Over a few days, sleep deprivation crawled over my body and poisoned my brain. I literally felt zombified. This resulted in reduced brain functions, almost to a minimum. For a while, I thought to myself, 'Is it just me, or is my brain dying?' I couldn't remember what I did or where my cabin door was. One time, someone laughed and woke me up as I sleepwalked.
A crewmember shouted at me, "Cadet! Cadet, what are you doing?"
I said, "I want to open my cabin to go sleep."
The crewmember laughed and said, "That is a storeroom, not your cabin."
The crewmember laughed again, and I wasn't amused. I found my cabin and went inside. Not long after, there was a panic next door, around the 2nd Mate's quarters.
I overheard Captain Hobo shouting, "Wake up, wake up. Do you hear me?"
I walked up and saw a few crewmembers and Captain Hobo standing above the body of the 2nd Mate. Captain Hobo slapped the 2nd Mate a few times, but without effect. It looked like the 2nd Mate was in a coma; no one could wake him up. One of the crewmembers threw a bucket of water in the face of the 2nd Mate, and he woke up. The 2nd Mate stood up and made his way into the bathroom, where he collapsed. They dragged him under the cold shower until he regained consciousness, I guess. I'm not sure since I went off to sleep. At that time, my brain was not able to produce any emotions, and I felt nothing, just the desire to sleep. The ship's routine was wake up, work, eat, and sleep. My brain was not able to produce any activity except to follow basic tasks. I remember someone told me to do all this stuff; otherwise, I would probably stand like a zombie in a place, or maybe lurk around without any brain functions. Change clothes or shower, I think I never heard those orders. Anyway, my body worked in semi-active mode, so I guess it forgot to sweat.
Finally, one day the ship changed route, and we had two days to the next port. I dragged my body into my cabin and unplugged myself from this world as I collapsed on the floor. I felt something push me a few times. I opened my eyes and saw a man standing above me; it was a sailor probably on duty. He pushed my body with his boot.
The Sailor on duty said, "Just checking if you are alive, boy!"
I was on the floor with my face all slobbery. I looked around and mumbled, "Yeah. What time is it?"
The Sailor on duty removed his boot from my body and said, "Time? You were out for thirty-six hours. The cook started to wonder where you are, so he sent me. Anyway, it's almost lunch, so get yourself cleaned up and go eat something."
Chief walked up to the door and stopped near the sailor on watch.
Chief looked at me with a smile on his face and said, "Here, Jack…this will help you get…on your feet again."
Chief handed me an ice cream on a stick. I was confused. I opened the ice cream and took a bite.
Chief leaned with a smile on his face and whispered, "Don't tell anyone…it's my secret recipe."
Chief looked at the sailor on duty and said, "What? You…want some ice cream too?"
The Sailor on duty replied to Chief, "Ice cream! Fuck that, I want a beer!"
Chief and the sailor on duty closed the door and walked away. I must admit, I felt a little better after I ate the ice cream. My cabin was a mess. I took off my working clothes and opened the bathroom door, where a North Pole was hidden all this time. The stupid bathroom was all covered in snow, and on the floor, there was like 20 cm of snow. The stuck window did its part in this prank from Mother Nature. My brain spoke to me, 'Who cares anyway, right!' I made my way to the mirror and looked at some barbaric figure with an overgrown beard and hair, and even my nails were big, just the right size to play a guitar. I got my face and hands into shape. I realized my feet had turned blue, but the best part was I had to take a shower in a snowy shower. Luckily, if you can call it luck, the stupid shower worked, and it tortured me with icy cold water. In the shower, I jogged in place while I washed. I could feel my skin burn with cold, and my bones felt like cold steel and heavier. A few hours after the shower, my bones still hurt deep with cold, no matter what I did.
At the saloon, I sat down on a sofa as the cook entered with a big 20-liter canister. He was a tall and lean figure with neatly styled dark hair and brown eyes. His sharp and well-defined facial features gave him a distinguished look. "Here you go, boys. Vanilla flavored," the Cook said.
The Sailor said, "It's winter. Who eats ice cream in wintertime?"
The Cook chuckled and said, "Now you do."
The Cook turned to me and said, "The boy will definitely try some ice cream after three months of slavery."
I looked at the Cook and said, "Already three months have passed. No way."
The Sailor said, "It's true, boy. You've been with us for three months already. Here, check the calendar."
