Deeper by Moore-JamesA Read Free Book Online

on
the motors and set the searchlights to look for the girl.   She was out there, still struggling to stay
afloat, still floundering and losing her struggle.
    We pulled away
from the dock without incident and Charlie guided me toward where the girl was
doing her best not to drown.   It isn't
exactly easy to go at high speeds in a sixty-foot yacht, and it's also not
wise.   We had to take it fairly slow in
order to get closer to the girl without risking knocking her halfway to the
reef.   When we were close enough, Charlie
took off his shoes, grabbed a life preserver and dove into the waters.   I know how cold it was going to be and I knew
he'd hate himself for it later, but it was the best way to get to her before it
was too late.
    Charlie hit
the water in a perfect dive and vanished into the blackness.   He rose up a few seconds later only a few
feet from where she was thrashing in the waves.   His hands caught her with ease, and she stopped her struggles, apparently
trusting in him completely to get her to safety or so exhausted that she simply
had no choice in the matter.   He held her
around her shoulders and backstroked toward the yacht.   I ran out to give him a hand.
    The girl
couldn't have been much more than fourteen or fifteen.   Her blond hair was plastered to her scalp and
half covered her face, and her skin was too pale by far.   Charlie did his best to tread water as he
held her up to me like she was a toddler.   I'm not Charlie.   He could do that
without too much trouble, but I had to strain hard when I caught her thin
wrists with my hands and hauled her up the ladder with me.   She wrapped her arms around my neck and
shivered violently.   Her skin was wet and
nearly as cold as ice.   I made the climb
back onto the deck.   This was twice in
one night that I'd gotten myself soaked pulling someone up to safety and it
wasn't something I wanted to make a habit of.   To make matters worse, she was dressed in enough wet layers of clothing
to add a good thirty pounds to her weight.   I was surprised she hadn't dropped like a stone under the extra layers
of heavy fabrics.   As I set her down on
the deck to catch my breath, I couldn't help but notice that she was wearing
petticoats and old-fashioned leggings under her full length formal dress.
    She curled up
in a   nearly fetal position as I went back to the ladder to give Charlie a hand.   He tossed the life preserver to me and I
caught it and tucked it under my left arm before reaching down to offer him a
boost.   He took it gratefully and I
pulled as he climbed back on board.
    "Jesus
Christ!   That water's cold ."   Charlie shook his arms wildly, spraying salt
water all over the deck and me.   I was
wet enough that I didn't much care.
    "Let me
get a couple of blankets for you and your new friend."   I headed for the cabin and grabbed a few thin
blankets from the supplies that I kept close at hand.   They could both warm up properly after they'd
gotten out of the wet clothes, but the night was cold and any protection at all
would do in a pinch.
    When I stepped
back onto the deck Charlie was looking around almost desperately.
    "What's
wrong?"
    "Where
did she go, Joe?"
    "What?   The girl?   She's right— "   I stopped myself.   The girl who should have been curled up on
the deck was gone.   The only indication
that she had ever been there was the trail of wet spots where she'd dripped as
I carried her, and the larger patch of water where she'd settled after I put
her down.   There were no new footprints,
no real signs that she'd suddenly gotten a notion to go exploring, as if she'd
have even been capable.
    "What the
hell, Charlie?"   I looked at my
first mate and he looked back at me, shaking his head.
    "I don't
know.   I have no fucking clue, Joe."
    "She was
right there."   I jabbed my finger at
the water on the deck and Charlie nodded his head in understanding.
    "She was
there when I climbed on deck, Joe.   And
then I looked