The Clergy

We woke up to sirens going off on the ship. My husband woke me up and said, "Maggie get dressed fast something is happening."

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. 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 in his life 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 work with students who are developmentally behind," I said. "I am a teacher and 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 used Charles phone as my screen was on back order and he used his work phone. I left my phone 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 asked, "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 gun stopped Charles. The man who questioned me said, "Allow him to bring his fishing pole. Its not a weapon, any fisherman brings their 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 ship 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 and they were told to eat as well. After another twenty minutes the Captain of the ship and his family were brought into the buffet room. The Captain helped his wife and children make plates. Once they were sitting down the captain walked around and spoke to everyone. The buffet rooms clock started to ring for 10 am and everyone jumped. The Captain said, "Sorry everyone that clock is a bit loud. You should hear it go off between midnight and 5am It echo's this entire floor."

We all chuckled and everyone sat at the tables eating. More guards and captives arrived. We sat talking quietly. The woman who was in our room came back and handed me a pile of note books and pens, "I understand you write and I do not want your anxiety or stress to get to you. You will have to handle it old school for now."

Looking at her I said, "Thank you I appreciate it."

Walking over to the Captains children she knelt down and said, "I found these and grabbed them for you to keep you busy on our journey. Do not worry little ones you are safe from harm."

The children took the bags and said, "Thank you."

"Your welcome," She said. "We will be leaving soon enough?"

Another hour passed and we were given orders to fill to go container's and told to pack up some food for the journey. Charles and I made up a few container's and placed them in a bag. The Man in Charge said, "Why don't you all get some more we do not want to it to go to waste and we have a long journey ahead of us."

Grabbing more container's I went over to the bread bar and loaded up on bread and made another container full of deserts. Charles went over and grabbed more mains and sides. When we had two full bags stuffed with food. The invaders filled up containers as well and we were instructed to hold on and just pick on what we still had left and a few of the ladies grabbed a few more food containers as we ate our final meal on the ship. The man in charge said, "We will be bringing you over to our ship in a few minutes. Make sure you have everything ready to go."

When it was our turn Charles and I gathered everything we had and were taken over to another ship that was half the size of the one we were in. We were taken to a room and told to use the refrigerators to store our food as we will not be leaving our room much for a few days. We saw some of the invaders bringing over trays of food from the windows in our room. We sat down on the bed and Charles said, "Whatever they want us to do just go with it. From the two-hundred on the ship there are only forty of us left."

Nodding I said, "Of course."

He hugged me as there was a knock on our door. Standing up Charles went to answer it and the woman was there with a cart. She said, "This is a pile of treats from the gift shop on the boat as well as a tray full of fruit and food that does not need to be refrigerated. We should be back to our home in five days time. We have some of the food stored that was in the holding bins but what you have needs to be ate while we travel. You have a tea kettle and a microwave and the cooler there has ice. If you need more ice let us know there is a steward on each floor."

Charles nodded and said, "Understood."

We put the food away that we brought with me and we heard a commotion from the ship we were on. Looking we saw more supplies being loaded and a few men yelling we have one hour so get everything you can. We saw more supplies being brought over to the ship we were on from smaller boats. When the hour was over the boats that were left came over to our ship and were loaded back up. We heard the head man come over the announcement system and he said, "Welcome everyone. You have been saved due to your faith in God. We will be traveling to your new home now and God will bless you."

We heard loud booms as our ship started to move. Looking out the window we saw fires on the cruise ship and then we saw fires coming out of the bottom of the ship. Charles wrapped his arms around me and said, "They are sinking the ship and all the bodies of the people they killed."

******************************************************************************

We watched as the ship sank below the water as our ship moved away. Shaking my head I said, "This is horrible I cannot believe this is happening. I feel sick I need to lay down."

Charles opened the bed and I laid down, He came out of the bathroom with a wet rag for my head. He said, "Maggie we need to keep a calm head on us. What have we always said to each other. As long as we are together we will be alright."

