Read Online The Perseid Collapse by Steven Konkoly - Free Book Online
Authors: Steven Konkoly
Ads: Link
turning, having reached the limit of its rudder-induced maneuver against the current. He untangled his throbbing arm from the wheel and stared at the approaching shore for a moment.
“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” he hissed. The Katelyn Ann faced the rocks, unable to break free from the tsunami’s grasp.
He centered the rudder, careful to hold the wheel tight as the boat careened toward the ocean-sprayed ledge barricade seemingly obsessed with claiming the boat as a victim.
“One, two—move you son of a bitch!” he said, yanking the wheel left and sliding his arm between the spokes.
The thirty-eight-foot sailboat executed another strong turn to port, causing him to bite his lower lip as the metal spoke exerted a nearly unendurable pressure against his arm and shoulder. He growled at the wheel, biting his lip as it dug into his humerus, grinding muscle against bone. The pressure eased, and he struggled to his feet. The bow was pointed into safe water, and the visible end of the island drifted rapidly to starboard, less than one hundred feet away. He still wasn’t convinced that they would clear the island. Alex had always been good with angles, especially at sea. He did the math, comparing the tsunami direction with their position and shook his head.
“Kate! Get everyone on the starboard side! Heads down! I don’t know if we’re going to make it!”
He heard a flurry of activity below, accompanied by crying he hadn’t noticed during their violent journey out of the cove. He wished they had a more powerful engine. Sailboats were so damn underpowered for their size. A forty-horsepower engine in a sixteen-thousand-pound, thirty-eight-foot-long vessel. Utterly ridiculous. At the last possible moment, Alex put the engine in neutral to keep the propeller from fouling, and straightened the rudder with his left hand. The bow cleared the leading edge of the rocks with thirty feet to go, still turning with the current.
“Brace for impact!” he screamed.
He squeezed the wheel as the ledge disappeared beneath the starboard rail next to him. The massive jolt that would shipwreck them on Cliff Island never came.
“That’s right! You don’t fuck with the Katelyn Ann !” he screamed at the jagged obstacle, putting her back into gear and increasing the throttle to three-quarters.
He turned the rudder to port and eased the boat away from the southern shore, with plenty of safe water to maneuver ahead of him. The tsunami’s energy had faded quickly, allowing him to steer further port without being pushed back. A mile away, off the starboard bow, he watched the leading edge of the tsunami strike the low-lying, western half of Cliff Island, sending geysers of foamy seawater fifty feet into the air. The water swallowed the inhabited stretch of the island whole, sweeping away homes and dropping wooden utility poles. Everything disappeared. Gone.
“What’s going on!” yelled Kate.
“We made it. You have to see this.”
Kate emerged hesitantly, scanning around to gain her bearings. Her gaze once again settled on Alex.
“What happened to you?” she said, rushing over to help him.
“I decided to punch myself in the mouth for agreeing to buy a sailboat,” he said.
“It was your idea,” she said, reaching out to touch his lip.
“How are the kids?”
“Shaken up. Emily has a few bumps and bruises. I think we got lucky.”
“You have no idea,” he said, nodding behind the boat at the rocks.
Kate stared aft for a few moments, no doubt examining the boat’s wake through the water.
“You almost crashed us,” she remarked.
For the briefest moment, he thought she might be serious. He could tell she was trying desperately to suppress a grin, which in Alex’s mind saved her from being pushed overboard. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed, causing him to wince. She released the hug immediately.
“What happened?”
“I think my arm is broken. I used it to keep the wheel from
“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” he hissed. The Katelyn Ann faced the rocks, unable to break free from the tsunami’s grasp.
He centered the rudder, careful to hold the wheel tight as the boat careened toward the ocean-sprayed ledge barricade seemingly obsessed with claiming the boat as a victim.
“One, two—move you son of a bitch!” he said, yanking the wheel left and sliding his arm between the spokes.
The thirty-eight-foot sailboat executed another strong turn to port, causing him to bite his lower lip as the metal spoke exerted a nearly unendurable pressure against his arm and shoulder. He growled at the wheel, biting his lip as it dug into his humerus, grinding muscle against bone. The pressure eased, and he struggled to his feet. The bow was pointed into safe water, and the visible end of the island drifted rapidly to starboard, less than one hundred feet away. He still wasn’t convinced that they would clear the island. Alex had always been good with angles, especially at sea. He did the math, comparing the tsunami direction with their position and shook his head.
“Kate! Get everyone on the starboard side! Heads down! I don’t know if we’re going to make it!”
He heard a flurry of activity below, accompanied by crying he hadn’t noticed during their violent journey out of the cove. He wished they had a more powerful engine. Sailboats were so damn underpowered for their size. A forty-horsepower engine in a sixteen-thousand-pound, thirty-eight-foot-long vessel. Utterly ridiculous. At the last possible moment, Alex put the engine in neutral to keep the propeller from fouling, and straightened the rudder with his left hand. The bow cleared the leading edge of the rocks with thirty feet to go, still turning with the current.
“Brace for impact!” he screamed.
He squeezed the wheel as the ledge disappeared beneath the starboard rail next to him. The massive jolt that would shipwreck them on Cliff Island never came.
“That’s right! You don’t fuck with the Katelyn Ann !” he screamed at the jagged obstacle, putting her back into gear and increasing the throttle to three-quarters.
He turned the rudder to port and eased the boat away from the southern shore, with plenty of safe water to maneuver ahead of him. The tsunami’s energy had faded quickly, allowing him to steer further port without being pushed back. A mile away, off the starboard bow, he watched the leading edge of the tsunami strike the low-lying, western half of Cliff Island, sending geysers of foamy seawater fifty feet into the air. The water swallowed the inhabited stretch of the island whole, sweeping away homes and dropping wooden utility poles. Everything disappeared. Gone.
“What’s going on!” yelled Kate.
“We made it. You have to see this.”
Kate emerged hesitantly, scanning around to gain her bearings. Her gaze once again settled on Alex.
“What happened to you?” she said, rushing over to help him.
“I decided to punch myself in the mouth for agreeing to buy a sailboat,” he said.
“It was your idea,” she said, reaching out to touch his lip.
“How are the kids?”
“Shaken up. Emily has a few bumps and bruises. I think we got lucky.”
“You have no idea,” he said, nodding behind the boat at the rocks.
Kate stared aft for a few moments, no doubt examining the boat’s wake through the water.
“You almost crashed us,” she remarked.
For the briefest moment, he thought she might be serious. He could tell she was trying desperately to suppress a grin, which in Alex’s mind saved her from being pushed overboard. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed, causing him to wince. She released the hug immediately.
“What happened?”
“I think my arm is broken. I used it to keep the wheel from
Similar Books
