Read Online Seabound (Seabound Chronicles Book 1) by Jordan Rivet - Free Book Online
Authors: Jordan Rivet
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and the others found out, she’d lose the
little freedom she had. They could fix this. Like Neal said, no one would need
to know.
“What about
Frank?” she said. She hated the idea of lying to her mentor, and he would
notice the damage anyway. How could he not?
Neal shrugged. “He
might be on board with the plan. He knows it’s not good for people to panic.
Plus I think he has sympathy for your whole Judith situation.”
“I’m more worried
he’ll forget and tell people the truth,” Esther said. “Doesn’t matter. This is
our only hope. You’re the best, Neal. This is why I stumbled to your doorstep
first.”
“No worries. And
you should really get that cut looked at. Just say you walked into a pipe in
the engine room or something.”
“Thanks.” She
hesitated in the doorway. “This means you’re going to meet Marianna, doesn’t
it?”
Neal nodded
slowly, his face pale. He looked down at the chart on his lap.
“I’m sure she’ll
be every bit as beautiful as her voice,” Esther said.
“Thanks, Esther. Now
go take care of yourself, and make sure no one goes into the desal room for a
while. With any luck, the repairs will be well underway before anyone realizes
what’s happened.”
Chapter 7—The Runner
Neal worked quickly. Esther had barely finished swabbing her cuts with precious iodine from the
ship’s infirmary when the horns rang out.
Whenever a
particularly bad storm gathered in their vicinity, Neal would warn the
community and send a full report to the bridge. He got most of his information
about the weather from other ships via radio. Sometimes he’d get a satellite
reading too, but those were sporadic at best. They’d been known to place a
storm a hundred nautical miles from its actual location. Rumor had it that was
how the old Helsinki went down. It
might have been carrying as many as five hundred survivors, but no one knew for
sure. Judith and Manny would weigh the weather data provided by Neal and the
risks of a major storm against their current power supply, then they’d make the
call: rider or runner.
Technically, the
council was supposed to decide whether to run from a storm or risk riding it
out, but over time they had grown complacent. Judith trusted the information provided
by Neal, and sometimes she’d have already ordered the old engine crew to move
before the rest of the council had roused from their bunks.
The crew spent
most of its time harvesting food. The Catalina had a speedboat that
could be taken out for fishing expeditions. They’d drive away from the big
vessel and bring in a catch that hadn’t been disturbed by the Catalina ’s
deep draft. The speedboat was rigged with fishing poles fashioned from billiard
cues and spears made out of golf clubs. When it wasn’t in use, it was hoisted
onto the ship in the place of a long-lost lifeboat. Fishing was one of the many
vital skills those on the Catalina had had to learn in order to survive.
Isaiah Newton had proved particularly adept at this occupation, and he led most
of the expeditions.
But whenever the Catalina needed to move, the fishing
crew, led by Isaiah, and the repair crew, led by Reggie, would trickle down
from other parts of the ship. They’d open the engine control room to fire up
the systems, and a handful of extra men would join Esther and Cally in the
engine room to keep an eye on everything. The big marine diesel cylinders would
grumble into motion, cranking out enough power to operate the propulsion
system. The Catalina would run until
it was out of reach of the worst of the weather system, and then it would drift
again.
When Judith called
a runner based on Neal’s fabricated storm warning, it was no different. Isaiah
dropped a load of fresh-caught Pacific herring by the kitchens and opened the
heavy metal door to the engine control room. Reggie and his crew arrived in the
main engine room, laughing and pushing each other, wiping grease onto their
threadbare work trousers. Esther and
little freedom she had. They could fix this. Like Neal said, no one would need
to know.
“What about
Frank?” she said. She hated the idea of lying to her mentor, and he would
notice the damage anyway. How could he not?
Neal shrugged. “He
might be on board with the plan. He knows it’s not good for people to panic.
Plus I think he has sympathy for your whole Judith situation.”
“I’m more worried
he’ll forget and tell people the truth,” Esther said. “Doesn’t matter. This is
our only hope. You’re the best, Neal. This is why I stumbled to your doorstep
first.”
“No worries. And
you should really get that cut looked at. Just say you walked into a pipe in
the engine room or something.”
“Thanks.” She
hesitated in the doorway. “This means you’re going to meet Marianna, doesn’t
it?”
Neal nodded
slowly, his face pale. He looked down at the chart on his lap.
“I’m sure she’ll
be every bit as beautiful as her voice,” Esther said.
“Thanks, Esther. Now
go take care of yourself, and make sure no one goes into the desal room for a
while. With any luck, the repairs will be well underway before anyone realizes
what’s happened.”
Chapter 7—The Runner
Neal worked quickly. Esther had barely finished swabbing her cuts with precious iodine from the
ship’s infirmary when the horns rang out.
Whenever a
particularly bad storm gathered in their vicinity, Neal would warn the
community and send a full report to the bridge. He got most of his information
about the weather from other ships via radio. Sometimes he’d get a satellite
reading too, but those were sporadic at best. They’d been known to place a
storm a hundred nautical miles from its actual location. Rumor had it that was
how the old Helsinki went down. It
might have been carrying as many as five hundred survivors, but no one knew for
sure. Judith and Manny would weigh the weather data provided by Neal and the
risks of a major storm against their current power supply, then they’d make the
call: rider or runner.
Technically, the
council was supposed to decide whether to run from a storm or risk riding it
out, but over time they had grown complacent. Judith trusted the information provided
by Neal, and sometimes she’d have already ordered the old engine crew to move
before the rest of the council had roused from their bunks.
The crew spent
most of its time harvesting food. The Catalina had a speedboat that
could be taken out for fishing expeditions. They’d drive away from the big
vessel and bring in a catch that hadn’t been disturbed by the Catalina ’s
deep draft. The speedboat was rigged with fishing poles fashioned from billiard
cues and spears made out of golf clubs. When it wasn’t in use, it was hoisted
onto the ship in the place of a long-lost lifeboat. Fishing was one of the many
vital skills those on the Catalina had had to learn in order to survive.
Isaiah Newton had proved particularly adept at this occupation, and he led most
of the expeditions.
But whenever the Catalina needed to move, the fishing
crew, led by Isaiah, and the repair crew, led by Reggie, would trickle down
from other parts of the ship. They’d open the engine control room to fire up
the systems, and a handful of extra men would join Esther and Cally in the
engine room to keep an eye on everything. The big marine diesel cylinders would
grumble into motion, cranking out enough power to operate the propulsion
system. The Catalina would run until
it was out of reach of the worst of the weather system, and then it would drift
again.
When Judith called
a runner based on Neal’s fabricated storm warning, it was no different. Isaiah
dropped a load of fresh-caught Pacific herring by the kitchens and opened the
heavy metal door to the engine control room. Reggie and his crew arrived in the
main engine room, laughing and pushing each other, wiping grease onto their
threadbare work trousers. Esther and
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