Roseanne's Summer Vacation- Chapter 37
God only knows how long it took Mr Orville to crawl to the dashboard. It might have been fifteen minutes or an hour, but he reached the front of the bridge. The problem was getting up.
The floor was slippery and, to make matters worse, the blood from the toe soaked through the makeshift dressing, and now the teacher could see a red stain at the tip of his trainer. The toe must have been swollen, too, but there was nothing he could do about it.
There was a steering wheel right above his head. It looked nothing like a traditional drawing included in children’s books, but more like a fancy wheel taken from a racing car.
I guess technological advancements are everywhere, Mr Orville thought.
He extended his tied hands and hung them on the steering wheel to pull himself up. He tried and tried, his bound feet sliding on the floor. Finally, he elevated himself to the standing position.
A quick glance at the dashboard revealed there was no tool that he could use to cut the ropes. There was only an array of buttons and unknown gauges.
He looked outside the front window. It was a cargo ship alright, and probably abandoned or not in use at the moment. The view of the empty cargo hold stretched out five metres below the bridge. The pier was completely empty, without a single crane or a truck. In the distance, he saw the lights of the Sea Towers high-rise. Then the sudden realisation hit him: Oh god, am I on the Khatanga?
Maybe people living in the high-rise there will notice him.
“Hey! Over here! Somebody help me!” he began screaming, but soon realised it was a fool’s errand. The ship was too damn far from the high-rise. To make matters worse, Tae-jun may hear his cry for help.
The teacher inspected the dark deck closely once more, but there was no sign of the abductor anywhere. Still, he had to be cautious.
Please, Roseanne. I hope you’ve taken everybody to the police and you’re safe there, he hoped in spirit. I need to get out of this mess on my own.
He began rubbing the hand knot against a rough-looking edge or a random handle on the dashboard. It was better than doing nothing.
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