was so tall that it seemed to take minutes to topple into the water, and when it hit it threw up a wave large enough to swamp any smaller boat that might have been nearby.
"Lucy–" Quin heard himself say.
"She's all right," Abe said quietly. "She had plenty of time to get far enough away. Didn't she?"
Quin nodded, although to reassure himself or Abe, he wasn't sure. "Right."
And then the wave that rushed out from the side of the ship nearest them came straight for them.
Quin had been to the beach at Whitby and had swum in the sea many times. He'd watched the waves there roll in through the worst storms of his life, ones that had ripped the roofs off buildings and even knocked a rickety old building or two down flat. This wave from the Titanic 's crash back into the sea dwarfed every one of them.
"Hold on!" Abe shouted.
Quin did the best he could to maintain his grip on the deckchair. He took the deepest breath he could grab and then wrapped his entire body around it. He clutched it to him with all the strength left in his worn and coldnumbed arms.
Rather than crashing into him, the wave rolled right over him as if he wasn't even there. He rode up the face of it for an instant, then pierced straight through its surface, and it enveloped him.
In his shock at the fall of the Titanic , Quin had forgotten about the frigid temperatures of the water in which he was swimming. When the wave tumbled over the top of him, knocking him back into the blackness, he felt like an icy hand had grabbed him and was trying to shove him back down into the water because it just wasn't done with him yet.
This time, though, Quin was expecting the wave, and he fought back against it as hard as he could. He let go of the deckchair when he realized it wasn't holding him up but helping pull him down, and he punched through the water with his hands, scrambling for the surface.
As he went, Quin spotted a woman rolling through the water below him, being pulled farther into the darkness with every instant. He reached out for her, but she was yanked past him before he could even bring his arm toward her. From her pale color, he wondered if she might already be dead, and then he realized that he would be if he didn't keep fighting the mighty pressure from that massive wave.
A moment later, Quin returned to the surface. After his last dunking, this had seemed almost too easy to endure, and when he spotted Abe's head emerge only an arm's length away, he allowed himself the ghost of a smile.
Then he spied the Titanic , and he stared at it aghast. The bow had disappeared beneath the waves, but the stern was rising into the night sky once again. Would it keep breaking and slamming back into the water like a breaching whale slapping its tail? How long would it be until the horror came to a once and final end?
"Over there!"
Abe tapped Quin on the shoulder, and Quin spun about in the water to see that Abe was pointing with his other hand at something large and white floating in the water. It took Quin a moment to recognize it as one of the collapsible lifeboats, perhaps the one he and Abe had been standing ready to help deploy when they'd been on the ship. The water had washed it off the Titanic 's roof and sent it floating away, capsized but still floating on the surface.
Several people had already clambered on top of the white-bottomed boat, lying there like beached seals warming themselves on a sun-scorched rock. The waves that had rushed from the sinking ship had shoved the tiny craft farther and farther away, and it would be a long swim to reach it. Still, there seemed like no other recourse, not if Quin and Abe wanted to live.
"That's our chance," Quin said, already crawling through the freezing waters separating him from the overturned boat. "Come on!"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Brody Murtagh backhanded Trevor McPherson across the jaw so hard that it would have shattered
"Lucy–" Quin heard himself say.
"She's all right," Abe said quietly. "She had plenty of time to get far enough away. Didn't she?"
Quin nodded, although to reassure himself or Abe, he wasn't sure. "Right."
And then the wave that rushed out from the side of the ship nearest them came straight for them.
Quin had been to the beach at Whitby and had swum in the sea many times. He'd watched the waves there roll in through the worst storms of his life, ones that had ripped the roofs off buildings and even knocked a rickety old building or two down flat. This wave from the Titanic 's crash back into the sea dwarfed every one of them.
"Hold on!" Abe shouted.
Quin did the best he could to maintain his grip on the deckchair. He took the deepest breath he could grab and then wrapped his entire body around it. He clutched it to him with all the strength left in his worn and coldnumbed arms.
Rather than crashing into him, the wave rolled right over him as if he wasn't even there. He rode up the face of it for an instant, then pierced straight through its surface, and it enveloped him.
In his shock at the fall of the Titanic , Quin had forgotten about the frigid temperatures of the water in which he was swimming. When the wave tumbled over the top of him, knocking him back into the blackness, he felt like an icy hand had grabbed him and was trying to shove him back down into the water because it just wasn't done with him yet.
This time, though, Quin was expecting the wave, and he fought back against it as hard as he could. He let go of the deckchair when he realized it wasn't holding him up but helping pull him down, and he punched through the water with his hands, scrambling for the surface.
As he went, Quin spotted a woman rolling through the water below him, being pulled farther into the darkness with every instant. He reached out for her, but she was yanked past him before he could even bring his arm toward her. From her pale color, he wondered if she might already be dead, and then he realized that he would be if he didn't keep fighting the mighty pressure from that massive wave.
A moment later, Quin returned to the surface. After his last dunking, this had seemed almost too easy to endure, and when he spotted Abe's head emerge only an arm's length away, he allowed himself the ghost of a smile.
Then he spied the Titanic , and he stared at it aghast. The bow had disappeared beneath the waves, but the stern was rising into the night sky once again. Would it keep breaking and slamming back into the water like a breaching whale slapping its tail? How long would it be until the horror came to a once and final end?
"Over there!"
Abe tapped Quin on the shoulder, and Quin spun about in the water to see that Abe was pointing with his other hand at something large and white floating in the water. It took Quin a moment to recognize it as one of the collapsible lifeboats, perhaps the one he and Abe had been standing ready to help deploy when they'd been on the ship. The water had washed it off the Titanic 's roof and sent it floating away, capsized but still floating on the surface.
Several people had already clambered on top of the white-bottomed boat, lying there like beached seals warming themselves on a sun-scorched rock. The waves that had rushed from the sinking ship had shoved the tiny craft farther and farther away, and it would be a long swim to reach it. Still, there seemed like no other recourse, not if Quin and Abe wanted to live.
"That's our chance," Quin said, already crawling through the freezing waters separating him from the overturned boat. "Come on!"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Brody Murtagh backhanded Trevor McPherson across the jaw so hard that it would have shattered
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