"Your right we got this," I said. Then the events of the day got to me and I ran into the bathroom and started to get sick. While I was in the bathroom I heard a knock at the door but could not get up from the floor. I heard Charles explain I felt sick and have been in the bathroom for a while. 

There was a knock on the door and it opened it was the woman from the ship. She came in, shutting the door. Leaning down and she said, "Maggie I understand the events of the day may be shocking for you. I am so sorry you are involved. My name is Claire and I was once in the same situation. I have to ask as you were on you honey moon. Is there a possibility that you could be pregnant?"

Sitting back against the wall I looked at her and said, "We have only been married for a few weeks. After the wedding we postponed the honey moon so I could get my students to the end of the year. We did go to Charles family cabin the weekend of our wedding its a possibility."

She gently washed my face and said, "Why don't we go to the medical service office on board. Dr Robinson is amazing and he will figure out if this is stress or more."

She put her hand out and I took it. Opening the door she said to the man waiting with Charles, "I will leave you gentleman to talk I am taking Maggie to see Dr Robinson. Do not worry I believe she is fine but better safe than sorry. Is that alright Michael?"

He nodded and said, "Yes that is fine."

Looking at Charles I said, "I will be fine and back in a bit, Claire will make sure I am okay."

Walking the ship I looked down and laughed. Claire asked, "What is so funny Maggie?"

Smiling I said, "I was so eager to see what's up I forgot my shoes."

She chuckled and said, "Well the carpet is nice and sometimes I do not wear shoes either."

"May I ask why you were coming to see us?" I asked.

"Well," She said. "In Charles case we have a lot of junk that can be repurposed so that will be his job when we get to the island. You said you were a teacher and we were going to place you as a school teacher. There are twenty five children including the captains children from the age of three on up. We want you to teach them in a community building."

"I would be glad to," I said. "I assume there is no internet on the island. Would Michael be willing to let me use the laptop in order to make lesson plans and track the students progress?"

"I will ask him once we get back from Dr. Robinson," She said. "Will you be able to handle that age gap?"

"Yes," I said. "Believe it or not full classrooms with multiple aged children are easier to teach. If you all can help me find a assistant that would make things run smoother. Will it be Monday through Friday and off on holidays and break?"

She smiled and said, "Michael will be speaking with you about the schedule. Also the island we are on also has all four seasons incase your wondering."

We got to the door that said medical and Claire knocked. We heard footsteps and a older man opened the door. He said, "Claire my dear how are you and who is our new friend?"

"Dr Robinson this is Maggie," She said. "May we come in?"

"Of course," He said standing back. "Now Maggie what ails you?"

Sitting on a chair I said, "Well Dr Robinson I am either stressed from the events of today or pregnant. I was hoping that you could help me figure our which one."

He looked up and said, "Well my girl your in the right spot and I even got a fancy new machine now. So first things first."

He handed me a cup and I said, "Yup, I know the drill."

Going into the bathroom I peed in the cup. Washing my hands I came out and handed it to him. He took the cup and dipped the test in and said, "Now we wait."

He sat next to me and said, "I understand you have been through something traumatic today. But never you worry dear you will be fine."

When the timer went off he looked at the test and said, "Well from the pain comes greatness. Maggie your going to be a mom."

Sitting there I must have spaced out and after a moment Claire took my hand and said, "Maggie?"

Shaking my head I said, "Are you sure?"

Dr Robinson said, "Well why don't we use this new machine, I got to make sure. Up on the table and lets get a look at your baby."

Laying on the table he lifted my shirt to show my belly and placed the sonogram head on my belly. He moved the wand around and said, "Well good evening little one we are excited to meet you. Can you be so kind as to hold still so I can take a picture for your Mommy?"

Claire laughed and said, "How does the baby look?"

"Well Maggie this little one looks like your right around four weeks along," He said. 

Clair held my hand and said, "You conceived on your weekend away after the wedding Maggie."

