Page 44 of Raven’s Claw (Raven’s Cliff #2)

The wind roared past, thunder and lightning dancing across the water, when those pops sounded again.

Quick. Sharp. Pounding through her head until she wanted to scream.

She glanced back when pain tore through her shoulder blade, smashing her against the console.

She hit hard, knocking the controls, as the boat swung, pulling the line taut until it released, dropping the Zodiac the last several feet into the water.

The vessel bounced, nearly submerging as the Vigilant tipped, the resulting wave pushing the Zodiac away as the massive ship listed hard toward the port side. A horn sounded in the distance, the hollow tone lingering in the air until she bolted awake.

Rain stung her skin as she blinked away the last of the dots. Thunder clapped above her, each bolt of lightning giving a snapshot of the storm. Clouds circling. Waves looming above. Nothing on the horizon but endless swells. Like a movie advancing a frame at a time.

Saylor swallowed, nearly blacked out, then got the Zodiac moving as she took stock.

Baker slouched off to the side, eyes closed.

Chest barely rising with each labored breath.

Realizing Maddox hadn’t made it onboard cut deep.

Had her scanning the horizon until she knew she either had to make a run for the coastline or concede they’d all die out there.

Assuming she could pilot the boat with her right arm hanging at an odd angle. Blood soaked through her clothes, tempered slightly by the cold. But she wouldn’t survive long enough to get them anywhere if she didn’t stem the worst of bleeding.

She grabbed the first aid kit from beneath the helm, then did what she could to plug the hole.

Had she been shot?

She couldn’t remember. Couldn’t get the memory to stick long enough to be sure.

A whispered pep talk, and she managed to crawl across the deck — grab them each a life vest. Not that it would do much if they ended up in the water. But it gave her a false sense of hope. That if she pushed past her limits — rose to the challenge — she just might get them to shore alive.

The Zodiac roared to life as she hit the throttle, riding the swells up, then down. She aimed the bow east, aware she’d likely capsize before she’d covered any significant distance, but she’d try. Go down fighting.

She worked the throttle, surfing the waves, using every trick she’d learned to keep the boat upright. Squeeze one more mile out of her before it all went sideways. More dots slid across her vision, the numbing cold slowly drawing her under.

The wind howled past, and the salt stung her eyes, but she kept pushing — clawing out a few more minutes of life.

An ear-piercing pulse sounded in the distance, the deafening tone ringing through her head and into her chest. Rattling what was left of her thoughts and roiling her stomach, just like when she’d been back on the ship.

Or maybe the noise was simply her imagination.

Remnants of the Vigilant as it finally sank beneath the surface.

Either way, hearing the reverberation echo as she slumped against the wheel, seemed fitting, that ominous tone following her into the darkness.

Light.

Brighter than it should be. Burning through her eyelids. Too white to be the sun. More like a spotlight. The same intensity she’d seen on the ship a moment before the bulbs had exploded.

Saylor inhaled, adrenaline spiking her heart rate as she pried open her eyelids. The harsh glare roiled her stomach, and she turned, — dry heaving over the edge — her cheek braced against a metal railing.

Gentle hands brushed back her hair, a soft, cool towel dabbing her forehead. “Easy. You’re still too weak to be up and about. Sleep.”

That voice. She recognized it. What was her name?

The thought drifted with her in a numbing haze, fading in and out of the images flashing in her head. The remnants of a memory trying to take shape. There had been screaming and chaos — people fading in and out of view — then some kind of pulse that had dropped her to her knees…

Saylor inhaled as she bolted upright, lines and stitches tugging against her skin. She held that breath, swaying as pain shot through her back, then into her chest, dimming the room until it was all she could do just to sit there and breathe.

Someone cursed, then bridged her weight, shoving a couple pillows behind her back as they grunted. “If you pull out your stitches or fall over that railing, the doctor’s gonna put you back into an induced coma.”

Saylor waited for the room to stabilize, then focused on the person’s face. She blinked a few times, a name tumbling over in her head before she relaxed. “Mac?”

Mackenzie Parker, Coast Guard pilot and Saylor’s best friend, smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You remember, this time. That’s good.”

“This time?”

Two words — three including Mackenzie’s name — and it had drained her. Had black streaks cutting in from the sides.

Mac sighed. “You opened your eyes a couple times, but you weren’t really awake. Not that you look like you’re gonna last more than a few minutes, now. But at least, you seem more aware.”

“What…”

Had talking always hurt this much? Pulsed pain through her temples? Had her chest constricting around each breath?

Mac frowned. “You don’t remember?”

Saylor shook her head.

“What’s the last thing you do remember?”

Saylor swallowed. “Boarding the Vigilant for an inspection, then…”

Mac pursed her lips. “That was three weeks ago.”

“Three…” Saylor frowned. “Was there a storm?”

She palmed her head, crying out as pain shot through her temples, more images trying to claw free. Lights on the water. The missing lifeboat. Blood soaking her clothes.

Mac paled. “Easy. It’s not important. The doctor said you might have memory issues for a while. But they’ll likely return over time. Rest. We’ll try again once you’re stronger.”

Saylor snagged Mac’s hand, holding it tight until Mac leaned over her. She wet her lips, hoping she got out all the words before she faded. “What about Baker? Maddox? Where’s everyone else?”

Mac pursed her lips, eyes glassy as she gave Saylor’s hand a squeeze. “I’m sorry, Saylor, they’re all dead.”

Raven’s Nest