OVERBOARD
LUKE
The wind screamed, tearing through the air like it wanted to rip the boat apart, and the rain lashed against my face, soaking me to the bone. My hands were locked on the wheel, knuckles white, as the waves threw the boat around like a toy.
Pulau–Pulau Kur. That was the name Sarah swore would save us. A resort, a village, something. I wasn’t so sure. The map was smudged and crumpled from the rain now, and we could barely see anything past the bow. Just endless, angry water and darkness.
Pitch black.
“You sure we’re going the right way?” I yelled, leaning into the wheel to fight another brutal wave.
“Did you happen to see the storm? I don’t know which way we are going!” Sarah yelled back, her voice cutting through the chaos. She was hunched over the soggy map, hair sticking to her face as she jabbed at a spot with her finger. “Just keep – fucking going!”
Keep going. It was that easy. The engine groaned with the strain, and every time the boat pitched, I swear I could hear something snap somewhere.
“I am going!” I shot back, the words harsher than I intended.
A sharp cry of pain pulled my attention to the back of the boat. I
Vouch risked looking over my shoulder. Josh was lying on the bench, wrapped in the thinnest blanket we could find, shivering so hard it looked like his body was trying to shake itself apart.
His leg… God, his leg looked worse every time I checked. Swollen, angry red, maybe even infected.
If we didn’t get off this damn ocean soon, he wouldn’t make it.
Another wave slammed into the side of the boat, spraying cold seawater into my face. I growled, forcing my focus back out to see, hoping the island would miraculously just appear. Sarah was next to Josh, making sure he stayed in the land of the living.
“Is he okay?” I called over my shoulder, but Sarah didn’t answer. When I turned again, I saw Sarah make sure that Josh was strapped to the bench somehow to stop him from rolling off.
When she stood back up, another wave hit the boat, and she fell down. “I’m fine! I’m fine!” Sarah yelled, and I relaxed, but only just. I was still fighting an ocean here in nothing but a tin can- only this one wasn’t in the air this time.
Everything was black. The rain was relentless, and the boat felt like it was being thrown around by a vengeful god.
And then it happened.
The engine sputtered.
“No, no, no, don’t do this. Fuck!” I muttered slamming the wheel, flipping switches and pressing the ignition. The engine groaned again, coughed once, and then… silence.
28.17%
08.51
OVERBOARD
18ivdochersi
The boat pitched violently in the waves, completely at the mercy of the storm. My chest tightened as I tried the ignition again.
Nothing.
“What’s wrong?” Sarah’s voice was high–pitched, teetering on panic.
“We’re either out of fuel or the motor’s shot,” I said through gritted teeth, slamming my fist against the console.
“What the hell do we do now?” she asked, the fear raw in her
voice.
“I need to check the motor,” I said, already moving toward the hatch.
“Outside?”
“Where else?”
Her hand clamped down on my arm, stopping me. “You’re not going out there without a life jacket.”
“Sarah, I don’t have time for-”
“Put it on, Luke. I’m not arguing with you.”
Her eyes were fierce, and for once, I didn’t fight her. I grabbed the life jacket and strapped it on, the wet buckles slipping under my fingers.
“Happy now?” I muttered.
‘Not even close,” she shot back, holding a flashlight. “Go. Just… don’t fall overboard, okay?”
OVERBOARD
I didn’t answer. I pushed the hatch open and climbed out, Immediately hit by the full force of the storm. The rain lashed against me, the wind nearly tearing me off the deck. I grabbed the railing, holding on for dear life as the boat rocked violently beneath me.
Sarah’s flashlight cut a weak, pathetic beam through the darkness, barely illuminating the motor. I fought my way toward it, every step a battle against the thrashing waves and slick deck.
And then I saw it.
A massive wave, towering above us, rising like a black wall out of the storm.
My breath caught. “Shit.”
“Luke!” Sarah screamed from inside the cabin, but there was nothing I could do.
