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“You’re the best,” I said, blowing them a kiss before rushing back upstairs.
Ryker’s room was still dark when I let myself in. He was snoring softly as he slept, stretched out on the bed like a starfish. If I didn’t sleep next to him he took full advantage of the free space.
“Morning!” I yelled out the greeting before running and flopping on top of him. He let out a grunt before his long limbs wrapped around me.
“You’re a brat. I’ll make Lincoln spank you,” he muttered sleepily.
I kissed him quickly before scrambling away. “Who do you think sent me? Get your ass downstairs before I get done waking Ethan or you miss out on the box.”
“Fine,” he whined. I waited until he’d at least sat up before walking away, knowing he’d be angry at himself if he missed it.
Ethan’s snores were louder, but he was sleeping with his arms wrapped around one of my stuffed alpacas. Not one to miss an opportunity, I clicked on the bathroom light so I had enough light for a few pictures.
“No!” he protested as he blinked his eyes open to see me snapping the shots and laughing maniacally.
“Oh yes,” I countered. “This is going up on the blog.”
“You’re mean,” he said without much heat. Ethan was at least already climbing out of bed and heading for the bathroom.
“Be down quick, I’m opening the box,” I called after him. He mumbled something around his toothbrush that I assumed meant ‘yes ma’am’ before I let myself out.
Ryker was walking out at the same time as I was and shot me a smug grin before taking the stairs two at a time, effectively beating me to the dining room.
“Who is the brat now, Ry?” I joked as I took my seat. A plate and coffee were put in front of me and I took a few bites before I pushed it away to grab the box. Ethan reached us by the time I had it situated on the table so I pried it open. It protested against the years of rust and ruin but opened much easier than the hatch had.
“Letters,” I announced as I grabbed out a huge stack of them. There was nothing more underneath, just the letters themselves.
“Wait, you never finished explaining the vision,” Sully said.
“I was too busy freezing,” I answered. It was a chore to peel off the icy clothes and get in the shower last night. “But the vision was in the same hall we were in, and honestly the same type of storm. I couldn’t make out the words even as the crew shouted around me. Then these two men ran up, one with the box frantically trying to find somewhere to hide it. The other had an idea and I followed them on deck. They hid it where I found it, in the mechanical panel next to a vent. Just as I was coming out of it, they said they had to abandon ship. A huge fire, just like we’d figured out. They mentioned an island and a cave they could ride the storm out in.”
“So the ghost who told us ‘cave’ was trying to tell us where they were,” Ethan said. “I just wish we had coordinates.”
Ben grumbled. “I didn’t get a single reply from any of the people I contacted. They’d have to actually get back to me for that to matter.”
“Maybe we should go to the bridge for EVP, get concrete evidence of coordinates to share,” Sully said. “If they want to be found, they have to help us.”
“Otherwise it’s a guessing game,” I agreed. “Maybe if we do find that, we have our followers tag the Navy. That’s tens of thousands of people, surely they can’t ignore that.”
“Imagine the traffic on our vlog we’d get from that,” Lincoln said. “Some will call it bullshit.”
“Oh, like you did before you met me?” I teased. Lincoln frowned while the rest of us cracked up at the reminder of our previous rivalry. He’d thought I was a fraud until I proved otherwise.
“Shut it, sunshine,” he threatened playfully.
“So what’s in the letters?” Sully asked loudly before we could delve into our usual teasing bickering.
“Let’s find out,” I said, passing out the stack of letters so everyone could grab a few. The moment I opened the first one my heart sank. I started to read out loud. “Dear Lilah. The ship is going down, so if this reaches you, I’m already gone. I’m so sorry that I had to leave you and our son. I love you so much, make sure he knows I love him too.” It went on but I couldn’t read anymore as my eyes blurred with tears.
“They’re all goodbyes,” Ethan said, his own voice thick with unshed tears. “This one’s to his parents.”
“A lover,” Sully said heavily.
“A mom,” Ben added on. “Fuck, we have to get these out. They put their names on the envelopes. Someone has to be able to help us.”
“But whoever they sent these to are likely gone,” Ethan said.
“But maybe their kids aren’t,” I pointed out. “I guarantee someone would want them. Even if they’re great-grandkids by now.”
