of hotels and pubs. Elise made it over the ledge and around some bushes on to
the open road just as the bald man escaped out of sight in an alleyway. She stopped to catch her breath and looked
back at the dock. From this vantage
point, she could see the dock was nearly clear of passengers. Almost everyone was on the She looked back at the alleyway. The bald man was long gone. As she climbed back down the ledge, she found a small needle covered in dirt, its glass barrel smashed. She didn’t dare pick it up or tell security in fear that they might not allow her on the ship. They adhered to a strict policy and would treat any potential illness very seriously. Even if her life could be in danger, she couldn’t risk being stuck here, alone and penniless. On the ship, she could at least receive free medical attention. The crew of the Elise rubbed her neck again. The spot where the needle had gone in no longer bled, and it no longer hurt. Most of the pain had come and gone with the initial prick, all that lingered now was a growing fear that her health and well-being could be in jeopardy. She could think of no rational explanation for what had happened, and as best she could recall, she had never seen the bald man before in her life. Who was he? What did he want with her? But more importantly, what had been inside the syringe? What was now inside
of her? Before dropping any passengers off, the The Titanic was
anchored roughly two miles from the dock at Queenstown. It had already picked up the great majority
of passengers the day before in Elise had a firm grip on the metal hand railing as she
stood on the top deck of the The ship stood over twenty stories tall, a marvelous creation of modern engineering that embodied mankind’s never-ending quest for greatness. There was a strong, masculine contrast to the black and white paint that covered most of the ship’s exterior, further exemplified by the four yellow and black tipped funnels equally spaced down the center, two of which currently expelled dark grey clouds of smoke. But more than anything, Elise was astonished by the number of portholes, there had to be five hundred just on the port side alone, and hoped her room would have such a thing. At the top of the foremast flew the red, white, and blue
of the American flag with the forty-six stars of the Elise listened as many of the other passengers chatted amongst themselves, amazed by the sheer size and grandeur of the ship, the largest passenger vessel ever produced. They were equally excited to check out the amenities on board, even though most would be travelling in steerage, as the ship was advertised as having excellent service and accommodations in all areas. Elise was just glad they stopped leering in her direction. She felt fine despite the mysterious incident that had occurred back on the dock. Sure, she was nervous to be leaving her homeland, knowing she might never return, but she was also hopeful of the possibilities that lay ahead. The Titanic symbolized the first step of a journey toward a new beginning. How could she possibly worry in the presence of such shared anticipation and childlike wonder? They passed the tender Moments later, the small tender came to a stop even with
the foremast of the Titanic. As the boat rolled back and forth, crew of
the Passengers were allowed to board first, then the local
venders, who passed from their rowboats into the Elise made her way through the gangway and up a flight of
stairs to the forward well deck. She
joined many of the other passengers against the railing and looked down as the At around After having survived inspection and the challenge of finding her room, Elise went back up to watch as the large ship made a quarter-circle and then headed down the Irish coast. Hundreds of seagulls soared above guiding the way. The Titanic steamed down St. George’s Channel passing the Old Head of Kinsale, its lighthouse faintly visible four or five miles away. They also came dangerously close to a small fishing vessel. The fishermen aboard cheered as they were hit with spray from the bow of the Titanic. Elise began to weep as the lush green fields of As the sun began to set, the coastline receded to the northwest and the last of the Irish mountains slowly slipped away under the cover of darkness. © 2012 Richard Brown |
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Added on July 10, 2012Last Updated on July 10, 2012 Tags: Richard Brown, Titanic with ZOMBIES, amazon Author
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