ten minutes, to make sure she’s asleep, then look over at Bree.
“ Can you hold her?” I ask.
Bree hurries over to my side, and slowly I get up and place Rose in her arms instead.
I stand, my legs cramped, and walk to the front of the boat, beside Logan. We continue to race upriver, the sky breaking, and as I look out at the water, I don’t like what I see.
Small chunks of ice are beginning to form in the Hudson in this freezing morning. I can hear them pinging off the boat. This is the last thing we need.
But it gives me an idea. I lean over the boat, water spraying me in the face, and put my hands in the freezing water. It is painful to the touch, but I force my hand all the way, trying to grab a small chunk of ice as we go. We are going too fast, though, and it’s hard to grab one. I keep missing by a few inches.
Finally, after a minute agony, I catch one. I lift my hand, shaking from the cold, rush over, and hand the ice to Bree.
She takes it, wide-eyed.
“ Hold this,” I say.
I go back and take the other bandage, the bloody one, and wrap the ice in it. I hand it to Bree.
“ Hold this against her wound.”
I am hoping it will help numb her pain, maybe stop the swelling.
I turn my attention back to the river and look around, on all sides, as the morning becomes increasingly bright. We are racing farther and farther north, and I’m relieved to see no signs of the slaverunners anywhere. I hear no engines and detect no movement on either side of the river. The silence is, in fact, ominous. Are they waiting for us?
I come up to the passenger seat, beside Logan, and glance down at the gas tank. Less than a quarter tank. It doesn’t bode well.
“ Maybe they’re gone,” I venture. “Maybe they turned back, gave up the search.”
“ Don’t count on it,” he says.
As if on cue, suddenly, I hear the roar of an engine. My heart stops. It is a sound I’d recognize anywhere in the world: their engine.
I turn to the back of the boat and look out at the horizon: sure enough, there, about a mile away, are the slaverunners. They are racing towards us. I watch them come, feeling helpless. We are nearly out of ammo, and they are well-equipped and well manned, with tons of weapons and ammunition. We don’t stand a chance if we fight them, and we don’t stand a chance of outrunning them: they are already closing in. We can’t try to hide again, either.
We have no choice but to confront them. And that would be a losing battle. It is like a death sentence racing towards us on the horizon.
“ Maybe we should surrender!” Ben yells out, looking back, terrified.
“ Never,” I say.
I can’t imagine becoming their prisoner again.
“ If I go down, it’s as a dead man,” Logan echoes.
I try to think, pressing my mind for any solution.
“ Can’t you go any faster!?” I press Logan, as I watch them close the gap.
“ I’m going as fast as I can!” he shouts back, over the roar of the engine.
I don’t know what else to do. I feel so helpless. Rose is awake now, wailing again, and Penelope barks. I feel as if the whole world is closing in on me. If I don’t think quick, come up with some solution, we will all be dead in minutes.
I scan the boat, looking for any weapons, anything at all, that I can use.
Come on. Come on.
Suddenly, I spot something, and I get a crazy idea. It is so crazy, I realize, that it might just work.
Without hesitating, I jump into action. I run across the boat, going right for the huge ball of zip line I salvaged from my dad’s house. I immediately start to untangle it.
“ Help me!” I yell sharply to Ben.
He hurries over and together, we begin to loosen and untangle the hundreds of yards of zip line.
“ Hold that end,” I say. “I’ll hold this end. Loop by loop, straighten it out as much as you can.”
“ What are you doing?” Logan screams, looking back.
“ I have an idea,” I say. I look straight ahead, and see the river narrowing. It’s perfect.
“ Can you hold her?” I ask.
Bree hurries over to my side, and slowly I get up and place Rose in her arms instead.
I stand, my legs cramped, and walk to the front of the boat, beside Logan. We continue to race upriver, the sky breaking, and as I look out at the water, I don’t like what I see.
Small chunks of ice are beginning to form in the Hudson in this freezing morning. I can hear them pinging off the boat. This is the last thing we need.
But it gives me an idea. I lean over the boat, water spraying me in the face, and put my hands in the freezing water. It is painful to the touch, but I force my hand all the way, trying to grab a small chunk of ice as we go. We are going too fast, though, and it’s hard to grab one. I keep missing by a few inches.
Finally, after a minute agony, I catch one. I lift my hand, shaking from the cold, rush over, and hand the ice to Bree.
She takes it, wide-eyed.
“ Hold this,” I say.
I go back and take the other bandage, the bloody one, and wrap the ice in it. I hand it to Bree.
“ Hold this against her wound.”
I am hoping it will help numb her pain, maybe stop the swelling.
I turn my attention back to the river and look around, on all sides, as the morning becomes increasingly bright. We are racing farther and farther north, and I’m relieved to see no signs of the slaverunners anywhere. I hear no engines and detect no movement on either side of the river. The silence is, in fact, ominous. Are they waiting for us?
I come up to the passenger seat, beside Logan, and glance down at the gas tank. Less than a quarter tank. It doesn’t bode well.
“ Maybe they’re gone,” I venture. “Maybe they turned back, gave up the search.”
“ Don’t count on it,” he says.
As if on cue, suddenly, I hear the roar of an engine. My heart stops. It is a sound I’d recognize anywhere in the world: their engine.
I turn to the back of the boat and look out at the horizon: sure enough, there, about a mile away, are the slaverunners. They are racing towards us. I watch them come, feeling helpless. We are nearly out of ammo, and they are well-equipped and well manned, with tons of weapons and ammunition. We don’t stand a chance if we fight them, and we don’t stand a chance of outrunning them: they are already closing in. We can’t try to hide again, either.
We have no choice but to confront them. And that would be a losing battle. It is like a death sentence racing towards us on the horizon.
“ Maybe we should surrender!” Ben yells out, looking back, terrified.
“ Never,” I say.
I can’t imagine becoming their prisoner again.
“ If I go down, it’s as a dead man,” Logan echoes.
I try to think, pressing my mind for any solution.
“ Can’t you go any faster!?” I press Logan, as I watch them close the gap.
“ I’m going as fast as I can!” he shouts back, over the roar of the engine.
I don’t know what else to do. I feel so helpless. Rose is awake now, wailing again, and Penelope barks. I feel as if the whole world is closing in on me. If I don’t think quick, come up with some solution, we will all be dead in minutes.
I scan the boat, looking for any weapons, anything at all, that I can use.
Come on. Come on.
Suddenly, I spot something, and I get a crazy idea. It is so crazy, I realize, that it might just work.
Without hesitating, I jump into action. I run across the boat, going right for the huge ball of zip line I salvaged from my dad’s house. I immediately start to untangle it.
“ Help me!” I yell sharply to Ben.
He hurries over and together, we begin to loosen and untangle the hundreds of yards of zip line.
“ Hold that end,” I say. “I’ll hold this end. Loop by loop, straighten it out as much as you can.”
“ What are you doing?” Logan screams, looking back.
“ I have an idea,” I say. I look straight ahead, and see the river narrowing. It’s perfect.
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