There was a calendar on the wall. I stood up and looked at the month and date. It was true; three months had passed.
I said, "I can't believe this."
The Sailor said, "Better believe it, boy."
I said, "Three months of my life spent on nothing, no memories, just nothing—a hole in my life."
The Cook said, "You're not the only one. The rest of the crew are also coming to their senses."
Some of the crewmembers walked in, and one of them said, "Come on, let's watch a movie."
We all decided to watch movies and relax. Soon after the first movie ended, in which the main actor died, we played the next movie from the shelf. As it turns out, this new movie had the same main actor as the first movie.
One of the crew, named Boby, said, "What is this? Why are we watching this movie again?"
One of the crew replied, "What are you talking about? This is a new movie."
Boby replied with a loony bin face, "The guy is dead; he just died. I saw him die!"
A few of the crewmembers looked at each other with a question mark on their faces, and one of them replied to Boby, "Actors don't die, man."
Boby replied, all hysterical, "You are fucking with my head. I just saw him die. The guy is dead, you aren't going to fuck with my head. He is dead, he is dead!"
Boby ran into the corridor and screamed, "He is dead, he is dead…."
Boby left all the crew speechless.
The Cook said, "Maybe not everyone came to their senses."
I laughed, and Chief stopped by our messroom[1].
The Cook walked away to the kitchen, and Chief said, "We are in for some good times. The ship will change routes because there will be a low amount of cargo, and our sister ship will take over."
The Sailor said, "Better for us. There was something fishy going on in there anyway."
Chief said, "On the loading lists, cars with the same chassis number were transferred back and forth between the two ports. I concur…there is something fishy going on."
The Cook came back from the kitchen and said, "Cadet, take this sandwich to the Second Mate. He is on the bridge." The cook handed me the sandwich.
One of the crew, who was reading a letter, said, "That woman again. She will kill me one day."
The Cook said, "Women! I have two kids, and one day I came home from the ship. It was already past noon, and the kids hugged me and told me they were hungry. I looked at my wife sitting on the couch. I asked her where the food is, but she was busy watching TV. I gave her a few slaps and sent her to the kitchen. You need to remind her a few times who is the man of the house."
I left the conversation and dashed up the steps to the bridge door. Suddenly, the door swung open, and a hand grabbed my chest, yanking me inside. It was the Hobo Captain, clutching my chest with both hands and shaking me vigorously.
The Hobo Captain shouted with bonus 3D effects of brownish teeth and intoxicated breath from cigarettes and who knows what else, "What happened? Is the ship on fire? Someone died? Are we sinking? Tell me!"
I was confused for a second and looked at the Hobo Captain's red eyes that wanted to pop out of his skull.
I said in a low voice and raised my hand with the sandwich, "No. I brought a sandwich for the Second Mate."
Captain Hobo looked at the sandwich and released me from his grasp. He walked around the bridge and shouted, "If you run one more time to the bridge and there is no life-threatening situation, I'll send you home. Do you understand?"
I said, "Yes, Captain, but I wasn't really running, more like a fast walk."
Captain Hobo jumped around like a neurotic trippin' bum. He screamed, "Not running!! Not running!! You almost broke your neck. What then, huh? Tell me, huh? Who would notify your family, who? Me, and what should I tell your parents? 'I'm sorry he was not running but fast walking, and he broke his neck!'"
The 2nd Mate came out from the chart room. Now, with my brain rested, I was able to see him clearly. He was an imposing figure with a muscular and well-defined physique. His short, dark hair and intense eyes reflected his years of rigorous training and dedication. His chiseled facial features gave him a tough and formidable look. He addressed the Captain, "Captain, the boy was wrong. He will not do it again. Let me take care of him. Go relax in your cabin."
The Captain stopped for a second and looked a few times at the 2nd Mate and me. Captain Hobo said, "The Second Mate will take care of you. I have better things to do."
The Captain walked off the bridge and took the tension in the air with him. I took a big breath and relaxed my body.
The 2nd Mate said to me, "Don't worry about the Captain. He is really good, just panics too much."
I gave the sandwich to the 2nd Mate, and he said, "This is it? The cook didn't give you a bottle of wine?"
I looked over at the 2nd Mate and said, "No, just a sandwich. Hmm, are you sure the Captain is OK? He didn't look so, a few moments ago."
