A Fine Cast of Characters - J. Dane Tyler [29]
“I’m sorry, Sam, but how else can we explain all this? I mean, a boat with no one on it, but lamps that are lit? Gas lamps no less? And a boat that’s not powered by electricity and for all we know no motor either? How’s it moving? Where’s it going? I … I just think we need to be careful. And not scream to … you know, bring attention to ourselves.”
Flanagan shook his head. “Look, you’re working yourself into a froth. We need to find Charles and we’re wasting time. C’mon … unless you wanna stay here, Kelly.”
Sam looked at her. “C’mon. We’ll stay together. Okay?” Her eyes were pleading.
Kelly nodded, and Flanagan headed down the corridor to the fore of the ship, his footsteps so muffled Kelly couldn’t hear them with Sam between them.
They stopped, Flanagan’s head swiveling between a door on his left and one on his right. “Hmm. Do I … should we be lookin’ in these?”
“Well duh, Flanagan. How else’re we going to find fat-ass? He’s obviously not in the hallway.” Sam stepped forward and turned the gleaming brass knob of the first door on her left. It opened to a dark, tiny cabin, with a bunk for two nestled into a wall, a desk adjacent to the beds, and a closet opposite the bunk. The closet door was open, the bunks made up and tidy. “Well, looks empty. Should I check the closet?”
Flanagan edged by her. “I’ll do it.”
“My hero,” Sam rolled her eyes. Kelly blushed and smiled, pushing a piece of hair fallen from her pony tail behind her ear.
“Empty,” Flanagan said, and drew a heavy sigh. “Damn. Lotta doors. Gonna take a while.”
Kelly drew a long breath. “We’d better work together then. Sam and I will take doors on the right, you take those on the left. Sam, open every other door, and I’ll get the ones you don’t. Make sure you leave the doors open when you’re done so we know which ones we’ve checked.”
Sam snorted. “Sounds good. Glad one of us is thinking.”
Kelly laughed, but not for long and it felt wrong. “Come on. Let’s do this.”
Flanagan threw doors open, leaned into the dark cabins to check the closets, then moved on, leaving the doors open behind him. Sam and Kelly alternated searching rooms on the opposite side of the hall, and moved faster, reaching the junction of the cross corridor first. Kelly tugged on Sam’s elbow to stop her.
“Wait here for Flanagan.” Sam nodded, and leaned against the wall. A few moments later, he joined them, and they gazed down the corridor running across the long hallway.
“I don’t see no lights in this one,” he muttered, rubbing his stubble-crusted chin.
“Me either,” Kelly said, looking down the hall the opposite way. “Seems … maybe shorter, too?”
“It’d have to be,” Flanagan said. “Ship’s not as wide as long.”
“Pff, please, Flanagan. Ship’s longer than it should be, who knows what the hell’s going on with the halls?” Sam leaned back against the wall.
“Awright, we gotta check everywhere, and this’ll take forever if we all go the same way.” He put his hands on his hips. “You two keep going this-a-way. I’m gonna head the other way, far as I can before I can’t see, anyways. If you get to the end before I get back, meet me here at the junction. Otherwise, I’ll come behind you and we’ll do the other side of the crossway on the way back toward the stairs. Okay?”
Kelly balked. “I don’t know if we should split up…”
“Gotta cover as much ground as we can, Kelly.” He screwed his mouth into a resigned grimace. “What else can we do? I don’t really wanna spend any more time than I have to down here, y’know?”
Kelly looked down, her face confused and pained. “I … I know … but …”
Sam put her arm around Kelly’s shoulders. “He’s right. C’mon, let’s get this shit done.”
Sam led Kelly across the junction, but she gave one more glance back to Flanagan as he headed down the cross hall. “Make noise, Flanagan. Bang doors and stuff, so we can hear you.”
He stopped, looked back, and nodded. “Good idea. Will do.” And then he vanished beyond the corner.
Sam opened doors on the left of the hall, Kelly on the right. They progressed, stopping every few doors to