Read Online Sedulity (Book One) Impact by David Forsyth - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: David Forsyth
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burst
off their hinges under the pressure of tons of water rushing down, towards the
bow of the ship. The theater was the destination for much of the water that the
initial wave had deposited inside the ship. The water gushed into the theater
on the lower level and cascaded down from the balcony levels above. The
passengers were terrified, but most of them remained in their seats. Within
seconds the water was swirling around Lydia’s ankles and rising rapidly. She
lost her grip on the armrest of her seat and fell forward into the churning
water, drifting clumsily towards the tilted stage.
Most of the people in the theater were still dry, although
they were thrown forward against the seatbacks in front of them, but the
traumatizing experience caused more than one heart attack and countless cases
of wet underwear. The seawater pooled at the front of the theater, flooding
only the first few rows of seats in front of the stage, but the image of
thousands of gallons of seawater flowing into the room sent the majority of
passengers gathered there into hysterics. Their screams and cries only added to
the atmosphere of disaster. Lydia wanted to do something to help calm them, but
was hard pressed to save herself by clinging onto the lip of the stage while
water spilled over it and down into the backstage clutter beyond.
Before panic could grip her, there was another large crashing
sound and Lydia realized that the bow of the ship was digging into the ocean
again. The ship creaked under the strain of titanic forces and it was not at
all clear that it would hold together. Rapid deceleration threw Lydia across
the stage towards a dark and churning whirlpool.
****
Kevin held his breath as the bow buried itself into the
bottom of the trough. Fortunately the wavelength of the impact generated
tsunamis were far enough apart to give the ship time to pull herself level and
try to climb the next wave. This one was much smaller, less than half the size
of the first wave, but Kevin wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. The ship had
been able to climb up and over the first mountain of water, but it looked like
it would smash straight through this one. Captain Krystos again called out,
“Sound collision alarm!” His voice was calm and commanding. The ship’s horn and
klaxon blared defiantly.
Kevin clung to a radar console where he had fallen during the
decent down the back of the first wave and turned to watch Captain Krystos when
the Sedulity ’s bow bit into the second wave. He was surprised at the
expression on the Captain’s face. It wasn’t fear. It was closer to wonder. The
Captain almost seemed to smile as the ship cut through the second wave. Walls
of whitewater hundreds of feet high leapt aside when the ship tore into the mammoth
swell. Again the Bridge Wings were flooded through the broken windows, but the
armored windshields in front of the Bridge took a mighty beating and held
together. For a second the ship became a submarine. Then it broke free of the
grasp of the wave and shrugged off the water engulfing her, climbing up and
over what remained of the wave and dropping back into the next trough.
Another wave loomed ahead, but this one was much smaller than
the last two, no more threatening than your typical hundred and fifty foot
rogue wave. In other words, a deadly threat to most vessels, something that no
sailor ever hoped to face, but far less deadly than the two monster waves the Sedulity had already survived. The ship smashed through this one with a mighty shudder
and heave that made the bow rise sharply, but then cut cleanly through the face
of the wave and emerged upon an almost flat sea beyond.
The flooded Bridge quickly drained through the shattered wing
windows and storm scuppers. The Captain turned to survey the damage around him.
Water had briefly risen higher than most of the consoles and instrument panels
during their passage through the second wave, causing electrical short circuits
and
off their hinges under the pressure of tons of water rushing down, towards the
bow of the ship. The theater was the destination for much of the water that the
initial wave had deposited inside the ship. The water gushed into the theater
on the lower level and cascaded down from the balcony levels above. The
passengers were terrified, but most of them remained in their seats. Within
seconds the water was swirling around Lydia’s ankles and rising rapidly. She
lost her grip on the armrest of her seat and fell forward into the churning
water, drifting clumsily towards the tilted stage.
Most of the people in the theater were still dry, although
they were thrown forward against the seatbacks in front of them, but the
traumatizing experience caused more than one heart attack and countless cases
of wet underwear. The seawater pooled at the front of the theater, flooding
only the first few rows of seats in front of the stage, but the image of
thousands of gallons of seawater flowing into the room sent the majority of
passengers gathered there into hysterics. Their screams and cries only added to
the atmosphere of disaster. Lydia wanted to do something to help calm them, but
was hard pressed to save herself by clinging onto the lip of the stage while
water spilled over it and down into the backstage clutter beyond.
Before panic could grip her, there was another large crashing
sound and Lydia realized that the bow of the ship was digging into the ocean
again. The ship creaked under the strain of titanic forces and it was not at
all clear that it would hold together. Rapid deceleration threw Lydia across
the stage towards a dark and churning whirlpool.
****
Kevin held his breath as the bow buried itself into the
bottom of the trough. Fortunately the wavelength of the impact generated
tsunamis were far enough apart to give the ship time to pull herself level and
try to climb the next wave. This one was much smaller, less than half the size
of the first wave, but Kevin wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. The ship had
been able to climb up and over the first mountain of water, but it looked like
it would smash straight through this one. Captain Krystos again called out,
“Sound collision alarm!” His voice was calm and commanding. The ship’s horn and
klaxon blared defiantly.
Kevin clung to a radar console where he had fallen during the
decent down the back of the first wave and turned to watch Captain Krystos when
the Sedulity ’s bow bit into the second wave. He was surprised at the
expression on the Captain’s face. It wasn’t fear. It was closer to wonder. The
Captain almost seemed to smile as the ship cut through the second wave. Walls
of whitewater hundreds of feet high leapt aside when the ship tore into the mammoth
swell. Again the Bridge Wings were flooded through the broken windows, but the
armored windshields in front of the Bridge took a mighty beating and held
together. For a second the ship became a submarine. Then it broke free of the
grasp of the wave and shrugged off the water engulfing her, climbing up and
over what remained of the wave and dropping back into the next trough.
Another wave loomed ahead, but this one was much smaller than
the last two, no more threatening than your typical hundred and fifty foot
rogue wave. In other words, a deadly threat to most vessels, something that no
sailor ever hoped to face, but far less deadly than the two monster waves the Sedulity had already survived. The ship smashed through this one with a mighty shudder
and heave that made the bow rise sharply, but then cut cleanly through the face
of the wave and emerged upon an almost flat sea beyond.
The flooded Bridge quickly drained through the shattered wing
windows and storm scuppers. The Captain turned to survey the damage around him.
Water had briefly risen higher than most of the consoles and instrument panels
during their passage through the second wave, causing electrical short circuits
and
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