Dr. Robinson smiled and handed me two picture that had the wording, "Surprise Mom and Dad."

Taking the picture I took Dr Robinsons hand and said, "Thank you."

"No need to thank me," He said. "When we get to the island we will set up appointments for your prenatal care. Remember no drinking and try to relax its not ideal circumstances but you and your baby are in good hands."

Looking at the test I asked, "Can i have the test for his or her Memory Box?"

He handed me the test with the lid and said, "Of course."

We left and headed back to our suite and said, "Oh my how are we going to prepare for a baby when I can't buy anything?"

Claire looked at me and said, "Do not worry about that now as we strip most boats clear. All linens are reused. I assure you our ladies will have you clothes before your little one comes. Oh Charles will be so happy he will be building you a cradle or crib soon enough."

Looking at her, she said, "We will have a good chat once we arrive I promise."

When we arrived at the suite and went inside Charles and mike were looking over plans and Charles hugged me and said, "Maggie love are you alright?

I reached into my pocket and handed him the test. He took them and said, "Are you sure?"

Handing him his copy of the picture I said, "Very."

He looked at the picture and asked, "When?"

Laughing I said, "Remember our unofficial honeymoon at Grams cabin? She always said that place was magic."

Looking at Michael I said, "I guess you have another passenger sir."

He gave a warm smile and said, "A most welcome one. Claire and I will give you both time to celebrate the news. Charles we will discuss everything more later during the voyage."

After they left Charles sat me down and asked, "Did you have any idea?"

Shaking my head I said, "No." 

He held my hand and said, "It will be alright. They want me to create things for their island and build. Mike said we should be the last group of people they need for help. I told him that I was not happy with what they did and he said, He had orders that he had to follow or his own family could be killed. I think there is more then what it seems with our new home."

I nodded and said, "Well they want me to be a teacher there. Claire seems like she wants to open up but cannot say anything. Do you think she is in the same situation?"

"It could be," He said. "We will do what we always do and that is help those who needs it. Maggie I have a feeling that we will not be going home."

Taking his hand I said, "As long as you the baby and I are alright we will be okay. We will look at this like a adventure."

The rest of the evening we sat and talked. After we had dinner we went to sleep and were woken up the following morning by knocking at the door. Charles got up and answered the door. I heard him say, "Give us about twenty minutes and we will be ready to meet with you."

Coming back to me he said, "Our presence has been requested."

Standing up I went into my suitcase and pulled on a sundress.  I pulled  on a pair of flats and said to Charles, "I think we need to break my screen on my phone or toss it overboard."

He said, "Give it to me. I am placing it in my fishing case in the base I think that we will be okay with it there. I will cover it in hooks and lures. I have a hook and lure box that everything may fit in."

Handing it to him he placed it in the case with the battery our and then put the charger base and cord inside his extra fishing line. I had just finished brushing my teeth and pulling my hair back when there was a knock at the door. I opened it and there stood Mike. He gave a smile and said, "I hope your feeling well. I know you have not eating but we have food in the dining room as we explain some things to you about your living arrangements and your job."

"Alright," I said. We followed Mike to the dining room and found a buffet of food. 

We were instructed to make a plate and join him at a table near the window. Once we sat down and said grace Mike handed me a laptop. He said, "Claire asked for your laptop since we did not have internet so you can start putting together lesson plans and work. I will let you know that the students are the age three to twelve. Only a few of these children have not had much schooling so you will be starting from scratch. Something told me to grab the school books we had in the classroom."

He handed me a set of books and I looked through them. Looking up I said, "These books are primary books from 1910. Will I be teaching the basics?"

He gave me a look and asked, "What do you mean basics?"

"Basics are reading, math, writing." I said. "Full education also includes science and world history."

Handing me additional books I saw a science and world history. He said, "We would like you to teach everything. Claire said you asked about schedules and holidays. We want the children to have a full education. Once we get settled you will have time to get set up and things started. As for a time line we will have a holiday break while you are on maternity leave. Then you may bring your baby to school with you."

