“But make sure the cameras see us,” I added.
“Harebrained,” Gilly reiterated.
“You’re on,” Ezra told his golfing pal.
Scott nodded, clutched his side and staggered to the clinic door.“Help,” rasped out, before letting out a low, miserable groan.“I think…it’s my appendix.”His face was twisted in pain, and honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d be worried.
Nurse Tony, the same tall nurse who had used the defibrillator on Sebastian the night before, was once again on the night shift.He immediately stepped forward, his expression shifting from boredom to concern.“Let’s get you inside,” he said, wrapping an arm around Scott’s back to help him through the door.
Scott moaned again, perfectly timing the fake agony.He knew exactly when the pain was supposed to spike and just how bad it should be getting.As the clinic door shut behind them, Ezra motioned for us to move.
We slipped past the clinic, keeping close to the wall, our steps light and quick.I held my breath as we passed the doorway, every muscle in my body tense.As we were almost clear of the clinic, I heard Nurse Tony say, “We may need a surgeon.”
Crap.
Gilly flashed me a “my husband better not come back to me with any missing parts” look.
I grimaced, then shrugged.I knew Scott was willing to take one for the team, but surgery was going several steps too far.My stomach twisted with guilt.We’d joked about distractions, but I didn’t actually want him to end up under the knife.
I had to trust, though, that Scott wouldn’t let it get that far...no matter how much he wanted to impress us.
We moved quickly and quietly down the dimly lit corridor, the hum of the ship’s ventilation system masking the sound of our footsteps.The metal door to the morgue was tucked away at the end of the hall, blending in with the surrounding walls except for a small access panel and a heavy-duty handle.It looked industrial, utilitarian, none of the polished, flashy elegance the rest of the ship had.Just cold, gray steel, a little scuffed near the edges where it had seen years of use.
A 360-degree security camera sat mounted on the ceiling just outside the door.I glanced up at it, noting the dark, lifeless lens.“Disabled,” I muttered, not surprised.I had a feeling the one at the Resplendent Retreat had been purposefully disabled as well.Still, just for kicks, I flipped it the bird.
The door was thankfully wedged open slightly.The person using it wouldn’t want to be caught swiping in an out multiple times a day.We slipped inside.
The morgue was about as inviting as you’d expect.Cold steel everything, a few rolling carts, and a wall lined with freezer drawers.The air was crisp enough to make my breath fog, and the scent of disinfectant barely covered the underlying metallic tang.Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a harsh glow that somehow made everything look even more unsettling.
Gilly shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.“Well,” she said, “this isn’t creepy at all.”
I smirked.“Just wait until the corpses start singingThe Monster Mash.”
She snorted.“That’s how we’ll know they’re cool.”
“Let’s just get this over with before Scott ends up actually needing a surgeon,” Ezra said, rubbing his hands together for warmth.
“There are only twelve drawers,” I said, scanning them.“Shouldn’t take long.”
“How do we know which one is the right one?”Gilly asked.
Ezra glanced at the wall, then at me.“Open them all up until we find Sebastian.”
Gilly raised an eyebrow.“What if there are other dead people in there?”
I shook my head.“If it’s not Sebastian then move on to the next drawer.”
I opened three drawers on the right, starting at the top, when I went to open the fourth, I heard Ezra say,” Got him.”
I was already sliding the drawer out, and saw it wasn’t empty like the others.Oh, crap.On top of that, it wasn’t quite as chilled as the others.
“I think you all need to come see this,” I told them, gripping the handle.I slid the drawer all the way out, bracing myself for what we might find.
It was the last thing I expected to see.
Instead, of a dead body,a pair of sleepy eyes stared up at me.
Alive.
