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I was the illegal one.
I was the one who had to ensure I was never sent back.
Just me.
Panic overrode my sadness. “I-I’m fine.” I fought to clamber to my feet again.
I have to leave.
Now.
I went to push up, but my ankle refused, sending a thousand bolts of pain up my leg.
I cried out.
“Don’t.” The girl struggled to come to me, held fast by her mother. “Don’t move. Not until a doctor has patched you up. We have good doctors. I promise they’ll make you better. Mum. Tell him to stop moving. He’s hurt.”
The girl’s eyes welled with tears as if distraught at my pain. A boy she’d never met before but somehow felt so responsible for his well-being.
I could survive a storm and run from murderers, but for some reason, I couldn’t fight her.
I fell back down, breathing hard.
I caught her stare.
My chest tightened.
And I nodded.
I nodded to them taking me to the hospital. To the risk of being deported. To death that continued to stalk me.
A man suddenly leapt down the short steps by the kitchenette, his bare feet nimble and well used to nautical life. He froze as he noticed us, his brown hair and blue eyes were darker than his daughter’s but just as shrewd. “Ah, you’re awake. I was hoping you would come round.”
Striding forward in red swimming trunks and a white t-shirt, he clapped his hands and beamed. “I’ve pulled many things from the ocean, but never a boy before.” Squatting down to face me, he dropped his attention to my wrist and ankle. “Didn’t Neri tell you not to move? Never mind. We’re on land now. Just a short drive, and you’ll be right as rain in a jiffy.”
I didn’t have time to move or refuse as his strong arms wrapped around me, hoisting me to my feet with a powerful wrench. “There you go. Good as new.”
My chin tipped downward as sickness crashed through me.
Pain and vertigo.
Lightheadedness and nausea.
I moaned and swayed in his hold.
“Easy does it, mate. Just give me a heads up if you’re gonna hurl and try to hop on your good leg.” Leading me toward the short flight of steps to the upper deck, he huffed under his breath. “This isn’t gonna be fun, but I carried you down here, and I can carry you back up. You’re a lean bean, and I’m used to wrangling whales, don’t you know.”
I groaned again as my vision washed in and out, and then...somehow, I was in his arms. Scooped up as if I weighed nothing. He grunted as he hauled me to the top deck.
I screamed as my ankle bashed against the safety barrier.
“Oops, sorry. Watch out for your appendages.” The guy tripped forward, keeping me tight in his arms. “Hold on to my neck. There you go. That’s a good lad.”
“Dad. Careful. You’re gonna break him even more.” Neri’s voice slipped through my ringing ears, giving me an anchor as the world swept in and out.
The black spots were back.
Woozy waves crashed over my mind.