Nodding I said, "I will work on a calendar then in my computer so we can set up things and go over them in future meetings. Once I see the classroom I will be able to see what I am working with. Are there books on the island as well as paper and writing implements?"

He said, "The powers that be have been bringing old educational materials to the the island. We have a supply of materials the children can write on and we make paper on the island. There is also a chalkboard and plenty of chalk. I am going to set up meetings with the parents and children once you are settled and get a feel for your classroom."

"That would be a good things especially if the parents started to teach them," I said.

"Now for your accommodations you will be given a cabin on the edge of town," He said. "Your cabin contains a main room with a wood stove and fireplace. There is also a bedroom and bathroom. The problem we have is wood. We do not want a large amount of trees cut down."

Charles looked up and said, "I have been thinking about that. You said along the shore there is a large amount of seagrass. The seagrass can be harvested and dried out along with driftwood. Then the seagrass can be braided and  used for the stoves and fireplaces. Also you said that the trees are not maintained so we can get the trees maintained and cut dead branches for wood. Also you said you have a lot of fields and vined produce. That can all be used like the seagrass. The town only takes up a small amount of the island so I am guessing we can get a lot of supplies if your creative."

Looking at Charles I said, "Sustainable use of land. Any place can be sustainable and used without destroying the land."

Mike looked at me and said, "How do you know about this?"

"I have a dual degree," I said. "Besides my call to teaching I have a call to protect the environment."

Mike said, "Well I am sure that you both will be very useful."

"Also when it comes to school how long did you want the school days be?" I asked.

"What would you suggest?"

"Until we know how the kids will handle it I would suggest Monday through Friday," I said. "But only for a few hours a day. Maybe one to four in the afternoon and then we can lengthen it from there."

"Well for sustainable land maintenance we will need to get that started as soon as we can," He said. "This ship load of people will fill the islands accommodations. So you are aware we have a general store for people to get things from. Everyone will have a salary which can be used in the store for daily supplies."

"So we are paid captives?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "In time I would hope that you will think of the island of your home."

Nodding I could not say anything. Charles took my hand and said, "I will admit we are not happy with the situation, but we will not put up a fight."

Taking a sip of tea I said, "What does food look like on the island?"

"We have greenhouses for produce and we do shoreline fishing," He said. "There are also chickens, sheep, cows and pigs. We had to be careful with outdoor crops due to quail, pigeons and crows."

"Why would they be a problem," I said. "They are game birds and if some can be caught you could use them like chickens."

Charles looked up and asked, "Is the water around the island rough?"

"No," Mike said. "Why do you ask?"

"You said there are rock walls and outcrops," He said. "Clams and crustaceous creatures hide in them. As long as we are not over fishing they can be harvested and ate."

Mike wrote everything down that we said and I said to Charles, "Also for wood we can work on grafting new trees. We are getting to the fall and when acorns and nuts fall those are the best time to do the grafting. Also Acorns and nuts can be harvested for food as well."

Mike asked, "We will need to identify the nuts and acorns I thought they were toxic."

I said, "Acorns have tannins in them which can make you constipated but if processed correctly the acorns can be made into flour for baking. When we arrive ad are settled I will walk the island and see what you have that can be stored and harvested for the winter months. I know we have a lot of work to do but it should be easy once we walk the island. We will need the man power to do it which always takes time."

Mike said, "We will have the whole town help. With what we got from the ship and what we could potentially harvest from the island winter should be alright. The only problem is when the snows hit fresh water can be difficult."

Charles looked up and asked, "Why?"

Mike looked confused and said, "Because of the snow."

I said, "You have water its the snow Mike. If you boil the water from the melted snow it purifies it. It can be used for cleaning and bathing as well as drinking."

 

Maggie/ Charles - Main

Woman with the clergy- Claire

Main man from kidnappers- Mike

Dr Robinson