The 2nd Mate smiled and said, "Nah, he is one of the best Captains, I mean honest ones. You should see the other scum, like the one on the sister ship. That bastard is stealing money along with a few other Captains who rotate on these ships."
I was intrigued, so I asked the 2nd Mate, "Steal money, a Captain, how? I mean, why, since they have big wages."
The 2nd Mate looked at me while he chewed the sandwich and replied, "You have a lot to learn, kid, about how this world works. Money, the more you have it, the more you want it. You see, the cargo we transported—about 800 cars between ports that are three hours apart—so the Captain writes 800 cars lashing[2] on each trip and takes the money for himself. The company pays $1.50 per car, so do the math."
I said, "What? No way. Someone would report him. You are pulling my leg."
The 2nd Mate shook his head and said, "Hah, you watch too many movies. Here, you are nobody. Who do you think the company will believe more—you or the Captain? These guys are old sea wolves, or better said, old sea scumbags."
I asked the 2nd Mate, "How do you know all this?"
The 2nd Mate replied, "I worked a few times on these ships, and a few days ago I overheard a conversation between our Captain and the other one from the sister ship. That other scumbag was grinding our Captain to steal the money like they do so that the pattern of regular car lashing stays on paper. Because sooner or later, the company will start to wonder how every other Captain needs lashing and our Captain doesn't. Our Captain hung up on the other guy all pissed, so you see, he is a good guy."
I talked for a while with the 2nd Mate and gained a higher opinion of our Captain, Hobo. Our ship approached a pilot boarding area.
The 2nd Mate said, "Can you escort the pilot to the bridge?"
I looked down on the deck and saw a seaman near the pilot ladder.
I said, "Yes, of course."
The 2nd Mate gave me a portable VHF[3] radio, and I almost ran down the steps, but luckily for me, I didn't, because Captain Hobo watched me walk down the steps. He nodded his head. I reached the deck, and the pilot was already headed my way. I escorted him to the bridge. As we entered the bridge, the pilot came up to a well-dressed helmsman. The helmsman had fine pants, shirt, and tie.
The Pilot shook his hand and said, "Hello, Captain."
The helmsman gazed blankly and pointed at Captain Hobo, who was dressed in rags, unshaved and dirty. His tattered jacket had stuffing hanging out.
The Helmsman said to the pilot, "This is the Captain, sir. I'm just the helmsman."
The pilot looked at Captain Hobo for a few seconds. He probably wondered if this was the real deal, or if someone was joking with him.
Captain Hobo approached the pilot and said, "I'm the Captain. Welcome, sir, to our ship."
I handed the portable VHF radio back to the 2nd Mate and left the bridge, chuckling at the absurdity of it all as I made my way to my cabin. After a few hours, our ship was berthed[4] in port and ready for cargo operations. I heard someone yell on the stern of the ship.
I walked over to check it out. An excited engineer waved me closer. As I approached, I noticed a few other members gathering around as well.
The Engineer said, "Check this out. You see that car in the middle with the smoke coming up from the trunk?"
We all looked around, but the parking lot was massive, with hundreds and hundreds of cars. Before long, black smoke began to rise from one of them.
The Engineer said, "I saw two guys escaping from the car trunk. Soon after, there was smoke coming out. I tell you, it was those stowaways. They probably smoked a cigar in the trunk."
The car with black smoke went up in flames. In a few seconds, all the cars around caught fire, and the fire spread like crazy. I never saw anything like that in my life. In ten minutes, half of the parking lot was on fire. The cars ignited like matches. Parked in big square groups, they were soon surrounded by the local fireman team, who sprayed foam around the blazing vehicles. In no time, the brand-new cars were reduced to skeletal remains. There were no bumpers, no doors—just bare, fragile frames, as if they had been made entirely of plastic. The area looked like a terrorist attack, with all the destruction, firefighters, and police with lights and sirens.
One of the crew said, "Look at these new cars. They are just plastic. When I get home, I'm gonna sell my new car and buy me an old metal car."
The Engineer said, "Yeah, I bought a new car and had a couple of drinks. On the way home, the car was warning me to stop because it detected alcohol in my breath. I ignored it, and then the stupid car tried to kill me by saying it will automatically shut down. I was driving fast on a freeway, and the stupid car shut down, leaving me with no controls. I'm not sure how I managed to avoid a massive collision. The next day, I sold it and bought an old car with no electronics inside."
On the ship's speaker, Captain Hobo's voice echoed, "All port operations are stopped until further notice."