Heavely Seas Chapter Sixteen

Her boy… her youngest referred to Elodie as Lady Figgs. The deep tone from Heath alarmed her. What brought this on? Heath had difficulty expressing emotions towards things that held no interest to him, but he never called Elodie “Lady Figgs” before.

“The truth?” Could things get any worse? The answer was yes. Elodie had been searching for Heath for hours. Fighting through bodies in hope he wasn’t in the piles.

For some reason that wasn’t good enough. She remembered the incident between them and Apollo back when he was a boy. She paid a dozen child psychiatrists and child minders to watch her Heath after that.

The new captain’s voice sounded soothing, but the familiar rough tone and cockney accent startled her. A voice she hadn’t heard in a long time. Most of the survivors were all in jumpers, except for her and Lucas.

“I know I'm not Heath.”

Was he implying they were swapped? She couldn't believe it, deep down she wanted to believe that it was Heath that she took to the hospital years ago. It had happened such a long time ago, her memory was unreliable. Her dairy had been burnt a long time ago.

There were so many people in the room, but at that moment Elodie could only focus on the glare Heath gave him. Even if Heath was Apollo the whole time, she still played a part in his upbringing.

“Gong-Gi was my father. Elaine is my mother. I'm Apollo Jinx. The missing boy from years ago.”

She had been losing hair over her little Heath. She tried to hug him, but he pushed her away. Elodie leaned over. She observed the contents in the trolley Sook-Jo carried.

Fare too many bodies for Elodie’s comfort.

“What happened to him?” Elodie asked, gasping. She was used to seeing Gong-Gi in flashy bright suits. The corpse was a far cry from the playboy she knew when he was alive. If the bite marks on his neck didn't scare her the dagger in his chest did.

“Theo left him to die,” Apollo hissed. “Sook-Jo ended his life before he became infected.”

“Lies!” Elodie roared. She repeated herself till her throat burned. “My previous Theo would never kill anyone!”

Not her Theo. He was under a curse. Once the curse is lifted, the world will return back to normal. She could go back to eating cake like the whole thing never happened. Never mind the bones or the goblins.

Another body tumbles down from the ceiling and splats onto the floor. Sook-Jo identified the man as her ex-husband. Elodie didn't even know the man was a passenger on the cruise.

It wasn't too long before the new captain made his appearance. As he floated into the room with a tilted smile on his face. He removed his hat and tossed it at Elodie. As the captain drew closer, the facial features triggered a deja vu moment for Elodie.

“C-Clarence!”

Her first and only husband. The only man that pleased her, but also the one that hurt her the most. If it wasn't for his money, she would never had touched him. Clarence was meant to be her escape route from the crooked life she has fallen into. Elodie realised her brain had been fried years ago.

“HELLO SWEETHEART!” Clarence hugged her, but no warmth could be felt. “Long time, no see.”

“You’re not supposed to be here; you’re dead. I…”

“I know. You killed me. But I came back. When Theo said he was planning a family reunion, I’m not gonna say no just because I’m dead.” He observed Calvin’s discoloured body, the seaweed still stuck to him. “Oh dear…Calvin looks a bit grim.”

“It’s a long story,” Elodie whispered.

“Well you know me. I love stories. Why don’t we all take a seat and you tell us what happened?”

“YOU SCUM BAGS! Sook-Jo screamed, cradling Gong-Gi’s body. “Look at what you've done to my friend!”

“Sook-Jo…” Elodie trembled with every movement. She dashed to try and comfort her. “Please, I beg you, don't provoke him.”

Elodie felt like the only one who knew how spiteful Clarence was. One measly affair was all it took for Clarence to seek vengeance. Even beyond the grave he mocked her.

“He's a ghost! He doesn't scare me!” Sook-Jo continued to weep through her anger.

Clarence laughed. His voice echoed through the hall. “Gong-Gi was taking advantage of you…”

Sook-Jo’s tears ceased. “Be that as it may, I still loved him. And you shall regret the day you cursed us.”

Elodie took time to look around. She had a connection with most of the passengers alive and dead. Bad luck followed her. All this time they were blaming the curse on the ship, but the monsters had been lurking for years.

Elodie was about to be exposed. It was the moment Elaine Jinx had been waiting for all these years. Elodie couldn't bring herself to look at her. Out of all the things she did, killing Calvin was by far the worst. Even than incest with Theo seemed trivial. Calvin was one of the few things that gave Clarence joy. He would make her pay.

As the thunder roared and windows cracked, Elodie took one look at Elaine. “We were supposed to run away together.”

It wasn't Heavenly Seas that harboured the curse; the curse laid within Elodie.