Page 50 of The Trip

Beth groans, bringing her hands to her face.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Gigi mumbles before turning down the stairs.

The boat drops down the back side of a wave, and I hear Gigi’s head smack the ceiling.

I grip the tether in my hand so I don’t slide to the rear of the cockpit.

After we level out, I look up at Emma. “So, we have no navigation, nothing?”

The pointed accusation from a moment ago is wiped from her face. Now, she just looks scared. “The compass still works. And we’ll be able to see the weather vane in the daylight.”

“So, we can make it back to the mainland, right?” Beth asks.

“First, we need to sail out of this storm,” Adam says, looking around. “It’s coming from the north, pushing us southwest.”

I shudder at the surrounding bulging waves that become visible beneath the beam of his flashlight, amazed we haven’t already capsized.

“Which means we keep going southwest to get away from it before we turn back for the mainland,” he adds.

My jaw drops. “Keep going? With only a compass? That’s like skydiving without a parachute. We have to turn back.Now.What if we get hit by a cargo ship? Or get knocked over from these waves? Plus, we only have another week and a half’s worth of food and water. We have to get back to the mainland.”

“I hate to admit it, but I actually agree with Adam,” Emma says. “We have to get out of this storm. If we turn back now, we’ll be turning into it. We need to keep heading southwest until the weather improves. Then we—”

The boat gets knocked down to the right, lifting the port side off the water. I scream as Beth falls on top of me and we both slide to the other side of the cockpit, slamming into the bench seat. Adam falls, too, sending the beam of his flashlight straight up in the sky. Emma hits the bench above Beth and me with a grunt.

“Keep your heads down,” Emma yells. “The boom is swinging.”

In the glow of Adam’s flashlight, I look up to see the massive sail push out to the starboard side, the force of the wind whipping it 180 degrees.

“Hang on,” Adam calls as the boat dips farther to the right.

“We’re going to tip!” Beth shrieks, her torso sprawled across my leg on the cockpit floor.

Emma pushes herself off the bench, planting her feet on the deck beside my head.

“I’ll take the helm,” she says. “We’re running straight downwind. We should be on a close reach. Adam, bring down the mainsail, then tighten the storm jib more.”

The flashlight beam moves horizontal as Adam gets to his feet. When Emma takes the helm, I feel the boat turn left, leveling us slightly. Adam moves to the front of the cockpit and starts to lower the mainsail as I stand up and help pull Beth to her feet.

Thank God Emma knows what she’s doing. Or, at least, I hope she does. But does she know enough to get us out of this?

Chapter Twenty

Present: Day Five at Sea

Cold salt water sprays over the side, hitting my cheek. The companionway hatch flies open.

Beth turns for the companionway as Adam remains focused on lowering the towering mainsail.

“What are you doing?” I ask when Beth unclips the tether from her life vest.

“I think I know who did this.”

“Who?”

Beth glances below deck. “Gigi,” Beth calls, moving toward the companionway. “Where are you?”

I follow Beth below, careful not to hit my head with the boat’s constant rise and fall.