MYSTober 2024

31 vignettes based on single-word prompts. One story.

21. Maintain

Captain Balter dabbed the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his jacket. It had now been two days that they'd been uncontrollably headed out to sea. The land had completely disappeared from view last night. Everyone on the ship knew that something was wrong. Short of taking a fire axe to the engines, nobody had any idea how to stop it.

It wouldn't have been so bad if they at least had a working radio so they could contact shore and communicate what was happening. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The radio was still out, and the ship's transponder had been disabled. Nobody knew where they were, and they didn't have any way of alerting anyone of their plight.

He leaned forward in his chair on the bridge and keyed the intercom. "Passengers of the cruise ship Emerald of the Sea: I'm sure you've noticed that we have travelled further from land than you may have expected. We have been experiencing some technical issues that are preventing us from correcting course for the time being. We will get everything back on course just as soon as we're able. If you have any questions or concerns, please bring them to my attention, and I will answer them to the best of my ability."

A version of the truth. It was the best he had. He exchanged glances with Williams, the first mate, and then placed his hands on the arms of his chair and pushed out of it. "Time to go face the music, I suppose." He took a deep breath, pulled open the door, and stepped out on deck.

The man he'd passed by the other day was gazing out to sea, dressed in white shorts and a floral patterned shirt. He glanced at Balter, nodded his head, and casually said, "Captain."

Balter quickly glanced back and forth, then stared back at the man. "That's it? No shouting or demands?"

"Not from me. I know you'll do your best."

Balter stood a little taller. "Thank you, I appreciate that. What's your name?"

The man extended a hand towards him. "Julius. Julius Simmons."

Balter took his hand and shook it firmly. "It's a pleasure to have you on board."

Julius swivelled his head back and forth as if searching for something. "Honestly, I cherish this chance to get away from it all for a bit. The world is just so... chaotic. You know what I mean?"

"Unfortunately, I do." The Captain caught sight of several other passengers storming towards him from further down the deck. "I suspect it's about to get a lot more chaotic here, too."

Julius nodded. "You have my pity. I'll just get out of the way, if you'll excuse me." With that, Julius strolled across to the other side of the ship, leaving Balter to deal with his new mob.

MYSTober 2024

Table of Contents

21. Maintain