Mari forgot about her phone, the emails, and her cheating boyfriend. Stark terror held her immobile as she took in the scene before her.
Water rose rapidly to the level of her legs, sloshing up her front and soaking her. She brushed her hair out of her eyes, trying to clear her vision. The ship was sinking. She had only seconds to react, and her instincts told her to climb up to the ship’s deck. If she stayed down here, she’d drown.
The water weighed down her clothes, making it harder for her to move. She stripped off her capris, thankful for the bikini bottoms she’d thrown on earlier.
Still, trying to trudge through the water was like trying to make lead float. The effort had her panting despite the coolness of the water, and she struggled to get out of her cabin, the rushing water forcing her back and frustrating her.
She took a deep breath.
Mari ducked under the water, out of the current. When she was finally able to make it through the door, her arms had weakened. Exhausted, she waded slowly through the water.
She didn’t see anyone else in the narrow hallway that connected the cabins—she didn’t stop to look for anyone, either. The water kept rushing in, fast enough that if she didn’t hurry, she’d end up as food for the bottom feeders.
Mari stood on her tiptoes and rose high enough to the ceiling to breathe through a small pocket of air. She gasped and then looked around her. The hall had been narrow but tall, and now the entirety of it was submerged with water, aside from this two-foot air pocket.
She peered down the hall, through the water, and she saw the elevator that led to the main level—yeah, good luck with that.
Luckily, there was a door to an emergency stairway beside the elevator, which had to be her way out. The door was open, revealing steps that led to the deck. The water climbed higher, mimicking her rising panic. With every minute that passed, the water rose higher. A small part of her wondered how this was happening so fast, but the urgency of the situation was greater than her curiosity.
Mari, pushing aside her panic, took another breath and ducked under the salty water’s surface, swimming her way to the door. She was determined not to die; her stomach tried to rebel with heavy, bile-filled heaves. Things were finally looking up.
And then the LED lighting above flickered for just a second before a thunderous boom resonated through the ship. The water shifted around her, and the lights gave one last flash before dying out.
Despite her fear, she knew she needed to keep going. But it wasn’t easy; she was now completely blind, unable to see even her own two hands as she plowed through the all-consuming darkness.
Oh, god, she thought. How the hell was she supposed to see the door? Better yet, how would she find the small pocket of air left to breathe through? Feeling hysteria taking over, she reached her arms out around her, trying to get a sense of where she was, and perhaps reconstruct the image in her mind through memory. She felt around, closing her eyes as the salt water riddled her with a stinging sensation. Her hands trailed over the smooth, metallic wall, until her fingers found a small crevice.
Blindly, Mari swam forward. After a few terrifying strokes, she collided with something—something metal. A wall?
Touching anything was better than dying, which would likely be her fate if she couldn’t get the hell out of this flooded hallway! She felt lightheaded. Deep in her soul, Mari knew that she only had a couple of seconds before the lack of oxygen killed her.
She felt around for the air pocket she’d discovered before. Finding it, she pushed off her feet and up towards the ceiling. It was smaller than last time; now, she had to practically kiss the ceiling to steal her final breath of air. She needed to get out of there—now.
Knowing this would be her last chance of survival, she took her final plunge into the watery depths, feeling around for the exit. Unable to see, her sense of direction was compromised. For all she knew, she could be heading in the opposite direction of the door.
Then she found it—or the lack of something. As she slid her palm along the wall, she noticed a gap, just large enough to slip through, which meant…
Yes! She’d found the exit. Kicking her feet desperately, thanking every single mystical being out there, Mari swam arm-by-arm up the staircase, her lungs begging her for oxygen. She wondered if she’d make it. The pain became so great that she moaned, despite wasting the last bits of precious air that still remained in her oxygen-starved lungs. One row after the other, she clawed her way to survival, until finally, she emerged from the water.
The moment her head rose above the water, she sucked in a lungful of air. Shouting voices were everywhere. Alarms were blaring and the groaning that she’d heard in her cabin was so loud that her ears began to pound. The bile rising in her throat was a sharp reminder that she was still in the freezing water and still in danger.
She shook herself out of her stupor. Everything was dangerous—not just the water. The thought spurred her into action.
Mari didn’t believe for a second that she was going to die. Despite the fact that her arms were weak, and she felt on the verge of collapsing back under the water, the fear kept her motivated. Like an ominous ghost, the determination kept her afloat. She had to make it out of this—if only to kill Ray.
She screamed as a pair of rough hands grabbed her shoulders.
“Come on. We’re loading the rafts!” shouted a man.
She was hauled out of the water and dragged onto the deck before being passed to another pair of hands. The world spun around her; everything was happening too fast for her to keep up with.
Flashlight beams shone around the corridor. The ship groaned again, this time louder, and she heard the distinct sound of water rushing in from somewhere behind her. One of the men holding the flashlights shouted and pointed over her shoulder. The last thing she saw in the man’s eyes was a resigned look of certainty.
The certainty that they were going to die.
All of them.
Her blood chilled in her veins, though not because of the cold water.
A shove to her back propelled her forward into what seemed like millions of arms. Someone wrapped a life jacket around her and then guided her to the other end of the ship, which was slightly more elevated and the only place the water had yet to reach. Mari looked around her; people were being loaded into rafts.
She tried to remain calm. Her mind was blank, as numb as the rest of her body. Were ships supposed to sink this fast? And how many hadn’t made it? Mari recalled that most of the passengers had been below deck unpacking and settling in... already, so many were lost.
The deck was in pieces: floorboards were split in half, bodies were crushed under rafters, and suitcases were floating in the pool of water that was gathering at the center of the ship. Large chunks of metal sunk beneath the surface of the water. Couples were choosing to go down together rather than part, and from all around her, she heard the endless serenade of prayers.
“Someone, get him! Please, we can’t just leave him there!” Mari looked in the direction of the voice.
The blonde. She was fighting against men who held her back, tears raining down her stark white face. Mari’s chest tightened at the sight. The agony in the woman’s eyes … she’d never forget it.
The man behind the blonde grabbed hold of her, dragging her away from danger. As he passed Mari, he paused a moment and ordered her to get moving. She followed his command like a zombie. There was no use trying to escape the catastrophe, not when the sailors gave up on themselves.
“Buckle that up,” the man growled, trying to keep his hold on the hysterical blonde in his arms. Mari numbly buckled her jacket like an obedient child.
The ship jerked to the side, and Mari lost her footing. The abrupt movement caused her head to slam into the deck. Water poured around her, choking her.
Mari gagged. Salt water wasn’t the best beverage, she thought, dazed and blinking sluggishly.
The world…slowed. Paused.
Blackness slowly replaced her vision. Limbs turned numb.
Consciousness…left.