Palm trees grew smaller and smaller as the ship left the port and sailed far off into the Pacific ocean. Ken stood at the port bow side of the ship, gripping onto the railing as if he could fall off. His wife, Teresa, stood next to him smiling. She loved the ocean and had always wanted to go on a cruise. 

Ken took his wife’s hand and they walked to their room, enjoying the views of the ocean.

“This is absolutely extraordinary, Ken” Teresa whispered under her breath. “This is the best anniversary gift ever.”

Ken tried to hide his toothy smile, wanting to stay humble about his gift but also knowing it was pretty spectacular. The ship almost seemed hollow, with a massive area full of shops, events, restaurants, and a blue water slide that wrapped around the glass elevators that Ken desperately wanted to go on but knew he was past the age limit.

The room was larger than life also, boasting a bedroom, living room, and kitchenette. The view was breathtaking of the crystal blue water. Ken put their suitcases down on the bed and suggested they go out and relax by one of the ships many pools.

Teresa sat on a white chair next to a table so she could put her book and drink down. Ken looked at the cover, “The Hot Zone”. He raised his eyebrows.

“It’s a good book, it’s not about the gore as much the science behind it.” defended Teresa. “Still gross.” Ken judged.

They laid on the chairs for what felt like hours, spraying sunscreen on so their Irish skin wouldn't burn. A couple passed by them and the woman was crying. Ken looked up and saw that the woman had what looked like small blisters on her skin from a bad sunburn. He winced and reached for the sun block again.

Back in the room Ken showered and waited for his wife to get out so they could talk about dinner. He kept thinking about the woman today and the bad reaction she had to being in the sun so long. The shower turned off and Teresa came out.

“You ok?” she asked, looking at him with her eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah, I’m great.” he faked a smile. “Where do you want to eat for dinner tonight?”

“Someplace nice, I want to wear my white dress.” Teresa told him.

They headed out for a restaurant on the cruise that was recommended by one of the employees. After they had ordered, Teresa went to to restroom. Ken waited and observed the other customers. He looked the the table to the right of him and saw a mother and father with their two kids. The father was on his phone while the mom was struggling to keep her children at bay. One of them had a bloody nose and decided it was a good idea to wipe the blood all over the table. Ken grimaced.

He began thinking about the plans he and Teresa had for the week. In two days the boat would arrive in Nassau, Bahamas. They would explore the island and perhaps swim with dolphins. Maybe they would let Ken on one of the water slides at the resort Atlantis. Shortly after, they would port in Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Ken couldn’t wait to spend this time with his wife.

Teresa returned, but it she didn’t look like she did when she left. Blood had splattered all over her white dress. Her eyes were holding back tears and her lip twitched.

“What- what happened?” Ken stood up to comfort his wife.

“There was this lady in the restroom and she had a bloody nose and she sneezed and got her blood all over me!” Teresa’s tears started to slide down her face faster than lightning. “This was my favorite dress and now I’m covered in someone else’s blood!”

Ken moved in and hugged his wife. “Let’s go back to the room and change and you can shower again.” Teresa nodded. The whole restaurant was watching them as they left, some disgusted by the blood and others sympathetic. Ken walked his wife back to the room and found it slightly odd that two people in the same restaurant had bloody noses, but left it to chance and took care of Teresa.

The next morning, Ken sent Teresa off to the spa so she could relax and have some time to herself. He decided to walk around the cruise and take in the views from all angles. There was a significant less amount of people out today then there was yesterday. Once he reached the pool, he saw the same child who had a bloody nose the night before with the same bad sunburn a different woman had earlier. Ken felt uneasy and sat down for a few minutes. Something did not feel right to him. He had a gut feeling that he needed to be with his wife.
Ken started to walk to the spa when the he heard an over head voice on the intercom, “This is your captain speaking, due to an unusual amount of guests reporting frightening symptoms, we are putting the ship on quarantine. Wherever you are is where you stay until further notice. If you notice any of the following symptoms like bloody nose…”

The captain’s voice droned out of notice. Ken did not care about the symptoms or the people around him panicking. He only cared about Teresa and finding her. He couldn’t be separated from her and needed to know she was safe.

People were begging to be let out of the pool area. Ken looked around and tried to find a way out. Suddenly he heard a scream so high pitched he thought his ears would blow out. He whipped around to find a woman on the ground with her jugular ripped from her neck, squirting a deep crimson liquid onto people nearby. On top of her was the woman he had seen with the blisters and bloody nose. She was pale with dark circles under her eyes. She twitched and her eyes were almost all white, like a creamy substance had been poured over her corneas. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth, like lava slowly flowing from an active volcano that had no end.
People screamed. Ken couldn’t believe his eyes. The crowd of people pushed through the barricades holding them in the area and rushed into the main area of the ship. They were greeted with people who looked exactly like the woman with glazed over eyes. They tore through children, mothers, fathers, couples, anything they could get their mouths on.

Ken ran to the nearest stairwell to try and find the fastest way to the spa. He looked down and all he saw were dead people. They weren’t getting back up. Ken thought it must be a disease brought on by a pathogen of some sort, spread only by the molecule and not through a bite.

He raced up the stairs and heard screaming from all corners of the ship. Ken looked at his phone and it had signal. He tried calling Teresa but no answer. Hundreds of thoughts ran through his mind. Could she be dead? Infected? Did she get off the ship without him?

Ken saw a sign for the spa on a sign splattered with blood. It had an arrow pointing right and he followed it without thinking. The spa’s entrance had a glass door but Ken couldn’t see through it. He opened the entrance quietly and stepped inside. It reeked of iron and death.

“Teresa?” he whispered. No answer. “Teresa?” he said louder. He heard a clunk in the corner of what looked like a massage room. He froze, thinking this could be it for him. A head peaked out from behind a table with white linen on it.

“Ken?” whimpered a woman’s voice. Releaf flowed over Ken’s body. It was Teresa. Her black hair was frazzled and her clothes were slightly ripped, making Ken wonder if she put up a fight. He embraced her and never wanted to let her go.

“Are you ok?” asked Ken, looking her up and down trying to appraise her situation.

“I’m fine. We need to go.” Teresa’s voice cracked. Ken knew she wasn’t fine. Her eyes had looked like they had seen horrors beyond imagination and her lip was twitching again.

They tried to be silent as they walked out of the spa. They made it to the main deck without making a sound. Ken thought about finding a lifeboat, thinking it may be their best chance at survival. Teresa silently pointed at a boat that was open. They would have to run across the deck to get to it. It was risky, but Ken decided it was the best option.

Ken lead the way holding Teresa’s hand and raced to the boat. He turned his head backwards and saw a wave of infected people heading straight for them. They dove into the boat and lowered it down, kicking and wiggling the infected off of their boat.

Finally, after what felt like eternity, they landed in the Caribbean water and drifted far away from the ship. They felt relieved to be away from the horror they had experienced.

Ken looked up at Teresa, and saw a drop of blood fall from her nose.