A Vacation To Remember

"Ten more day, can you believe it?"

Carrie's voice wafted over Maggie as she sat back relaxing on her deck chair.  After doing that same thing for the past four days it still didn't feel real.  Nothing could feel that good.

"Ten more days of just sitting back and relaxing.  I can hardly believe it."  But even as the words came out of Maggie's mouth the stress and fatigue she'd been feeling finally began to fade.  After months of stressful days and sleepless nights trying to put all the financial records in order before tax time had taken their toll and now she was both physically and mentally exhausted. 

"Well, believe it.  After the past few months you've had, you deserve it."

"Tell me about it.  I've never seen a company with such bad bookkeeping, and the state of their financial affairs...no wonder Revenue Canada was on their ass.  I'd be hard pressed to believe anyone there knew the first thing about accounting, let alone running a business."

"But enough of that, we're here to sit back, enjoy the sun and drink our fill of mai tais."

"Now that's a plan," Maggie agreed readily.  At that moment nothing sounded better: hot sun, slow moving water and cold drinks, what more could a girl want?  Well, there was that cute guy by the pool the other day.

"And on that note I'll grab this round of drinks. A mai tai, right?" Carrie said, getting up from her deck chair and heading toward the bar.

"Uh huh," Maggie mumbled succumbing to the heat and the sound of slowly lapping waves, feeling exhaustion pull her under once again. 

When Maggie finally opened her eyes she noticed that Carrie still hadn't come back with her drink.  Odd, considering that she clearly remembered Carrie offering to get the next round.  She couldn't have been asleep that long, could she?

"Looks like I'll have to get my own drink this time."  Maggie said to herself.

But just as she was about to get up, she thought she heard a strange sound coming from the other side of the cruise ship.  And it was then that she noticed that it seemed oddly quiet. Where had everyone gone?  There didn't seem to be anyone around.  Odd, considering how busy the ship usually was.

It was then that she noticed that odd sound again.  And now that she was more awake, she could almost recognise the sound, but it couldn't be what she thought.  Who would be firing a gun, and a semi-automatic at that, on a cruise ship?  There were laws against that weren't there?  Something just didn't seem right.

Getting up to look for some answers, and to find her friend, she was thrown back against her chair by a sudden and almost violent shaking of the ship.  "An explosion?  It couldn't be." But even as the words left her mouth Maggie knew it could be nothing else.  Having grown up around ships when she was a child, she knew little could make a ship that size shudder like that. 

Deciding that being half naked on the sundeck might not be the safest thing; Maggie decided to make a quick run to her cabin for clean clothes and a solidly locked door.

Just as she made it to the stairwell another explosion rocked the ship almost throwing her down the long flight of stairs.  Only her quick reflexes and her desperate grip on the handrail prevented her from being pitched down the stairwell.

Holding on for dear life, afraid that the next explosion would throw her down the stairwell, Maggie was afraid to move, not trusting her rubbery legs to carry her far.  It was then that she noticed the voices coming in her direction.

"But are they friends or are they responsible for the explosions?"  Not waiting around to find out which, Maggie made a mad dash down the long flight of stairs only to find that the doors leading into the ship are locked. 

"What idiot locked the doors?!"  Incredulous, Maggie tried again, turning harder and pulling harder.  It had to be open. The door just couldn't be locked, she couldn't be trapped with God only knew who coming in her direction.

Frantic not to be caught, Maggie had to find a place to hide, but there is nothing there, less than nothing.  No hiding spot, no possible weapon, just open discovery.

"This is crazy, I can't just stand here."  But stand there she did.  She just couldn't think of what else to do.  The only option she could see was to climb back up the stairs and hopefully make a run for, trying to find somewhere to hide.

Just as she started up the stairs again, hoping that the owners of they mysterious voices weren't too close, another explosion hit the ship, this one knocking her back against the door hard enough to make her see stars.

Falling to the ground dazed, she just sat there as her head started to and throb wondering how she could get out of the mess she was in. 

"If I get out of this I swear, I'll never take another cruise again," Maggie silently promised.  "I just knew this was too good to be true."

But no sooner had she said that than she saw a pair of black Rockports in her line of vision, directly in front of her, and for some unknown reason, she found she couldn't seem to look away from them.  Her eyes were glued to the shoes.

"Shh, don't make any noise.  Pirates have boarded the ship."

Pirates?  Was he nuts?  Was she supposed to believe Captain Jack and his crew were taking over the cruise ship?  Heck, why not?  This was in the Caribbean, after all.

Just as she was about to ask her mysterious stranger that he held out his hand to her, offering to give her a hand up.

"Come on, we haven't got time for this Maggie, they're coming!"

Maggie?  Did he call me Maggie?  How did he know my name?  Suddenly those thoughts and more tumbled through Maggie's brain in startled confusion.  Nothing seemed to make any sense.

Just as she was about to take his hand, wondering how he could possible know her name (she hadn't even bothered to look at his face yet) a blaring sound rang out from her left.

Jerking left to see what the source of the jarringly awful sound was, Maggie was surprised to find herself looking at her bedroom clock.

"That couldn't have been a dream, could it?"  But looking around her room she knew it must have been. 

But was it just a dream or was it a premonition of things to come?