Read A Man Overboard for Free Online

tell us what happened?”
    “Stacey…” he whispered.
    “Who is Stacey, Mr. Green?”
    “Stacey…”
    “Mr. Green, how did you fall off the ship?”
    His eyes were locked on nothing, a spell cast by the trauma that he couldn’t escape. “They had masks on…”
    “Who had masks on?”
    “Stacey…”
    “Stacey had a mask on?” The man looked confused.
    No, you idiot. Not Stacey! Why would Stacey have a mask on?

    “Mr. Green, we need to know if you were alone. Do you remember what room you’re in?”
    At that moment, the man who had run out of the room popped his head back in. “Jack and Stacey Green. The Eden suite.”
    “Eden…” A dozen scenarios could be seen playing out behind the man’s eyes. “Mr. Green,” he said, trying to get him to focus, “did you fall from your balcony?”
    But he could only whisper, “Masks…”
    The man stood and began directing traffic. “Take care of him, let me know when he becomes lucid. You check the room. Everyone else, start searching for Mrs. Green. Get photocopies of her ID and start handing them out. Do it quietly, but do it quickly and efficiently. We’ve been through this, you know what to do.”
    The crowd in the room dispersed.
    “You’re lucky someone saw you hit the water, Mr. Green. And that they raised an alarm.”

8
     
    Once Jack regained his senses, everything came back to him at once. “Stacey!” He jumped to his feet, and the infirmary staff, along with a security guard, moved to restrain him.
    “Where’s my wife?” Jack screamed, trying to push past them.
    “Mr. Green, please sit down and relax!”
    “Where’s my wife? Get the hell off me!”
    “Sir, please…”
    Jack punched him in the throat.
    More hands came at him, but he swatted them away and broke into the hallway. Hearing radios crackling behind him, he ran to the closest wall map, the YOU ARE HERE marker on the diagram letting him know how to get back to their suite. He took off sprinting down the carpeted hallway, cabin doors racing by him in blurs. When he came to the steps, he took them two at a time until he reached the appropriate deck. He didn’t know what time it was, but the fact that the ship was nearly deserted told him it was early. He flew past a row of duty-free shops and through a café before rounding the corner to the suites.
    Crew members and security personnel were congregated in the hallway by his door.
    “Stacey!” He pushed himself through them and stumbled into the room, only to be apprehended by two giant men.
    “Where is she?” he hollered, and tears leaked down his face.
    “Sir, we need you to calm down,” stated one of the men holding him.
    Your wife’s missing on a boat that’s floating in the middle of the ocean, and you were thrown overboard by men in black ski masks… Please just calm down.

    “Tell us what happened.” He recognized the voice from the infirmary.
    “I woke up and three masked men were in here. They grabbed me and took me out to the balcony.” He was talking loud and fast, thinking that time was short, thinking that Stacey may be out in the water somewhere.
    “They threw you over?”
    He aimed a furious stare at the man. “No, I asked them if they could assist me with a swim.”
    “We’re just trying to help, Mr. Green.”
    “By sitting around in my suite? My wife could be…” Anger began giving way to hopelessness. “She could be… Oh, God…” He was motioning toward the balcony, and the tears suddenly came unimpeded. “You have to search the water.”
    “We did, Mr. Green.”
    His breath caught. “What do you mean you did ?”
    “That was almost three hours ago, sir. I know you understand.”
    Three hours ? No… Wait. “Understand what?” He craned his neck, trying to get a glimpse of the guy holding him. But the strong arms didn’t relent and neither did any information.
    The man doing all the talking took a deep breath and seemed about to walk out of the room.
    “Where the hell are you