Pirate - Duncan Falconer [85]
She smiled at the memory of what they had done. Jumping into the sea to avoid being captured, adding a few more hours to their lives. He had finally gone out of her life, after a short but significant introduction. With him went any further chance of cheating death. In a strange way, despite the circumstances, she had grown used to his company. He was assertive and considerate, particularly in the face of adversity. An attractive quality most women never got to see in a man. She wondered how many people knew him that well or had misjudged him. Few people ever got into situations that exposed their true qualities.
She felt for the line as she considered his silly plan. He was still connected to her, but she knew she would never see him again. In an odd way she was sadder for him than she was for herself. The reason for it was simple enough. He had a noble purpose, she didn’t. She could argue her case but it wasn’t convincing. She had done what she did out of fear.
She could at least be pleased with how calmly she was taking her own death. She hoped she would maintain the same level of dignity until the end. Her body was beginning to chill but not too badly. Not yet. She suspected when her temperature did start to fall, it would happen quite fast. She wondered if she should try and fall asleep. That way she might not even know when she slipped into hypothermia. On the other hand, there was something wrong about spending your last hour or so on this earth asleep if you could help doing otherwise. She decided to stay conscious for as long as possible and she started thinking back through her life, starting as early as she could remember. Right back to when she was a kid. She expected to fall unconscious long before she got to the end. But it might not be such a bad way to go.
The water lapped around her ears and so she didn’t hear the distant sound of gunfire. As she searched her mind for the earliest memory of her life, she felt a tug at the back of her harness. It frightened her at first, her brain unable to interpret what it was. As she began to accelerate away, she remembered the line.
Stratton’s plan. They had been snagged.
Her speed quickly increased and she shot across the water, the life jackets taking the brunt of the bumpy waves. She spread out her arms and legs to remain as stable as possible and prevent from flipping over. She tried to raise her chin to look ahead but she couldn’t get enough of an angle. All she could do was lie flat on her back and get dragged along.
It was all so bizarre. It felt extremely tenuous and alien. The waves set up a jolting rhythm. Her teeth rattled in her mouth with every bump.
She wondered how long she could last. The water was coursing through her clothes. She felt OK, as if she could ride like that for a long time. Stratton’s insane plan was working, the first part of it at least. A hint of elation rippled through her. She suddenly saw a chance they could be rescued. She couldn’t see what was dragging her, but she knew it had to be some kind of ship. That meant she was in touch with civilisation, be it remotely. All it took to be saved was someone from the ship to see them. It was a small chance, but suddenly a real one.
Stratton had managed to twist around on to his back so that the gushing water didn’t drown him. Which was a far more comfortable way of being towed at speed. The swell bumped against his back and it was like being dragged across a corrugated roof. He had no idea how fast he was going. It felt like he could have water-skied at that speed.
Stratton leaned his head up to look for Lotto’s boat. He could just about see it coming on after him, as he expected it would, the gap between them several hundred metres. He studied the picture, wondering if the pirate boat might be gaining. It was difficult to tell.
He made an effort