Page 10 of Uncharted

We get to the pool and stop to run our hands through it. “Should we take a quick dip?” Dante looks about ready to strip his clothes off.

“I don’t want to get sidetracked.” Haley runs back to the trail. “Come on, a dip in the waterfall will feel a lot more fun as a reward after the hike.”

I grab Haley around the waist and kiss her. “But if it’s a do-nothing day, can’t we just go straight for the reward?”

“I’m with the redcoat on this one.” Dante’s got his shirt off.

“No.” Haley points to the two of us with her Chief Stew face. “Up you go.”

“Right. Up, up, up I go.” Dante adjusts himself and takes Haley’s hand. “Fine, but I’m walking next to you.”

It gets steeper with each passing minute. The vegetation actually changes some as well. There are fewer palm trees and more hardwoods. And when we hit a small clearing where there are only lava rocks, it’s drier and a hell of a lot warmer.

I turn around and offer Haley a hand to get up to the ledge I’m standing on.

“Damn, this is a proper mountain.”

“I told you, the island is a lot bigger than we first thought. Even after we saw it from the top of the map tree.” Calvin nods.

“Whoa.” Haley looks around. “What’s that over there?” She points to the East. Among the dark rocks, I can see an inky black hole.

“I don’t know. That way, though, has a cliff straight down. You can’t see over the edge though. There’s a wall that goes straight up. But I think it drops right back down on the other side.”

“Do you think it’s a cave? Like the one you and Easton spent the night in after the fight.”

“I... maybe? Only one way to find out.” Calvin reaches for Haley’s hand and helps her up to the next level.

I follow right behind. Calvin’s right, there’s a sheer cliff that goes straight up. It’s the way the rocks are stacked. It takes even more effort to work our way parallel across the mountain. But when we get there, I can hear the ocean on the other side of it. And even crazier yet, there’s a cave. This one was a lot bigger than the one Easton and Calvin spent their night in the doghouse in. Haley takes a step into it.

“No,” Calvin shouts.

Chapter5

Reveal Bearing

Sam

Land. Fucking Land. There’s a damn reef. And there’s nothing I can do about it. Absolutely nothing I can do about it. The squeal of metal against rock tearing at the hull makes my stomach flip. It’s raining again. It’s like it doesn’t know how to stop raining at night. That’s great when you have guests on board but not when you’re trying to navigate by the stars. Not that I’ve had control of the yacht for fucking forever. But this hunk of an almost ghost ship has at least had the decency to put me up on a reef next to an island. I’ve got one flashlight and one solar-powered recharger left. Other than that, everything is dead. I’ve spent the last weeks getting everything I can out of the ship. And I pitched a hell of a lot over the side of the boat. Anything I might need is here in the wheelhouse.

The wind smashes against the leeward side of the yacht. The waves push us up against the reef a little more with each one. I need to secure the ship. I’ve been dragging an anchor for weeks. I’m only fucking hoping that now, now it holds. But I can’t count on it. I pull my foul weather jacket closer around me. “Stay here.” I point to Penny. She’s lying on her bed. Her big eyes stare wide at me. “I mean it.” I close the door to the wheelhouse and fight with the wind to latch it. It’s fucking blowing. I hold on to the rail. With all the ship’s power gone, we’ve been listing since the first night. Our first miracle, whatever reef grabbed the hull has made the Rock Candy almost level. I’m not naive enough to trust it. I grip the side rail with every step. Peering over the bow, there might be a rock under the surface I can tie off to. But not in these waves, not now. I’ll have to wait for light. I fight my way back to the wheelhouse side door. I don’t pull off my coat, but I grab a flashlight and head into the belly of the ship. Down the stairs to the engine room. I run the light over the floor. There’s a small trail of water running down the middle to what should be to the drain. My light flicks over the silent engines, then I move to the walls. I can’t hear any water running, but the stream on the floor is coming from somewhere. Following the line—I find it.

Fuck.

There’s a foot-long crack in the interior hull. It’s seeping water. It’s not a lot. But even a single drip without the pumps running will fill the ship, eventually. This is more than a drip. Far more. I look around the space. Is there anything I haven’t stripped out of here? I’ve got two options: try and patch it to slow the leak or seal the compartment. If I work on the leak, I’m down here in the bilge. Another rogue wave like the one that pushed the Rock Candy up onto the reef and I could be trapped down here in a flipped vessel.

Fuck. Fixing this is just a band-aid. It’s got to look a hell of lot worse on the outside. I think of Calvin. He’s a genius with things like this. But I didn’t get to become captain without dealing with some shit. I can do this.

In the tool cubbies, I find an epoxy kit. It’s still in the wrapper. Like so many fucking things on this boat. I tear it open, tossing the plastic and paper wrapper on the floor. Holding the flashlight under my arm, I mix the two parts. Then I smear it over the crack. It’s water epoxy. It expands in the crack until the water slows and stops, but it’s not a fix. Next to the cubbies, there are several collision patches. They’re three-by-three-foot sheets that can be affixed on the outside of the ship with the same epoxy.

Fuck it. I grab one and the supplies I’ll need with them. Outside of the engine room, I pull the hatch shut and seal it. If my temporary patch doesn’t work, the hatch will slow down the flooding of the ship.

I put the kit down and second-guess myself. I go back and grab the second collision patch. The stairs going up top are straight, which is something I’m grateful for. Not having to fight the angle and the waves is fucking fantastic.

I leave the first patch sheet in the hallway behind the wheelhouse and go back for the second one. I’m sweating under my foul weather gear. When I get back to the wheelhouse, Penny is pacing. “Now? Now you have to go out?”

She jumps at the word out.

“It’s raining.” I look at her. She hates the rain almost as much as she hates swimming. “You sure?” She barks once and gives me half a sneeze. Her version ofdamn human, I said what I said.“Fine, let’s go. I clip her harness on her and take her out the back way through the massive salon and out onto the patio deck. It’s where guests would have had most of their dinners. The furniture is all slid to the side, and I’ve got the turf golf mat weighed down with two of the ugliest horse statues on the planet. Possibly. I might have already pitched the ugliest ones. That night is a bit hard to remember.

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