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Leilani shook her head and rushed toward the passengers on the side of the boat closest to the speeding cigar boat. “Folks, listen up! I need you to move off the benches and get on the floor of the boat.”
The people looked at her, confused by her request. They had their backs to the oncoming threat.
“Why?” a man asked.
A woman pulled her child close. “What’s going on?”
Leilani didn’t have time to explain.
Angel stepped forward. “Just do it!” he yelled, his voice booming over the engine's roar. “Now!”
“And secure the buckles on your life vests,” Leilani added.
Their eyes wide, everyone tumbled to the deck, crowded together, a tangle of arms and legs.
Out of the corner of his eye, Angel saw the cigar boat turn at the last minute, skimming sideways across the water, still headed toward them.
He grabbed Leilani around the waist and sank to the deck, using his body to shield hers.
The cigar boat rammed into the side of the Windsong I, tossing the bigger boat like a buoy bobbing in a raging storm.
Passengers screamed, sliding across the deck and crashing into the people trapped against the benches.
When the boat rocked back the other way, they slid in the opposite direction, clinging to each other.
Angel held Leilani tightly around the middle, his legs wrapped around her hips and legs. As they slid across the deck, they didn’t have the benches in front of them to slow them down.
Angel extended his legs. When his feet hit the side of the boat, he bent his knees, absorbing the impact. If he hadn’t been holding onto Leilani, she might have been catapulted headfirst into the wall.
No sooner had they slid into the starboard side then the boat rocked violently in the opposite direction, flinging the passengers back across the deck.
Angel’s back hit the port wall, his body cushioning Leilani’s.
More screams cleaved the air.
The boat continued to rock, less and less violently, until it came to a stop.
Leilani started to get up.
Angel held onto her. “Stay down until the captain gives us the all-clear,” he said, his voice carrying over the frightened sobs of the women and children.
Those who had been trying to rise ducked down again.
Moments later, Captain Ako’s voice boomed from the upper deck. “It’s gone.” He looked over the edge of the upper deck. “Everybody all right?”
Angel released Leilani.
She leaped to her feet and helped others up from the pile of people on the floor.
Josh scrambled down the ladder, grabbed a snorkel and mask and jumped over the boat's port side.
Leilani and Angel leaned over the rail and watched the young deckhand swim along the hull, diving down several times along the length before reaching the bow. When he came up this time, he looked up to the top deck and called out, “The hull’s damaged, but I think we can make it back to the harbor.”
“Come aboard,” the captain said. “Let’s get this bucket moving.” He turned to Leilani. “I contacted the Coast Guard. They’re sending out a cutter to follow us in. The fire department has been alerted. They’re sending people to help those injured. They’ll be there when we get to the harbor. And our sister boat, the Windsong II, isn’t far behind us. If we run into trouble before we get back, we can transfer passengers to the Windsong II or the Coast Guard cutter if it gets here before we make it back to Maalaea Harbor.”
Leilani nodded and turned to the passengers.
“Is our boat sinking?” a woman asked.
