Chapter 2

 

 

 

 

It had been surreal when the alarm bells had sounded, with the booming loudspeaker shouting that it was not a drill. Sam, never quick to wake up, sat on his bed for at least a minute, unable to process what he was hearing.

When it had finally penetrated, he jumped up and dressed quickly, grabbing his bandana, the bottle of unopened water and two chocolate bars he had by his bedside. He pulled on underwear, jeans and a T-shirt, not bothering to tie the laces of his sneakers, pulled hurriedly onto bare feet. He grabbed a light windbreaker, zipping the water bottle and chocolate into the pockets. As he left the cabin, he pulled the lifejacket from its drawer and put it on.

He was hurtled into the crush of terrified humanity as he ran along the lower deck, trying to scramble with the rest of them up stairs not made to handle that sort of foot traffic. He stepped back finally, pressing himself against a wall as he let women clutching small children and men gray-faced with terror stagger and lope forward like a herd of stampeding cattle.

As he tried to reenter the fray, he slipped and fell to the deck, smacking his head. He sat dazed for several long moments, and then tried to get to his feet, only to be knocked down several more times by panicked folk moving around him like water swirling around a pebble.

When he finally was able to get to his feet and race to the top deck, it was nearly deserted. Large lifeboats bobbed all around the ship in the gray black sea. What looked like the last remaining crew members were frantically climbing down ladders toward smaller life rafts.

“Hey! I’m still here!” Sam rushed forward, his shouts blown away on the wind. “I need to get on a lifeboat!”

Another huge explosion sounded deep in the belly of the ship. The tremors from the blast made Sam lose his footing and he went sprawling along the tilting, careening deck. He landed hard, the breath knocked out of him as he lay, soaked in the spray of the waves smashing up over the tilting bow.

When he could stand, he staggered over to the ladders he’d seen the crew using and started down one. There was one raft left! Leaning toward it, he unclipped the metal buckles holding it in place. The raft dropped down into the churning waves. Sam leaped toward it. He landed just beside it in the water and grabbed hold for dear life.

With a strength born of desperation, he managed to heave himself onto the raft, sprawling on his stomach for a moment until he righted himself. His raft was caught in a strong current, pulling him fast away from the sinking ship. He was being pulled in the opposite direction of the cluster of lifeboats, and doubted that was a good thing. He saw there were large paddles on either side of the raft, but he was too dazed and exhausted to try to use them.

Yet another explosion shook the ship, fire licking the hull as it slipped slowly into the sea like a great wounded whale. The waves created by the explosion propelled him farther out to sea, and even farther from the other passengers. He was alone.

Then something caught his eye, bobbing just ahead of him in the current. As the raft closed in on the object, he saw it was a person in a bright orange lifejacket, head facing downward, arms floating limply on the water.

Sam jolted into action, adrenaline giving him sudden strength. Using his hands to paddle closer, he tried to brace himself in the raft as he reached out to grab the person, aware he might be grabbing a corpse.

“Hey!” Sam cried, stretching out his arms. “I want to help you!”

To Sam’s vast relief, the man lifted his head, his mouth opening in a cry. He reached for Sam, who managed to haul him up over the lip of the raft. They tumbled back together onto the floor of the raft, the man dripping wet and gasping for breath.

“You okay?” Sam panted. “Is anything broken?”

“I’m okay, I think,” the man replied through chattering teeth. His bare arms were covered in goosebumps, his lips blue. “Just badly shaken up. And I’m freezing.”

Sam pulled off his windbreaker and draped it over the man’s shaking shoulders. “I wish we had a blanket or something I could give you,” he said. He continued to scan the water around them as he spoke, in case there was someone else floating out there who needed rescue.

The guy apparently had the same idea, because he too stared out at the vast expanse, moving his head slowly as his eyes tracked the empty water. Seeing no one else, they eventually gave up. Sam leaned back against the lip of the raft, now focusing on the stranger’s face. With a jolt, he recognized the handsome guy who had bumped into him on the ship. “My name is Sam. Sam Jamison. What’s your name?”

“Donovan McNair.” He removed Sam’s windbreaker from his shoulders and handed it across the small raft. “Thanks for saving my life.”

“What happened? How did you end up in the water?”

“A wave got me. Washed me right overboard. In all the insanity, I don’t think anyone saw me go over. What about you? Why are you all alone on this raft instead of in one of the lifeboats?”

