We heard screams coming from the upper deck and down the hall. I grabbed my jeans and layered some shirts on. Pulling on heavy socks and boots I slid my phone and charger into a plastic bag and shoved it down my boot leg as there was pounding on the door. My husband opened the door and he raised his hands saying, "We do not want trouble. Money is on the desk."
Charles backed up and stood in front of me. The first of three men came in and asked, "Are you married?"
We held up our hands as I said, "We are on our honeymoon."
He looked at me and said, "Come forward."
Moving around Charles I asked, "Are you going to kill us?"
The second man came in and said, "Not yet. You need to answer some questions first. You need to be honest as God is watching and listening."
Nodding I said, "Of course."
He pointed to the bed saying, "Both of you sit down. What are your names?"
Smiling I said, "My husband is Charles and I am Maggie."
"Maggie," He asked. "How did you meet?"
"Church," I said. "We were both in a survivors support group. He had lost his wife and I had lost my fiancé. We bonded over our grief and two years later we are on our honeymoon."
"How did they die," He asked.
"Charles wife Emma died of cancer," I said taking his hand. "My Fiancé Max was killed by a drunk driver. He was coming home from his shift at the hospital and the man blew through the intersection hitting his bike."
"Your Fiancé did not have a car?" He asked.
"No he did not," I said. "The night of the accident my students were putting on a presentation at the school I work at and I offered to pick him up when it was over but he texted me and said it was such a beautiful night he would bike home. He only lived a mile from the hospital and he told me to call him when I got home."
Raising and eye he asked, "You did not live together?"
"No," I said. "We were looking for a home to move into when the accident happened. I lived at home because my father was dying of stomach cancer and I took care of him at night to help his wife."
"Not your mother?" He asked.
"Most definitely not," I said. "Before you ask my father made horrible decisions and she was one of them."
He nodded and asked, "Where were you married?"
Smiling I handed him a photo of us at the alter of the church off the bedside table. He looked at the picture and said, "Thank you Maggie for being truthful. You said students what do you do?"
"I worked with students who are developmentally behind," I said. "I am a teacher that presentation was displays my team and I put together showing all of their progress they made in the first quarter."
He turned to Charles and asked, "What do you do?"
"I own my own restoration business," He said. "The older the better. I also create furniture from scratch, create items from garbage, as well as fix things. Outside of that I teach people the proper way to hunt and fish."
He nodded and said, "You both will do nicely. You have been saved. You will be moved to our island shortly without complaint if you decide to fight this you will be killed is that clear."
We nodded and a woman came in and said, "Your electronics please. If you are ever released you will get them back."
I handed them my laptop and Charles handed them his phone. The woman asked, "You do not have a phone?"
I forced a laughed and said, "I did until I dropped it during our reception while taking pictures of my students and the screen shattered. I left it at our home since Charles had his."
She nodded and asked, "Why the laptop?"
Smiling I said, "If you open it, I write mystery books and I find it relaxing to write when I am stressed. I do not need the internet to write so I have been writing as well as drawing as the case also holds my electronic drawing pad."
She looked at the man and he said, "Thank you please pack all your belongings and we will come to escort you to the buffet where you will eat once we clear this floor. Be thankful as you are some of the very few who will not be meeting God today."
****************************************************
The group stepped out and shut the door. After they left Charles looked at me and I said, "Did that just happened?"
He came over and held me. Whispering in my ear he asked, "Where?"
I rubbed my boot against him and he said, "It will be okay."
We heard loud pops coming from up and down the hall and I asked, "Those are gunshots aren't they?"
He handed me my suitcase and said, "Yes, Lets start packing I do not want to piss these people off."
We packed up our bags and Charles handed me a pair of ear plugs to put in so I could dampen the sound. After thirty minutes there was a knock at the door and the man was back. He said, "Grab all your belongings you will not be coming back here. We are going to the buffet room."
We grabbed all our bags and when we came out the man with the gum stopped Charles. The man who questioned me said, "Allow him to bring his fishing pole. Its not a weapon, any fisherman brings there pole anywhere they can fish. I assume you carried that on board with you."
Looking up Charles said, "Yes sir and this pole is sentimental as it was my Grandfathers. He never made it to South America to fish and he gave it to me before he passed in hopes it will have fished in waters he could never make it to."
The woman said, "Let's go we have a lot to go over."
As we walked down the halls we saw black strips of cloth tied to many door handles. The woman saw where I was looking and said, "Those are the rooms belonging to people who did not meet our criteria. We hope god may forgive their transgressions."
My body shivered knowing that those rooms belonged to the people who were killed. We continued along and made it to the buffet room. When we went through the doors we saw six other couples. The man said, "Please take this table."
Then he stood back and said, "We are still speaking with people on the ship. While my people are removing supplies off the ship I am asking that you all make use of the buffet. If you are in this room you are safe and have passed our screening. You still have work on earth and will not be judged today."
Charles stood up and reached out for my hand saying, "You need to eat sweetheart. We do not want your blood sugar to drop and you get hangry."
Another couple got up and followed our lead up to the buffet. We made plates and sat down to eat. Mentally I was doing the math in my head. There were 200 guests and staff on this ship. We were on the upper floor of the shup in a suite and I prayed that more couples and staff were spared. Another hour passed as we snacked and waited and a few more couples showed up. Thirty minutes after that ten staff members were brought in with their luggage. Sending a silent prayer above I thanked God there was no children on this cruise. I raised my hand and the woman who came to our room said, "Yes Maggie?"
"I'm sorry can we use the bathroom," I asked. "We have been drinking coffee and drinks while waiting and I am sure I am not the only one who has to use the facilities."
She gave a small smile and said, "Everyone you are free to roam the room and talk with each other. There is a bathroom right here everyone can use."
I made my way to the bathroom, when I came out I found Charles talking to the elderly couple and a few staff members. He put his arm around my waist and said, "You alright."
"Are any of us really alright," I said quietly. "You know I am a stress eater. Currently I am holding off getting more food."
The older woman in our group took my hand and said, "Well dear the table of deserts is going to waste. Lets get some food and drinks who knows when we will eat next."
We went over and made plates to eat. As we sat a few more stragglers came in
Maggie/ Charles - Main
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