Cannibals (Completed)

Cannibals - Part 2

At the seafront, there's a huge crowd, and it's densest near the places where two large cruise ships stand by the shore. A line of policemen and military men restrain the crowd, only letting some of the people on board.

"We'll go through the crowd," I say. "I will carry you, okay? That's gonna be fun, right?"

With Rick on my shoulders, backpack on my back, and Annie hanging like another backpack on the front, I feel as if I'm going to collapse, but the moment we are in the crowd the problem is solved, because there's not enough space to fall. I can barely move, until I remember the self-defense rule: "Elbows are the strongest parts of your body, so use them when you can."

And use them I do.

It takes some time, but we do get closer to the ship. I can see the hats of the policemen just ten feet ahead of us. My ears are numb from the noise of the crowd, but I'm sure I've heard a few gunshots.

"Who are they letting in?" I ask a woman with a suitcase stuck next to me.

"Each adult can take two children," she says, and I feel relief.

We get to the line. They actually hand around tickets, simple green pieces of paper — I could have printed them at home if I knew.

One of the cops hands me two tickets. He's got a rifle in his other hand.

"I need three!" I yell. "Two children and myself!"

"We're only letting children on now, no adults!" he yells back, as the crowd surges around us. "This ship's almost full, no more room!"

I stare at him, but he ignores me, scanning the crowd. There are hands reaching over my shoulders for the tickets, so I grab them quickly and try to pass him by.

"Just the kids, not you!"

"I'll put them there and leave!" I shout. "They're too small to go alone!"

There's a second line of people ahead of us, checking the tickets and letting passengers onto the ship. They, too, are armed with guns and rifles.

We move slowly with the crowd. There are still some adults around, probably those who got their tickets before they changed the rules, but mostly I'm surrounded by children. Annie sobs on my chest, but Rick seems to be all right. His hands clutch my hair and I can feel him shifting from side to side as he looks around.

If I let them go alone, they'll be crushed by the crowd on board. Should I leave one of them behind to save the other? But who? Annie? She would understand what happened, that I betrayed her, and it's unthinkable. Rick? He wouldn't understand. Would just believe that I'd lost him and would come back any moment...

Will they really shoot me if I try to get on the ship without a ticket?

Should we just stay here together?

And then, when we almost reach the point where the decision has to be made, I notice a woman. She stands on the side and holds two children by the hands. Her face is wet with tears, and she looks around and calls: "Jason! Jason!"

But that's not important. What's important is her right hand and the four tickets she clings in there. Four! How did she get them? I struggle to get closer.

"Jason!"

"You won't find him!" I yell in her face, and she looks at me in horror. "Not in this crowd! Give me one ticket! I need one! "

She seems weak and confused. Her eyes travel slowly all over us.

"But Jason --"

"He's gone!"

I contemplate kicking her and taking the ticket, or maybe pushing one of her kids to distract her, or maybe hitting her in the face, or maybe...

"No," I yell, looking at the ship. "They end the boarding!"

She turns in surprise, and as she does, I snatch one of her tickets and move away quickly, before she has a chance to stop me, ready to fight her off if she tries.

"Three tickets!" I yell at a guy with a gun, waving them in his face, probably looking downright crazy. "Three tickets! Three!"

The crowd on board is not so bad, and I immediately begin to move further. My lower back is killing me after carrying so much weight for so long, but it's still not safe to let the kids walk by themselves.

As we move, the roar of the crowd on the shore begins to sound different. Before, it was just a sound of many people talking loudly at once, with occasional cries of anger or fear, but now I'm sure I can hear screams.

Screams of pain.

Victims of a crowd crush, or something else?

We are in the middle of our own crowd, and I can't see what happens on the shore, too busy making my way to the stairs that lead to the rooms. Annie still has her hands around my neck, and her face is stuck to my chest, but Rick sits tall and probably sees a lot above the heads. He bends down and says in my ear:

"Daddy's there!"

I can barely hear him. It sounds as if the whole crowd on the shore screams in unison now, and some people on the ship begin to join them.

"Is he?"

"Yes," he confirms, and then adds something that makes me freeze for a moment. "Daddy has red paint on his face."