“I got knocked down a couple of times. Finally, I just held back until the crush was over.” He shook his head. “When I finally got up there, the deck was deserted. I shouted, but nobody could hear me. Luckily, I was able to find a small life raft and get myself into it.”

“Lucky for me,” Donovan replied.

“Yeah. For both of us,” Sam agreed.

The sun was just peeking up over the horizon. Donovan seemed to be focused on something just past Sam’s shoulder, and Sam turned around to look. There was nothing there—nothing but an endless sea undulating toward the horizon.

“Were you traveling with someone?” Sam ventured, dreading to hear the answer. “Did you get separated?”

Donovan shook his head. “No. I was supposed to be. My pal, Jake, had to cancel at the last minute, so I just decided to come alone.” He blew out a tremulous breath. “He had a deal come through at work he just couldn’t get out of. He only got half his money back for the cruise. I probably would have cancelled too, since I didn’t really want to go alone, but my father would have killed me if I’d wasted that kind of money, especially since I was already being so irresponsible as to actually take a vacation when I’m supposed to be totally focused on my career.” He barked out a mirthless laugh and pushed his wet hair from his forehead with hands that still trembled slightly. “Jesus, listen to me, venting about stupid crap when I’m really just so grateful to be alive. Please forgive me.”

Sam waved a dismissive hand. “Not at all. I don’t think there’s a handbook on how to act in a situation like this. I still can’t get my head around what’s happened. I’m just glad you were okay when I found you.”

“Yeah. Same here.” Donovan peered at Sam with those beautiful blue eyes. “What about you? Were you with someone on the ship? Did they get to safety?”

Sam shook his head. “I came alone, too. A friend of mine couldn’t use his ticket and gave it to me.”

“Lucky us, huh?” Donovan said darkly. “Think they’ll find us?”

“Of course, they will,”, Sam asserted staunchly “They’ll be combing these waters for lifeboats and rafts. We should listen for helicopters. Be ready to wave. Wait a minute,” he added, reaching into his jeans. “I have this.” He pulled out the red bandana he’d stuffed into his pocket on the ship. He squeezed out the excess water and waved it in the air a few times. Feeling suddenly ridiculous, he dropped his hand into his lap.

“Man, I’m thirsty,” Donovan said after a while. “I’d give anything for some water. Not the salty kind.”

“Oh! I almost forgot.” Reaching into his windbreaker, Sam produced the bottle of water he’d slipped into it before he’d left his cabin. Donovan eagerly accepted it, twisting off the cap and taking a long gulp.

“Better pace yourself,” Sam advised. “We don’t know how long that has to last us.”

Donovan lowered the bottle and handed it back to Sam. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” He turned his head to the side, staring out again at the endless sea.

In spite of the insane situation, Sam couldn’t help but admire the man’s strong profile. He would love to try to capture the fine bone structure, the cleft chin, the strong angle of his jaw. He would use oils—rich vibrant colors to capture Donovan’s masculine beauty.

Donovan turned his head, catching Sam in the act of memorizing his face. Quickly, Sam looked down. As he collected himself, he noticed something in the bottom of the raft he hadn’t seen before. It was a metal ring embedded in a circular groove. Curious, he reached for the tab and gently pulled upward.

A small trap door opened, revealing six tightly packed bottles of water, a box of twelve energy bars and a small nylon bag. “Wow, look at this,” he cried excitedly. “Provisions.”

Donovan leaned forward, peering down at the cache. “Hey, that’s great.” He flashed a sudden, hopeful smile that caught at the edges of Sam’s heart. Sam smiled back, and then reached into the compartment, pulling out the box of energy bars and the nylon bag.

He handed the bag to Donovan, who unzipped it to inspect the contents. “A roll of toilet paper, a first aid kit and some sunscreen.” He pulled out the tube of sunscreen and smeared some lotion over his face before handing the tube to Sam.

Sam took the tube and squeezed out a dollop to rub over his face, which already felt burned. He handed back the tube and took a single energy bar from the box.

“We should still probably ration,” Donovan said. “Who knows how long we’re going to drift in this thing.”

“Agreed,” Sam said. “How about let’s split one energy bar and finish that bottle of water I brought along.”

“I’m not really hungry,” Donovan said, eying the brown slab as Sam tore open the wrapper.

