AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And colder. I’m going to put on a thermal suit.”
She disappeared below, started rooting around. He picked up the radio again. “Mayday, mayday. Is anyone receiving this?”
He heard grunting and looked down. She lay on a bench, sliding into the rubber thermal suit. “Good thing I lost a few pounds. Sheesh.”
He laughed.
The engine sputtered out.
“Shoot.”
“I’ll take a look,” Shae said and opened up the hatch.
Water filled the hatch, the engine partially drowned.
“Ned?”
“Yeah, I see it. There’s a bilge pump in the back.” He climbed down and found the pump attached to the wall.
She put the hatch cover back on as he pumped.
“Get on the radio and keep calling for help.”
The seas had roughened, the storm tossing them, and he fought to keep his balance as he pumped.
“It’s not working!”
Whether Shae was referring to the radio or the bilge pump, he didn’t know, because no, nothing was working.
The lights flickered off, the generator power dead.
So much for the radio.
Shae slipped down next to him. A sweat swept down his spine, despite the cold.
“Get a suit on,” she said. “I’ll pump.”
Probably a good idea. He found the biggest one, slipped off his shoes and put it on, taking off his vest and parka to get it over his body and shoulders.
He zipped it up. All one piece, it included booties—a giant onesie.
He stepped down.
The water had breached the compartment, now ankle deep in the well between the seats. But the thermal suit warded off the icy water.
“Good idea, Shae.”
“It probably won’t last us long, but it’s a start.”
Outside, the sea raged, and he’d seen his fair share ofDeadliest Catch. The swells in the Bering Sea could be thirty feet high, maybe more.
He’d give them another hour, maybe.
“Ned?”
He hadn’t realized he’d been standing there, listening to his heartbeat, until Shae put her hands on his chest.
Then she simply moved them around his neck and held on.
