The Ferry by Amy Cross Read Free Book Online Page A

I yell, hauling myself into the cargo hold until I’m just a few feet above the figures. They’re still looking at me, and they seem to be following my movements, so they’re definitely conscious and aware of my presence, but they don’t seem to care about the fact that their boat is about to go down. Figuring that I have to try again, I reach down until the tips of my fingers are almost touching them. “You have to come with me!” I shout, staring into the dark, passionless eyes of one of the figures. “This whole boat is going to sink! Please, just -”
    Suddenly I stop as I stare at the man’s face and realize that I was right: the skin on his face has partially peeled away, and sections of pure bone are glinting in the moonlight.
    “Brace yourself!” Mark shouts over the radio. “I’m not going to risk losing you!”
    Before I can respond, I feel the rope tightening around my waist, and a moment later I’m pulled back, away from the cargo hold. A couple of seconds after that, however, I feel the rope snagging on the edge of the hatch, and I look up to see that part of the cord is caught on a twisted section of metal.
    “Sophie?” Mark shouts. “What’s wrong?”
    “Hang on,” I tell him, struggling to get the rope loose. “I just need a few more seconds! I have to at least bring one of them up!”
    “There’s no time!”
    “There,” I add, pulling the rope loose before turning to look back down at the figures. “I’m going to have to grab one of them and hope for the -”
    “It’s here!”
    I don’t have time to react before another wave crashes into the boat, hitting me with such force that I’m sent swinging across the tilted deck. I kick out and manage to keep myself from hitting the railing, but as the boat creaks and starts breaking apart I’m sent swinging wildly back toward the bridge, finally slamming into the roof. I let out a cry of pain as I feel something snapping in my chest. Turning, I see that the rear of the boat has broken loose and is rising up, while I’m still on the front section, which is tilting to one side and starting to sink.
    “Sophie!” Mark shouts.
    I look up and see the lights of the helicopter above me as I spin around on the end of the rope. Before I can make another move, however, a third wave crashes into the boat. I’m sent slamming into the deck, before finally swinging out past the aft and over the rough sea, skimming the waves as I struggle to get myself back under control. With the helicopter above and the sinking boat to one side, and huge waves below, I feel as if I’m swinging through pure chaos. A moment later, a gust of wind blows me back over the boat as it continues to sink, and then I feel the rope shuddering as the winch is activated again. As I’m pulled up toward the helicopter, I can’t help but look down at the boat as the rest of the hull slips beneath the surface.
    We were too late. All those people are drowning.

Chapter Four
     
    “I saw it on the news,” Rob says over the phone, sounding exhausted. “I’m sorry, Sophie. I can’t imagine how it feels to have it slip away like that.”
    Sitting on the steps of one of the trailers, I’ve got my phone in one hand and a towel in the other, and I’m using the latter to dry my hair. The storm has begun to die down a little, and the first rays of morning sun are starting to show on the horizon, picking out the cliffs and a house nestled high up on the other side of the bay. Nearby, several coastguard workers are involved in a discussion, while a little further off there are several police officers working to keep curious journalists from getting too close. When I arrived earlier, the nascent rescue operation was just getting started, but now a little more order has been brought to the scene. Rain is still falling, but with a little less intensity.
    “So you’re coming home now, right?” Rob continues. “You’re coming home because this crazy job is done and you’ve realized