“I get that,” Sam said. “These don’t exactly look appetizing, but they’re high in protein and carbs. We should probably keep up our strength, in case we sight land and need to paddle.”

“You’re right.”

Sam ripped the slightly sticky bar in half and handed one piece to Donovan. Then he slid the box back into the compartment and closed the trapdoor, pressing the ring back into its groove.

Donovan had taken a large bite of his half.

Sam took a bite as well. The bar was dense and chewy, and tasted like dates. “It’s actually pretty good,” he commented, still chewing.

“Yeah, as long as you have good teeth,” Donovan agreed, again flashing a smile that zinged straight to Sam’s cock. Sam warned himself to get a grip.

“I saw you on the ship yesterday,” Donovan said suddenly. “Actually, I bumped into you on the ship yesterday,” he amended.

“I remember,” Sam replied. The mention of the ship brought up the images of the booming explosions and the huge ship listing and sinking before his eyes. He wrapped his arms around his torso to keep from shuddering at the horrible memories. “I hope everyone else made it to the lifeboats okay,” he said, aware even as he said the words that the odds were against it. Donovan had been washed overboard. Who knew how many others had shared the same fate?

“I can’t believe this fucking happened,” Donovan said, rocking himself back and forth. “There’s supposed to be all kinds of redundant safety measures in place on a ship like that. Maybe this is all just a nightmare, and I’ll wake up soon.”

“If I’m in your nightmare, let me the hell out of it,” Sam said, almost managing to grin. “I’d way rather be dreaming of solid ground.”

They were quiet for a long while, each lost in his own thoughts. Sam tried not to focus on the very real possibility that they might not be rescued before the food and water ran out, or the sun burned them to delirious, fevered crisps. While the ocean breeze kept them from sweating, the sunscreen only went so far to protect them.

After a while, they both angled their exhausted bodies down, using the lip of the raft as a pillow. Sam must have dozed a while, because when he opened his eyes, the water was lapping peacefully against the edges of the raft as it drifted in the calm currents of the ocean. The sun blazed high above in a relentlessly blue sky.

Donovan’s eyes remained closed, his chest lightly rising and falling. In spite of the sunscreen, his face was getting burned. Sam licked his dry lips as he admired the sleeping man. What would it be like to kiss those lips, to taste the salt on his skin, to brush the tangled, dark hair from his eyes?

As if aware he was being scrutinized, Donovan opened his eyes.

Sam looked away. “Getting hot,” he observed, glad Donovan couldn’t read his thoughts. “We should cover our heads. Here—you take this.” He handed Donovan the red bandana, dry now and stiff with salt. “I’ll use my jacket.”

Donovan accepted the bandana and tied it over his head, knotting it at the nape of his neck.

“You look like a pirate now,” Sam said, watching him.

“Yeah, right,” Donovan said with a wry smile. “I just need a gold earring.”

As Sam reached for his windbreaker, he suddenly remembered the chocolate bars. “Oh, shit. I forgot all about these.” He pulled out the bars, both of which were soft in their wrappers, but not completely melted. He held one out to Donovan. “We better eat these now, before they totally melt.”

Donovan took one of the bars and unwrapped it. He broke off a gooey section and popped it into his mouth. “I love chocolate,” he said, licking his finger, the gesture painfully sensual to Sam.

“Me too,” Sam agreed, sliding a soft piece into his mouth and letting it melt on his tongue. It made him thirsty, but he was hesitant to break out another bottle of the water.

 

Donovan finished his bar and lay back against the side of the raft, his long legs extended, an arm flung over his face. Sam judged by the sun’s slant that it must be around four o’clock in the afternoon. In all the hours they’d been adrift, there had been no sight of aircraft or of any other raft or lifeboat caught in the same currents as they were. It seemed they were all alone in a vast infinity of gently rolling blue.

As the sun had risen hours before, Sam had been hopeful they would sight land in short order. There were hundreds of tiny islands dotting the Caribbean. But he was no longer as hopeful as time passed, wondering if they’d been pulled  so far out to sea by a current that they had missed all the landmasses. It would only be a matter of days before they ran out of provisions. They could drift forever, eventually dying of thirst and delirium, their minds breaking down with insanity and despair.

Sam shook his head as though to literally shake those thoughts from his mind. Through sheer self-will, he forced down the panic trying to press up through his gut. He looked over at Donovan, who appeared to be dozing.

At least he wouldn’t die alone.