Joe turned back to the computer and tried to access the files that were stored on the system. He knew a little about computers and tried to see if there was anything he could salvage. He even searched for the disk Frank stored everything on, but it seemed to be missing. He continued to work until Frank came into the room, just after midnight.

Frank looked at Joe. “What are you doing in my room?”

“It’s our room.”

“Not anymore,” Frank said. “I’m older, or so I’ve been told. And I get my way. So, get out.”

“Forget it,” Joe said getting to his feet. “This is our room for the cruise. We share it. End of story.”

“I’m not going to argue with you,” Frank said stretching out on one of the beds. “But tomorrow, you’re moving out.”

Frank turned out the light, leaving Joe standing in the darkness. Joe mustered all his strength to keep from knocking Frank’s head off. Joe closed the computer and went over to his bed. As he drifted to sleep, he hoped his brother’s memory would return soon. He didn’t like the new Frank.

* * * * *

The next morning, Joe could feel the ship tossing and turning. A storm was raging outside. Joe struggled to stay on his feet as he dressed.

Joe left the room with a glance back at Frank who was still sound asleep. He went to his parents room and knocked on the door. A moment later, Fenton came to the door. Joe noticed his father looked pale and there were beads of perspiration on his forehead.

“Are you all right?” Joe asked, concerned.

“Just a little seasick.”

“Are you and mom going to join us later?”

“Maybe,” Fenton said.

“All right,” Joe said and Fenton closed the door.

Joe was the first one to the dining room. As he sat down, he realized there weren’t many people eating breakfast. He had just finished ordering when Nancy and Ned came into the room. Joe thought they both looked a little pale. They were wearing jeans and sweatshirts. Nancy seemed to have the same pants on as the day before.

Once they sat down, Joe asked, “Are you guys all right?”

“Yeah,” Nancy said. “But it was a rough night.”

“Do you want something to eat?” Joe asked.

Nancy closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn’t think about eating right then. “No thanks, Joe.”

“Maybe later,” Ned said.

“Okay,” Joe said.

Ned decided to change the subject. “Did you come up with anything?”

“No,” Joe said. I tried every possible thing I could to retrieve the information, but it’s gone. It wasn’t only erased from the hard drive either. Frank’s backup disk is missing too. He always saved everything he was working on to a disk, just in case the hard drive was erased.”

“So, what do we do now?” Ned asked leaning back in his chair.

“We need a stroke of luck,” Nancy said.

At that moment, Callie and Frank came into the dining room. As they sat down, Callie said, “I bumped into Frank on my way here.”

Frank sat down beside Callie and looked at Joe. He said, “Make sure you get your stuff out of my way today.”

“We have to share the room,” Joe said. “I’m not moving out.”

A loud explosion knocked them out of their seats and to the floor. As they struggled to their feet, they heard a voice over the loudspeaker. “Everyone move to the lifeboats. This is not a drill. Everyone move quickly to the lifeboats.”