The Cruise - Part 9:
The Disembarkation of Doom
During the next day and those to follow I had no interest in visiting
the remaining port cities. I stayed in my cabin most of the time. The
days went by. The final leg of the cruise was at hand. The British chap
announced that the ship would dock in Florida at 8:00 A.M. and then
debarkation procedures would be announced.
There was a knock at my cabin door. It was my steward Jessie.
He said, "Mon, you must be safe. Do not leave with the other passengers." Then he disappeared.
Some minutes later there was another knock on the door. When I answered, it was Herr Staubsauger, I mean Earl. I invited him in.
He said in a whisper, "When the ship docks, go to shore from deck 2 with the crew. Do not leave from deck 5!" Then he left.
Soon afterwards, the British guy announced over the loudspeaker, "All passengers please prepare for debarkation on deck 5. Have your passports ready and tag all luggage."
Then he said, "All Rashers please report to deck 5 for priority disembarkation."
I rushed up to deck 7 to see what was going on. A long gangway from deck 5 had been lowered to the pier. But wait a minute, the terminal had changed! It wasn't anything like the terminal when we first boarded the ship in Port Everglades. It was a very large saucer-shaped metal structure with no windows and only one door. It glistened in the sunlight.
I saw the Rashers waddle down the gangway to the terminal. The other passengers were lined up behind them. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The terminal actually was a space module that would load all of the passengers, and then take them to the mother ship. From there the human cargo would be transported to some distant planet where the fattened humans would be categorized according to their size, whether they were light meat or dark meat, whether they were best served with a hollandaise, carbonara sauce, mole, etc. Then they would be sold and eaten!
When the humans didn't return from their cruise, the aliens representatives would tell the authorities that all of the passengers died from Legionnaires disease. It was so neat and tidy. Then another cruise would begin.
I had little time. I raced down the stairs to deck 2. Almost all of the crew had left. Jessie saw me and waved for me to join him. We got off the ship just in time. I was dazed and shaken standing on the pier looking back at the ship. This was a cruise to remember... or to forget.
It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end. ~ Ursula K. Le Guin