Page 14 of If They Knew

He stands, wipes his mouth, and looks at me, his face ghostly white. “Sorry, I just couldn’t hold it back anymore.”

I pat him on the back, unsure what else to do. “It's okay. I don’t think my brain is even processing what's happening. Like, I’m on autopilot.” I look past Tyler and see the remains of the bridge. “I think I see Logan,” I shout.

“Who the hell is Logan?” Tyler asks.

“He works with Theo,” I say, running over. When he comes into view, I notice one of his pant legs is missing, and his white suit is now pale pink from the rain and blood. He's limping, with a cloth tightly wrapped around his right thigh above the knee, a dark red stain seeping through.

I look up, ignoring the wound for the moment. “Have you seen Theo?”

Logan shakes his head. “No, I haven’t. We were on the bridge when the explosion hit. Everything happened so fast. People were hurt and screaming. I was knocked down, and then I couldn’t see anything.”

“Do you have any idea what's going on? How did this happen?” I ask, assuming he's the most likely to know.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” he says, a confused look crossing his face.

Tyler chimes in, “Where's my Uncle Mark? I mean, Captain Whittaker?” We both stare at Logan, waiting for his answer.

“The last time I saw him was just as the storm hit. Lightning struck the ship and knocked out all the power. He said he was going to reset the breakers that control the engine's power and left me in charge until he got back.” Logan shifts his leg, wincing in pain. “Right after that, everything went crazy. He could be anywhere.” I wipe away the hair sticking to my face.

“We need to find Theo first, and then we'll worry about Captain Whittaker. Can you keep going? Your leg looks pretty bad.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I can walk.”

“We should stick together to find Theo and Mark,” Tyler says.

“That's a good idea,” I say.

A loud bang echoes every few seconds from the side of the ship. The sound brings back memories of the lifeboats crashing into the hull. As we survey the scene, the fire begins to dwindle in the rain. Bodies float in the pool, and people cling to lifeless loved ones scattered across the deck. In the distance, another brawl erupts over a life vest on a crew member's corpse. I watch as two men grip the vest, pulling so hard that it rips in half. They let go and rush in opposite directions.

“Theo!” I hear Tyler shout. I look over at him, following his gaze, and see my husband staring at the bridge.

“Theo! Over here!” I shout, my voice straining and cracking. He must not hear me. Tyler and I keep screaming his name, but nothing happens. Then I watch him take off like a bullet toward the bridge. Still shouting his name, I chase after him. When I finally reach him, I grab his arm and pull him to me. He jerks toward me, slamming into my body as we both slump to the floor.

10

THEO

Lying on the deck, I face the sky as rain pelts me in the face. For a split second, I want to lie there and just give up. Then my thoughts shift, and I want to know who grabbed me. I quickly turn and, to my surprise, find Julie lying on the ground next to me. We both stumble to regain our balance in the pouring rain. As soon as I'm upright, I hug her as best I can around the bulky life jacket, and we stand there for a moment. “Thank goodness you’re okay,” I say, squeezing her. Then a thought strikes me. “You need to take this off immediately,” I demand, grabbing at the life jacket.

“No,” she says sharply, “I literally had to pull this off a corpse while fighting a man for it in the process.”

“That’s exactly why you need to take it off. People are getting hurt over these things. The ship isn’t sinking, so you don’t need it.”

“Wait, how do you know the ship isn't sinking?” Julie asks, then quickly adds, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine. I don’t think I’m hurt, except I’m having a hard time hearing right now,” I answer.

“Okay, I think that’s good. So how do you know that the ship isn’t sinking?” she asks.

“Because the explosion came from beside the bridge and destroyed everything up here. There shouldn't be any damage that would cause the ship to take on water.”

“What caused the explosion?” Julie asks, wiping her hair out of her face and taking the life jacket off.

I pause, considering how to answer. I don’t know if I should share my theory or keep it to myself. If I tell her, it might scare her. “I'm not sure.” That’s technically the truth. I don’t know what actually caused the explosion. “Where’s Tyler, and what happened to your hand?” I ask, changing the subject.

“When all the commotion started, I fell and my hand slammed down on a broken wine glass.”

“Are you okay? We can try to find a first-aid kit and find something to clean it with, so it doesn’t get infected.”