Page 84 of Terminal Voyage

As he was talking, my vision blurred. His voice echoed. My knees wobbled.

They both looked at me with concern.

"Are you okay?" Declan asked.

That was the last thing I remembered. I blacked out.

41

Declan carried me into his stateroom and set me on a sofa as I faded in and out of consciousness.

“I’ll take care of her from here,” Vanessa said. “Go have dinner with the others.”

He moved to a minibar and grabbed a bottle of water. He set it on the coffee table for me, then left.

Vanessa sat on the edge of the sofa next to me. “Must be something you ate. Just took a little longer to catch up with you.”

This wasn’t food poisoning.

She was a blur, and there were two of her.

I blacked out again.

When I woke, I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. It could have been a few minutes or a few hours. It was dark outside. Moonlight spilled in. She’d opened the fold-downclam shell balcony. A breeze blew into the cabin, and the briny air swirled.

“How are you feeling?” Vanessa asked.

She still looked blurry.

I was still out of it.

"I thought maybe the fresh air might do you good," she said. "You think you can stand?"

She helped me sit up, and I felt lightheaded. I couldn't tell if the boat was rolling on the swells or if it was me.

"I felt better when I walked it off,” Vanessa said. “Let's get you on your feet."

She helped me stand, and I wobbled. I clung to her arm as we walked across the cabin. She escorted me onto the balcony. The clamshell folded out from the hull. The window now served as a barrier, and the overhead portion provided cover. A small teak deck extended, flanked by stainless steel railings on either side.

"Hang on to the rail,” Vanessa said. “We don't want you falling overboard."

I gripped it tight like my life depended on it.

The angry sky rumbled, and lightning flashed on the horizon. It looked like we were headed straight into another storm.

For a moment, I felt better as I breathed in the air. Then things took a turn.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I said.

“Over the railing, sweetie.”

I gripped the railing and leaned over. The obsidian swells below rose and fell, rocking the boat. It only made things worse.

"I always find that looking at the horizon helps when I'm queasy,” Vanessa said.

Before I knew what happened, Vanessa had grabbed my legs. She lifted me up and flipped me over the railing. I cartwheeled over and fell toward the ocean below.

I grabbed the top railing before plunging into the inky abyss.