Page 50 of Adrift

“What?” I keep paddling. A light hand lands on my leg and gives me a squeeze.

“Let me take a turn.” Haley’s palm is open and up at me.

But I can’t give it to her. The burning in my arms is helping me process. I turn around. “Lost as in missing?”

Calvin flashes the light, and I wish I’d taken the boy scout unit on Morse Code more seriously. Long-short-short. Is that a D or a G? I don’t remember. I stop watching.

The other raft replies.

“I’m sorry, Easton. It says Candy’s dead.”

I nod. Damn, I don’t know how to feel about that. It’s horrible, but so was she. The whole absurdity of this situation is crazy. Am I heartless because I feel nothing for the loss of her life? She was tricking my dad into marrying her, but still. I take a breath in. This is a stressful time, and there is no way my emotions are going to match what’s going on around me.

“Let me paddle.” Haley takes the paddle from me, and I let her. I check on the chef. He’s breathing. I have a degree in sports medicine. I know more about concussions, torn tendons, and how to rehab, but I’ve bandaged him up the best I could. Hopefully, his brain doesn’t swell. I take my phone out of my pocket. I use the flashlight feature to check his pupils. They’re not dilated, and his heartrate is fine. He’s cold. I pull some towels around him.

“Is he okay?” Calvin is pointing the light back at the boat, one tiny prick of light out in the night in that direction.

“The towels should help.” But the sea spray is getting worse. There’s a bailing bucket attached to the toolkit. I take it and get to work. There’s not much water getting in, but there’s some. And with each larger wave we ride, we get more.

Calvin stops flashing at the tiny speck of light behind us. “We’re not making any progress. Catching them.” He flashes a long sequence at the other raft. “They’re paddling to us too.” Calvin puts the lamp down.

“Fuck.” Zane stops paddling, and Haley does too. “What do you want to do?”

They all seem to act like Calvin is in charge. “We’re not making any headway. It’s getting dark. And it’s going to be alot harder to get the top up in the pitch black. With the storm kicking up, we’re going to get rain soon, and then we’re going to be bailing all night.”

“So call the paddling off?” I look at Calvin.

“Yes.” Calvin looks away from me. “I think we need to put the sun enclosure up and call it a night.”

I stare at the other raft. They’re tiny specks on the water, a mile or more away. Fuck, I hate the ocean. But if Candy is dead, my dad’s going to lose it for sure.

A hand lands on my leg. “You’re not thinking of swimming to them, are you?” Haley’s blue eyes are dark, reminding me of how dark it is right now. Maybe if I’d jumped sooner... but pool swimming and ocean swimming are completely different.

“No.” I totally was. “What can I do to help?”

Calvin unrolls a large plastic covering. “Move next to Zane.”

Haley comes to me. We stretch the covering over the top of the chef while sitting in the windows. Zane zips one side and passes the zipper to Haley. Calvin does the same to me. Then we crawl inside, and Zane uses a small hand pump to blow up supports on both sides. A heavy Velcro seals the top to the raft, and we zip the windows shut.

It’s warm in the raft. But with no more water flopping in, we all bail out the areas around where we are sitting. It’s nowhere near dry, but it’s not too bad.

“If anyone has anything they don’t want to lose, I’ll put it in the sack the tube was in and clip it in.” Calvin passes the bag around. He starts the bag by putting in his hat. Zane puts nothing in it. I take off my shoes; I’d put them on when I heard the alarm. I was asleep, and it was a force of habit. All the years living in boarding schools with pulled fire alarms. I never wanted to be waiting in the snow in slippers or bare feet. I add the running shoes and pass it to Haley.

“I have nothing. I think I’m going to keep my shoes on. I just wish I had a hair tie.”

“Oh, I don’t have a hair tie, but what about a bandana?” I pull my bandana out. It’s purple and green and has the company logo on it.

“What, are you in a gang?” Calvin is fiddling with the equipment box.

“No.” I manage a laugh. “Rockwell Harding gives them out at events. I stuffed it in my pocket last night. I was going to show Emily the design. She drew it. But then, well...” I don’t need to talk about what happened at dinner. Now that Candy’s gone, I suppose I never need to tell Dad about what she was doing. But that’s up to Emily. “You can have it, Haley. I’m pretty sure you deserve more for saving my life.”

“Of course. How could I not have come back for you?”

I laugh. She’s so pure at heart. “I hate to say it, but most of the people I know wouldn’t have rushed back onto a sinking boat for someone, let alone gone twice. You’re a hero—all of you are heroes.” I can’t see their faces, but I’m pretty sure Calvin growls and Zane scoffs. Interesting. None of them enjoyed being called heroes.

“Oh, that’s so much better. Having my wet hair off my face and neck. Thank you.” She leans over and goes for a kiss on what I assume she thinks is my cheek but hits my lips. It’s a quick smack, but it sends chills through my body.

Raindrops hit the top canvas slowly, and then they build. The wind pulses at us, tossing us more than before. Or maybe it’s the darkness. With the top up, I can just make out bodies around me: Haley is on one side of me, Zane is next to her, and Calvin across from me. Dante’s head is next to me.

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